After Midnight

After Midnight
(J. J. Cale)
From the Eric Clapton album Eric Clapton

“After Midnight” was written by J. J. Cale and recorded by Clapton for his first solo album, Eric Clapton, produced by Delaney Bramlett. (Cale also recorded the song for his album Naturally, which featured Carl Radle on bass. See previous posts.) Bramlett initially wanted to call this album “Eric Clapton Sings” because of the emphasis on Clapton’s singing and songwriting rather than his guitar playing. At the time, however, Clapton was not a very experienced singer. On most of the tracks, Bramlett recorded a guide vocal and Clapton later overdubbed his own vocal, trying to match Bramlett’s phrasing and inflection. Because of this, and the fact that most of the musicians were currently members of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, the album sounds less like a Clapton solo album, and more like a Delaney & Bonnie project.

When Clapton needed another song for his debut album, Radle played him a tape of some of Cale's demos. Clapton was immediately smitten, and chose to record "After Midnight," which would become one of the signature songs from this album. Clapton would later record Cale's "Cocaine" for his 1977 Slowhand album. Much of Clapton's post-Dominos music is seriously indebted to Cale's laid back approach. 

Radle’s bass line on “After Midnight” is a bouncy gospel groove. It is essentially a country bass line with embellishments. The ghost notes give it a percussive feel and infuse it with a sort of instant kinetic energy. The bass line would work without them, but the ghost notes are what makes it groove. Below is a sample measure from the verse, followed by the same line with the ghost notes removed. Play them both and notice how crucial the ghost notes are. The groove is in the ghost notes.

A full transcription is below.

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Crying Eyes

Crying Eyes
(J. J. Cale)
From the J. J. Cale album Naturally

“Crying Eyes,” like its album-mate "River Runs Deep" (posted last week), is another simple, repetitive song. The form of the song is AABA. The A sections are 8 measures long and are entirely on an F# chord. The B section serves as a refrain. It is a 4-measure phrase over the chord progression F#-B-A-A. (See form below.) Because of the long stretches of the song that are just on F#, it is easy to get lost. It can help to try to keep that form in your head. The song keeps this form the whole way through the song, after an 8-measure intro on F#.

A - 8 meas. (F#)

A - 8 meas. (F#)

B - 4 meas. (F#-B-A-A)

A - 8 meas. (F#)

Radle’s bass line on the F# chord consists mainly of variations of the two measures below. 

Like his playing on "River Runs Deep," Radle’s constant alterations to the line make this feel like an early take. This song would also be a good opportunity to practice sight-reading, improvisation, and feel. A full transcription is below.

River Runs Deep

River Runs Deep
(J. J. Cale)
From the J. J. Cale album Naturally

Tulsa native J. J. Cale was nothing if not efficient in his songwriting. Particularly early in his career, his songs often utilized a minimum of lyrics, chords, melodic patterns, etc. Many of his songs did not have a bridge or chorus, but were instead constructed by alternating between a verse and a simple instrumental break. Radle’s understated bass lines were perfect for Cale’s stripped down approach to songwriting. It seems a shame Radle did not play with Cale on more recordings. (He played on five tracks on Naturally, and three on his 1979 album 5).

“River Runs Deep” from Cale’s first album, Naturally (1971), is made up entirely of an Am-D7 chord progression. The basic groove never changes, though Radle alters the bass line very slightly throughout the song. It has the feel of a first take, with Radle constantly trying out variations of the groove to see what works best. The whole song can be played with the two-measure pattern below, though for most of the song, he is playing a simplified version of this.

This song provides a good opportunity to practice several specific aspects of your playing: 1) sight-reading, 2) improvisation on a basic pattern, and 3) “feel.”

1. Sight-reading. Playing this song note for note is a good sight-reading exercise, particularly if you are not a very experienced reader. Get comfortable with the pattern above—this will serve as a good starting point. Everything else in the bass line is just a variation of this pattern, so as you’re reading, you don’t need to worry about major changes. You can focus primarily on Radle’s slight alterations to this groove. (When using this as a sight-reading exercise, try to avoid looking at the tablature.)

2. Improvisation. The simplicity and repetitiveness of this song offer a good platform to practice improvising on a basic pattern. After you have played through Radle’s bass line, you will of course notice that his variations of this groove are quite minute, and they often involve taking notes away, rather than adding more notes. Play through the song and add your own embellishments. Start off with very simple alterations to Radle’s basic groove. How busy can your bass line be without losing the laid back feel of the song? How simple can your bass line be without losing the groove? Because of the simplicity of the chord progression, begin your improvisations using only notes from the A Dorian scale: A-B-C-D-E-F#-G-A.

3. Feel. In most musical situations, a bass player’s feel is infinitely more important than the notes he or she plays. A simple groove like this is a good opportunity to practice your feel. Once you are comfortable playing the notes in the bass line, play along with the recording and really focus on locking in with Radle. Try to match his time and articulations. Notice not only when he is attacking notes, but when he is cutting them off. If you can work on your feel with simpler grooves like this, you will improve your feel in more difficult bass lines.