Spent the last few days compiling a fairly thorough Beatles mix (3 cd's worth) for a friend. I used tracks from all studio releases, the anthology cd's, and the live @ the BBC cd's. It didn't take too long to remember just how good a bass player McCartney was/is.

 The real early tracks up to and including the "Please Please Me" lp seem to be pretty standard fare, just hold the track with Ringo" no real adventures in melody etc. Less than a year later, and from my fairly quick auditory research beginning with "All My Loving" this incredibly melodic, often complex era of playing begins. I read somewhere that Paul attributed some of it to the lightweight feeling of his trademark Hofner bass to how he'd come up with some of those parts.

From then on the rest is kind of obvious I guess. Each release revealing extraordinary growth as writers and players. To pick a favorite bass part for me is impossible. "Rain", "Paperback Writer" "Getting Better" all are immediate thoughts and are songs that he'd switched to Rickenbackers for their ability to stay in tune longer while recording. A sleeper (if you can call any Beatle song one) is "Something" simply gorgeous. Also if legend is true he'd brought back the Hofner for the Let It Be and Abbey Road sessions. If you've got a copy of Abbey Road around, play it and listen for yourself.