andy67 Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 (edited) Growing up in the 60/70/80s afforded me the pleasure of seeing and hearing some of the most amazing bass players on the planet - personal influences inc. in no particular order: Ali McMordie, Phil Lynott, Cliff Williams, Roger Glover, Les Claypool, Geddy Lee, Larry Graham, Flea, Jack Bruce, Carol Kaye, Donald Dunn and many, many more! I have been listening to Whitesnake and Snakecharmer a fair bit lately and I have to say Neil Murray is probably my personal favourite and the player who has influenced my playing most. His technique, dynamics, melody, nuances and lovely runs in songs are so cool and so understated! So starting an appreciation thread for Neil but open to all to discuss and to add your most influential and why? Andy Edited October 31, 2020 by andy67 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 Yep, one of my favourites as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 Remember being dragged to see "We Will Rock You", and being pleasantly surprised that Mr Murray was playing bass for that show. Always understated, always played to the song. Top player. Never could stand Whitesnake though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 You do know he is a BC member? Which, of course, makes him a top fella as well as a top player. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiram.k.hackenbacker Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 9 minutes ago, ezbass said: You do know he is a BC member? Which, of course, makes him a top fella as well as a top player. Yes indeed. He took part in a thread on here a while back. No stranger to the Marketplace either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 I will go check out his work. I have of course heard of Whitesnake but not sat and listened properly. Always happy to follow another bassist's recommendation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted October 31, 2020 Author Share Posted October 31, 2020 1 minute ago, stewblack said: I will go check out his work. I have of course heard of Whitesnake but not sat and listened properly. Always happy to follow another bassist's recommendation. Most things before the Slide it in remix. Anything post this isn't Neil unfortunately. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 There are transcriptions of 'Fool For Your Lovin' by Whitesnake and 'Down To You' by Coloseum on my transcription site. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/fool-for-your-loving-whitesnake/ https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/down-to-you-colosseum-ii/ 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Skybone said: Remember being dragged to see "We Will Rock You", and being pleasantly surprised that Mr Murray was playing bass for that show. Always understated, always played to the song. Top player. Never could stand Whitesnake though! I did some guitar tech work on that show, and spent many a night sitting behind him - which meant I could hear his fantastic playing, but not actually see him play 🙄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 Yeah he’s a very tasty player. I was learning the original Fool For Your Loving a few weeks ago and the bass on it is great. Had the pleasure of making Neil Murray a cup of tea many years ago at the Roland HQ in Swansea where I worked. I said: “You’re Neil Murray aren’t you?” and he said: “Well I’m an older, fatter version of him,” which I thought was quite witty. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 Huge influence on me during the 80's. Great player! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted October 31, 2020 Author Share Posted October 31, 2020 Met Neil Murray after a Snakecharmer gig in Edinburgh, two years ago. Really nice fella. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misdee Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 (edited) Neil Murray ? Fantastic bass player. If you listen to his playing on the classic Whitesnake records it soon becomes clear he is a cut above most rock bassists in terms of his playing ability and overall musicality. He has got proper jazz-rock fusion level chops. Even though a lot of the 'Snake songs are blues- based and fairly standard fare, NM 's playing is always fresh, inventive and agile .And tasty. Would have been nice to hear him play in some other musical genres as well as rock. Edited October 31, 2020 by Misdee 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 I bought some stuff from him through the ads here, but didn't realise he was the real one. Thought it was just a pseudo. 🤣 That said, he's a nice guy to deal with and write to (as I didn't talk to him). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baceface Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 One of the earliest concerts I attended was Whitesnake in 1980. NM was, and I'm sure still is, a cracking player who never let his considerable chops override his job in that band. Occasionally you'd get something pretty tasty sneaking in (Fool For Your Loving is a killer line) but it always fitted perfectly in a genre where fancy bass shenanigans were not the norm. Best of all was the way he and Ian Paice played together. I can only describe it as "heavy swing" and something that, even to my young ears, made that lineup pretty special. The next time I saw the 'snake, Colin Hodgkinson had replaced him, so clearly Coverdale had a thing for tasty bass players! Not sure that Colin was as good a fit as Neil, although clearly a great player. Cozy Powell was a great drummer too but while I think his style worked well in Rainbow, he didn't really do the Paice swing thing that seemed to suit the blues-rock material so well. The last time I saw the band Neil was back but things were already getting a bit heavier and a lot hairier (John Sykes lineup). Not quite my thing but much more to my liking than the spandex 'n' hairspray antics that followed. Neil's built up quite the C.V. over the years and it's nice to see he's still doing well. A real talent and someone who's ability was quite special in a genre of music where the bass player is more often called to do the "lukewarm water" thing, to quote another great player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davepb24 Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 For whatever reason I never got into Whitesnake back in the day...when I moved to a new flat back in the summer some very kind friends bought me an Alexa dot thing, which somehow brings out bass better than my DAB radio ever could (don't ask me how, it just came like that lol) I find myself with a rather better appreciation of them now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 (edited) Neil 'liked' a facebook comment of mine so that makes him ok in my book. Edited November 1, 2020 by goingdownslow 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 7 hours ago, andy67 said: Most things before the Slide it in remix. Anything post this isn't Neil unfortunately. Neil was also on the 1987 album, but not the subsequent tours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ordep Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 met Neil when he bought a Squier bass I was selling more than 4 years ago. Aside from being a legendary bass player, he is so cool and even game for an insta-selfie. 😄 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted November 1, 2020 Author Share Posted November 1, 2020 5 hours ago, peteb said: Neil was also on the 1987 album, but not the subsequent tours. So he did 👍 well you do learn something new every day 😎 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitesnake_(album) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 (edited) Neil did a brief stint with Bill Bruford captured here: Edited November 1, 2020 by visog 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfJames Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Loved Whitesnake in the '80s and happened to buy a Sandberg off here that I am proud to say was ordered by the great man himself..........a Sandberg Ken Taylor Custom....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleat Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Bought some strings ages ago from Mr Murray, and this came with them, which was very nice of him. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Here again, slightly different context to the Bruford clip 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted November 1, 2020 Author Share Posted November 1, 2020 And another 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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