What is John McVie's reputation among bass players?

December 21, 2024 5:42 PM

What is John McVie's reputation among bass players?
posted by Lemkin to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

I'm a bass player. Aside from bassline in the breakdown of "The Chain", I've never paid attention to his playing, and aside from bassline in the breakdown of "The Chain", I've also never heard any comments about his playing. I've never known of him being a reason why someone wanted to play the bass, or an influence on someone's playing.

That doesn't mean he's not decent. Quite often, the best bass line is one that serves the song and stays out of the way, and there are plenty of great players who do that regularly.
posted by jonathanhughes at 5:52 PM on December 21, 2024 [5 favorites]

He was no Phil Lesh, that's for sure...

But he was a part of a rhythm section that has sold more records than I have. So, he did his job pretty well. As mentioned above, he was not showy, but he was always there. Took me a while to even remember the bit in "The Chain". But, the "You Make Loving Fun" bassline is pretty solid.
posted by Windopaene at 6:50 PM on December 21, 2024 [4 favorites]

I've never known of him being a reason why someone wanted to play the bass

[raises hand]
Not the only reason by any means! But that Chain bassline really stood out. Now I'm a bass player too.
posted by inexorably_forward at 9:19 PM on December 21, 2024 [5 favorites]

I believe Mike Mills from REM has cited McVie as an influence, and I kinda hear it. I'm not a musician but the tone and approach in the song "Texarkana" reminds me of McVie on "Rumours," or maybe listen to the less-is-more aspect of a song like "World Leader Pretend."

I'm gonna go listen to some late 80s REM.
posted by kensington314 at 11:27 PM on December 21, 2024 [5 favorites]

Bass player here. I’d say that McVie’s playing is very solid, serves the song, gets out of the way and lets the vocals and guitar take the attention. He’s capable of playing parts that would be more interesting in themselves (as mentioned above, The Chain is a good example), but mostly does not. I have no idea whether that’s his personal choice or more of a band decision.
posted by tdismukes at 5:29 AM on December 22, 2024 [2 favorites]

I think Fleetwood Mac is a great example of what it means to credit the "rhythm section" of a band as a unit. If you took him out of the mix, you'd notice he was gone, and that's how they intended that sound to be.

He was one of the bass players my first bass teacher pointed me to for training my ear, because you DO have to hunt for him a little. In my teacher's pantheon, he belonged with John Entwistle (Who) and John Deacon (Queen), the solid backbone of a big noisy sound. And it's a good observation that subtle or "down in the mix" doesn't mean simplistic or easy - it takes WORK to collaborate with drummers like those.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:59 AM on December 22, 2024 [4 favorites]

at least as creative and solid as mick Fleetwood on drums. one of rock's great rhythm sections.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:22 AM on December 22, 2024 [3 favorites]

Casual bass player here. This gives me a chance to talk about my favorite Fleetwood Mac song, "Sara," which is worth appreciating with headphones. John McVie lays down a simple-sounding line, but it drives the song and he's absolutely playing in the pocket with Mick, who's doing some fine brush work on the drums. Compare it to what Christine and Lindsey are doing with the piano and guitar talking to each other and reacting to Stevie's vocals. It's probably one of the first times I was aware of the bass part as a thing, and you'll notice that it's mixed relatively hot in the mix that allows it to tie everything else in the song together.
posted by indexy at 12:26 PM on December 22, 2024 [3 favorites]