Songs that prominently feature the most rock'n'roll instrument known to man, AKA the bassoon

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1. The Laughing Gnome (intro lead played by the bassoon)

And that, offhand, is the only one I can think of, although there must be thousands more.

― Sylvia North, Monday, 2 May 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

I'm relatively sure there is a bassoon or two on Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 12:25 (twenty years ago)

Is it a bassoon on the Go-Betweens' "Bye Bye Pride"?

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 2 May 2005 12:56 (twenty years ago)

Oboe. Bassoon babies.

― diedre mousedropping (Dave225), Monday, 2 May 2005 12:57 (twenty years ago)

You can hear a bassoon in Lou Reed's Sad Song

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:08 (twenty years ago)

David Thomas' 'More Places Forever' features bassoon as the lead instrument on every track. Fantastic record, seems underrated (though I'm new to ILM, so maybe it's beloved around here).

― I.M. (I.M.), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

Maybe something on Do Make Say Think's & Yet & Yet...

― sleep (sleep), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

something out of the first tinderstics' album.

ps i LOVE david thomas...

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:15 (twenty years ago)

Anything by the Clogs, although they aren't very rock 'n' roll.

― Curt (cgould), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:35 (twenty years ago)

i can't think of anything specific, but i bet the coctails have a few songs that qualify.

― rajeev (rajeev), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

There's some bassoon on some Coctails tracks, I think, but I don't have my discs handy.

― BlastsOfStatic (BlastsofStatic), Monday, 2 May 2005 14:19 (twenty years ago)

Thought for sure someone woulda mentioned the only one that comes to mind instantly: "The Tears Of A Clown". (That IS bassoon, isn't it?)

I'll never forget the time I saw a Rasta-hatted black guy in downtown Toronto with a bassoon - playing "Stairway To Heaven", no shit! Wore round glasses that made him resemble Anthony Braxton a bit. Weirdness value alone was worth a coupla loonies. (That's $2)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 2 May 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

Is it a bassoon on the Go-Betweens' "Bye Bye Pride"?

No - an oboe. There WAS a bassoon on "Palm Sunday."

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 2 May 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

When I'm 64. The Beatles.

― Kris England, Monday, 2 May 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

I think that's bass clarinet, actually.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

Seek ye the prog masters of bassoon (and crumhorn), Gryphon.

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:49 (twenty years ago)

The coda of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer," I think.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:50 (twenty years ago)

That Rasta-hatted black guy with the bassoon was Jeff Burke, and he's a mofo. Check him out here.

http://torontoculture.tripod.com/2004parkdalefest/id12.html

― Allen Baekeland (Allen Baekeland), Tuesday, 3 May 2005 04:40 (twenty years ago)

Wow, respect to Jeff Burke, who I've seen busking here and there on several occasions. I never knew what his name was!

The Tindersticks song is "The Not Knowing".

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 3 May 2005 04:47 (twenty years ago)

the bassoon is what plays the first couple notes of Rite of Spring, yes?

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Tuesday, 3 May 2005 04:48 (twenty years ago)

And the second couple, poortheatre -- this, of course, in the spirit of riot-inducing proto-punk, circa 1913.

― john hoerr, Tuesday, 3 May 2005 12:24 (twenty years ago)

Errrrrrrrrrr, *kof* *kof* HENRY COW:

http://www.rerusa.com/images/categories/lindsayCooper.jpg

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 3 May 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

"Tenderness" by General Public

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 3 May 2005 12:30 (twenty years ago)

The Monsoon Bassoon, on the other hand, never used a bassoon to my knowledge (they had a clarinet and a flute, mind).

― Mog, Tuesday, 3 May 2005 12:31 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

I heard a song once from I think Richard & Linda Smith(too bad I couldn't pull over to write it down, I was drivin through Phoenix) I thought the DJ said it was an electric bassoon... What a sound though! It has stuck with me for years but no one else seems to have ever heard of it. Was I just trippin'?

― DANLDUIT, Tuesday, 26 July 2005 04:12 (nineteen years ago)

Not to toot our own bassoon, but there's a bassoon breakdown on the Matmos song "Zealous Order of Candied Knights". And this instrument is called "Il Faggoto" in Italian!

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 09:03 (nineteen years ago)

plenty of hott bassoon action on the first two Cardigans albums, as I recall. and btw, that's a great song, drew.

― M. C-, Wednesday, 27 July 2005 14:31 (nineteen years ago)

alan parsons project - "games people play" features a BASSOON DUET

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 15:05 (nineteen years ago)

also the whole petsounds/"goodvibrations"/SMiLE beach boys period for bassoon (sometimes fuzzed-out).

