John Taylor and the recent BP interview.

[Thor]

There is a large thread on John Taylor here, but I wanted to comment solely on the December 2007 BP interview I happened to read again yesterday.

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/duran-durans-john/dec-07/32777

I present the following excerpts, you can catch the rest on your own.

The band has always had a knack for blending pop melodicism with contemporary dance rhythms, something Duran Duran continues to flaunt on its latest, Red Carpet Massacre. The band turned to hip-hop heavies Timbaland and Nate “Danja” Hills to handle production, and the result is a supremely dynamic collaboration.

Following last year’s departure of longtime Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, who exited during pre-production for Red Carpet Massacre, John and the band were faced with a new set of challenges

As Timbaland and “Danja” Hills brought fresh flavor to the table, they also pushed John beyond his comfort zone and into an unfamiliar world of pre-programmed bass lines. Filling the void left by guitar, Taylor adjusted his style to fit, laying down guitar-like funk lines to complement the meaty bass tracks.

Ok, Andy left the band over 'artistic differences' or whatever,
but John hangs in and does a collaboration where the sonic
space for bass is alredy taken and he has to find higher range
parts to fit in.

I was struck with how completely pathetic this situation is.
Something tells me DD fans aren't amused and that that this
is not what they expected out of a new collaboration.

'You have to tap dance around it...'

John, you should have walked. Actually, run, as fast as possible.

Am I the only one who thinks Duran Duran's sound was defined by
John's bass lines, not by a computer DJ's construction?

What are your thoughts on this article? I have no desire to
bash Timbaland and Danja, repected artists in their own right
and own genres; but this whole thing feels like oil and water.
What were they thinking?

 

[fenderhutz]

Isn't it speculated that John didn't even play ont he studio tracks on the older albums since he didn't do the intricate parts live.

 

[Sneckumhaw]

Isn't it speculated that John didn't even play ont he studio tracks on the older albums since he didn't do the intricate parts live.

That would be very unsurprising. I heard the same about Taylor in Power Station.

 

[chutsk10]

Isn't it speculated that John didn't even play ont he studio tracks on the older albums since he didn't do the intricate parts live.

What are you referring to when you say "intricate parts?" I have seen them play live, granted it was only once and only a few years ago but Taylor played every bit that you would hear on the studio albums.

Anyway I stopped caring since the album Astronaut. I don't know what they were thinkign with that and I have no intent to try out this new album. I will stick to the good ol' days.

 

[SERPENT865]

I saw DD back in the day and JT seemed to be playing what was on the albums so Im not sure what you three mean either or where this info came from.

 

[MrBorisSpider]

To be honest, I got a DD live DVD (Live from London) and was thoroughly dissapointed in the performance. You could barley hear John's bass and his performance was uninspiring.

 

[Eric Perry]

I think he's a very competent bassist, and would be surprised if he didn't play any and all of his parts (shy of overdubs, of course ).

 

[john_g]

Hes the reason I picked up the bass back in the 80's. I lost interest around Notorious but I believe he played all the parts (like Eric said, minus some overdubs). He did disappear for lots of songs and, does every older band/artist have to write a song with Justin Timberlake to sound relevant?

Cant imagine why they would want to work with a hip hop producer with preprogammed bass lines and John having to dance around those. Again, seems like they are trying to work with the hot producer of the day to seem more relevant.

 

[genderblind]

What is with these notions that get handed down from one misinformed person to another regarding John Taylor and his ability to play lines that he wrote and recorded himself?
Every time that there is a thread on his guy the same notions get passed around with no context.
OK, prove it! Prove that he is crap and prove that just because the guy looks good, he can't play.
Convince everyone who has ever seen the guy play live that they were wrong. Do it now. If you can't, give it a rest please.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Overboard much? Who said he was crap?

 

[Brad Johnson]

Hes the reason I picked up the bass back in the 80's. I lost interest around Notorious but I believe he played all the parts (like Eric said, minus some overdubs). He did disappear for lots of songs and, does every older band/artist have to write a song with Justin Timberlake to sound relevant?

Cant imagine why they would want to work with a hip hop producer with preprogammed bass lines and John having to dance around those. Again, seems like they are trying to work with the hot producer of the day to seem more relevant.

Looks like you CAN imagine. It's not that hard to see that working with a producer who has a track record of selling boatloads of music would be done so they can find themselves once again in that boat.

 

[SpectorDetector]

OK, first off the dude who has the Live From London DVD needs to get a new system! There is great bass playing that is more than audible all over the thing. I just watched it last night! I know better.....



