Bruce Thomas is a controversial guy in Elvis Costello-fan
circles. Some have never forgiven him for portraying their hero as a whiny guy
who sweats a lot in the semi- autobiographical novella The Big Wheel. Elvis
certainly hasn’t. Yet few Elvis fans would be stupid enough to dismiss Bruce
Thomas as a musician, and as bass guitarists go, he deserves a place at the top
with James Jamerson, John Entwistle, and Paul McCartney. Today, on his 65th
birthday, let’s take a listen to some of the lines that make Bruce one of pop’s
most amazing bassmen (Bruce has done some fantastic work outside of The Attractions, particularly with Suzanne Vega on the great 99.9F°, but here I’ll just be focusing on his work behind Elvis).
1. “(I Don’t Want to
Go to) Chelsea” (1978)
Elvis Costello has always been more of a colorist than a
lead guitarist. This often left Steve Nieve and Bruce Thomas responsible for
the hook. In the case of the first single released as Elvis Costello and the
Attractions, all three musicians supply memorable riffs, with Elvis jittering
out triplets and Steve Nieve countering the amphetamine paranoia of that guitar
riff with a languidly creepy descending line on his Vox Continental. Yet it is
Bruce Thomas’s uncharacteristically simple reggae bassline that best catches
the ear. His halting major triad riff pins down the verses, while his
capricious slides give momentum to the bridge even as the overall dynamic
remains constant.
2. “Pump It Up”
(1978)
Bruce Thomas’s bass stands out on “Chelsea.” On “Pump It
Up,” it practically is the song.
Elvis’s Dylanesque rap, which droves of kids learned word-for-word as a sort of
New Wave badge of honor (until it R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World As We
Know It” took it’s place), is no small thing. However, all the melody flows
from Bruce’s fingers. He squeezes in two totally distinct, totally memorable
lines: the hopping riff of the verse and the three-note descent that supplies super-gravity
between verses. His two-steps-forward/-one-step-back climb under the chorus is
not as iconic as those other two riffs, but it’s the most technically
spectacular bass work on the track.
3. “The Beat”
(1978)
Bruce and Steve Nieve work out some intricate interplay on
“The Beat.” The keyboardist stabs out the progression on his Vox Continental,
while Bruce keeps it moving with another jarring riff in the “Chelsea” mode.
This time he mixes up his rhythm with sudden asides reminiscent of John
Entwistle, reaching a frenzied climax in the final verse. On the chorus, he
pumps down the neck with the purposefulness of James Jamerson.
4. “Lipstick Vogue”
(1978)
All of the songs on this list so far can be found on the
Attractions’ first album with Elvis, This
Year’s Model. We’ve heard the melodic, the improvisational, and the simply
driving. Bruce Thomas’s playing on “Lipstick Vogue” can only be described as
virtuosic. I’ve been playing bass for 27 years. At this point, I can reproduce
pretty much everything McCartney did and do a passable version of Entwistle’s
“My Generation” solo. However, I will go to my grave with the painful knowledge
that I will never, ever, ever be able to even manage a shitty facsimile of what
Bruce Thomas does on “Lipstick Vogue.” I can try explaining it, but I’d only
sound like an idiot, because frankly, I have no fucking idea what he’s doing in
this song and less of an idea how he does it. Are human fingers even capable of
moving that fast? And with that level of precision? And stamina? You want to
hear the most complex, most exciting, most mind-boggling Rock bassline ever
coaxed out of four strings? Here it is.
5. “Opportunity”
(1980)
The Motown indebted Get
Happy!! gave Bruce Thomas a lot of opportunities to show off what he
learned from James Jamerson. One of the most impressive showcases for Bruce’s
bouncing soul is “Opportunity.” Pete Thomas, one of the great Rock drummers, keeps the beat as basic as imaginable, stomping
four on the floor. Bruce’s bass breaks the rhythm out of those confines with a
nimble, dancing flourish. The only thing more out front on the track is Elvis’s
voice.
6. “The Imposter”
(1980)
Here, Bruce Thomas takes a tape of Jamerson and hits fast
forward. If The Funk Brothers popped bennies incessantly instead of downing
Budweiser and Jack Daniels, this is how they’d sound. If Bruce Thomas’s runaway
train bassline didn’t suit the track so perfectly, he could be accused of
showing off.
7. “Fish ‘n’ Chip
Paper” (1981)
What’s better than Bruce Thomas? Two Bruce Thomases, of
course. On “Fish ‘n’ Chip Paper,” a very Get
Happy!!-flavored number from Trust,
one Bruce superimposes a nagging, upperneck melody over a funkier line the
other Bruce plays way down on the bottom. Steve Nieve should also be commended
for doing double-duty on shimmering piano and roller-rink Vox Continental, but
those dual keyboard parts are cradled between the high and low sonic beds
Double-Bruce weaves.
8. “Shabby Doll”
(1982)
“Shabby Doll” is fascinating both for Bruce’s shattering
improvisations and for the atypical sloppiness with which he discharges them.
This is not a backhanded compliment. Bruce adds much needed grease and grit to
one of the most polished pieces on the lush Imperial
Bedroom, conveying the song’s acrimony as authentically as Elvis’s
weeping/venom-spitting vocal. Bruce’s sudden outbursts on the concluding vamp
must be Rock’s bitterest bass playing.
9. “13 Steps Lead
Down” (1994)
Jump ahead a dozen years, after the totally-eighties
production follies of Langer & Winstanley, the marvelous comeback of Blood & Chocolate, and the end of
The Attractions amidst a rancorous falling out between Elvis Costello and Bruce
Thomas. In 1994, they were together again, if only on a part time basis, for
the vastly underrated Brutal Youth.
Bruce did not play on every track (Nick Lowe and Elvis, himself, pick up the
slack), but the tracks he helped create are unmistakable. This is particularly
true of the second single from the album. “13 Steps Lead Down” is a classic
rocket of Attractions Garage Rock, and with his leaping McCartneyesque arches, Bruce
lets us know he’s back with the band.
10. “Complicated
Shadows” (1996)
Two years later, Bruce Thomas really was back when All This Useless Beauty became the first
record credited to Elvis Costello and the Attractions in a decade. Unlike the
earlier records, the tracks were constructed tighter, leaving Bruce less room
for the wild lines that are his trademark. Consequently, All This Useless Beauty sounds less like an Attractions album than Brutal Youth does. Bruce sounds like
he’s feeling those limitations on “Complicated Shadows,” a nail-biting slow
burn that relegates him to the deep background of its first two minutes. But
when Hell breaks loose halfway into the song, Bruce bounds to the front of the
stage with the high-end, buoyant bass work we expect from him. He’s not the
sole reason why “Complicated Shadows” is so exhilarating (Elvis’s scream of “GO!!!” at 3:37 sends shivers up the
spine too), but it would not be the same without him. Neither would Elvis, who
gave up playing with Bruce for good after All
This Useless Beauty. He still made some really good records—and Imposter
Davey Faragher is a great bass player in his own right— but the bottom never quite
bubbled and boiled with the same unpredictable excitement again.
