damn I was also growing up when I discovered Pulse album! I was a teenager and I was so amazed how different and often better its versions of the songs are than studio ones!
The Fish I actually like the Pompeii version with David playing it on the Black Strat. There’s something about the extra grit that those vintage pups bring to the song that I think really fits. And I have a strat with EMG’s that I prefer over my Black Strat for bluesy type songs because of the extra mid range. For some reason here I like the crunch.
When PULSE was released i was 13 yo and had no money to buy it here in Brazil, so I used to go to a CD rental shop (yes, there was cd rental shops here) and rent Pulse for 2 days 2 times a month. I will never forget that ethereal sensation of listening What Do You Want From Me live for the first time. Just loved the transition to "...you can have anything you want". Good memories. Good to see you play it on quarantine mode. Cheers from Brazil.
This really demonstrates how to drive a song without the listener being really conscious of exactly what’s driving it. The signs of a great bass player playing a great bass line :-)
The bass line in the Pulse version of this song is something truly noteworthy. So much so that the studio version feels as if it’s missing some mojo. Thanks for putting this out there, Guy! ✌🏼
Glad you played the pulse version! Seeing the pulse DVD with some friends is actually what got me really into Pink Floyd. It's also the main reason I wanted to learn concert lighting, without which I wouldn't have my current job so thank you for that!
One of the great regrets of my concert-going past is to have missed the Pulse Tour. I never got to see Pink Floyd live. When I did see David live for the first time in my life, at Schönbrunn, Vienna, many years later (a birthday present from my missus, actually one of the best gifts I have ever got), I couldn't hold back the tears.
I remember the first time listening to David's 'Raise My Rent' sometime in the mid-'90s after becoming familiar with 'What Do You Want From Me' in '94 and immediately knew that he had re-used the opening riff from that. Love both of those tracks respectively.
That was brilliant. I saw Brit Floyd play this in Cambridge. When those harmonies rise at the end of the chorus, all the lights fan upwards and the smile had to be surgically removed from my face. It's such a wonderful song and well played that man. Encore.
Absolutely flawless...Well done sir!! I was at your concert (Division Bell tour) in Foxboro, MA (Gillette Stadium) in May 1994. Best concert that I had or have ever seen. Absolutely mesmerizing, even in the light rain that was falling. Thank you Guy for all of the music you have played and performed over the years!!
You Nick and Gary did an amazing job with the "beat" on Pulse, absolutely one of my personal top bassndrum performances, very tasteful. And shoutout to the drum technician who designed that terrific snare sound 5/5. Lets hope that James Guthrie and Gilmour will release a remix or remaster of pulse in the future.
16k subscribers in 5th months !!!! I thought for a long time I was the only one to know about Guy Pratt and the only fan ! Wow...we’re a community now.
As someone who is usually not a fan of 5 strings on a bass, this is the best way I've ever this worded "you play it like you would on a 4 string, but you can use that low string if you need a note here or there." Very well put. And who are the five wankers giving this a "thumbs down?" Just go away, this is master class stuff! Thanks again for posting.
Guy you are really one of the greatest bass players ever! My life is full of moments with your fantastic bass lines! Ive been watching you live several times, first in arena verona with floyd in 89 and then i decided to play bass and learning as much as possible from you. Thank you
I went to the PF Pulse show in Ames, Iowa in 1994. When the opening solo for "What Do You Want From Me" started, I recognized the solo from "Raise My Rent" and felt like I was the only one in the entire arena that did.
Awesome! I've always presumed that this song was just a rework of Raise My Rent. Just basically David saying, "hey, I liked that lick from back in the day, but I can do it better now, and we can put some words to it." Almost like he was finishing the song.
I'm not a bassist, but always find it interesting to hear about how a pro bassist goes about creating bass lines, and about the temptation to "overplay" (Entwistle!) as opposed to careful restraint. What notes to play vs the space between the notes, when to add more notes vs sustain: so many creative decisions for what seems, fundamentally, so simple. Thanks Guy!
I remember that 1994 version of you. You were the bomb on Pulse Live. I considered you a young master, but now, I will say you are a Consummate Master of your Craft just like David, Nick, and Richard. I miss hearing from you, Jon, Gary, and the gang.
