Old Man Riva

Great stuff! I’ll have a listen to that - I hadn’t realised Townsend had done any versions previously with the band… That was the album I bought with my first wages from my first proper Saturday job! Worked in the storeroom at the local Woolies (was too young to be on the shop floor) and at the end of the shift promptly spent most of my hard-earned on that LP. Sat on the bus going home feeling like king of the world. I was dying to get it out of the bag, but didn’t have the courage to do so, in case, a. it looked too flash, or b. someone nicked it! The feeling of coming of age independence was soon shattered when I got home for my tea and had to explain why I’d spent most of my wages on an LP!

“you get the sense that at times they're on the edge of it completely falling apart, but that it's held together by their complete absorption”, is the perfect description of the Who live! The way Keith Moon approached drumming really shouldn’t have worked, but for the most part it produced stunning results, and became part of the band’s sound and identity. I think a lot is made of Moon’s ‘antics’, but he was an exceptional drummer, though hugely unorthodox: for a large part of his time with the Who he didn’t use hi-hats live - I mean, come on!?! Funnily enough one of my favourite Moon performances is his drumming on the non-Who track, Beck’s Bolero (the story behind the track is an interesting read!). It showcases his talents brilliantly. Tight, restrained, loose, manic all in one take. I went to see the Who at Brum NEC in 1981 and it was probably the most disappointed I’ve ever felt after a gig. They were rotten. Of course, Moon wasn’t there, and it was left to Kenney Jones to try and fill the void. Jones was fine with The Faces, but I felt his playing was too leaden with the Who. It lacked the skip and general wonderful floppy looseness of Moon. Townsend obviously didn’t want to be there - he stood stock still for large portions of the gig, and Entwistle just overplayed. Daltrey wasn’t bad, mind! I think the first tours post Moon aren’t looked back at with particular fondness by the band, based on various interviews over the years. Townsend had released a really interesting solo record, Empty Glass, the previous year (which had caused friction within the band, but is definitely worth checking out) so perhaps that’s where his heart was at that time? It certainly wasn’t In Birmingham!!

The audio was on The Kids Are Alright soundtrack album (released in ‘79). It’s almost like a f**ked up ‘Best of…’ record (typical Who!), with some stunning live versions of Who faves up to that point. The film itself was a cinema release - there was a cinema in Cov that used to show music films after the pubs closed on a Friday (Song Remains the Same, Pink Floyd in Pompeii, No Nukes ets.) and TKAA was shown there. I think any commercial release (video, DVD etc.) was some years later? To this day, from my perspective, the version Beedster has posted is one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll performances ever - a band right at the top of their game, breezing through, what was - it has to be said - essentially a pretty odd piece of music, and blowing everything and everyone else away. Townsend is one of my favourite guitar players. The variety of tones he gets from his SG just by simply adjusting the volume control on the guitar, and his wonderful feel and dynamic playing is out of this world. Apropos of nowt, he was Eddie Van Halen’s favourite rhythm player, and it’s easy to see why…

A different side to QJ…

I’m sure I recall Johnnie Walker doing the charts in the early 70s on a Tuesday lunchtime on Radio 1 (247MW), with the number one announced at 1pm. He was someone I loved listening to - he seemed cooler than the likes of, say, Tony Blackburn and/or Jimmy Young - even as a kid I thought their props a bit naff (anyone remember Blackburn’s barking dog, Arnold, and or Jimmy Young’s “what’s the recipe today, Jim?”, on his ‘JY Prog’?). There were also Emperor Rosko and Stuart Henry (“alright, m’friends”) who both stood out as being a bit different. I didn’t really catch much of Johnnie Walker’s more recent time on the airwaves, but when I did hear him he still had that fabulously cool radio delivery, and not a barking Alsatian anywhere to be heard!

Marco did Weller’s first iteration of his solo stuff including the Wild Wood album. Yolanda Charles took over the bass stuff in Weller’s band after Marco, I think. Re. Eddie Piller. I often think he gets overlooked and doesn’t get the credit for all he’s done, music-wise, especially on the London scene in the late 80s/90s. Label founder, manager, DJ, archivist, curator, club owner, presenter, writer etc. The guy lives and breathes music…

Some cracking stuff has been released on Acid Jazz, though worth noting that Acid Jazz records was founded by Gilles Peterson and Eddie Piller, and not James Taylor. Eddie Piller helped Jay Kay in the early years, and (a version of) this track was originally released on Acid Jazz before being re-released on Sony…

