Please consider registering
Guest
sp_LogInOut Log Insp_Registration Register
Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search
Forum Scope


Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
sp_Feed sp_TopicIcon
What's your favourite Beatle bassline?
16 June 2011
1.05am
mr. Sun king coming together
Nowhere Land
Apple rooftop
Members
Forum Posts: 6402
Member Since:
19 September 2010
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
113sp_Permalink sp_Print

Small smileys, brain on Paul, and a hockey game starting in minutes. Error fixed.

As if it matters how a man falls down.'

'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.

16 June 2011
1.10am
Avatar
skye
AZ
Candlestick Park
Members
Forum Posts: 2239
Member Since:
13 November 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
114sp_Permalink sp_Print

Typing. Like. Shatner. a-hard-days-night-john-6

Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo! So little time! So much to know!

16 November 2011
7.56pm
Avatar
Tomorrow Never Knows
There's A Place
London Palladium
Members
Forum Posts: 107
Member Since:
14 November 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
115sp_Permalink sp_Print

At Helter Skelter John is playing the Fender Bass VI.For me,here is one of the best basslines beatles had in their songs

 

And In The End, The Love You Take….Is Equal to the Love……You Make

17 November 2011
12.22am
Avatar
meanmistermustard
Thankfully not where I am.
Moderator
Members

Reviewers


Moderators
Forum Posts: 24950
Member Since:
1 May 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
116sp_Permalink sp_Print

I love how isolated tracks have appeared all over the place as you get to hear parts of the songs that otherwise you never would and they help you see whats going on. Two of the highlights are Here Comes The Sun (moog syth and orchestra) and Something (Hammond Organ and orchestra). Both are gorgeous pieces of music.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

17 November 2011
2.10am
Avatar
mooker19
Casbah Coffee Club
Members
Forum Posts: 17
Member Since:
17 November 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
117sp_Permalink sp_Print

The bassline to the bridge section of “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” is absolutely stunning. Paul is also in killer form on just about every tune thrown onto Hey Jude , particularly “Rain ” and “Old Brown Shoe .” His bass is understated but mind-boggling on the latter part of “I Want You (She's So Heavy)” and I also adore “Helter Skelter .” It's worth checking out that one of his huge influences, the Motown legend James Jamerson, plays unbelievable bass on the tune “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,” and I think you can find the bassline on YouTube. Happy listening! apple01

17 November 2011
6.30am
Avatar
mooker19
Casbah Coffee Club
Members
Forum Posts: 17
Member Since:
17 November 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
118sp_Permalink sp_Print

Oh, and I forgot “Baby, You're A Rich Man.” Too important to miss. More happy listening! apple01

17 November 2011
5.58pm
Avatar
I Me Mine
Under the sea, in a Yellow Submarine
London Palladium
Members
Forum Posts: 175
Member Since:
15 June 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
119sp_Permalink sp_Print

Rain , Come Together , Rain , With A Little Help
But every time I listen to a Beatles song carefully I realise how awsome are Paul's basslines.

Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble.

18 November 2011
12.32am
Avatar
CranberrySauce
Sitting on a Corn Flake
Paris Olympia
Members
Forum Posts: 398
Member Since:
4 November 2010
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
120sp_Permalink sp_Print

Basically all of Abbey Road . Paul's bass is a part of what makes that album so utterly incredible!

Because the wind is high, it blows my mind.
19 November 2011
2.16pm
Avatar
I Me Mine
Under the sea, in a Yellow Submarine
London Palladium
Members
Forum Posts: 175
Member Since:
15 June 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
121sp_Permalink sp_Print

CranberrySauce said:

Basically all of Abbey Road . Paul's bass is a part of what makes that album so utterly incredible!

 I agree TOTALLY. apple01
Yesterday I listened to the whole albm both on vinyl and CD and I thought “I forfot to mention this awsome basslines on the Fab Forum…”

Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble.

20 November 2011
7.15pm
Avatar
Tomorrow Never Knows
There's A Place
London Palladium
Members
Forum Posts: 107
Member Since:
14 November 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
122sp_Permalink sp_Print

Also the album with the greatest basslines should be Sgt Peppers…..

And In The End, The Love You Take….Is Equal to the Love……You Make

9 June 2017
2.03pm
Avatar
Dark Overlord
Nowhere Land
Rishikesh
Members
Forum Posts: 4470
Member Since:
9 March 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

If you're reading this, you are looking for something to do.

