the thread where the guitar player plays the bass

This thread is about when the guitar player plays the bass, probably on a record, for whatever reason, maybe they were between bass players, but here we are, guitar player plays the bass

Inspired by listening to Rainbow - Gates of Babylon and feeling like it's good but...kind of goofy? Because Richie Blackmore. Great guitar player, but is a guitar player also a bass guitar player? It's just a funny guitar, why not, and yet...

the guitar player plays the bass and the bass player plays the guitar on "atrocity exhibition" by joy division

Keith Richards plays the bass on "Sympathy for the Devil"

George Harrison plays the bass on "She Said, She Said"

John Lennon plays the bass on "The Long and Winding Road"

Jeff Beck plays the bass on "Over Under Sideways Down"

Chris Stein plays the bass on almost the entire Blondie album Plastic Letters

Lindsay Buckingham plays the bass on "The Ledge" (Fleetwood Mac)

*Lindsey

Lennon on “Let it Be” as well.
Billy Corgan on Siamese Dream
Robert Smith on most of Faith and Disintegration

Steve Jones played the bass on every track of Never Mind the Bollocks except for "Anarchy in the UK," which was Glen Matlock

Al the Beatles except for Ringo played bass on "Back in the USSR"

ALL the Beatles

Jimi Hendrix played the bass on “All Along the Watchtower”

would think there is at least a bit of this going on in 70s/80s pink floyd - definitely on the 'dance songs' version of Money, and Gilmour has talked a bit about being responsible for various bits on The Wall - there is a pretty deft sounding bit on Animals which I would guess is him too?

keith levene on 'radio 4' from metal box, and probably on commercial zone -?

Gilmour plays the fretless stuff with Floyd, right?

gilmour played bass on "pigs (three different ones)" and "sheep", though the story with "sheep" is that most of the bass line had been written by waters who had played it in early live versions, but when they came to record it waters had a new idea for a rhythm guitar part and had them swap.

thom yorke played bass on a few tracks from the kid a/amnesiac sessions - "the national anthem" and "pyramid song" at the very least, and he plays bass live on "the amazing sound of orgy"

Everyone in The Church was switching around instruments on those albums in the early 2000s. Marty Willson-Piper or Peter Koppes often switching with Kilbey. (MWP played bass live on several of the Untitled #23 songs)

the guitar player plays the bass and the bass player plays the guitar on "atrocity exhibition" by joy division

What?

gilmour played bass on "pigs (three different ones)" and "sheep", though the story with "sheep" is that most of the bass line had been written by waters who had played it in early live versions, but when they came to record it waters had a new idea for a rhythm guitar part and had them swap

He's also the bass player on "Barrett".

Jimi Hendrix played the bass on “All Along the Watchtower”

― Josefa, Monday, 10 July 2023 04:26 (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

1983 is always the first thing that comes into my head when I think of this topic. Sorry Noel, let Jimi take over

That said there's probably loads of modern examples of this. Luckily this is a classic rock forum so we don't need to think of them

Lou Reed on "Street Hassle", the song, and apparently on other tracks.

Keith Richards was mentioned above, but Mick Taylor and Ron Wood often played bass too. Jagger too on A Bigger Bang..

Pete Townshend played bass on all his demos, and on Thunderclap Newman’s Hollywood Dream, which he produced. When the Who played “Trick of the Light” live in 1979 Entwistle played 8-string bass and Townshend played 4-string bass:

https://media.gettyimages.com/id/151888268/photo/guitarist-pete-townshend-of-english-rock-group-the-who-playing-an-alembic-bass-on-stage-in-the.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=ViudCh0AE-1M2j99TR3edHEjwBGgK8y4Ud5bA5OIdLU=

Robin Guthrie played the bass parts on Cocteau Twins’ Head Over Heels album since the band was between bassists at the time.

(Inversely, on CT’s Heaven or Las Vegas their bassist recorded some of the guitar parts, because the guitarist’s drug problem hindered him from working.)

I guess Robin Guthrie also played what bass there is on the Victorialand album

Andy Partridge plays bass on the Dukes of Stratosphear's 'Vanishing Girl' and 'What in the World'.

Barney & Hooky swapped instruments for 'Sound of Music', you can see it on the live footage < /ex JD nerd >

I knew paul simonon wrote and sang and presumably played "guns of brixton" but I just learned recently that he and joe strummer would switch instruments when playing it live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eneRB5z1XM

^ this is because Simonon could not sing and remember how to play at the same time

Robert Smith on most of Faith and Disintegration

Smith’s main writing instrument is six-string bass, and he often plays it on Cure records that also have four-string basslines

The core guys in Spinal Tap all played bass on "Big Bottom"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjC0vMIrOAk

Eddie Van Halen plays bass on Sammy Hagar's solo album from 1987 and most of the bass on Van Halen III

Dave Grohl played all of the bass on Foo Fighters s/t album...and all of the guitar (Except one part), and all of the drums, and all of the vox.

(the one part was done by Greg Dulli)

Smith’s main writing instrument is six-string bass, and he often plays it on Cure records that also have four-string basslines