John Glascock appreciation society

[40Hz]

Sometimes you want your bass itch scratched one way, and some times you want it scratched totally differently.

Yep. I'm continually moving back and forth between the lyricism and precision of prog bass and the vibe and feel of R&B. Must be the perpetual romantic in me. Good music (like good sex) is found at the confluence of body and mind. We're physical as well as spiritual creatures. Small wonder we're so often conflicted.

Michael League and Snarky Puppy seem to hit a good balance between the two.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

The difference for me with John Glascock was how he performed live at Arrowhead stadium...i had listened to quite a bit of Tull before, but he stood out for some reason that night.

Garry Tallent had the same profound effect on me on 'The River" tour....i never even recall paying attention to much of his bass playing on albums

I had ZERO interest in playing bass at all in those days...but a few stood out live profoundly... when i saw Geddy Lee on the '2112' tour opening for Nugent, same thing.

I was classically trained on trumpet, they tried to get me to play trombone, i rebelled!

Why did a handful of these bassists in a live setting standout to someone who could care less about bass guitar at the time?

Was it the sound mix possibly?

 

[Lesfunk]

 

[IMMusicRulz]

John Glascock was, by far and away, the best bassist that Jethro Tull ever had. I believe the reason why Glascock was hired for Tull was because their old bassist, Jeffrey Hammond, had quit and became a painter. Glascock's old band, Carmen, were a psychedelic flamenco prog band that had opened several shows for Tull. Too Old To Rock and Roll: Too Young To Die! showcased Glascock's ability as a bassist and vocalist. When he was in Carmen, John primarily played Rickenbackers:

However, he mostly played a sunburst Fender Precision Bass through Ampeg SVT 810 amps. His tone on Songs From The Wood was just amazing, as evidenced by these clips:




By the time the Heavy Horses sessions started, Glascock was diverting his attention away from the Precision and instead started playing a 1976 or early 1977 Stingray bass.

He also used a Thunderbird for the remainder of his Tull tenure. Either Glascock owned a Thunderbird, or it was rented or borrowed from Ian Anderson (who owned one), but this photo from the Stormwatch sessions shows Glascock playing a Thunderbird.

I have read somewhere that Ian almost split up Jethro Tull after John Glascock died, and that that was why A was intended as a solo project.

 

[XsoGol]

Towards the end of his life John also played a JG Series Wal bass...

View attachment 2800817

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.

Huge fan of John Glascock's playing, both for JT and for Carmen. He was such a monster bass player and a huge influence for me...Dark Ages, Something's on the Move, Hunting Girl...so many huge basslines (not sure how many of those may have been Ian on the recordings).

I saw a vid on YouTube of Glascock in the recording studio for Stormwatch/Dark Ages, and he was using this Wal JG custom bass. Does anyone know if those JG customs were active or were the extra knobs passive tone shapers?

 

[TrevorR]

Huge fan of John Glascock's playing, both for JT and for Carmen. He was such a monster bass player and a huge influence for me...Dark Ages, Something's on the Move, Hunting Girl...so many huge basslines (not sure how many of those may have been Ian on the recordings).

I saw a vid on YouTube of Glascock in the recording studio for Stormwatch/Dark Ages, and he was using this Wal JG custom bass. Does anyone know if those JG customs were active or were the extra knobs passive tone shapers?

They were mostly passive though a few had active circuits later on. However, on all the controls were as follows… three knobs near strings neck to bridge: Master Vol - Neck Vol - Bridge Vol. The other two were the matching tone controls for each pickup. On the actives they would likely still be treble roll off controls rather than cut/boosts. Then there was a pickup selector on the lower horn.

If you look closely on the pickup surrounds there are small switches on the rings. These are series/parallel switches for each pickup. Hope that helps.

 

[XsoGol]

This DOES help, thanks for the in depth info!