I remember hearing the single 'quiet life' in '81. Bought the album of the same title & played it a lot then purchased ' Gentlemen Take Polaroids'. But it was 'Tin Drum' with its Chinese sounding influence & Karn's guitaring that I wanted to go & see Japan. Saw them at the Birmingham Odeon in 1981. There were a Sylvian impersonators .Great concert but Karn stole the show. The way he glided across the floor while playing his fretless bass superb. Just recently played his first solo album ' Titles'. I wasn't into it much back in the day when I played it, but now I really appreciate how good it sounds. I was a sad day when they split up in '82. But The 'Tin Drum Tour' still ranks in my top 5 concerts of all time.
those were the days, brother. Growing up in O.C. CA. Listening to Japan. Getting import vinyl EPs and LPs of Japan in the mail. Fuck the internet. I saw Japan at the Wiltern.
He perfectly times his moves across the stage and back to the microphone without changing speed. And he never looks at his fretboard. And its fretless!! He knows exactly what he's doing at all times. This is savage calm flexing at it's finest.
That took some practice and a ton of natural talent in the early days there was a few bum notes but the girls screams kind of muffled them ha ha what a rollercoaster ride As time passed and at the end of the day he was a quiet genius and is up with the top of the worlds bass players I emphasise Top Any bass player worthy would agree and if not I would challenge them to remove your frets raise your action be blindfolded then play,,and ohh yeah sing harmonies while Dancing !
Love And miss him so much! Blessed to be able to call him a dear friend. So lucky to have been able to play & tour with him on a Mark Isham album and in Polytown. Every thing he did was creative! Art,sculpture, bass & bass clarinet playing as well as composition! Unique & authentic don’t begin to explain Mick. He was so supportive to me when I was living in London while working with Jeff Beck. Huge influence & inspiration to me. Huge loss to us he left behind.
@@fifthof1795 Me too. I own Tin Drum on vinyl and that's all. Not very fond on the singer's voice. However, there are a bunch of solo instrumental stuf that's pretty good.
I couldn't have identified it, I've never even heard of the band ...and I wonder why. It's not perfectly my kind of music but the bass is really phenomenal!
I remember seeing the Mick Karn shuffle for the first time & when you have fans in front of you or the camera is high enough it looks like he is floating from side to side & backwards & forwards (vice versa) & to be an amazing one in a million sounding fretless bass player is one thing but doing that while playing & then going back to the mic at the exact time he was due to do backing singing is just out of this world... Taking from us all to soon but he will never be forgotten as he was an amazing musician/solo artist & sculpturer & a 1 in a million fretless bass player... The way he approached the fretless bass not only unique but fearless... Ive never ever seen anyone like Mick play the fretless bass guitar that way before or after him & thats what makes him a 1 in a million & even 4 decades later i still get the same emotional feeling i got when first hearing him & going on to see him move on as a solo artist & collaborator for many huge stars as they too knew he offered a sound & an approach to play the electric fretless bass that had never been heard before & I'll reiterate that ive never heard anyone quute like him since... Its one thing to be able to learn how to play his bass lines but to even come up with them was truly remarkable & as many as i've learned from Mick's back catalogue of fretless bass line i can say yes i can play it & plsy it the way Mick played but i never & could never come up with bass lines like that, especially on a fretless bass guitar... RIP Mick Karn RIP David Bowie " All Your Flames Still Burn Brightly " .....
He made Japans music stand out to me. My 12 year old self would stand in front of a mirror with a tennis racket and mimic his moves. So I went to school and told the music teacher “teach me this”. I was laughed out of that room and only offered the flute as that was what girls played. Never did get to learn but my ear can still pick out bass lines in any song. Less and less now because it seems something hardly used now to give a perfect undertow to the flow of a song. Miss you MK 💔
To the public he was just in this band called Japan, to bass players he was extraordinary, a one off, never to be repeated. How many more miracles would we have seen from him had he not passed?! RIP
Absolutely.An utterly unique sounding bassist , who could never be copied. As you say , a true one-off. I don't know how he did it. There have been great and more formally trained fretless players like Jeff Berlin and Pino Palladino to name just a couple , but Karn was on another planet entirely. No one came close to his wonderfully gymnastic and unorthodox style.A dreadful loss to music.
He got a fretless bass off the back of listening to Japan/Karn in ‘83’… funny thing is, I couldn’t even play the thing lol ! I’ve still got it to this day 👍🏼
Comments here as to whether he was the best or not, which are irrelevant as this could be argued forever. I had never heard or seen anybody quite like him, because there hadn't been. He was the first...the first to sound like that and I haven't heard anything as unique since. His technique, along with style and stage presence still give me goosebumps forty years on and that's why Mick Karn is MY greatest bassist ever.
Andrew Bunting That’s exactly how I feel. He edged out Jaco Pastorius (who may have been technically better) for me personally... but Mick just drove so many of Japan’s great songs with such amazing work. I am re-discovering everything he did and will start buying his back catalogue. Heck, I wish I could send his family money directly as well. I still get goosebumps when I hear his work 40 years on as well, Andrew. Well put.
