Quite a few years ago, Scrobs was beginning to enjoy playing his guitar to anybody who could be bothered to listen, and being a huge fan of The Shadows, of course, all their music was to the fore!
The band had a few personnel changes, with Jet Harris and Tony Meehan leaving, and being replaced by Brian Bennett and Brian Locking, then John Rostill, and all seemed fine with the new line-up, especially as my Uncle Bill gave me his copy of 'Diamonds'...
The seeds of bass guitar playing began a sort of fantasy in this post-adolescent mind, as to persuing the opportunities of playing one of these huge behemoths. The six-string versions had become more available, and I long wondered if a whole set could be played with - say - two or three six-string basses and some percussion thrown in as well!
I never flourished on bass-playing, as first, I never owned one until https://scroblene-webley-bullock.blogspot.com/2007/06/rhythm-stick.html, and since then I've added a few alterations, including a sort of wooden fly-piece attached to the body, so I can play sitting down, and also I've taken the frets out as, I just love that particular sound, especially when played by serious musicians like Del Palmer or Norman Watt-Roy!
Poking around on YouTube when it's raining is a pastime which sometimes takes a few minutes longer, especially when something really good just jumps out, and I am amazed at how this chap manages to play such a fabulous version of Toto's classic, 'Africa'...
Thank you - that has brightened a dull, wet morning!
ReplyDeleteI’ve recently been reading about the Tudor and Elizabethan age and this set me wondering; we tend to think of lute-playing as twanging romantically while gazing into the middle distance but I wonder whether the professionals actually played with similar virtuosity and intensity.
Thank you, MacH!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point you make, about lute-players too. Apart from wind instruments, an Elizabethan could grab any old Samsonite case lying around, and pack a lute for whenever he might get to meet a bright young thing, and allow him the chance to get a few chords to gaze with! I borrowed a mandolin for a while once, and just loved it - also, The Shadows were keen on a bouzouki ensemble for a while and even made a couple of tracks back then!
Here's the same chap on a 12 string bass...
https://youtu.be/TGMYQEdNhSM?si=ox9brj-NsiAUKqj4
Fantastic playing!
I look for bass driven songs such as Talking Heads early numbers, Madness The Prince.
ReplyDeleteWhen Pink Floyd recorded, 'Sorrow', Live on P.U.L.S.E., after Roger Waters had left, the live performance had Guy Pratt pushing a huge rhythm background in the last half of the performance of that track, and leaving out just one 'note' on each clause, which had an explosive effect.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdPTec5ADFE&list=RDJdPTec5ADFE&start_radio=1
From about 7.30 the good bits start, and try and ignore the irritating girls, gallivanting around and looking silly, best heard on an Alexa, or any decent stero system!