bassists that can do no wrong

[Captain Bassman]

[quote name='bassicinstinct' post='417440' date='Feb 23 2009, 02:17 PM']Plus an honourable mention for Julian Crampton. [/quote]

+1!!

Absolutely first-class player.

Yep, he can do the flashy stuff when needed but his groove playing and feel are second to none. Totally underrated IMO.

First time I became aware of his playing was on the Pasadenas' album Tribute. Oh dear, I'm getting old...

Others for the list could be;

Ron Carter
Bobby Watson (Rufus)
Randy Hope-Taylor

[Adrenochrome]

Kim Deal
Craig Adams
Muttley McLadd

[Leonard Smalls]

Andy Warren -of Adam and the Ants, and more impressively The Monochrome Set.. Interesting and musical player and I'll hear no wrong said of him, poor fella..

[lowdown]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='417634' date='Feb 23 2009, 05:46 PM']IIRC, he actually disliked it, and specifically asked GP to stick to a P in future...![/quote]

Well there seems to be different stories floating around about that.
Here is GP's version.. [thats what i was refering to]
Its the 3rd video on the right down.

[url="http://guypratt.ricardopadua.com/"]http://guypratt.ricardopadua.com/[/url]

Garry

[yorick]

Anyone for Marc Mendoza? except me, that is!!!!

[Johngh]

Phil Lynott
Glenn Hughes
Roger Glover

But the daddy is Geddy. He's played a miriad of basses over the years and had different bass sounds, and none have been sh*te, and his bass lines have always been impeccable

[peteb]

[quote name='yorick' post='418235' date='Feb 24 2009, 11:37 AM']Anyone for Marc Mendoza? except me, that is!!!![/quote]
Good call - I will +1 you for Marco

[risingson]

[quote name='Huwberry' post='418070' date='Feb 24 2009, 02:11 AM']I quite enjoy Zender's playing, but I hate his tone at times. His legion of fanboys (mostly posting on youtube videos it seems) also annoy me to no end - they treat him like some sort of deity, and make every effort to undermine the accomplished players who have replaced him in Jamiroquai. The phrase 'get over it' springs to mind.

Well, I'm going to say something downright blasphemous - Paul Turner is far and away my favourite Jamiroquai bassist for his impeccable groove and tasteful playing. Yes, Zender was great in that band, but you must admit the current incarnation are tight as hell, and no doubt plenty of that is to do with Paul.

Actually, can he do no wrong? I'd say so![/quote]

I'm probably one of those fanboys

Zender was (and still is) a great bass player, what I like about his tone is that he's one of the few bassists I can think of that actually sound like themselves instead of just another bass player. Most of his sound is the result of heavy studio compression, but live his sound was epic (for the most).

Nick Fyffe wasn't a bad player, but he definitely wasn't the best either.

Paul Turner is AMAZING, I got to meet him a couple of weeks ago and watch him do a masterclass, and he's got serious groove and technique. I got to pick his brains afterwards and he said that he felt tremendous pressure trying to fill in for Zender because he's got such a big fan base. I think he's done an amazing job... the one thing he did say is that after feeling all the pressure of trying to sound like someone else, he feels now that he can just sound like himself, favouring passive Fenders for the most to get what he likes from playing with Jamiroquai. He also expressed his feelings about 5 strings, and how he's only found a couple of 5's that sounded as good as his 4's (apart from his Alleva-Copollo, which he said sounds amazing).

[wombatboter]

John Giblin, Graham Maby, John Illsley

[Andyalfa]

I've always liked Derek Holt from the Climax Blues Band. Not heard much bad about him. Two of my other nominations have already been mentioned, Jah Wobble and Norman Watt-Roy. Are there any other nominations for Derek Forbes from Simple Minds?

From the upright world, I've been an admirer of Danny Thompson and "Victoria" for a very long time. Not just for his work with John Martyn, but for a very long and distinguished career all over the world.

Actually, I rather like Mark King too <ducks>. Well, he kind of helped persuade me to turn to bass in the first place.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Andyalfa

[zigmondo]

Mention Jeff Berlin somebody(oo I just did).

[Mr Fudge]

Geddy Lee

[Bilbo]

The idea that a bassist can do no wrong implies that there is a 'right' way of playing. I think there is a continuum between boring and repetitive and highly creative and original and, determining where a player is on the continuum is irrelevant. It is where the listener is that matters and we are all in a different space.

