Recommend me a good bass book for my holiday

[paul j h]

Hi All,

I go away for some winter sun over the Xmas/New year period, can anyone please recommend a good book to take. Ideally a kinda life on the road type thing, ancadotes from a working muso etc. obviously bass related, i like classic rock and not so obscure that Amazon et al won't stock it. Many thanks in advance, cheers Paul.

[TheGreek]

Try "The Music Lesson" by Victor Wooten - deals with such concepts as [i]"it's what you don't play as much as what you do[/i]" and "[i]the 10 things you play including notes[/i]"..only 275 pages so you can re-read it to get the most from it..currently £7.50 on Amazon..

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Lesson-Victor-L-Wooten/dp/0425220931/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323538941&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Lesson-Victor-L-Wooten/dp/0425220931/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323538941&sr=1-1[/url]

[gjones]

Guy Pratt 'My bass and other animals'. He's played with them all Page & Plant, Pink Floyd, Madonna etc etc

Edited December 10, 2011 by gjones

[Coilte]

"Standing in the Shadows of Motown" is a great read. Comes with a CD and transcriptions too, so after you have read the book, you have the option of trying out some of Jamerson's lines. http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Shadows-Motown-Legendary-Jamerson/dp/0881888826



Another book I enjoyed was Jack Bruce's biography "Composing Himself".

http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Composing-Himself-Harry-Shapiro/dp/1906002266

Edited December 10, 2011 by Coilte

[Panamonte]

Only tenuously bass related, but if you haven't read Head On/Repossessed by Julian Cope then you're in for a treat - jaw-droppingly entertaining.

[gary mac]

17 Watts by Mo Foster is a fine read.

+ 1 for Guy Pratt

[paul j h]

Thanks guys for the suggestions so far, The Guy Pratt book is 1-2 months delivery time, which is a shame as i fancied that one, i have had the Mo Foster one in hard back for years. Please keep the suggestions coming, i am determined to find something interesting. Cheers Paul.

[dudewheresmybass]

How black was my sabbath
The hammer of the gods
Or the dirt by motley Crüe are all pretty good reads
Sorry, but I dont recall who wrote the other two! They are both pretty easy to find

[molan]

[quote name='paul j h' timestamp='1323543594' post='1464494']
Thanks guys for the suggestions so far, The Guy Pratt book is 1-2 months delivery time, which is a shame as i fancied that one,
[/quote]

Just looked on EBay & it's selling for £40 for a paperback!

Maybe it's out of print?

[Dom in Dorset]

Lemmy's White Line fever is quite good, get's a bit repetitive in the last few chapters but still pretty entertaining.

[Len_derby]

Memoirs of a Geezer: Music, Mayhem, Life by Jah Wobble.

Very entertaining auto-bio by a very interesting bassist and character.
His musical areas have been mostly punk/reggae/world music, so it might not be your area really. But a good holiday read I'd say.

[visog]

Well it’s controversial (mis-quotes and inaccuracies apparently) but ‘Jaco’ by Bill Milkowski is a good read. Exciting on his rise but very sad on his decline.

[visog]

Whilst I'm on, if you're into your prog, whilst not strictly a bass book, Bill Bruford's autobiography is very good even if he does vilify Chris Squire at every opportunity and laud Mr Chorus.. Jeff Berlin.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1323544505' post='1464508']
Just looked on EBay & it's selling for £40 for a paperback!

Maybe it's out of print?
[/quote]
Not selling but for sale at £39.65. The only one that sold recently fetched £5.49.

[ezbass]

One more for Guy Pratt, plus Beyond The Bass Clef by Tony Levin. However, the best 'muso' book I've ever read (and I've read a few) is Rhinos Winos & Lunatics by Deke Leonard, brilliant and hysterical. The prequel to this, Maybe I Should Have Stayed In Bed is also wonderful.

[molan]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1323546168' post='1464524']
Not selling but for sale at £39.65. The only one that sold recently fetched £5.49.
[/quote]

Good point!

It threw me that the guy selling at £40 had 10 copies for sale

[Toddy54]

Another +1 for Guy Pratt, also the Glen Hughes autobiograhy is available from Amazon, had a quick flick through it, but not allowed to have it until Christmas day.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1323551117' post='1464564']
Good point!

It threw me that the guy selling at £40 had 10 copies for sale
[/quote]
Oh, I didn't notice the ten copies.

[paul j h]

[quote name='Toddy54' timestamp='1323552836' post='1464586']
Another +1 for Guy Pratt, also the Glen Hughes autobiograhy is available from Amazon, had a quick flick through it, but not allowed to have it until Christmas day.
[/quote]

Good call on the Glen Hughes one, i've order that from Amazon, it should be here on time. Thanks for all the responses, i knew you would'nt let me down, this Forum is the best.Cheers Paul.

[Bassman Sam]

Not completely bass related but he did play bass for Jeff Beck and others, I found Ronnie Wood's bio was a good read.

[peteb]

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1323551090' post='1464562']
One more for Guy Pratt, plus Beyond The Bass Clef by Tony Levin. However, the best 'muso' book I've ever read (and I've read a few) is Rhinos Winos & Lunatics by Deke Leonard, brilliant and hysterical. The prequel to this, Maybe I Should Have Stayed In Bed is also wonderful.
[/quote]
Much as I appreciate the sheer talent of Mr Hughes, I'm pretty sure that Guy Pratt's book will be a much better read!

Been trying to get hold of Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics, but whenever I see it on Amazon it's always going for a small fortune!

PS. to the OP, I would strongly recommend the Guy Pratt book for a holiday read - it's laugh out loud funny.....

Edited December 11, 2011 by peteb

[Billy Apple]

Already mentioned.. Lemmy, 'White Line Fever', Crue 'The Dirt', but how about 'I was a Teenage Sex Pistol', by Glen Matlock? All easy reads for your Holidays in the Sun. If you fancy a weightier tome, how about (Yes, not a Bassist) 'Redemption Song, the definitive biography of Joe Strummer' by Chris Salewicz.

Where are you going, by the way?

[Jacqueslemac]

I've read both the Keith Richards and Ozzy Osborne autobiographies and both were much more insightful and entertaining than I expected.

[RhysP]

If you PM me your address I'll happily send you my copy of the Guy Pratt book.

To be honest I thought it was sh*t; little more than a tedious list of his famous friends & where he got really drunk with them.
He's meant to be a great wit & raconteur - I found no evidence of it in this book.

Still, plenty of people seem to like it so maybe you will too.

[Chlo_treacher]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1323539019' post='1464416']
Try "The Music Lesson" by Victor Wooten - deals with such concepts as [i]"it's what you don't play as much as what you do[/i]" and "[i]the 10 things you play including notes[/i]"..only 275 pages so you can re-read it to get the most from it..currently £7.50 on Amazon..

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Lesson-Victor-L-Wooten/dp/0425220931/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323538941&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.co...23538941&sr=1-1[/url]
[/quote]

+100000 absolutely fantastic book, really opened up my eyes and confirmed a few things that I had questioned too. definitely worth getting. x