Level 42 – ‘Almost There’

This song is from Level 42’s eponymous debut album, which was released in 1981. A mainstay of the band’s live set to this day, the song features a killer line from Mark King, one that features all elements of his distinctive playing style.

The bassline for this song is predominantly built around a slap bass groove that features a key ingredient in Mark’s playing – fretting hand slaps. In addition to this main part, there are also some complex fingerstyle grooves to get your teeth into, as well as strummed chords and manipulated harmonics.

A full transcription of this piece can be found in The Level 42 Bass Book – Volume 1. The transcription is not required for the video course.