Old Man Riva

I’ve tried, believe me I’ve tried! Just can’t get past their respective voices. I know both are wonderful songwriters, but… the voices! I’m a big fan of the early Happy Mondays stuff. Safe to say Shaun Ryder wouldn’t be winning any awards for his vocals but I really like them and his lyrics. Different strokes, and all that…

I’d agree up to a point, but with both Bob Dylan and Van Morrison the big drawback for me is I really don’t like either of their voices so really don’t listen to their music. There is the odd song of theirs that I can get past (as referenced in previous post) but the sound of their voices is something I’ve never been able to get past…

I’m not a fan of either but like these two tracks; Van Morrison - In The Days Before Rock and Roll Bob Dylan - Hurricane (Re: Aerosmith/Night In The Ruts… I love that album (with the exception of Mia). A proper dirty rock ‘n’ roll record - vaccinate your donkey with your phonograph needle”!)

There are some good inclusions on the remastered releases from 2014. There’s a version of Since I’ve Been Loving You on the companion disc of Zeppelin III that, whilst being titled as a rough mix, is just (one) guitar, (guide?) vocal, keys and drums that is well worth a listen…

I find this oddly relaxing… (Mrs Riva is concerned..!)

In true hipster fashion, “I liked them until they became popular!”, but still… I was listening to A Northern Soul the other day, really just to revisit the final two tracks of the album, and of course I then ended up listening to the whole thing, which reminded of how good they were and how much I like the album. This is from the album. I’ve always liked Simon Jones’ bass lines/sound, but I think Nick McCabe is wonderful on this. He was such a huge part of the band’s sound. For me, he’s vastly underrated as a guitarist and a composer…

The blue JO is an early US model (1998) purchased from this site last year. It's a wonderful instrument, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that I think I must have played it every day since it arrived. It also has the added curiosity of having Joe Osborn's signature on the back of the headstock - something a previous owner managed to get at a Lakland show in 2005 when JO was present. It has Fralin p/ups and also the wonderful neck profile that the Laklands are known for. Looks great. Sounds great. Plays great. I absolutely love it! The green US JO is from 2006. The neck feels slightly chunkier than the above bass, but still wonderfully playable. Again, (I think) it has Fralin p/ups and is slightly heavier than the 1998 JO (9.5lbs vs. 8.8lbs). The matching headstock is a nice touch, I think! The green US 44-64 is a 2020 model purchased from Station Music in Germany at the end of December last year. It's a 'Vintage' model, spec'd by the shop, and as such has the Jazz width neck rather than the traditional 60s width. The Sea Foam Green finish is as faded as it looks in the pic - something the store requested, but weren't keen on when the bass arrived ("it looks too white") - I like it! It's a lovely bass, but I have to say I prefer the JOs, and due to a need to free up funds it may be that once social distancing is a thing of the past it is moved on? I can remember when Laklands first arrived at the old Bass Centre in Wapping around 1998, and the buzz that they created. They were US made instruments, and out of reach, price wise, for a lot of players. The introduction of the Skyline models have made them more accessible but with no compromise on quality - certainly not from the basses I've played. I wish they had made them back in '98! Fabulous instruments all round...

Funnily enough, whilst Prince has topped one of those recent GOAT lists the player I hear most in his guitar playing is Frank Zappa...

The recent talk of Zappa and Beefheart has led me back to this. Revisited it today after a good while and instantly fell back in love with it...

God, I love that album. I’m going to play it tomorrow. The production on it is one of my favourites, especially the bass sound - it’s huge! A similar vibe for me is the Pepe Deluxe album Beatitude, well worth a listen. A socially distanced cuppa for you too then!

Loughton?! Should’ve said, I’d have made you a socially distanced cuppa!

It’s a long way away from Forever And Ever for Demis! Saw this on a car advert this evening. Never heard it before, and really dig it...

Making It Better - The Barons Ltd. Baby Let Me Kiss You - King Floyd Recently heard the above on TV, though can’t remember the ads - probably an ad person’s worst nightmare!

This’ll be 40 years old in November - FORTY!! Blimey, Charlie, where’s it all gone...

Recorded in 2010, full album out in July...

Thank you so much, that’s a fantastic read! Very candid, too - pretty much openly criticising Emir Ksasan for not being ‘in the pocket’ - which you wouldn’t get these days. There’s a confidence (arrogance!) from DD that I really like, which is perfectly complimented by GM’s more understated/humble approach. And the little oddities that come out of articles like this are great - I hadn’t realised that D’addario strings were around in ‘78 (I’ve since Googled their history!). Anyway, all hail the “John Coltrane of rock ‘n’ roll”!!

One of my favourite pieces of music of all time, that..!

I think it’s Steve Walters in the George clip - Steve L was playing with Simply Red at the time? Agree, mind, it’s a great gig... I think my favourite MTV Unplugged is the K.D. Lang show - don’t think the video is available anywhere but the show itself is part of the anniversary release of Ingenue. Well worth checking out...

The late John McKenzie was another UK bass player who slapped and popped in the (late) 70s - with Steve Hillage and Annette Peacock. He was a fabulous all-round player/musician...

Ronnie Wood from 1974, with the wonderful Willie Weeks on bass...

The cover posted by the OP actually allowed me a greater appreciation of the original track, of which I previously wasn’t really a fan of. I like it when I hear something that opens my ears and gets me thinking about things in a different way. Different strokes for different folks, and all that.

Love it! It’s, erm, very David Lynch-y..!

Over the years I've fallen in and out of love with the Shadows & Light project. When I was younger and it first came out I loved it, mainly due to Joni and Jaco. As the years have passed it's not something I tend to listen to/watch that often - first time I saw the concert was on BBC2, I think, and even then I'm not sure it was the full recording. I don't think the project has been particularly well handled by the various releases over the years as they've been a bit 'all over the place' - the first issue of the CD omitted tracks from the original double album release, then there was a subsequent version that contained all tracks from the album, though no release contains all tracks from the film! At least I don't think they do - there's every chance I'm wrong! In terms of the band, I think it was her intention to put together a kind of 'superstar' group for this (fairly short US only) tour off the back of the Mingus album. Big players, with big personalities from a jazz background to bring a different approach/sound to her songs. I think she was prepared to accept a bit of overplaying here and there in order to embrace that improvisational jazz approach. This was an interesting time in her career, where the Mingus album was pretty much panned by critics across all genres (even Mingus himself was said to be disappointed by how some of it had turned out). The album was her least successful (in terms of sales) of all of her 70s output, and for me marks the end of a particular era of her music. The next album would throw up a different sound and approach to her songwriting - crafted around a more production/poppier approach. I love pretty much all of her work, and her approach to the Mingus album (whether it turned out particularly well or not) is something that I think her marks her out from most other artists, where she possessed a genuine desire to take risks in her music, and damn the consequences and what other people thought. She can pretty much do no wrong for me...

Vincent Van Trigt?