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McCartney 3, 2, 1

#2
I saw all episodes McCartney 3, 2, 1 yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The reviews of the instrumental parts and playing styles are fun, including Paul's great bass part and aggressive tone (Jazz Bass with round wound strings) on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (you can also hear this tone as well on "Back In the U.S.S.R," although they don't dig into Paul's bass part.) You can also hear Paul's use of bass chords in WMGGW, but he was doing this much earlier as well ("I Want To Hold Your Hand" & "And I Love Her") to name a few. He was a bass innovator in so many ways it's not funny (hammer on's, pull off's, slides, etc.)

Rick Rubin is clearly a fan of Paul's bass playing, and this doc kept me wanting more. Every bassist should see this documentary, especially the ones that think Beatles songs are simple tunes that anyone can play. They cover many tunes which feature Paul's amazing bass lines.

So good!
 
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#7
JimK said:
I plan on rewatching it all again...soon.
Episode 4 "Like Professors In A Laboratory" was maybe my favourite.
The last episode talking about John Cage was cool.
Seeing Fela Kuti & band was awesome.

Whoever decided on B&W hit a homerun.
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I’m only watching when I can give it my full attention, it’s been a bad couple weeks for that!
 
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#12
WillyW said:
I’m particularly floored by the isolated bass line on “While my guitar gently weeps”
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Same. When Rubin mixed out the acoustic guitar and vocals leaving bass and drums, I was like, woah, never heard THAT before. Like two different songs in one.

I find it hard to believe that Sir Paul just woke up and recorded half the stuff he did off the cuff. Maybe for simpler songs but for the more complex….had to have taken time and tinkering to work out the arrangements.
 
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#13
DirtDog said:
I find it hard to believe that Sir Paul just woke up and recorded half the stuff he did off the cuff. Maybe for simpler songs but for the more complex….had to have taken time and tinkering to work out the arrangements.
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I dunno. They were stoned most of the time. I think they got so used to musical experimentation that it is quite possible that McCartney was being truthful when he said he just sat down and played it like that. They were used to recording many songs a day and rarely spent more than a day on any particular tune.

The story behind the bass line for "What's Going On?": Jamerson was drunk, got called in to lay down the bass and supposedly was physically lying on his back, wasted and played the classic line.
 
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#14
Basslice said:
I dunno. They were stoned most of the time. I think they got so used to musical experimentation that it is quite possible that McCartney was being truthful when he said he just sat down and played it like that. They were used to recording many songs a day and rarely spent more than a day on any particular tune.

The story behind the bass line for "What's Going On?": Jamerson was drunk, got called in to lay down the bass and supposedly was physically lying on his back, wasted and played the classic line.
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True dat.
 
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#16
DirtDog said:
Same. When Rubin mixed out the acoustic guitar and vocals leaving bass and drums, I was like, woah, never heard THAT before. Like two different songs in one.

I find it hard to believe that Sir Paul just woke up and recorded half the stuff he did off the cuff. Maybe for simpler songs but for the more complex….had to have taken time and tinkering to work out the arrangements.
Click to expand...

I think George Martin can take a lot of credit for the arrangement.
 
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#17
WillyW said:
Is anyone else watching this on HuLU? Rick Rubin and Paul BSing in the studio…

I am a Beatles fan, but I have never been as obsessed as some get, but this is very interesting.

I’m particularly floored by the isolated bass line on “While my guitar gently weeps”
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Really? I've always loved the song, but the bass line isn't that extraordinary. Maybe I'm missing something.

I look forward to watching this.
 
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#20
ElectroVibe said:
Really? I've always loved the song, but the bass line isn't that extraordinary. Maybe I'm missing something.
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Yeah...the tone surprised me.
And it's very loose, bordering on slop. :)

TBH, I have never played "While My Guitar..." in a band or in the room. Perhaps, I was mostly concerned with Clapton & the overall vibe of the tune.
 
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