James Jamerson - Isolated Bass and Vocals on Ain't Nothing Like the Real thing

[@unc1589]

Thee most melodic bass player of all time. He’s playing his own song within a song. His own story with a complete reinterpretation of the lead melody line. That double bounce that he plays after Marvin’s “ohhh baby” at the beginning of the chorus sets the tone for how he approaches the whole song. He’s thinking double time right outta the gate. It just gives the song so much life. During the verses the stuff he comes up with, the variation, it’s just mind boggling.

[@Digestif]

I'm big into instrumental music because most of the time I find that vocals add nothing much of significance of to a song. No degree of fabulous singing will redeem a mediocre song in my opinion. But for Jamerson songs it's different. Here I find that there's really not anything more needed than him and the vocals. When I listen to songs that only got him playing the bass and the vocals, I don't feel like there's anything missing to the song.

[@falanajerido875]

I totally agree with you playing a song within a song very profoundly

[@dfreeman120]

100%

[@silasmarner7586]

That's how I put it. A song within a song.

[@gregallen3608]

I feel Jamerson is also playing to the lyrics/story of this song. Changing and emphasizing as the story begins, as the story progresses, as the story climaxes, and as the story ends. Listen again a few times and you might hear what I am describing. Also, those vocals are out of this world amazing.

[@Dan_Frechette_Songwriter]

The only bass player who ever made me cry.

[@vincentparrella5668]

He has such swing for a bass player,absolutely the best there was.

[@jfjoubertquebec]

No need for anything else. I'm stunned.

[@sanskretro]

I have never heard the isolated vocals with the background vocals. It's usually just the lead vocals. My mind is blown again.

[@unc1589]

Always amazed at how much influence Jamerson has over the feel of this track. He really is responsible for the primary BOUNCE of the song. I say "primary" because the detroit symphony strings kinda "jaunt" along with the bounce of JJ. (FYI they take the rhythm track to a big studio where members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra get paid scale to play over it! Which means the strings harps horns etc. are taking they're cues from the heavily influenced Jamerson track). Just a magnificent piece! You could have auditioned 1000 bass players and nobody would have came close to that bassline. I gotta tell you, I could spend a lifetime analyzing this guy and never for a second get bored. He was a freak of nature. The guy makes me giggle like a kid when i hear how brazenly courageous he is. Never heard a bass player even attempt some of the stuff he plays. A completely different musical language

[@haysfordays]

You nailed it. He always amazes because he comes from a whole other approach. I have this same experience with Charlie Parker. To understand these guys would kinda take a total immersion where you began to try and live their language and whatever technique you could somehow figure out. And even then, how would you be physically able to play consistent clusters of 16ths like James does? Btw, the live footage of him on youtube with Marvin shows his hand position. I've studied it and have not been able to really understand how he made it work. I'd love to know how heavy/light his touch was. I'm guessing it's lighter than we think and that he was somehow maximizing tone production from each note.

[@leoray1234]

haysfordays yeah that tare concert footage is a gem to both watch and hear. He sounds even better live I thought! I also have no idea how he does those 16th runs with one finger (I know he sweeps across his strings but that doesn’t account for all the fast runs). Having also played upright bass, I can share that a bass teacher once told me that to get a great tone when you pluck, you have to use your whole arm even if it looks like it’s just a finger, so maybe there’s a little bit of upright technique in his approach to electric. The arm technique is how notes can sound like they are played with conviction.

[@anthonyglennmollicasr.425]

@@leoray1234 he does use upright technique

[@ban2fab4]

The bass line is amazing!!!

[@bernettamorton3626]

Mr. Jamerson understood his instrument! Woo! Loved it! 🎶

[@SA_SovereigntyForPatriots]

This is exactly where Jaco Pastorius comes from. James Jamerson was a major influence!!! R.I.P. JJ & JP

[@jbass69goat84]

And they both had similar sad endings. 😔😔

[@LDTOK-zs8oz]

A musician that Jaco is a two-fingered Jamerson.

[@dfreeman120]

The GOAT !!! Brilliant musician!

[@jaemichael2188]

James Jameson is we're the same sign I love

[@alonzogarbanzo]

I first heard of JJ just when this record came out---I never had previously known the names of any of the Funk Brothers, and didn't generally until much later, like most of the public who gobbled up all those Motown classics without a clue as to who was making the music. But my friend Mark got me to listen to this astonishing bass line, and it changed my life to hear that. Seriously. And from then on I always knew who James Jamerson was.

