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Mccartney's best bass work

#46
I enjoy listening to the Beatles version of a Blues tune and I think they do a good job on; "I Dig a Pony"!! A nice cut time, fairly dragging along beat, not exactly a Ray Charles "slow blues" but a nice change in their repitoire. A very nice riff that leads into a good feeling blues tempo. Doc
 
#50
What I love about Paul's playing (and I compare it to Jamerson) very often he never plays the same verse/chorus the same way. He almost always has variation in his style. A pure, free'd up musician with extraordinary talents, in the right place and time with the right people. This is why the Beatles music and legend still grows, 41 years after their breakup!
OT: anyone who wants some very interesting bootleg material, PM me.
 
#51
One thing most people overlook about McCartney is that he's extremely precise. Listen to his vocals on Obladi-oblada for example. He is double-tracking that lead vocal but he's very very tight on his timing. Listen to Harrison double-tracking the vocals for While My Guitar Gently Weeps for comparison and you can hear all kinds of echoing syllables and consonants. Listen to Paul's bass playing and you get that same precision.

I think my favorite work of his is off Sgt. Pepper.
 
#52
Stick_Player said:
I believe so...

In a two part CREEM interview (published December 1987 and January 1988) George Harrison said that he played bass for the piece. Extract from the interview:[3]

* Creem: You also told me you played bass on "Old Brown Shoe."
* George: It’s like a lunatic playing.
* Creem: It sounds like McCartney was going nuts again.
* George: That was me going nuts. I’m doing exactly what I do on the guitar.

Although Lennon did play guitar on the track, his instrumentation was removed and replaced by the organ sound.

Paul is most likely playing the piano.
Click to expand...

This may be one track that doesn't feature Paul McCartney's playing at all. "Old Brown Shoe" is a cool tune, but the building animosity between the Beatles at that time was palpable, and varying reports indicate that Macca didn't play on this particular cut. BTW, there's a great live version of "Old Brown Shoe" on the Concert for George soundtrack album, and Dave Bronze nails the bass part impeccably.
 
#54
My favourites are 'Something,' 'Hey Bulldog,' and 'Penny Lane.'

There's a great live video (Moscow?). Relatively recent. Penny Lane is a thing of beauty. I can't get my head around playing that so s beautifully and singing.
 
#55
There are just so many great Beatles bass lines to choose from. Here are some of the notable ones for me:

"Lovely Rita" - It's far from the most remarkable tune on Sgt. Pepper, but Paul lays out a syncopated yet supportive, and utterly trippy tour de force on this tune. The bass part is all about counter melody, but still lays down a fat groove with Ringo.

"Something" - There have been times where it seems that George Harrison may have been at odds with Paul's playing on this song. At times he called it "a bloody bass solo", and at other times he applauded Paul's ultramelodic part for helping this song attain it's status as a one of the greatest songs in the Beatles catalog.

"Penny Lane" - The bass part is the engine that moves this song forward. It's understated, but without that walk through the changes the verses don't work. And then he uses a pedal tone through the choruses that builds this great harmonic tension that ultimately releases. This bass part is a perfectly clear example of how a bass part can totally shape the harmonic direction of a song.

"I want you (She's so heavy)" - You want a bass solo? That's what the fills are in this tune. And the stops in the prechorus where Paul takes center stage? You can hear some of his interest in Motown as well as blues in his phrasing. And then the Beatles take the tune into a proto-Heavy Metal zone as they play out to a building bed of white noise. What's not to love?!?!

"Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey" - The title is just ridiculously long, but this is one of the most rocking songs on the White Album. And a lot of that has to do with Paul's muted, picked part on his lefty Fender Jazz bass. It's an aggressive, nasty tone and a pentatonic groove that totally drives the tune. And the bass break just before the end of the song? PERFECT!!!!
 
#56
buddyro57 said:
I love Baby You're a Rich man - I think its the Rick on that cut, marvelous tone and groove! I second SactoBass; its hard to find a cut where Sir Paul doesn't sound good. His lines supply exactly what the tune needs - he seems to never be about technique or ego, yet his playing has great depth and a "rightness' about it.
JS
Click to expand...

Wow- that's the tune i was thinking of. There's a part where he he hits a minor third against the major chord as he's ascending- rock and roll, baby! Jeff Berlin actually pointed that out to me.

Paul played with just a ton of feel, and his tone was what it was- the result of him working very diligently to create a beautiful sound in the studio. You can also hear how Motown influenced him.

Penny Lane- tone like gum drops...I don't know how to describe it. Perfect bass part.

Paul is a treasure. Just listening over and over to Lady Madona today; there's a certain rhythm he hits a couple of times that hard to cop. Typical Paul, switching it up a lot during a tune!
 

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