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 15:08 (nineteen years ago)

mats& morgan have many bassoon actions on their "trends and other diseases" cd and also " the music or the money" you will find this bassoon amongst dorky prog butthole surfers meets stevie wonder ELP zappaness and is mostly vastly enjoyable by likers of such a thing

― bob snoom, Wednesday, 27 July 2005 15:47 (nineteen years ago)

Is the Henry Cow photo Georgie Born or Lindsay Cooper?

― SoHoLa (SoHoLa), Thursday, 28 July 2005 04:11 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

XTC - Green Man. I think it might even be a CONTRAbassoon.

― Soundacious, Thursday, 11 August 2005 19:46 (nineteen years ago)

I was going to say something rabid and excitable about The Monsoon Bassoon, but look, Mog beat me to it! hi Mog!

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Thursday, 11 August 2005 19:53 (nineteen years ago)

Thought for sure someone woulda mentioned the only one that comes to mind instantly: "The Tears Of A Clown". (That IS bassoon, isn't it?)

I think it's baritone sax.

― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Thursday, 11 August 2005 20:23 (nineteen years ago)

The song that immediately jumped out at me for this category was Jennifer Juniper by Donovan. I know there's an oboe or english horn lead, but would wager there's a bassoon rummaging in the lower clef somewhere.

― jim wentworth (wench), Friday, 12 August 2005 06:25 (nineteen years ago)

Is the Henry Cow photo Georgie Born or Lindsay Cooper?

'tis Lindsay, the bassoon babe, Georgie was bass guitar

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 12 August 2005 09:22 (nineteen years ago)

I think "The Saturday Option" by Lambchop has basson. Certainly I've seen a bassoon appear onstage with the 'chop.

I was going to say "I've seen a bassoon appear live onstage with the 'chop" but that would have sounded like I meant that the bassoon got up and danced on its own or something. That was not the case.

― Tim (Tim), Friday, 12 August 2005 09:31 (nineteen years ago)

The Who's "A Quick One" - the "Bassoon Be Home" section.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 12 August 2005 09:35 (nineteen years ago)

I played bassoon on no less than 4 Peel Sessions by different bands in the early nineties. I think Peel's office got a bit suspicious after a while, as bands got paid per band member, and I kept turning up in the credits for bands that had previously had no bassoon in whatsoever.

I agree, Lindsay's stuff on David Thomas albums is amazing. Also, in the middle 8 of Outdoor Miner by Wire, it's always marvellous when the bassoon comes in.

― Rhodri (rhodri), Friday, 12 August 2005 09:45 (nineteen years ago)

There's bassoon on "Outdoor Miner"?!?!?? Are you sure?

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 12 August 2005 09:51 (nineteen years ago)

Ah well, yes, I just listened to the version on Chairs Missing, and thought I was going mad. Then I remembered that it's on the single version, which is about twice as long as the album version. Probably on account of there being a middle 8.

― Rhodri (rhodri), Friday, 12 August 2005 09:57 (nineteen years ago)

Well spotted then! I'm not that surprised as Mike Thorne was a bit of classical music kinda guy - maybe even a music student? He got Tim Souster to play on "154" I seem to remember... that's pretty impressive!

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 12 August 2005 10:02 (nineteen years ago)

The Kinks - Village Green or whatever it's called? There is an instrumental version on the 3 CD thing. Perhaps it is a clarinet.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 12 August 2005 10:09 (nineteen years ago)

http://letatas.club.fr/Azay2000/Paroles/S/swccantina2.jpg

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Friday, 12 August 2005 10:15 (nineteen years ago)

four months pass...

Happy Together - Turtles

― HT, Monday, 12 December 2005 11:22 (nineteen years ago)

Not just Laughing Gnome but on a lot of early Bowie stuff. The Gospel According To Tony Day has some fantastic bassooning on it.

― jz, Monday, 12 December 2005 11:31 (nineteen years ago)

Here's a good one:
Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
Off album of the same name. Even has contra!

― HT, Saturday, 17 December 2005 04:36 (nineteen years ago)

obscure 90's indie band Chotchke had a bassoon player.

― sleeve (sleeve), Saturday, 17 December 2005 04:48 (nineteen years ago)

five months pass...

Fly Away by John Denver has bassoon

as well Harpers Bizarre version of Simon and Garfunkel's 59th Street Song (Feelin' Groovy)

(there are tracks of my playing on Local Indie stuff but most of you are not likely to have heard any of that).

Univers Zero had some tracks that had Bassoon on it.

― Jeff Burke, Sunday, 28 May 2006 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

Oboe slays bassoon in an instrument fight tho!
You can have too much Bassoon (see Mark Hollis' solo album)
You can never have too much Oboe///

― gekoppel (Gekoppel), Sunday, 28 May 2006 16:55 (nineteen years ago)

Keeping up Appearances theme song

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 28 May 2006 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

I think Mitchell Froom plays one on Crowded House's "Better Bassoon Home"

― pleased to mitya (mitya), Sunday, 28 May 2006 21:18 (nineteen years ago)

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