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

#61
40Hz said:
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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I made it about half way. The comments and reactions on this thread tell you anything worth knowing.
 
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#64
jamro217 said:
Opinionated and self absorbed, perhaps, but Q has seen and heard things we will never be privy to. He may be somewhat polarizing and profane, but he speaks his mind. I'll take that over a phony any day.
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Well, there are a lot of points in between "speaks his mind" and "phony." It's not one or the other. In this case, either end of the spectrum is not very flattering.
 
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#66
The track in question he refers to with George Martin & Ringo ("Love is a Many-Splendoured Thing") is a saccharine-filled arrangement that sounds absurdly "white". The drum part isn't so complicated from what I can hear. Quincy probably was thinking of Bernard Purdie instead of Ringo anyway.
 
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#67
Q has contributed, curated, and produced more quality entertainment in music, film, and television than almost anybody else in the world. Nobody on this forum, even the famous lurkers that don’t post for obvious reasons, can claim that.

I’m not on board with the idea of Macca being a horrible player, but Quincy is. Big deal. Quincy comes from a Jazz tradition and studied with a range of known classical composers most of you have never heard of years before he encountered the Beatles. Consider the possiblity that he may have different standards than you, especially if this is the only Q interview you’ve ever read. He’s a brilliant, loyal, talented, and kind man. Even if he never did anything besides his work with Sinatra, that material will still be celebrated 100 years after whatever silly Death Metal or Alternative band you’re wild about now is totally forgotten.

I also don’t subscribe to the Talkbass notion that accomplished but opinionated musicians immediately need to be tarred and feathered simply because they’re accomplished and opinionated. You stand to miss a lot of valuable lessons if you ignore a figure like Quincy simply because he said something you didn’t like in an article.

Unbelievable. Looks like TB has a new punching bag besides Jeff Berlin and Anthony Jackson now.
 
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#71
Hang on, popcorn.gif isn't on par with this thread...time to kick it up a notch

gremlindva.gif
 
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#76
JRA said:
gordon sims , thanks for finding/sharing that!

while i think he may be a little harsh at times (in the interview), i don't have a problem with anything he said: i'd put a lot more stock in his take than anyone in particular who was mentioned by either him or the interviewer. if he said the beatles sucked as musicians (he would know!), so what?

i think his notes on contemporary musicianship (he blasted it) and production (he blasted that, too) are way more important than calling out mccartney. and: i agree with everything he said!


i think he's older than god and no longer sees a need for self-censoring. i see less need for it these days than when i was younger. more power to him. he can say whatever he wants. more importantly: if you filter out his interview attitude = valuable observations/lessons on music, the industry, and history.
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Any jackass can say whatever they want. It's not some special skill. Hobos on street corners do it all the time.
 
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