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ZZTop "playing" live to bass tracks !?!

I like ZZ Top a lot but when I saw them perform as part of a show with John Fogerty at Wolftrap recently I thought they seemed really tired and anemic.
I saw that combo too and ZZ Top was slow getting up to speed at Canandaigua as well - turned out pretty good, but yeah, just nowhere near as intense as Fogerty, who was just incandescent. Shining like a falling star...
 
I saw that combo too and ZZ Top was slow getting up to speed at Canandaigua as well - turned out pretty good, but yeah, just nowhere near as intense as Fogerty, who was just incandescent. Shining like a falling star...
Fogerty was astoundingly good. I loved it when his son, Shane, came up to play guitar alongside him.
 
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Watched the video a couple of times. IMO, he's playing (but not so well). The bass stage sound is terrible, and the bass drum is covering it over. He seems not to be playing when he is doing an open A because he is using his left hand to sound it. I do this a lot when turning pages on sheet music. I think he was trying to signal the sound crew or trying to get the beard out of his face.
 
John Fogerty recorded the live studio album "Premonition" in 1997 with killer versions of most of the original CCR hits. Great album. Bob Glaub on bass, Kenny Aaronoff on drums. This is my go-to album to get CCR bass lines for covers.

I presume John was mad with his original band over the music rights to his songs and this album was a spanking.
 
As a few other people mentioned, the bass like was probably overdubbed for the video/recording.

I also have to point out that some bands have musicians offstage. Keyboards are fairly common, they also use vocalists and guitars offstage. I don't know if bands typically have bassists offstage though.
 
There's something about John Fogerty that evokes such strong emotions in me. I suspect that's true of a lot of his fans. There's a powerful connection there.

Fogerty's autobiography is a good read that helps explain why there will probably never be a CCR reunion of any kind.

Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316244589/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_yEToBb23EMHH4

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