5 Great Underappreciated Bass Performances (rock division)

[RandomKoolzip]

We all know How great John Entwhistle, Geddy Lee, Flea, Chris Squire, Jaco, etc. are. It's time now to mention 5 performances on bass that have gone largely unheralded by critics, fans, etc. and feel free to add your own to this list.

1. Emotional Rescue, The Rolling Stones; Bill Wyman on bass
From the Stones's "fallow" years, one of their lesser efforts, according to just about every critic you can consult. Admittedly, it's no Exile on Main Street, but It's a solid B- in my book, except in one area: Bill Wyman is KICKING ASS all over this album. His bass is mixed front and center, sounds luscious and full, and is driving all the tunes. Listen to "Summer Romance;" what could be an average Stones punk homage a la "Respectable" is turned into a showcase for some of the best bass playing I've ever heard. It's really quite unlike any other Stones record in this regard; usually it's Keith who's mixed high and the main locus of texture. Wyman alone should receive more credit; for what he does on this album, he deserves worship.

2. "Once in a Lifetime," Talking Heads; Tina Weymouth on bass
In my book, Tina Weymouth is probably THEE underrated bassist. Is it cuz she's a girl? I dunno; I DO know that it takes far more skill than most bass players have to "Keep it Simple, Stupid" like Weymouth does here and many many other Heads tunes. Do you know of any other players who could make three notes sound so godly? Her use of silence and space is incredible.

3. "Future Days," Can; Holger Czukay on bass
Czukay's bass on this song and most of the others from the album of the same name, consist of one single harmonic hit every two bars. Most bassists would rather give up marijuana for a year than play so minimally, yet that one harmonic is EXACTLY what the song needs. More instrumentalists need to think of their performance in terms of how it aids the compostition rather than show off; Czukay is doing that perfectly here.

4. "Radio Sweetheart," Elvis Costello; Nick Lowe on bass
Mixed high, Lowe stomps on some very well-chosen notes on the intro to this song. Elvis's minor-key chords provide just the right backing for what amounts to a solo. Very ominous, very tasteful.

5. "Uncle Walter," Ben Folds Five; Robert Sledge on bass
In the rush to exclaim "curiosity!" over Folds's use of grand piano in an indie-rock band, Robert Sledge's deft bass work was largely ignored. Yet no one else under 40 was playing "walking" lines in 1995; Robert Sledge was. The textural focus in BFF was indeed the piano. What gave his band "indie" aura was Sledge's use of his disortion pedal, which he used to give the songs "heaviness." Switching between picking and fingering, noise and melody, New Orleans funk and headlong punk velocity, Sledge's style virtually came out of nowhere and stands alone even today. In "Uncle Walter," Sledge plays A BASS SOLO (!) in an indie-rock song in 1995. What balls! It's a shame Folds broke up the five; Sledge was the man's perfect foil. Plus he could sing wonderful harmony.

[On the Road]

1. I LOVE "Radio Sweetheart"

but never listened to the bass. Maybe that's a hidden part of it's appeal. Will have to go home and do that.

My daughter is just starting bass lessons and I'm starting to listen for different things.

[RandomKoolzip]

4. Oooooh... that's awesome!

Buy her some reggae. Aston Barrett from Bob Marley's band is a wonderful bassist. And tell her to listen to how all the instuments leave space for each other, and the simple but beautiful lines Barrett makes up.

And Nick Lowe also played the bass on "Watching the Detectives," another incredible performance on his part. The intro to "Radio Sweetheart," with the bass way up front in the speakers, might be a great exercise for her to warm up with.

I'd point her in the direction of Talking Heads too. And maybe Fugazi (Joe Lally makes up some very cool lines on bass).

[slaveplanet]

30. Family man

Aston's nickname. Check his solo stuff

also Robbie Shakespeare(sly and robbie)is superb.

[Joe_VB]

2. How about this one

Kassam Sultan, Group- Utopia , Album - Ra, Song- Singring and the Glass Guitar. Give it a listen.

