Old Man Riva

Re. Gibson Thunderbird: Geddy asked Pete Way (UFO) what it was exactly that he loved so much about them. ”Well, Glee, they sound three-quarters quite good, and one-quarter not very nice”. If ever Gibson were after a blurb on an ad page for a Thunderbird there’s one right there! Only had a brief scan through this morning but upon first glance it’s a fabulous book!

Heard this for the first time today and haven’t stopped playing it since. John McKenzie on bass, apparently. If Ari Up was Californian and woke up in a studio surrounded by a late-70s funk band... I give you Annette Peacock:

A wonderfully played and recorded P-bass. For my ears/taste it doesn’t really get much better than this... (cue somebody telling me it was recorded on a Jazz, or some such!).

For me Aladdin Sane is TB’s finest work. It’s possibly my favourite record of all time any road (certainly the one that never strays from being in the top 3) and would be my recommendation to any budding bassist in terms of an album to listen to that inspires. The title track is sheer perfection. And of course he also had those amazing sidies!!

The Atomic Dog section is a reworking of a George Clinton track from the early 80s - the two versions are as different as chalk and cheese, night and day, cat and dog!

I give you Mind Bomb by The The. I had my head turned by Infected after Channel 4 showed a late-night film in 1986 documenting each track and was blown away - I then had to wait three years for Mind Bomb. Unapologetically political throughout, lyrically I don't think Matt Johnson was ever better - covering the perils of organised religion (Islam fundamentalism vs. Christianity), bitter breakdown of relationships, and "the politics of greed" amongst other cheery topics. It features Johhny Marr, Danny Thompson, a great performance by Sinead O'Connor on one track and wonderful bass playing by the 'overlooked and highly recommended' James Eller throughout. It even manages to include a pastiche on Sweet's Ballroom Blitz and replace the opening "Steve", "Andy" and "Mick" line with "Jesus", "Buddha", "Muhammad" - one for the older viewers! Not really a 'Sunday morning album', it's one of those albums that is best digested in a solitary fashion, played from start to finish in the order Mr Johnson intended and through headphones for the full solitary effect. Here's the opening track, Good Morning Beautiful; So, anyone else got any recommendations that fall under the 'overlooked and highly recommended' category that you feel should be embraced by the knowing souls on here?

Some would say “Liar”, but I believe you. I think it was the time Mr Deacon was attempting to enjoy a quiet Sunday roast but was being continually heckled by a member of The Goodies, sat nearby at another table. As luck would have it Giant Haystacks (who had just been working out and not had chance to shower and freshen up, so slightly stinky) popped in for a Spritzer and stepped in on Mr Deacon’s behalf, telling the Goodie, in no uncertain terms, to leave the reclusive bassman alone. ’B.O. he-man raps Oddie’, as the tabloid headline said...

Really like that - shades of Richard Hawley. Lyrically, Alex Turner has got a lovely turn of phrase about him. With regards to the bass, my guess would be flat wounds played with a pick with strings muted with the side of the palm. It helps that it’s a really lyrical line so the tone really comes through - too many notes and it wouldn’t sound anywhere near as good. Good band.

This... a lot.

A second-hand Avon Jazz Bass copy in 1977. The p/ups were steel bars rather than the snazzy plastic of the real thing. By the real thing I mean the Antoria copies that we were all after. Affording a ‘real’ Fender? No chance!!

And me. Saw him and the band at Warwick University - between the time of the tickets being announced he appeared on The Tube and by the time the gig came around he was a pop star! He and the band were great.

Was big into this when it came out - nice idea, properly mixing hip-hop with jazz. This features N'Dea Davenport from the Brand New Heavies and also a sample of Freddie Hubbard's Povo with a lovely weaving bassline by Ron Carter. Played the whole Jazzmatazz album today, start to finish, and really enjoyed it...

Here’s Mr Forbes..!

There’s a clip somewhere on YouTube of the excellent Derek Forbes of Simple Minds playing I Travel, just to show us how it’s done... It looks as though cold drinks may have been taken prior to the recording of the clip!

Then you've not heard 'Go For It - Sky Blues Shooting to Win', the Coventry City squad song for the 1987 Cup Final. Simple in its message, with a positive narrative, urging the underdog to "go for it". Hugely helpful, it chose to include a helpful (and none too subtle) assumption/assertion that, when the Sky Blues were shooting, they were actually doing it to win. And win we did. Was it down to a team of few stars playing above themselves against a team of genuine superstars (Waddle, Hoddle, Ardiles et al) in what is arguably the greatest Cup Final of the modern era or was it down to the song? I know what I think...

Channeling my best Ron Manager, “Back Home; Esso coins, dad getting the petrol; Banks upset tum; Bonetti the cat; Uwe Seeler; broken dreams; best England team ever; jumpers for goalposts; hmmm, Wembley Trophy football...” Yep, definitely Back Home!

If there's a finer track to recline to on a steamy Sunday afternoon I'd love to hear it...

That clip is from the Old Grey Whistle Test. Great stuff. There was also an excellent documentary on BBC4 a while back that charted his rise and then decision to stop performing, which was equally great. He came across as a wonderful human being. He fought a lifelong stammer and did/does a lot to help younger people with the same condition, which featured heavily in the programme. On a musical note his 1973 Live at Carnegie Hall album features pretty much the same band as the clip, I think, and is well worth a listen.

I remember a mate doing me a copy of this album on a trusty TDK D90 when it came out nearly 30 years ago. I couldn't stop playing it, and played and rewound it time and again. To this day it still ranks as one of my favourite albums - it's otherworldliness (?) put me in mind of how I felt hearing Bowie albums in the 70s or Prince in the early/mid 80s. It all seemed so far away from the traditional sound/production I was used to hearing.

Really like Bow Wow Wow - there was a BBC gig from Sefton Park (I think) back in the day that blew me away at the time. As I recall it a Wal bass was being 'strummed/slapped/picked/strangled' to within an inch of its life for most of the gig. Fabulous bass player.

Had a Donald Byrd day... Which has featured two of my favourite four-string fellas, Mr Rainey and Mr Felder.

You’re not losing sleep then... that’s good! The ‘66 Jazz is a really nice bass. The neck is lovely on it and the bass sounds great - that said, I don’t think I’ve played a ‘66 dot and bound that I didn’t really like. I think it suffers from what you say - it’s been around for a while and has become part of furniture.

For basses where you’re paying a premium and expecting top quality in return I’ve played a few Fender CS basses that've been properly horrible. They've tended to be NOS ones, strangely enough, rather than the relic jobs. A mixture of rotten set-ups, poorly finished frets, necks like bananas (as referenced above) have all been present on expensive instruments. In the spirit of fairness I’ve also (mostly) played some lovely Fender CS basses but when they get it wrong they really get it wrong.