Is Adam Clayton any good?

Snap

@ICBM, i totally agree. WHIch is why IMO lots of guitarists make crap bass players: they try to put too much in, where with bass, less is often more.

ICBM

Snap said:

@ICBM, i totally agree. WHIch is why IMO lots of guitarists make crap bass players: they try to put too much in, where with bass, less is often more.

I can't play guitar well enough that there's any risk of me overplaying on bass - less is more suits my technical ability very well .

It would be funny if Clayton was some sort of Stanley Clarke-like bass virtuoso in his own bedroom though!

chrispy108

I do agree that on bass less is often more, but that's often true on guitar too.

I totally fail to understand why soloing is put on a pedestal.

Snap

@chrispy108

agreed. I think soloing is put on a pedestal because its become an entrenched belief that this is what great guitarists do. YOu ain't great unless you can bazz up and down your fretboard like a madman, at frenetic pace.

Techical brilliance is one thing I suppose: it shows a mastery of one sort. But for me, brilliant musicians are the ones who just get it right for whatever song they are playing. Now that could be something as simple a a crisp 3 chord riff, or just a few notes, but the musicality is in the feel and the appropriateness of what's being played, not the fretwanking.

Its why I can't get into Via, GIlbert, Satriani, Malmsteen etc - I just find it hideous listening. IMO Neil Young is a far better guitarist than the lot of them - got feel and soul. HIs one note solo in Cinnamon Girl is just so RIGHT.

Hendrix is one of my favourites for this sort of thing - his playing meant something, it was full of feel and soul and groove and was often at its most potent when he was just in the groove, and not going mental. Same goes for Mark Knopfler - he can get so much across in a few notes .

Over the last year or so I've spent more and more time trying to get better at the bass and one thing I am learning each day is that so much of your playing (of any instrument) is IMO down to what you DON'T play and how you use the space between the notes.

RocknRollDave

Is Clayton a highly technically proficient bassist? No.

Is he a sloppy bassist with bad timing and intonation issues? No.

His playing may be fairly basic (by some people's standards), but it's on the money and does what is needed for the songs. A more technically gifted bass style wouldn't add anything positive to U2 or their songs.

That's not to say his playing is the be-all and end-all of bass or that what he does is enough for every band....There are bands for whom a more technical bass style WOULD be a benefit. I wouldn't want Clayton in a Jazz-Blues band, for example, but I wouldn't want U2 to be a Jazz-Blues band either.

There are times when I feel U2 could be more adventurous, rhythmically, but I don't put that down to Clayton and Mullen being unable to play more adventurous stuff, they just happen to not feel the need to push themselves in the direction that I might like them to go in...it's a taste thing, not an ability thing.

Snap

RocknRollDave said:

Is Clayton a highly technically proficient bassist? No.

I

you don't know that though. That's my point. This is what gets me. The answer should be - the bass playing on most of U2s tracks is not technically complex.

WIth him having played bass professionally for so long, in one of the biggest bands in the world, I would hedge my bets that he is very technically proficient. He just may not need to display it in U2.

We don't know, he might play in a jazz trio for laughs.

RocknRollDave

Snap said:

RocknRollDave said:

Is Clayton a highly technically proficient bassist? No.

I

you don't know that though. That's my point. This is what gets me. The answer should be - the bass playing on most of U2s tracks is not technically complex.

WIth him having played bass professionally for so long, in one of the biggest bands in the world, I would hedge my bets that he is very technically proficient. He just may not need to display it in U2.

We don't know, he might play in a jazz trio for laughs.

Well, this is true, but I would have my doubts. I think a more technical musician wouldn't be able to stop themselves from letting their flashier playing creep in.

Cirrus

RocknRollDave said:

Well, this is true, but I would have my doubts. I think a more technical musician wouldn't be able to stop themselves from letting their flashier playing creep in.

I've said it before, I'd be really interested to hear anyone's attempt to improve a U2 bassline.

Snap

RocknRollDave said:

Snap said:

RocknRollDave said:

Is Clayton a highly technically proficient bassist? No.

I

you don't know that though. That's my point. This is what gets me. The answer should be - the bass playing on most of U2s tracks is not technically complex.

WIth him having played bass professionally for so long, in one of the biggest bands in the world, I would hedge my bets that he is very technically proficient. He just may not need to display it in U2.

