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paul simonon! the cLash!!

#22
jpark369 said:
yeah. love police and theives also. i also love the songs "cheat", "jimmy jazz", and "rudie cant fail". all real fine bass playing, and all a variety of styles. we call that, versitility.

check out the rancid cover of the clash's "cheat", also, pretty sick.
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Yea Matt Freeman is the man- he's kind of a modern day Entwistle meets Simonon in a punk rock context
 
#26
jpark369 said:
props to pauls playing in the clash. he is definetly one of the most underrated players ever. his style basically made the clash who they are. he may not be doing any falshy solos or playing anything too complex but he has some great lines that sound really cool and plays very well. i was wondering if anyone knew how he got the bass sound in "the magnificent seven"? its one of the best basslines ever, and it sounds real muffed and poppy. any ideas? thanks alot. rock on...
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I think you'll find that Norman Watt Roy (of "Ian Dury & the Blockheads" fame) played the bassline on "Magnificent Seven" (and quite possibly on his Alembic, as I don't think he owned a P Bass). My source for this is a recent magazine article, which I don't have in front of me to quote from :hmm: .

Paul Simonon really came a long way with his playing, in a very short time. His soulful work on the musically diverse "London Calling" album is almost Jamerson-esque in places (IMHO).

Incidentally, "London Calling" is my favourite song of all time and the album of that name has been my fave album (on and off) for as long as I can remember.

Funnily enough, Paul doesn't play bass any more (he's a painter now) and shows no regret for it. I have a lot of respect for that guy :smug: .
 
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#27
Fender32 said:
Funnily enough, Paul doesn't play bass any more (he's a painter now) and shows no regret for it. I have a lot of respect for that guy :smug: .
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Actually, I don't think that's entirely true. I know he's played recently with Damon Albarn's (Blur, Gorillaz) new project The Good, the Bad and the Queen, and they've apparently played "Guns of Brixton" live on at least one occasion. Whether this is a one off project or a long term thing I don't know.

I really wonder what would have happened if Joe Strummer hadn't died. Between the upcoming induction of the Clash into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Mick Jones jumping on stage for a few songs at a Mescalaros gig, it really looked like there might have been a Clash reunion.
 
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#28
anechoic said:
Actually, I don't think that's entirely true. I know he's played recently with Damon Albarn's (Blur, Gorillaz) new project The Good, the Bad and the Queen, and they've apparently played "Guns of Brixton" live on at least one occasion. Whether this is a one off project or a long term thing I don't know.

I really wonder what would have happened if Joe Strummer hadn't died. Between the upcoming induction of the Clash into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Mick Jones jumping on stage for a few songs at a Mescalaros gig, it really looked like there might have been a Clash reunion.
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:smug: I stand corrected. What I meant was, he's not involved in any regular "band" or session work, as so many of yesterdays' heroes seem to be ;) .

Also, in one of the more recent interviews (just prior to Joe's death, IIRC) that I saw with Paul, he said that he and The Clash had "had their time" and that he was "satisfied with that". Wasnt leaving us much room for reformation speculation!

:p
 
#29
I like his playing on 'London Calling', I agree by then he had developed a lot musically and as a bass player. His earlier lines are right for the music but don't strike me as anything special. I saw them in the late '70s and couldn't understand how he played with the bass that low.

If you like his line on 'Police and Thieves', walk don't run to your friendly neighborhood music shop and buy the album or single by Junior Murvin, produced by Lee Perry. I've never seen the bassline credited but I have a feeling it's Aston 'Family Man' Barrett or even maybe Boris Gardiner. One of them deserve the credit for this tremendous bassline, and the production is way ahead of the thinnish Clash version.
 
#33
I'm a big Simonon fan, I think he's vastly underrated. Good, driving bass lines on the early stuff--far from just pounding on the root notes--especially on Give'em Enough Rope. And then such great, slippery lines almost throughout London Calling and going forward (even if Norman Watt-Roy did do a couple of them in the studio).

I'd love to get a white P w/black pg from Fender Japan. Worked for Simonon, Dee Dee and Pete Farndon (let's leave out Sid, shall we?).
dogbass said:
Saw them in '81 at Bonds on Broadway. Awe inspiring.
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I hate you!:D I saw the Who in '82; the Clash were opening for them on most of that tour, but at the show I saw in Orlando, they weren't there--they were playing a reggae festival in Jamaica. Never got to see them.:bawl:

Clash fans might want to click on the youtube link in my sig. A touching video for and by Joe.
 
#34
The Clash are my favorite band and Paul's playing is a big part of the whole package.

If anyone wants to try a few of the songs - TB'er Cowsgomoo has some fantastic transcriptions of a few Clash songs (and other songs)

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#35
dangnewt said:
The Clash are my favorite band and Paul's playing is a big part of the whole package.

If anyone wants to try a few of the songs - TB'er Cowsgomoo has some fantastic transcriptions of a few Clash songs (and other songs)

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:) Cool link, thanks dangnewt!

I'll give "London Calling" a go, when I get home from work ;) .

As I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, "London Calling" has been my favourite song for a very long time, although I've held off trying to learn the bass part, as I find that I can "go off" tunes, after I've spent too long analysing them :hmm: .

Anyway, I'll make an exception for this one ;) .
 
#36
Fender32 said:
:) Cool link, thanks dangnewt!

I'll give "London Calling" a go, when I get home from work ;) .

As I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, "London Calling" has been my favourite song for a very long time, although I've held off trying to learn the bass part, as I find that I can "go off" tunes, after I've spent too long analysing them :hmm: .

Anyway, I'll make an exception for this one ;) .
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You are welcome.

I like the bassline for Police and Thieves and can play it OK. The London Calling one is a little more difficult for me.

I saw the post-breakup Clash at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1984. This was before I played bass so I don't remember too much about the concert. However, I do remember playing softball when the tour bus pulled up earlier that day and hearing someone from the bus call us a "bunch of wankers." I always thought it was probably Joe Strummer.
 

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