So who's playing what on this?
The leads are definitely Keith.
Is the intro him or Brian?
Are those middle-pickup Les-Paul sounding riffs Keith or Brian?
Keith was the Les Paul guy at this time, so I think it's him.
Is the Chuck Berry rhythm Keith or Brian?
Is Brian on this song at all?
Let me know what you guitar players think.
Actually, the same can be asked for many songs on Aftermath and Buttons.
What guitar parts did Jones play?

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tomk
So who's playing what on this?
The leads are definitely Keith.
Is the intro him or Brian?
Are those middle-pickup Les-Paul sounding riffs Keith or Brian?
Keith was the Les Paul guy at this time, so I think it's him.
Is the Chuck Berry rhythm Keith or Brian?
Is Brian on this song at all?
Let me know what you guitar players think.
Actually, the same can be asked for many songs on Aftermath and Buttons.
What guitar parts did Jones play?

My best guess is that Jones plays the driving Berry rythm and all other guitars are Richards, including intro, solo and fills.

Mathijs

this great song is the best example of "weaving," imo.

the guitar intro reminds me of a less ornate version of the intro to "Off the Hook," which I think has brian and keith playing intertwining lines. Here it's just the one guitar, then the rest of the band kicks in.

and this is one of the cuts with a fuzz bass, isn't it? I've never been able to determine whether that's a 2nd bass, overdubbed as fills, or if it's an effect applied to the original bass part, here and there.

I've asked myself the same thing re the Fuzzbass. Probably even more so on "Flight 505".OD or same take?
Those Fuzzlines are GREAT; the way they slide in and out of the song. But it's the placement within the chords that IMO is just so damn good.

And dont forget those great lines! ....got me runnin' like a cat in a thunderstorm......!! Fantastic.

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Mathijs
My best guess is that Jones plays the driving Berry rythm and all other guitars are Richards, including intro, solo and fills.

Yet, the person who plays the Chuck Berry rhythm part plays the solo. It sounds like one guitar, one player doing that part. The stereo version of this track clearly demonstrates this. Keith had done this before, playing the rhythm part but then playing the solo, like in The Last Time. And the solo to Its Not Easy is definitely Keith. The other guitar part, that quiet, sinewy lead, could be Brian but its hard to tell. ALO mentions how Brian contributed on every track on Aftermath, so he more than likely played on INE, but that rhythm part doesn't sound like Brian to me.

There are 3 guitars on It's Not Easy -

one is playing the intro and licks throughout with a warm jazzy tone, another is playing chuck berry rhythm with a funky sound and there's another guitar that plays the treble lead lines and solo.

I'd say it's possible that Keith played all of the guitar parts with Brian playing the pretty basic organ part. Or Keith on the warm and treble lead lines with Brian playing the chuck rhythm.

The fuzz bass sounds like it is one take, not an overdub. Possibly recorded with a blended sound of normal bass and maestro fuzz bass hence the fat bottom end. Perhaps there's a blend of DI and mic'd amp here like they used during the Satanic, Beggars, LIB sessions which would allow for greater control over the blend of those sounds.

Bill is pictured using both Vox and Sun amps during this period.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-12 14:40 by His Majesty.

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His Majesty
There are 3 guitars on It's Not Easy -

one is playing the intro and licks throughout with a warm jazzy tone, another is playing chuck berry rhythm with a funky sound and there's another guitar that plays the treble lead lines and solo.

I'd say it's possible that Keith played all of the guitar parts with Brian playing the pretty basic organ part. Or Keith on the warm and treble lead lines with Brian playing the chuck rhythm.

The fuzz bass sounds like it is one take, not an overdub. Possibly recorded with a blended sound of normal bass and maestro fuzz bass hence the fat bottom end. Perhaps there's a blend of DI and mic'd amp here like they used during the Satanic, Beggars, LIB sessions which would allow for greater control over the blend of those sounds.

Bill is pictured using both Vox and Sun amps during this period.

Sounds right to me. I think that Berry rythm is Brian, he always played that Berry rythm with this dry, compressed sound, really driving. Keith plays it looser, more playing around with the timing. All other guitars are Keith imo, with those jazzy fills really intricate, a great guitar part for such a song.

I only hear one bass though, the fuzz bass.

Mathijs

I only hear one bass too, but I think it's possible that they may have recorded a clean sound and a fuzz sound and blended them as the bass retains a fat bottom end which is something that tends to suffer when you play bass through a fuzz pedal.

yeah, doesn't the fuzz come in and out? so it would have to be either overdubbed or split across two channels from the same take. Maybe it's on "Flight 505" that the fuzz is added here and there.

The fuzz is part of the bass sound all the way through.

On "Its not easy" I also hear the fuzzbass all the way through.
The thread is about that song, but I started thinking more about "505". Love the way they worked those fuzz lines in. Now that oen I think is overdubbed.