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:
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
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