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John McVie... How did I miss him?

#41
ficelles said:
I was listening to Billy Cobham's album Spectrum the other day, Lee Sklar's playing is absolutely just what it needs to be on the tracks he's on. Being a 70s fusion album you'd expect ultra-flash but he is the glue that holds the tracks together while the rest show off their virtuosity.
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Rick Laird was a lot like that in Mahavishnu as well.
 
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#42
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#45
So I've been listening to music from the 50s-90s all my life. Fleetwood Mac is absolutely a part of that musical history for me. I know all the hits and even a few of the deeper cuts, but I don't think I can call myself a fan. I wouldn't be able to have a meaningful conversation about the band with anyone who truly was a fan of theirs. BUT - oddly enough, of all of the hundreds (thousands?) of artists I know - my bass playing probably most closely resembles John McVie's style. I'm not trying to put myself on his level by any means. I just mean that somehow, when I'm in a band situation and laying down a bass line - it ends up sounding to my ears like John McVie. I wish I could describe why or how. I think he's great, but he's not like a bass idol of mine really. It's just the way it worked out. John McVie is my spirit animal. who knew?
 
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#46
packhowitzer said:
So I've been listening to music from the 50s-90s all my life. Fleetwood Mac is absolutely a part of that musical history for me. I know all the hits and even a few of the deeper cuts, but I don't think I can call myself a fan. I wouldn't be able to have a meaningful conversation about the band with anyone who truly was a fan of theirs. BUT - oddly enough, of all of the hundreds (thousands?) of artists I know - my bass playing probably most closely resembles John McVie's style. I'm not trying to put myself on his level by any means. I just mean that somehow, when I'm in a band situation and laying down a bass line - it ends up sounding to my ears like John McVie. I wish I could describe why or how. I think he's great, but he's not like a bass idol of mine really. It's just the way it worked out. John McVie is my spirit animal. who knew?
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Probably because you go "Dum, Dum-Dum" in unison with the bass drum.
 
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#50
nozkcb said:
Been playing bass for about 40 years. Have had many influences from the super, mega chops flashy masters of the bass, to some of the world's most Renown Studio session players as well as a handful of and players from rock, pop, Jazz and Country, but for some reason, until recently I didn't have a good appreciation for John McVie's work with Fleetwood Mac.

Maybe it's because he doesn't do anything flashy or because he just stands there and plays the bass. I'm not sure how I missed it until I started working with a group that is doing a handful of Fleetwood Mac songs, and once I started to really pay attention to what he's doing, I discovered his playing is a huge part of what made those songs what they are. And no, it's not just that bass riff in The Chain. A lot of very tasteful and internal parts of Fleetwood Mac songs came from his hands.

I wonder how many others have underappreciated him as a player and an big part of what made the band songs so good?
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When I first started playing we did a lot of blues songs and John McVie was a huge influence over what a bass line was supposed to play.

With Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Bob Welch or Lindsey Buckingham- he always played solid musical lines.

You can listen to those recording today and they still are quite powerful.

Pre- Fleetwood Mac recordings feature his style very well too… John Mayal Hard Road and with Eric Clapton.

I saw him with the Peter Green , Danny Kirwan, Bob Welch and Lindsey Buckingham Fleetwood Mac’s and he always held up their sound.

BE0E37D4-212B-46B0-8B32-81998FCB437C.jpeg
 
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#52
The chorus bass part in Gold Dust Woman still kicks my butt. It's not a matter of Simply playing the notes, it's the Dynamics with that little B natural (I think it's a B) slide between the changes that is near impossible to play correctly. It is a very finessed thing that you have to be careful to not overemphasize.
 
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#54
nozkcb said:
The chorus bass part in Gold Dust Woman still kicks my butt. It's not a matter of Simply playing the notes, it's the Dynamics with that little B natural (I think it's a B) slide between the changes that is near impossible to play correctly. It is a very finessed thing that you have to be careful to not overemphasize.
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Glad im not the only one. I dont rate this as a simple song.
 
