You can't play bass.... underrated bass players

Gassage · January 2023

One more from me

The exquisite George Murray

Putting the M in the fabled D.A.M rhythm trio.

fretmeister · January 2023

stickyfiddle said:

prowla said:

Chris Squire - only prog fans and bass players know him.

Consistently in the top-5s of "best bassist" lists though. Also prog is rubbish :P

(and surely the only bassists non-musos know are McCartney and Flea)

and Sting.

Basically anyone who is the lead singer or walks on stage with a sock on his cock.

fretmeister · January 2023

RocknRollDave said:

John Deacon

Not remotely underrated. Just not well known by the public.

He's awesome.

fretmeister · January 2023

Gassage said:

JJ Burnel
Norman Watt-Roy

Two of the greatest.

This is another post showing what a minefield the word 'underrated' is.

Bass players know of these amazing players. Quite a few guitarists do. And not many of the non-playing public.
Are they underrated if bassists know how good they are but the public has never heard of them?

It wouldn't surprise me if some Beatles fans, particularly younger ones, would be surprised to discover that PM not only played bass as well as sings, but is a damn fine bassist.

Litterick · January 2023

James Jamerson, bassist on most of the Motown hits of the 1960s and early 1970s.

distressed · January 2023

Litterick said:

James Jamerson, bassist on most of the Motown hits of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Underrated?

In its special issue "The 100 Greatest Bass Players" in 2017, Bass Player magazine ranked Jamerson number one and the most influential bass guitarist. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jamerson number one in its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.

idiotwindow · January 2023

Gassage said:

JJ Burnel
Norman Watt-Roy

Two of the greatest.

But not underrated. These lists of "underrated" players always end up as just lists of people's favourite players.

RocknRollDave · January 2023

fretmeister said:

RocknRollDave said:

John Deacon

Not remotely underrated. Just not well known by the public.

He's awesome.

The same public who rave about Freddie and Brian? Hence ‘underrated’.

fretmeister · January 2023

RocknRollDave said:

fretmeister said:

RocknRollDave said:

John Deacon

Not remotely underrated. Just not well known by the public.

He's awesome.

The same public who rave about Freddie and Brian? Hence ‘underrated’.

Is unknown by the public the same as being underrated?

Is a heart surgeon, rated the best by his peers actually underrated because the public couldn't name him?

I don't think those things are the same at all. Otherwise the worst player on earth who happens to be well known by non-musos would be 'rated'.

thumpingrug · January 2023

Pete Trewavas. Mostly unknown - largely unpronounceable. Massively talented.

blobb · January 2023

Ciarán Brennan

ICBM · January 2023

fretmeister said:

Otherwise the worst player on earth who happens to be well known by non-musos would be 'rated'.

That’s Sid Vicious.

DannyP · January 2023

Adam “MCA” Yauch, without a doubt.

Amazing lines, but seldom spoken about as a bassist.

Stuckfast · January 2023

Squarepusher.

scrumhalf · January 2023

Gerry McAvoy.

Good enough for Rory for who knows how many years.

Leisceoir · January 2023

Litterick said:

James Jamerson, bassist on most of the Motown hits of the 1960s and early 1970s.

This. I mean he's pretty widely known, but a lot of people don't realise how essential his bass parts were to the Motown sound.

KKJale · January 2023

Leroy Hodges.

One of three Hodges brothers in the Hi Records house band in Memphis, he played on most of the classic Ann Peebles and Al Green cuts plus hundreds of tracks by Otis Clay, OV Wright, Syl Johnson, Willie Mitchell, Little Milton, Jimmy McCracklin, Otis Rush, Rufus Thomas, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Sam Moore, Paul Rodgers...

Wonderful soulful player, nearer the simplicity of Dunn than the overt cleverness of Jamerson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FBUgdhxe9M

richardhomer · January 2023

Post-nose job (ie solo) Sting irritates me on virtually every level but listening to his wonderfully subtle bass line on ‘Brand New Day’ reminds me he’s a great musician…

jdgm · January 2023

Ron Wood on the 1st 2 Jeff Beck LPs.

fretmeister · January 2023

Leisceoir said:

Litterick said:

James Jamerson, bassist on most of the Motown hits of the 1960s and early 1970s.

This. I mean he's pretty widely known, but a lot of people don't realise how essential his bass parts were to the Motown sound.

Bass players do - he literally comes within the top 3 of every single poll and has done for decades. Jaco being one of the others, and then the flavour of the week in the other slot, if it's not Geddy Lee / Claypool / Wooten / Sheehan etc.

idiotwindow · January 2023

jdgm said:

Ron Wood on the 1st 2 Jeff Beck LPs.

He's not underrated as a bass player though. In fact, he's renowned as someone who can turn his hands to most guitar-like stringed instruments – including pedal steel – and play them to a very high standard. Wood played bass quite a lot early on in his career.

An example of an underrated bass player might be Noel Redding. Nowadays he is often seen as the chippy weak link in the Jimi Hendrix Experience and most fans of Jimi tend to favour Billy Cox but I think the criticism is way overdone. Hendrix was very driven and if he hadn't rated Redding, he wouldn't have kept him in the band for three albums and endless touring over three years. By 1969, Hendrix had been broadening his horizons and experimenting with other musicians but, as far as I know, Redding leaving the band was his own decision and not something Hendrix asked for.

Gassage · January 2023

Another couple-

The incredible Erdal Kizilcay and the amazing Armand Sabel-Lecco

stickyfiddle · January 2023

Another huge vote for Sting here.

I saw him live on Friday. I'm not a massive fan by any means, but it was phenomenal. Utterly fabulous groove throughout while singing for 90+ minutes. Another one of those bassists who doesn't do anything flashy but everything he writes is just perfect for the song - if you change anything it completely changes the vibe.

(and seriously - who here has mastered singing while playing bass? It's brutally hard!)

MagicPigDetective · January 2023

Steve Queralt and Ben Shepherd

DonnyMac · January 2023

Another one that was a big influence on me and again probably appreciated by bass players rather than the wider musical community is Bruce Thomas of the Attractions. Terrific player.

racefaceec90 · February 2023

tina weymouth (talking heads)
paul webb (talk talk)

DonnyMac · February 2023

Yolanda Charles, Session player and past member of Paul Weller's band. I think she's playing with Squeeze currently.

distressed · February 2023

At least outside the boundaries of hardcore punk scene

scrumhalf · February 2023

distressed said:

At least outside the boundaries of hardcore punk scene

I never knew Gazza played bass.

EricTheWeary · February 2023

DonnyMac said:

Yolanda Charles, Session player and past member of Paul Weller's band. I think she's playing with Squeeze currently.

I suspect keen bassists will know of Yolanda but certainly not a well known name. If anyone doesn't know who she is go watch her interview with Andertons and have your jaw drop as she goes through her CV.
I think just playing in her own project now and teaching, stopped being a side person. I did go to the short workshop she did at the Guitar Show a few years ago which was enlightening.

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You can't play bass.... underrated bass players

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