Someone pointed this site out to me: http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.n...s.htm#POST

Then they said:

What impresses me so much about McCartney is his ability to write fairly difficult basslines with a lot of harmonic sophistication and syncopated rhythm, and then play them live while singing.

Then when I asked for examples I got this:

Soily, Old Brown Shoe, Silly Love Songs, Rain, Something, Mrs Vandebilt, Another Day, Taxman, Big Barn Bed, Lovely Rita and I Want You (She's So Heavy). Some examples of songs which highlight Paul's skill at writing creative, technical bass. Some which are just driving, quick-moving stuff, quite difficult to play and sing.

Not saying that Paul's bass isn't good, but something about these statements seem weird? Do you guys think that these two statements are true?

I don't think playing bass while singing is difficult at all

Unholyalliance said:

Someone pointed this site out to me: http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.n...s.htm#POST

Then they said:

What impresses me so much about McCartney is his ability to write fairly difficult basslines with a lot of harmonic sophistication and syncopated rhythm, and then play them live while singing.

Then when I asked for examples I got this:

Soily, Old Brown Shoe, Silly Love Songs, Rain, Something, Mrs Vandebilt, Another Day, Taxman, Big Barn Bed, Lovely Rita and I Want You (She's So Heavy). Some examples of songs which highlight Paul's skill at writing creative, technical bass. Some which are just driving, quick-moving stuff, quite difficult to play and sing.

Not saying that Paul's bass isn't good, but something about these statements seem weird? Do you guys think that these two statements are true?

Hype or fantasy........u choose.

Then, if they are not people who think slap bass wanking is the only kind of good bass playing, they will be familiar hopefully with the work of James Jamerson, a bassist who played in a very similar style to McCartney and influenced him greatly. If they like Jamerson's style, then they would like McCartney's.

So what do you guys think of James Jamerson? Do you think thinking one is amazing links to think that the other one is just as good.

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

Militant said:

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

You won't find a more melodic bassist in the pop/rock realm than Paul.

Identity said:

You won't find a more melodic bassist in the pop/rock realm than Paul.

I have to admit in terms of rock, I love his bass playing in some of the Beatles' material.

Militant said:

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

x10

McCartney is a great bass player but I think the reason some people roll their eyes at this statement is that they are mistaking being a great bass player with being a virtuoso bass player... They are two completely different things... McCartney's bass line are great, not because they are difficult to play (because they are not) but because they are very melodic and just really good bass parts that fit his songs well.

Two songs that I think really showcase the beauty of McCartney's basslines:

Learn the bass part for "Something" and you'll see what I'm talking about....Or just put on headphones and focus on the bass part....

And yes, Jamerson is an awesome bass player, one of my favorite bass player of all time, but I'll take McCartney's songwriting/singing/guitar/piano/bass playing abilities over Jamerson's bass playing any day.

Hmm... maybe we need to stop comparing and take McCartney for himself. He holds up.

Timmy84 said:

Hmm... maybe we need to stop comparing and take McCartney for himself. He holds up.

Thank you. The results speak for themselves. He's Paul fucking McCartney

I'll take Boosty, Meshell Ndegeocello, Victor Wooten, Prince, Stanley Clark, etc.......7 days a week.

U take Paul.

Militant said:

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

Co-sign.

Militant said:

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

While Jamerson is still # 1 in my book, Macca is close. Listen to his lines on "Sgt pepper". or even "Paperback Writer" or "Rain" or anthing of of "Abbey Road"

Dewrede said:

I don't think playing bass while singing is difficult at all

Then why are there so few bass playing frontmen ? Besides Macca, there's Sting, Phil Lynott, Geddy Lee, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham....and ????

jjhunsecker said:

Dewrede said:

I don't think playing bass while singing is difficult at all

Then why are there so few bass playing frontmen ? Besides Macca, there's Sting, Phil Lynott, Geddy Lee, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham....and ????

I think that must have been a joke.

