Carol Kaye appreciation
markus71
937 Posts
I was just playing the On Any Sunday OST.This woman is amazing!.....Check out that list of songs and records she is on on her website.She played on scores like Bullitt, Across 110 street, Streets of San Francisco, Mannix.....you name it. http://www.carolkaye.com/clips/first_lady.wmv
Comments
Her work on the Electric Prunes LP should get more appreciation.
http://www.divshare.com/download/2659673-328
Completely complimented the drums, and stepped up that whole record.
- spidey
I see.
It's so weird. She has no need to insist she played on those motown songs. Her legend is already etched into history. I did some crazy late night research on the topic of her vs. Jameson and there is overwhelming evidence she is batshit crazy. She still insists Motown was sexist and reverse racist. Whatever, she still is an unbelievably great bass player.
Why you gonna cross list your CD-R as an LP? the bamboozle raer fiends thats why.
FUCK IT, I WANT HER BADLY!
you can meet carol tomorrow at the namm show. peace, stein. . .
Yknow, I've been trying to look up more on this. Carols arguments seems pretty valid, and she's been claiming this since back in the 70's. It is very clear that she did some Overdubbing for Jamerson, and worked on some lesser known tracks for Motown. However most people still will call her a liar for saying she worked on, "I was made to love her."
One things for sure, Stevie didn't see her playing on it.
- spidey
If memory serves, what she did play on was some west coast recordings for a Motown TV special. She has repeatedly (seemingly) inferred that what she played on were in fact the classic tracks, i.e. the "original" 45 as opposed to a later version of the song. Right up there with Purdy and the Beatles. Bizarre...
This is true. There is a website that the dude that wrote "standing in the shadows of motown" made that has empirical evidence that it was James on "I was made to love her" and the other songs she claimed to play on the originals. He has signed afidaits from the writers, and other people involved with making the song saying it was totally Jamerson playing that. Here are some websites:
http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/magic/kaye/
and
http://www.bassland.net/jamerson.html#drlicks
http://www.carolkaye.com/www/library/sounds/bass_only/i_was_made_to_love_her.wav
I think the biggest win in this argument is her bass lines are for sure played with a pick. I have the Reach out bass line Isolated studio track, and it is for sure finger picked. To my ears it sounds like he only uses his thumb, but I don't know too much about Jamerson's technique.
- spidey
He actually played with only his index finger (:melt:!). They called it "the hook". I can barely play some of those lines with 2 fingers...
such as:
Disney - It's A Small World theme
Beach boys - Pet Sounds
Nancy Sinatra - Boots
Lou Rawls - Natural Man
Marketts - Batman Theme
Bill Cosby - Hikky Burr
Mission Impossible
Ironside
Kojak
Streets of San Fransico
Brady Bunch
Hawaii 5-O
Addams Family
even
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba (guitar)
Amazing lady.
- spidey
I still regret passing up a sealed copy for $4 back in the day.
I talked to her via email years ago. I think I still have some of the files she sent me. Holllllllll up...while I check.
*Found it (these emails are from someone else btw).
http://www.divshare.com/download/3534686-e13
It's a bunch of info on what she played on, working with different people, etc.
she does some cool shit on this LP
Man, I think I can play that fast with my index. It's just being able to flick it, personally I'm a 3 finger player, and it's real natural for me to want to play his songs with just a thumb groove. I'll try it out though thanks for that info.
- spidey
Anybody got a copy of that Instructional joint she did in the 70's. I remember somebody posted a snippet of it. Just Carol Bass lines.
I'd love to mess around with some of that production wise.
- spidey
I actually emailed Carol discussing her technique and what bass she recommends ect ect. I was very surprised she got back to me right away and attached a pile of info. She recommended this bass to me, which is the same one she currently plays. She said it's better than the p-bass for build quality and playability and has the same sound or better.
I really like this bass but I still can't get the sound she had back in the day. I'll probably end up getting a fender p-bass and a bassman amp. Then I can really test which bass is better...I desperately want her sound...So good.
Check out that link that Day posted she gets detailed into the gear and tricks she used. Such as felt on top of the strings for muting (pick sounds), and 60's Fender reverb concert amps. Also the studios preffered the sound of the Fender P-bass.
However if you don't live in LA, and can't rent one of these. This is the modern day equivalent. Supposedly. If you can't find something similar in a pawn shop, or on ebay ($2000) even try recording studios, they might let you rent them. You might even be able to find a kit.
Then alot of it is in what she's playing, she can run as well as anybody, but what she plays has a distinct groove and sometimes an almost surf swing. Her Jazz playing is much different restrained but tasteful (light touch), but her funky stuff is pretty pattern oriented and pretty easy to figure out by ear. Such as Hicky Burr. Very sweet sounding amp tone.
- spidey
Thanks for the tips man, I think I'm going to have to look into getting one of these amps. I was messing around with some plugins tonight and got a really good sound from amplitube2 modeling a fender. I had to set the input vol real low so it didn't distort though. Can't wait to try this on a real amp.
good looking out
i know she plays on the album version and its pretty obvious, but this just doesnt sound like her playing...same exact lineup on this session? her name isnt at the bottom, either...
"I remember unhooking from my amp to try out Ray Brown's new little amp during a lull and then they started rolling the take. I got stuck on Ray's amp when they yelled "take 1 rolling......", no time to switch back to my amp. So the first thing you hear on those TV shows is the sound of my low E string breaking up with a little fuzz as Ray's small amp just couldn't hold the punctuation I normally got with my pick and the hard way I played, ouch!
The theme was "Hikky Burr", a latin-soul type piece, neat theme song, pretty funky. My music was blank except for the unison horn line and a short break figure in the bridge. Trying to figure out what Quincy had in mind, I asked "what do you want me to play Q?" "Anything Carol" he answered, and the rest was a bass solo almost, it was so much fun to play with the guys.
When we cut this over a few weeks later with Cosby in attendence, Cos picked up the tambourine and started to groove, eliciting mouth sounds as he played with us at the MCA studio where we cut this as a long single (it went pretty high on the charts too). Cos with that cigar in his mouth, I'll never forget it, we all sure had fun that day! That's him you hear saying "hikky burrrrr, hikky burrr burrrr" etc."
From the Working with Quincy email that Day posted.
Correction:
Actually you're right AKO.
"Carol Kaye's groovy pickstyle Fender Bass underscored the show's theme song, called "Hikky-Burr" for Cosby's impromptu scat, but it was jazz great Ray Brown who thumped his acoustic on the bluesy Quincy Jones-produced funk instrumentals that provided the show's incidental music. " - Bass player magazine
- spidey
I think he did pretty amazing stuff: he STILL IS underappreciated ..
i was gonna say, the playing in that clip was a little too boring to be kaye, usually i can pick her out on just about anything she's played on, but that definitely did not sound like her.