At the time there was a bit of a fret less bass fashion going on, the other big player at the time was Pino Palladino, I believe he played with Paul Young and others. But Mick Karn had a unique quality about his playing.
Pure artistry, on a notoriously difficult instrument - yet he made it all look so easy. His riff on "Son's of Pioneers" is the finest bass playing I've ever heard. A unique talent, very sadly missed
I will NEVER forget seeing Japan at the Hammersmith Odeon circa 1981/1982. I wore a ra ra skirt, but had all the Japan make up on! MIND BLOWN when Mr Mick Karn did his 'wheelie thing' whilst playing bass. One of the GREATEST bass players, EVER. AND self taught. Respect to YOU, Mr Karn. Thanks for the autographed photo along with David Sylvian,. Your sculpture exhibition was awesome. SO glad to be there in the 1980s!
A man who plays bass using supernatural powers. Only way to describe it. Makes that guitar do things that defy the laws of physics. All I can say is there's a hell of a show going on in heaven!
Had the great privilege of seeing Mick Karn play twice with Japan. What a band and all the more unique because of the rhythm section. Steve Jansen messed beautifully with Mick. I was blown away by his unique fretless sound and slick, cool shuffle across the stage. Gone too soon 🙏❤️
Fantastic! Mick is one of my all time musical heroes. I met him in 89 when he was playing with Bill Bruford. He was so incredibly gracious as to have an impromptu QandA with fans after the show. I shook hands with him and understood the whole “I’ll never wash this hand again!” trope.
@@disprogreavette8545 David Torn was also on stage. Mick was doing all kinds of diverse stuff around then, loads of hired gun stuff also. I remember feeling deeply conflicted when I noticed he was on stage of the Us Festival ...but playing for Brian Adams! I could never stand Brian Adams, but it’s Mick Karn. Haha!
@@leszek8460 I just went down a rabbit hole myself. No, I can’t find the Bruford, Torn, Isham show anywhere. I remember it was at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. It may have been as early as 87. I found reference to that collab on Mick’s official site though. I was beginning to think it was a dream. Ha!
Mick Karn class above the rest - Reason why I taught my self fretless bass and purchased a fretless Wal. Saw them twice in one week at Drury Lane back in 1981-2 time and at Wembley. Cheers Mick, Over 2000 gigs have not looked back since.
Definitely one of the best players of all time. It's absolutely maddening that modern music discussion hands all the credit to Pastorius in regards to the fretless bass. In my opinion, Karn's playing style was much more innovative and explored the range and capability of the instrument light-years ahead of other fretless players.
Absolutely! Mick's playing was very rhythmic and melodic, pleasing to the ear, altogether unique. Jaco was definitely a very technically skilled bass player but that's about all you can say about him. I personally like basslines of Percy Jones as well it is a combination of both technique and melodic playing.
When you look at Jacos contribution - bright size life, joni mitchell, weather report - plus Word of Mouth.. Mick Karn was a wonderful bassist and feels trite to compare them, music isn't a competition - but Jaco was the one light years ahead of every other fretless player - and they'd all agree with this. Musicality poured out of him in his short career in a way we've never really seen since in the world of bass.
@@dandyhighwayman4411 Oh look, another obsessive Jaco fan seething and crying that their supremely overrated and over-discussed hero wasn't the center of attention for five minutes. Get a life.
@@Undersea.GliderSo someone expresses their opinion in favor of Jaco in a thoughtful comment and you just result to namecalling? Your comment is the one that comes off as obsessive.
I wouldn't say that; if these clips are from the 70s, Jaco Pastorius was also active around the same time. very different types of music, but both gave equally unique voices to the fretless bass
@@willyvlyminck201 I believe these video clips are all from Oil on Canvas except for the first from Old Grey Whistle Test. I wish I had known Oil on Canvas was released on video back in the day. I only had the audio for over three decades! Luckily some people have posted these gems on TH-cam. As for the original song releases, they came out on the "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" studio album. Cheers!
Awesome! I just got my first bass guitar... I've loved Japan since the 1980s and now I'm listening in a new way! Bass has always been my favorite instrument in all 'dark '80s' music and now I get to learn to play it! This is a great overview (and definitely too advanced for me as a beginner, but it is inspirational!)
I took up fretless bass in July :) Some bassliness are really tough to play but the biggest issue is that there are no tabs for songs such as Gentlemen Take Polaroids, Methods of Dance... I had to work hard to play them (or rather parts of them) by ear. I really love to hear that you started with the bass as well.
Mick was a class act. He was up there with John Entwistle, Flea, Bootsy, and Larry Graham. He really was that good, but he never got the acknowledgment in his lifetime.
Utterly unique and brilliant, Mick Karn was a real one off. One of the rarest qualities in musicians in the popular music field is divergence from the norm, Mick Karn is the ultimate example of this precious quality. On a personal level his work brings a tear to my eye, every time.
