January 2, 2014!
Miracler
Tim Carroll
Location
Austin
Long time No Tim Carroll
Way too long. Between the randomness of our calendar and the recent stalling by quiet Miraclers (that's fixed with the password change this Sunday!), it's been 2 long years since TC graced us with the ever-popular Full Blown: Flutes of Fury, which inspired 33 comments from you guys.
Among those 33:
Okay, I almost just shot milk out my nose* just from reading the liner notes. "The theme from Saxondale digs the flute"?! I already know I love this mix because 1) TC made it 2) see #1 3) it's one of those "I love a few of these songs already and they're perfectly interspersed with others I'm less familiar with." *Not actually / Stellar concept mix - and it looks every bit as great as your others.Each unique and loaded with gems.Still listening to Bed no. 1, Paradise and Comeliness. Thanks Tim!! / Love this mix, top to bottom. As a wee lad, I was fed a healthy diet of Jethro Tull by my first cool babysitter and loved every bit of it, but I this is my very taste of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. I see I have quite a bit of catching up to do there... Thanks for opening up my world. / Way to flout it. The closest you got to Tull was Focus. A similar sound to me. Thanks for skipping the obvious. Funny how the flute takes me straight to the late 60's/early 70's. Fun mix sir! / A really tight, cohesive mix. Kudos, good sir. / I had a mission tourist walk with this mix. Sitting in La Taqueria with flutes, whizzing flute-style past dirty boys in sneakers and colored Ray Bans smoking outside the Attic, then standing on the corner of 24th/Valencia watching the clouds go by...with flutes. (It was that nice cloud day last week). I love a concept mix. / Great mix, Tim. Really fun. And Ian Anderson's absence went unnoticed. / Nice! Bowie's An Occasional Dream was my high school sex soundtrack (insert flute joke here.) (insert "insert flute" joke here) / P.S. The words " Calesta" and "Penetration" within ten miles of each other? SCARY. P.P.S. The No Tull edict was done as thematic bonsai. I like Tull. Except for the flute. / If you're looking to keep the kids saying "No" then it would be best not to expose them to too much Love. That shit's catching. / Nice mix, Tim. It was surprisingly musically cohesive. / Great mix, Tim. I had no idea how much flute I'd been listening to all these years. The Kirk track is particularly good. And thanks for including Etta, that's such a loss. In addition, the liner notes caused me to look up Henry Thomas. Wow, I'd forgotten about my love of pre-war blues. Thanks for a great bunch of songs. / Yes! Also loved the Kirk, and the Beasties track took me back to a fun time in my life. Focus is tight, and I'll cop to loving that Canned Heat song, stinkiness be damned. I would also have accepted some Tull, for what it's worth. / Great idea for a mix. Ron Burgundy would be pleased. Despite Doug's protest, I agree with Karl in loving that Canned Heat hippie flute stink. Also dig the idea for a Bells and Bongos follow up. Nice work Tim. / Tight mix. My favorites are Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow and The Bottle. Instant muscle relaxers. / You had me until Solsbury Hill. Damn that earworm! Stuffing in more Arthur Lee to drown it. But thanks for the hippy good times! / This mix kicked jury duty's ass.....it soared, it swung, it was funky and fine. LOVE. / The first thing my wife (a flutist herself) said when she heard about this mix was "Oh no, the Tull!" which I also thought at first. So the "Tull free" thing was welcome. Oh, wait, or was it meant to be "toll free"? Heh. Thanks Tim, enjoyed the whole thing, especially the humour.
So, now he takes us from from one saucily-named mix to another. Liner Notes from TC:
After getting home from school the first thing I did was sample that record Mike Filemeo had loaned me. Now I couldn't wait to spread the discovery. Running as fast as I could back to the elementary school, I spotted my two brothers taking their sweet time getting home. From a block off I yelled, "HURRY UP! YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS BASS!"
