Nail Soup

Shipbuilding (Robert Wyatt) was later done by the songwriter Elvis Costello. I don't think he was trying to better the RW version though... just document his own take.

Come to think of it , and reading through this thread, Prince was not only a great player............but he was one of the best at not playing too. He was one of the best at using space and leaving stuff out.

Yes, that made me smile too. Then later on he gave one landlady a hard time for letting people nurse drinks and have water etc.

And if you don’t know what you’re doing you’ll learn a lot. but maybe best to learn with cheap ingredients!

Anyone see this? The first one was on on Thursday (BBC2 8pm) . Available on I-player I presume. Basically it's about how pubs are struggling financially. The first episode was pre-covid, and one of the pubs in the first episode featured a pub which prided itself on live Music, but the host questioned them paying as high as £100 for a live band.

Eleanor Friedberger album "Last Summer"..... here's the opening track "My Mistake"

Look very nice. Good luck with it! I bought a Squier Tele for about £150 earlier this year, and it's great..... so totally with you ref cheap/expensive instruments.

If I remember correctly when prince played the White Room there was a bass player in the band and prince played something complementary to that , kind of lead bass. It was a nice white bass if I remember right.

Sorry for the boring answer, but I think it is well established that Prince was extremely good on a number of instruments including bass.

Although it's a recurring theme, this is the first slap-bass thread since I joined basschat (as far as I can remember). So I'll put my comments here. I certainly don't like it when it's done for it's own sake, as is often the case in youtube and guitar shops etc. I don't like it he way Mark King does it. Most of the music I listen to does not utilise slap bass. But there are I am sure a lot of tracks which I do like which feature some well judged slap. No problem with that.

I'd recommend the book "The Big Midweek" by Steve Hanley... bass player and longest serving (18 years) member of the Fall, who in general had a massive turnover of members. It's basically an biography (he has a co-writer) of hi time in The Fall. Fall singer Mark E Smith is an ahem 'interesting' character to work with and is well worth a read.

Maybe Mrs Riva would take this in return?????? Les Gens by Cyril Cyril

Do you mean that you didn't get chosen by the band because they wanted someone who could do BVs?

I'm not a technically good singer, and would not have any technical tips to share. I'll listen to any tips which come up on this thread though.Only tip is this one: My main focus for getting the best way to sing a song is to 'get into character'. I try to imagine where the singer is coming from (e.g. sing Sex Pistols then get into the mindset of a weary sneering contempt for the whole world). For originals I think of a character for that song. If someone asked me to sing a song by Bucks Fizz (and the following is just based on my personal prejudice.... so sorry and I may be doing Mike a disservice) I'd try to put myself in the position of someone who was trying to be nice, had never thought of music as a form of rebellion, was wearing a cardigan and singing to their grandma.

It doesn't get as many outings at it once did, but I am today listening to my lifetime favourite album.... Grotesque (After The Gramme) by the Fall. Here's the opening track, the Fall at their most uncompromising - Pay Your Rates, followed by a contemporaneous single bundled onto the CD version - Totally Wired... more of a gateway drug into the Fall and featuring a cracking bassline.

That is brilliant. Does Mrs Riva have another suggestion?

I don't want to rock myself, but I'm willing to salute those who are about to.

A band is only as good as their bass player. Oh, hang on............ that might have been about drummers😉.

The Woodentops album "Giant", after getting a promo e-mail for their gig at local venue. Didn't know they were (still?) active. Got gig ticket, then listened to album thinking hope I still like it. I do - here's a track :

He did spring to mind and I went through the same thoughts............., but I finally put him as a good singer with an unusual voice, and therefore not for this thread.

And Jamerson only needed one. Finger that is.

In an in interview with Jah Wobble, he was explaining how he came up with some of the Public Image Ltd basslines. He said he made some up without playing the bass, and choosing notes that made a good pattern on the fretboard. Quote: "If it looks good it's probably gonna sound good".

The name that springs to mind is James Brown. But I suppose that proves your point really.... he moved away from soul to a funk/groove bandleader doing shouts and yelps etc.

Good point. The music I mainly like usually benefit from a characterful non-singer, and would sound worse with a 'good' singer. But yes, when I do jump over for a bit of soul......... I go for good singers. Yet there is a version of this concept even in the soul world. You have to clear quite a high bar to sing soul, but once over the bar it is the ones who can put the feeling in rather than the best technical performances which are best. Need I cite "I will always Love You" compared to say Uretha?

I don't know the entirety of NY's output well enough to comment , but like what I have heard well enough. It's a good sign for an artist that a case can be made for multiple eras or styles of your work to be considered 'the best'.