Militant said:

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

Why the need to choose one over the other? How do you even compare? They had different playing styles, different musical styles, served different places in the song, and even used different kinds of basses. As a BASS PLAYER, I recognize that. Go on some of the bass guitar forums and you will see what people that actually play bass think about the subject.

leonche64 said:

Militant said:

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

Why the need to e over the other?choose on How do you even compare? They had different playing styles, different musical styles, served different places in the song, and even used different kinds of basses. As a BASS PLAYER, I recognize that. Go on some of the bass guitar forums and you will see what people that actually play bass think about the subject.

I think the purpose of this thread is to make McCartney better than airbody

leonche64 said:

Go on some of the bass guitar forums and you will see what people that actually play bass think about the subject.

Sure, because only people who play bass are allowed to have an opinion on the subject

Militant said:

leonche64 said:

Go on some of the bass guitar forums and you will see what people that actually play bass think about the subject.

Sure, because only people who play bass are allowed to have an opinion on the subject

Not just an opinion, but a different perspective. From your previous post in other threads, you have a very wide musical taste. Do you compare different genres or do you just enjoy them? Both of these guys have icon status in the bass community, and deservedly so. Not a fan, thats cool. A Fender Percision is different from a Hofner Violin bass. Some choose one, some choose both, some choose neither. Either way, the beat goes on.

jjhunsecker said:

Militant said:

I'll take Jamerson over McCartney any day of the week.

While Jamerson is still # 1 in my book, Macca is close. Listen to his lines on "Sgt pepper". or even "Paperback Writer" or "Rain" or anthing of of "Abbey Road"

Co-sign.

Good bass playing, or for that matter good ensemble playing with any instrument, is all about palying a part that enhances the song without stepping on anyone elses part. Doesn't matter how technical it is. For that reason, I'd take Jamerson or Macca over any one of the hordes of 'look how many notes I can play ma' slap-bap wankers.

HuMpThAnG said:

leonche64 said:

Why the need to e over the other?choose on How do you even compare? They had different playing styles, different musical styles, served different places in the song, and even used different kinds of basses. As a BASS PLAYER, I recognize that. Go on some of the bass guitar forums and you will see what people that actually play bass think about the subject.

I think the purpose of this thread is to make McCartney better than airbody

I can see how that would come out, the title is suspect lol

Like I said, take it off and just showcase McCartney and he holds up. I wouldn't wanna compare him to John Entwistle or Jamerson or John Paul Jones or any of those folks...

I've always thought that Gene Simmons was very underrated as a bassist and you can hear a big McCartney influence in his stuff. The Love Gun album may be Gene's best moment as a bassist and probably has his most melodic playing. By the '80s I think that Gene started to get kind of lazy and his playing became much more basic but most of the classic Kiss songs have some nice bass lines hiding in them.

This one isn't terribly complicated but it really drives the song:

rialb said:

I've always thought that Gene Simmons was very underrated as a bassist and you can hear a big McCartney influence in his stuff. The Love Gun album may be Gene's best moment as a bassist and probably has his most melodic playing. By the '80s I think that Gene started to get kind of lazy and his playing became much more basic but most of the classic Kiss songs have some nice bass lines hiding in them.

This one isn't terribly complicated but it really drives the song:

YES! I thought I was the only one who dug Gene's bass playing. Agree about the Mccartney influence too. I also really like his playing on Dirty Livin', I Was Made For Loving You and, the daddy of them all, Detroit Rock City.

To be fair though, since the 80's Gene has been a businessman first, a showman second and a musician (a distant) third.

Timmy84 said:

HuMpThAnG said:

I think the purpose of this thread is to make McCartney better than airbody

I can see how that would come out, the title is suspect lol

Like I said, take it off and just showcase McCartney and he holds up. I wouldn't wanna compare him to John Entwistle or Jamerson or John Paul Jones or any of those folks...

I think whomever he's compared to, regardless, he's still going to come out tops on this thread

But, I agree, he does hold his own as a good bassist

ReddishBrownOne said:

rialb said:

I've always thought that Gene Simmons was very underrated as a bassist and you can hear a big McCartney influence in his stuff. The Love Gun album may be Gene's best moment as a bassist and probably has his most melodic playing. By the '80s I think that Gene started to get kind of lazy and his playing became much more basic but most of the classic Kiss songs have some nice bass lines hiding in them.

