Brothers Johnson - 1980

[Stance]

I don´t know if you´ve seen this one, but it´s really worth checking!

GROOVY - it really starts to get interesting around 5.15


[url="https://youtu.be/KnRu8f67iQ8"]https://youtu.be/KnRu8f67iQ8[/url]

Edited May 4, 2015 by Stance

[JTUK]

You can understand why he had his time back then....he took his style right to the front of
the music..so much so, he became Quincy Jone's go-to bass player.
Marcus M was starting to produce his sound for more and more people and that came thru
a lot ...but at one time, Louis Johnson was THE man, I'd say.
And in the U.K you started to hear Mark King... maybe a little later..?

[White Cloud]

Louis Johnson was a big influence on me during the early 80's. What an amazing bassist

[lowdown]

Yep, he was great.
Aside from the Brothers Johnson stuff, his contribution (Along with John Robinson)
for Quincy Jones was outstanding.
His very precise studio style and the tight in yer face sound was very hard to resist.
Certainly didn't hold back and was a very forceful player.

[lojo]

Certainly doesn't help stingray GAS this thread does it

[bubinga5]

Love Louis Johnson.. his playing/technique was always super clean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN6o5i_QZ_o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgsJLGQTfEE

[bubinga5]

sorry to over post on your thread Stance but this is interesting. can't say I'm a fan of that brittle SR tone he's got going on but, i don't care when he starts playing. anyone notice the sounds that come out of him when he's slapping.? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQkjDxHvaXc

[JTUK]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1430750590' post='2764247']
Love Louis Johnson.. his playing/technique was always super clean. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN6o5i_QZ_o[/media]

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

Not looking to start an argument but Louis J is not a tight bass player in his style...he is very very aggressive
and borderline sloppy, but he has great grit and as was a good as anyone at his peak.
If you listen to later stuff, his sound is very driving and he puts so much into the signal,, even the trademark
MM sound is very very peakey and overdriven. For an example of this... go check out his starlicks bass
video.
Just sayin'... and IMHO. of course.

[JTUK]

Your second video is post 7 is a case in point.
Great facility to do all that when all hell is breaking loose
but tight it is not...

[lowdown]

Nothing sloppy or untight here.
Quincy Jones didn't use him for a bet, that's for sure.

http://youtu.be/fXmmWBzS-_o

I think with the early Brothers Johnson stuff he was a bit raw,
but working with Quincy Jones certainly lifted his game.

Edited May 4, 2015 by lowdown

[Stance]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1430751371' post='2764258']
sorry to over post on your thread Stance but this is interesting. can't say I'm a fan of that brittle SR tone he's got going on but, i don't care when he starts playing. anyone notice the sounds that come out of him when he's slapping.? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQkjDxHvaXc[/media]
[/quote]


No problem! I´m glad it got so great feedback

The first time I saw LJ, it was on this instructional video from the early 80´s , and I was amazed by how hard he hit the strings and how he couldn´t explain what he had just done lolol

I like his sound (but only on him) as I think it suits the character. I´m more into MM but with Rw boards only - can´t stand the "pleck, pleck"

[drTStingray]

Thanks for posting this.

I was lucky enough to see the Brothers Johnson live around 1980 and they were great - LJ used an Alembic and did a fabulous solo (it was the start of their encore and involved him coming on stage on his own).

I think I know what you mean JTUK by his playing being loose as some of the slap licks on the instruction video when at full speed sound a little on the edge (though no more so than some of Marcus Miller's live stuff) - however listen to him on Brothers Johnson or any of the Quincy Jones produced albums of that era and he is anything but loose - his finger style playing is superb as well. There is no doubt he influenced both Flea and Mark King significantly (I think Flea has said so).

Notice, like Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson plays finger style between the bridge and the pick up on the Musicman - I've tried that recently and it makes quite a distinctive sound particularly if you pluck hard. I'm afraid that posting all this slap stuff has also got me trying some of those crazy licks - I may be in trouble next time I get a bass solo in a gig ........... my fave slap machine is an HH Stingray with rosewood board - it simply has the best slap sound of all my MM basses.

Edited May 5, 2015 by drTStingray