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Wilco…bass player?

#21
I'm only familiar with Wilco by way of cultural osmosis. I know the band's name, I know Jeff Tweedy is the frontman/bandleader and what he looks like, I remember the album name and cover art for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but I don't think I've ever heard their music or at least couldn't pick it out of a lineup. So I cued up the first track off said album, put on my headphones, and I'm taking a listen.

They sound like a fairly rootsy/folk influenced indie rock band. Mellow, singer/songwriter focused type of music, a little quirky and rustic maybe. The bass is fairly straightforward, holding things down, nothing flashy, doesn't stand out as bad or weird in any way to me. Moving on to Heavy Metal Drummer, since I recognize the track name and it seems to be a popular track for them. Again, bassist is holding things down, a few tasteful slides and fills. The tone seems like a good fit for the music. Even when the band is picking things up, it's at most "driving" and never raucous or rowdy. The seem to keep things fairly rootsy and retro.

Skipping over to their latest album, first track. Again very mellow, sparse to start. Oh they actually kinda get heavy in the back half of the track, a bit more dense, some fuzz, bass has some tasteful and fun licks. I let it go for a few more tracks in the background while drinking my coffee, didn't distract me or put me off. I'd listen to this band again.

The bass seems to fit the music to me. It's not my favorite kind of music, but if someone put it on in the background or sat me down and asked me to listen to it, I wouldn't jump out of my seat and be like "what is this bass player doing? It's nothing special, why do you like this?". Honestly, with this music a bass player that made me go "wow, this bassist is really impressive!" would be kind of weird and out of place. Sounds like the guy is a solid rootsy rock player. If I grew up with this music, he wouldn't be a bass hero to me or anything, but I've got no big critiques from listening to a handful of tracks. Doing a little research on the band, he's been in it for 30 years, since the start, and seems like 1 of only 2 original members, so I assume at the very least he's not awful to work with and at best a nice guy to be in a band with. Which goes a long way, if you can play your instrument competently, which he clearly does.

YMMV obviously and hey message boards are pretty much all editorial, so if you don't like him go off. This thread got me to check out the band after a few decades of hearing their name for decades.
 
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#23
I also took a fresh listen and he's doing pretty much what you're supposed to do. Nothing wrong with his tone or playing. But I do get it, it took me some time to notice him. It may be off putting when you're learning the instrument and all you want to hear is bass doing sick bass things. Not saying this is you, OP, but for me it kinda was like that. I remember posting about Stirratt and the guy from The National that they are bland or something. One other thing to keep in mind is that they are very song driven bands with two - or like in Wilco three - guitar bands with often extra instruments. Can't be doing mad slappadabass and still sound like Americana band.
 
#25
I love Wilco (and have tickets for a show next month!).

Stirratt's main quality seems to be "dependable". He's there since the begining (and before that in Uncle Tupelo), supporting the songs when needed and holding the groove whenever Tweedy, Cline and/or Kotche start doing the crazy noisy stuff, providing them with a safe space to go back to.
As for his tone... it's most of the time a p or a j into a tube amp (at least live), I can't see why would anyone dislike that.
 
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#26
MrRiff said:
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.
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Genuine question: how does one enjoy listening to a band for years when the musical choices of the bassist are this consistently irksome to them?

That’s a bit like saying you’ve enjoyed mint chocolate chip ice cream for years, but you don’t like chocolate so the chips almost ruin the experience for you.
 
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#30
I count myself as a Wilco fan. I haven't liked their recent material much (Star Wars is the latest one I listen to regularly), but I've seen them live three times. I think Stirratt is a tasteful player who serves their music really well. He also does pretty much all of the backing vocals, and his voice combines nicely with Tweedy's.
I also had the chance to meet John for a minute when he stopped by a GTG at the Lakland shop. (He's a Lakland endorser, and Lakland's head plays in Autumn Defense, a side project of Stirratt and Wilco bandmate Pat Sansone.) Really nice dude, and everyone at Lakland loves the guy. Not that this should impact your opinion of his playing, but it's probably one more reason he's kept the gig so long.
 
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#31
brianrost said:
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 :whistle:

View attachment 7204578

Or compare him to Sid Vicious :wacky:
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Ampeg B100R sighting!
 
#35
Not to pick on the OP too much, but of all the bass players in all the world, this seems like an odd choice of which to make an example. My example of someone who I have no idea about what he is doing would be Phil Lesh. I feel like he plays out of key and drug induced meandering on the bass is no way to go through life.
 
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#36
mdogs said:
Not to pick on the OP too much, but of all the bass players in all the world, this seems like an odd choice of which to make an example. My example of someone who I have no idea about what he is doing would be Phil Lesh. I feel like he plays out of key and drug induced meandering on the bass is no way to go through life.
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Haha, I love them both! And I think Lesh was very musical, not a guy to play “out of key.” But to each his own! 😎
 
#37
Swerve said:
Wilco is one of those bands I've heard about for years but never got around to listening to. I remember they were really popular what, 15-20 years ago?

I'll give em a spin or two.
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Keep in mind that, with all bands that have gone the distance, their style has evolved over the years.
As I mentioned earlier, when Nels Cline joined, I was taken aback somewhat, as he had built a reputation of being an ‘out’ guitarist…somewhere in the vicinity of Verlaine, Fripp, and Sonic Youth. But they’ve used his stylings, plus he’s reined it in a bit as well. Also, why the band still gets tagged as “Americana” is beyond me, because they’ve moved beyond that often. You know, evolution.
 
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#38
MrRiff said:
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.
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Listen to Tom Blankenship of My Morning Jacket. Pure enjoyment.
 
#39
Michedelic said:
Keep in mind that, with all bands that have gone the distance, their style has evolved over the years.
As I mentioned earlier, when Nels Cline joined, I was taken aback somewhat, as he had built a reputation of being an ‘out’ guitarist…somewhere in the vicinity of Verlaine, Fripp, and Sonic Youth. But they’ve used his stylings, plus he’s reined it in a bit as well. Also, why the band still gets tagged as “Americana” is beyond me, because they’ve moved beyond that often. You know, evolution.
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You realize even genres can evolve? I listened to Wilco's Cruel Country, which is their second newest album and it was pretty Americana to me. Or alt country. Same difference.
 
#40
It's funny. I'd probably count Jeff as a bass influence, but not John, even though John has been playing bass on Jeff's albums for decades. Those first two Uncle Tupelo records still got me thinking Jeff's a bass player 30 years later. Anyway, I like what John does in the same way I like what Marc Perlman does in The Jayhawks and Golden Smog. Always at the right place at the right time.
 
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