Sting - as a bass player?

[chris_b]

Just seen this. I've always rate Sting as a bass player and he's still playing with a ton of energy.

Love the band.

 

 

[Barking Spiders]

I've always liked the first four Police albums and i learnt a lot from learning basslines to tunes like It's Alright For You, Regatta de  Blanc, Canary in a Coalmine , When the world is running down and Voices in my Head. Always found them very fitting, memorable and essential for the songs.  Yep, an underrated player IMO.

[Cato]

He needs to get that bass refinished, it's in a right state.

[Mastodon2]

Not my cup of tea and I've never thought a great deal of his playing or the stuff he writes. He certainly knows how to write a money-earner though.

[Graham]

Did he play the walking part in Englishman In New York? Or was that someone else?

[thepurpleblob]

I think he's genuinely inventive and tasteful. He's certainly inspired me...

[police squad]

of course i think he's talented. He writes good songs and plays very complimentary bass parts.

Love that bass too, sounds like my one

[NJE]

I came to The Police and Sting through my dad who was a massive Sting fan. I had the 'very best of sting & the police' album when I was about 15 and his song writing and playing was a huge inspiration. As a young player I could grasp parts and play along to a lot of Police stuff fairly quickly, and it had plenty of energy. The more I listened to his solo songs and albums the more I appreciated his playing and song writing.

I think he is hugely underrated as a player, he is a great example of playing for the song but when you listen carefully he has a great feel and note choice, and faced with the same song I doubt many of us would be as inventive and subtle as he is. 

[petebassist]

Great singer & song writer & musician. Seems to take a lot of stick because he doesn't just play the old stuff he did from the 80s, and has dared to play different instruments, such as the lute etc and branch into other genres outside of 'new' wave.  Inspirational bloke !!!

[bassjim]

I like Sting. I like his songwriting. I like his bass playing.

 I had to learn "every thing she does is magic" for a dep gig, and found its not half as straight forward as I thought it would  be.  

 Lady Gaga  covers "lose My Faith" and sings at his birthday bash. If you like Sting from a distance and haven't heard these I can recommend.   Both performances  I think are really good but they also , for me , highlight Stings ability as a song writer.

 

As a bass player he may be underrated in this sea of fretboard mastery, but if he was simply the session guy on his records, his playing is always exactly the right bass part.  I also think he has more mastery of the instrument up his sleeve but has no need to do it just for the sake of it. 

[louisthebass]

18 minutes ago, bassjim said:

As a bass player he may be underrated in this sea of fretboard mastery, but if he was simply the session guy on his records, his playing is always exactly the right bass part.  I also think he has more mastery of the instrument up his sleeve but has no need to do it just for the sake of it. 

This - I think he's a good tasteful player.

[Lozz196]

Both the bassline and the tone to Message In a Bottle are excellent imo. Think Sting is a fair bit under-rated as a bassist, as his singing ability and rather irritating smugness (tho I think if I played like that, sang like that, and looked like that I`d be smug too) seem to me to be more at the forefront than his bass chops.

[ambient]

I think he's a very talented bassist.

 

He was a jazz bassist I believe. That's how come he plays upright and bass guitar. He also sings incredibly well too, at the same time as playing bass.

[Bluewine]

I really can't tell or hear how much bass he's actually playing. Great vocals and a lot of kick derrière guitar work.

Blue

[Monkey Steve]

big Police fan, and tend to think that Sting is a very elegant, understated bass player.  In technical terms he's overshadowed by the world class drummer and the not too shabby guitarist, so the bass doesn't scream "look at me!" but you'll miss it if it wasn't there.

[Dad3353]

This might throw another light on this bloke's talent and qualities...

 

[mikel]

The Police were one of the best live bands I have ever seen. His bass playing, while he is also singing, is superb. Try and do the same, its like trying to produce two grooves at the same time. Great songwriter and musician. Not all of his stuff but most of it. 

[Monkey Steve]

6 minutes ago, mikel said:

The Police were one of the best live bands I have ever seen. His bass playing, while he is also singing, is superb. Try and do the same, its like trying to produce two grooves at the same time. Great songwriter and musician. Not all of his stuff but most of it. 

I always wondered if the singing was what dictated the simplicity/elegance of the bass lines - I know that I sometimes struggle to play some more intricate things if I'm singing.  On balance however I tend to think that he just understands the dynamics of the songs, and that the bass line is there to provide the melody and the drive, not the fireworks.

[lowdown]

Always liked Sting, his playing/singing and composing. He is still singing ok as well these days. Huge talent.

Must say though, the Bass (to me) needs turning up in the OP video, it sounds very week in the mix, muddy, indistinct, with no attack at all (just my opinion of course).

 

A good friend of mine has just had a book published about Sting and his history. (Actually he has written a good Zappa book as well).

http://www.reaktionbooks.co.uk/display.asp?ISB=9781780238135

 

Edited December 1, 2017 by lowdown

[White Cloud]

16 minutes ago, mikel said:

The Police were one of the best live bands I have ever seen. His bass playing, while he is also singing, is superb. Try and do the same, its like trying to produce two grooves at the same time. Great songwriter and musician. Not all of his stuff but most of it. 

This.

Sting is great in my opinion, seem him live several times - very influential.

[lojo]

Bombs away was one of the many Police songs that got me into bass 

[machinehead]

His choice of notes, tone and timing are sublime.  He's a wonderful and restrained bass player.

Frank.

[kevin_lindsay]

He' a great bass player. It takes great ears (and great confidence) to play with so much space. Plus, he has the chips to play really busily if he wants to - after all, he first started out in the jazz rock outfit Last Exit.

Anyhow, here' a live clip of a wonderful performance of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" during the Police's reunion your. Absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

[chris_b]

They were a great band. Should have done much more. Shame they couldn't get on together.

I remember seeing Andy Summers in the 60's playing with Zoot Money's Big Roll Band.

[discreet]

Great note choices, loads of space, economical, tasteful, great natural timing, groovy as feck and plays for the song. But enough about me... always liked Sting's playing from Roxeanne onwards. However I can't help but think he's a bit of a twunt. Like that's got anything to do with anything.

Edited December 1, 2017 by discreet