Alannah Myles - Black Velvet. Good or bad song?

[lozbass]

bass part ok but otherwise a bit naff really - bass part/sound makes it for me. Can't complain though - some of the crap i've played/written...read somewhere the bass part was played on keyboards (but I'm frequently mistaken)

Edited July 1, 2014 by lozbass

[Geek99]

Yes I heard that too. Alannah currently residing in the "where are they now?" Files ? Pity.

[paul_5]

I heard that the baseline was played on a Korg M1...

...I don't mind though.

[drTStingray]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1404240880' post='2490759']
I heard that the baseline was played on a Korg M1...

...I don't mind though.
[/quote]

I would be rather surprised given the type of fills and the swell of the notes, particularly in the slow bits.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1404241570' post='2490766']
I would be rather surprised given the type of fills and the swell of the notes, particularly in the slow bits.
[/quote]

This is what I was alluding to earlier. Prepare to be surprised...


[quote]
Iceman: “Alannah, one more question: On theoriginal Version of “Black Velvet”, I was alwaysfascinated by the bass player …..but there is arumour that it wasn’t a real bass!? What’s about it?”

Alannah Myles: “It wasn’t a real bass, it was akeyboard! A lot of bass players asked for this, Ithink it was a Korg, with a toggle switch, so hecould bend the notes!” (Laughs)[/quote]


[url="http://www.scribd.com/doc/16571113/BVbass2"]source[/url]


[quote]
Hello fellow bassists, apologies for the late posting but I just stumbled across this thread.

I can confirm 100% that the bass on Black Velvet is a sample of a fretless bass. It was played by the producer Dave Tyson. I believe it was an Akai S900 Sampler

How can I be sure? I played the bass guitar on the record, appeared in several videos and toured with Alannah in the late 80's.

BTW the bass referred to in the Black Velvet video is a foam green Warwick -- that bass was not used in the recording.

On stage I used a hip shot on the E string to deal with Eb issue.

Cheers[/quote]

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/bassist-on-black-velvet-cool-fretless-stuff.120693/page-3#post-8196982"]Source[/url]

[drTStingray]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1404242286' post='2490773']


This is what I was alluding to earlier. Prepare to be surprised...





[url="http://www.scribd.com/doc/16571113/BVbass2"]source[/url]




[url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/bassist-on-black-velvet-cool-fretless-stuff.120693/page-3#post-8196982"]Source[/url]
[/quote]

Well I'll be ...............

Very surprising! Clever that he made it sound like a bass guitar.

[ironside1966]

It spent 2 week at no 1 in 1990 but most musicians I know have played it at some time,including me.
I played in the mid-nineties and it was old hat then. I don’t understand why some bands haven’t moved on

[paul_5]

I've never played it, I'm either ahead of the curve, or hopelessly outdated.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1404244534' post='2490799']
It spent 2 week at no 1 in 1990 but most musicians I know have played it at some time,including me.
I played in the mid-nineties and it was old hat then. I don’t understand why some bands haven’t moved on
[/quote]

Mid 90s? most cover bands haven't even got to the 90s yet!

[tauzero]

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1404244534' post='2490799']
It spent 2 week at no 1 in 1990 but most musicians I know have played it at some time,including me.
I played in the mid-nineties and it was old hat then. I don’t understand why some bands haven’t moved on
[/quote]

It's quite shocking, isn't it? I mean, some bands still play stuff from the 18th century. Surely it's time to move on from Mozart and Bach?

[jonsmith]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1404242286' post='2490773']
This is what I was alluding to earlier. Prepare to be surprised...





[url="http://www.scribd.com/doc/16571113/BVbass2"]source[/url]




[url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/bassist-on-black-velvet-cool-fretless-stuff.120693/page-3#post-8196982"]Source[/url]
[/quote]

Reading both those sources though, it seems it was a sampled bass, so I guess you can still feel it's how a bass should sound.

(AM's info seems vague enough for me to believe that the guy who says his bass was sampled is correct.)



Oh & plenty of older songs than that in many covers band setlists, so an awful lot of stuff needs to be dropped if we need to move on from that because of its age (including 75% of the stuff the band that I did it with still does).

