Good fretless basslines

[marcus bell]

hey guys, going to be getting a fretless bass extremely shortly and need a few lines to get me started

so far i sort of know these from learning on a fretted:


weather report: birdland
jaco pastorius: teen town
paul young: come back and stay
paul young: everytime you go away


any other suggestions would help nothing too hard though please haha

thanks
marcus

[andydye]

Paul Simon - Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

[bremen]

[quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1365506467' post='2040371']
hey guys, going to be getting a fretless bass extremely shortly and need a few lines to get me started

so far i sort of know these from learning on a fretted:


weather report: birdland
jaco pastorius: teen town
paul young: come back and stay
paul young: everytime you go away


any other suggestions would help nothing too hard though please haha

thanks
marcus
[/quote]

You've learned teen town and birdland and want 'nothing too hard' !
Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombone has some juicy double bass, fun to play on fretless.

[ezbass]

Babooshka - Kate Bush (John Giblin), slide those harmonics

[bartelby]

Loads of Kate Bush has great fretless bass lines

[chris_b]

You don't have to do anything special or different now just because you're playing a fretless.

Just play your normal lines.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1365507582' post='2040390']
You don't have to do anything special or different now just because you're playing a fretless.

Just play your normal lines.
[/quote]
Yes, playing what you already know is a good way to get on top of your intonation and a bassline is a bassline whether it's played on fretted or unfretted.

[Hobbayne]

Don Henley - In A new york minute. Pino again I believe.

[BassBus]

You like Jaco, Marcus. Don't forget he practiced on fretted bass. Don't overdo the slides. Work on your intonation first. Listen to Gary Willis. Loads on youtube.

[Bilbo]

April by Brand X (John Giblin)(anything by Brand X is loaded with great fretless playing but a lot of it is very stylised and impossible to recreate)

Chris De Burgh's album 'The Getaway' has a load of great fretless lines (John Giblin again)

Barbara Thompson's 1980 live recording with Dill Katz on bass

Alphonso Johnson on 'This Must Be Love' of Phil Cillins' 'Face Value'

Mark Egan's work on the Pat Metheny Group's first two LPS 'PMG' and 'American Garage' - in fact, anything with Mark Egan on will be worth a look.

Jaco Pastorius on Metheny's 'Bright Size Life'

Mick Karn with Japan (not to my taste but very influential)

Gary Willis on the first two Tribal Tech LPs 'Spears' and 'Dr. Hee'

[SpaceChick]

Hey You - Pink Floyd

[marcus bell]

cheers for the advice guys, well im getting this bass in the post and going to defret it following a few guides shortly

[megallica]

I always had fun playing Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer on my fretless - not sure if Tony Levin recorded it with a fretless or not.

[Urban Bassman]

Barbara Thompson's 1980 live recording with Dill Katz on bass

Just listening to that album myself after years of it being off my listening list - wonderful stuff, not just Dill's playing

Also Jaco's playing on Joni Mitchell's Shaddws and Light live album is sublime

[Roger2611]

Gary Numan, White Boys and Heros, Music for Chameleons, Pino at his finest IMHO

[Bloodaxe]

Some more Pino goodness:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFkRj4l_AKs[/media]

& one from The Hodge:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOS6svKdELA[/media]

P.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Bloodaxe

[ezbass]

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1365509330' post='2040427']
I always had fun playing Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer on my fretless - not sure if Tony Levin recorded it with a fretless or not.
[/quote]Oh, oh! Time for me to wear my TL anorak Recorded with a graphite necked MM Sabre (with THRAK! sticker) through chorus and octave effects and played with a pick.

Edited April 9, 2013 by ezbass

[marcus bell]

absolutely love tony levins stuff, what a player... so yeah the bass is now a lined fretless and running through a few paul young and peter gabriel numbers cracking stuff!

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1365508731' post='2040412']
April by Brand X (John Giblin)(anything by Brand X is loaded with great fretless playing but a lot of it is very stylised and impossible to recreate)

Chris De Burgh's album 'The Getaway' has a load of great fretless lines (John Giblin again)

Barbara Thompson's 1980 live recording with Dill Katz on bass

Alphonso Johnson on 'This Must Be Love' of Phil Cillins' 'Face Value'

Mark Egan's work on the Pat Metheny Group's first two LPS 'PMG' and 'American Garage' - in fact, anything with Mark Egan on will be worth a look.

Jaco Pastorius on Metheny's 'Bright Size Life'

Mick Karn with Japan (not to my taste but very influential)

Gary Willis on the first two Tribal Tech LPs 'Spears' and 'Dr. Hee'
[/quote]
Sublime selection...could not agree more!

[sprocketflup]

[quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1365536658' post='2040925']
absolutely love tony levins stuff, what a player... so yeah the bass is now a lined fretless and running through a few paul young and peter gabriel numbers cracking stuff!
[/quote]

Jeez, that was quick!

[marcus bell]

yeah set to work on it as soon as it arrived and with help from the old man its now lovely and well fretless

[squire5]

Listen to Jaco on 'Refuge of the Roads' from Joni Mitchell's 'Hejira' album.Not TOO complex and pretty easy to follow.

[paul_5]

Fish's first solo album [i]Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors[/i] has some real gems too.

That there John Giblin again.

http://youtu.be/1_4Nl_qFF8o

or Doug Wimbish and his sliding harmonics on this one from Living Color (sic).

http://youtu.be/vqnVhCADFHY

[BassTractor]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1365545964' post='2041074']
Living Color (sic).
[/quote]

Huh?
Pray tell: why?
Oh, and thanks for listing them. Worth a try.

best,
bert

[chrismuzz]

Fretless? How about this one

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRK_M1vJXfQ[/media]

Or....

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mesr2siegRg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mesr2siegRg[/url]

Edited April 9, 2013 by chrismuzz