RSchuster said:
Motown is kinda dull to me in the first place . . . if you can't get into a song, it feels soulless, no matter if it is or not . . . in fact, the "soul" of a song is often completely subjective based on who's listening. Jamerson's playing probably just washes over me because I don't like the song that he's playing on in the first place. Tons of people wonder what the big deal is about Geddy Lee because they can't stand Rush's music. I don't get it at all when people talk about Rush being "wanky", and others don't understand how I could possibly think Jamerson is overrated. I'm willing to give Jamerson another shot, just because I really wanna see what's there that everyone else seems to already get, just like I want everyone to "get" the music that I find inspirational.
Yeah, that was a bit rambling.
I'm sort of jumping in at the end here. . . your point about the "soul" of a song is well taken - no doubt certain genres of music (and individual songs) speak volumes to some while doing absolutely nothing for others. I haven't been playing a terribly long time so please take what I say with a grain of salt, or perhaps a tablespoon would be better.
Check out the song "How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone" if you have not already. That may have been mentioned, I have not actually perused all the posts. I initially ran into the same wall when it comes to Jamerson. Being young and having only been playing for 5-6 years, I grew up listening to Pink Floyd/Led Zeppelin as "classic rock," older stuff. The first bassist I actually payed attention to was Stefan Lessard from Dave Matthews Band
. As I started to learn about funk, jazz, R&B, etc... I was really getting into Larry Graham, Oteil Burbridge, Vic, and Jaco so I wanted to hear Jamerson who inspired all these guys. Initially, I think I expected to hear some sort of virtuosic melding of all these cats who claimed him as an influence, I didn't really understand what I was listening
for. At that time, I was still very much caught up in the flash, fast runs, solos, and the like.
Anyway, what I discovered was that Jamerson was (arguably, I suppose) the first to bring a distinctive style to the electric bass guitar. Additionally, he was implementing some stylistic devices that just weren't common to upright or electric playing, he was innovating. I'm not suggesting that you're young, ignorant, and/or don't already know all of what I'm saying here, so please don't misunderstand and think that I'm projecting my immaturity onto this situation. I'm only trying to explain why it took me a bit to comprehend why people are so enamoured of him. I simply did not understand what I was listening to. Initially it was the same with Anthony Jackson. I had to spend some time with him (his playing) to understand the innovative genius behind his playing.
There are many Motown songs that still do nothing for me musically, but I definitely believe that Jamerson gave even those some bounce, flavor, and creative infusion. Knowing that he wasn't emmulating anyone on the electric when he came up with some of his more colorful lines - whew, that alone disqualifies him from being part of this thread, in my mind. Hope that made some sense............ I'm tired.
