Obviously both parts of the subject are highly, er, subjective, but just to give some context, I was inspired by hearing Vito Bratta's guitar solo in White Lion's fine but otherwise pretty boilerplate Cheap Trick retread (singer Mike Tramp even looks a lot like Robin Zander) "Wait." Another example would be Jeff Porcaro's awesome playing on "Rosanna," which I think is a pretty cheesy song. Or maybe Sammy Hagar singing the hell out of Van Halen's "Poundcake," which is also a pretty lame by the numbers song.
Anyway, any other faves?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 17:03 (four years ago)
Trevor Horn's trigger samples in "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
― henry s, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 17:38 (four years ago)
I think that's actually the drummer, testing the sampler. Still cool after all these years.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 18:41 (four years ago)
Lennon in Mr Moonlight
― nate woolls, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 19:03 (four years ago)
I love the piano part in Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold but the lyrics make me cringe pretty hard.
― (the one with 3 L's) (Willl), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 19:11 (four years ago)
Sometimes people rave about John Taylor's bass lines, especially on "Rio," as if they were better than the source material, or somehow wasted. But I would not admit those to this topic because the songs are also objectively awesome.
Tony Butler does approach this territory on "In a Big Country," however, and that is one of my fave "isolated bass" listens.
― Nostradamusferatu (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 19:20 (four years ago)
michael mcdonald's backing vocals in christopher cross's "ride like the wind"
― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 19:32 (four years ago)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfML1WEWfwk
― enochroot, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 20:04 (four years ago)
Holy shit, I heard this on the radio today, the song is sooooo cringe.
Sometimes people rave about John Taylor's bass lines, especially on "Rio"
Iirc from the Classic Albums ep, a lot of his parts are three takes, because he wasn't good enough to pull off all the fancy stuff.
As for Big Country, I won't say a bad thing about anything about those first two albums. Impeccable playing and songs across the board!
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 20:18 (four years ago)
Sometimes people rave about John Taylor's bass lines, especially on "Rio," as if they were better than the source material, or somehow wasted.
I actually think that this trope originated in the days when Duran fans still felt obliged to justify their enthusiasm for the band to rockist dipshits. "But they *can* play! Listen to what the bassist is doing!"
― I Advance Masked (Vast Halo), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 20:32 (four years ago)
Iirc from the Classic Albums ep, a lot of his parts are three takes, because he wasn't good enough to pull off all the fancy stuff
Dude could have used 30 takes and it would still be epic
― Nostradamusferatu (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 23:17 (four years ago)
I feel like Elton John’s vocal tone in “can you feel the love tonight” is what makes it work. I’ve heard it covered and without his vocals it’s a terribly cheesy song.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 00:29 (four years ago)
Love his performance, hate mostly everything else.
Having listened to their first four albums recently, I'll say Dee Snider's singing on almost every Twisted Sister song.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 01:53 (four years ago)
pretty much Lajon Witherspoon on most Sevendust songs pre-Animosity. dude managed to put some outright sweat into what were otherwise shit songs like "Waffle"
― Feta Van Cheese (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 01:55 (four years ago)
Or maybe Sammy Hagar singing the hell out of Van Halen's "Poundcake," which is also a pretty lame by the numbers song.
Funny, my first thought was Sammy Hagar singing the shit out of "Don't Tell me (What Love Can Do)" which is a considerably worse song than "Poundcake", at least melodically if not also lyrically.
I agree with this of course and you are OTM about the 30 takes, but Graham Coxon's guitar parts, especially on "Blur" are actually way better than the source material.
― Fauna Sukkot (Deflatormouse), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 02:56 (four years ago)
Tracy Wormworth's bassline on Christmas Wrapping is all time, just as naggingly bubbly and addictive as any Chic/Sugarhill bass part.
― Maresn3st, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 17:30 (four years ago)
dare I say "The Living Years", Mike Rutherford?
― Feta Van Cheese (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 17:33 (four years ago)
His guitar playing?
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 17:53 (four years ago)
yeah that mute-y guitar part is really cool
― Feta Van Cheese (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 17:54 (four years ago)
That same quiet chug appears in "Follow You Follow Me," and it is a great sound.
― portmanteaujam (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 17:56 (four years ago)
Every ZZ Top song's got a smokin' solo that can lift straight to space, but goddamn do their songs bore me.
― afriendlypioneer, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 18:02 (four years ago)
!!!!
― Feta Van Cheese (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 18:05 (four years ago)
Structurally, 'Danke Schoen' is pretty impressively odd (and great), It's made of just one chorus (or hybrid chorus/verse perhaps) that simply loops over and over, each time it does this, it climbs up one semitone before finally (kinda) resolving to the pitch of the *second* loop, not the first.
With each go around more instruments and layers are added and the rhythm morphs from a very stiff oom-pah 2/4 to a much more swinging feel, by the last verse the whole production has gone full ring-a-ding-ding and is practically tripping over itself.
― Maresn3st, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 18:06 (four years ago)
Although that's a quality of the song itself, not any given performance?
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 18:08 (four years ago)
True, but I would argue that it's more of a collective effort performance-wise that makes a very cheesy song kinda cool.
― Maresn3st, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 18:11 (four years ago)