Mick was the reason that I yanked out all the frets from my bass guitar neck and filled the vacant fret slots with wood veneer. This would have been in the early 80's. I still couldn't sound remotely like Mick but I don't regret doing it!
I absolutely like this podcast so much and Japan, too. Mick's Bass and Saxaphone are the stuff of legend, and now i have to just watch this brief video, I'm just going to have to play one of my many Japan albums. I think Tin Drum first up. ❤❤🎉
The unmistakable sound of the "Fretless Bass" it seemed to be really popular back on the 80s, sounded nice with a heavy layer of chorus for or flange....even better with an octave pedal lovely sound..very rare now
Other wonderful fretless players of the era were Nick Beggs and Del Palmer (Kate Bush). My favorite of all is Percy Jones, who predated them (Brian Eno, Brand X).
For me the best bass player of all time.Some of his bass lines sound like a person making a sad wailing sound.Incredible. Love Jaco,Peter Hook but most of all Mick.
That sideways floating on stage grabbed my attention when i first saw this in the eighties when I was only marginally interested in the band. I watched the entire concert because of it and have been a fan ever since. He does this while playing without missing a note btw. Great music, great visuals. Love them.
Reading all of these comments makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have Gentlemen Take Polaroids and Tin Drum scored in my memory. If I want to hear a track I can find it in my head and listen to it, instrument by instrument. After all these years it is still there. I realise now that being an HSP and a Japan fan go hand in hand, and by 'Japan' I really mean Karn/Jansen.
Hahaha yeah, the immediate thought is 'wow he doesn't look down, plus its fretless..!' But there's nothing to see but a bare fingerboard anyway, therefore 'fretless' is easier because you haven't got to keep missing those damn frets! 😄
No question Mick Karn just owns the show, he is an AMAZING bass player to say the least, as well as sexy and gorgeous!! He has something about him that you just want to be close to him, and David Sylvian’s vocals just add into the entire package! This is one damn fine package…R.I.P. Mick …the heavens are shining now with your presence…sadly missed, never forgotten!! It is to bad JAPAN split up, but I guess they had their differences…Shine like a star 🌟 Mr.Mick Karn!! Luv you always LA ❤️💕🙏⭐️🎸💐🇨🇦
I feel like an idiot. I have played bass for years and never heard of him. I found him 2 weeks ago. I am very impressed. Very classy..!! Also a great player...makes it seem so effortless. rarely looks at neck on a fretless...wow.. But the classy and coolness is crazy....love it.!!!
Gentlemen Take Polaroids is still one of favourite albums of all time, after Tin Drum they definitely had more music in them ( Rain Tree Crow proves that point) such a shame that they just couldn't continue, but at least we got to enjoy some great solo albums by the band members. And yes Micks Bass playing was unique which was a vital part of the Japan sound.
@@topquark6919 absolutely and no doubt you have listened to the JBK stuff. ...which may as well be Japan minus DS and Ron Dean of course. Personally I think RD had been overlooked by some fans because his contribution to Japan's sound was integral part of the band up until Tin Drum
The night that they played the OGWT was such a truly memorable night considering it was just on television. Mick was such a star... and he was completely mesmerising live.
Well, thank you for broadening my horizons: this is the first time I’ve heard Mick Karn. Compelling sound and approach to the bass guitar. Hearing him for the first time reminds me of how I reacted the first time I heard Jaco Pastorius, which was more or less: “Is that a bass guitar?!” (I actually heard him first on Joni Mitchell’s “Hejira,” before I heard him in Weather Report.) Looks like I have some catching up to do.
Mick is my favourite bass player of all time. No-one plays a fretless like Mick did. Yes, I know there are countless other bassists who play fretless that are *technically* better than Mick was but Mick is the one whose innovation and sound took things to another level for me. The fluidity in his playing is almost otherworldly at times. I miss that guy.
I absolutely agree. His bassliness might not be very complicated but who said they should be. I think that simplicity and as you said fluidity and innovation are the things that made him such a great musician.
@@leszek8460 100%. His unique, inimitable style of playing was also unmistakable on other artists' work too. Not least of all on Gary Numan's 'Slowcar To China' - an incredible bassline, if ever there was one 👍 th-cam.com/video/Bzz2Ki21E-8/w-d-xo.html
@Andy Mann it's been a month. i'll need that report on my desk by 9am (GMT) tomorrow or i'll be speaking with management... and by management... i mean DAD.
I saw Japan many years ago, 1981 I believe, and was mesmerised by Mick Karn's bass playing, and his "stage gliding". There was ankle deep dry ice on the stage, and it looked like he was on rails or wheels.
One of the most unique bass players ever, with a distinctive “gurgle plop” style that made and pushed Japan to the forefront of 80’s avant garde “pop”. No one played like him before or since. Truly missed
Thank you for all the comments and views, there's such a nice community around Mick Karn and Japan.
His bass lines are one of the reasons I decided to learn the bass.