A minute into the first song -- after an intro of pouring rain, a tolling bell, and a horror movie dude singing about horror movie stuff that we didn't completely get -- this giant thundering bass rolled out of the stereo speakers and hit us hard like a monster coming to crush our heads.
A minute into the first song -- after an intro of pouring rain, a tolling bell, and a horror movie dude singing about horror movie stuff that we didn't completely get -- this giant thundering bass rolled out of the stereo speakers and hit us hard like a monster coming to crush our heads.
The song was called Black Sabbath. The band was called Black Sabbath. The album was called Black Sabbath. The dumb, simple power of it all this made perfect sense to us, and on a September afternoon in 1970, three elementary school kids got indoctrinated into a cult.
Forty-something years later, it's now time for a 3MPMP ode to that object of cult worship: The Bass.
This mix is a small sampling of some of my favorite bassists, starting with a short bass jam by Black Sabbath's Terry "Geezer" Butler. Wish I had room to include that first-heard Sabbath song in its entirety. Unfortunately, 45 minutes goes by quick, and six minute Sabbath songs tend to set a particular tone. A tone that, like an elementary school bass cult, doesn't always play well with others.
Herbie Flowers, Larry Graham, Carol Kaye, James Jamerson, John Entwistle, Bootsy Collins -- how to fit so many great bass players into a mix? Working from a stack of bottom-heavy songs, I've put together a couple of mixes so far. These are modest, incomplete samplers at best. There's no Charlie Mingus, so you know it's as imperfect as hell. Half of the selections don't even rate as bass showcases. They're just songs with bottoms that I like.
Bass players' credits are in the Artist Listings of the song files. Rock on!
Mix is UP. Note: This is the LAST WEEK WITH THIS PASSWORD. Make sure you come back and comment! To comment on this mix, click on the 'Comment' button below the post and write something. If you don't have/want to use your Google etc. accounts, just type your name in the "Name" box and you are done. See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page soon. XOK
26 comments:
I can't believe Walk on the Wild Side was previously un-Miracled. How can this be?? Only halfway through this double gem, but loving it so far!
Best artwork yet...
Hot art. Right up in there with the Ohio Players and Carly Simon's "No Secrets." Hot tunes, too: Always wanted to hear Can, and now I'm a fan. Really dig the Beach Boys outtake. In a gang full of very cool dudes, Carol Kaye was the coolest. Thanks, TC.
Sarah -- "Walk on The Wild Side" has been maybe overplayed, at least relative to so many other masterpieces Lou Reed created, but with his passing this was hard to not include on a bass mix. It's sad and lovely.
Danny and Mike -- wow. High praise for THIS group.
Ohio Players. It was a slight joke to stick Wild Cherry in the mix. Sorry, I can't resist the kitsch. Also from Ohio, they do sound like a Caucasian version of The Players here.
Haven't had a chance to listen yet and I'm looking forward to it ... but that artwork is pure genius. Very cheeky.
Most excellent cover Tim. Which came first, the cover or the mix theme?
Just started listening after checking out the playlist. Lots of familiar songs that I'll be listening to differently, thanks to your emphasis on the bottom line.
These mixes put the fun in fundament!
Had a fine time putting my new speakers through their paces with a great variety of tunes that all needed good support from the woofers. Thanks!
Really enjoying this mix. I often wake up with Guns of Navarone in my head. No idea why that is but it's a good way to start the day. I have to put together a 4 hr. mix for my husband's birthday party next weekend - tempting to just use yours instead. Thanks!
OMG
I thought the title was an indication of things to come, kinda like a prequel. So I downloaded Volume 1 and spent the whole day rearranging all of my cupboards (and since I'm sure you're dying of curiosity, Yes, it makes a great soundtrack for that project). Then today I'm on here to leave the above comment and notice that there is a VOLUME TWO TO DOWNLOAD!
1) DUH
2) How stoked am I?! Oh Man!
