Quincy Jones says Paul McCartney was the worst bassist he ever heard

#41
JKB1957 said:
Paul once described the Beatles as, "a good little rock and roll band."
He should know. Still more people could tell you about the Beatles and their songs then they could about Quincy Jones.
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Yep, even Paul knew they were a sum of their parts (and their songs) more than a group of trained virtuosos.

I always found each Beatle a bit unconventional in their approaches to their instruments. But that's rock and roll, and it created a unique sound that suddenly half the bands around the world wanted to imitate.

One thing that is hard to take away from The Beatles, even in a technical sense, is their approach to vocals, the quality of their lead vocals and especially the chorale harmonies they produced, largely with three voices. Very clever vocals, high quality stuff by any standard.
 
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#42
Quincy Jones is a genius but I'm not sure he remembers that Paul didn't want to play bass and from the interviews I've read over the years he prefers the piano. I have been playing his basslines since the Beatles were still together and in my opinion those lines are some of the most melodic in history is he a Marcus Miller? absolutely not but I think he's happy with how things turned out.
 
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#49
gordon sims said:
http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/quin...?utm_campaign=nym&utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s1

What were your first impressions of the Beatles?
That they were the worst musicians in the world. They were no-playing mother****ers. Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard. And Ringo? Don’t even talk about it.
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Well, consider the source his roots, and the time in which he formed his opinion, and he is certainly entitled to it. The early Beatles were more about the pop songs, personalities than musical virtuosity. Sir Paul, certainly played some great bass parts over the years that can not be denied. The worst? You should have heard me 40 years ago. (Not that I’m that great nowadays..)

As for Ringo, he did just what the songs called for. No more, no less, and truth be told, probably 90 percent of the bassists on this site would would prefer that outlook than what they are currently dealing with, including Quincy!
 
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#50
Pretty interesting read. For me the Beatles were not about “musicianship” but more about good writing, creativity, innovation and the “good vibes” they projected with their music. Does it matter that I never heard them play any line, riff or passage that was incredibly difficult? No, because that is just one aspect of their sound. I think QJ being so dismissive is lame. Maybe if there was audio it would strike me differently but just the printed word comes across as ignorant and something that is designed to get some traction by being insulting rather than being insightful.
 
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#52
electracoyote said:
Yep, even Paul knew they were a sum of their parts (and their songs) more than a group of trained virtuosos.

I always found each Beatle a bit unconventional in their approaches to their instruments. But that's rock and roll, and it created a unique sound that suddenly half the bands around the world wanted to imitate.

One thing that is hard to take away from The Beatles, even in a technical sense, is their approach to vocals, the quality of their lead vocals and especially the chorale harmonies they produced, largely with three voices. Very clever vocals, high quality stuff by any standard.
Click to expand...

So very true! And I have found that when I try and play their music true to their recordings, I gain a huge level of respect for what they did! :thumbsup:
 
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#56
gordon sims said:
http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/quin...?utm_campaign=nym&utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s1

What were your first impressions of the Beatles?
That they were the worst musicians in the world. They were no-playing mother****ers. Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard. And Ringo? Don’t even talk about it.
Click to expand...

Musicianship is so far down the totem pole, in terms of what really matters (outside of classical, and jazz music).

The Beatles are a million miles away from the best musicians Quincy Jones has worked with - but they are among the best songwriters.
 
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#57
Yowsers.
This is what I thought was cool:

From a strictly musical perspective, what have you done that you’re most proud of?
That anything I can feel, I can notate musically. Not many people can do that. I can make a band play like a singer sings. That’s what arranging is, and it’s a great gift. I wouldn’t trade it for poopie.

If he is as good as he says, that IS a rare gift. (And I think he is as good as he says when it comes to notation.)
 
#60
I decided I wasn’t going to read that interview.

Other than a few rare exceptions, I’ve found the better I get to know most musicians, and the more insight I get into their personalities, the less I like them or continue to want to listen to their music.

I’ve been told that as we age we begin to appreciate the value of discretion, and to realize the importance of behaving graciously whenever speaking about another person.

Apparently that Clue Angel hasn’t graced Mr. Jones’s doorstep yet.
 
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