9 June 2017
3.51pm
Avatar
sir walter raleigh
In our yellow (IN OUR YELLOW) submarine (SUBMARINE AHA!)
Apple rooftop
Members
Forum Posts: 5777
Member Since:
26 January 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Taxman , Hey Bulldog , Rain , Oh Darling, The Medley, Come Together , Your Mother Should Know

Also every other song that he plays bass on, including the original cut of Carolina In My Mind and Donovan’s Mellow Yellow. 

"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"

-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues

"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"

-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl

9 June 2017
8.44pm
Avatar
ewe2
Inside the beat
Rishikesh
Members
Forum Posts: 3025
Member Since:
8 January 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

All the basslines! I have favourites from the albums to practice with:  Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite ! starts with actual bass chords which I think is unique. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) has almost unfollowable rills even to the point of interrupting the main line, which Paul gets away with because so much else is happening on the track, and that’s AFTER all the heavy lines under the vocals. Nowhere Man is a really intense walking line that focuses on harmonising with the vocal, on the other hand Lovely Rita is an amazing bouncy thing that seems to lightly hit the changes on its own journey through the song. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is similar and demonstrates a thing that the really good players do, which is to vary their parts in each verse or each chorus (James Jamerson was notorious for this).  Check out Cry Baby Cry , the bassline is very unobtrusive and does something different every verse. The Word is bouncy, the fuzz bass of Think For Yourself and Mean Mr Mustard is great and they should have done more of it, the tightness of Savoy Truffle is as fun to play as the dizzying Rain . I never get tired of playing along to the Beatles. Might go right now and play What Goes On .

The following people thank ewe2 for this post:

Ahhh Girl, The Hole Got Fixed, sir walter raleigh, WeepingAtlasCedars, Martha, Von Bontee

I'm like Necko only I'm a bassist ukulele guitar synthesizer kazoo penguin and also everyone. Or is everyone me? Now I'm a confused bassist ukulele guitar synthesizer kazoo penguin everyone who is definitely not @Joe.  This has been true for 2016 & 2017 Sig-Badge.png but I may have to get more specific in the future.

aus-flag-v-small.png

9 June 2017
11.24pm
Avatar
Pineapple Records
Shea Stadium
Members
Forum Posts: 842
Member Since:
15 May 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

ewe2 said
Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite ! starts with actual bass chords which I think is unique.

She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is similar and demonstrates a thing that the really good players do, which is to vary their parts in each verse or each chorus (James Jamerson was notorious for this).  Check out Cry Baby Cry , the bassline is very unobtrusive and does something different every verse.

I just listened to Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! and couldn’t hear bass chords at the beginning.

I noticed that too about She Came In Through The Bathroom Window and Cry Baby Cry , and I note that in general in many songs over the years, Paul is good about putting a variance in when he will repeat something, whether a chorus or a riff or something (whereas most other pop musicians it seems feel bound to repeat formulas exactly throughout the song).

A ginger sling with a pineapple heart,

a coffee dessert, yes you know it's good news...

9 June 2017
11.34pm
Avatar
Pineapple Records
Shea Stadium
Members
Forum Posts: 842
Member Since:
15 May 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Probably my favorite is the famous B side of Abbey Road , from “You Never Give Me Your Money ” clear through to “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window “.

(The bass on “Carry That Weight ” and “The End ” is great and I appreciate it when Paul is restrained as he is here, because sometimes that’s called for, but it doesn’t quite rise to the satisfaction as when he experiments more.)

A ginger sling with a pineapple heart,

a coffee dessert, yes you know it's good news...

10 June 2017
3.17am
Avatar
Martha
Candlestick Park
Members
Forum Posts: 1277
Member Since:
27 February 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I love every time you talk about Paul’s bass playing, @ewe2! The detailed thread dedicated to it is also a joy to read for everyone who doesn’t know it yet!

Unfortunately, I can’t play bass but I love the sound of bass anyway! When I listened to the Beatles canon in chronological order one of the greatest experiences was to hear Paul’s basslines develope. 

Some of my favourites are The Word , Michelle , Nowhere Man , Day Tripper , Getting Better , Paperback Writer , Sexy Sadie , Rain , I Want To Tell You and The End

It’s incredible how Paul’s bass isn’t only an accompaniment in most of their work but has an own soul really.

The following people thank Martha for this post:

ewe2

Not once does the diversity seem forced -- the genius of the record is how the vaudevillian "When I'm 64" seems like a logical extension of "Within You Without You" and how it provides a gateway to the chiming guitars of "Lovely Rita. - Stephen T. Erlewine on Sgt Pepper's

10 June 2017
10.07am
Avatar
ewe2
Inside the beat
Rishikesh
Members
Forum Posts: 3025
Member Since:
8 January 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Pineapple Records said
I just listened to Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! and couldn’t hear bass chords at the beginning.