[Philostopher]

Hell, even the bass line on

"Set Me Free" -- the one charting pop single Utopia had -- is impressive. Kaz is a monster.

I also vehemently agree with RKZ on Robert Sledge. That guy's a maniac, the novelty of the 'piano as lead instrument' business with Ben Folds Five really put him in the shadows, unfortunately. My favorite of all time was back in about '95, I saw them live in Cincinnati and they did a cover of Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic" that really put Sledge to work.

[Loonman]

3. 5

1)Frankie Goes to Hollywood's cover of "Born to Run"

2)"Natural One" by The Folk Implosion

3)"In Dulce Decorum" by the Damned

4) Simon Gallup's bass riff in "Apart" off of Wish

5) Anything by Eddie Branch while he was in The Hundred Men, Peter Murphy's backing band for the albums Love Hysteria and Deep , specifically the walking bassline played on a fretless in "Indigo Eyes"

[RandomKoolzip]

6. Was Branch the guy playing bass with a bow in the "Cuts so Deep"

video by Peter Murphy? I never like Peter Murphy that much, but I always thought that was pretty interesting.

What album is "In Dulce Decorum" on, and is Cpt. Sensible playing bass on it?

[Loonman]

12. That's "Cuts You Up"

From the Deep album. That's the guitarist using the bow for the string part in "Cut's You Up". Murphy rarely uses session musicians; he hires a back up band for albums and tours.

"In Dulce Decorum" is off of Anything which is out of print and has fetched up to $80 per copy. That is Captain Sensible.

[RandomKoolzip]

17. Ooops! I stand corrected.

And shamefacedly admit that GbV has NEVER had a very good bassist.

[Richardo]

5. I always liked Tina Weymouth: her work on "Found a Job" is great...

:loveya:

[RandomKoolzip]

8. Me too.

She's my biggest influence as a player. The first four albums have some amazingly deceptive simple bass lines on them...she really invented that spacious style. She's totally underrated.

"Up all night" is also a great bass song.

[underpants]

7. I always thought the Violent Femmes Brian Ritchie was underappreciated

Just my opinion.

[On the Road]

9. This is Fusion, Not Rock, but..

One of the best bass performances I've ever heard is Kai Eckhardt with the John McLaughlin Trio on "Live at the Royal Festival Hall."

[Nostradammit]

29. GREAT Performance!!

Yes, yes! And Trilok Gurtu hanging right there with him. Love that disc!

[pdx_prog]

33. I seen them in a small venue in Memphis.....

Front row. They were warming up for Steve Morse. Eckhardt IS very good....very SMOOTH bassist. Dave Larue is no slouch either. Jerry Peak also played with Morse. The guy looks like Ritchie Cunningham with a flat top....lol. Plays his bass way up high on his chest almost...

[johnnie]

10. Keith Richards

1) "Fingerprint file" from "I'ts only Rock and Roll" album.
2) "Live with me" from "Let it Bleed"

Actually he isn't too bad playing bass on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus when he plays with Lennon, Clapton and Mitch Mitchell.

[quispquake]

11. Some others that come to mind....

Edited due to freeper like spelling...

Cows-"Chow" (Bass player actually tuning & detuning the bass to get the weirdest sound out of it). Actually any Cows songs...the bass player was simply amazing (and I hear he's with the Melvins now).

Hawkwind-ANYTHING off of "Space Ritual" courtesy of Lemmy Kilminster...my favorite bass album EVERY!!! Also, Motorhead's "Motorhead"...fantastic!!!

English Beat-Twist & Crawl (just one of those bass driven tunes that jumps me out of my seat everytime I hear it).

[RandomKoolzip]

21. The Cows were awesome!

And Lemmy....well Lemmy deserves an entire thread. I think we can all agree he's God, right?

That detuning technique can also be heard on Harry Nilsson's "Jump into the Fire," near the end where Harry's just yelling at the top of his lungs and the song is veering into total chaos.

In this vein, I must also mention Andrew Weiss of Gone, Rollins Band. Underrated player of a now-very unhip band.

