Let's talk about John

[SortaSavageLike]

You know, John McVie, that dude who plays bass for Fleetwood Mac? Anyway, for the past few months, I've come to realize that he's probably the most under appreciated long-standing member of Fleetwood Mac. His bass lines are always intriguing, even when they get buried in the mix. Lately I've been listening through my albums with the low-end cranked up just so I can appreciate his playing more. Listen to some great pre-Rumours tracks like Coming Your Way, Bare Trees, and Miles Away and tell me that John isn't one of the most underrated players in the business. I'm not even an amateur musician, but I know good playing when I see it. He has a subtlety and tack that most rock bassists simply wish they had.

Besides the drunken fits he had during the making of Rumours, I've never heard anyone have anything bad to say about John and I get the impression he's always been a pretty classy guy. No one has accused him of strangling his exes, being an overbearing freak, having an enormous sexual appetite, joining religious cults, or ingesting drugs in interesting manners. John is so low-key I wouldn't be surprised if I walked into him in a buffet line and didn't recognize him. He never takes serious potshots at anyone else in the band, he has almost no ego to bruise and he and Christine basically got over themselves after their divorce and maintained a professional working relationship for almost 20 years afterwards. I wish more rock "stars" were as humble as he is.

[SteveMacD]

John McVie is probably the sole reason I haven't pitched my Fleetwood Mac albums at this point. That bassline on "Miles Away" still gives me gooseflesh. He makes otherwise bland drab quite interesting, such as "Smile At You," "Hold Me," "Angel," and a few dozen more.

[shackin'up]

Originally Posted by SortaSavageLike

You know, John McVie, that dude who plays bass for Fleetwood Mac? Anyway, for the past few months, I've come to realize that he's probably the most under appreciated long-standing member of Fleetwood Mac. His bass lines are always intriguing, even when they get buried in the mix. Lately I've been listening through my albums with the low-end cranked up just so I can appreciate his playing more. Listen to some great pre-Rumours tracks like Coming Your Way, Bare Trees, and Bare Trees and tell me that John isn't one of the most underrated players in the business. I'm not even an amateur musician, but I know good playing when I see it. He has a subtlety and tack that most rock bassists simply wish they had.

Besides the drunken fits he had during the making of Rumours, I've never heard anyone have anything bad to say about John and I get the impression he's always been a pretty classy guy. No one has accused him of strangling his exes, being an overbearing freak, having an enormous sexual appetite, joining religious cults, or ingesting drugs in interesting manners. John is so low-key I wouldn't be surprised if I walked into him in a buffet line and didn't recognize him. He never takes serious potshots at anyone else in the band, he has almost no ego to bruise and he and Christine basically got over themselves after their divorce and maintained a professional working relationship for almost 20 years afterwards. I wish more rock "stars" were as humble as he is.

All that AND he is basicly the BIG star of SYW. If anyone is at the top of his game on that album, it's him.

John also secretly propelled Tusk into timelessness (with Mick, who was endlessly creative then too). He says he hates all the studiotime but he ALWAYS delivers very interesting, melodic and inventive parts that not only always suit the song, but they gain quality and tension by his additions. Boy that guy can listen and react like nobody else.

[Sarah]

I'll repeat what you guys have said. John's bass parts MAKE a lot of the songs what they are. Period.

[amber]

^^^er, repeat. with expoundation.

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

John McVie is probably the sole reason I haven't pitched my Fleetwood Mac albums at this point. That bassline on "Miles Away" still gives me gooseflesh. He makes otherwise bland drab quite interesting, such as "Smile At You," "Hold Me," "Angel," and a few dozen more.

Yeah - as far away as I would ever be from chucking my FM albums, I feel this level of passion for JMcVie work. And what the rest of you said. I believe I have stated before, the songs wouldn't be the songs at all without that bassline. They would be different, crappier songs. Add in "RTTG" plz. I mean, add in every song, but add that one to the list of "songs I might never listen to if John wasn't there".

That dude is a monster. I could say something more insightful, but it would involve me bringing up every FM song ever. Plus, Savagelike and others have been more than eloquent.
Suffice to say that, for one thing, I started a thread b/c I wanted a recording of the bassline of Angel by itself. And would welcome many other bassline by itself recordings. And if you have never bothered to notice, and listen to, the bassline - you are missing more than 1/5 of the glory of this band. I would put it at just about 1/3, if I was forced to quantify. And I generally think everyone in the band is spectacular.

