Who's the best rock bassist?

[catbert836]

If this thread gets enough replies, and enough bassists get nominated, I shall start a poll. Be sure to look over the thread first to see if your favorite is already there, and second them if they are.

I nominate John Entwhistle and Bill Wyman. Go.

[Bassic]

1. Me!

:D

Seriously, my money's on Geddy Lee, or John Paul Jones.

[catbert836]

3. I almost nominated myself as well...

although I probably wouldn't qualify since the band I'm in is more jazz oriented.

[southpaw]

27. Gonna cast my vote for Geddy

Though Chris Squire, Ox and Jonesy deserve props as well.

[jmowreader]

49. Geddy Lee does a LOT of open-neck playing

This so he can play bass guitar with the right hand and keyboards with the left.

Steve Harris is about as good, although he only plays bass.

[Bassic]

90. I know. He's impressive isn't he?

I did forget to mention Steve Harris. I've always been partial to Geezer Butler as well, not so much for his skill as for the way he played his basslines in Black Sabbath. It always seemed to me that they just "fit" the songs perfectly.

[Richardo]

2. Tina Weymouth

[HuskerDU]

4. I am way biased, but the best IMO is Mike Watt.

I never even listened to basslines much until I heard the Minutemen.

[asthmaticeog]

6. Great call, can't believe I neglected him. nt

[asthmaticeog]

5. Peter Hook, Dave Allen, David William Sims

Joy Division, Gang of Four, Jesus Lizard, respectively.

[atomic-fly]

38. Peter Hook

Has a unique sound. Good stuff. Love the Gang of Four funk.

[ghostsofgiants]

78. Loves me some Peter Hook.

"She's Lost Control" is one of my favourite bass riffs to play.

[idgiehkt]

7. Flea.

Probably an unorthodox choice, but he's on my mind right now.

I was watching old hip hop videos the other day and had totally forgotten about his playing in in "Bust a Move" by Young M.C.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOGyaNSALZs&mode=related&search=Bust%20A%20Move

[conflictgirl]

88. I vote for Flea too

He's incredibly talented, and has influenced a ton of bassists in "alternative" (what does that even mean anymore?) bands in the past decade or so. Plus he's got a lot of great personal interests as well. One of my musical heroes, in all his crazy-ass glory. :)

[Joe Fields]

8. Chris Squire

[Floogeldy]

79. Echo. Echo. Echo.

Yep.

:thumbsup:

[Joe Fields]

81. Thank you!

[Floogeldy]

84. The thing is . . .

. . . Chris does not think in terms of "root." He thinks in terms of melody, counter-melody, and the formulation of chords by separate instruments. He is so ingenious at creating parts that not only compliment all of the other instruments, the theme of the song, and the vocal line, but also provide a foundational base upon which a song can stand.

I could go on and on about the guy.

E F G A Bb C# D E E F G A Bb C# D E

[ceile]

9. Kim Deal n/t

[Phillycat]

10. Les Claypool and Flea

[XNASA]

11. Jack Bruce is no slouch.

[johnnie]

12. He was when I saw him

He was lit and his amp kept blowing out. After the third time he grabbed a beer and sat on one of the monitors. It was fun

[XNASA]

16. I thought you was lit.

[johnnie]

18. Yesterday I was

Did you read my story I posted?

[XNASA]

20. Yes.

:rofl:

[datasuspect]

13. noel redding was pretty fly

back in the day yo.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Tony Levin

Incredible technique, very musical, and the most adventerous player i've heard in rock.

I also like Mark King a lot. His playing on Chinese Way, is superb, especially live.
The Professor

[southpaw]

28. Papa Bear!!!

Levin is incredible! Love his experimentation and just the overall feel he has.

[Spaceman Spiff]

15. Getty Lee

[johnnie]

17. Overend Watts

Kidding


I nominate The Ox also :thumbsup:

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Don't Kid About Mott The Hoople, Man!

Them would be fightin' words! I might have been the biggest Mott fan in the states back in the day. Knew every word to every song, could play them all on piano, blah, blah, blah.

So, no making fun of Overend! Don't make me come over there!
The Professor

[johnnie]

23. Oh, don't get me wrong

I'm a huge fan too. I still get all of Ian's albums when they come out. If you haven't, check out his live show from Oslo. He plays with a full orchestra backing him. He has also been doing shows with Ralphs lately.

[ProfessorGAC]

39. Cool! Thanks.

I will check that out. It is available on DVD, too? I love concert DVD's.
The Professor

[johnnie]

40. Yeah, it's on DVD

The Oslo show and another pretty new show with Ralphs and they do some great Mott tunes on it. Check out Ian's website, he keeps busy.
http://www.ianhunter.com/

He even answers emails all the time on there. Check out "The Horses mouth". It's pretty funny sometimes.

