Average White Band - two basses

[pineweasel]

Came across this picture of Onnie McIntyre and Alan Gorrie of AWB both on bass:

I’m only really familiar with their hits. Does anyone know what track they might be playing?

[chris_b]

That's Hamish Stuart and Alan Gorrie.

[drTStingray]

They both play bass and also guitar but I've never seen them both playing bass at the same time. There are tracks with two basses on (on Soul Searching IIRC). 

They both played Musicman Stingrays after about 1977. 

[Burns-bass]

That would be one hell of a funky jam.

[casapete]

1 hour ago, drTStingray said:

They both play bass and also guitar but I've never seen them both playing bass at the same time. There are tracks with two basses on (on Soul Searching IIRC). 

They both played Musicman Stingrays after about 1977. 

Agreed, reckon the pic was probably mid 70’s. No idea about the two bass thing though, didn’t know about the Soul Searching thing either.

Alan Gorrie moved back to Fenders in the mid or late 80’s I think, and has long been a user of a sunburst Jazz 5 string. Great player, saw AWB last year in Leeds and they were still excellent.

[SpondonBassed]

Interesting to note; going by the scratch guards and control plates one has a jazz and the other has a precision.  Both seem to have a p pup.

I'd like to hear the recording that goes with that photo.  Would you be able to tell the difference, assuming the recording was of sufficient quality?

[lowdown]

39 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

Interesting to note; going by the scratch guards and control plates one has a jazz and the other has a precision.  Both seem to have a p pup.

Maybe that is a Fender Mustang Bass, rather than a Jazz Bass?

 

Edited May 12, 2018 by lowdown

[chris_b]

Err. . . . Hamish Stuart is playing a Fender Mustang

[SpondonBassed]

42 minutes ago, lowdown said:

Maybe that is a Fender Mustang Bass, rather than a Jazz Bass?

 

 

41 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Err. . . . Hamish Stuart is playing a Fender Mustang

Okay.

That's cleared it up a little for me.  My question still stands.  If a recording of sufficient quality exists, would you hear much difference?

[oldslapper]

Saw them at the Rainbow in 1979 & they came on stage playing 2 basses in the first song....blew my 18 year old head away. Can't remember the song though...sorry.

[casapete]

1 minute ago, oldslapper said:

Saw them at the Rainbow in 1979 & they came on stage playing 2 basses in the first song....blew my 18 year old head away. Can't remember the song though...sorry.

Saw them on that tour, and honestly have no recollection of the two basses song either! Anyone any ideas ?

[Happy Jack]

I'm guessing it wasn't this one, then ...

 

 

[drTStingray]

2 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

 

Okay.

That's cleared it up a little for me.  My question still stands.  If a recording of sufficient quality exists, would you hear much difference?

There are plenty of live recordings with Hamish Stuart playing a Mustang and on other songs, Alan Gorrie playing a Precision. They do sound quite different - Hamish Stuart often played with a pick and a phase effect also in AWB. 

They even sound quite different playing Stingrays - which goes to show a lot of it is down to the player, not the bass. 

Examples of songs with Hamish Stuart on bass (definitely live, probably in studio) are Schoolboy Crush; I'm the One; When Will You Be Mine. The first is probably on a Mustang - the others may be Stingray. 

There are quite a few. 

[zranyard]

I saw Hamish, Molly Duncan and steve ferrone a couple of years ago, perform the whole album Soul Searching. The main bass was a p bass, and Hamish used a mustang bass on a couple of tracks. The track love your life was similar to the record, a p bass doing one part and a mustang with a pick, and some sort of envelope type filter I think, for the second part. It sounded great! 

[lowdown]

 

Hamish Stuart played Bass on the album track, ‘You Got It’ , from The AWB Album.

 

 

  Alan Gorrie on the track below.

 As a side note, there are some serious big name players on this album. The whole album is very soulful, with great funky grooves on. One of my favourite albums.

 

[pineweasel]

13 hours ago, chris_b said:

That's Hamish Stuart and Alan Gorrie.

Ah, of course. That’s what I get for copying the caption.

[chris_b]

AWB did a brief residency at the Marquee just before the white album came out. With Robbie McIntosh on drums. That guy could make anything groove.

[lowdown]

26 minutes ago, chris_b said:

AWB did a brief residency at the Marquee just before the white album came out. With Robbie McIntosh on drums. That guy could make anything groove.

I saw him with the AWB down at the Black Prince in Bexley (just before they went off to record that Album). Terrific Drummer...

If Cher hadn't helped Alan Gorrie at that party, he would have died too...

[Paul S]

Cut The Cake with Hamish on bass:

 

I've seen AWB a couple of times in recent years and they are still pretty good. 

By contrast I have seen the Hamish Stuart Band a couple of times at a tiny little local venue and the guy oozes funk out of every pore.  His voice doesn't have the power any more - he reaches the falsetto but not in the same nerve tingling way he used to - but the band are just SOOO funky.  Steve Pearce on bass.

[bumnote]

from an interview on line

Alan explained. While Soul Searching didn’t produce any major hits, it’s surprisingly the band’s best-selling album to date, reaching #2 on the R&B charts and #9 Pop and eventually earning platinum status well after its release date. “‘Love Your Life,’” Alan continued, “features the novel approach of both Hamish and I playing two basses simultaneously, and there was a sense of adventure throughout from Steve Ferrone’s inventive drumming, and Onnie’s concise and tasty guitars, that raised the entire work 

http://www.waxpoetics.com/blog/features/articles/average-white-band-blue-eyed-soul/4/

 

[mentalextra]

Excuse my ignorance, but why is it so unusual to see bands using two basses?

I was watching the video of XTC playing "King for a day" on David Letterman (three guitars and two basses)  which got me thinking?

[spectoremg]

10 hours ago, drTStingray said:

 

They even sound quite different playing Stingrays - which goes to show a lot of it is down to the player, not the bass. 

 

So did any of the basses and amps have tone controls, or is this more 'it's all in the fingers' bs?

[drTStingray]

17 minutes ago, spectoremg said:

So did any of the basses and amps have tone controls, or is this more 'it's all in the fingers' bs?

Well I don't think it's bs but you can think what you like - I did carefully say a lot of it and not all of it. 

If you haven't before, have a listen on the Live at Montreux video of AWB and make your own choice. They are both playing Stingrays through Acoustic stacks.  

Clearly there are a lot of variables in a bass sound but one of the biggest and least predictable is the player and how they play the bass (IMHO of course). Hamish and Alan have subtly different ways of playing R and B bass. 

Edited May 12, 2018 by drTStingray

[spectoremg]

10 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

Well I don't think it's bs but you can think what you like - I did carefully say a lot of it and not all of it. 

If you haven't before, have a listen on the Live at Montreux video of AWB and make your own choice. They are both playing Stingrays through Acoustic stacks.  

Clearly there are a lot of variables in a bass sound but one of the biggest and least predictable is the player and how they play the bass (IMHO of course). Hamish and Alan have subtly different ways of playing R and B bass. 

We'll agree to disagree then.

[Jazzpunk]

The 2-bass tune is "Love Your Life"... I saw the Soul Searching tour in 1976, Norfolk Scope (Wild Cherry opened). Hamish had a sunburst MM Stingray, Gorrie had a natural wood MM Stingray.

Check out the tune on the album. You can hear the 2 distinct bass tracks...a Mu-Tron pedal is used, as well. IIRC.