@@Alpha_7227 Same for me :)
I remember hearing the single 'quiet life' in '81. Bought the album of the same title & played it a lot then purchased ' Gentlemen Take Polaroids'. But it was 'Tin Drum' with its Chinese sounding influence & Karn's guitaring that I wanted to go & see Japan. Saw them at the Birmingham Odeon in 1981. There were a Sylvian impersonators .Great concert but Karn stole the show. The way he glided across the floor while playing his fretless bass superb.
Just recently played his first solo album ' Titles'. I wasn't into it much back in the day when I played it, but now I really appreciate how good it sounds.
I was a sad day when they split up in '82. But The 'Tin Drum Tour' still ranks in my top 5 concerts of all time.
those were the days, brother. Growing up in O.C. CA. Listening to Japan. Getting import vinyl EPs and LPs of Japan in the mail. Fuck the internet. I saw Japan at the Wiltern.
@@keithfrance6191 I envy you, it must've been so great to see Mick live
He perfectly times his moves across the stage and back to the microphone without changing speed. And he never looks at his fretboard. And its fretless!! He knows exactly what he's doing at all times.
This is savage calm flexing at it's finest.
Did he just side- "moon walk" while playing fretless?
@@JPTyleryes! I saw them live and was blown away by Karn’s bass playing and stage shuffle-sideways AND front and back!
That took some practice and a ton of natural talent in the early days there was a few bum notes but the girls screams kind of muffled them ha ha what a rollercoaster ride
As time passed and at the end of the day he was a quiet genius and is up with the top of the worlds bass players I emphasise Top
Any bass player worthy would agree and if not I would challenge them to remove your frets raise your action be blindfolded then play,,and ohh yeah sing harmonies while Dancing !
Will watch again, this time holding my jaw. I've listened to Japan a few times, but watching this felt like an epiphany!
It’s criminal how smooth the man was!
Love And miss him so much! Blessed to be able to call him a dear friend. So lucky to have been able to play & tour with him on a Mark Isham album and in Polytown. Every thing he did was creative! Art,sculpture, bass & bass clarinet playing as well as composition! Unique & authentic don’t begin to explain Mick. He was so supportive to me when I was living in London while working with Jeff Beck. Huge influence & inspiration to me. Huge loss to us he left behind.
Oh wow, Terry 😄 Thank you so much for that comment! I love your drumming and your work with Mick Karn. Polytown was such a great band.
This is one of those musicians you can immediately identify because of his unique sound and style. Too bad he left us so soon.
I didn't know he was dead !
@@fifthof1795 seriously?
@@ReneAlexisPenalozaMunoz Genuinely ! Tbh though , I was only a minor fan of Japan, but his bass lines were very distinctive .
@@fifthof1795 Me too. I own Tin Drum on vinyl and that's all. Not very fond on the singer's voice. However, there are a bunch of solo instrumental stuf that's pretty good.
I couldn't have identified it, I've never even heard of the band ...and I wonder why.
It's not perfectly my kind of music but the bass is really phenomenal!
Rest in peace Mick, you are missed by many.
The one and only...
I remember seeing the Mick Karn shuffle for the first time & when you have fans in front of you or the camera is high enough it looks like he is floating from side to side & backwards & forwards (vice versa) & to be an amazing one in a million sounding fretless bass player is one thing but doing that while playing & then going back to the mic at the exact time he was due to do backing singing is just out of this world...
Taking from us all to soon but he will never be forgotten as he was an amazing musician/solo artist & sculpturer & a 1 in a million fretless bass player...
The way he approached the fretless bass not only unique but fearless...
Ive never ever seen anyone like Mick play the fretless bass guitar that way before or after him & thats what makes him a 1 in a million & even 4 decades later i still get the same emotional feeling i got when first hearing him & going on to see him move on as a solo artist & collaborator for many huge stars as they too knew he offered a sound & an approach to play the electric fretless bass that had never been heard before & I'll reiterate that ive never heard anyone quute like him since...
Its one thing to be able to learn how to play his bass lines but to even come up with them was truly remarkable & as many as i've learned from Mick's back catalogue of fretless bass line i can say yes i can play it & plsy it the way Mick played but i never & could never come up with bass lines like that, especially on a fretless bass guitar...
RIP Mick Karn
RIP David Bowie
" All Your Flames Still Burn Brightly "
.....
Mick had great stage presence indeed
Yep - Everyone around me was saying something to the effect of ' Good grief.. look at Karn!!!' when the curtain went up..
Such a crucial part of the Japan sound. Sad that he's no longer with us. R.I.P
The slide across the stage at 0:43 is the most 80's thing I've seen in ages! :D
he was really a ballet dancer, no joke, its kind of funny like michael jackson moves..
@@zonasound I was always convinced he was on a trolley, being pulled by roadies, ha, ha!
@@markevans3879 he wasn't on a conveyer belt apparatus?
@@tonymctony4551 hi the tittle ? please thx
like the coolest crab on the planet, and on time for the backing vox - what a fucking rock star!!
My absolute favourite bass player of all time. Effortless genius.
