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Quincy Jones says Paul McCartney was the worst bassist he ever heard
- Thread starter gordon sims
- Start date
Is Paul the best bass player on the planet, or Ringo the best drummer? No. But it takes a lot of balls to classify them as the worst, considering their place in music history.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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He's totally off-the-rails in this interview. Comes off as a complete nutjob. What the heck happened to Q? Has he gone senile? SAD!
Well, wasn't that polarizing. Opinions, sphincters, universal ownership, etc. - however, I am 100% certain of a couple of things.
1) Top (as in advanced, serious, non-pop except when contracted to be) arrangers/composers/musicians of Quincy Jones' era tended to look down on pop music of the early to mid '60's for myriad reasons which I needn't compile, and I doubt that their opinions changed as years rolled on and new generations came to the fore, because - Human nature! Much like how some of my generation bemoan the current state of music. Not me, just sayin' - It's a circle of life thing.
...And 2), Anyone on this board who claims 'not to have heard of' Quincy Jones - whether verbally or musically - is as full of it as a Christmas goose.
1) Top (as in advanced, serious, non-pop except when contracted to be) arrangers/composers/musicians of Quincy Jones' era tended to look down on pop music of the early to mid '60's for myriad reasons which I needn't compile, and I doubt that their opinions changed as years rolled on and new generations came to the fore, because - Human nature! Much like how some of my generation bemoan the current state of music. Not me, just sayin' - It's a circle of life thing.
...And 2), Anyone on this board who claims 'not to have heard of' Quincy Jones - whether verbally or musically - is as full of it as a Christmas goose.
AngelCrusher
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Quincy Jones got high AF with Herbie Hancock and played with synths all day.
Therefore, I believe he knows talent a lot better than most people.
Therefore, I believe he knows talent a lot better than most people.
Oh c'mon Manny! Ya mean you've never heard of Quincy Jones' Lonely Hearts Club Band album, or Quincy's White Album, or Quincy's Let It Be album or Quincy's Revolver album or Quincy's Rubber Soul album? And what about Quincy's early stuff and his big debut on the Ed Sullivan show on Feb 9, 1964 with all of those screaming fans! And don't forget Quincy's "Help" movie and Quincy's "A Hard Days Night" movie. Sheesh man.....where have you been??? Living under a rock or something???
What this thread mainly proves to me that all our effort is ultimately futile. I say this because if a legend like Quincy Jones (and I don't particularly like most of his output, but I respect the hell out of his legacy) is dismissed as a "wanker" and "who is this guy" then ultimately what's the chance of any music surviving into future generations?
Sad that at the end of this guys life so many people have nothing but disrespect for him because he dared voice his opinion on things. This is, to me, a very damning indictment on the state of our world as a whole. Makes me happy I never really tried to "make it" in music. These modern snowflakes have ruined almost everything and sucked the fun out of many aspects of life. Now add Quincy Jones' legacy to that evergrowing pile.
Anyhow, just for his forwarding of the craft of recording techniques (with the help of his legendary engineer Bruce Swedein), Mr. Jones deserves much more respect than he's getting here.
Sad that at the end of this guys life so many people have nothing but disrespect for him because he dared voice his opinion on things. This is, to me, a very damning indictment on the state of our world as a whole. Makes me happy I never really tried to "make it" in music. These modern snowflakes have ruined almost everything and sucked the fun out of many aspects of life. Now add Quincy Jones' legacy to that evergrowing pile.
Anyhow, just for his forwarding of the craft of recording techniques (with the help of his legendary engineer Bruce Swedein), Mr. Jones deserves much more respect than he's getting here.
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Good one.Oh c'mon Manny! Ya mean you've never heard of Quincy Jones' Lonely Hearts Club Band album, or Quincy's White Album, or Quincy's Let It Be album or Quincy's Revolver album or Quincy's Rubber Soul album? And what about Quincy's early stuff and his big debut on the Ed Sullivan show on Feb 9, 1964 with all of those screaming fans! And don't forget Quincy's "Help" movie and Quincy's "A Hard Days Night" movie. Sheesh man.....where have you been??? Living under a rock or something???