Every mention of jazz here is shortly followed by references to random noodlng. But lots of the 'can do no wrong' players mentioned here bore me rigid. A great player playing tedious music (Marcus Miller) is no more use to me that a bad player playing great songs (Phil Lynott). One mans 'interesting' is another mans 'inaccesible', one man's 'in the pocket' is another man's tedious and repetitive. The mix required to make a player 'flawless' is individually defined so this debate is moribund.

[Deep Thought]

It just occurred to me that Stanley Clarke doesn't get mentioned here much-at least not in the threads I read! Don't know if that's a good thing or not, but he was always the Hoover or Biro of bass players for me when I was younger-the first one you thought of when 'bass player' was mentioned.

I feel it my duty to add JJ Burnel-most seem to respect his contribution. Definitely never read a bad word about Norman Watt-Roy, and rightly so.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Deep Thought

[Dubs]

[quote]bassists that can do no wrong, who are the ones that everyone loves!?![/quote]

Me, cos I'm f***ing great

[bassbloke]

4 pages and no mention of Geezer Butler. Tsk tsk.

[GreeneKing]

Yep bassists that can do no wrong suggest to me bassists that don't upset anyone. That can be done by just doing the minumum.

Me? I'd rather cause some upset, like Les Claypool. I agree that Phil Lynott wasn't a great bass player. A good front man maybe.

[4000]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='418503' date='Feb 24 2009, 04:06 PM']The idea that a bassist can do no wrong implies that there is a 'right' way of playing. I think there is a continuum between boring and repetitive and highly creative and original and, determining where a player is on the continuum is irrelevant. It is where the listener is that matters and we are all in a different space.

Every mention of jazz here is shortly followed by references to random noodlng. But lots of the 'can do no wrong' players mentioned here bore me rigid. A great player playing tedious music (Marcus Miller) is no more use to me that a bad player playing great songs (Phil Lynott). One mans 'interesting' is another mans 'inaccesible', one man's 'in the pocket' is another man's tedious and repetitive. The mix required to make a player 'flawless' is individually defined so this debate is moribund.[/quote]

You know, I was utterly with you there until you called Phil Lynott a bad player....

FWIW I'd ultimately much sooner have a player who hasn't got great chops but who can write great, memorable lines than a great technical player who can't. In Phil's case things like Dancing in the Moonlight spring to mind; Sting would be another player, although doubtless his chops are better than he shows, and McCartney would be another; also the reason why I'll always take a Squire over a Berlin, although Chris's chops are reasonably ok. I can forgive flawed technique, but not bad writing! However, as you so rightly say, it's all subjective and ultimately means little. I'm sure many out there think my picks for great lines are simplistic nonsense or over-busy waffle.

Edited February 24, 2009 by 4000

[Born 2B Mild]

How can anyone possibly diss these gentle ambassadors of the lowly strung?

[indent]Norman Watt-Roy
Dave Pegg
Danny Thompson[/indent]

And if they do, I'll send the ghost of Alex Harvey round to sort them out

[harvey1-8]

Quite surprised not to see Chris Wolstenholme in here yet. I know he gets some flack but I rate him.

I'm going to stick my neck out and nominate this guy called Lewis Reynolds who used to play bass in Surrey based band Meet Me In St. Louis before they split. He now plays for a band called Colour. Anyway, genuinely the best bass player I've seen and heard in a long time.

[Andyalfa]

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='418750' date='Feb 24 2009, 09:01 PM']And if they do, I'll send the ghost of Alex Harvey round to sort them out [/quote]

Vambo rules, OK? I saw them once, brilliant show. Is Chris Glen still going?

[alexclaber]

Family Man.

Alex

[bassicinstinct]

[b]Andyalfa:[/b]

[b]Here's Chris Glen and his current band The Outfit in rehearsal in 2008[/b]:

Edited February 25, 2009 by bassicinstinct

[Clockworkwar]

James Jamerson, even when drunk and having to play on his back, still brilliant.

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='Leonard Smalls' post='418196' date='Feb 24 2009, 10:53 AM']Andy Warren -of Adam and the Ants, and more impressively The Monochrome Set.. Interesting and musical player and I'll hear no wrong said of him, poor fella..[/quote]


You're the first person I've ever heard mention Andy Warren on a bass forum and it's great to hear him get a mention!! I used to know him many years ago from the early Ants days and he had such a great stage persona, it almost didn't matter what he played. Certainly got a clanking great sound out of his Rickenbacker..

The first Monochrome Set (Strange Boutique) album was/is fantastic...