He made Japans music stand out to me. My 12 year old self would stand in front of a mirror with a tennis racket and mimic his moves. So I went to school and told the music teacher “teach me this”. I was laughed out of that room and only offered the flute as that was what girls played. Never did get to learn but my ear can still pick out bass lines in any song. Less and less now because it seems something hardly used now to give a perfect undertow to the flow of a song. Miss you MK 💔
It's never to late to master your bass dreams!
To the public he was just in this band called Japan, to bass players he was extraordinary, a one off, never to be repeated. How many more miracles would we have seen from him had he not passed?! RIP
Absolutely.An utterly unique sounding bassist , who could never be copied. As you say , a true one-off. I don't know how he did it. There have been great and more formally trained fretless players like Jeff Berlin and Pino Palladino to name just a couple , but Karn was on another planet entirely. No one came close to his wonderfully gymnastic and unorthodox style.A dreadful loss to music.
@@kasimsultonfan Gary Willis! Percy Jones! 👍👍
@@JIbbWhistle Patrick O'hearn!
The reason I play bass and mainly fretless. A sorely missed star with incredible innovation and writing skills. RIP Mick 🎸
He got a fretless bass off the back of listening to Japan/Karn in ‘83’… funny thing is, I couldn’t even play the thing lol ! I’ve still got it to this day 👍🏼
Mick was and still is the man! Rest in Peace dear soul
Mick Karn RIP had a unique sound that still stands out in 2022. His Ashes to Ashes cover is so sublime.
That's true. I doubt anyone will ever get close to his sound. Ashes to ashes is great indeed.
Just THAT bite, attack, staccato phrasing…… pure total brilliance and originality. You get it or you don’t.
Comments here as to whether he was the best or not, which are irrelevant as this could be argued forever. I had never heard or seen anybody quite like him, because there hadn't been. He was the first...the first to sound like that and I haven't heard anything as unique since. His technique, along with style and stage presence still give me goosebumps forty years on and that's why Mick Karn is MY greatest bassist ever.
Andrew Bunting That’s exactly how I feel. He edged out Jaco Pastorius (who may have been technically better) for me personally... but Mick just drove so many of Japan’s great songs with such amazing work. I am re-discovering everything he did and will start buying his back catalogue. Heck, I wish I could send his family money directly as well. I still get goosebumps when I hear his work 40 years on as well, Andrew. Well put.
Cheers, Cat Man.
MK was unique, his bass playing, phrasing all him.
otherworldly
At the time there was a bit of a fret less bass fashion going on, the other big player at the time was Pino Palladino, I believe he played with Paul Young and others. But Mick Karn had a unique quality about his playing.
Pure artistry, on a notoriously difficult instrument - yet he made it all look so easy. His riff on "Son's of Pioneers" is the finest bass playing I've ever heard. A unique talent, very sadly missed
A man with such a great talent who doubted his own abilities.... Mick was one of a kind. I will have to try and cover Sons Of Pionners.
Still coming back to this video, in tears. His baselines are almost like magic, they put you in this trance.
I will NEVER forget seeing Japan at the Hammersmith Odeon circa 1981/1982. I wore a ra ra skirt, but had all the Japan make up on! MIND BLOWN when Mr Mick Karn did his 'wheelie thing' whilst playing bass. One of the GREATEST bass players, EVER. AND self taught. Respect to YOU, Mr Karn. Thanks for the autographed photo along with David Sylvian,. Your sculpture exhibition was awesome. SO glad to be there in the 1980s!
A man who plays bass using supernatural powers. Only way to describe it. Makes that guitar do things that defy the laws of physics. All I can say is there's a hell of a show going on in heaven!
Is it Ka like Dark Tower?
This is funny to me
Decades ahead of the curve superb.
Had the great privilege of seeing Mick Karn play twice with Japan. What a band and all the more unique because of the rhythm section. Steve Jansen messed beautifully with Mick. I was blown away by his unique fretless sound and slick, cool shuffle across the stage. Gone too soon 🙏❤️
Fantastic! Mick is one of my all time musical heroes. I met him in 89 when he was playing with Bill Bruford. He was so incredibly gracious as to have an impromptu QandA with fans after the show. I shook hands with him and understood the whole “I’ll never wash this hand again!” trope.
I'm jealous!
I didn't even know he played with Bruford (I'm kind of late to the party). Talk about a tonne of talent on one stage.
@@disprogreavette8545 David Torn was also on stage. Mick was doing all kinds of diverse stuff around then, loads of hired gun stuff also. I remember feeling deeply conflicted when I noticed he was on stage of the Us Festival ...but playing for Brian Adams! I could never stand Brian Adams, but it’s Mick Karn. Haha!
@@andrewkoastephens210 Do you know which year that was? I can't find it anywhere on YT...
@@leszek8460 I just went down a rabbit hole myself. No, I can’t find the Bruford, Torn, Isham show anywhere. I remember it was at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. It may have been as early as 87. I found reference to that collab on Mick’s official site though. I was beginning to think it was a dream. Ha!
1. Swing
2. Gentlemen Take Polaroids
3. Swing
4. Methods Of Dance
Rest in Peace Mick ❤️❤️❤️
Great upload
I'm glad you like it
thanks!!