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#55
electracoyote said:
I am always extremely impressed with McVie’s playing on the Buckingham-Nicks era Fleetwood Mac catalog. Tight arrangements can be a challenge for bass players. In that setting it’s a vital skill to compose lines that are both economical and integral. Yet he does it with impressive consistency. I’m not sure how much help he got from Lindsey; most arrangers have at least some influence over bass lines, but in this case I think it was McVie who more often helped Buckingham.
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Clearly Buckingham's main contribution was in writing songs that hundreds of millions of people wanted to hear over and over again, giving McVie a constant platform to do his thing well.

But I do understand your thought - when Buckingham wrote a song, to what extent did he write the parts specifically versus submitting changes and a conceptual framework? I've been in bands where the lead writer did it both ways, and for sure if you're the bass player in a band of the latter type you need to assert yourself heavily to get any kind of writing credit.
 
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#56
Altitude said:
Clearly Buckingham's main contribution was in writing songs that hundreds of millions of people wanted to hear over and over again, giving McVie a constant platform to do his thing well.

But I do understand your thought - when Buckingham wrote a song, to what extent did he write the parts specifically versus submitting changes and a conceptual framework? I've been in bands where the lead writer did it both ways, and for sure if you're the bass player in a band of the latter type you need to assert yourself heavily to get any kind of writing credit.
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Most of what I read suggests Lindsey Buckingham played a big roll in the overall production and arrangements of all FM songs written by himself and the others. He has an amazing feel for the studio and the sound spectrum. I can only speculate that there were times when he wanted the bass line to match a line he had composed, but I'd bet there were many times McVie made some key suggestions and contributions with novel bass lines independent from Buckingham. I think McVie is just that good that he knew how to respect the spaces and atmosphere and intuitively wrote some tasteful and killer lines.
 
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#57
electracoyote said:
Most of what I read suggests Lindsey Buckingham played a big roll in the overall production and arrangements of all FM songs written by himself and the others. He has an amazing feel for the studio and the sound spectrum. I can only speculate that there were times when he wanted the bass line to match a line he had composed, but I'd bet there were many times McVie made some key suggestions and contributions with novel bass lines independent from Buckingham. I think McVie is just that good that he knew how to respect the spaces and atmosphere and intuitively wrote some tasteful and killer lines.
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Agreed. He’s talking a lot right now by the way, as he has a solo album coming out. The Marc Maron podcast from a couple weeks ago is very good.
 
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#58
roccobass said:
Yes indeed, John McVie is underrated.

Along with the Bluesbreaker album, I strongly suggest grabbing this releases either via disc or download. It’s so ironic this thread came up. All 4 of these are on my weekly rotation on my Bose. The music is fantastic too. :thumbsup:
(Oops. The lower left disc is entitled “Then Play On”. It got cut off.)

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All great albums with Future Games a favorite. Kiln House was another one.
 
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#60
nozkcb said:
Been playing bass for about 40 years. Have had many influences from the super, mega chops flashy masters of the bass, to some of the world's most Renown Studio session players as well as a handful of and players from rock, pop, Jazz and Country, but for some reason, until recently I didn't have a good appreciation for John McVie's work with Fleetwood Mac.

Maybe it's because he doesn't do anything flashy or because he just stands there and plays the bass. I'm not sure how I missed it until I started working with a group that is doing a handful of Fleetwood Mac songs, and once I started to really pay attention to what he's doing, I discovered his playing is a huge part of what made those songs what they are. And no, it's not just that bass riff in The Chain. A lot of very tasteful and internal parts of Fleetwood Mac songs came from his hands.

I wonder how many others have underappreciated him as a player and an big part of what made the band songs so good?
Click to expand...

If that is the case, then I am guessing you have sorely underrated Bill Wyman as well. It's the same deal; he was an astoundingly great bass player, and completely integral to everything he played on...yet he not only gets overlooked, but routinely disparaged and shat on. Time to get studying'!
 
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