In some ways, I'm pretty glad about it. It's like getting this killer gift twice, because I'm loving the funky ass out of Volume 1. Like Sarah, there are a bunch of tracks I was surprised hadn't been Prodged yet. Tunes in particular I was thrilled to listen to: Rock On, The Beat Goes On, Express Yourself. Love this version of Rappers Delight. I even listened to that The Who* song multiple times with out skipping: the highest of compliments (truth be told, this may even invite me to New Years Resolution it with opening my ears to try them again. Maybe.) *Bad association going way back. I know, blasphemy.
Downloading Volume Two currently. Don't think my enthusiasm for this mix or theme will diminish. In fact, knowing my ears' history with TC, it will only enlarge (like the best bottoms).
Thank you thank you for rockin this booty. No ifs, ands, or butts about it.
PS - Fritz: which speakers did you end up getting?
PPS - I kinda want this cover art for a t-shirt. Hmm, I may have just stumbled on a brilliant idea.... Mix T = the new Concert T, maybe?
Super cool idea!
A while back my jaw dropped listening to the bass on an obscure Groove Holmes track. (And no, this isn't Doug Patterson commenting.)
Turned out to be the great Jerry Jemott. I even posted it on my blog.
http://ethanprater.com/the-great-jerry-jemmott-jaw-dropping-session-bass-from-1972/
Great mix you got here, anybody that can call up the prodge worthy bass playing of
Can has my vote eternally, and Tina Weymouth never got her due, she always tore up the first few tours live, first woman base player I ever saw and one of the best of the whole era, props. And thanks for the alt version of Good Vibratiopns. and the skatelites, yes!
I'm behind in my mix-listening but very much looking forward to this based on the cover and notes. Thanks in advance!
So far, so good - and I mean SOOO good! Artwork is pure gold fer sher. Looking forward to downloading part two once I'm made privy to the new password......
Haven't got to volume 2 yet, but volume 1 is the bomb.
That Herbie Flowers gets around, eh?
Checking in to represent. Been a slacker lately, no doubt. Cut me if you must, but I'm a fan of the Prodge.
Marcella -- "Lemon Song" was in, and remains in, the yet-to-mix pile. /// Ray -- Herbie Flowers gets around, indeed! Carol Kaye and James Jamerson do, too. Those three artists have played on hundreds of hit songs, and the general public doesn't even know their names. Those three bassists that were the starting point for the theme. Who are your favorite bassists, 3MPMers? /// Mucho arigatos for diggin' on the design, y'all. /// Ethan -- That Groove Holmes/“Fingers” Jemmott number is so fucking beautiful! Jazz and Blues bass mixes, anyone? /// Mark -- the bass theme came before the name. Only through judicious editing was I able to achieve a PG Rating. The first draft was titled "Bottom Feeding." There was a big ass-shaped initial cap "B" and much smaller type that emerging from its cleavage. That idea looked like shit. Literally.
Upbeat mix. Bass-heaviness appears to be correlated with upbeatness. Thanks for sharing, Tim.
From the cover art to the liner notes to all that music, this is a masterpiece. Going back to when I first remember music having an effect on me, I’ve been pulled in by a good bass line. I had no idea that Herbie Flowers played with Nilsson so I looked up his resume and wow, I didn’t realize he played on so much stuff. Superfly may well be one of the best bass lines of all time. There are many, but that one is timeless. I’m so happy to see Jamerson on the list. The Funk Brothers are one of the great sort of overlooked bands in music history. It’s stunning how many hits on which those guys were the band. Backing that up with Gladys Knight’s version of Grapevine was masterful. I actually like her version better than Gaye’s. I still find myself listening to Sonny and Cher. They had so many great songs. I had no idea that the JBs played behind anybody other than James Brown. What fun to have a mix that’s both a joy to listen to and an education.
