“Thom Yorke called Colin Greenwood the secret weapon to Radiohead, and I think he was right”: John Garrison on the 5 bass albums that shaped his sound

It’s been two decades since singer-songwriter James Blunt first conquered the UK airwaves with his multi-million selling debut album, Back to Bedlam, in which time he has gone on to have more success than ever, even finding time to pen hits for the likes of German producer Robin Schulz and The Vamps (yes, the songwriting credit on I Found A Girl is Blunt).

John Garrison has occupied the bass chair with Blunt since 2007, having stepped in following the departure of original bassist Malcolm Moore. In Garrison’s case it’s an awareness of what it takes to make a situation work, together with an impulse to keep things simple, that has proved essential. 

“As a bass player it’s rarely ever about you,” says Garrison. “You’re there to do what’s right for the artist. On this gig, people want to see James, that’s who they want to focus on, so there shouldn’t be any distractions from that.”

Currently on tour promoting Blunt’s seventh studio album, Who We Used To Be, we asked Garrison to name five albums that helped shape him into the bass player that he is today. 

1. Level 42 – A Physical Presence (1985)

“I was introduced to this album when I was 15. I had been playing drums for six years but had just got my first bass and it became my musical bible. I would play along to it from start to finish every day after school until I could play it note-perfect.

“At the time, I was so dedicated (and hadn’t discovered girls or beer yet!) that I would rewind it to the start if I made a mistake and start again until I had played it right. But I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t get into any local bands. I assumed everyone thought playing 26 notes a second was cool!”

2. It Bites – Once Around The World (1988)

“I had been a fan of It Bites since hearing Calling All The Heroes from their first album, but the second album introduced me to beats and progressions I had never heard before. Dick Nolan’s interplay with Bob Dalton on drums was so precise that not one bass drum beat goes by without a bass note and vice versa.

“But what I really liked about the album was still the tunes – so melodic and catchy that the casual listener doesn’t really pay any attention to the complexities going on below. It sounds dated now, though, and was hugely self-indulgent, but that was still OK in 1988!”

3. Jellyfish – Spilt Milk (1993)

“The drums and bass on this album are still some of the best I have heard. And it doesn’t age sonically. It got me into songwriting and the possibilities of how a bass can add dynamics and excitement to a song.

“Joining A Fan Club is a crazy Queen meets Beatles meets Supertramp rollercoaster that always leaves me breathless by the end, and the bass on that track is amazing, very Macca-esque.

“I was lucky enough to see them live during their short-lived career. and they were even better in the flesh. It made me raise my live game quite considerably.”

4. Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)

“I think Colin Greenwood is one of the most unsung bass players out there. He’s incredibly musical and on this album he comes into his own. His underpinning of Thom Yorke’s melodies is amazing.

“I once heard in an interview Thom Yorke calling Colin the secret weapon to Radiohead and I think he is right. Anyone who has tried to play along to Paranoid Android will know how complex his basslines can be, but they always sound so ‘right’. The entrance of the fuzz bass halfway through Exit Music (For a Film) is still one of my favourite moments in music.”

5. Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring (1986)

“This still remains my favorite album of all time. For me it’s the perfect mix of great musicianship and great songwriting. The bass of Paul Webb is so melodic and imaginative, but it always complements the song.

“Most people know the piano hook bassline of Life’s What You Make It; but there are so many great bass hooks throughout this album – and the rhythm section of Webb and Lee Harris on drums, I could listen to them on their own all day.

“They made two more great albums after this one that were a lot more experimental and really pushed musical barriers at the time – much to the annoyance of EMI!”

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