Sons of pioneers......
Mick Karn class above the rest - Reason why I taught my self fretless bass and purchased a fretless Wal. Saw them twice in one week at Drury Lane back in 1981-2 time and at Wembley. Cheers Mick, Over 2000 gigs have not looked back since.
Definitely one of the best players of all time. It's absolutely maddening that modern music discussion hands all the credit to Pastorius in regards to the fretless bass. In my opinion, Karn's playing style was much more innovative and explored the range and capability of the instrument light-years ahead of other fretless players.
Absolutely! Mick's playing was very rhythmic and melodic, pleasing to the ear, altogether unique. Jaco was definitely a very technically skilled bass player but that's about all you can say about him. I personally like basslines of Percy Jones as well it is a combination of both technique and melodic playing.
Pastorius was the G.O.A.T. He made the bass what it is today. No discussion about that. Mick may be good, but he is definitely no Jaco.
When you look at Jacos contribution - bright size life, joni mitchell, weather report - plus Word of Mouth.. Mick Karn was a wonderful bassist and feels trite to compare them, music isn't a competition - but Jaco was the one light years ahead of every other fretless player - and they'd all agree with this. Musicality poured out of him in his short career in a way we've never really seen since in the world of bass.
@@dandyhighwayman4411 Oh look, another obsessive Jaco fan seething and crying that their supremely overrated and over-discussed hero wasn't the center of attention for five minutes.
Get a life.
@@Undersea.GliderSo someone expresses their opinion in favor of Jaco in a thoughtful comment and you just result to namecalling?
Your comment is the one that comes off as obsessive.
My favourite band of all time. I was incredibly fortunate to see them numerous times in the 1980's.
Still the best concerts that I've ever seen...
No one plays like Mick Karn ! Absolute genius and greatly missed !
Still no one is able to play the bass like him! A Genius. R.I.P.
Mick Karn wasn't a bass player, he was a lead guitarist on a 4 string guitar. Phenomenal.
Best definition mate, couldn't agree more
He caressed his bass. Fabulous player.
Couldn't disagree more.
Is this an insult?
I wouldn't say that; if these clips are from the 70s, Jaco Pastorius was also active around the same time. very different types of music, but both gave equally unique voices to the fretless bass
Thank you for posting this! Finally we can see some samples of the greatest bass player of all time in one place. We miss you Mick!
He was certainly a great musician and a great person
Is this music from ”Oil on Canvas“?
@@willyvlyminck201 I believe these video clips are all from Oil on Canvas except for the first from Old Grey Whistle Test. I wish I had known Oil on Canvas was released on video back in the day. I only had the audio for over three decades! Luckily some people have posted these gems on TH-cam. As for the original song releases, they came out on the "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" studio album. Cheers!
@@leszek8460 Hi Leszek, did you ever get to meet Mick Karn?
@@willyvlyminck201 yes, it is mostly
That was flipping awesome!!!
I love Mick's Bass playing, especially in the songs Swing, and Still Life In Mobile Homes.
Awesome! I just got my first bass guitar... I've loved Japan since the 1980s and now I'm listening in a new way! Bass has always been my favorite instrument in all 'dark '80s' music and now I get to learn to play it! This is a great overview (and definitely too advanced for me as a beginner, but it is inspirational!)
I took up fretless bass in July :) Some bassliness are really tough to play but the biggest issue is that there are no tabs for songs such as Gentlemen Take Polaroids, Methods of Dance... I had to work hard to play them (or rather parts of them) by ear. I really love to hear that you started with the bass as well.
Mesmerising to watch and listen to. Glad I saw Japan live early 80s, Edinburgh Playhouse. RIP, Mick. Gone far too soon 💕
I was there too👌 - Visions of China and Sons of Pioneers tours. Still can't walk past the Playhouse without thinking about them.
Mick was a class act.
He was up there with John Entwistle, Flea, Bootsy, and Larry Graham.
He really was that good, but he never got the acknowledgment in his lifetime.
Up there with John Entwhistle...not a hope in hell
@@josephking1947 LOL Entwhistle sucked
@@coolhand1966 Nah he played the Bass
Mick best bass player ever FACT
Simon Gallop and Jean Jacques Burnell
Utterly unique and brilliant, Mick Karn was a real one off. One of the rarest qualities in musicians in the popular music field is divergence from the norm, Mick Karn is the ultimate example of this precious quality. On a personal level his work brings a tear to my eye, every time.
You're absolutely right. He is also the biggest musical inspiration for me and many other fretless bass players.
Just love the way Mick glides all over the stage and still gets back to the mic-stand bang on time !!
Mick was the reason that I yanked out all the frets from my bass guitar neck and filled the vacant fret slots with wood veneer. This would have been in the early 80's. I still couldn't sound remotely like Mick but I don't regret doing it!
Mick Karn was a musical genius. One of the best bass players ever. Sadky passed to soon.
