How to Play the Bass line from Finley Quaye’s ‘Even After All’

This is a bass line from my youth. Learning this as a 16 year old, I didn't appreciate at the time how brilliant this bass line is.

It's Finley Quaye's Even After All from his 1997 album Maverick A Strike. This was big in the UK, spawning five singles. 

I wonder if anyone outside the UK (and not of a certain age) knows this one!?

The bass line was written and played by the album's co-producer, Kevin John Bacon. I don't know much about him as a musician, but take a close listen to this bass line. It's a masterpiece.

The tempo of the song is 94 BPM, and the languid, relaxed nature of the line, plus the fact that the 8-bar riff remains the same throughout, lulls you into a false sense of security.

This bass line seems easy, but it's not really! Not to play it cleanly, in time, and musically. 

Here's the original. Take a close listen and pay attention to how the line starts the song off on beat four and a half.

For a bunch of other great bass lines, check out some of these songs:

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  • One riff that could be seen as underrated is Donny’s piano intro (which I think the bass follows) in the “Donny Hathaway live” recording of “The Ghetto” (Live at the Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA). Fairly straightforward but very hypnotic and effective and instantly recognisable.

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