• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

John Taylor of Duran Duran

#161
If you need to prove John Taylor to anybody just show them this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VWPz0ZRmAc

I would challenge them to not like his bass lines at least a little bit!

:bassist:

I had blister for days with how many takes it took me to get it right! :crying:

That's my SB1000 in first active position with DR Lo Riders. Art Tube MP-->Alesis NanoCompressor-->Mbox.

It's worthy to note that the passive position on my SB sounds almost identical to the active one, just a tad less bright. You could easily get the same sound from an SB700...same as an SB1000 without the active electronics. John actually used a 700 in the early days.
 
#162
It's funny, but even after all these years the 'boy band' tag still is a factor when discussing anything Duran-related. I've never heard it suggested, until reading these posts, that Taylor never played on the Duran albums - only the 'boy band' thing could have brought about that thought!

Also the Bernard Edwards/Get It On thing was never a secret - the studio doc was the officially released video EP from when the Power Station were still working together (and which has since been reissued on DVD with the album remaster). In it, the scene where Bernard takes the solo is a featured highlight. As for Edwards playing all the bass parts first? Almost certainly not - apart from anything else John Taylor co-wrote about half the tracks ... presumably including his bass parts! However, as Edwards was producing and it was after all a 'superstar project' with conflicting schedules etc., it would make sense that he might have played some guide-tracks.

I've always been a bit miffed that the Power Station performance never appeared on the Live Aid DVDs. I remember thinking at the time they were great - way better than the Duran set. There's a Saturday Night Live track on the Power Station DVD - Some Like It Hot at the time of the single release. John's playing is really cool.
 
#163
I stumbled across this again tonight and I can't believe this thread is still going strong!

Anyway to repeat myself, JT is way underestimated and IMHO one of the best pop bassists out there!
 
#164
Wow... nice to see other bassists out there that repect John Taylor's chops. Great player. I was about 12 when I first heard Rio (and not back in 82, more like 1993) and that's what got me into bass. Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger, I swear the guy barely ever hits a note that's not on top of the kick drum. Rock solid.
 
#168
KBarker said:
Funny - I once got a gig as the bass player for a band simply because I admitted at the audition that I was into Duran Duran!

Those bass lines are sweet. John is my main inspiration, got me into playing the first place.
Click to expand...

Ha! Me too, although I bailed on the band pretty quickly. John Taylor was the reason I picked up bass back in the mid 80's. MTV stilled played videos, tons of Duran Duran, and I wanted to be on a yacht with models in the Pacific..I loved the middle sections of the songs where the bass was out front, thats what hooked me.

I lost interest in them right around Notorious. Found a guy named Geddy and havent left since, but recently I have been downloading some of DD's stuff to play along with again and man, I miss this stuff!
 
#169
This thread is the jam! I have been a big JT fan for years and always wondered why he never got the respect and credit he deserves. It's nice to see so many other people that are fans of his playing. I've been working on Girls on Film tonight and it's such a great bass line! Rio is what did it for me all those years ago and The Power Station is one of my all time faves as well. Cheers to JT!! :bassist:

I must find an Aria Pro II or a Peavey Liberator J84!!!!
 
#171
Jon might have been a bass god. But no more.

I just went to the DD show in Central park last night. and his solo was either overdubbed or nick played the line using his left hand (couldn't see it because the left hand keys were facing the crowd)

almost the same thing happened on Rio - they're final encore.

The solo though was the most egriegious offense as he nearly slipped at the end and laughed at his own ruse. I should have been hearing dropped beats acording to his hand - but everything was perfect.

the speed of the line did not match the speed (or lack there of) of his right hand (I was close enough to the stage I could have spit on him and i watched that hand very closely).

AND the tonality of his Cirrus (or what should have been his cirrus int he PA) did not match the technique he employed. His "solo" is INTENSE slapping with tons of sizzle on top. there is no way he can get that type of highly percussive intensity with his fingerstyle that in other songs is SUPER mellow. The most obvious offense was that he didn't use his thumb or other joint as a percussive slap at all during the solo.

Simply put, at one point Jon taylor HAD monster - self taught disco - on fire chops. But now with the decades of change and the lac of "disco Chic style bass lines" coupled with Jon's openly lacksadaisical view of his bass playing - it just ain't the same.

I honestly couldn't believe my ears and eyes while watching it unfold - which only made me perk up even more.

Rio is a MONSTER album for tasteful pop-funk bass lines though.
 
#172
Ok, this is really funny. I was thinking about the bass players that either influenced me or made me take notice just the other day and JT was first on the list. "Planet Earth", Man that song blew my mind when I first heard it back in 1982. When I thought of it I was kinda embarrassed but I'm glad to hear that others hold him in high regard.
 
#173
Sounds to me like either a well recorded Aria or a not quite so well recorded Alembic SI. I wasn't a huge DD fan, but the combination of John Barry's slithery music, Nick Rhodes fab keys, JT's thundering bass and Simon's wildly over the top vocal (which works in the context of a Bond theme) made that one special to me.

Please enlighten if you can.
 
#174
I'm a part-timer Local Crew in the Raleigh area. My home venue has been Cary Regency Park lately and we did Duran Duran a month or so ago. Not only was his playin' phenom, but he appears to be a personable guy. We were waitin' for them to exit the stage so we could tear it down. The other guys glanced our way, but he was the only one to smile, made eye contact and say "Heck of a good job, guys!"
 
#177
JT has such a humble approach to bass based on every interview I've read.

He is a team player, who very often claims he is an adequate player and has friends who are not famous and able to play so much better than he can.

That kind of self-deprecation is hard to criticize!! :)

Objectively, he is levels above merely adequate. Some of his bass lines are very, very good within the context of the song, and yet, he is obviously steering against having a big head. Admirable qualities.
 
#178
Alex E said:
JT has such a humble approach to bass based on every interview I've read.

He is a team player, who very often claims he is an adequate player and has friends who are not famous and able to play so much better than he can.

That kind of self-deprecation is hard to criticize!! :)

Objectively, he is levels above merely adequate. Some of his bass lines are very, very good within the context of the song, and yet, he is obviously steering against having a big head. Admirable qualities.
Click to expand...

I wonder how much of that is in part to him getting sober.
 
#179
bcgd said:
I wonder how much of that is in part to him getting sober.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I don't know much about JT's personal life. I've only read three interviews on him. One from last year and the other two from back in Duran Duran's heyday years in the 80's. His responses in all 3 interviews were lacking ego.

Didn't know sobriety issues were in play.
 
#180
Alex E said:
Interesting. I don't know much about JT's personal life. I've only read three interviews on him. One from last year and the other two from back in Duran Duran's heyday years in the 80's. His responses in all 3 interviews were lacking ego.

Didn't know sobriety issues were in play.
Click to expand...

I know it will definitely take you down a peg. Trust me on this one. ;)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back