[@usersrule]

Great song by Ashford and Simpson

[@davchilders]

this is awesome!! what a perfect way to hear jamerson at his best.

[@marysalvi242]

2022 if you don't have a great bass player who knows how to work bass lines - the song falls flat. Such a beautiful sound..

[@larenzohayes4453]

Inspiration

[@dirkpehrke9909]

What he is doing in the background of tracks that were supposed to be pop hits without getting in the way of the vocals and hook lines of these songs, beats 96,5% of what bass soloists do, when slapping and popping at lightspeed… And he’s doing it with one finger of his right hand. And it is always music, never sports.

[@JS_bass]

This is a gem...

[@donniecastleman5701]

Just wow!

[@mxsade88]

Yesssss!!! Wish I could play the bass...

[@metallicarocks911]

Playing bass is easy, but playing like Jamerson, let alone his very colourful and influential basslines from his short-lived, but illustrious career, is quite difficult. :)

[@dawgydaddy]

all i need to hear

[@stephaneabe9592]

Très fort

[@parnell24]

Wowwwwww

[@Stevieboy130664]

You really can hear Valerie Simpson's backing vocals on this one.

[@leoray1234]

Makes sense she would be there, since she knows it better than anyone ;)

[@SergioMarcio1]

Like 900 😋

[@miscellanyman263]

Thanks for sharing. Why do I have my doubts that someone like, say, Victor Wooten, could ever play like this? (smirk!)

[@joshmcallister4863]

Wooten could very well play this, I have no reservations on whether or not he could do it, he can. What makes James Jameson is he did this on every song. One could argue that Motown would still be Motown without Jameson on bass as he didn’t play bass on every song. But every song James is on the bass line is so odd ball left field that no one could just consistently come up with these lines originally besides him. That’s what makes him special and what makes the Motown tracks he’s on just absolutely special. It’s a matter of creative expression vs recall. Any body could recall what they hear in the music game, but few have an ever lasting style that can morph to each and every project.

[@exherald]

He only needed four strings, too!

[@dnate697]

And didn't need to "Slap" either LOL!

[@leoray1234]

That’s what I always say, if 4 strings was enough for James and Jaco, it’s probably enough for us

[@dnate697]

@@leoray1234 But both did detune, you don't need to do this with a 5 banger.

[@leoray1234]

@@dnate697 where did you read Jamerson de-tuned? Ive seen him in clips and he’s not playing de-tuned in them at all. Plus, I don’t think I’ve heard any low D and below from him. Bottom line, he and Jaco could have had 5, 6, 7 strings if they wanted.

[@dnate697]

@@leoray1234 Hell, I remembered from years ago someone wrote that some of his early jazz was played that way. Naw, it is not a "need" but a preference for playing in that "Sweet part of the Bass neck" with 5 strings and not having to pay against the Nut. Intonation does matter in that case. Isley Brothers and Heatwave for example.

[@bruceMgordon]

The Bach of Bass. ALL electric bass playing comes from Jamerson first.

[@anthonyglennmollicasr.425]

He influenced many bass players including John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin.

[@nathan_pence]

how do you do this?? Isolate it like that

[@klangobjekt]

The Motown studio used an 8 track recorder, so you can snag the bass and vocals separately. The Beatles were recorded on 3 tracks back then. In a few years Jamerson would become a washed up alcoholic burnout. I hate to say that because he has children. He had problems. Sometimes talent is a curse.

[@jmpsthrufyre]

he actually played this with one finger?

[@Jason5818UI]

yes sir..james is arguably the most influential bass player of all time

[@Aussiebassboy]

He was an upright player, so when he switched to the electric his technique didn't change. That's why he's been known to play a lot in the first position, and used a lot of the open strings when he played

[@RackwitzG]

@@Aussiebassboy The money is made within the first five frets.

[@JLJ504HD]

"The HOOK"

[@leoray1234]

@@Aussiebassboy I knew he played upright, but I didn’t know he played electric mostly in first position! That accounts for the mute he put on the bridge then, to keep those open strings quiet

[@tylerlarson1078]

lol, tammi wasn't psyched on that take

[@Aussiebassboy]

Amazing song, brilliant bass. Only one complaint though. It's hard to hear the bass over the vocals. Is there anywhere I can find just the isolated bass without the vocals?