We don't know, he might play in a jazz trio for laughs.

Well, this is true, but I would have my doubts. I think a more technical musician wouldn't be able to stop themselves from letting their flashier playing creep in.

Maybe he is a consummate professional and realises that flashy playing just might detract from the vibe?

You know what its like playing regularly in band, most of us do - you get better and better. I think that when its your living, especially at the top of the game, you are playing so much with so many other top pros (in studio, live etc) that I think its inevitable that you get to be very very good.

I think most of us would be very surprised if we spent some time with many pro musicians that are accused of being not the best players: I think they'd blow us away.

DesVegas

"you are playing so much with so many other top pros (in studio, live etc)"

I saw an interview with Dave Grohl once who said he felt sorry for the edge as he only ever plays with those 3 other guys.

Cirrus

DesVegas said:

"you are playing so much with so many other top pros (in studio, live etc)"

I saw an interview with Dave Grohl once who said he felt sorry for the edge as he only ever plays with those 3 other guys.

Which is a shame considering what an awesome drummer Larry Mullen is, despite having spent half his career battling with tendonitis.

RocknRollDave

Snap said:

RocknRollDave said:

Snap said:

RocknRollDave said:

Is Clayton a highly technically proficient bassist? No.

I

you don't know that though. That's my point. This is what gets me. The answer should be - the bass playing on most of U2s tracks is not technically complex.

WIth him having played bass professionally for so long, in one of the biggest bands in the world, I would hedge my bets that he is very technically proficient. He just may not need to display it in U2.

We don't know, he might play in a jazz trio for laughs.

Well, this is true, but I would have my doubts. I think a more technical musician wouldn't be able to stop themselves from letting their flashier playing creep in.

Maybe he is a consummate professional and realises that flashy playing just might detract from the vibe?

You know what its like playing regularly in band, most of us do - you get better and better. I think that when its your living, especially at the top of the game, you are playing so much with so many other top pros (in studio, live etc) that I think its inevitable that you get to be very very good.

I think most of us would be very surprised if we spent some time with many pro musicians that are accused of being not the best players: I think they'd blow us away.

I don't think you DO just "get better and better". You get tighter, more slick at what you do, but you don't expand your musical horizons just by playing the same songs over and over. You just get better at playing the same thing, and if that same thing was quite simple to start with, you're only going to get so much better, aren't you?

I think you're kidding yourself if you think Clayton is some kind of bass virtuoso who hides his talents under a bushel.
As I said before, he's clearly not shit, by any stretch....but he's not Jaco Pastorious either.

ICBM

RocknRollDave said:

As I said before, he's clearly not shit, by any stretch....but he's not Jaco Pastorious either.

Which is a good thing.




Not that Pastorius was a bad bassist… but he did probably influence and encourage more bad bassists than any other player.

Cirrus

ICBM said:

Not that Pastorius was a bad bassist… but he did probably influence and encourage more bad bassists than any other player.

Perhaps you've never heard of the Skeleton-suited trumpet player...

EricTheWeary

  according to Wikipedia Clayton has played on a number of solo and side projects. I'm not familiar with any of them  but I guess someone could listen to them and work out if he does different or more complex stuff? 

fields5069

He's maybe a bit like Nicky Wire, only quite a bit richer.

DesVegas

EricTheWeary said:

  according to Wikipedia Clayton has played on a number of solo and side projects. I'm not familiar with any of them  but I guess someone could listen to them and work out if he does different or more complex stuff? 

Eric. I choose you

proggy

This thread is one of the funniest things I've read on here.

Snap

RocknRollDave said:

I think you're kidding yourself if you think Clayton is some kind of bass virtuoso who hides his talents under a bushel.
As I said before, he's clearly not shit, by any stretch....but he's not Jaco Pastorious either.

How do you know this though?

That's my point - we don't know. And I doubt if any of us are good enough to know either.

RocknRollDave

Snap said:

RocknRollDave said:

I think you're kidding yourself if you think Clayton is some kind of bass virtuoso who hides his talents under a bushel.
As I said before, he's clearly not shit, by any stretch....but he's not Jaco Pastorious either.

How do you know this though?

That's my point - we don't know. And I doubt if any of us are good enough to know either.

What does that post even mean?