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John Glascock appreciation society
- Thread starter Lesfunk
- Start date
Good player who died too young unfortunately. I'm partial to Glen Cornick (love the solo on Bouree) and Jeffrey Hammond wasn't bad either.
By far my favorite Tull bassist. Cornick was great but I thought John Glascock was absolutely stellar with Tull and had skills beyond the others that really worked with them.
Appreciated!
I still can't get away from Cornick, in part because the first three Tull albums have always been my favorite. But I love Glascock's work (R.I.P. to both gents) as well as Hammond.
I still can't get away from Cornick, in part because the first three Tull albums have always been my favorite. But I love Glascock's work (R.I.P. to both gents) as well as Hammond.
Glasscock's work on Songs from the Wood is amazing, as well as Heavy Horses. Bass was upfront in the mix and his basslines were brilliant.
Definitely one of my favourite bassists.
Definitely one of my favourite bassists.
Oldie thread!
Saw Tull at Arrowhead in Kansas City, first big show.....Rory Gallagher, Todd Rundgren, Robin Trower opened BUT, Tull were on fire that night....the whole band cooked but i never paid attention to bassists before witnessing John Glascock......just mind blowing player...Blackmore loved him too.....RIP John Glascock, gone way too young but he played it to the fullest from what i can tell!
"Too Old to Rock and Roll: Too Old to Die!" was the tour and a solid album as well.
Nice to see a Tull thread bumped.
I like Cornick's playing, but he was of the era. I think he was quite musically academic, but he was also the party animal in the band and a big and slightly goofy ego in the same band as Ian Anderson (who was peak goofy ego, back in the day). Cornick had an intuitive, groovy feel to his playing but wasn't really a precise or tight player. That bass solo in Bouree is utterly inspired, and inspiring, with its double stops and interesting use of fourths.
Listening to the band's Isle of Wight performance from 1970, Cornick had a sort of fat, flabby tone that just sort of grinds away consistently in the background. Glascock had a much more pronounced tone, in part from his use of a pick and in part from improvements in bass amplification in the interim years. Cornick couldn't have played Songs From the Wood, but Glascock couldn't have played Bouree with such a jazzy feel either. The Anderson/Barre/Evan/Palmer/Glascock/Barlow lineup was, in my opinion, the highest pinnacle of Tull in terms of mixing up that beyond-intricacy and standard of composition with that goofy rural English-ness. Part hard rock and part Benjamin Britten plundering English folklore and folk music for themes and melodies.
Besides all that, this is one of the greatest visual puns ever unleashed on the record buying public:
I like Cornick's playing, but he was of the era. I think he was quite musically academic, but he was also the party animal in the band and a big and slightly goofy ego in the same band as Ian Anderson (who was peak goofy ego, back in the day). Cornick had an intuitive, groovy feel to his playing but wasn't really a precise or tight player. That bass solo in Bouree is utterly inspired, and inspiring, with its double stops and interesting use of fourths.
Listening to the band's Isle of Wight performance from 1970, Cornick had a sort of fat, flabby tone that just sort of grinds away consistently in the background. Glascock had a much more pronounced tone, in part from his use of a pick and in part from improvements in bass amplification in the interim years. Cornick couldn't have played Songs From the Wood, but Glascock couldn't have played Bouree with such a jazzy feel either. The Anderson/Barre/Evan/Palmer/Glascock/Barlow lineup was, in my opinion, the highest pinnacle of Tull in terms of mixing up that beyond-intricacy and standard of composition with that goofy rural English-ness. Part hard rock and part Benjamin Britten plundering English folklore and folk music for themes and melodies.
Besides all that, this is one of the greatest visual puns ever unleashed on the record buying public:
Mostly I saw him use a Precision, also a Ric 4001 and Stingray. Amps were usually SVT/810's.
Thanks! Didn't know about the Ric.....at the time Tull were playing giant venues, i assumed SVT's.
