Last night I was driving around town, blasting 'Joy in Repetition' off the "It Ain't Over" cd, ready to hear some funky guitar riffs, when really what caught my ear was the incredible bass playing on the song. Is it just me, or does the bass on this song sound out of this world? Maybe I had the bass knob turned up too high on my 10" subwooofer, but it really caught me by surprise. I tell you, there's no one I hate more in terms of influencing Prince in a bad way (I can't stand the religious Prince), but there's not a better bass player he has ever played with. Sonny was good and all, but he ain't even in the same league as Larry when it comes to bass playing.

-phunk

Phunk


YES YES YES!
the guitar is wild enuf,thats all u need...but larry slappin that muthaf**kin bass is just so wild!
makes me pump my body everytime.

Watching him play on the VCD of this is pretty wild also.
i know nothing technically as far as playing bass...
but i sure do know that it sounds outta this world

10/10 for this per4mance by prince,Larry,johnny B,the whole gang.
my fave P track.

what about the bass on 2 Nigs on the It Ain't Over CD, I think it absolutely rocks!

shockadelica said:

I agree with you 200%.

That bass solo followed by the the twisted Prince-voice (that sounds like some strange laughing...) is mad!

I agree.

The bass on that song is fantastic. A real testament to Larry's ability.

Hell yeah. Larry is tight as hell on that cut. Especially during Prince's last guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Larry is a Solid Cat no matter where you stand with him&His Views the Cat is a Gifted Brother.

Larry w/ the bass in his hand: 100
Larry on the mic: 2

He maybe a good bass player, but that voice and those faces he makes, oh man!

I know someone else touched on this subject earlier,
so I know I'm not alone on this, but...
Larry's kinda sloppy on this one.
It's actually hard to believe that
person playing bass on the rendition of "2 nigs..."
is also playing on "Joy..."
The former is absolutely wicked
as the latter is, well,
rather disturbing
especially how it cuts up the
flow of Prince's solos.
...in my humble opinion, of course

nayroo2002 said:

It was ME! I said that! Thankyou! I said it as a response to another one of Joshy's posts, a while ago.

I firmly stand by this as a professionally trained jazz/rock musician myself. He is very sloppy and "trigger-happy" with that distortion pedal. He is NOT a great bass player. He knows all the funk riffs, but you can tell he is just going through the motions...I get no real feeling from his playing...he just throws in some funk runs that he knows with no emotion or soul....i don't see that improvisation or adlibbing....he's basically reciting scales...kinda like steve vai...all for show, no real musical "voice" of his own.

And yes he is totally musically insensitive to Prince's solo...IT'S LIKE LARRY GRAHAM IS ON CONSTANT SOLO MODE.

Plus his singing and those stupid funk faces are both very ugly.

He basically ruins that song for me and everything else of Prince's he's been on.

Well, actually 2Nigs live is good, I must agree.
[This message was edited Mon Feb 3 16:57:24 PST 2003 by mrdespues]

Where is Larry? He used to be with Prince all the time..

mrdespues said:

"...he just throws in some funk runs that he knows with no emotion or soul...i don't see that improvisation or adlibbing...he's basically reciting scales..."

I know, right!
I can't, for the life of me, figure out why Prince always shoos Rhonda off whenever Larry shows up.
I have actually felt angered by it!
Larry's good for about 2 minutes (if that), and then his bag o' tricks is empty!

When Rhonda plays, it's like she's in LOVE with the instrument and makes it OOZE with funk. Alot more feeling involved with her playing.

"..u'r KILLin' me with that bassline, Rhonda!"
-Strange Relationship, ONA...L!

nayroo2002 said:

I had never thought of this before but I think you might be right.

divo02 said:

EXACTLY! That's the exact time I first noticed it!

mrdespues wrote he's basically reciting scales...kinda like steve vai...all for show, no real musical "voice" of his own.
steve vai is known in the guitar world as a master not prince check any guitar mag.ask anyone outside a prince site steve vai is known for guitar's not prince vai is not the musician as prince but he is know for being one the best at what he does "don't downgrade someone cause they can technicaly play the guitar" not hold a note for 2min.and call it passion you could do that.larry graham out sonny in maceo out wayne shorter in.

victor wooten. now he can play like an angel on crack

(which, for purposes of this thread, would be a GOOD thing)

A bit unrelated but anyone remember the Rave 2000 concert video? Remember when they were playing Fly Away with Lenny Kravitz? In that bit where Larry has that little solo on the bass line and Prince says "Don't hurt nobody"...

The camera zooms in on Larry's face pretty close as he finishes the solo and don't you all think...

THAT BASS-PLAYING MF HAS THE BIGGEST NOSTRILS IN HISTORY!!!

They were so big i feel myself getting sucked into the TV as he breathes! Maybe thats where they got the idea for Poltergeist!

mrdespues said:

A lot of what you said is true, but Larry did not begin his career as Prince's bass player, but Sly's. He may not be 100% "on" all the time these days, but to say that he is not a great bass player really seems more like "bass player hatin'" than objective critcism from a "professional".

Larry G has way too much influence over Prince and his music lately. Prince has never let another bass player have so much stage time in the past. Musical hero of princes - yes, but I think Larrys back on a fame trip and is using prince to get a ride. I believe the Jehovah influence has been a poor influence on P's music too - Larrys fault?

shockadelica said:

ROTFLMAO!

Ive found recently that the current animosity for Larry from P fans has made some people forget how good he is. The man was a huge pioneer in slap bass & some say he even invented it

rg770 said:

Steve vai is the man!!! He's one of the only rock guitarists i can really respect. He doesn't play hard Jazz progressions, but he does play hard progressions, and he could rip up some crazy jazz playing, but its not who he is.

Hey also:

Look what this site says, "See an exclusive live performance from Prince's Live DVD!"

http://entertainment.msn....ist=100825




I know ppl can screw things up, but maybe they know something we don't.

Jem said:

Okay you guys, I know Steve Vai is highly respected in "guitar-playing circles" and as Frank Zappa once said, referring to Steve Vai's enlistment in his band, "he plays all the impossible guitar parts". HOWEVER, among guitarists Prince is indeed also respected and I stand by my claim that Vai is a pyrotechnical, theatrical guitar player. He can play rings around many people technically, for sure, but he lacks what many might call a soul, in his playing. And that DOESN'T mean just being able to hold a note for more than 2 secs. His playing doesn't come from the heart...it comes from the head. It's a matter of opinion as to which you think is more important.

If you can, pick up Sabotage's Electric Factory in Philadelphia from the Newpoersoul mini-tour. I was fortunate enough to be there, and Larry and Prince basically put on a 2 1/2 hour clinic of funk bass playing - period.
The vibe of the show was so positive, not overtly religious; just about a good time, and I really don't think I had a more enjoyable Prince concert experience.
If anyone wants to Larry-hate, pick this up first and prepare to apologize after!

Jpav