Struck Down For Playing A Jamerson Line!

[MegaSwing]

you should have quit right then

For real. That’s pretty ignorant.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

My band is learning "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" so I learned James Jamerson's part note for note. At rehearsal today our guitarist/vocalist said the bass line was throwing him off, lol. It is a strange line with a lot of 5ths and 3rds being played over the root chords. Just wondering if I should simplify it a bit and/or if anyone here has covered it and what they ended up playing?

It sounds like a pretty straight forward, on beat bass line. You should get new band members if they can't follow that.

 

[DWBass]

What's funny is my bandleader (the keys player) remarked about maybe the original bass player didn't know what he was doing when it was first recorded, lol. Obviously some people haven't heard of the Funk Brothers!

He needs to read up. Even though JJ had carte blanche on crafting basslines, most of them were written out.

 

[JKB1957]

In the day the Motown touring band's bassist would complain that Jameson's bass lines were too difficult to play live. So, your singer isn't the first to complain. If you can play Jameson's bass line, play it.

 

[juancaminos]

The answer is up to you. I have dumbed down for various members of the band in the past. I've also dumbed down for myself. Not so much in my golden years though.

 

[Hahaha]

If they still give you a hard time about it, suggest they scrap the tune and play Louie, Louie.

Funny thing about that is the original version didn't actually have a V chord. What musicians interpreted as a V chord is actually a I9/V. In other words, if the song were in A it would go A, D, A9/E, D, so even that song originally had a chord with the bass on the V of the chord. But who cares.

For an example of What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted being play without the inversions listen to the Alphonso Williams version. It seems to work, while still being interesting.

 

[Doug4321]

Wow that is a funny sounding song, melody and harmony. I can see where people would think something’s throwing them off

 

[JW56789]

To me, this is one of those things where I'd love to play what Jamerson played, but . . . . if everybody else isn't in line with you and approximating what the other players on that record played, Good Luck ! ! !

Then you double back and play to what they're playing, whatever that may be.

 

[Richard Lindsey]

Joan Osborne’s version from ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ doesn’t deviate much from the original, except for the dramatic breaks at the end. That’s what my group played, since we have a female vocalist.

That's a very good example. What Babbitt played isn't note-for-note what Jamerson played, but the harmonic motion is the same as the Ruffin version. Except of course for the breaks at the end that weren't in the Ruffin record.

 

[lordradish]

They should learn it, you should not unlearn it.

What else needs to be said?

 

[bobyoung53]

My band is learning "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" so I learned James Jamerson's part note for note. At rehearsal today our guitarist/vocalist said the bass line was throwing him off, lol. It is a strange line with a lot of 5ths and 3rds being played over the root chords. Just wondering if I should simplify it a bit and/or if anyone here has covered it and what they ended up playing?

I would guess that at least some of the rest of the band is playing it wrong, that line is perfect for that tune, it needs to be loud like on the record. The bass and vocals ARE the tune, the rest of the instruments are incidental, the band should be soft and you and the vocalist should be loud. You said you changed the key to a lower key, if you're playing that whole thing up an octave it probably won't work, it's got to be low or those inversions will sound different. Depending on how low you dropped it, maybe tuning your E string to a D would help you to keep it down low.
Also there are a LOT of passing chords in that tune, someone should at least get a chord chart and learn them.
But if I were you I'd suggest to the band to really listen to it, for them to live with it for a week or two so they get it. If they're not used to bass inversions it might sound odd to them at first, especially that song, that line is genius.

 

[bobyoung53]

There is (or at least, should be) a big difference in approach to songs between a cover band and a tribute act.

The latter needs to be exact in the parts that are played, the sound of the voices and instruments and also the look, inasmuch as is possible.

The former is usually designed as a single song from a particular group, that is added into a set with material from potentially many other groups and even styles. In this case, the cover in question should be designed to fit in with the rest of the songs, lest it stand out in a strange way in the set and yes, throw off the other band members who are used to playing in a certain style.

You are in a BAND. Your #1 priority should be making the band sound good. The folks who are saying that you need to force your band members to play the song the way you’ve decided to learn it are giving you bad advice and definitely wouldn’t last long in a band context themselves if this is their attitude, plus their shows (if they play any) probably suck to listen to.

tl;dr do what makes the song sound best, not what strokes your ego the most

Why should he have to unlearn a genius bass line that is actually 90% of the tune along with the vocals because his band can't play the other parts correctly? There are a lot of passing chords in it that need to be played right and playing them wrong will throw the vocalist off, this song is a lot more complex than it sounds on a casual listen.

 

[bobyoung53]

I can't say I understand this at all. Cover bands are variety acts, and variety is what the audiences expect to hear. Unless you're, say, an Americana act doing countrified versions of AC/DC and other popular music in a reimagined, uniform style, there's no reason not to keep the variety in your act.

The OP went to the trouble to learn the original bass line with accuracy. He shouldn't be punished for that. His band should step up their game.

100%, there a LOT of passing chords in this tune and if they're missing them that'll thrown the vocalist off as well as the bassist, this song is a lot more complex than it sounds with a casual listen.

 

[DWBass]

I would guess that at least some of the rest of the band is playing it wrong, that line is perfect for that tune, it needs to be loud like on the record.

This. Do they read music? Get the sheet music for them. Not everyone has a good enough ear to transcribe it. I buy sheet music all the time for band members because they just don't get it. And it annoys me to no end when musicians don't play stuff correctly.

 

[bobyoung53]

This. Do they read music? Get the sheet music for them. Not everyone has a good enough ear to transcribe it. I buy sheet music all the time for band members because they just don't get it. And it annoys me to no end when musicians don't play stuff correctly.

Yup, I suggested that in another post, there's a lot of passing chords in it.

 

[bobyoung53]

Personally, i think that line is genius and am saddened but not surprised by many of the responses here that criticize the original line. Stick to your guns as long as possible but try to do everything you can to make sure you're not just playing it, but playing it well.

I had a similar situation in a casual band playing the Jamerson line on How Sweet It Is. That band, unbelievably, had never even heard Stevie Wonder's recording, and were only familiar with James Taylor's recording. I won't tell you how that turned out.

Same here, the line IS the song along with the vocals and the rest of the band plays off of what the bass is playing, there's a reason the bass is so loud on the record. This is one of those classic songs where if the band can't do it correctly and make it sound good it would be better to not do it at all. This song is deceptively complex, there are a lot of passing chords that would need to be played correctly for it to sound good. This song could either sound great or um.....

 

[bobyoung53]

This is one of the occasional TalkBass threads that make clear which posters I'd probably get along with in a band.

BINGO!

 

[superheavyfunk]

Why should he have to unlearn a genius bass line that is actually 90% of the tune along with the vocals because his band can't play the other parts correctly? There are a lot of passing chords in it that need to be played right and playing them worng will throw the vocalist off, this song is a lot more complex than it sounds on a casual listen.

Y’all are hilarious. I bet your band practices are tons of fun

 

[bobyoung53]

Yeah, agree. I'm hearing more going on in the way of alt chords/voicing going on over the bass, not the other way around.



Joan Osborne, but it was with the Funk Brothers. Bob Babbit on bass.

Babbitt is doing it almost exactly as Jamerson did on this tune except he's a little less busy and I think he dropped his E down as he's playing a low Db whereas on the original Jamerson went up to high Db.

 

[bobyoung53]

Y’all are hilarious. I bet your band practices are tons of fun

I play with people that know how to play and also that appreciate the complexities of a seeming 'simple' tune. Seriously though I won't play with people that can't cut it, life is too short.