• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Roger Waters is legit!

#2
IMO, pre Wish You Were Here, he had some great lines and fills. Seems after that though he concentrated less on bass and more on writing, and Gilmour started to do his bass parts on later recordings. But yeah I love his early bass playing, melodic, and funky at times. Check out Meddle, Obscured by Clouds and the other early albums.
 
#5
DONZI97 said:
IMO, pre Wish You Were Here, he had some great lines and fills. Seems after that though he concentrated less on bass and more on writing, and Gilmour started to do his bass parts on later recordings. But yeah I love his early bass playing, melodic, and funky at times. Check out Meddle, Obscured by Clouds and the other early albums.
Click to expand...
Gilmour did fretless on a couple tracks and now people think he played everything Floyd did. Come on, now!
 
#11
Gilmour claimed he played a lot of bass on Pink Floyd material in the '80s when 1) he had gone through a messy musical divorce from Waters and was 2) quite partial to cocaine. I imagine a half-joked, and highly arrogant "I played bass on that!" has somehow become the written word.

Waters is good on all the bootlegs from the '70s. There is no way anybody else, barring Snowy White from 1977 on, was playing the bass other than him. Live he had to recreate those lines. What I find interesting is his use of melody. Not only does he use a lot of arpeggio patterns and phrases, he often plays lines that feature a slightly different rhythm or pattern to the drums, such as a swinging bass line over a straight beat. His use of octave leaps is also pretty unique and interesting. Bootlegs tend to show this off best as he was often quite loud live.
 
#12
kohntarkosz said:
Gilmour claimed he played a lot of bass on Pink Floyd material in the '80s when 1) he had gone through a messy musical divorce from Waters and was 2) quite partial to cocaine. I imagine a half-joked, and highly arrogant "I played bass on that!" has somehow become the written word.

Waters is good on all the bootlegs from the '70s. There is no way anybody else, barring Snowy White from 1977 on, was playing the bass other than him. Live he had to recreate those lines. What I find interesting is his use of melody. Not only does he use a lot of arpeggio patterns and phrases, he often plays lines that feature a slightly different rhythm or pattern to the drums, such as a swinging bass line over a straight beat. His use of octave leaps is also pretty unique and interesting. Bootlegs tend to show this off best as he was often quite loud live.
Click to expand...

+1
 
#14
He's a great songwriter and he plays bass like a great songwriter, perfect parts for the song. I love Hey You, but if I was Gilmour I wouldn't be quite so proud of the bass playing on it. Intonation is awful!!
 
#17
The Pompeii film is amazing. I LOVE the opening to Saucerful with him playing the cymbals and Gilmour sitting on the ground playing slide. Too bad about the bad sync, it's much more effective when synced properly. Regardless of what instrument he plays, that footage shows Waters to be a really good musician, the sound sculpting and energy there is just incredible.

This one is synced better:

And as far as bass playing by either member, it's all great - Floyd was never about technique - all ideas, feel, and sound. I think of them as the Grateful Dead of Prog. Kinda. Except that I like them.
 
#20
His bass playing is great. The problem is that it is outshined by his amazingly phenomenal abilities as composer, producer and writer.

Of course, if you were going to have a problem with getting recognized for your bass playing... that would be the best possible problem to have.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back