[Nickster]

19. Def John Entwhistle. I'm partial to Lemmy as well. :-)

[saltpoint]

76. I second that Entwhistle nomination. A terrific musician. I miss him.

[Zomby Woof]

22. Scott Thunes

[southpaw]

Thunes is downright SCARY!

Best bassist ever to back Zappa! Quite a character, too. No one in the world quite like Scott Thunes.

[NC_Nurse]

65. Bootsy Collins

[NC_Nurse]

66. Bootsy Collins

[southpaw]

29. dupe

[kwolf68]

24. Only one bassist.

Billy Sheehan. I don't like him and I didn't like any of the bands he played in (Mr. Big, David Lee Roth), but the guy is a magician on the bass guitar. He would eat for lunch most of the players listed here.

Another bass player to be considered is Iron Maiden's Steve Harris. Again, not a big fan of that band, but his talent is undeniable.

[southpaw]

31. I agree that Sheehan is technically amazing...

but, like you, I've never liked any of his bands/music.

One thing, too. Sheehan is most known for playing the bass like it was a guitar, with all the hammering and tapping. Not that any technique is off limits... but still.

[SteppingRazor]

25. It's either Les Claypool, Cliff Burton, Brian Ritchie or Getty Lee...

depending on your musical preference

[SteppingRazor]

55. Oh, in addition to the above -- I can't believe I forgot Victor Wooten...

that dude is sick.

[SteppingRazor]

57. Oh, and Jaco Pastorius! Can't believe no one mentioned him! n/t

[Roon]

80. I second Brian Ritchie

I love how he thumps and plucks away on his mariachi bass.

[atomic-fly]

26. jj burnell...bad a$$ sounding bass.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=m8DyXp954nk

[sendero]

44. I'll second that...

... I think Barry Adamson is awesome also, but not many folks are familiar with him.

[atomic-fly]

48. I'll have to look him up nt

[jpgray]

30. Stephen Hanley by a loooong ways in my view

Great riffy lines that are catchy, yet he doesn't run up and down the neck like a fuckstick.

[warrens]

32. Billy the Bass, of course

[Ohio Joe]

33. Geezer Butler

[WilliamPitt]

34. How is John Paul Jones not up here?

[carpetbagger]

64. Probably lack of flair.

He was competent, his lines were memorable, but the most memorable ones duplicated Page's part (Dazed, Ocean, Bring it on Home, etc). There's no "signature song", no Real Me, no Under the Bridge. And while that type of bass would have been bad for Zep, his "deep background" bass doesn't have the same carry.

[Rabrrrrrr]

35. Geddy Lee, Scott Thunes, or Les Claypool

[Squeech]

36. When I was a kid

my heroes were Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane), Jack Bruce (Cream), Chris Hillman (Byrds), and Paul McCartney (duh).

I have since broadened my bass (heh heh) to include Chris Squire (Yes), Hugh Hopper (Soft Machine), Richard Sinclair (Caravan/Camel/Hatfield and the North), John Greaves (Henry Cow/National Health), John Wetton (Family/King Crimson), Janik Top (Magma), and Ferdinand Richard (Etron Fou Leloublan), as well as Entwistle and that young whippersnapper Lesh. Hard to pick a favorite.

I'm aware of Claypool and Flea, but I'm not moved to emulate them. The thumb-popper and harmonic mutant I like is Percy Jones.

Then there's the absolutely stunning bass work on the Cul de Sac CD Crashes to Light, Minutes to its Fall. Check out the brilliant Lesh allusion in the first minute! </blatant self-promotion>

[jpgray]

67. Hugh Hopper is fucking awesome

[Squeech]

70. Agreed

So is Richard Sinclair. Did you ever hear the demos they made together in the '80s? Or their jam together (with Pip Pyle on drums and clarinetist Tony Coe) on Sinclair's RSVP CD?

And didn't I bump into you in that other thread?

[jpgray]

71. I haven't. But they worked together in the Wilde Flowers anyway, right?

Hopper's bass-playing (and songwriting) on Soft Machine's Volume II is amazing. And here's a Richard Sinclair clip for the hell of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfJMhxHUGsQ

[long_green]

37. Bruce Foxton of The Jam

I'm proud to be the first to mention his name here.

[Stevendsmith]

59. Nice choice.

I love his playing on Funeral Pyre -- and, well, every Jam song!

[Taverner]

41. Screw the Who...Geezer Butler pwns all!

[ikojo]

42. Phil Lesh...the bassist for the Grateful Dead

Where are the DU Deadheads?