I don't think he used the Ric very much at all. Couldn't find any pics of him with one in a Google search. But it was on Equipboard's entry for him so it must have been true
Towards the end of his life John also played a JG Series Wal bass...
I featured it on my blog a year or so ago... A HISTORY OF WAL BASSES: JG Special Pt 6: A coincidental coda... Top player, sad loss.
I featured it on my blog a year or so ago... A HISTORY OF WAL BASSES: JG Special Pt 6: A coincidental coda... Top player, sad loss.
I saw Tull in the late 80s. What a show. Dave Pegg, I believe, was on bass that night. I've been a fan since I was a kid.
I'm going to see Ian Anderson in Baltimore Sunday night, nearly 30 years later.
I'm going to see Ian Anderson in Baltimore Sunday night, nearly 30 years later.
That could well have been Dave Pegg, ex Fairport Convention. I've seen and heard clips of live '80s Tull and they seemed a bit sloppier than the Glascock-era lineup.
I don't think he used the Ric very much at all. Couldn't find any pics of him with one in a Google search. But it was on Equipboard's entry for him so it must have been true
Well…we've all owned that one Cinderella bass that did its share of work around the house, but seldom or never got taken to the ball.
FWIW all I ever saw him with was a Fender.
Personally, I still prefer Dave Pegg for Tull in a performance situation. Glascock and Cornick may well be the more creative bassists. But Pegg was always the better and most consistent performer with the best tone in my book. At least going by the many Tull shows I've seen over the years. Although as somebody else pointed out earlier, better stage sound and massive improvements in the FOH may also be a major factor in that.
Pegg's fantastic, no doubt.Well…we've all owned that one Cinderella bass that did its share of work around the house, but seldom or never got taken to the ball.
FWIW all I ever saw him with was a Fender.
Personally, I still prefer Dave Pegg for Tull in a performance situation. Glascock and Cornick may well be the more creative bassists. But Pegg was always the better and most consistent performer with the best tone in my book. At least going by the many Tull shows I've seen over the years. Although as somebody else pointed out earlier, better stage sound and massive improvements in the FOH may also be a major factor in that.
Always was one of my inspirations.
Funny how half of them are Brits. The other half are the R&B/Motown greats. Wonder why I gravitate towards those two radically different styles. Motown and Prog? Now that's a weird combination of influences if there ever was one.
Good music is good music.Always was one of my inspirations.
Funny how half of them are Brits. The other half are the R&B/Motown greats. Wonder why I gravitate towards those two radically different styles. Motown and Prog? Now that's a weird combination of influences if there ever was one.
Always was one of my inspirations.
Funny how half of them are Brits. The other half are the R&B/Motown greats. Wonder why I gravitate towards those two radically different styles. Motown and Prog? Now that's a weird combination of influences if there ever was one.
I'm in the same boat, really.
Its like having two separate good groups. Do I want to eat roast chicken for ever, or pizza for ever? Why not both! As long as one doesn't try too hard at being the other then all is good. Prog bassist were generally great pick players with an amazing speed and dexterity. They were the viola or cello player in the sort of chamber music their respective bands played. Most of them couldn't groove their way out of a paper bag, however, and tended to play like they had a wooden spoon stuck up their arses. Guys like Jamerson were inventive and able to compose exquisite counter melodies, they were definitely pinning down the bottom end and supporting a broader, richer style of music with a much more overt emphasis on rhythm. As such their sense of rhythm blew the likes of Geddy, Squire, et al out the water.
Jamerson playing on Heart of the Sunrise would probably suck (Jeff Berlin did badly enough depping in ABWH, and he has a foot in both bass camps). Likewise I don't think I would ever want to hear, say, Rush attempt What's Going On. Imagine them driving right up against the beat in a totally unnecessarily anally retentive manner, and all the while the drummer is waiting for the best moment to break out the Tibetan monastery gongs or whatever.
As Jimmy says, good music is good music. Sometimes you want your bass itch scratched one way, and some times you want it scratched totally differently.