I honestly have maybe read Quincy Jones' name a few times on this site. I truly don't know who he is. Perhaps this is another area where there's a big generation gap.
I'm sure he's a fine musician.
But when you publicly open your mouth to smacktalk someone else, you're putting yourself out there to face backlash.
Mr. Jones is free to speak his mind. The right to express your opinion isn't a right to have your opinion respected, or to be respected for it. People calling him a wanker are no more snowflakes than he is. According to you, it's okay for Mr. Jones to insult Macca, but it isn't okay for other people to respond by insulting him?
"I get to say what I want but no one gets to say anything back" isn't how this works.
So Quincy didn't think much when he first heard the Beatles? And people get the vapors over this? Guess what? Neither did Sir George Martin.
What is it with talented people having to crap on other talented people? It makes them come off as ignorant or douchebags.
Exactly.
You know who isn't talking smack about players younger than he is? Paul McCartney.
All you have to do is listen to the majority of popular music to answer that question. It's rather depressing that a new generation can't appreciate much of the older stuff. I, however, don't see the majority of posts in this thread to claim QJ as being a hack, but rather that he should (based on The Beatles history and reputation) admit that he may have made a severe error in judgement.
I'd never accuse him of being a hack. I'm not familiar with his work, but his musical output seems pretty respected on here, and it wouldn't be if he couldn't play.
Also from what I've seen, lots of younger players do appreciate older music. Way more than their baby boomer forebears respected the music of the generations before them, if what I've always heard about the early years of rock and roll is accurate.
Everyone always hates the music of the generation that comes after them.
Listening to all these bitter old musicians has really motivated me to watch for the same attitudes in myself as I age. These musicians will criticize you for playing the same as they do, calling you unoriginal. Or they'll judge you for doing something different. Either way there's no pleasing them, so who cares? Look, these men like QJ made their music and their mark and they deserve respect for it. At the same time, the industry, technology , and musical environment has changed so much that their opinions really aren't that relevant. It's fine to honor the guy who designed the Oldsmobile Cutlass, it's another to listen to him as you design a hybrid.
Also, like most older musicians he's probably only heard 30 seconds here and there of the local pop station and assumes that's the whole world of music today.
Also, like most older musicians he's probably only heard 30 seconds here and there of the local pop station and assumes that's the whole world of music today.
I think Sir Paul's playing fit the Beatles music. He was certainly competent. Does anyone listen to the Beatles and want to change things? Paul was a songwriter not a session man. Rock and Roll isn't R&B, its a union of all popular styles. Its freedom.
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Oh my god folks, relax, on the McCartney jab...
The Beatles are NOT dedicated sessions musicians that QJ is jokingly comparing him to. I’m sure if Paul was in the room he probably would have laughed and said, ‘sure compared to some of those guys I can’t play a lick.’
The Beatles are NOT dedicated sessions musicians that QJ is jokingly comparing him to. I’m sure if Paul was in the room he probably would have laughed and said, ‘sure compared to some of those guys I can’t play a lick.’
thanks for proving my point. In a nutshell, Quincy Jones has earned the right to have an opinion on anything musically and I take his opinion a lot more seriously than some kid on Talkbass whose opinion is meaningless. Doesn't mean I agree with his opinion. Just that it carries a lot more weight, actually an infinite amount more weight, than yours.
Same. I hope I'm never some grumpy old guy who dismisses the work of anyone younger.
I don't claim to like all music I hear. But that's okay. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean that the people who make it don't put a lot of thought and effort into what they do.
For me, it's like food. There are some dishes that I'm not going to like even if a world class chef prepares them for me. That doesn't mean the chef is bad at cooking. Just that the dishes don't match my taste.
Not everything is made for me or caters to my tastes.