...spurred on by the 'analysis' of the bass playing on "All Down The Line", I figured this topic deserved a thread of its own (my apologies if it's a rerun!)

As a guitarist/bassist myself, I've always loved the Stones' bass playing. That said, some of my favourite basslines weren't played by Bill Wyman, though I'd say the "Miss You" era is probably the high water mark of Bill's playing. I always dug Taylor on "Fingerprint File"; Woody on "Emotional Rescue" and Keith on "Casino Boogie." I must admit, none of Darryl Jones' playing has ever really 'leapt out at me'. In other threads here people have stated that DJ sort of 'dumbed down' his playing when he joined the Stones...I tend to agree.

So let's hear it: favourite Stones basslines, and who played 'em?

Not only that, why'd Bill only play on about half the album most times???

darryl jones first tour voodoo lounge ,his bass playing was very funky ,and we liked that a lot .

Street Fighting Man, great bass!

In the Stones:

1. Wyman
2. Woody
3. D. Jones
4. Taylor
5. Keith

Simon
myspace.com/koningsimon

Brand New Car - Keith's playing is excellent.

Bill only played on half the albums because he got so bored waiting for things to happen he wasn't around. Read anything Charlie has ever said about Bill and that will start to make sense.

Let's not forget that Mick Jagger himself has played bass in "A Bigger bang"!!!!

^^^^

Which reminds me...I've got a boot called "Black And Blue Sessions" (I'm sure I'm not the only one) which contains an 'alternate' of "Crazy Mama"- it's the backing track with a guide vocal, minus the lead guitar/keys/perc. O/D's. Yet the bassline -played by Keith Richards on the album- is totally different. It could be an earlier take by Keith, but something about the style of playing tells me it's Bill.

Anybody else heard it; any thoughts?

For the Stones, the majority of the songs are guitar first, bass second, as opposed to R&B/Soul material where it's bass first, guitar second...however, there have been a few instances in my opinion where bass on a Stones record came first...here's my favorites:

LIVE WITH ME
FINGERPRINT FILE
MISS YOU
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
TOO MUCH BLOOD
OUT OF CONTROL
ANYBODY SEEN MY BABY

Pecman

Does the winner get a trophy?

Bill on Satisfaction

Does the Winner get a trophy?...yes that reminds me...WINNING UGLY is another Bass song based on Bass.....

PECMAN

Mick Taylor plays very tasty on Coming Down Again and Time Waits For No One.

Keith-- Live with me !

For the studio recordings it's sometimes tough to judge because the bass was so often reduced to a rumble. However, I enjoy Keith's playing on SFTD and MT's on Tumbling Dice.

As for live performances, Bill has had many many great moments, but he really started to be heard in 1978 and 1981. As for Darryl, I have no complaints about his playing whatsoever.

All things considered, the Stones' bass PLAYING has always been great, but the actual recorded SOUND you hear has been a mixed batch of results.

If you could ask Mick, Keith or Bill about the inconsistency of bass sound, I'd think we'd hear something to the effect of: "We AREN'T the bloody WHO!"

Case in point: on the multi-track version of "Gimme Shelter", Bill's opening riff can be heard. On the released track, this riff was cut. He re-inserted this into the later live version, and it can be clearly heard on the 1973 Wembley show.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-09-06 00:40 by bassplayer617.

Quote
Svartmer
Mick Taylor plays very tasty on Coming Down Again and Time Waits For No One.

Taylor plays bass on "Time Waits For No One"? Could've sworn that was Bill...

Bill - 2000 lightyears from home - live