[quispquake]

26. Lemmy Story

My friend, his girlfriend & I drove a couple of hours to Boston to see Motorhead back in '85 (Touring for "No Remorse"). That was right after Reagan had changed the immigration laws so that anyone the government didn't like could either be refused admittance, or have to go through hell to get in...Needless to say, Motorhead was on their list...Lemmy got in, but was up without sleep for three days straight....He made the show though (a rock & roller through & through).

My friend, who was incredibly trashed, saw Lemmy, went running over, and wiped out really bad right in front of Lemmy...Lemmy was "Are you okay man????" and all my broken friend could say was "You're God Lemmy, You're God!!!". My friend's girlfriend was completely mortified, but it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen...

Motorhead played great, but you could see Lemmy buckling before the end...finally, at the end of the show, he literally passed out and had to be physically dragged off the stage...

One of the greatest rock & roll shows EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

[ProfessorGAC]

13. Hey RKZ

I'm not sure that's Tina's bass line on OIAL. If i'm not mistaken, that was one of the albums where they ran the scratch recordings with switched instruments.

When they did the actual recording, everyone took their instruments back but played what the other person came up with.

IIRC, the bass part was developed by her husband. The drums follow that bass line on the toms, because Jerry played the drums and he was intentionally following the bass line Chris was playing.

I'm a big Tina fan, too! But, i think this performance might actually be her playing someone else's idea.
The Professor

[RandomKoolzip]

16. You know, you're probably right.

That was during a time when they had the "big band."

But her bass line is not too different than the stuff she played before that, like "First Week....Last week" off of "77." Very minimal, but very effective. Whoever played it, it still smokes.

[Richardo]

19. Funny: my brother and I have discussed Chris Franz' drums

...in much the same terms as you describe Tina's bass: deceptively simple, creative use of space.

They are simpatico, no?

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Husband & Wife

That might explain something. They might think and feel things quite a bit alike.
The Professor

[ProfessorGAC]

28. I Do Think It's Her Playing It

I just think she's playing the line Jerry Harrison came up with. Of course, he might have been playing things the way he expected Tina to think, since he'd been around a while by then.
The Professor

[XNASA]

14. Any song with Colin Moulding playing bass is perfect.

I heard "Senses Working Overtime" on the radio yesterday.

Perfection.

[RandomKoolzip]

15. Good Choice.

"Towers of London" and "My Bird Performs" have some insane bass lines on them. And he PERFECTLY recreated McCartney's style on the Dukes of Stratosphere albums. He doesn't get enough credit either....

[proud patriot]

18. My Dad and Cliff Burton RIP

love you dad :loveya:

[RandomKoolzip]

22. My dad also played bass.

I grew up playing drums along to his bass playing, then he taught me how to play the "thunderbroom."


RIP Daddy Koolzip....

[BurtWorm]

20. Poptones by PiL

bass by Jah Wobble.

[RandomKoolzip]

23. Jah Wobble.....

Everything off of "Metal Box" is saturated with some of the heaviest bass playing imaginable. Wobble, too, really invented his own style, like Tina Weymouth.

[Whitacre D_WI]

24. Not a "virtuoso" performance, but...

...I love the sound Graham Lewis coaxed out of his 4-stringer in "Practice Makes Perfect."

[TheWizardOfMudd]

25. Tim Bogert

His bass solo on the live Vanilla Fudge album in "Break Song."

[Kazak]

31. Shame on you...no Cliff Burton?

Also, I nominate Percolator, by Stereolab...killer bassline.

[Kazak]

32. la femme d argent

by Air.

[Merrick]

34. justin chancellor

of tool for "Pushit" and "Schism"

[mitchum]

35. Peter Hook on "Transmission"...

Sara Lee on damn near anything

Jeff Johnson of Jason and the Scorchers. His mighty throb kept their material from sinking into sillybilly boogie. He was their secret weapon (Warner Hodges was their not-so-secret weapon)

Kathy Valentine (no joke!)

Dave Provost on Dream Syndicate's "Medicine Show"

[madrchsod]

36. jack bruce during the "cream days"

and tina,yes she is way under rated -hey chicks can`t play bass.