Who Played Bass On What Songs...

General discussion about Pink Floyd.
lurkingfear
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by lurkingfear »

Listen to any of Roger's bass performances of Have a Cigar on the 75 tour and you'll see this is most likely Roger playing bass on the album. Besides the intro, it's quite like the live version.
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by leftybassist »

It's NOTHING like the end of Echoes part one besides the over all driving funk quality. And I have listened to a ton of bootlegged versions of Have a Cigar and there are two problems with that approach.. first and formost it isn't Roger on bass for that live, it was Snowy White and secondly it still doesn't really have the same weird ghost note slides and odd timing. Maybe you need to be a bass player to really hear the nuances.
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by The Gunner's Dream »

I'm pretty sure it is Roger playing bass on Have a Cigar. Stylistically it is very similar to the bass playing on Animals, particularly Dogs. The slides, pull offs, use of plectrum and mute picking, and particularly the bass tone all scream of mid to late 70's Roger bass playing.

I'm not sure what is considered so revolutionary about the bass line of Have a cigar. It is a nice tasty bass line that Roger was definitely capable of playing. He wasn't a virtuoso bassist by any means, but competent, and he got better as the years passed.
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by Hudini »

leftybassist wrote:It's NOTHING like the end of Echoes part one besides the over all driving funk quality.
...
first and formost it isn't Roger on bass for that live, it was Snowy White and secondly it still doesn't really have the same weird ghost note slides and odd timing. Maybe you need to be a bass player to really hear the nuances.
The two bass lines have a lot in common and not just the overall quality. Stylistically they are not too different. What's really different is the melody and the context in which they work.

While it was Snowy White playing the bass live in 1977, it was in fact Roger Waters who played the bass and sang it live in 1975. Maybe it's the 1977 version lacking some finer nuances because it wasn't Roger Waters playing it, and yet however maybe the 1975 version is lacking something because it's not the easiest thing in the world to play that kind of bass line and sing at the same time. (But I don't think it's lacking much.)

I know because I played the guitar and the bass for more than ten years and I've quit only in order to fully focus on my profession of an architect. So if you're judging someone's pitch based on whether they can play an instrument or not, I pretty much can hear those nuances.

Maybe you should stop being so defensive and start to respect other people's opinion in a discussion more. It would really be nicer.

Cheers! :)
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by lurkingfear »

I concur, Hudini. In fact i was a bassist for years myself and only gave it up for my editorial and artist careers. Roger is no slouch on bass, and his have a cigar performances were quite good in 75, particularly in boston and l.a. i sometimes wish he had kept his bass approach on shine on similar in the studio to what he played live, though the studio work compliments his vocal approach on that song. I do like his delivery of the chorus on the alternate take of cigar better than harper.
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Post by BertWW96 »

Real Pink in the Inside wrote:As far as I know, Rick has never played bass on a Pink Floyd song.
Didn't he play bass on the Pompeii version of If? Granted, even if so, that's not an official or studio release.
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by BertWW96 »

I'm not here to hack away at Waters' bass playing, but can someone explain why they added a touring bassist? Guitar, I understand (multiple parts, acoustic etc.), but bass, I don't get.
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Post by BertWW96 »

Although I am very much not new to Pink Floyd, I am new to the world of what went on in-studio, on tour etc., so forgive if these seem like stupid or unnecessary comments and questions.
Real Pink in the Inside wrote:DG: [Roger] had developed his own limited, or very simple style. He was never very keen on improving himself as a bass player and half the time I would play bass on the records because I would tend to do it quicker. Right back to those early records; I mean, at least half the bass on all recorded output is me anyway.

