Favourite recordings without bass

[Steve Lawson]

Hey all,

thought it might be nice to have a thread for us to talk about the elements of music that make music great, abstracted from the 'bassness' of the music... So a thread about our favourite recordings that don't feature any bass, or at least any electric or upright bass - I'm not putting a moratorium on low notes.

I'll start - here's a few for you -

[b]Don Ross - Passion Session[/b]: Don's a post-Hedges acoustic guitarist, looks like a truck driver and grooves like James Brown's rhythm section. Funky, melodic, beautiful and expertly played.
[b]Paul Motian Trio - Sound Of Love[/b]: a drums/guitar/sax trio, playing gorgeous music, the interplay between Paul (drums), Bill Frisell on guitar and Joe Lovano on sax is just amazing, and the space left by having no bassist means that all three of them 'comp' in really interesting ways.
[b]Howard Jones - Live Acoustic America[/b]: A lot of Howard's early albums suffer in hindsight from production that was boundary pushing then but sounds a little anachronistic now. This album is just him at the piano with a pecussionist (I can't remember her name, sadly) - great songs that really groove...
[b]Bobby McFerrin - The Voice[/b]: one of my all time favourite solo recordings, on any instrument. I've drawn SO much inspiration from this album I should be paying him royaties. Anyone wanting to get back to the feeling that there are no rules, no boundaries, and that experimentation is the key to finding your own voice, this is the album to inspire it. Pure Genius.

Over to you lot, what do you recommend?

Cheers

Steve
[url="http://www.stevelawson.net"]http://www.stevelawson.net[/url]

[pete.young]

[quote name='Steve Lawson' post='94246' date='Nov 25 2007, 07:11 PM']Over to you lot, what do you recommend?[/quote]

The Matt Schofield Trio [url="http://www.mattschofield.com/"]http://www.mattschofield.com/[/url] .

Bellowhead. Helikons rule.

[ARGH]

The Metamorphosis (Part 2 esp) by Philip Glass,but it HAS to be played by Glass.
Its just simple,naked beauty,fits many situations,so cold,so warm.

Sam Weights "Nefarious..." pieces for 2 cellos.
Hell has a theme tune,this man wrote it.

And Rawlinson End by a man who wore no wedding band....
(Dear Vivian please send us a cauliflower,2 slings,and a welsh dresser to the man above)

Edited November 25, 2007 by ARGH

[markytbass]

I saw The Dubliners a few years back, not a bass in sight, no drums either. Lot's of singing and drinking, songs included Black Velvet Band, Seven Drunken Nights, The Wild Rover, Phil the Fluter's Ball and the most upsetting one of the night The Pub with no Beer.

The Clancey Brothers, Tim Finnegan's Wake has no bass in it either (thinking about it I don't know if any of their songs have a bass in it).

Syd Barrett, Dark Globe. I prefer the Placebo version basically because the guitar is in time with the vocals.

I could go on all night, Nick Drake is another.

[gypsymoth]

search "clark brothers stones" on youtube.

cheesy American tv show, absolutely killer version of give me shelter.

[crez5150]

I still dig 'When Doves Cry' by Prince...... and upbeat production number with no bass at all!!

[Bilbo]

Excellent thread, Steve. A perfect foil for YouTube excesses.

First thoughts....

Messiaen's 'Quartet for the End of Time' - written by Olivier Messiaen when he was a German prisoner of war in Silesia - the only instrumentalists available were a violinist, cellist and clarinet player. Messiaen wrote a piano part although, at the time of composing, he did not have access to a piano. One did turn up later but it was out of tune and many of the notes stuck. Furthermore, the cello had one string missing! The first performance was given in freezing cold weather at Stalag VIII on 15th January, 1941, to an audience of 5,000 prisoners. Messiaen later said 'Never have I been heard with as much attention and understanding'.

Eva Cassidy's version of 'Over The Rainbow' - like many people, I had never heard of her when I saw/heard it first as a video on Top Of The Pops 2. She was already dead by then. Despite my being a card carrying jazz nazi, it was a jaw dropping moment. A particularly profound performance of a well known piece of music.

Anything by the bass-less Paul Motion trio Steve mentioned. Saw them live years ago. They really DO sound like that!

Drummer Bill Bruford and pianist Patrick Moraz 'Music For Piano and Drums' - the best of both of them.

Pat Methenys 'A Map Of The World' - solo guitar & strings - beautiful. The whole soundtrack for the film (a little bit of bass but never more than functional) was written and recorded in a fortnight.

