5 Most Underrated Paul McCartney Basslines
By: Ivan Munoz
Who among us doesn’t enjoy McCartney’s bass playing? We all know Paul McCartney to be one of the most influential bassists of all time and to have crafted some of the most ingenuitive, enjoyable, and inspiring basslines. Strangely enough, his bass work is often overshadowed by and overlooked due to his other massive musical merits. But discovering what lies beyond With A Little Help From My Friends and Silly Love Songs is one of the best parts of getting to know McCartney as a musician - so today we’re going to take a listen to some of the lesser known tracks of this prolific bassist’s career.
5. Carolina In My Mind
What?!?! Paul McCartney was a session man on one of James Taylors early hits? Absolutely. Just listen to that bass, once you hear it, you can’t unhear it! It’s totally McCartney. I don’t know if you get as excited at the prospect of McCartney moonlighting as a session bassist as I do, but this was a really interesting discovery I just had to share. It may not be flashy by any means, but it’s the perfect example of a bassist serving the song, not themselves. Shows that he knew when to perform and when to lay back and just support the song; the sign of any masterful musician. Take a good listen to this song and you’ll really enjoy McCartney’s work on bass and how it complements Taylor’s song.
4. Time To Hide - Live
So this whole album is a real tour de force for McCartney as a bassist; he really unleashes something completely unique when he plays live with Wings. This whole album is really guided by the bass. He also tends to play differently when it’s not him singing lead. So not only does this performance harken back to his Beatle days and display McCartney as an excellent high vocal harmonizer, but it gives an insight into his bass performance approach to a live performance and the different pieces of energy he injects into the song, compared to the studio version. With a smokey and thundering introduction, wonderful follow through as the song continues - really serving as the lodestar for the rest of the band, and an ending rife with ad-libs, this whole performance wreaks of a controlled chaos just brimming with energy with his 70s Rickenbacker tone in full swing.
3. All My Loving
Now obviously this is a well known song, and bassists know it, however this is the first example of a Beatles song where the bass is the true driver of the song. It really determines the direction the song goes in, especially relative to all the really interesting guitar chords going at the same time. Not only this, but it demonstrates a fundamental understanding of how the bass works on McCartney’s part, this is a fully fledged walking bassline. In this song the bass is the conductor and the engine, pushing the song forward and guiding it from beginning to end. All My Loving really shows what McCartney is capable of and foreshadows what is to come in regards to his innovation and trailblazing of the instrument. You can’t have Nowhere Man and Lovely Rita without All My Loving. This really shows the nascent stages of someone who would ultimately evolve into the player we hear on Wings Over America.
2. Another Day
I would say this is the single hardest McCartney bassline to learn. Not necessarily cause of it’s absurd technical complexity (which it does have), but rather that it flips all of his patterns and techniques on their head. If you’re familiar with learning McCartney basslines, you’ll find some simmilarities in patterns of the melodic and rhythmic structure and approach to his composition of basslines. So naturally, the more you learn, the easier it is to pick up on and learn these “McCartney-isms”…well, that is until you try to learn Another Day. This is like an alternate universe McCartney bassline in that sense. The crafting of it however is just as great as it gets. There are moments of bare sparce space, and also moments of extreme business that seemingly correspond with the lyrical ideas of the song. It draws parallels between the subject of the song’s story and its music. Her day starts simply, and as it progresses, her anxiety mounts as the thoughts and synapses in her head start to fire more rapidly until they become overwhelming. A truly interesting character study related to the listener in terms of musicality. And a great study of an underrated McCartney bassline.
1. See Your Sunshine
If you asked me in conversation, what is Paul’s most underrated bassline, I would say See Your Sunshine from his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. Not only for its relative obscurity, but the part itself too. Its a totally weird and complex line, and really works with the song. It’s melodic, its groovy, it’s retrospective yet still fresh, he’s getting a nice sound out of his bass, and it feels very genuine and tasteful in its execution. You could tell he went the extra mile working on composing this one, which makes you realize that (on an album that can be underwhelming at certain points) “ah, this is the guy who did Sgt. Pepper and pioneered the electric bass guitar’s modern role in music”. Its a real treat when you first hear it, definitely a “he’s still got it” moment, and a total showstopper of a track. This album has got some really strong moments on it, and in this case, McCartney is showing himself to be the killer bassist we all know and love, well into the twilight years of his career. And that, is pretty damn cool of him.
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About The Author
Ivan Munoz is a musician, bassist, singer, musicians advocate, and member of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Along with this Ivan can be found devoting his time to various musical projects, compositions, and working on musical instruments. Click the photo for more!