Now to Volume 2. I still listen to Black Sabbath all the time. I’ve overlooked the reality television show about Ozzy’s family and understood what an effect they had not only on me, but on music in general. Geezer is amazing and by far the highlight of the newest Sabbath record 13 which is really good. I’m not at all surprised to see Jamerson reappear. What a great session player. Good Vibrations was one of the first songs I recall listening to on the J.C. Penney stereo system I purchased with my paper route money when I was a kid. I’ve never heard this version. Fantastic. I’m such a sucker for Dub. The Skatalites are delicious. The Clash hold one of my biggest regrets. Why in the world didn’t I go to Chicago so many years ago to see them? What a mistake. Drugs is my absolute favorite Talking Heads song and what a great bass line. What an absolute delight to see Can on the mix. This is a great song by a really interesting band. Wild Cherry. What can I say. It, along with Superfly, is certainly among the best bass line of all time.
Thank you so much for putting this mix together, Tim. Well done.
Wow! Thanks loads, Wes.
Feeling happy because someone else is happy is a pretty basic description of love -- and it's not corny to say the world needs more of that.
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Notes on imperfection, anyone? I was happy to include more than just THEE BEST bassists hereabouts. Paul Simonon is lightyears from James Jamerson in virtuosity, but artistry is only a small part of music. Music is for communicating feelings, and Paul Simonon does that really, really well in "Guns of Brixton." Similar thing with Tina Weymouth. She's no superhuman bassist. Cool, unique moods are what she delivers.
Cool Moods are what you deliver Mr, Tim Carroll.
Thanks for rounding out pumping my iTunes full of what I only had on my old cassette mix tapes.
Happy New Year to you!
PS: I remember there was a more powerpop oriented bass featuring mix back when 3mpmp was done by mailing CDs. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
What a treat of bass-o-liciousness! I am happy that you included some women of the Bass Tribe. I wanted to be Tina Weymouth when I was about 18, and Carol Kaye is just the coolest, obvsly. On a separate note, I've been re-visiting The Beatles a lot lately because my sons are getting really into them, and have been noticing more and more Paul's delicious bass playing -- Hey Bulldog is a favorite for bass for me. Thanks for the great mix!
I dig this mix the most, Tim. Thanks so much. Too much wonderfulness to comment with any specificity, but yikes – SO good. Adding to the list…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVuVHoMzbAY
...and me with my tiny speakers. Wonderful mix(es), Tim. Though I'd read a lot of credits and knew he'd played on so many of these and other tracks, I'd never stepped back and appreciated the breadth of Herbie Flowers's work. Did he play both bass parts on Walk on the Wild Side? I always enjoyed watching Tina Weymouth play: her stance and her little vertical bounce on the one. And to answer your question: Bill Laswell.
Beth-- The Household 16 Year-Old has always been mysteriously "meh" about The Fab Four. He might be coming around now that he's playing a bass. Just last night, out of the blue, he asked his grups, "What do you think MY favorite Beatles song is?" Instantly I nailed it with the reply, "Helter Skelter." By the way, kid, that way gnarly bass playing is done by John, not Paul.
Colin then asked his mom, what's your favorite Beatles' song?" Val said, "Hey Bulldog."
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Doug -- I so-so-so dig that Roxy song "Out of The Blue"! Graham Simpson on bass, right?
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ST -- Here's Herbie Flowers explaining how -- and why (he made more money with the overdub!)-- he came up with his dual-bass approach for "Walk On The Wild Side":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBXUP5GqYJs
Interestingly, "These Boots Were Made For Walking" also uses both electric and acoustic double bass -- Carole Kaye and Chuck Berghofe, respectively.
A really fun theme that had me listening into the mix of a lot of familiar tunes that I probably stopped listening too closely to many listenings ago. For example, Good Vibrations— Really interesting bassline, but I always remember that song for the harmonies. I probably shotgunned a hundred beers to Guns of Brixton in college. It must have been the bass. I'm surprised that no Police made it into the playlist— Walking on the moon or Bed's too big without you would fit great.
Anyway, a great collection. Well worthy of a two-mix set.
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