Paul McCartney is one of the most influential bass players ever, and it's always very cool to be able to listen to his isolated bass tracks. Today we'll take a listen to The Beatles "Drive My Car" from the Rubber Soul album. Here's what to listen for.1. Listen to the pickup notes at the end of the bass phrase during the verse. He doesn't play it all the time, but it makes for a very funky bass line when he does.
2. Paul plays the bass line of the chorus differently, sometimes even within the same chorus. Sometimes each note is held out, and other times it's very staccato.
3. The bass track is far from perfect, with a major clam at 1:57 and some minor ones along the way. That said, it took another 10 years or so until production techniques really focused on each individual part and how it interacted with the other elements of the song, as well as how consistently each part was played.
In other words, it's a great track for its time, but would have been fixed or replayed in today's production environment.
----------------------------------
You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
2 comments:
Are we sure that it's Paul McCartney playing the bass? The reason I say this is because it doesn't sound like his playing and the feel isn't right for a McCartney piece. Perhaps it's Harrison playing the part?
There is nothing this intelligently creative in comparison, because everything today is too "fixed or replayed in today's production environment."
Mr. McCartney, as well as The Beatles were pure musical genius, 'mistakes' and all. Perfection is not, and shouldn't ever be the final goal anyway.
Their music is timeless and good music never has an expiration date.
As for the doubt that McCartney's actually playing the bass part; it's ironic that McCartney either wrote or inspired or actually played quite a few of the guitar solos on Beatles songs as well.
Post a Comment