Ceiri Torjussen's Flute Octet (you can find it on www.ceiri.com) - Ceiri is an old friend who is now working in Hollywood writing film orchestrations.

I like where this thread has taken me.

Nice one, Steve.

[funkysimon]

[quote name='pete.young' post='94268' date='Nov 25 2007, 07:44 PM']The Matt Schofield Trio [url="http://www.mattschofield.com/"]http://www.mattschofield.com/[/url] .[/quote]

You know, I swear that I can hear a bass during the organ solo in this video of Schofield:
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfi9fKpm3yU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfi9fKpm3yU[/url]
Either that or the organist is truly one talented SOB. But yeah, Schofield is a fantastic player who also pulls some really comedy guitar faces. In a similar "bass provided by organ" vein, definitely check out Sugarman 3:
[url="http://www.myspace.com/sugarman3"]http://www.myspace.com/sugarman3[/url]

[Alien]

Ed Alleyne-Johnson's solo stuff blows me away - just him, an electric violin and some effects.

Andy

[Kiwi]

Anything by the Flight of the Conchords. I think they're great... ...but there again I would.

Fanfare of the Common Man - Aaron Copeland. About as close to pure musical perfection as I've ever encountered. Takes me on a rollercoaster ride into the stratosphere and then lands me gently on the ground at teh end, uplifted and satisfied.
+1 Eva Cassidy, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
+1 Pat Methenys, A Map Of The World
[url="http://www.caraluft.com"]Cara Luft[/url] is revitalising Canadian folk music with bassist Hugh MacMillan from Spirit of The West.



Fast forward to 2:10 if you don't fancy hearing the religious stuff like me. Cara and Hugh, are both good friends of mine and I have her CD on near permanent play in my car. It's great driving music! The second track in at 3:12 is my favourite tune, an old Led Zep number which Cara plays because she's a rock chick at heart . The [url="http://cdbaby.com/mp3lofi/caraluft-04.m3u"]CD track [/url]has more percussion on the CD than live and the pounding groove along with the time signature is really catchy.

[pete.young]

[quote name='funkysimon' post='94438' date='Nov 26 2007, 11:05 AM']You know, I swear that I can hear a bass during the organ solo in this video of Schofield:
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfi9fKpm3yU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfi9fKpm3yU[/url]
Either that or the organist is truly one talented SOB.[/quote]

I'd go with 'talented SOB'. You can see his left hand technique working at 3.15 - 3.45 .

Just found out they're playing near me next March. Woo! Yay!

[Soulfinger]

[b]Michael Mantler/Don Preston: Alien[/b] - Great stuff, but probably the scariest record I own. Makes you feel really uneasy.
[b]Paul Weller: Days Of Speed[/b] - Live recording, just the man and his guitar (ok, sometimes another man and his guitar as well ).
[b]Dresden Dolls: Yes, Virginia[/b] - This is such an amazing album, fantastic songs, lyrics, playing and singing. There is an occasional bass overdub but nothing the music couldn´t do without.
[b]Enrico Rava/Ran Blake: Duo Noir[/b] - very subtle, very cool, yet soulful.
[b]John Surman/Jack DeJohnette + London Brass: Free and Equal[/b] - It doesn´t get better than this. Two stellar jazz musicians and the best of British brass players, ECM recording quality, stunning compositions and arrangements...

Then there´s Keith Jarrett, Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, Gianluigi Trovesi... I could go on and on...

[Dood]

Hi all,

my 'joke' answer would be any early Metallica or Dream Theater Albums, where the bass is so buried in the mix, it may as well not be there at all!!

I really (if you'll excuse the phrase) 'get off' on those recordings of voices on their own, like one singer on their own.. um.. the sort that is so close mic'd you can hear their jaw move! Sounds great through a really good system. A couple of favourites: - OLD: John Lee Hooker, I think the track is called 'The Waterfront'. My 'new' choice would be that ther' Joss Stone gal, doing a cover of 'I Had A Dream'. There are plenty more, of course.. but I do think that sometimes I want to right a bass line that follows the vocal line closer than say a normal pop bassline. Does that make sense?

Take for example Thomas Lang (not the drummer!!) "Me and Mrs Jones" I LOVE the bass on that track!

