tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69664348196913227682024-03-05T01:40:24.999-08:00#SynthBassNightDedicated to the best uses of synth bass from the 70s, 80s and 90sNorrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-26033592218065608502018-06-01T12:20:00.004-07:002018-06-01T12:20:57.856-07:00Colin Blnstone - Touch (1983)<br />
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Random find today. Feels like a synth bass night to me.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-77916015194102833512017-05-19T02:26:00.001-07:002017-05-19T02:26:57.590-07:00Greg Phillinganes - Behind the Mask (1985)<br />
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Greg was definitely taking some cues from Michael Jackson in this track with his vocal performance, and you know what, it is awesome. It's kind of a neat thing that Michael Jackson created almost a genre of sassy and confident male singers who would just make a bunch of weird noises now and then.<br />
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Aside from that, this is just shy of being a synth anthem. The main synth chords that come in when the songs gets going are something you would probably have heard in a hockey arena in the 80s, and I ain't hatin' it. The synth bass is fairly mild. Not center stage or anything, but I give this track a complete and total pass for just being pretty much synthed out of it's gourd.<br />
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For those who enjoy keytars, here's the video as well :)<br />
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Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-35193561585668910162017-02-08T11:43:00.001-08:002017-02-08T11:45:15.307-08:00Vince DiCola - Legacy (Audition Piece for the Transformers Movie) (1986)<br />
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Vince DiCola is such a cult favourite. The work he did for the Transformers movie stands the test of time as one of the most bombastic and progressive movie scores of all time. And it was entirely created during the absolute peak of 80s synthesizers. Everything in the score is digital, but not only that, everything is on fire! He doesn't relent, and he rarely repeats himself. Every bar presents new challenges and new directions and new textures. But he does it all masterfully. I am never not blown away when I listen to his work on the film.<br />
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So, interestingly, this track was not from the film. It was released well after the fact, due to the sheer fan support for DiCola. In the late 90s he was brought back to perform at some Transformers conventions, and it was there that a new and complete version of the movie score was released. That release had on it this song, which was listed as the "audition piece" for the film.<br />
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You just have to put yourself in Vince's shoes for a second. he has one shot to land the gig of scoring the film, and this was what he came up with. This insanely progressive ultra energetic synth laden anthem. And amazingly, the people in charge went with it!<br />
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This kind of thing almost never happens. The track with this much energy and hubris never gets to the top of the heap. I think if it were not for how drenched with character all of his many song sections are he would not have secured the job. But it was to his great credit that he managed to show them almost an entire sound track's worth of potential ideas in one track. and while the score itself did not feature this song, you can hear in the finished product so much of the character and the potential from this track become reality, while also spiraling off in to dozens of their own potentials. <br />
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This is an approach to song writing that I have always shared as well, so I definitely see Vince DiCola as a bit of an icon. and just as quickly as he became one, he very nearly disappeared from the scene. Outside of scoring Rocky 4 (another great score) he seemed to never headline a project again.<br />
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Amazingly, when the first real life Transformers movie was coming out, I remember reading that he once again auditioned to score the film. I don't think I ever got to hear his audition, but you can imagine how easily they would shut down a song like this, right? That's why it was so amazing that it all came together in 1986... When synths were high tech, and you were practically a wizard if you could get them to make any noise at all.<br />
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Vince, hat's off to you, my friend.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-71537769108769605282017-02-07T12:22:00.001-08:002017-05-11T05:59:38.617-07:00Dave Lawson - News Of The World (Bruton BRI - 16) (1981)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LRjbidz1M8g" width="560"></iframe>
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I don't want to alarm anyone, but I am about to go ahead an blow your mind. Most people, I should say, aren't aware of library music. Library music is what you would call royalty free music that is made by a production company, that large companies pay a subscription fee to use whole cloth with no need to ever pay royalties.<br />
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While there are still tons of library production companies out there today, everything has gone digital, and you subscribe to those services much like you would iTunes or Spotify etc. But in the 70s and the 80s especially, Library music took on a very special role.<br />