Whether it's the album version or the PULSE performance, my favorite bit of the song both instrumentally and how the vocals sound, is the part that begins at "You can have anything you want...Drift, dream, walk on water and so on". Thanks for the video, Guy!
Was great to hear this live on the Rattle That Lock tour, the opening riff is one of my favorites. Sorrow though really shook you to the bone, sounded incredible
I grew up looking to a guy playing in my favourite band on “Delicate Sound of Thunder” on the song “One Slip” on a “Headless Bass” (what i called it) and he became my favourite bass player ever! And now we can send him a message! Thank you very much Guy for being such a great inspiration as the great musician you are! Fortunately I was happy and fortunate to see you with David on Rattle That Lock Tour in Verona - Italy. God bless you Guy! Take care! Cheers mate!
Thank you for these clips, it has been a treat to see you sharing your stories and playing. As a young bassist in the early to mid 90s, I spent many hours playing along to the Pulse album. Aside from Pink Floyd, your playing on Earth Song is probably why I bought a Boss OC-2. As a result, your influence on my style is blatant when I listen back to sessions I've done over the years. You, along with Pino and Tony Levin are the few bassists that I've consciously "borrowed" from when creating lines. And so ends my obsequious waffling.
Oh what a happy Thursday this now is. Love that 'live' version Guy. Keep going with the illegal 5 string and that naughty C note. I also play an illegal 5 string....shhhhhh
I just bought Live at Pompeii to test with my new 4K tele and a new soundbar with Subwoofer. Do to time commitments I have only managed to get through the first portion, but it sounded phenomenal. The bass really stands out so kudos to whoever was mixing it. Anyway. Thanks for the video, this is my first time watching one of these, and I'm sure I'll be clicking others.
dear pratt today I am very happy with this nice gift! better than rolex from € 200,000! I appreciate so much for me you are a piece of music history! you are my ennio morricone del basso ❤️
Thank you mr. Pratt, what a great video. I wish I saw it before I saw you on stage with Gilmour and Nick , all the videos made me appreciated even more your work and of course your person.
The Pulse DVD was one of my two go to favorites for wood shedding tone and technique in younger years. Other was Clapton's 24 nights. Between Guy and Nathan East on those two DVD's, it always seemed like a master class on how to do it right. Thanks for spotlighting a favorite.
Live at Pompeii... what a fabulous location... listen to it often so many fantastic tracks, brilliant line-up... we need to get the live music back in our lives! Ps you are doing a fab job in the meantime!
Great tune, absolutley splendid playing, of all the post-Waters tunes, this is the one that could slip in to the past. Love your playing, Guy, especially the bounce u add to established songs. Great percussive quality too. Hope u make it to New England again for a gig or two before it's all said and done. I mean it's lovely here, like England only newer.
I just love to see people having fun with tracks again that they played on. Leland Sklar and Paul Gilbert are just the same. These Guys are a breed apart
First off, the bigger the bass on a track the better so the Pulse version rings truest for me. That being said, it all reminds me of John Taylor's bass playing on Duran Duran's debut and Rio albums. He NEVER captured that strong bass sound throughout a DD album EVER again. A shame. A massive shame. Guy, I'm listening to your audio book MY BASS AND OTHER ANIMALS and I must say you are absolutely cheekily and honestly brilliant. I absolutely adore your playing and that book. Being a drummer, I wonder why David Palmer backed out of that session gig all those years ago as he's one of my favorite drummers. My all time favorite drummer is Jeff Porcaro and I'm glad you got to work with him before he died. Anybody who doesn't have Guy's Audiobook go out and get it IMMEDIATELY. He is brilliant beyond words at capturing his story in his own words in his own strong, authentic and hilarious voice.
I also like the version you did of Comfortably Numb with a 5 string on Pulse (it's the best version of the song I ever heard). I don't have a 5 string, but it inspired me to play Comfortably Numb with a drop D tuning on a borrowed fretless the time I played it live with my college band. Thank you!
So happy to see this song. There isnt a single song i can play bass to all the way through, but this song is one of the ones i was close to knowing and now i'll be able to learn it properly! Also really excited to see the icehouse video next. I hadn't heard of them before guy's book but now i love them.
Guy, "What Do You Want From Me" is one of the best bass riffs, much better than in "Money !!" You are the best bass player in the world! Really! And Rick? It will be missing forever ...