Don't forget James played the bass on stage at reading for miss Europa ...must've been too difficult for Nicky at the time. Wouldn't think so now though

Ah yes, I do remember from somewhere that JDB might have written some bass lines on KYE, like MEDD, but there are too many strong moments to take them all away from Nicky -- don't think James wrote both WB and MEDD for example. (Though he could've)

And then there's the reverse, where quite a lot of great Manics songs are written by Nicky nowadays, which you can see when you get to the demos, yet people assume they're all James.

Anyway I still think Nicky kinda came of age as a musician during KYE with his increased vocal presence, more technical bass lines etc. It's the first album where I can feel his presence as a musician.

It was a sort of two way arrangement, with James writing the words to a song (Ocean Spray) for the first time too.

Wattsville demo is rough as the bottom of a budgie's cage, though.

Finally gave my vinyl a spin today. Sounds glorious. Pallas pressings are the BEST.

I’m pretty sure that’s all James.

Again, that’s probably not Nicky. James.

Nick is a fine bassist. I think anyone making the claim that he does not write or record his own bits needs to bring evidence to the table. The bass on MEDD is not difficult by any stretch of the imagination so I think there is more at play here than it being too complicated for Nicky's delicate fingers.

Of course he plays his own parts. There are multiple interviews with people like Dave Eringer and Tony Visconti where they mention Nicky both writing and recording his own bass parts. Dont forget in the studio you can essentially record tricky parts in stages and then compile them togeather. I would imagine this is often what happens. James might do the odd one or two hear and there, but its probably the exception rather than the rule.

There's generally been a marked difference in Nicky's bass lines from KYE onwards, i.e. when he started contributing more actively to the music as well, as Marat Sar mentioned. I know in the early days he was very self-deprecating about his parts and a lot of the 90s songs have rather straightforward bass riffs that anyone could play, but there was definitely a shape-up in the 2000s; JFPL really feels like a line marker in that regard, there's some downright bouncy bass on that album that had rarely been a thing prior to the album, and he's continued on a similar route since. I recall it being mentioned in some interview or anecdote once that James was responsible for the Miss Europa riff (though I can't say this for sure), but I'm 100% that Wire these days is responsible for the majority of his parts all by himself.

I'm fairly sure (memory always failing though!) that there was a mention at the time that Wattsville Blues was a 'reverse' Manics song with JDB contributing bass and backing vocals. James definitely played the bass for Miss Europa at the Coal Exchange gig for Radio 1.

Yep on the KYE tour James played a double necked guitar for Watsville blues which (if memory serves) had him playing bass on the chorus and guitar on the verse (maybe?) but that memory is hazy of course. Nicky had his own guitar for that song (maybe an acoustic?) And yes for Miss Europa it's JDB on bass, Nicky strumming chords and the lead part on a tape.

In the studio - who knows? We know 100% James did play some bass parts in the late 90s. And sure Nicky got better too, especially around the time of the Lifeblood stuff. But they all seem to muck in, especially post Lifeblood and I assume that means JDB plays bass sometimes just as much as Nicky writes guitar parts.

To be honest I quite liked Nicky's thwacking sound (for want of a better description) from 96-01 the best. He had that lovely chunky Fender bass sound, and by that point his playing had a nice mix of finesse, but also pure power as he was still playing with a pick I think. I like his new style too but I loved that twang they got in the bass sound around that time.

I think the biggest revelation of recent times was that Nicky played the guitar solo on Liverpool Revisited!!!

I really like the variation throughout the reissue. I think it works really well with the album. All the songs are actually great. Miss europa disco dancer could even be about Cuban rhythm than disco in the lyrics. I really like the new songs and I hope they continue the tour into next year.

I don't think Nicky paid much attention to his bass playing for most of the 90s - didn't he have to sit on a chair to play the bassline to Interiors live on the rare occasions it got played in 96/97?!

I do recall an interview that confirmed Nicky wrote and played the bassline to Yes - he mentions JDB saying it's the wrong notes for the song but somehow it works. At the time of Lifeblood, didn't Tony Visconti praise his bass playing, comparing him to a Motown musician?

He sat on/leaned against the drum riser the one time I saw them play it, rather than sit on a chair... luckily, it would've looked about as wanky as Ian Brown singing with no band. :lol:

If I remember correctly, the bass line from A Song For Departure came from James asking Nick to rip off 'Billie Jean'.