My Bass and Other Animals [Paperback]

Guy Pratt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

Guy Pratt came of age just as playing bass became sexy. In spurning the guitar solo, punk put the low-end on more of an equal footing—or maybe it was just that Paul Simonon and Bruce Foxton were pretty cool. Either way, people were trying out the basslines of "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" or "Peaches." Having dallied with Funkapolitan, Pratt suddenly found himself on Top of the Pops and supporting David Bowie with the smooth Australian outfit Icehouse. At a ludicrously young age he became a sought-after bass player to the stars, finding himself crawling from studios to bars and from hotels to stadiums with the likes of Robert Palmer, Womack & Womack, Bernard Edwards, Bryan Ferry, and David Crosby. The 1980s were in their prime, and with a number of Crolla-suited appearances in windswept videos behind him, he was invited to join Pink Floyd for a series of stadium extravaganzas to make Bono & Co. look fairly modest. He was in The Smiths for a week, has traveled through customs in a wheelchair after a flight with Jimmy Page, spent time in the studio with Michael Jackson, and has lived to tell all. This autobiographical account emerges from the successful stand-up tour of the same name, charting his journey from a Mod band to playing with Roxy Music at Live 8.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"an involving and frequently hilarious account" South Wales Argus

About the Author

Guy Pratt started out in the band Icehouse, who supported David Bowie on his Serious Moonlight tour of 1983. He has also played bass with Echo and the Bunnymen, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Iggy Pop, The Pretenders, and The Smiths.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752893351
• ISBN-13: 978-0752893358
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, March 16, 2009

By 

RAP - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Bass and Other Animals (Paperback)

This book is a really fun read. It tells great stories with a sense of wit and doesn't get overly serious or apologetic either about the author's success or drug/drink related mishaps. There are many stories of the author's mistakes and buffoonery, and some told (according to him) at the request of his wife. How can you not like a book where the author admits one of his reasons for writing it is get on The Daily Show with John Stewart?

If you are looking for an honest book about the life of a working musician, written with sense of humor, but in a style that makes you feel like the author is sitting there telling you stories, this is the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bassist with a Rapier Wit..., December 29, 2007

By 

Jean Prior "Phoenix" (Cincinnati, OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Bass and Other Animals (Hardcover)

This book should have a drink warning label, as in 'don't drink anything whilst you're reading it, else you might wind up spitting said drink all over the book as you burst into laughter'. Guy Pratt manages to translate his stories of life in the music business into a riveting, hilarious, and sometimes even shocking account of his (mis?)adventures. While there are a few uniquely English colloquialisms that might require reference to a dictionary on the part of the average American reader; overall, the text is conversational in style, and it's not that difficult to imagine Mr. Pratt's original source material, his stand-up comedy act.

The book comes complete with a great number of pictures of the author at various stages of his life and with various high-profile names he's worked with so far, and it's blissfully devoid of any sort of salacious tabloid-style storytelling that an unfortunate number of celebrity books fall prey to. There's also a gear list for all the bass nerds out there who are itching to replicate Mr. Pratt's sound.

One is left with a profound sense of the author being an insanely lucky person for having survived his younger days. It also begs the question... is that it? It truly felt like there was more to be said within the same high standards this book has created. If this is the case, hopefully there might be a sequel.

In all, a rather enjoyable read from my favorite bass player.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bassistic!, April 13, 2009

By 

Haris Varajic - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Bass and Other Animals (Paperback)

Lovely book, just as I expected.
It's amazing to read how Guy was insiperd by The Who to start playing bass, and find out how he is actually inspired many others new bassists to start playing that instrument later on, including myself. I am pretty sure that he's playing shurely affected me even more than The Who affected him at that time. Those magical circles of life.