vu bass

[velvet wilson rain]

Hi
On the banana LP, who(Cale/Morrision) played bass gtr on each of the tracks? and the sources of information.
1)sunday- cale?
2) cale( stated in the "uptight" book)?
3) cale( live 93)
4) morrison( as above)
5)cale??
6)morrison( "curious doc)
7) no one
8)cale?
9)cale(live 93)
10)cale /no bass?
11) cale?
Am I right??


Thanks

[arjan]

Am I right??

Almost. Here's what I got:

1. SM - Sterling
2. IWFTM - John
3. FF - John
4. VIF - Sterling
5. RRR - John
6. ATP - Sterling
7. H - no-one
8. TSGA - John
9. IBYM - John
10. TBADS - Sterling (high-register noodling)
11. ES - John

The band did precious few overdubs on their first two LPs. There's only two overdubs on VU &Nico ("Sunday Morning" and "I'm Waiting for the Man"), one on WL/WH (the title song, where Lou overdubbed either the piano or the fuzz rhythm guitar), and "Stephanie Says". This makes it very easy to determine who plays bass.

The main rule (on songs that have no overdubs): whenever you hear a keyboard or a viola, it is played by John and so the bass must be played by Sterling. Only exceptions, of course, are "Heroin" and "Sister Ray", which feature both on their favourite instrument and no bass.

Additional, derived/inverted rule: whenever you hear two guitars, the bass must be John.

On "Sunday Morning", Sterling plays bass (John plays celesta and overdubbed viola while Lou plays guitar and overdubbed piano). On "I'm Waiting for the Man", Sterling plays the lead lick while John plays bass and overdubbed piano.

Sources: various books and interviews (a.o. Up-Tight, which you mention) and, not least, good hearing and headphones

[Pig Related]

Lou plays piano on Sunday Morning?

[arjan]

Lou plays piano on Sunday Morning?

Yeah, I read that somewhere. There's not much piano on the song (a simple two-chord rhythm only on the outro, AFAIR) and given the credits on VU & Nico, you'd assume it was John, but I read it anyway, a quote from Lou himself (don't ask me where, an interview in a mag long ago).

[Homme Fatale]

I always thought the guitar solo on "Sunday Morning" was Sterl...? It seems too melodic for Lou...

[arjan]

I always thought the guitar solo on "Sunday Morning" was Sterl...? It seems too melodic for Lou...

Well, we *know* the bass was played by Sterling, he said so himself. The solo I always thought must be Lou, the playing is too forceful to be Sterling and the sound isn't quite him as well, to my ears at least. *And* it would leave Lou playing no (primary) instrument on the song, which would be strange, especially when Sterling's already playing bass. But it's all rather subjective in the absence of solid facts (track id sheets etc).

[Kill Mick]

So does Sterl play bass on the WL/WH album at all?

[arjan]

So does Sterl play bass on the WL/WH album at all?

Yes, on "Lady Godiva's Operation".

1. WL/WH: Lou - vox, fuzz rh gtr, piano. Sterling - ld gtr (noodling away almost inaudibly in the right speaker), backing vox. John - bass, backing vox.
   TG: John - vox, bass. Lou - lead gtr, back vox ("awww"). Sterling - rh gtr, back vox ("awww").
   LGO: John - vox, viola. Lou - gtr, vox. Sterling - bass, vox.
   HSCN: Lou - vox, rh gtr. Sterling - ld gtr. John - bass.
   IHHCMN: Lou - vox, ld gtr. Sterling - rh gt, backing vox. John - bass, backing vox.
   SR: Lou - vox, gtr. Sterling - gtr. John - organ.
   
   Maureen - percussion all tracks.

[CL]

I have also spent many hours trying to figure out who's playing what, and have ended up with the same results as arjan, except that Cale also overdubs his viola on Here She Comes Now.

Which brings me to another point (sorry for getting a little OT here) - Tucker's percussion sounds really odd on HSCN, almost as if it were played backwards. Any suggestions?

[Doctor Bob]

I always thought the guitar solo on "Sunday Morning" was Sterl...? It seems too melodic for Lou...

Yes I've often thought the same thing. Analyzing the solo musically it appears to be based on a major pentatonic scale, which is a way of playing that Sterling often uses, whereas Lou would typically be more abstract. Still, Lou has been known to do a pretty good "Sterl impression", just check out the I'm Sticking With You outro on Velvet Redux 1993 for example.

Coming back to Sunday Morning--the bass part on that song is very unusual as well, seeming to play off against the natural rhythm of the song in a syncopated kind of way, which I would instinctively associate with Cale.

Just goes to show you never can tell. Keeps us off the streets I guess...