Anyone tried to guess which songs Mike played on on III? And other albums? - Page 3

fuddman5150 · 05.30.09, 03:32 PM

Dude Ed played bass on Ballot. Its him written all over it.

snare812 · 05.30.09, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuddman5150

Dude Ed played bass on Ballot. Its him written all over it.

i agree on the loud low note but you can hear bass riding ala MA style just buried in the mix.....so yes ed did play but so did mike...

carry on.

PassingBy · 05.31.09, 02:49 AM

Isn't this argument settled by the recent Braveworlds Interview, where Mike himself says his last official recording is Balance ?

BraveWords.com Interview With CHICKENFOOT/Ex-VAN HALEN Bassist Michael Anthony

LLFHS · 05.31.09, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett

Like Fuddman says, that's the biggest sign of a guitar player playing bass, they just follow the guitar lines, a good bass player does not.

I was just thinking about this very concept yesterday while listening to a couple of Rush tunes in my headphones while waiting for my party out in front of Disneyland. I know Geddy Lee is kind of an extreme example to use, but the man knows how to show the true potential of a bass guitar. Most Rush tunes are bass solos and the casual listener doesnt even realize it. It's not just a matter of an instrument lying there under layers of sound, but a way of sounding like a lead instrument without actually being one. One needs only to hear "Open Secrets" during Alex's solo to hear what I'm talking about.

Mike's no Geddy, and he doesnt need to be. "When Push Comes To Shove", "Poundcake", "In A Simple Rhyme"....
No...he doesnt need to be, and he certainly didnt just go with the motions as Ed tended to do on bass - which is a shame.....

Ed's bass playing on Sam's "When The Hammer Falls" was pretty damn good and showed that the man CAN do it. Makes ya wonder what happened that he thought he needed his own touch on the III album.

Oh yeah......he was starting to lose touch.

BREW CREW · 05.31.09, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowLifeFlatHeadScum

Ed's bass playing on Sam's "When The Hammer Falls" was pretty damn good and showed that the man CAN do it. Makes ya wonder what happened that he thought he needed his own touch on the III album.

Maybe Eddie played better bass on that song since he didn't play guitar on the recording? His guitar ego is strong.

LLFHS · 05.31.09, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BREW CREW

Maybe Eddie played better bass on that song since he didn't play guitar on the recording? His guitar ego is strong.

Hell, maybe.

broken9500 · 06.01.09, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snare812

Here's the breakdown for ya (imo)

new world- mike post and ed

without you- ed-drums, bass, guitar back up's/ gary vox/ mike (find away ending b/u)

one i want- al drums/ed guitars, bass and most back up/gary vox/ma b/u on "one i want" before the breakdown before the solo

From Afar- ed drums, guitar, maaayyybbee bass (jury's still out on that one because it is loud.....why would he put MA loud in the mix if he turned him down on everything else ma played...../ gary vox/ ma i think he played bass on this one and the one b/u line of "get her outta my mind" ( is it me or can anyone else hear the shitting editing chops in the breakdown solo section?)

DWD- ed, drums, bass and guitar and all back ups/gary vox

once- ed everything / gary vox

FITH- ed drums, bass and guitar and back ups/ gary vox

josephina- al drums, ed bass, guitars, back ups/ gary vox

YTTD- al drums/ MA bass/ ed guitar/ gary vox (the most complete version of the line up on the record imo of course)

primary-ed obviously

ballot- al drums/ ma bass but buried (hes not playing the low end BAAA note) and the back ups /ed, guitars and the low end BAAA's) /gary vox

HMSI-ed piano vox/ gary back ups

whew!!

I love 3 because it is a masterpiece of a disaster.....

I'd almost be willing to bet my paycheck on the above list....anyone??

carry on

what do you base this on? Have you pieced it together by cross referencing interviews and such or just your best guesses based on what you understand as being "signatures" in the instrument tracks?

broken9500 · 06.01.09, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snare812

i agree on the loud low note but you can hear bass riding ala MA style just buried in the mix.....so yes ed did play but so did mike...

carry on.

so you're suggesting ballot or the bullet has two unique bass tracks or that ed spliced the track from his take and mike's take?

Brett · 06.01.09, 08:15 PM

Why are you guys overly dissecting who played what on the biggest pile of Van Halen dung every recorded? Fuck if were associated with that album, I'd deny playing on it too.

