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Mccartney's best bass work

#62
ThudThudThud said:
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.
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Well, crap now that you brought up "Something" I have to say I really love all the lines on Abbey Road. The sound he got was a lot clearer and punchier, and you can really hear how he's tying the thing together. And Abbey Road was the first time in several years the Beatles had recorded as a band, really, from what I have read. They knew it was their last huzzah, so they went out strong.
 
#68
maxgrant said:
Well, crap now that you brought up "Something" I have to say I really love all the lines on Abbey Road. The sound he got was a lot clearer and punchier, and you can really hear how he's tying the thing together. And Abbey Road was the first time in several years the Beatles had recorded as a band, really, from what I have read. They knew it was their last huzzah, so they went out strong.
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Not only that but Macca had started using a Fender Jazz by this point and on "Something" you can really hear him digging that Fender HARD.
SMG_Paul_McCartney_Fender_Jazz.jpg


I also love the sound Macca got when he started playing that Yamaha bass and none more so than on this Wings song.
Paul McCartney And Wings - Coming Up (Live in Kampuchea 1979) - YouTube
Listen to him going. They played this KILLER live version before the song was even released, which is why there's very little reaction from the audience, they simply didn't know that song.

Another song that hasn't been mentioned yet is this one from the first Beatles album. "Do you wanna know a secret"
The Beatles Do You Want To Know A Secret (2009 Stereo Remaster) - YouTube
Listen to him doing that bopping virtuosic bass line here.
 
#70
jnevi9nr said:
What do you all think of the Beatles love cd?
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It made Lady Madonna listenable with the best "jam" track I've ever heard the Beatles play. The While My Guitar is the way it should have been released, and I love LOVE. I think it's the ultimate Beatles album and George Martin should have gotten a special award for mixing it.

As for the thread topic. Rain is by far McCartney's and Starr's shining hour. Paperback Writer is another one that's high up there. How both sides weren't a huge smash, I'll never know. I also dig I Want You as maybe my favorite Abbey Road track for bass. That said, I'm much more of a Lennon and Harrison fan, though I love a lot of McCartney's basslines if not his songs. (The sappiness factor.) :D
 
#73
I was playing through a bunch of classic rock stuff; JPJ, Geddy, Tom Hamilton, Roger Waters, and having a lovely time.

Then I got to "Abbey Road."

Holy crap!

Paul McCartney is the best and most musical bassist in history. Every single song he plays on is just magic. Nobody will ever touch him. Technical skill? Very impressive. Always plays it just like it should be played. Taste level? Best I've ever heard. Ingenuity? Best I've ever heard.

I was playing "I Want You (She's So Heavy,)" and thinking how many bass players WOULDN'T have played it anything like that, and the answer was, "all of them, including myself."

That is phenomenal.

Wow!
 

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