[@mtj1047]

If you use an app called Transcribe, there is a equalizer that will make it stand out or bury whatever you want manipulated. Plus you can speed it up or slow it down to learn parts. Go through Jennifer Batten's website to see a video on it and also get a great discount on it. You will never regret having a practice tool that you will use all your life - TRUST ME - it's a game changer!!

[@saclufuvcui]

It's not that tough to play with one finger once you can be used to the style. The style can enhance the thoughts for playing. The matter is what you play & create in a next second. It's too tough to be creative as much as he ever was.

[@metallicarocks911]

Jamerson was an improvisational bass player, so he approached his bass playing as such, and had complete mastery of it. The ability to improvise and remain locked in to the song was second nature to him. A lot of players tend to get stuck on the idea that improvising is a 'solo-only' approach... That couldn't be further from the truth, as his bass lines have proved that idea wrong every time.

[@leoray1234]

@@metallicarocks911 well said. What you said about him being improvisational is also what kind of bothers me about all the bass covers of Jamerson’s lines, where they reproduce it note for note…and I’m thinking if he were alive today, he probably wouldn’t play the exact same line twice. You can see it when he plays Whats Going On live with Marvin. He’s playing a variation of what he played on the recording - and it sounds even better!

[@metallicarocks911]

@@leoray1234 I am totally understanding od where you are coming from, and I agree agree fully. However, taking the time to replicate and reproduce those famous basslines of his, may be a way for people to study and understand his mindset when it came to his playing. Like listening to this song (Of which is one of his BEST performances in my opinion), is a good way for someone like me to figure out how to incorporate his style and note choices into my playing. Like this song, for example. has a repetitive bass line, of which was rather ubiquitous in pop music before Jamerson came in and took the industry by storm, and he STILL managed to add his own nuances and style into what seemed to be a rather simplistic bassline. That is where he tread the line really well, and showed his musicianship as a studio bassist. He knew how to approach his playing, when it came to the music, whether it be a repetitive bassline like this, or a fully improvised one, such as For Once In My Life. Sorry for the long novel, but I had to share my admiration for Jamerson, his playing, and how it shaped the music industry today.

[@leoray1234]

@@metallicarocks911 hey man, no problem, and totally agree with you. It’s a great way to learn by replication. I remember once I listened to a bunch of Jamerson lines then went to play a jazz gig, and my drummer asked me what I was doing differently. He said I had way more bounce and syncopated drive in my playing even though we didn’t play any Motown songs that night. I took it as a huge compliment because he had no idea who I had been influenced by, but if showed that it had an effect!

[@metallicarocks911]

@@leoray1234 There is a reason why record labels wanted him to play bass on their tracks... A lot of their hits had Jamerson on the bass, and it really was a contributing factor to their popularity on the charts. What you said is very true, because they never credited studio musicians until the 70's, and even before that, people still felt a huge difference in the rhythm section, despite not knowing who played the bass. Even as an unmentioned musician, Jamerson STILL managed to grab the attention of listeners across the globe. That is a true testament to his musicianship.

[@tomlehr861]

Not sure how he got that tone. Almost like his line os singing along

[@ASSman864]

Flat wounds and tone knob down to zero for starters, then adjust your amp accordingly. Also foam under the strings by the bridge will help alot

[@Ronjohn73]

@@ASSman864 AND.....those aforementioned flat wounds were a very heavy gauge. Also, because Jamerson only changed a string when it broke, the action was pretty high. But, that's the way he liked it!

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

2 people have absolutely no soul

[@soappreciative1157]

…or they just lyin

[@charlesm7589]

Jamerson had the tendency to add one too many notes, at times. This bass line would be cleaner without that. Still a great musician and bassline.

[@cyrus138]

based on what? was there a motown standard on how many notes to use?

[@charlesm7589]

@@cyrus138 Based on my opinion, obviously. Musical taste is an individual thing, or didn't you know that. There's no right or wrong or "standard" involved. So, what's your opinion based on? Your own taste or what you've been told to think?

[@cyrus138]

@@charlesm7589 My opinion is based on the fact that he's great and influential and you are not cause you're the one who's dependent on standards. Read your comment again genius.

[@charlesm7589]

@@cyrus138 Ah, when you don't have anything to back up you opinion, you try to attack the messenger rather than the message. Jamerson isn't god. It's OK for someone to critic him.

[@masterblackmon]

I like Jermaine bass better❤