Bass players in famous bands who've had to play below their own levels of ability

[WinterMute]

It's just the gig, you play what the song demands that you play, if that's 16s in the pocket, you'd better be IN that pocket.

 

I heard Angus Young say that his brother was a much better guitarist than he was, but didn't want to play lead as that would have interfered with his drinking.

 

Rock n roll Cliff, rock n f*ck*ng roll.

[chris_b]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

. . . . You are offered the bass chair in a successful outfit, playing relatively simple music that is massively popular. You can pretty well play the stuff in your sleep. Do you:

 

1. Say "Yes, Please."

 

2. Say "No thanks. "

 

Say Yes every time. Without a doubt. Then you can put together your side project which can be a self-indulgent as you want. 

[nilebodgers]

26 minutes ago, WinterMute said:

It's just the gig, you play what the song demands that you play, if that's 16s in the pocket, you'd better be IN that pocket.

 

I heard Angus Young say that his brother was a much better guitarist than he was, but didn't want to play lead as that would have interfered with his drinking.

 

Rock n roll Cliff, rock n f*ck*ng roll.

I don’t know about the drinking, but I read something similar about his playing. It also said he never made mistakes, so the rhythm section was rock solid while Angus did his running around.

 

The same article also said that Malcolm was the boss and if you didn’t play exactly what he wanted in the way he told you to, then you were out, no argument and no second chances.

[MacDaddy]

Apparently Billy Sheehan was told no bass shredding on Skyscraper, the second Dave Lee Roth album.

[paul_5]

12 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

Apparently Billy Sheehan was told no bass shredding on Skyscraper, the second Dave Lee Roth album.

Thank gawd he 'forgot' occasionally...

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 16, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Belka]

I might be going against the grain of opinion here but I don't think avoiding overplaying is a particularly difficult skill to master. Pretty much anyone who's good knows when to hold back and also when to play more busily - Jamerson, Rainey Jaco, Sheehan, etc. would all fall in this category. From my experience people who really overplay tend to be compensating for a lack of technical/theoretical ability; rather than well placed note choices, it's a lot easier to throw in a load of rapid minor pentatonics without any regard to the harmony you're supposed to be outlining.

 

Everyone should listed to AC/DC, U2, and Van Halen and hear how well their bass players support the song without being flashy, but citing these bands shouldn't be an excuse for not learning more advanced styles/theory - and I'm not just talking about speed here - note choice and knowledge of harmony is far more important.

[mikel]

I always thought the sign of a great musician, on any instrument, was to play for the song, not to get all their chops out.

[SumOne]

 

Some play Bass as a lower register guitar (skill = how many notes you can play quickly) but I always think of it as an evolution of a plucked double bass, it's in the rhythm section where skill is more about tone and timing. So it's no sign of lack of ability to play a 'simple' Bassline really well. 

[SH73]

So what's the bass line in ...and Justice for All album? Did Lars have it muted to an inaudible level because Jason would have dominated the low end with his incredible bass playing or was Lars still mourning Cliff.

Edited February 6, 2022 by SH73
.

[mcnach]

On 04/02/2022 at 13:46, Barking Spiders said:

When I was in my 20s I played in several bands where the main songwriter usually just wanted me to keep it simple, sometimes just 8ths and 16ths on the root. It was pretty frustrating as in my head I'd come up with more inventive lines that would have done the job just fine.  So I'm wondering whether the bassists in bands like Quo, AC/DC, The Cult, Judas Priest, U2 etc are capable of much more but have been held back by others in the band. I've heard it said Eddie van Halen was a bit of a tyrant and dictated how Michael Anthony played the lines. Maybe some of you guys know the players in those bands mentioned and have inside knowledge?

 

Most songs are not designed to show case bass technique and ability, so I guess those bassists probably can play other styles and more technical stuff too. 

[Munurmunuh]

After being sacked as Megadeth lead guitarist, Chris Poland toured with punk band The Circle Jerks, playing bass.

[Bilbo]

It is important to remember that no every bass player plays with one band and sometimes some of them play with three or four bands in a week. Victor Bailey with Madonna and Weather Report, Tony Levin with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and Al DiMeola. Anthony Jackson with Chaka Khan and Michel Camilo. Lots more examples. Its a profession based almost entirely on freelancing and there aren't many people who can make a living out of one band, especially nowadays. 

[Barking Spiders]

I'm all for keeping it simple when the song requires it and I know when overplaying would ruin the vibe. IMO Ball of Confusion is a classic example when simplicity is more effective than a busy line would've been. It's just that in a lot of rock and particularly among those examples I gave, from song to song most of the lines are 8ths or 16ths on the root even though there's often not much going on with the guitar either other than power chords with an intermittent solo.

[ZilchWoolham]

A lot of the replies here present a false dichotomy of all roots vs. fusion freak-out, but there are about a million different interesting things you could do in between those two extremes. 

[vantagepointrocks]

Satriani made the following comment about Michael Anthony when they were playing together in Chickenfoot - "Why in VAN HALEN was Mike Anthony not allowed to play more... he's a fantastic musician and an enormous force on that bass guitar. Every day we would record I would go, 'This is amazing!' I never knew he could fill up this void so much, because I'd be used to hearing him on VAN HALEN tracks where he basically just followed Eddie. It was great to hear the real Michael Anthony just come alive on the record and take up all that space."