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Synthesizers. Not everyone had the money just go out and by a synthesizer in the late 70s. The price of the highest end most popular synths were enough that regular people would have to take out a mortgage for just to be able to have. So people who did have these synths, or had access to them, were quite a hot commodity. <br />
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Library music of the early "synth" era was unbelievably well created. It seems like the companies like Bruton in this case, would just hire dream teams of good studio musicians and pretty much leave them to create. Otherwise I can't really tell how this music got created the way it did. I would love to hear some postmortems from some of the composers about what it was like.<br />
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The really interesting thing is, for a long time, these library records were actually sent on on Vinyl to the news stations and TV stations who had memberships. And these records now seem to litter dusty bins at vinyl shops. There is a large community of people on the internet who are trying to complete these collections in mp3 format, to preserve this music for the glorious compositions that they were. And we will reap the benefits by getting crashing wall after crashing wall of amazing music from the era.<br />
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Burton is the name of this library production company, and "BRI" in this case is the genre of record it is. BRI was the label applied to library albums that had a heavily synth based focus, so you can see how it becomes a really fin thing to try and "catch'em all". When you find a new BRI, you know you are in for a treat.<br />
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One last interesting tidbit about library albums is that on the back of the vinyl sleeve, each song would have a description of the mood associated with the song. It would say stuff like, "Corporate driving beat" or "mellow down tempo" or "pulsating rhythms". What I love about this is, the people who had the records, and who would put them in their TV shows, would basically look at these descriptions to decide what they wanted for their media.<br />
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I like the idea of a musician writing a bunch of stuff, then telling the director and editor this is what it would be especially well used for. Love it. More to come.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-64748946245495003862017-02-07T12:05:00.000-08:002017-02-07T12:05:41.187-08:00Denis & Denis - Dvadeset i osam minuta do pet (1984)<br />
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This one has been a guilty pleasure of mine for a few years. This is a Croatian synthpop group that put out some really charmingly unique lofi synth stuff. One of the things that immediately appealed to me about this particular track is that is was blazing fast. I can't imagine this track being played in Croatian clubs. How would people even dance to it? Would it be some flailing crazy dance to match the pace?<br />
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In any case, this is not an amazing track, but it is a quirky track that deserve a shout out somewher. What better place than here?<br />
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Also, hot damn that album cover is eye popping...Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-68415454926359465702017-02-05T01:44:00.001-08:002017-02-05T01:44:10.783-08:00Koo Dé Tah - Missed You All Along (1985)<br />
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As far as I am concerned this was New Zealand and Australia's answer to Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and EG Daily all at once. It doesn't quite live up to any of those acts, but there is clear flavours all throughout the one debut album put out by the band.<br />
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It's not a bad album at all, it's just really raw, which gives it a ton of character. And thankfully, a ton of synth bass!Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-6535734288071115282017-02-05T01:30:00.001-08:002017-02-05T01:30:07.883-08:00Ton Scherpenzeel (featuring Chris Rainbow) - The Lookout (1984)<br />
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This was one I accidentally stumbled on to 7 years ago. A solo album by the Dutch keyboard player Ton Scherpenzeel, featuring vocals by a guy named Chris Rainbow. I mean, that's all I need to hear to know that this album is going to be worth checking out, and it delivers.<br /><br />This is an ultra uplifting track with nothing but synths, synth bass, and four on the floor drums. It definitely gives me that Never Ending Story vibe. Synthy, a little majestic, a little mysterious, but ultimately is feels like a sci-fi fantasy. <br /><br />But in addition to that, these vocals are really something else. Only in the 80s could you be this deadly serious while sounding like, well, this. It's almost hard to fathom, but it never gets old for me knowing that what this is something that is not being marketed to me at all. A song out of time, with it's messages long since gone. It is whatever I want it to be.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-12746158338794354982017-02-05T00:51:00.000-08:002017-02-05T00:51:57.721-08:00Vesta Williams - Don't Blow a Good Thing (1986)<br />
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Lovely use of vocal jazz chord progressions and vocal phrases mixed with some slammin' FM bass. And aren't we in luck, a music video to boot. Vesta Williams is pretty hypnotic. She makes every single "sing" face in the book. That's how it's done!<br /><br />As always, I am more than happy to hear some low register female vocals pop in and out throught this track. Vesta has a pretty decent register actually. Pretty diverse vocal track.<br />
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For the purists out there, his is the album version. Slightly higher quality, but no sing faces... *frowns* <br />