Edited July 1, 2014 by jonsmith

[Lozz196]

I really liked it. I also had the album and that was good as well.

[ironside1966]

I have nothing against the song or anybody playing old music but there seems to be a lot of covers bands playing the same songs. Be the best, be different, or just be the cheapest but don’t be like all the others.

[JapanAxe]

I recently decided to learn it, listened to it on YouTube, and liked it so much that I bought the download. I transcribed it as heard (Ebm), and play that on 5-string. I also transposed it Em and altered a couple of notes so that I could play it on 4-string.

I was considering covering it in my band (with me singing), but its allusion to the sexual appeal of Elvis Presley kind of scuppered that.

[mrtcat]

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1404260504' post='2490976']
I have nothing against the song or anybody playing old music but there seems to be a lot of covers bands playing the same songs. Be the best, be different, or just be the cheapest but don’t be like all the others.
[/quote]
Whole new argument right there. To me the song selections say more about the punters than the band. I played in a band that did brilliant covers of some really different songs and despite a brilliant front man and some great players we were always faced with punters asking for the usual covers classics and venue owners who were reluctant to book us. my current bands opt for doing our best with well known stuff (black velvet included) and we are far busier now.

[JTUK]

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1404245317' post='2490813']
Mid 90s? most cover bands haven't even got to the 90s yet!
[/quote]

yes.... agree, A bit lame really, same same same...

[Geek99]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1404252901' post='2490914']
I really liked it. I also had the album and that was good as well.
[/quote]
And she was hot as well, bonus

[razze06]

It's in my band's extended setlist. I don't particularly love or hate it, our singer makes an awesome version of it, but we don't play it at every gig. Works very well with an audience of 30-40 something year olds, especially ladies. Not a dance number

I tune down to Eb for it, but i'll try with my new 5 string, see if that works better

Edited July 2, 2014 by razze06

[KevB]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1404293023' post='2491134']
yes.... agree, A bit lame really, same same same...
[/quote]

Can you post your current typical set so we can see how 'different' a successful gigging band can be?

[Allie]

I like it too - played it with a few bands.

[icastle]

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1404292459' post='2491127']
Whole new argument right there. To me the song selections say more about the punters than the band. I played in a band that did brilliant covers of some really different songs and despite a brilliant front man and some great players we were always faced with punters asking for the usual covers classics and venue owners who were reluctant to book us.
[/quote]

My covers band have a very simple way of deciding on material.
We leave any pretence of 'artistic integrity' at the door and play the stuff people ask for and dance to.

If that means 'Mustang Sally' and 'Johnny Be Good' then so be it, our diary is bulging all the way up to NYE and we're already taking bookings for 2015.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1404229826' post='2490544']
What's Basschat's view on this ditty?

I was in my teens when it was released and thought it thoroughly uncool
[/quote]

even when you got a drummer that can play the pattern correctly its still a bag of pants

[Dingus]

Not a great song but a lot of fun to play. That little turnaround lick on the bass makes the track, and lots of people play it wrong.

On this same tack, when was the last time there was a song that was a shuffle[i] a la[/i] Black Velvet in the charts? Not for a very long time, I expect.

[mrtcat]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1404328232' post='2491676']


My covers band have a very simple way of deciding on material.
We leave any pretence of 'artistic integrity' at the door and play the stuff people ask for and dance to.

If that means 'Mustang Sally' and 'Johnny Be Good' then so be it, our diary is bulging all the way up to NYE and we're already taking bookings for 2015.
[/quote]

+1 for us too.

[No lust in Jazz]

[color=#222222]If you like Black Velvet it’s a good song, if you don't, there are many thousands of other songs to listen to. [/color]

[color=#222222]To be honest, I can't recall having material to learn that I couldn't find some merit in - covering material is relatively easy unless its from the 'outer limits' of cover material - Roxy and Elsewhere Zappa for instance.[/color]

[color=#222222]There's a lot of snobbery around covers bands and what constitues good and bad music to play - its just music. [color=#222222]For us a good indicator of when a song has had its day is the number of 'embelishments' that get added or when a song can be played on autopilot - then its time for a change.[/color][/color]