[SteppingRazor]

56. I'm a huge Deadhead, but...

while I love, love, love Phil as a person and a musician, I don't think he quite compares to a guy like Victor Wooten or Cliff Burton (or those other guys in my posts in this thread.)

[cemaphonic]

43. nobody for McCartney yet?

Others in this thread are more technically adept, but he was one of the first rock bassists to play the bass as a real melodic instrument, and not just simple harmonic underpinning.

[OzarkDem]

53. I'll second Macca

He's still one of the best, IMHO.

[Joe Fields]

45. I've seen most of these guys mentioned, and Chris Squire of Yes

blows their doors off.

[AngryAmish]

46. Most people don't fish for them

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_bass>

Wouldn't being the greatest rock bassist be like being the world's tallest midget? World record largemouth bass -- that is worth millions.

[HughBeaumont]

47. Depends -

Best overall would be Geddy Lee (sound, playing, songwriting, improv, talent, staying power, etc). There are people who are better than him in all categories listed, but you'd be hard pressed to find one singular bassist with the full package like him. Only one that can really be in that league is Chris Squire, whose sound is the best I've ever heard live.

Technique would be Angra's bassist Felipe Andreoli. Go on YouTube to see him work.

Billy Sheehan is a great bassist, but his music is just shit-on terrible. I've seen him live and it was the dumbest wankeramic spectacle and the sound was awful.

Avant-garde - Trevor Roy Dunn (Mr Bungle, Fantomas, Trevor Dunn's Trio Convulsant)

Bassists I like -

Fred Frith
James Jamerson
Anthony Jackson
Mark Deutrom
John Entwhistle
Les Claypool
Jaco
Jeff Berlin (great player, terrible music)
Steve Harris
Roger Patterson

[Ariana Celeste]

50. Les Claypool.

:thumbsup:

[martymar64]

51. Graham Maby (Joe Jackson)

The dude is Smokin'!

[mikeytherat]

52. Me!

Oh, and Chris Squire and Tony Levin and the Johns (Messrs. Entwistle and Paul Jones).

mikey_the_rat

[CrushTheDLC]

54. My choices

In no particular order....

Geddy Lee
John Entwistle
Billy Sheehan
Flea

[Initech]

58. I gotta nominate Claypool as well

I love his new album "Of Whales And Woe". Great stuff.

[Kat45]

60. Jack Bruce, Billy Sheehan, and though maybe not the 'best,'

I have to give props to Lemmy.

[greendog]

61. Victor Wooten

[midnight armadillo]

82. not a rock bassist

Vic is surreally talented and a wonderful human being, but he doesn't play rock.

I'd say Geddy Lee, Sting in his Police days, and Mike Gordon of Phish.

[tinfoil tiaras]

62. Of course my mayunn Mike Mills

of R.E.M. M ² fo' lyfe!!! :D

He can play bass and has an amazing voice to boot! And with that cute little grin and those adorable glasses and his poofy cotton-candy like hair, how could you NOT ? him?!

[mtowngman]

63. Les Claypool-check out Oysterhead n/t

[voter x]

68. Oysterhead is amazing....

the most neurotic megaband ever.....

[grannylib]

69. What??? No John McVie yet??? Fleetwood and McVie have to be about

the best rhythm section ever...

Sting and Stewart Copeland didn't suck either...

[kwassa]

72. Bruce Thomas of Elvis Costello's Attractions

Amazing bass lines.

The band was never the same without him.

[kwassa]

73. Larry Graham, inventor of the slap bass funk technique

bassist for Sly and the Family Stone, a funk original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQzyt0KUxCQ&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SxUGvCrC28&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1IuD6F3R5I&mode=related&search=

[kwassa]

74. Stanley Clarke

the great jazz bassist

here he is with Larry Graham in a live duet on "Sexmachine".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt2ro4rwYmQ&mode=related&search=

[Robeson]

85. I agree with that...

...:thumbsup:

[MrScorpio]

89. Look What I found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3MaUSbaqlg

[kwassa]

91. great clip! thanks for pointing it out ...

[bridgit]

75. imo, phil lesh...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh very muscial :thumbsup:

[momophile]

77. the late Dave Blood

from the Dead Milkmen, of course.

[Placebo]

83. Probably no one we've ever heard of.

I mean, based purely on "skill" it would probably be someone who was professionally trained that we've never heard of. :)

[TrogL]

86. Greg Lake

Only person alive who can play Keith Emerson's insane bass lines.

[MrScorpio]

87. Stanley Clarke

Rock and Jazz

[Jamastiene]

92. Dee Dee Ramone. n/t