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Is this a mistake?

Drucifer

Not currently practicing
Gold Supporting Member
Apr 20, 2009
2,620
4,666
Houston Heights, Texas
Disclosures
Endorsements: your name could be here, Mr. Sadowsky!
I was listening to some old JJ Cale records, what an amazing songwriter! I usually skip Cocaine (having been a bass player in the 70s and 80s, I've heard it [literally] and played it [figuratively] thousands of times) but was multitasking and was surprised to hear what I think is a wrong note in the bass near the end of the song! The youtube link starts at 2:16 and what I hear is C#, B, G# to A, then F#, instead of C#, B, A, G#.
 
I was listening to some old JJ Cale records, what an amazing songwriter! I usually skip Cocaine (having been a bass player in the 70s and 80s, I've heard it [literally] and played it [figuratively] thousands of times) but was multitasking and was surprised to hear what I think is a wrong note in the bass near the end of the song! The youtube link starts at 2:16 and what I hear is C#, B, G# to A, then F#, instead of C#, B, A, G#.


Yup, half step down on the last two notes in that section, I don't think the bassist knew it very well as he flubs all over the place, gives it charm though. :laugh:
 
Could be and there's flubs all over the place, just that the bassist (whoever it was) recovers a lot better. :laugh:
Hi Bob. Flub notwithstanding, I always feel the bass line on JJ's 'Cocaine' has that classic 'sounds like it isn't being played by a bona fide bass player' feel about it: i.e. wooden and stilted, with some odd note choices, thus my speculation that JJ himself might have played it. That's in no way a denigration of JJ as a musician. He's one of my all time favorites and one of the grooviest cats ever to pick up a guitar, but I'd only ever rank the bass part on 'Cocaine' as serviceable at most. It sounds nothing like Duck Dunn, or Tommy Cogbill and definitely not Joe Osborn; all three of whom are credited elsewhere on the album and would've eaten a part like that for breakfast. There's another cat credited on the album too, but not on 'Cocaine' itself, so I'm further drawn to the conclusion that it's JJ..
 
Hi Bob. Flub notwithstanding, I always feel the bass line on JJ's 'Cocaine' has that classic 'sounds like it isn't being played by a bona fide bass player' feel about it: i.e. wooden and stilted, with some odd note choices, thus my speculation that JJ himself might have played it. That's in no way a denigration of JJ as a musician. He's one of my all time favorites and one of the grooviest cats ever to pick up a guitar, but I'd only ever rank the bass part on 'Cocaine' as serviceable at most. It sounds nothing like Duck Dunn, or Tommy Cogbill and definitely not Joe Osborn; all three of whom are credited elsewhere on the album and would've eaten a part like that for breakfast. There's another cat credited on the album too, but not on 'Cocaine' itself, so I'm further drawn to the conclusion that it's JJ..


You're probably right, in Wiki there's several tunes with no bass player listed on that album. I was serious kind of when I said it gave it some charm.