Old Man Riva

That’s been my experience too. Bowie’s Young Americans album is nearly flawless for me, but I’ve never been able to fully embrace his version of Across The Universe so can’t genuinely say it’s one that I can listen to in its entirety…

… thought of another (plus three!) The Pretenders’ debut album Massive Attack - Blue Lines Prince - Sign O’ The Times Ian Dury - New Boots And Panties!!

Talking Heads - Remain in Light Aladdin Sane - Bowie

Bluesman Vintage Deville (with ebony board and Lollar Thunderbird p/ups)...

Digging this at the minute…

The late Paul Ryder on bass. A very groovy fella…

Feels like a ZZ Top day. Feels like a Tres Hombres day. Two songs where, for me, you can’t have one without the other (and where, to this day, Dusty’s bass always sounds out of tune at the beginning of Waiting For The Bus - it’s not, but over the years I’ve convinced myself it is?!)…

Not a problem, glad to be of help, sir!

According to very helpful TfL staff at Loughton ticket office the central line is running tomorrow…

Don’t think the tubes are tomorrow, but I’ve got to nip down to the station in a bit so will ask…

We live in Loughton which is circa 20mins on the central line to Stratford station. The road we’re on (approx 5-10 mins walk to the station) is permit only but if you message me your reg I can sort a virtual permit for the day, if that helps?

On a vintage theme, I watched this the other day and thought that some of the Basschat gang might like it so thought I’d share. Tom Bukovac is a hugely talented Nashville-based session guitarist who also hosts one of my favourite YouTube channels, Homeskoolin’ (another consequence channel/project of the pandemic/lockdown). Here he’s on the other side of the camera at George Gruhn’s place. Not a lot (well, nothing, really!) on basses, but plenty of conversation around the world of vintage…

Inspired by Barking Spiders above I’ve been re-listening to Dare-era Human League. This was originally the B-side to Love Action. It used to get played in clubs at the time and sounded great up loud - meaty, beaty, big and bouncy!

This is worth a watch. Even if you’re not a fan of the particular tracks the insight from the musicians is really interesting (at least I thought it was!)…

Like many Basschatters I’m a big fan of Rick Beato, and like many Basschatters, I’m sure, a big fan of Bernard Purdie. This is a wonderful watch. They both appear to get a massive kick out of the whole experience, and Rick is grinning like a big kid when Bernard is grooving away. It’s a lengthy watch (and some of the things have been covered elsewhere before, like in the Aja documentary) but it’s fascinating to hear more on Bernard Purdie’s history and also (if you’re that way inclined) discussion around some of the more technical areas - technique and recording etc. Enjoy!

Great track, isn’t it!? I’ve become a bit of a fan in recent years - other than his vocal on Willie the Pimp I’d not really had much exposure to him previously.

Down in The Tube Station… “smiling beguiling” or “smiling big Eileen”?!

Thanks for posting. Hadn’t heard these. Really like the first track. It reminds me of this… (which is a good thing!)

Jeff Beck at the Albert Hall last night. It was a bit of a mixed bag - great to see Jeff Beck do his thing, and his band were excellent (though the sound/mix was massively dominated by the guitar, to the detriment of other instruments at times). On the flip side, he brought on Johnny Depp who, for me, added absolutely nothing to the gig (it was reminiscent at times of a Sunday lunchtime jam at the Dog & Duck where that one guy who always outstays his welcome still finds a way to shuffle back onto the stage). Really pleased I finally got to see Mr Beck, but can't see myself ever mustering up one iota of effort to witness the musical talents of Mr Depp in the future... "We love you Johnny!!"...

Hugely inflated, as per, but there's always room for negotiation/manoeuvre. It's a small closed-shop community and I get the sense they work together to set some of these prices. They certainly pass instruments around - a stack-knob Jazz appeared on Andy B's site for a few days a while back and then moved swiftly onto ATB, where it quickly sold. David Pym had a couple of Precision basses (a '66 and a '69) on his site for a few years (that, IMO, were overpriced) which are now on Andy Baxter's site (at the same price). The days of getting a genuine bargain (or even a fair price) are long gone...

Likewise, I was a big fan of A Secret Wish. Saw them live (with Derek Forbes on bass) which was good but it was the studio stuff that I was drawn to. I used to think Dream Within a Dream was composed on another planet!

Hadn’t realised they were back together until I saw a piece in today’s Guardian. Really like this…

This is where Hank’s error on a baking hot Californian June Thursday in 1976 is about to come back and haunt him - “I just stamped the 6 upside down for the year. It reads as a future 1979 bass! Ah, sod it. It’s not like anyone will give a damn in years to come…” You know it makes (Fender) sense!

I found this link helpful previously when trying to determine neck dates, hopefully it'll help you too... http://www.ggjaguar.com/neckcode.htm

At least you didn't spot the S&M-style gloves modeling the '68 Jazz!