The Quintessential Paul McCartney Bass Lines

One of the most under-rated aspects of Paul McCartney career as a musician and songwriter is his proficiency on the bass guitar. From the simple root notes of many early Beatles tracks to the adventurism typical of much of their late 60's output, McCartney's influence on the instrument was to prove far-reaching. It helped to dispel the image held by many fledgling pop groups that the poor soul who ended up on bass was only there because he/she was the worst guitarist.
Although Paul showed some deft touches on various Beatles tracks in the 62-65 period - note the descending run over the line "show you what your loving man can do...." on the Hard Day's Night track "I'll Cry Instead" - it wasn't until late 65/early 66 that we began to hear some inimitable, Paul McCartney bass guitar lines. Much of the reason for this can be attributed to the gradual improvements in Abbey Road's recording technology (The Beatles loved the Stax sound and were always asking George Martin for more bass) and the greater sophistication of their songs.
I'd like to list those songs where I feel Paul's bass parts are amongst the most enjoyable aspects of those recordings:

• I Saw Her Standing There - The first ever Beatles album track, the bass line propelled the song along with unbridled ferocity, complimented by McCartney's exuberant vocal.
• Think For Yourself - From the album Rubber Soul. One of the first (if not THE first) modern pop songs to use an electric fuzz bass. Tasteful and succinct, it was nonetheless a radical experiment.
• Taxman - From the album Revolver. A superb bass line, complimenting the eastern vigour of Harrison's finest song up to that point. For good measure, he threw in the savage lead guitar break we all thought was George.....
• Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey - From the White album. A stunning, aggressive bass chart that has some flourishes late in the song that almost amount to lead guitar licks. A great sound too from his Rickenbacker bass.
• Something - From the album Abbey Road. George Harrison's finest song, and McCartney knew it, begging a then largely ambivalent Lennon to come in and work on the track. George protested at the time that the bass was "too busy", but its complex weaving amidst the beauty of the main melody stands as a classic example of tasteful invention

The Best Joe Walsh Album

Joe Walsh's magical music career has spanned well over four and a half decades. Between his stints with the James Gang and the Eagles, Walsh hit a productive and artistic peak in the early 70's with the release of: "Barnstorm" (1972), "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get" (1973) and "So What" (1974). "So What," the best Joe Walsh album, is the crowning gem of this tremendous trio.
Composition, performance, and production are the three primary elements that separate "So What" from "Barnstorm" and "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get."
Seven of the nine compositions on this album are some of Joe's best work. While "Barnstorm" and "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get" contain some great tracks, the sum of the songs on these two albums don't hold up as well. "Welcome to the Club," has some of Joe's best guitar chord work coupled with some of his better lyrics. Great drum work dominates on this track as well. "County Fair'" glides the listener through a sonically enchanted journey, highlighted by Joe's reverse recorded guitar solo. "Falling Down" features vocal arrangements that remind me of Brian Wilson's best work.
All of these great tracks are supported by superior performances by the assembled musicians along with Joe Walsh unique guitar work. In addition, "So What" contains fantastic backing vocals by Randy Meisner, Don Henley and Glenn Frey of The Eagles, along with J.D. Souther and Dan Fogelberg. Their work alone sets "So What apart from other Joe Walsh efforts.
This is by far the best produced Joe Walsh album. Producers: Joe Walsh, John Stronach, Bill Szymczyk and Engineers: Al Blazk, John Stronach, Bill Szymczyk, crafted a record that is cleanly mixed with a distinct separation and definition of sounds while incorporating innovative techniques such as Joe's reverse recorded guitar solo on "County Fair." The arrangements and use of synthesizers and strings are complex, but never give the listener the idea that the music is over-producer or that the producers are "reaching" for something that isn't there. Concurrently, Joe Walsh's voice never sounded better than it does on these tracks.
Most importantly, there is also a greater depth of emotion on "So What," exemplified by "Help Me Through the Night" and "Song for Emma." Emma was Joe Walsh's four-year old daughter. She was tragically killed in a traffic accident by a drunk driver while her mother was driving her to preschool. Joe dealt with this tragedy by composing a very moving and spiritual ballad that in very few words captured the beauty, uncertainty and mystery of life.
If you don't have "So What" in your CD or record collection, you are missing an album that stands well, the test of time.

Are Cover Bands A Good Thing?

When going out for a night on the town with your friends, you may be inclined to choose a bar or pub that offers live music alongside your order. Many bars, pubs and clubs feature cover bands. Some of these cover bands actually sound pretty good. Still, it's important to realize that their main purpose is to attract more clients and bring in more cash to the owners. And why not, you may ask yourself; after all, live music has many perks: it improves the ambience of a place and allows people to dance and sing to their favorite tunes. But at what costs?
Some obvious drawbacks of cover bands are: the amount of noise they make, which prevents some people from having proper conversations; their set lists which appeal to some people but not others; and let's not forget that some cover bands simply don't do justice to the original classics we all know and love. Still, these are drawbacks that most people can live with. The biggest problem of cover bands is that their existence in such great numbers prevents many otherwise talented musicians from expressing themselves creatively. That's quite the overstatement, some people might argue. Alright then, let's take a look at the state of the music industry today: major labels are going downhill as more and more artists realize that it's easier to release music independently; independent music doesn't have enough support to reach a wide audience; hits released by emerging stars (usually still with the support of major labels) are too polished and predictable and don't seem to have enough "staying power" in radio tops and on MTV, and last but not least the acts still capable of filling arenas and stadiums are getting old. Clearly the music industry needs the new generation to step in and take the reins from the old dinosaurs, as it's been done before. The problem is that large numbers of young musicians sit around in bars, pubs and clubs and play covers for money instead of writing hooks - and they'll say it's for good reason: insufficient support to become big acts like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith, even though they might have the chops to do it.
If a band makes the unlikely attempt to play an original song in a pub, the owner probably won't like it for a multitude of reasons: his clients won't know the tune; they won't sing and dance; they won't have a good time; finally, they'll run off next door where another band is playing "Satisfaction". By the time a cover band builds enough negotiation power with the owner, it will run into the next big problem: it will always be looked at as a cover band, so bye-bye successful career!
The solution to this vicious cycle is quite difficult to put into practice: it starts off with bands writing music for creative rather than financial reasons, and club owners encouraging and even helping them promote original material; in time, patrons would get used to appreciating music they may not have heard before and differentiating between more and less capable acts, instead of expecting a cover band to come onstage and play recycled music for hours at a time. As always, the problem is that everyone, from club owners to band members, cares more about money than music.

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