The Smiths....

[White Cloud]

Okay.. so my eldest daughter has recently "got into" the Smiths therefore I have decided to actually listen to them a bit too.

As a young (rock biased) player to me they were "uncool" - all I could really remember about them at the time was an extremely controversial and wacky Morrissey with flowers hanging out of his jean pocket, and various guitarist pals raving about Johnny Marr....but in retrospect some of their material is guitar indie at its best, and I am loving it. Many of the bass lines really stand out to me as genius.

I read recently that during a court tussle over royalties Morrissey had branded bassist Andy Rourke as a "nobody" if not for him...which I feel is a real disservice to a really great bassist. Here is a killer bassline - any other love out there??

http://youtu.be/kGnjrTkv1gs

[Dingus]

I remember vividly the impact The Smiths made at the time , and even though they weren't really completely my cup of tea at that time , I always thought they were interesting and original . As time has gone by , I have come to appreciate just what an original and creative band they really were , and I think their iconic status is deserved . As for Andy Rourke , I have always been a great admirer of his playing . This Charming Man was in the charts just when I was learning what inversions were , and his bassline in parts of that song were a textbook example of how to use them to great effect . I am amazed that Johnny Marr would diss him when his playing was so integral to the sound and feel of that band . A class act all round .

Edited June 7, 2013 by Dingus

[KingPrawn]

Andy Rouke played some of the best uk funk bass lines whilst in the Smiths. None of the usual Manchester bass lines. They were creative and moved brilliantly. If you changed his tone a bit, they would have cut through more, but still great. The engine room in that band got a major raw deal

[simon1964]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1370635910' post='2103902']
. I am amazed that Johnny Marr would diss him when his playing was so integral to the sound and feel of that band . A class act all round .
[/quote]

+1 to that. Some of the Smiths bass lines are great examples of melodic playing, but the overall feel is what really stands out. We play What Difference Does it Make in my covers band. It's a dead simple bass line, but the feel, and how it just works for the song, is a fantastic example of a tasteful bassline really defining the song. Pulling that off live is actually harder than I expected it to be!

Edited June 7, 2013 by simon1964

[White Cloud]

Totally agree with all that has been said so far...thoroughly enjoying discovering their material in depth in my maturity. Very creative and original indeed.

[visog]

I think Johnny Marr composed and played most of the basslines... AR just there for live work.

[Monckyman]

Hmm,I think not.
I remember Mike Joyce telling me that AR was a little overly funky when he first joined and had to tone it down a bit,but that pushing of the beat remained through all his work.

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1370638960' post='2103951']
I think Johnny Marr composed and played most of the basslines... AR just there for live work.
[/quote]

Thats not true.

[Andy Rourke's playing on The Queen Is Dead album] "[i]is something that no other bass player could match[/i]" --- Johnny Marr

[i][color=#405055]"He started off as a really good guitar player, but as I progressed, he got really interested in playing the bass. The two of us had this musical chemistry that everybody can hear in the Smiths. To this day, I’ve never met a bass player who isn’t super impressed by the way Andy Rourke plays. He’s a real one-off." --- [b]Johnny Marr[/b][/color][/i]

[i]"When I was fifteen, I formed one of my first bands with my best friend. He was at that time the best musician, one of the best musicians I’d ever heard. We were just kids. Then in 1982, I formed a band in Manchester and I asked my best friend to come play the bass with me. And he was still one of the best musicians I’d ever heard. And tonight thirty years later, I’m gonna invite one of my best friends in the world, and he’s still one of the best musicians I’ve ever heard. From The Smiths... Mr. Andy Rourke! "[/i][color=#405055] - [/color][b]Johnny Marr[/b][color=#405055] (introducing Andy Rourke onto the stage last month)[/color]

[Paulgm1]

Love the Smiths and Andy Rourke. His bass playing got me interested and was a big influence on me picking up a bass. Have enjoyed playing This Charming Man in the past in a pub band (pretty unusual to find a singer willing to give it a go!).
Stll think Morrisey is a bit of a tw@t though.

[Bassman Sam]

[quote name='Paulgm1' timestamp='1370641270' post='2103985']
Love the Smiths and Andy Rourke. His bass playing got me interested and was a big influence on me picking up a bass. Have enjoyed playing This Charming Man in the past in a pub band (pretty unusual to find a singer willing to give it a go!).
Stll think Morrisey is a bit of a tw@t though.
[/quote]

Beat me to it, love the playing of AR and JM but hate Morrisey with a passion. The man spoiled a great band for me.

[skankdelvar]

Funny, but I saw a Smiths doc a couple of weeks ago and thought 'I used to think they were awful. Why did I never get into them at the time?'

Spent an evening listening to stuff on YT and concluded that - speaking for myself only - I must have been a cloth-eared numpty. As for Mr Morrisey, well, he does talk some tosh, but I suspect The Smiths would not have been The Smiths without him. So fair play, even to Mozz, poseur extraordinaire.

Edited June 7, 2013 by skankdelvar

[Paulgm1]

Agree Mozzer is a genius in many ways but still a tw@t

[uncle psychosis]

Musically, morrissey was a genius. The trick is just to avoid his interviews!

[paul_5]

Yup. Transcribed some Smiths basslines a few years ago for a student - really enjoyable to give those lines the attention they deserve.

[White Cloud]

Excellent...so glad I am not alone in my admiration.

[Dingus]

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1370640809' post='2103978']
Hmm,I think not.
I remember Mike Joyce telling me that AR was a little overly funky when he first joined and had to tone it down a bit,but that pushing of the beat remained through all his work.
[/quote]

I remember reading an interview with Andy Rourke many years ago and being a little surprised that he mentioned people like Stanley Clarke as being big influences when he started playing , so in light of that I can see how he might have had a more funky side to his playing .

[thisnameistaken]

I was always a bit disappointed with people who didn't like The Smiths.

[tauzero]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1370635910' post='2103902']
I am amazed that Johnny Marr would diss him when his playing was so integral to the sound and feel of that band .
[/quote]

It was the prize twat and dreadful singer Morrissey who dissed him.

[miles'tone]

I grew up loving the Smiths. It wasn't until many years later after I'd picked up the bass that I fully understood how good he was ( after the ears got better at picking out the bass )
Andy Rourke is a really original bass player. Beautiful counter melodies all the way.
I'd love to see an interview with him now that could get him to break down some of his basslines find out how he was looking at the music at the time.
It would be a great lesson.

[Lozz196]

Never really liked The Smiths, but was always impressed with Andy Rourkes bass playing on their tracks.

[lojo]

Yep those basslines where special , shame about all the legal stuff that went on

[dincz]

I never managed to get past Morrissey's consistently slightly sharp singing.

[paul_5]

[quote name='dincz' timestamp='1370672362' post='2104164']
I never managed to get past Morrissey's consistently slightly sharp singing.
[/quote]

+1 . It took a bit of effort but it was worth it.

[rubis]

My favourite band, well worth spending some time listening to some of their lesser known songs. Mozza is a bit like Marmite though, I always took him with a large pinch of salt and still find him amusing, I think that's how he intended it to be really.

[Slatfatf]

I can't get past him either. Singing badly on purpose? Irony? Amusing? There you go, after thirty years I still don't get The Smiths. Shame 'cos musically they sound pretty good....