Best ever bass players?

haha yea If it was vocals and bass I'd have went for Phil but purely as bass I'd go for Cliff.

GranpaChook. My apologies I scanned the thread and thought Vivtor was a glaring ommission.

yeah cliff was great, so tragic, and it's a shame that alot of people don't know who he was

Stanley Clarke & Bootsy Collins.

Jack Bruce and John Entwhistle

Aston Barrett shirley.

Derek Forbes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZs_l9hF8IY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX0eJkGmYUw&feature=related

Shocking ommision - Geddy Lee of Rush

Rush has the best drummer, can't have the best bassist anall.

bernard edwards innit

ya' havin' that one dave 05 Feb 20:01
yeah cliff was great, so tragic, and it's a shame that alot of people don't know who he was


Indeed. I don't know many who know him that are my age, they'd rather listen to lady Gaga ffs.

Many bass players would vote for the late James Jamerson, the man who played those incredible lines which were played with only one finger on the Tamla Mowtown hits of the 1970s.

Danny Thompson a shocking omission.

Herbie Flowers (intro to Walk on the Wild Side) is a fine technician.

Mark King

It's still Bernard Edwards :)

andrew ridgley

Eddie Gomez, Ray Brown ,John Patitucci ,Dave Holland

charliecook 05 Feb 21:31
andrew ridgley


:)

Duane Eddy

Stevie Strikes from PUSH. Shocking omission.

howie epstein

Les Claypool

Why did anybody mention him?

hmmm I was expecting him to be mentioned sooner too. And Flea.

Yeah Flea of course, too!

Hooky is a great shout.....you know its him.

Even if he is a tw@, mani from stone roses has to be up there, some psychedelic bass lines!!

the first man with an electric bass in this country
jet harris m.b.e.

i thought of another one
wes montgomery
amazing

if anyone mentions that short fat bald prat from level 42 i will hunt them down and inflict the pain they deserve.

I was also expecting Steve Harris to be mentioned...

Phil its past your bedtime.

sofiakenny 06 Feb 00:44
if anyone mentions that short fat bald prat from level 42 i will hunt them down and inflict the pain they deserve.

I was half expecting to see that bellend tipped up by somebody.
Guess Alan Partridge is not reading the forum

mark king

uncle..you fool.

club20..nice to meet you..all the best.

Lemmy!!!

Mark King FFS

sofiakenny 06 Feb 00:47
Phil its past your bedtime.

Why? :(

Alan Thompson very good too.

Pastorius, Jack Bruce and Entwhistle are all excellent choices. My favourite is Tom Fowler.

an ill tempered seabass

with laser beams

one of my fave contemporaries is ... pedro arevalo

got a clip of him playing with dicky betts at the rock n roll hall of fame museum
if you like to see a bass man doin his thing ... then you gotta check this out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrphKkmpFP4&feature=related

but he ain't just a wiz bass player ... proficient on many instruments

http://www.pedroarevalo.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=userpage&file=content&page_id=6

matt from busted

matt from busted

matt chapman - rancid
roger manganelli - less than jake

Sir Gedward Of Lee, Rush

I've never considered bass playing to be that technically demanding

Jaco Pastorius :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXepFaV1pU&feature=related

Billy Sheehan could play a bit.

John Entwhistle

Here is some footage of Norman Watt-Roy ..

He still plays like that!! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwwOVRSi63A

Gerry McAvoy

another shout for the bloke from the Blockheads (Norman Watt-Roy)

Andy Fraser.

Stanley Clark

I put forward Peter Hook, and call as evidence two of my favourite pieces of his work with Joy Division

24 Hours
Atmosphere

Trever Bolder, from The Spiders from Mars to Uriah Heep ;)

Garry Mounfield

a few unsung heroes of mine

Jean Jacques Burnel
Jah Wobble
Caz Campbell
Barry Adamson
Tina Weymouth

andy arb. look out for his new band freebass. releasing very shortly a debut E.P. 2 worlds collide.

Pino Palladino, fretless bass guru

Charles Mingus ,Paul Chambers,Slam Stewart,Oscar Petiford,Reggie Workman,Jimmy Blanton....

Tina Weymouth and jah Wobble are geat shouts.
Experts at the art of keeping things minimal but effective.