Nick’s bass lines are as much a part of my love of Japan as David’s vocals . .The best of the ‘New Wave’ imho. Luv, pierre
duh - his name is Mick
Saw them live in 82, amazing live and Mick was unreal, broke my heart when he died
I can't imagine Japan without Mick such a unique player.
I absolutely like this podcast so much and Japan, too. Mick's Bass and Saxaphone are the stuff of legend, and now i have to just watch this brief video, I'm just going to have to play one of my many Japan albums. I think Tin Drum first up. ❤❤🎉
His look and bass playing was so pioneering, and so was the whole band Japan, they should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame without a question..
Love this bloke still to this day since 1980 - still a fan and listening in 2022. RIP...
We'll be listening in 2040 still. RIP
@@leszek8460 Yes we will !
Wonderful memories of Mick. I’ve enjoyed playing his bass lines over the years. What a uniquely gifted musician he was.
Happy Birthday Mick. Never forgotten.
I'm sorry but when he moves across the stage like that... I am DYING...!
Michelangelo Mason The Mick Karn Shuffle. I had to watch it a few times to make sure it wasn’t a camera trick!
@@Rocket_scientist_88 He said he only did it on stage when the weight of the bass made it easier.
@@Rocket_scientist_88 he was something else!
I can’t decide if him sliding across the stage is cool or ridiculous
@@Sundayletsplay it's both, which is even better. The right amount of cheese, it's so entertaining.
I could listen to this all day!
Thanks for posting by the way. Loved to see Mick skittering across the stage as if on wheels.
Imagine him and Wilko Johnson in the same band....
Total genius! True art and a real musician! One of the most unique bass players of all time. RIP Mick, there will never be another like you.
The unmistakable sound of the "Fretless Bass" it seemed to be really popular back on the 80s, sounded nice with a heavy layer of chorus for or flange....even better with an octave pedal lovely sound..very rare now
Other wonderful fretless players of the era were Nick Beggs and Del Palmer (Kate Bush). My favorite of all is Percy Jones, who predated them (Brian Eno, Brand X).
One of my greatest bass idols. He is sorely missed.
Always amazed by Mick's bass since I heard him age 13. So unique and unforgettable.
For me the best bass player of all time.Some of his bass lines sound like a person making a sad wailing sound.Incredible. Love Jaco,Peter Hook but most of all Mick.
That sideways floating on stage grabbed my attention when i first saw this in the eighties when I was only marginally interested in the band. I watched the entire concert because of it and have been a fan ever since. He does this while playing without missing a note btw. Great music, great visuals. Love them.
Mick was my inspiration to file off the frets of my first bass, so unique, much underated imho. R.I.P.
Mick was the man. His work on the dalis car just blows my mind. Love his original style and tone. Much love to you mick !
Mick Karn is and always will be unsurpassed 🎸
R.I.P. 💜🤘🏿
A very underrated band indeed . Absolutely polished in the studio
Reading all of these comments makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have Gentlemen Take Polaroids and Tin Drum scored in my memory. If I want to hear a track I can find it in my head and listen to it, instrument by instrument. After all these years it is still there. I realise now that being an HSP and a Japan fan go hand in hand, and by 'Japan' I really mean Karn/Jansen.
🖤
one of the best bass player of all time, a cult bass player not recognized enough! 🙏
So much talent in those days
RIP Mick Karn 🙏💗
Mick Karn ..taught me how to play fretless (& Pino Palidino) ..genius ... and he never looks at the bass ? whao : ) luv it : )
Between making records, he never used to practice either!
True genius then
Hahaha yeah, the immediate thought is 'wow he doesn't look down, plus its fretless..!' But there's nothing to see but a bare fingerboard anyway, therefore 'fretless' is easier because you haven't got to keep missing those damn frets! 😄
@@MisAnnThorpe nor do I ...haha : )
a master that went beyond being a bass master, outrageously unique in every sense! god bless
Amazing
Great comp!
Thank you!
No question Mick Karn just owns the show, he is an AMAZING bass player to say the least, as well as sexy and gorgeous!! He has something about him that you just want to be close to him, and David Sylvian’s vocals just add into the entire package! This is one damn fine package…R.I.P. Mick …the heavens are shining now with your presence…sadly missed, never forgotten!! It is to bad JAPAN split up, but I guess they had their differences…Shine like a star 🌟 Mr.Mick Karn!! Luv you always LA ❤️💕🙏⭐️🎸💐🇨🇦
I feel like an idiot. I have played bass for years and never heard of him. I found him 2 weeks ago. I am very impressed. Very classy..!! Also a great player...makes it seem so effortless. rarely looks at neck on a fretless...wow.. But the classy and coolness is crazy....love it.!!!
Thx for this, showing his unique outstanding abilities.👌🇬🇧👌
Karn makes playing the fretless bass so effortless. Hearing Karn on the single ' quiet life' got me into Japan .
Gentlemen Take Polaroids is still one of favourite albums of all time, after Tin Drum they definitely had more music in them ( Rain Tree Crow proves that point) such a shame that they just couldn't continue, but at least we got to enjoy some great solo albums by the band members. And yes Micks Bass playing was unique which was a vital part of the Japan sound.