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Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-48035728397731278202017-01-31T05:20:00.001-08:002017-01-31T05:20:15.199-08:00Millie Scott - Automatic (1986)<br />
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Coming out of no where, this track blind sided me. Neither the vocalist, the writer or the producer are musicians I had heard of before, and thus a new rabbit hole is opened.<br /><br />Super fat and steamy synth bass, perfect for smokey 80s photo shoots. This sound never ceases to conjure the images so perfectly captured in this music video, haha. <br /><br />Gotta love that nearly everything in this track is subtle synth too. Even the horn solo is synth, I think. And very reminiscent of some of Blade Runner's chiller moments. It's all very subtle though. Something I still have yet to put in to practice, less really can be more. Just slap a fat bass line on a slammin' drum track and lightly pepper those synths in just enough to give it a futuristic 80s vibe. That's the ticket. Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-81056417072189092822017-01-27T02:04:00.001-08:002017-01-27T02:04:25.635-08:00Junko Yagami - Communication (1985)<br />
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As far as I am concerned, this was Japan's answer to Madonna in the early 80s. A lot of the instruments are similar and the particular type of synth pop mixed with very light elements of rock really just scream Madonna. The vocals as well seem to be a J-Pop emulation of what Madonna was doing. Not that this isn't an original track. Anything but!<br /><br />The song writing of this track is really interesting because they seem to toy (torture) the listener with very catchy and addicting pauses in the song. They also seem to employ this really sneaky method of coming back in to the swing of the song after a pause, almost like there are false starts, but on purpose. The track has always stood out to me because of it. And wouldn't you know it, rocking that Synth Bass the whole time.<br /><br />Is it just me or do I also hear some RAH Band in there? And while I am at it, is it just me or do I hear a very slight bit of Daytona USA in there?Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-67797591162756056962017-01-25T00:50:00.003-08:002017-01-25T00:50:41.021-08:00Pebbles - Take Your Time (1987)<br />
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Coming out of now where, here is a real banger. This would have been perfect for the Summer Of FM, as this is an FM synth bass going to town, but as long as we are dealin' with synth bass, we're golden, and boy does this one get the job done.<br /><br />These are some of my favourite kind of chord progressions. The ones that feel just a little sly, and a little bad ass. It's kind of a repetitive track, but when you get it right, sometimes you just gotta roll with the riffs. You might even say sometimes you have to take your time... Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-79712957312040194222017-01-24T05:45:00.001-08:002017-01-24T05:45:29.580-08:00Imagination - State of Love (1983)<br />
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I only recently found out about this band, but I am absolutely sold. It's not necessarily the best stuff out there, but I feel like these guys gave it everything they had. Despite the absolutely bizarre outfits on the cover, and indeed, in their videos, they plow forward with no shame. And that's the way it should be.<br />
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Honestly, I am more curious about these outfits than anything. Even for the 80s this is weird. But in addition, we have a nice sampling of synths and synth bass all throughout this track. With some legit nostalgic 80s hooks. I feel like some of these melodies died in the 80s. You just don't hear them any more.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-91019183673927647812017-01-19T05:11:00.002-08:002017-01-19T05:11:33.619-08:00Bonnie Pointer - The Beast in Me (Heavenly Bodies Soundtrack) (1984)<br />
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Bonnie Pointer is killing it once again. This time I found a rare track she made specifically for the 1984 aerobic dance movie "Heavenly Bodies". In other words, this track wasn't on any of her solo albums. But wouldn't you know it, it had a dedicated music video. Man alive, Bonnie Pointer's performance here is mesmerizing! That look, that confidence, that voice. She is not messing around in the slightest.<br />
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Take that look and back it up with a slamming hot synthy four on the floor dance track, chalk full of Simmons drum fills and melodic hooks? It's a winner folks. Check out this video if you have a shred of common sense in your body.<br /><br />If you miss this you better be dead, or in jail, and if you're in jail BREAK OUT!<br />
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And because the video version is not quite the highest audio quality, for your convenience, here is the record version:<br />
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Something I don't have enough of on this list is resonant synth bass lines. By resonant, I just mean a synth bass patch that has the resonant knob up high enough to make it have that nasally sound. Much like how when you hold your nostrils closed, you get a funny voice, turning up the resonant knob gives your bass patch a quality similar quality.<br /><br />I've been meaning to do a video lately about what synths actually are. a lot of people think they are this really complicated thing, but in most cases, they are volume envelopes and filter envelopes, over top of simple wave forms. A lot of the character actually comes from how they are utilized and how they are played.<br /><br />You can hear the envelope of the filter is actually accentuated by the relatively high amount of resonance. Such a lovely sound.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-13689266067137865672017-01-17T02:04:00.002-08:002017-01-17T02:04:33.629-08:00Haywoode - A Time Like This (1985)<br />
