<b>Fools Moon - Jack Bruce Life on the Outside - Larry Graham On the Banks of the Deep End - Mike Gordon Down + Out in NYC - Flea Effigy - Mike Watt Maybe I'm a Leo - Roger Glover Same Price - John Entwistle Soulshine - Willy Weeks Sco Mule - Chris Wood Worried Down with the Blues - Oteil Burbridge Beautifully Broken - Stefan Lessard Tear me Down - Bootsy Collins Sin is a Good Man's Brother - Allen Woody </b> Just for the rundown, bassists you didn't know and what they are known for: Bruce - Cream Graham - Sly and the Family Stone Gordon - Phisch Watt - Minutemen (he's kinda a post-punk underground guy) Glover - Deep Purple Entwistle - The Who Weeks - r&b legend Wood - Medeski, Martin & Wood - well-known acid jazz rhythm section who have played with MANY jazz artists Burbridge - Acquarium Rescue Unit - Burbridge is a MUTHA of a great bassist who is currently touring with The Allman Brothers Most of these guys are southeastern players (except for the obvious legends listed) - Lessard, Burbridge, Watt, Gordon - so I assume they all played gigs together at different times. Blastoff is right. Tisdale STILL has skills. Manny: Hook will never appear on an essential bassist list. I always thought the guy from the Cure was probably better in this category. As for DeLeo, you are on the money. He is a McCartney/John Paul Jones devotee and it shows. He is one of my favorite current rock bassists.
That was kinda my point, though, because his role as bassist in New Order really isn't comparable to the roles that other bassists fill in their bands. And how could I forget about Simon Gallup of the Cure. I'm listening to "Fascination Street" right now. Incredible bass line. The whole Disintegration album has just amazing bass. Just listen to "Prayers for Rain".
Will Lee! I forgot about him Jeff! Oh man, he's killer on Phil Collins' "Salute To Buddy Rich with Dennis Chambers and Steve Smith". Oh man. Can't believe I forgot him.
Jeff, On Al DiMeola's "The Collection" (sort of a "Best of..." thing), the liner notes say, "'Suite Golden Dawn' pitches him in a lengthy piece with Alphonse Mouzon and Jaco Pastorious..." I got the impression this was not a sustained thing; perhaps only that one track. But that one track is amazing. It's on DiMeola's 1976 "Land of the Midnight Sun."
<b>Jeff, no comment on Squire of Yes or Les Claypool. Just curious about your thoughts.</b> I like Chris Squire as a player but two things made him less of an influence for me: 1. He played with a pick which is something I just didn't do. Many have mistakenly identified Geddy Lee as a pick player as well, but he did that only VERY rarely. 2. I never cared much for Yes on the whole. I liked parts of Fragile ("Roundabout" is a classic) and the later stuff because I really like Trevor Rabin as a guitarist and singer, but they just never really appealled to me. Claypool is a great player but I just never really like the music. For the most part, if it is a rock player, I have to like the music too. I can live with fusion music that isn't great if the playing is superb, but not rock music so much. I saw him open for Rush back in like 1988 or 89 and he was a terrific player although I'll admit I liked the drummer more than him. <b>On Al DiMeola's "The Collection" (sort of a "Best of..." thing), the liner notes say, "'Suite Golden Dawn' pitches him in a lengthy piece with Alphonse Mouzon and Jaco Pastorious..." I got the impression this was not a sustained thing; perhaps only that one track. But that one track is amazing. It's on DiMeola's 1976 "Land of the Midnight Sun."</b> I don't have "Land of the Midnight Sun" but I do recall that track from hearing it on record years ago. I think that Jaco may have had a solo section on there dueling with Mouzon (another Weather Report heavyweight). But, it was probably just a one-time thing. DiMeola liked very specific types of players and often had his bassists play with a pick to compliment his own muted picking guitar style. That wasn't Jaco's thing.
On a side note, I'm a little surprised no one has brought up someone like Fieldy or the guy from Limp Bizkit or Alien Ant Farm. Also, another player left off has been John Myung from Dream Theater. I'm not a big fan of any of these guys, but they are all fine players, especially Myung who is just silly he's so good.
For anyone who's ever been into Claypool (or African-influenced jazz for that matter), check out Alex Blake's upright bass playing on Randy Weston's Saga album... woooooooooooooooooo...
Agreed on Alien Ant Farm. Don't know enough about Bizkit to comment, but one thing I really like about Alien Ant Farm is that their rhtyhm section is TIGHT.
I cant believe no one has mentioned Sting! I think his bass lines fit the pocket to perfection, and he never tries to overdo anything. Simple yet somehow perfect.