For the record, the tour was great though.

Vince G. · 06.02.09, 10:58 AM

Last I heard, several years ago, Mike was quoted as saying "I had NOTHING to do with that album" when asked about "III".

Daisy Hill · 06.03.09, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett

Why are you guys overly dissecting who played what on the biggest pile of Van Halen dung every recorded? Fuck if were associated with that album, I'd deny playing on it too.

For the record, the tour was great though.

"dissecting... a pile... of dung" ugh, nice visual you left me with Brett.

good thing you didn't mention "mining for nuggets" of information

Dave's Dreidel · 06.03.09, 10:37 AM

Mike's parts are boring as hell to play, but Mike does what he is supposed to do and what is very much out of style in comparison to most modern hard rock. Mike was an eighth note machine, doing what he was supposed to do so Ed could show off. It was his job, he did it well, and for some reason Ed despised him for it. Ed is lucky Sheehan didn't come on, can you imagine how pissed the Mighty Edward Van Halen would be sharing lead riffs with Sheehan?

Most modern hard rock the bass just follows the main riff, just an added bottom to the guitar part and not so much keeping the groove of the song, in which it seems in modern rock has become almost the sole responsibility of the drummer.

Also, Geddy Lee is arguably the main songwriter, so of course he is going to have cool lines.

The Elfoid_TFS · 06.15.09, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Van Squalen

I'm not biased. I just happen to be one of the folks who knows the truth. You did not know the truth, and put forth suppositions that were inaccurate and showed you are largely uninformed about the history of the band. When you make long, winding rambling posts on a VH website that are completely opposite of the known truths, expect to get hazed a bit. You're still presuming when you state assumptions about how I would know Mike in that fashion, and the answer is, none of your business, I don't know you well enough to share personal information like that, nor should you generalize accordingly...but that's your M.O. to date, isn't it.

I put forth plausible suggestions based on the information I do know. Which is based on several Van Halen books, reading the VHND.com site start to finish one night when I was bored and whatever else I've found on the net of interest.

Sure, there's plenty I don't know. That's why I started this thread right? This thread's me sticking my hand up saying "there's stuff I don't know, what can you tell me?". After that I defended the reasons I said the things I said because you just tried to treat me like a moron instead of doing something positive and constructive. I'm all for a little banter but that's not what I got from you. All I got was "I know the truth. Don't argue. I know". "How do you know?" "Don't ask me that!". Hardly gonna leave me convinced is it?

Quote:

In short: when you don't know the answer to something, ask a question to those who might know before formulating your own hypothesis, particularly if it's one that potentially makes you look foolish.

The main focus of this thread is about III. Mike himself has said he only played on 3 songs. The main topic was enquiring as to which songs.

I have never read anything post-2004 where Mike said he played all the bass on all the Van Halen albums. I have searched and searched repeatedly before and after making this thread and the information simply is not on the internet. Anything that predates III Mike was working for Eddie's factory of dishonesty so naturally can't be taken seriously.

Literally the only information I can find is that Dave said they replaced some of Mike's stuff on Fair Warning and the interesting fact that no one disagreed with him. While it's clear a lot of the powers that be know all the facts here - via reasons and sources beyond my comprehension like your own of course - a vast amount of the information users like yourself call "known" is just one of those facts which has been assumed for some time. I don't buy that - like yourself I am not a trusting man. So I don't assume just because you say something it's absolutely got to be true. It MIGHT be. I'm not saying it's not, just that I will be left neither convinced or unconvinced until further information is presented.

Meanwhile though, I am loving the rest of the debate going on. I've little to contribute - I just wanted to see what was said and I'm finding it interesting to read. A lot of different, intelligent views. And also it's damn funny - cuz you guys are damn fine.

I think part of the problem is the bass is so low in the mix. It certainly makes it harder.

TOM_5150 · 08.24.09, 09:53 AM

If you listen to the 3 songs on BOBW that Ed played bass on, his playing style sounds like he's influenced by Mike!

RAGEN_40 · 08.28.09, 08:48 PM

Listen to Chickenfoot its all Mike and the bottom is being pounded through the fuckin floor. Just like the first 10 albums. Three is when Ed really lost what was left of his mind.