 

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/joe-satriani-says-michael-anthony-was-underutilized-in-van-halen/

[Muzz]

The whole MA/VH situation extended beyond the musical, tho; he was treated (and paid) like the hired help throughout...

 

On the Malcolm Young thing, 90% of ACDC tribs who don't quite sound right are the ones who have neglected to spot that the person in the band who needs to be closest to the original is the rhythm guitarist; sure, someone who sounds like Bon/Brian is important, and a lead guitarist who sounds (and looks, tho Buddha knows that's an increasingly bum-clenching exercise these days, even with the man himself) like Angus is also important, but to make the band sound right, Malcolm's parts have to be spot on...

[peteb]

On 04/02/2022 at 21:50, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Colin Hodgkinson, one of the most astoundingly original and unique voices of the bass, spent a time playing with Whitesnake. Always looked like he was having a hell of a good time doing it though!

 

That's an interesting one. Hodkinson didn't look very comfortable playing relatively simple Whitesnake songs and it was thought that perhaps he was better playing his own more complicated material. Certainly he was replaced after one tour by a returning Neil Murray. 

 

[Len_derby]

5 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

That's an interesting one. Hodkinson didn't look very comfortable playing relatively simple Whitesnake songs and it was thought that perhaps he was better playing his own more complicated material. Certainly he was replaced after one tour by a returning Neil Murray. 

 

Yes, I think you’re right. Possibly not being a ‘front man’ may have made him less comfortable too. Whenever I saw him with Back Door, and memorably one half of a duo with Alexis Korner, he seemed to behaving a whale of a time; what with. the singing and on-stage banter with band mates and audience. 

[peteb]

On 08/02/2022 at 10:57, Len_derby said:

Yes, I think you’re right. Possibly not being a ‘front man’ may have made him less comfortable too. Whenever I saw him with Back Door, and memorably one half of a duo with Alexis Korner, he seemed to behaving a whale of a time; what with. the singing and on-stage banter with band mates and audience. 

 

Maybe, but I think that driving a rock band like Whitesnake and projecting to thousands of people is a different skill set to playing clubs with Back Door or Alexis Korner. Just because you are very good in one musical setting doesn't mean that you are equally good in another, even if it may be technically less demanding. 

 

As a postscript, I briefly met Hodkinson when he played with Ten Years After when I as working at the Colne Blues Festival a few years ago. A great player and he seemed to be a very affable chap! 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by peteb

[oldslapper]

On 04/02/2022 at 18:29, Peejay said:

Kenny Passarelli on Elton John's Rock of the Westies. Model of restraint but so classy. Great tone from his fretless P Bass too. 

Omg!! The other KP fan! 
Love “Feed me” on that album. He hits the 1 with such authority and groove. 

Blue Moves is my favourite EJ album and KP just pumps that LP along like a blacksmith on speed. 

Seeing him play influenced my choice of bass, tone and style of playing definitely. Rarely here him mentioned here, but a monster player. 

 

You made my day, I’m off to listen to “One horse town” and grin like I’ve just peed the first pee of the day. 

[Peejay]

1 hour ago, oldslapper said:

Omg!! The other KP fan! 
Love “Feed me” on that album. He hits the 1 with such authority and groove. 

Blue Moves is my favourite EJ album and KP just pumps that LP along like a blacksmith on speed. 

Seeing him play influenced my choice of bass, tone and style of playing definitely. Rarely here him mentioned here, but a monster player. 

 

You made my day, I’m off to listen to “One horse town” and grin like I’ve just peed the first pee of the day. 

Yeah. Bass on Feed Me is perfect. KP's groove on the whole album is just what's needed. Nothing more, nothing less. 

 

Saw Kenny with EJ's band at Sheffield City Hall (a long time ago). His playing was flawless. 

 

Blue Moves isn't EJ's best material IMHO but KP never misses a beat on every track he plays on. He's the same with Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills, Dan Fogelberg, etc, etc.

 

Glad the post made your day.

 

[mikel]

On 08/02/2022 at 08:31, ZilchWoolham said:

A lot of the replies here present a false dichotomy of all roots vs. fusion freak-out, but there are about a million different interesting things you could do in between those two extremes. 

As in "Playing for the song".

[oldslapper]

15 hours ago, Peejay said:

Yeah. Bass on Feed Me is perfect. KP's groove on the whole album is just what's needed. Nothing more, nothing less. 

 

Saw Kenny with EJ's band at Sheffield City Hall (a long time ago). His playing was flawless. 

 

Blue Moves isn't EJ's best material IMHO but KP never misses a beat on every track he plays on. He's the same with Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills, Dan Fogelberg, etc, etc.

 

Glad the post made your day.

 

Haha. Blue Moves is my favourite EJ album (always felt guilty about that, given that Dee Murray set me on the bass path), but then I always seem to gravitate towards music that no one else likes 😂. 
Interesting interview with KP describing recording Rock of The Westies. He only played fretless on 3 tracks as G Dudgeon didn’t like the tone and was used to DM’s sound, so he had to borrow an old bass which had terrible action, but gave the producer the sound he was after. 
Blue Moves is all fretless, the album where the band were more in control, and the rhythm section/guitar and keys were recorded live. 
If you want to geek out, here’s the interview link https://www.classicrockhistory.com/an-interview-with-legendary-bassist-kenny-passarelli/

 

[oldslapper]

44 minutes ago, mikel said:

As in "Playing for the song".