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And the hits don't stop! I have a ton of new tracks to share on this blog, but this one just strolled right to the top of the heap. Again, I've heard this album before, but I never really noticed this track until I was actually looking for good synth bass. With that in mind, my god, this track is a prime example. This is synth bass at it's best. This player in particular is going off. Full on runs up and down, punctuated by ultra bouncy stabs that make this rhythm section unbelievably good.<br />
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Let's also give a little love to the original 1983 version of the song, which is much less produced, but a lot more hinged on the synth bass and brass. This is a good example of the differences in sensibilities from 1983 to 1985. the later in to the 80s you get, the sharper and more metallic everything becomes. On average.<br />
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This track and this video has become pretty famous on the internet. It was uploaded years before Youtube let you make your own thumbnails, but somehow managed to get the perfect screen shot to lure people in. The best part is, everything this thumbnail looks like, this song delivers on and then some. It's so spot on you would swear this is a modern band trying to appear like a band from the 80s.<br /><br />Nope. Just pure, raw, early 80s synthy goodness.<br /><br />And wouldn't you know it, our good friend John Van Tongeren was one of the 3 or more synth heads manning the helm on this one. I can't be sure if he is the one playing the synth bass, but it doesn't matter anymore. This guy is the key to a fantastic treasure trove of rad jams and killer albums. It's only now that I know his name that i see how many great albums I already enjoy that he was a part of.<br /><br />It may not be ultra obscure anymore, but this track has to be on this list. It has everything I am looking for, with a killer video to boot. Stacey Swain (aka Stacey Q) does a phenomenal job of being lead man surrounded by all these synth nerds. Synth nerds in synth branded jump suits, haha. Who wouldn't want a Simmons jump suit? I'd wear that right now!Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-70352907064880947512017-01-16T22:06:00.001-08:002017-01-16T22:23:36.595-08:00Bonnie Pointer - Premonition (1984)<br />
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The Pointer Sisters can do no wrong. They were one of those groups who were famous for a couple tracks, like "I'm So Excited". When a band gets a song to be that well known it's really easy to assume that's all the good stuff they had to offer, otherwise, why haven't you heard anything else from them, right?<br />
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Well the Pointer Sisters were a group that turned everything they touched to gold. They were fantastic vocalists, and great showmen, and they really seemed to care about their craft. they also surrounded themselves with great musicians, which is where I am coming from today.<br />
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The synth bass player on this album appears to be John Van Tongeren, who was the synth bass player on the last track I posted, Mr. T's Commandments. That's how this works. You find one good synth bass on a track, you don't look for the artist who the track is named after, you look in the credits to see who was credited on synths and keyboards, then see what else they were on, and BAM, you find more magic!<br />
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That was exactly how I stumbled on to this. I had already heard this solo album from just one of the Pointer Sisters (Bonnie Pointer) before, but some how this song got past my detectors. It's loaded with what I believe is a unison and detuned thick synth bass from the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 keyboard. But I could be wrong. What is important is just how damn good this track happens to be as well. This is what #SynthBassNight is all about.<br />
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Also, elephant in the room, this is quite the provocative album cover... And I ain't hatin' it!Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-63532057456721637402017-01-16T06:54:00.000-08:002017-01-16T06:56:16.707-08:00Mr. T - Mr. T's Commandments (1984)<br />
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So, Mr T had a full length album in the 80s, and it is loaded with FM synth bass... And it is actually really good! His vocals are the week point in the song, depending on your point of reference. if you like Mr T then this is a double whammy of goodness. If you don't think Mr T is a genius with an angelic voice, then this is still worth checking out just for the slamming instrumental components.<br />
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BELIEVE IT!<br />
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It's not as good without the video, but because I am a swell guy, here is the album version in all of it's crystal clarity. Love this bass so much!<br />
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Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-5748762909702851182017-01-14T23:38:00.001-08:002017-01-14T23:38:16.685-08:00Marilyn Scott - Only You (1983)<br />
