I bought the first Duke/Clarke album back in 1981, it was very different, I have to agree with Jacko on 'Born In The USA'..it was a 1000 miles apart from Springsteens version.
I don't think all Stans albums have had the same motif as you describe. 'I Wanna Play For You' , the double vinyl has so much variety,reggae, soul, jazz, funk and rock.
'Rocks, Pebbles & Sand' is even more varied.
If anything the first album he did and 'School Days' and 'Modern Man' are very similar in that respect.
I just thought(in my opinion) he went to the commercial side of the record company to get himself in the know in mainstream music.
Yet in 'If This Bass Could Only Talk' he jumped back to his jazz funk roots.
I guess when you are as famous and as good as Stan you can do anything..

George Duke had a funk fan base perfect for Stanley to bridge his music.  
 
The combination was a brilliant move because George Duke could sing, and he was better grounded with Afro-Gospel/Soul than Stanley.  
 
 
As for Stanley Clarke, he was better known in Rock circles.
 
Stanley Rock roots were like no other bass Jazz bass player I know (in my opinion). His roots with Santana, Gomez, Beck, Richards, and other Rock legends.  
 
When Stanley merged with George, I knew Stanley's edgy rock side, would get toned down (which also, frankly, made me run away from the collaboration ).  
 
I love a strong guitar wail in Soul music. Ernie Isley on Who's that lady, and Atlantis comes to mind, with his brother, Marvin Isley playing Alembic bass on those cuts... The bass was so strong, I could hear my father (back in the day), driving up the driveway with the grows of Marvin's Alembic bass in a distance...on those songs.
 
(Message edited by hendixclarke on June 26, 2009)

Stanley Clarke has a stronger edgy rock side than George Duke?  I must be confused as to which one of them played with Zappa.
 
Peter

Yes, and Frank's music was also edgy rock side than George Duke too.
 
From what I was told from Ray White (Personally)...
 
Frank hands out his sheet music to the team, and there was very little room for edits, he say play it period.  
 
Frank was a perfectionist, and it had to be his way, or you would be shown out the door.
 
Frank Zappa played everything in his music. Frank used rock, soul, pop, jazz, symphonic hems too...  Frank used everything he could get his hands on.  
 
Frank's music was way... way... way... way... much complicated than Rock alone. His music was extremely dynamic, and required very technical staff of true masters of music. Frank's music was the Harvard School of Rock.  George was in the pocket, laying it down as he can do. But in all honesty, George roots is Jazz/R&B.
 
(Message edited by hendixclarke on June 26, 2009)

Just for the record... George Duke is a Genius in his own right.
 
George Duke putting together an album and video like the one shown here, is more into his character than for Stanley.  
 
George Duke is a jolly and happy soul. I remember him as a music teacher at Merritt College in Oakland California many years ago.  
 
Stanley and Lewis Johnson did some funky urban grooves too... We Supply (all your funky needs)
The Rock Pebbles and Sand album was the last time I support his music financially.  
 
I was very disappointed that Stanley and Lewis didn't tour together. I wanted to see these two dogs lock-up on stage.

I got your point Hal, this is a background issue. To me, this was a first step to Jazz.
 
When I was younger I prefered Rock/Funk more than Jazz, so I started listening that Pop Stanley first. Since I loved Parliament (and started listening brazilian music first), never found wrong to like Funk while I had a Rock background, and found Stanley mindblowing (even with all that pop limited short formated bass solos - in my mind, at the time, a Bass would never solo!).
 
This was the way I've found to hear Wheather and RTF, then Eletric Miles, then Coltrane and all Jazz geniuses before them... So, I must express my gratitude for him in trying to talk to me (and all kids who couldn't get all Jazz complexities). I take that effort as generosity.
 
But I'm shure this is one of those embarrasing moments from the 80's, anyway. Lol

My favorite Stanley Clarke Album of all-time!
(And they said motorcycles an basses didn't mix...)
 

This thread is Weird  
 
I mentioned Michael Jackson minutes before he died...
 
Recap:
 
 
Mario, I believe he does shows a lighter side... but with all the
production costs that went into making this video, I don't think it
was a wise decision to make. Michael Jackson's Thriller was killing
anything that moved... and lucky Louis Johnson was there for the ride
slamming bass.
 
It's hard for a Jazz artisan to go on hiatus to split from a very
mature audience to jump on flimsy computer sound-tack that could be
made digitally. I can remember the jokes in my music classes in
college when somebody said something about Stanley's new 80's
direction. We all love Stanley, but we felt he was selling out for the
money/fame.
 
Then on the other hand, its good to add a greater fan base. Going into
POP helps. Phil Collins did the same thing, but to do this, he had a
voice his way (sing) to the top.
 
I don't think a bass can do this alone, and we all know that Stanley
tried singing. I like his singing voice myself. But, Michael Jackson
dominated all voices at that time...
 
Spooky...
 
Hal-

I finally managed to view the original clip and to be honest Hal, I really don't see why you're making all this fuss. I thought it was a better than average music video for it's era and I was left wonderng what happens 'next week' ;-) The music was exacly what you expected to hear back then and I expect Stanley just wanted to be part of it.
 
Graeme

Then you were the person that fit the target audience for their video campaign?
 
 
 
(Message edited by hendixclarke on June 28, 2009)

One cant help but feel that your logic and good reasoning are being wasted here Graeme!
 
John.
 
(Message edited by white cloud on June 28, 2009)

Seconded!!!

Hal. I doubt very much that I was the target audience, I was then and have been since 1974 a committed YES fan so during the 80's I spent much of my time wondering whether my favourite band ..
a. had a future with trevor rabin  .... or..
 
b. had a future with the Buggles.
 
However, that video fits in perfectly with the music that was being played at the time. It's very easy to look back and say 'such - and - such was the decade of bad taste' but in my opinion, it's  ONLY the people who were there at the time Doin' it that have the right to say what's right and wrong.
Hal, I think we should agree to disagree as I'm sure if we were to meet in person we would get on like a house on fire. Everyone on the internet has  (and is entitled to) an opinion and only occasionally does the entire web share the same;-)
 
peace
 
Graeme.

Graeme; I'm reading Yesstories now.  I bought it used here locally expecting it to be a bio; but essentially it's a collection of quotes by the band members about the songs on each album taken from various sources at various times arranged in the chronological order of the album releases.  I can't say that I recommend it, but it is a nice read for falling asleep in bed.  I am learning things that I didn't know before; for instance I'm up to 1994's Talk, and until now I had not realized that Trevor Rabin had been in the band for such a long time.

Thanks for the heads up Dave, I'll have to look that one up - one can never have too many Yes books ;-)  If you want a decent Bio then 2 that I have would fit the bill, the first by Dan Hedges, 'Yes, The authorised Biography' came out just after Drama so takes the band up to the trevor horn / geoff downes era. The second, by Chris Welch 'Close to the Edge' has been updated since I bought my copy in 1998 and brings the story much more up-to-date although I've no doubt he's planning to update it again with recent events.
As far as discussing Trevor Rabin, I can vividly remember driving from Hertfordshire to the North East to see the folks sometime in 1983 when I heard 'Our Song' (the B side to owner of a lonely heart) on the radio. You can imaging the excitement I felt that my favourite band had reformed so I have nothing but admiration for trevor as I believe they'd still be humming and ha-ing even now if he hadn't driven them along.
 
Graeme