[Sarah]

Originally Posted by amber

^^^er, repeat. with expoundation.

do i have to? i'll want to go through and do some listening before i start listing my favorites... not going to do that right now. i'm lay-zee.

off the top of my head, as far as the rumours era album tracks go..
say you love me, over my head.. basslines make the songs for me
oh daddy, idwtk
over & over (i adore the way the bass speeds up on the fade out) - you know what, seriously, practically freakin' everything on tusk wouldn't be as great without his lines... so i really can't go on without listening through them properly.

And if you have never bothered to notice, and listen to, the bassline - you are missing more than 1/5 of the glory of this band. I would put it at just about 1/3, if I was forced to quantify. And I generally think everyone in the band is spectacular.

As interesting as I found the story of FM to be after I became intrigued by the music, it's really the bass that drew me in. And for me, that's really not that different... I listen to the bass in everything, and almost exclusively if the bassline is good. He's just got a feel for it.

[gldstwmn]

And I still love Station Man!

[Musicman408]

Originally Posted by Sarah

I'll repeat what you guys have said. John's bass parts MAKE a lot of the songs what they are. Period.

I'm listening to Dreams, and couldn't agree more.

[amber]

Originally Posted by Sarah

do i have to?

Er, no, you didn't - I meant that I would say "ditto" to what you said, but that I was going to go on and on about it. It was less a request than a warning.

But it's cool you did, I gurss.

Originally Posted by Sarah

i'll want to go through and do some listening before i start listing my favorites... not going to do that right now. i'm lay-zee.

off the top of my head, as far as the rumours era album tracks go..
say you love me, over my head.. basslines make the songs for me
oh daddy, idwtk
over & over (i adore the way the bass speeds up on the fade out) - you know what, seriously, practically freakin' everything on tusk wouldn't be as great without his lines... so i really can't go on without listening through them properly.

As interesting as I found the story of FM to be after I became intrigued by the music, it's really the bass that drew me in. And for me, that's really not that different... I listen to the bass in everything, and almost exclusively if the bassline is good. He's just got a feel for it.

[shackin'up]

and the basslines in Oh Well can kill. Those liveversions live by them.

[Sarah]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

and the basslines in Oh Well can kill. Those liveversions live by them.

+1 on that.

They should do Oh Well if for no other reason than to give John time to stand out.. without standing in front. I'd prefer to listen to John's parts live than Lindsey's in all honesty. And God knows how I love Lindsey. ♥

[SteveMacD]

Actually, they should let/make John SING "Oh Well."

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

And I still love Station Man!

I'm not a huge fan of the studio version. John was only half into being in the band at the time. However, the live 1975 version is gooseflesh city.

[MrsMcVie]

Originally Posted by SortaSavageLike

You know, John McVie, that dude who plays bass for Fleetwood Mac? Anyway, for the past few months, I've come to realize that he's probably the most under appreciated long-standing member of Fleetwood Mac. His bass lines are always intriguing, even when they get buried in the mix. Lately I've been listening through my albums with the low-end cranked up just so I can appreciate his playing more. Listen to some great pre-Rumours tracks like Coming Your Way, Bare Trees, and Miles Away and tell me that John isn't one of the most underrated players in the business. I'm not even an amateur musician, but I know good playing when I see it. He has a subtlety and tack that most rock bassists simply wish they had.

Besides the drunken fits he had during the making of Rumours, I've never heard anyone have anything bad to say about John and I get the impression he's always been a pretty classy guy. No one has accused him of strangling his exes, being an overbearing freak, having an enormous sexual appetite, joining religious cults, or ingesting drugs in interesting manners. John is so low-key I wouldn't be surprised if I walked into him in a buffet line and didn't recognize him. He never takes serious potshots at anyone else in the band, he has almost no ego to bruise and he and Christine basically got over themselves after their divorce and maintained a professional working relationship for almost 20 years afterwards. I wish more rock "stars" were as humble as he is.

Well, what can I say? You took the words right out of my mouth here, couldn´t have said it better myself. There are so many things I love about John that I wouldn´t know where to start but I think you summed it up pretty well in this post. Thanks!

John rocks!

[David]

Originally Posted by amber

Suffice to say that, for one thing, I started a thread b/c I wanted a recording of the bassline of Angel by itself.

Angel bass line? You mean like a DVD 5.1 single-channel separation?

And would welcome many other bassline by itself recordings.

Some fans made some bass separations from the 5.1 DVDs of The Dance & the DVD-A of Rumours that Ken Caillat worked on. The Dance examples were titled Dancing Alone. Do you have that?

It's a lot easier to hear the bass in tracks that Lindsey engineered back in the old days than in later Fleetwood Mac stuff that Greg Ladanyi or Mark Needham engineered.