John Giblin – Bass

One of those ubiquitous guys from the 1980s who appeared on every album, tour and tv show; Chris De Burgh, Jon Anderson, Kate Bush, John Martyn, Brand X, |Simple Minds, Fish, his fretless sound was one of his defining characteristics and is probably what he is known for most. John passed away in 2023 and the outpouring of grief was testament to the esteem he was held in as both a player and a human being.

This was a request of a Basschatter and features a complete transcription of JG’s bass performance on the Fish tune ‘State Of Mind’ from the 1990 Fish album, ‘Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors’. It is classic Giblin with lots of ghost notes and his ‘I have never heard Percy Jones’ sliding harmonics as a featured part of the lines. It looks harder than it is as there is a lot of repetition in the lines so, once you get it, you got it. If you can get that sound, though, you are a better man than me.