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This is not the first time I have gushed about this track, but once again it finds itself dead center on my list of criteria. My man Michael Sembello is taking care of the synth on this track, which includes the synth bass, and damn is it a stellar synth bass track. He is really riffing his buns off the entire track, and once again, with out the use of midi. Just a dude on the keys taking care of the bass. I love it.<br /><br />Marilyn Scott's vocal performance here is insanely memorable. On the entire album this was really the only track with an energetic pace, but she really brought the thunder here. A total gem! Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-1790242988771031392017-01-14T23:31:00.001-08:002017-01-15T19:41:00.091-08:00Jeff Lorber - In the Heat of the Night (1984)<br />
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While I am on the subject of Jeff Lorber today, why not just get some of his jams on this list. This is a track that I like not just for it's fat synth bass and keyboard shredding. But because the chorus sounds like it fell right out of Sonic the Hedge Hog 2... I can't remember which song, but there are hooks all over this track that give me Sonic flashbacks... Am I crazy?Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-82385011227173193402017-01-14T17:59:00.002-08:002017-01-15T00:01:30.896-08:00Howard Johnson - Take Me Through the Night (1982)<br />
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This Howard Johnson and Kashif combo is so good. Good enough for a double shoutout. This is just such a phenomenal example of the best analog synth bass sounds.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-72245776442263311382017-01-14T17:55:00.002-08:002017-01-14T17:55:24.576-08:00Howard Johnson - So Glad You're My Lady (1982)<br />
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Howard Johnson featuring synth bass wizard Kashif! This is a prime example of analog synth bass once again. Kashif has been on a couple tracks in this list so far, but this is possibly one of the most spot light performances for him. It's almost nothing but a synth bass and drums carrying the rhythm section.<br /><br />So fat, so warm. Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-13966518018441947312017-01-14T17:14:00.001-08:002017-01-14T17:14:24.469-08:00Kenny G - The Shuffle (1982)<br />
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I've been saying this for a while now, but 80s Kenny G is legit amazing. Especially those first few albums. And wouldn't you know it, the enjoyment of those albums happen to coincide with how much synth they have on them. It's almost as if making music during that era made you better sounding in my ears...<br /><br />Obviously I am an extremely biased individual, but you know what, I don't really concern myself with that. I love the way this sounds, and I want to play this song as loud as possible in my car.<br /><br />Jeff Lorber on synth bass here, rocking a classy subtle square wave synth bass with chorus\detune. that dude always keeps it classy.<br /><br />Let's all do the Kenny G Shuffle.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-82698991289701937752017-01-13T05:28:00.001-08:002017-01-14T17:00:39.285-08:00Melba Moore - Love's Comin' At Ya (1982)<br />
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Time for some good old fashion analog synth bass and some scantily clad leotard backup dancers. How can you tell it's analog? Look at the year the song was made. How can you tell they are leotard backup dancers? Just look at how none of the goofy 80s mustache guys are looking at or even pointed at the singer, haha. Possibly an ill planned out placement of women in low cut leotards.<br />
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In any case, the bass here is as analog synth bass as it gets. I love this sound, and I respect it for how simple it is. When you have a synth bass like this, everything comes down to the envelope of the filter and the amplitude. For the people that don't know what the hell I just said, the quick and dirty explanation is how bouncy the bass is going to sound. But it isn't just as simple as setting that values, the player, themselves, also has to get in tune with the timing of those values and play it appropriately. <br />
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This is what sets the good players apart from the mediocre ones. I guy like Stevie Wonder or George Duke can make any patch sound amazing because they have unbelievable finesse with their keyboard skills.<br />
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With this song as well, the player himself is actually playing every note. When the key is pressed and released is under his finesse, and it's why this genre of music is so damn good.<br />
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There is definitely something incredible about cold sterile midi synth sounds in the mid to later 80s. But those early 80s had a brand of synth stuff you didn't really hear ever again. Shout out to Kashif on synth bass here.Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6966434819691322768.post-8926336532065846342017-01-12T00:33:00.000-08:002017-01-12T00:33:03.669-08:00Wax - On the Water Front (1987)<br />
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This is a fan made music video for this song, which was apparently the intro them to a show called UK? I don't think the full version of the song was featured in the show itself, but the complete recording was eventually released in 2000. Much to everyone benefit.<br /><br />This track never fails to make me smile. It is ridiculous, but in the way where it disarms you and turns you in to a fan no matter how much you don't want to admit it. And personally, I have never heard the word waterfront since hearing this song, without laughing and humming this song to myself. And I live in a coastal town, which means I hear it a lot.<br /><br />The perfect song to put on for a drive to the beach or the coast, I can assure you!Norrin_Raddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17727235192027593731noreply@blogger.com0