Wilton Felder on bass…

Aye, Walshy’s great to deal with…

Three experiences with vintage dealers over the years - these are dedicated vintage-focused operators, rather than someone stocking vintage basses as part of a broader offering. A ‘62 Precision sold with a split in the fretboard at the first fret - “it’s just the grain”. It turned out that there was a problem with the truss rod, and the fretboard had fractured. A ‘64 Jazz that had a protruding fret - “we’ll just our tech to tap it down, no problem”. It turned out there were larger neck problems and the fretboard had previously been repaired. A ‘62 Precision being sold as “completely original”. I asked for the store to provide images of the neck/date stamp and any other dating examples (body etc.). “No way. It’s never been taken apart and I’m not disturbing it now”. Bearing in mind the same operator had previously sold a guitar to someone I know which was returned/refunded due to there being ‘inconsistencies’ with the description, and what was modded and what wasn’t. If I ever were in the market for a vintage instrument again the only people I would deal with would be Andy Baxter and David Pym, though I’m not sure the latter is still involved in selling instruments. It’s such a minefield, and to echo what Burns Bass has said, the more navel gazing done on here and knowledge/experiences shared (even if sometimes we don’t always get it right!) the better…

Think that might have been Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz?

I couldn’t agree more. Summed up in a better way than I ever could! Visconti’s 2005 mix lost some of Herbie’s presence, so it’s the original album for me every time. I also love that Herbie was at the forefront of the band revolt regarding them not being told beforehand they were recording the gig for a live record - Bowie, and his then manager Tony Defries, wanted to pay the band the union rate of $70 for the recording, whereas Herbie demanded (and got!) $5000 apiece for the group. Bowie was fuming. Herbie Flowers: Fabulous musician; wonderful human being, and man of the people!

Whilst the album itself has often received lukewarm reviews, Herbie’s performance on David Live is a masterclass in bass playing, imho. If I had to choose one desert island album for its bass playing it would be that one - it’s got everything. A wonderful musician, and so influential…

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He comes across as such a lovely (and talented!) guy. A really enjoyable interview. Thanks for sharing!

Completely understand and agree. In my experience, I’ve found there to be a real sense of community on here, especially prevalent in the marketplace. Other than one very rare occasion, my experience of buying/selling on BC has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve been genuinely touched over time by people’s generosity and community spirit. It’s a real shame if contributors such as yourself are now reluctant to sell due to the potential that the purchaser’s sole motivation is to make a fast buck, but I completely understand your reluctance. I’m of the view that most people’s intentions are positive, and if not, well, it’s on them… Anyway, not to derail the thread any further… what’s the best/worst vintage Fender you’ve ever played?!

I suppose there’s also the possibility that someone bought it on here in good faith, realised it wasn’t for them and traded it in for something at Bass Bros? I did similar with a vintage bass on here that I had for a few months and didn’t properly get on with, and ended up ‘trading up’ for a more expensive bass at Andy Baxter. Having said that, I can’t recall ever making a profit on any instrument I’ve moved on, so am probably not in the best position to comment!

In my experience it was less about Fender QC at the time and more about there being a different narrative around basses (active p/ups etc.) and the opportunity to mod basses in a fairly straightforward way off the shelf. There was a lot of talk about sustain, and how a brass nut and a high mass bridge would lead to a note lingering around for days (“the sustain, listen to it”). I had an early Fender Squier P bass, which was then modded with a brass nut, Schaller bridge and EMG p/ups, which, quite honestly, I couldn’t really tell if it sounded better before or after! Would’ve been better off buying a Westone!

Brass nut? Check. Schaller bridge? Check. EMGs? Check Welcome to 1980s bass mods! No instrument too good to devalue, no money too hard earned to waste (though the EMGs were ace)!

Indeed. This is my ‘73 Jazz. The original owner (who sold it to me in the early 80s) had already changed the p/ups and had cream coloured DiMarzios fitted by the time I had it. As was the thing at the time I then decided that having EMGs installed would be the game changer that would obviously elevate my playing to another level (it really didn’t, though the bass sounded great!). Whilst the routing isn’t quite as rounded as Brian’s example, it’s still a world away from what it would have been originally…

Sold a Wilcock Mullarkey to Simon. He was an absolute pleasure to deal with. He came over to Loughton and tried the bass, and we ended up chatting for ages about bass and music in general - finding out we had a few mutual friends along the way! A great guy to deal with, and an absolute gent…