Secondly, I tend to agree with the first post. I have a feeling that the need to be relevant and on the charts has made DD stray into trying other things. I am not happy with the lack of bass playing on the new album, but what can you do. I do think Astronaut was quite good and under rated though.

I think the idea of him not playing on music he is credited for is complete ******** :scowl:

 

[chutsk10]

I do think Astronaut was quite good and under rated though.

I don't think it was that bad and it had some good tracks but it was definatley a step towards a different sound and I am not suprised to hear they are now using pre-programmed bass lines.

 

[Mon Rominee]

Hmmm. John is a very competent bassist. I saw him a few times, most recently on the Astronaut tour, and he MORE than played the classic lines.His tone was prominent in the mix, and he was definitely playing. I do however agree with Thor's sentiments. Tho displaying a comendable attitude / lack of "ego" goin into the project, I would have definitely worked the songs from all angles before being heavy-handed out of my sonic space.

Then again, I've heard a few tracks off this record, including the lead single, and that is some dreadful pop music. You can totally hear the Timbaland / Timberlake collabo on it, and Simon does not sell the song lyrically at all, be it words or delivery. Surely they didn't win any new fans for the efforts either.

Mon

 

[Eric Perry]

Welcome back, homie!

 

[Mon Rominee]

Welcome back, homie!

Ah, thank you Eric, I appreciate that.

 

[Sneckumhaw]

What is with these notions that get handed down from one misinformed person to another regarding John Taylor and his ability to play lines that he wrote and recorded himself?
Every time that there is a thread on his guy the same notions get passed around with no context.
OK, prove it! Prove that he is crap and prove that just because the guy looks good, he can't play.
Convince everyone who has ever seen the guy play live that they were wrong. Do it now. If you can't, give it a rest please.

Chill! What proof? People aren't allowed to speculate on discussion forums and mention second-hand information that may well be false? It's just talkbass, man.

You raise a good point though. His supermodel looks may be part of the reason for these rumours persisting.

 

[john_g]

Looks like you CAN imagine. It's not that hard to see that working with a producer who has a track record of selling boatloads of music would be done so they can find themselves once again in that boat.

If they were a hip hop act then I could see but they are a pop band and I think they should have stuck to what they do best. Just by working with the hot flavor of the month isnt going to mean much next month.

 

[Thor]

What is with these notions that get handed down from one misinformed person to another regarding John Taylor and his ability to play lines that he wrote and recorded himself?
Every time that there is a thread on his guy the same notions get passed around with no context.
OK, prove it! Prove that he is crap and prove that just because the guy looks good, he can't play.
Convince everyone who has ever seen the guy play live that they were wrong. Do it now. If you can't, give it a rest please.

... but I wanted to comment solely on the December 2007 BP interview I happened to read again yesterday. ...

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/duran-durans-john/dec-07/32777
...What are your thoughts on this article? I have no desire to
bash Timbaland and Danja, repected artists in their own right
and own genres; but this whole thing feels like oil and water.
What were they thinking?

So, did you have a comment on the BP article? How do you
feel about John's role as described there? As a fan of his, are
you satisfied with the adaptions he made?

Looks like you CAN imagine. It's not that hard to see that working with a producer who has a track record of selling boatloads of music would be done so they can find themselves once again in that boat.

Brad, do you think this was the right vehicle for DD to achieve
that goal?

Hmmm. John is a very competent bassist. I saw him a few times, most recently on the Astronaut tour, and he MORE than played the classic lines.His tone was prominent in the mix, and he was definitely playing. I do however agree with Thor's sentiments. Tho displaying a comendable attitude / lack of "ego" goin into the project, I would have definitely worked the songs from all angles before being heavy-handed out of my sonic space.

Then again, I've heard a few tracks off this record, including the lead single, and that is some dreadful pop music. You can totally hear the Timbaland / Timberlake collabo on it, and Simon does not sell the song lyrically at all, be it words or delivery. Surely they didn't win any new fans for the efforts either.

Mon

IMO, the article presents it that way; that he troopered
on despite having the producer obviate the need for a live bassist
by pre-programming all the lo-freq grooves.

So, are we at another swan song period for bassists like the
disco era; where we will be made redundant by keyboards
or computers, and the work of bassists in the own bands
will be out of fashion?

 

[SpectorDetector]

What? The disco era has some of the best and most prominent bass playing ever! Have you ever listened to 70's disco before? Bernard Edwards just rolled over in his grave

.......So, are we at another swan song period for bassists like the
disco era; where we will be made redundant by keyboards
or computers, and the work of bassists in the own bands
will be out of fashion?