Same here, Mark. Polaroids is an awesome album. Not a bad track on it.
@@topquark6919 absolutely and no doubt you have listened to the JBK stuff. ...which may as well be Japan minus DS and Ron Dean of course.
Personally I think RD had been overlooked by some fans because his contribution to Japan's sound was integral part of the band up until Tin Drum
Give Dalis Car a listen, his bass on Cornwall stone is fabulous.
The night that they played the OGWT was such a truly memorable night considering it was just on television. Mick was such a star... and he was completely mesmerising live.
Well, thank you for broadening my horizons: this is the first time I’ve heard Mick Karn. Compelling sound and approach to the bass guitar. Hearing him for the first time reminds me of how I reacted the first time I heard Jaco Pastorius, which was more or less: “Is that a bass guitar?!” (I actually heard him first on Joni Mitchell’s “Hejira,” before I heard him in Weather Report.) Looks like I have some catching up to do.
子供の頃、ジャパンはデビッドシルビアンのバンドだと思っていた。50を過ぎた今、ミックの独特のベースラインとオーディエンスを楽しませるというエンターテイメントで成立していたんだなぁと思える。もし、あの時に今のようにジャパンを聴けていたなら俺の人生も大きく違うものだったのかも知れないと思う。あらためてジャパンを聴き直して懐かしさもあり、新鮮さもある。ミックありがとう、安らかに眠れ。
私はグーグル翻訳者のおかげで書きます。 コメントありがとうございます。 ミックは間違いなく日本の非常に重要な部分でした。 あなたが彼らの音楽を発見したのは素晴らしいことです。 また、20歳なのに早く知っていたら人生が違っていたのではないかと思います。ごきげんよう
You are Sooooo correct bless you
0:50. wow, what an absolute FREAK, amazing talent. Stunning.
What a legend and the band I still listen too!
Mick is my favourite bass player of all time. No-one plays a fretless like Mick did.
Yes, I know there are countless other bassists who play fretless that are *technically* better than Mick was but Mick is the one whose innovation and sound took things to another level for me. The fluidity in his playing is almost otherworldly at times. I miss that guy.
I absolutely agree. His bassliness might not be very complicated but who said they should be. I think that simplicity and as you said fluidity and innovation are the things that made him such a great musician.
@@leszek8460 100%. His unique, inimitable style of playing was also unmistakable on other artists' work too.
Not least of all on Gary Numan's 'Slowcar To China' - an incredible bassline, if ever there was one 👍
th-cam.com/video/Bzz2Ki21E-8/w-d-xo.html
@@hauntological I'll have to learn to play this one, I absolutely love it.
@@leszek8460 Me too, it's beautiful. The bassline goes all over the place
Mick Karn was the reason I picked up a bass then guitar. The sound on that live performance brings tears to the eyes
Beautiful basslines and nostalgia is an emotionally intensive combination :D
Mick Karn is one of the greatest unsung bass players ever, up there with the best.
did anyone ever actually find out, for the sake of absolute accuracy, what planet karn was from before he left this one?
@Andy Mann it's been a month. i'll need that report on my desk by 9am (GMT) tomorrow or i'll be speaking with management... and by management... i mean DAD.
The gorgeous land of Cyprus :) .. or Mars, we haven’t quite figured out yet.
@@anonymous-yk9sz the two are pretty much interchangeable, i'm led to believe.
I love him so much. So underrated.
Undoubtedly one of the most creative and unique musicians ever.
Freakin Amazing! I have been listening since 1980
I loooooooove that slink smooth movement across the stage.
A truly great bass god. R.I.P Micky 👍
Superb description methinks !!
A very unknown and underrated bassist.
His playing on Kate Bush's 'Heads We're Dancing' has his signature feel and sound.
A great musician.
I love what he did on that song as well, typical Karn bassline.
Such a pity then that everything else about that "song" is rubbish.
He was phenomenal, many tried to emulate him ,
Including myself 😁 Mick was unique but you can take away a lot from his playstyle
I saw Japan many years ago, 1981 I believe, and was mesmerised by Mick Karn's bass playing, and his "stage gliding". There was ankle deep dry ice on the stage, and it looked like he was on rails or wheels.
I envy you so much... what I'd give to go back in time and see mick gliding across the stage with his Wal...
Mick Karn and Derek Forbes are the best bass players in the world. I absolutely loved MIck Karns style
A total inspiration.. all time great..
Mick Karn was so good.... very unique.... such fluid and amazing bass lines.
His style is what gelled their wonderful music and sound together
the coolest bloke to ever pick up a bass
One of the most unique bass players ever, with a distinctive “gurgle plop” style that made and pushed Japan to the forefront of 80’s avant garde “pop”. No one played like him before or since. Truly missed
That dance move is amazing...Karn so good
No one can play bass better than Mick Karen!
RIP Mick.
Mick Karen 😆
I had forgotten how good he was. A startlingly good player and one of the few truly unique bass players.