[lee4]

Richard Thompson-Beeswing
Blues'n'Trouble-12 Gates(just voice and harmonica)

[BigRedX]

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drums-Guns-Low/dp/B000MV8CSO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1196107223&sr=8-1"]Drums and Guns by Low[/url] There is some sounds that might have been produced by a bass guitar, but in the main this is stark and minimal noise and rhythm as a backdrop for the harmony singing of Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk.

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Give-Up-Postal-Service/dp/B000089CJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1196107408&sr=1-1"]Give Up by The Postal Service[/url] Plenty of low notes but only from the electronics of Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello, meshedwith the brilliant lyrics and singing of Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard. An album that is much greater than the sum of it's parts.

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tripper-Efterklang/dp/B0002Y4SV6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1196107607&sr=1-2"]Tripper by Efterklang[/url]. No bass guitar, but electronics and 'orchestral' instruments blended with vocals.

[Weird War]

[size=4][b][url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DXc_OvTpOLA"]Jon Spencer Blues Explosion[/url][/b][/size]

[Breakfast]

+1 for Richard Thompson. If you want to see amazing virtuosity, stunning songwriting and be thoroughly entertained go and see him play live.

Michael Chapman is good for that too- another singer songwriter and stunning solo guitarist from the same generation with a real ragtime feel to a lot of what he plays. A little instrumental of his called [i]Naked Ladies And Electric Ragtime[/i] is particularly good. Also, while I think of underrated guitarists, Steve Tilston.

Edited November 26, 2007 by Breakfast

[JoeS]

Another one for [i]Beeswing[/i], amazing song. Also, [i]Behind Your Eyes[/i] and [i]Intermission[/i] by Nine Black Alps.

Edited November 26, 2007 by JoeS

[tauzero]

Harry Chapin - "Cat's in the Cradle"

Pete Townsend - any of the 'Oo stuff done acoustically (can be seen on various Secret Policeman's Ballseses)

John Williams - "Jesu joy of man's desiring"

+1 for Eva Cassidy's "Somewhere over the rainbow", which has added poignancy since a friend had it played at her funeral (thread convergence - a heavy smoker who died of lung cancer at 52)

[chris_b]

Anything by Robert Johnson......

[Doc B]

[quote name='dood' date='Nov 26 2007, 04:20 PM' post='94613']
A couple of favourites: - OLD: John Lee Hooker, I think the track is called 'The Waterfront'

'I Cover the Waterfont' I think it's called but whatever, that's a great track, although I only know the version with van MOrrison on it. Loads of JLH stuff is great when it's just his voice, guitars and his feet as percussion on a sheet of wood.

Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is another recent favourite of mine. Chris Cornell's solo version of Like Suicide is fanatstic too.

[Alun]

Good thread

I'll go for...

Samuel Barber's Adagio For Strings ( although it has been horrendously overused in recent years)
Claude Debussy's Dr Gradus ad Parnassum ( spelling?)
Take Me Home by Tom Waits
Hide & Seek by Imogen Heap
Because Its There by Michael Hedges
Antonella's Birthday by Tommy Emmanuel
Assorted Bulgarian choir music ( very beautiful harmonies)
Any solo Oscar Peterson recording
Martin Taylor - Stella By Starlight ( or Old Man River, or most if his solo guitar pieces really)
Anything from Ted Greene's solo guitar album
Here Comes The Flood by Peter Gabriel (the solo piano & voice version)


Cheers,
Alun





Cheers,
Alun

[Musky]

[quote name='Weird War' post='94755' date='Nov 26 2007, 08:45 PM'][size=4][b][url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DXc_OvTpOLA"]Jon Spencer Blues Explosion[/url][/b][/size][/quote]

Good call! Likewise Jon Spencer's earlier stuff with Pussy Galore.

I'd add to that early Cramps stuff as well, especially The Most Exalted Potentate of Love. None of their later stuff with a bass comes close - with that much fuzz who needs bass.

I think I'm doing myself out of a job here.

[gypsymoth]

nothing beats a good accordion and a hammer dulcimer.
any version of a dulcimer is rather great on it's own too.

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='gypsymoth' post='95438' date='Nov 28 2007, 01:09 AM']nothing beats a good accordion and a hammer[/quote]

There, fixed it!

For me, hmmm....

John Surman: - Road to St Ives. Saxes over looped/sequenced synthy goings on.
Ed Alleyne-Johnson: - Oxford Suite & Ultraviolet. Loopy electric violinining.
Daniel Chorzempa: - J.S. Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor and Passacaglia & Fugue in C Minor. If I had to sell my entire record collection exept one disc, this one would be it.

Pete.