Wilco…bass player?

[MrRiff]

I’ve enjoyed listening to Wilco for years but just don’t get the bass player as he comes close to ruining my listening experience. Am I missing something about his playing and tone. Would appreciated hearing what other players think. I appreciate all player, there’s very few I don’t get and he’s on the list.

 

[WG Plum]

I’ve always thought Stirratt was excellent and perfect for the band, but I admittedly stopped following them a number of years ago.

 

[Michedelic]

I’ve enjoyed listening to Wilco for years but just don’t get the bass player as he comes close to ruining my listening experience. Am I missing something about his playing and tone. Would appreciated hearing what other players think. I appreciate all player, there’s very few I don’t get and he’s on the list.

What is he doing that you think is “wrong”? Cite some examples.

 

[sylvanbass]

I don't get him or his style either. Was a big fan in the early to mid-00's, but then I got bored of it. Don't know if it was cause of Tweedy or other members. He doesn't do anything impressive to me. As for the previous post that I will not tag, I don't think a poster needs to "Cite" examples as to why.

 

[WG Plum]

It would help to explain the dislike, but this isn’t court so no, evidence is not required. Chalk it up to horses for courses.

 

[jerry]

I think Stirratt is perfect for Wilco, same for drummer Glenn Kotche. It's Tweedy's band, I'm sure Stirratt is playing exactly what Jeff wants.

 

[WG Plum]

Seems like a very good job.

 

[Michedelic]

I don't get him or his style either. Was a big fan in the early to mid-00's, but then I got bored of it. Don't know if it was cause of Tweedy or other members. He doesn't do anything impressive to me. As for the previous post that I will not tag, I don't think a poster needs to "Cite" examples as to why.

Sure he does, when he makes such a bold statement. There’s something about Stirratt’s style or sound that the OP is adamantly bothered by, and with this strong declaration, my interest is piqued. While I’ve certainly heard a fair amount of Wilco here and there over the decades, they are not a band I’ve sought out. I don’t dislike them, it’s just that there are other bands that I like better. I respect that Tweedy has kept it going for so long, and that they’ve maintained a following. I was a bit surprised that Nels(who I was quite familiar with)got drafted into playing with them, but maybe it was a way to keep the band fresh.
I’ve never seen Wilco live, but I did see a side project of Stirratt’s, and in both cases, I never specifically heard anything out of order in his playing.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Don't know too much about Wilco. Have a few of their albums. I always thought it would be a cool band to play bass for. Tweedy is from Belleville, Il. I've lived there. He's quoted as saying he liked a band in the Belleville area called Joe Camel and the Caucasions.(the90's) I used to try to catch them too, I thought they were very good. Maybe we saw one of the gigs at the same time.

 

[gtirard]

It's been a very long time since I haven't listened to them. I used to love them, until I saw them live - the guitarists were playing so loud they made my ears bleed, I suffered from tinnitus for a week and stoped listening to their albums since that day.

This post is a good pretext to listen to them again.

I think the bassist has a discrete and modest syle, he serves the music - Isn't it our role?

 

[Phe]

He's not flashy, but it wouldn't really fit their style to have a Victor Wooten there.
Stirratt is a founding member of Wilco and then there is a thing called band dynamics. His style and choices may be integral part of their song writing process. And he may well be the center of that band. And then there is friendship. Stirratt and Tweedy have played together since joining Uncle Tupelo in 1992.
But maybe he just sucks.

 

[carsonchilders]

This thread is pretty weird and pointless. Stirratt rules.

 

[thebassgrognard]

This thread is pretty weird and pointless. Stirratt rules.

Stirratt in fact does rule. Like all Wilco fans will say, I started listening to them in the very beginning (yeah I'm that guy).

Playing-wise, I've come to see the musicians as more like Grateful Dead musicians, lots of counterpoint playing. Stirratt fills in around the edges in addition to laying down a beat. Tone-wise its hard to complain about a P bass through an SVT for tone, right? Not sure what would be hard to understand about that aspect. But everyone has their own tastes, so onward and upward.

 

[brianrost]

One can always go back and listen to Uncle Tupelo when Tweedy was the bassist and then when Stirratt was.

I stopped following them years ago after Sky BlueSky, but I never spent much time thinking about John Stirratt’s playing. Besides, he wasn't always playing bass. Jay Bennett and Tweedy and maybe others played bass in the studio now and then.

Or put him side by side with his twin sister Laurie who also plays bass

Or compare him to Sid Vicious

 

[manchego_eggo]

I think Stirratt does a great job melding with the band. As its grown to be a larger ensemble, I think all of the members have a great sense of when to be flashy and do fills and when to lay back and even not play.

again, examples would be helpful

 

[MultiScaleMale]

This thread is like a NBD thread without pics.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

he's a great player IMO

 

[commonplayer]

IMO the sign of a great bassist is serving the song and he does a fine job of that. He's clearly not Jaco but Wilco would sound terrible if he were.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Wilco is more about the songs than the playing for me. I've never noticed anything I didn't like about the bass, but I've never really taken much notice of it either. Which means he gets the job done without getting in the way of the songs, which is exactly what a band like Wilco needs IMO.

 

[jimmydean]

If Jeff is happy........okay .