Once in a lifetime is a great example.
You couldn't imagine a simpler bassline but it's perfect for the song.

have to agree with sir denis eton hogg, bernard edwards innit

John Entwistle obvious choice.

Also Bootsie Collins. Not heard his later stuff, but some of his work with James Brown was top drawer.

spot on there dave ... bootsie's work with james brown was exceptional

ed king

craig from bros

Bernard Edwards Why - Carly Simon a great example of his playing or Everybody Dance - Chic or Spacer - Sheila B Devotion

The Master

I'm glad to see Jaco Pastorius gets quite a few mentions. I first heard him on "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" and was trying to work out what that strange new instrument was.
In rock Fraser and Bruce were interesting as they both basically soloed,allowing Kossof and Clapton just to play relatively short licks on top.

so many to choose from ,so since i'm listening to the Stranglers as i speak, i'm gonna list 

Jean Jacques Burnel   


some good choices so far

Gaye Advert.

I like John McVie sparse minimalist style like for example on Gypsy - Fleetwood Mac

I also don't mind synth basslines when there done well like Stepping Out - Joe Jackson or Long Hot Summer - Style Council or even Rip It Up Orange Juice

On graphical equalizers I always move the bass to full.

Late to the party, and don't fancy trawling through 6 pages, so apologies if it's been said, but leland sklar must be up there,
as a much sought after session bassist.....

John Paul Jones & Roger Glover

Love the bass playing to Marmalades 'Reflections of my Life' ohh what a song.

something occured to me earlier ..but has there every been a guitarist or drummer who is gay ?   i mean there are thousands of musical artists  but they all appear to be sonwriters,dancers , singers  or pianists

famous examples

elton john ,freddie mercury ,george michael ,michael jackson ,prince, boy george,marc almond,brian moko ,holly johnson ,tom robinson ,jimmy somerville, andy bell ...i could go on and on ...there are loads .


just an interesting  thought

all singers  but no guitar except as a prop  (as in george michaels case )

Stefan Olsdal of Placebo is gay, I believe

What a pointless thread.
Bass players are best when they are competent.
Anything flashy is just showing off and I don’t like show offs.

Chris Squire   Yes

i was gonna write something similar racing queen about the showiness part 

racing cert*

yep, not about how many notes played but how they are played.

yes good shout Percy   ... for those who know Stefan ...anyone more famous than him i wonder ?

Thanks, Coach. I think.
John Entwistle wasn’t bad though.

awsome mate ..

spent his final night in bed with a stripper and a bag of cocaine ...what a way to fall off the perch

Entwhistle was fast and flashy almost playing lead bass but I can't recall a single memorable bass line from him that lives on its own.


Bernard Edwards in contrast almost never served up an unmemorable one.

Cordell Mosson brilliant with the George Clinton ensembles

Entwistle essentially played lead on many a who song, you are quite correct ... “Won’t get fooled again” ... all those little runs do come to mind for me.

john entwistle

James Jamerson of Motown
Duck Dunn Stax/Atlantic
Pino Palladino
Nathan East

Can understand Racingcert's point, though I think - like drummers - it can often be what bassists do during songs rather than big rambling solos that makes them great.

Bernard of Chic was an utter master. Way better player than Nile.

I've got a couple of faves

Joe Dart of Vulfpeck (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le0BLAEO93g) - incredible player

Colin Moulding of XTC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Da9sc6YDBo) - as much as I can appreciate the likes of McVie or Mike Mills, this guy was comparable to Macca in the second half of XTC's career. Great songwriter and great writer of bass lines for the other guy's songs.

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjJL9DGU7Gg) - probably could cite Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden as a great (grunge) rock bassist and while these didn't write as many great songs both Robert and brother Dean are brilliant musicians without ever feeling the need to be the show offs.

Yep, Bernard Edwards for me too. Utterly sensational.

im feeling old ...

carol kaye of wrecking crew fame
louis johnson as in brothers johnson
& just a favourite of mine kim deal ex pixies and breeder

Message from The Mother Ship ... message reads ....DONT FORGET BOOTSY STOP

just thinking about guitarists (not bass), anyone remember wilko Johnson of dr feelgood fame?

scary fecker was a teacher for a while, must have given kids nightmares

.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp2DvPKh118

sid vicious

Am nota miso so don’t know abou5 the best but Boots Collins and the fella from Chic I liked a lot