- 1992 (Rock Compact Disc magazine)

See what kind of subtle drivel he shoots out of his ass to make Roger look bad in every single frigging interview he does?
I agree that there is no compelling reason for fans (who weren't in the studio) to take Gilmour's comments as gospel, but likewise, is there any reason fans should dismiss this comment out of hand? Does Gilmour have a record of actual lying? FYI, I don't think the fact that he sang (by someone's calculations here, possibly yours) 1.5 out of 4 songs on WYWH and characterized it as "most" as lying (he may be thinking in terms of what he put down in the studio, how much background, etc., some other context which, while we may disagree with it, would still not be lying).
Real Pink in the Inside wrote:Gee, if you played over half the bass on all the recorded output, why bother bringing in Gay Prat for The Division Bell album, for example?
Gilmour seems to prefer playing with other musicians, hence bring in a bassist upon Waters' departure.
Real Pink in the Inside wrote: Gilmour thinks we're mindless-consumers that can't think.
If there is an actual sustained PR attack on Waters going on, I oppose it too, but I think this is going a bit too far.

...but to pick up on my initial comment about being new to some of the behind the scenes stuff, perhaps that which I'm unaware of would change my mind.
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Re:

Post by kjek1 »

Real Pink in the Inside wrote:DG: [Roger] had developed his own limited, or very simple style. He was never very keen on improving himself as a bass player and half the time I would play bass on the records because I would tend to do it quicker. Right back to those early records; I mean, at least half the bass on all recorded output is me anyway.

- 1992 (Rock Compact Disc magazine)

See what kind of subtle drivel he shoots out of his ass to make Roger look bad in every single frigging interview he does? Gee, if you played over half the bass on all the recorded output, why bother bringing in Gay Prat for The Division Bell album, for example?

Stuff like this insults me. Gilmour thinks we're mindless-consumers that can't think.
Maybe he's telling the truth? After all he is the most talented performer in the band and I'm sure Roger was keen for David to sing most of the stuff before his ego took over.
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Post by Hudini »

BertWW96 wrote:Didn't he play bass on the Pompeii version of If?
Yes and no. Yes, as in "Rick Wright did play the bass on the only live performance of 'If' ever" and No, as in "the song wasn't performed at Pompeii". It was actually at the Paris Theatre in July 1970.
BertWW96 wrote:I'm not here to hack away at Waters' bass playing, but can someone explain why they added a touring bassist? Guitar, I understand (multiple parts, acoustic etc.), but bass, I don't get.
Because Roger had problems with singing and playing at the same time, and strumming a rhythm guitar while singing proved easier for him. You can't get a simpler explanation.
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Re: Re:

Post by BertWW96 »

Hudini wrote:Because Roger had problems with singing and playing at the same time...
Umm...wow. Not what I call musicianship.
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Re: Re:

Post by Bigmanpigman »

BertWW96 wrote:
Hudini wrote:Because Roger had problems with singing and playing at the same time...
Umm...wow. Not what I call musicianship.

From what I recall of The Wall gig in 1980 (long time ago so it's a bit hazy) Roger was generally wondering about in front of the wall (and, let's face it, he's not the best front man in the world :lol: ) while all the 'musicianship' was going on behind the wall.
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by Morty »

Waters play bass on most of the Floyd stuff, and has never been shy about where he did not play. Look at Amused to Death. He also has a very distinctive way of playing. I am pretty sure that there is no fretless on Echoes thou.
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Post by DarkSideFreak »

Real Pink in the Inside wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2003 7:16 pm Gee, if you played over half the bass on all the recorded output, why bother bringing in Gay Prat for The Division Bell album, for example?
Guy actually only played on three songs. David had already done almost all the bass until it dawned on him that Guy, having contributed to the jamming stage of TDB, shouldn't be left aside like that. (He still didn't get a credit for co-writing "Wearing the Inside Out", which is odd given that Gilmour seemed more generous with crediting people where appropriate as opposed to Waters. So was it Rick who didn't want to share royalties?)
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Re: Who Played Bass On What Songs...

Post by Annoying Twit »

As Guy Pratt himself said, he did get royalties for WtIO. He just didn't get credit on the album.