Adam's bassline on Vertigo!

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TheBrazilianFly

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It's groovy but heavy as hell and classic Adam Clayton. :up: Maybe his heaviest bassline ever. Is he using distortion on his bass? I think he is. It would be cool if he used a more dirty distortion. I think maybe it could be a bit louder on the verses or maybe it's just this recording we have. :shrug:

Pop was Adam's best album in my opinion, do you think he will shine on HTDAAB again with some cool basslines?
 
The bassline (as far as one can tell) on Love and Peace Or Else seems to carry that tune...so it sounds like Adam is doing his part to say the least thus far.
 
I am hoping that his basslines on HTDAAB are a little more daring than ATYCLB (and are not unlike what they are on Vertigo).

If the songs off the new LP are as compelling as expected, then I think we're going to be worshipping Adam. :bow: :adam:
 
His bass playing is way overrated on Vertigo. Just by posting this you have caused it to be even more overrated.

HAHAHAH!

Feck off Jick
 
Phalanx said:
I am hoping that his basslines on HTDAAB are a little more daring than ATYCLB (and are not unlike what they are on Vertigo).

If the songs off the new LP are as compelling as expected, then I think we're going to be worshipping Adam. :bow: :adam:

:up:
 
MadelynIris said:
His bass playing is way overrated on Vertigo. Just by posting this you have caused it to be even more overrated.

HAHAHAH!

Feck off Jick

I have posted this cause I haven't heard many people talking about it. I don't think that's Adam's best bassline but it works well. I just said I like it. :huh:
 
I view the bass as a support instrument. The Bass player should supportive and let the guitars have the spotlight. Whether or not a song has a good bass line is totally dependant on the song itself. The reason why I love Adam as a bass player is because he isn't too "notey" and lets the guitars/vocals guide the song. The reason why we're all noticing his playing is because during the verses, the bass is the only instrument!
 
Well, that's not necessarily true. If you look around the time the song came out, there were some threads and posts about how great Adam's work on the song is. ;)
 
Brazilian Fly,

I was only joking. I think this is one of the best Adam bass lines ever (but more for the sound/tone of the Bass).

Go Adam!
 
Phalanx said:
Well, that's not necessarily true. If you look around the time the song came out, there were some threads and posts about how great Adam's work on the song is. ;)

so
 
Simply put from Vertigo to the three shitty beach clips we've heard, from what I can tell- Adam is on fire.

The bass grooves coming out of him sound great and I can't wait to hear the album.

I love the compression (i think that's what it is) on Vertigo, and you know what? I also love how Edge gets out of the way and lets Adam shine during the verses (besides the "scratching" guitar is soooo cool).

I have two very well respected musician friends and the *first* comment out of both of them is WOW! Adam's bass groove is so great and funky!

When Bono sings "the jungle is your head can't rule your heart" overtop Adam's groove, that bassline instantly conjured up feelings and images of thoughts like jungle vines twisted and tangled up.

Vertigo is so good it hurts.
 
Adam's bass lines were definately the best during October, every bass line in that is great. It sounds like HTDAAB could top that, after hearing 4 songs and all the reports floating around on Adam's input on this album.
 
Adam definitely shines in Vertigo. I have taken the song with me in my walkman wherever I go and I´ll tell you, it has been difficult to stand still, cause I feel like dancing around in the middle of the street...blame Adam :yes:

MT
 
Once my excessive giddiness from hearing the song went down a bit (still not completley gone yet), the first thing I noticed was the bass. I love it. Adam's absolutley fantastic from start to finish. :up:
 
MadelynIris said:
His bass playing is way overrated on Vertigo. Just by posting this you have caused it to be even more overrated.

HAHAHAH!

Feck off Jick

You know, I read the whole Jick mess, and "Edge's" response, and all I can say to this (and yeah, I read you were "kidding") is: Grow the f*** up! Seriously. If you believe in "Edge", then you just ran counter to his view of this forum. Good people can disagree, can debate without debasing one another, and don't need to ridicule others to make a point.

U2 are human beings first, media products a very distant second. Think before you post.
 
Adam's bass lines were more complicated in the early days but that doesn't necessarily make them better. In my opinion, Adam's best work can be heard on Achtung Baby and Pop. These albums featured basslines that didn't just go in the same direction as the guitar and took on a life of their own. Zoo Station, Mysterious Ways, Gone, and Please are definate highlights. And by the way, there's no distortion on the bass in Vertigo.
 
I think Steve Lillywhite wanted to push the bass up front. It was sort of buried on ATYCLB. Adam has had better bass licks, or riffs than that, but he hasn't "sounded" that good in years.

As the years go by I wish I could have heard ATYCLB with a different producer, I think it could have been that much better.

Not that I don't love Eno/Lanois and everything they have brought U2 over the years, especially Eno. Just on that record, IMO, some songs were lost i the mix. WILATW could have been one of U2's best songs ever, with a different mix and better vocals. Listen to WILATW live from KC, Bono belting out "So I TRY to be like you". Lord, why couldn't that have been on the album, instead of the whisper "so I try". Getting off track here.

The point being Steve Lillywhite might be due credit for bringing up Adam into the front of the mix more than Eno/Lanois might have. Just a thought.
 
Sounds like a bit of reverb to me. I don't know if that's the compression you are talking about, I don't hear much distortion if any.
 
I dunno, this guy liked ATYCLB's bass. Maybe he is biased because he was his bass teacher, but it's still interesting to hear from "experts" concerning these things.

http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=3379

I suppose in the past 4 years of becoming a U2 fan, Bono and Adam became my 2 (tie) favourite band members so I just notice the bass more.

The only things I know about bass playing, are the things I read when I skimmed through that ' "Bass Players" for Dummies." So I'm no help in the "musician" department, but I do like "Vertigo's" bass lines.

"October" was Adam's favourite U2 album for a number of years, I can "hear" why. ;)

Also in those 4 years I learned that Adam is the underdog of the group, and I guess I have a softspot for underdogs. I don't see too many discussions about Adam or his contributions to U2, here at Interference to be honest. I noticed at U2.com's forum, with the band member's forums, Adam didn't get that much discussion, compared to Bono and Edge, but he and Larry were about the same in terms of discussions.
 
The bass on Vertigo is amazing, it's adam possessed by the edge's spirit. Musically is what brings greatness and innovation to the song. Much more than the guitar imo.
From vertigo, i would say that when bono was wrong when he said that the album would have the sound of an angry guitar player missing the singer. I feel much more angry in the bass.
 
bedouin fire said:
The bass on Vertigo is amazing, it's adam possessed by the edge's spirit. Musically is what brings greatness and innovation to the song. Much more than the guitar imo.
From vertigo, i would say that when bono was wrong when he said that the album would have the sound of an angry guitar player missing the singer. I feel much more angry in the bass.

That's not anger, that's Adam finding his groove. (see link I posted earlier in thread ;) )

He was actually the most "positive" in his feelings about Bono's outside band work.

Is he playing with or without a pick? Is there a way to tell without seeing how he plays it? I've seen a video from TOTP, showing him playing with a pick, but then in the Beautiful Day video, he uses a pick on the video, but plays without a pick live.
 
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