This one isn't terribly complicated but it really drives the song:

YES! I thought I was the only one who dug Gene's bass playing. Agree about the Mccartney influence too. I also really like his playing on Dirty Livin', I Was Made For Loving You and, the daddy of them all, Detroit Rock City.

To be fair though, since the 80's Gene has been a businessman first, a showman second and a musician (a distant) third.

I'm so glad that someone agreed with me. I was half expecting to be shouted down and told that Gene sucks. The McCartney influence is probably most noticable on Gene's solo album and tracks like "Mr. Make Believe" and "See You Tonite." I often regret that Kiss didn't do more stuff like that back in the '70s. With Destroyer it looked like they were open to exploring some different sounds but after that they mostly went back to their basic hard rock sound.

I sometimes get frustrated with Gene/Kiss. He's obviously not devoid of talent but since the '70s there have been only a few albums where it seems like he is genuinely trying (Creatures of the Night and Revenge being the most obvious examples).

rialb said:

ReddishBrownOne said:

YES! I thought I was the only one who dug Gene's bass playing. Agree about the Mccartney influence too. I also really like his playing on Dirty Livin', I Was Made For Loving You and, the daddy of them all, Detroit Rock City.

To be fair though, since the 80's Gene has been a businessman first, a showman second and a musician (a distant) third.

I'm so glad that someone agreed with me. I was half expecting to be shouted down and told that Gene sucks. The McCartney influence is probably most noticable on Gene's solo album and tracks like "Mr. Make Believe" and "See You Tonite." I often regret that Kiss didn't do more stuff like that back in the '70s. With Destroyer it looked like they were open to exploring some different sounds but after that they mostly went back to their basic hard rock sound.

I sometimes get frustrated with Gene/Kiss. He's obviously not devoid of talent but since the '70s there have been only a few albums where it seems like he is genuinely trying (Creatures of the Night and Revenge being the most obvious examples).

I love me some KISS. As a kid in the 1970's, they were superheroes. And the live show is just amazing. BUT...because of the number of muscians and chaos that is a Kiss album recording session, it is hard to know if what we hear is who we think it is. It is discussed here. He is definately a famous bass player, but a great one....?

I've always thought that Paul McCartney contributed a major emphasis on melodic bass-playing in the POP genre.
And I would put major weight on the opinions of established and well respected players included in the article like Will Lee & Stanley Clark.

Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

leonche64 said:

rialb said:

I'm so glad that someone agreed with me. I was half expecting to be shouted down and told that Gene sucks. The McCartney influence is probably most noticable on Gene's solo album and tracks like "Mr. Make Believe" and "See You Tonite." I often regret that Kiss didn't do more stuff like that back in the '70s. With Destroyer it looked like they were open to exploring some different sounds but after that they mostly went back to their basic hard rock sound.

I sometimes get frustrated with Gene/Kiss. He's obviously not devoid of talent but since the '70s there have been only a few albums where it seems like he is genuinely trying (Creatures of the Night and Revenge being the most obvious examples).

I love me some KISS. As a kid in the 1970's, they were superheroes. And the live show is just amazing. BUT...because of the number of muscians and chaos that is a Kiss album recording session, it is hard to know if what we hear is who we think it is. It is discussed here. He is definately a famous bass player, but a great one....?

I don't think Gene is a great musician but he was better than he is often given credit for. His best basslines are not anything terribly complex but I do think that they often serve the song very well and are quite melodic and very McCartney-esque.

I can't honestly say that I knew everything on that list but most of it I was vaguely aware of. It's interesting that as early as "Rocket Ride" Ace was playing the bass on his songs. I wonder if he wasn't getting along with Gene or if he was dissatisfied with his playing? It's also very telling that on so many tracks from the '80s Gene appears to be absent. In many cases it appears that he only played on his songs. As mediocre as Kiss got in the '80s I think Paul deserves a ton of credit for keeping the band going as Gene was obviously not giving the band his best effort. Gene had a wonderful resurgence on Revenge but for much of the '80s he was contributing very weak material.

To try to get this somewhat back on topic I don't think it's all that surprising that different members sometimes switched instruments or that they brought in outside musicians. It the Beatles did stuff like that there's every reason to believe that many other bands did too.