Reply #18: Gaye's "Inner City Blues" [View All]

is a personal high-point for me. Can there be anything more perfect than that bass line?

And in general, I think the complete involvement from song, to playing, to arrangement, to *production* has a ton to do with it. That was an era of Wilsons and Gayes and Rundgrens etc, and the "complete vision" thing really stamped some notable hallmarks on artists allowed to follow that path. Not, "Here work with this songwriter, this guy's got some beats for your next project, have we got a producer for you, what's the follow up to the first single," and on and on and on.

Modern country is the worst for that. Everything by committee until there is no essence left.