It’s almost impossible to hear, particularly on the new remix, but they are there when the bass is isolated:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?…..b4NGc9FpV4

Right at the beginning, which is almost impossible to play along with! It’s also clearly heard in Anthology 2 from Take 1 so not an afterthought either. Unrelated note: why did we get Take 7 again on the new Sgt Pepper ‘s 50th?

 

I noticed that too about She Came In Through The Bathroom Window and Cry Baby Cry , and I note that in general in many songs over the years, Paul is good about putting a variance in when he will repeat something, whether a chorus or a riff or something (whereas most other pop musicians it seems feel bound to repeat formulas exactly throughout the song).  

To be fair, it’s something bassists argue about. Kim Deal, who I admire immensely, is utterly implacable about playing the simple line without embellishment, and regards variance as a form of egotism. And her music (and that of the Pixies) relies on that simplicity for its effect. I’ve never heard Tina Weymouth say anything similar, but she seems to echo that philosophy in her style. Sting’s basslines are deceptively simple and repetitive. Sir Horace Gentleman does vary things a tiny bit but usually sticks to the plan, as does Colin Moulding.

But on the other hand many players, especially the great session players, all have that way of putting interesting variance and always in the service of the song. Some bassist think like songwriters, and some don’t. I’m a huge fan of Tony Levin, who is a master of this art and the criminally unsung George Murray, who played some monster lines for some of Bowie’s greatest albums.

The following people thank ewe2 for this post:

Von Bontee, Martha, WeepingAtlasCedars

I'm like Necko only I'm a bassist ukulele guitar synthesizer kazoo penguin and also everyone. Or is everyone me? Now I'm a confused bassist ukulele guitar synthesizer kazoo penguin everyone who is definitely not @Joe.  This has been true for 2016 & 2017 Sig-Badge.png but I may have to get more specific in the future.

aus-flag-v-small.png

11 June 2017
4.16am
Avatar
QuarryMan
Rishikesh
Members
Forum Posts: 3759
Member Since:
26 January 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Pretty much any Macca bass line on Sgt Pepper ‘s is fantastic. Lucy, With A Little Help , A Day In The Life , Mr Kite, Getting Better .. all very tuneful and memorable. Elsewhere i think his contribution on Something was stunning. And I love that bit in I Want You where he does that fast little run down. 

I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

11 June 2017
5.13pm
Avatar
sir walter raleigh
In our yellow (IN OUR YELLOW) submarine (SUBMARINE AHA!)
Apple rooftop
Members
Forum Posts: 5777
Member Since:
26 January 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Just blasted Mr. Kite with my nice headphones and heard the bass chords. Now I’ve got to go back and listen to the entire album again with these. I’m hearing way more than I did out of my bluetooth speaker. 

"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"

-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues

"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"

-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl

11 June 2017
5.23pm
Avatar
The Hole Got Fixed
A Dock at Southampton
Moderator

Moderators
Forum Posts: 8410
Member Since:
27 November 2016
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

a-hard-days-night-ringo-8What a pity that is!

The following people thank The Hole Got Fixed for this post:

sir walter raleigh

#AppleHoley2024: Make America Great For The First Time
2016 awards: Username-Badge.png 2017 awards: The-Hole-Got-Fixed-2017.png 2018 awards:The-Hole-Got-Fixed-2018.png 2019 awards: Ringo-2019.png 2020 awards:The-Hole-Got-Fixed-2020.png 2021 awards:The-Hole-Got-Fixed-2021.png
aus-flag-v-small.png

Forum Timezone: Europe/London
Most Users Ever Online: 700
Currently Online: Mr. Moonlight
Guest(s) 1
Top Posters:
Starr Shine?: 16105
Ron Nasty: 12534
Zig: 9832
50yearslate: 8759
Necko: 8043
AppleScruffJunior: 7583
parlance: 7111
mr. Sun king coming together: 6402
Mr. Kite: 6147
trcanberra: 6064
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 88
Members: 2859
Moderators: 5
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 3
Forums: 44
Topics: 5509
Posts: 380341
Newest Members:
frankc, viv@nelsontraining.co.uk, bornhairyman, frankkilmore123@gmail.com, onlyanorthernsong
Moderators: Joe: 5691, meanmistermustard: 24950, Ahhh Girl: 22213, Beatlebug: 18181, The Hole Got Fixed: 8410
Administrators: Joe: 5691