General Music Chat

Wow, I don't think I've seen a mention of Jaco Pastorius yet... Interesting.

Right now, my favorite bassist to listen to is Jean Baudin but I don't have an overall favorite bassist by any stretch of the imagination. Go to his MySpace and listen to the song "Transcend" for some of the most beautiful bass work you've ever heard:

www.myspace.com/jeanbaudin

Geddy Lee is a given and I don't think Ryan Martinie gets enough credibility for the amazing bassist he is solely because he's in a metal band. His complete background is in jazz and I'm surprised I don't see him mentioned more. Massive talent but a humble personality - that's what I love to see.

Essentially all of the bassists I've seen listed so far, I enjoy material from. As with every other instrument, there's just simply too much talent out there for me to possibly define an overall favorite.

-Stephen

Although guys like Billy Sheehan have all the chops, no one will ever match John Paul Jones for taste, and hits, and doing what is right for the SONG!

Although guys like Billy Sheehan have all the chops, no one will ever match John Paul Jones for taste, and hits, and doing what is right for the SONG!

I'm not so sure about that. With all of the bands that have existed past Led Zeppelin, there are plenty of bassists who have done what's right for the song. Not the same genre but Geddy Lee has always done amazing things for each Rush song. Sting was a very solid bassist for The Police and remains as such with his solo material. The list goes on and on but when it comes to a bassist doing what's right for a song, plenty have done as such past John Paul Jones. That's not to discredit John in any way, though! He was absolutely an excellent bassist and he definitely did what was right for the songs in Led Zeppelin. Unmatched, though? I'm not so sure.

-Stephen

Many great bassists out there!! One I think that should be mentioned is:

CLIFF BURTON - Metallica

I can't believe that no one mentioned Cliff!!

Here is my list of the bass players that drove me to start playing bass:

John Paul Jones!!!
Cliff Burton
Robert DeLeo (The bass line to "Wicked Garden" from STP is one of my favorites)
Duff McKagan

A while after I started playing bass I discovered Primus/Les Claypool and I almost gave up playing bass.

There are many talented bassists and it's rather subjective to rate them.

Face it......not everyone has the same tastes.

My list (not all inclusive) would be as follows for great bassists I admire:

Les Claypool (Primus et al)

Chris Squire (Yes)

Roger Glover (Deep Purple)

Terry Butler (Black Sabbath)

Geddy Lee (Rush)

Phil Lynot (Thin Lizzy)

Flea (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

Lemmy Kilmeister (Motorhead)

Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith)


Some of the names on this list may seem like mundane musicians to some but I feel that all of them are at the very least fundamentally sound and lend a solidity to their respective bands that sets them apart.

Just my opinion

This is a completely subjective topic due to personal taste so a single pick is quite difficult.

One of the most amazing all around bass players I have seen is Stanley Clark but I am not crazy about the style of music.

One of my favorites is Geddy Lee, but there are others who are technically better imo. Again, it's totaly subjective.

-one of the best unknown from the seventies - guy from "everyday people" -had about 25 other big hits - father of the slap

Larry Graham; unknown?

Lee Dorman of Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond ain't got a mention yet........some of his melody lines are amazing, spec' "Most Anything That You Want" off the In A Gadda Da Vidda album.

Beauty is in the eye etc... But Jean-Jacques Burnell is mine.

Andy

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One word... Flea

Robert DeLeo/Stone Temple Pilots

i'm my favorite bass player

Paul McCartney
John Entwistle
Chris Squire
Stu Hamm
and me, of course

As you say, it's subjective. There have been lots of good bassists who do their job without looking for all the credit. The type of personality who takes up the bass is usually not in the mold of the "guitar god". In fact, those bassists who look for such recognition are often overplaying.

I think arguing about who is the greatest bass player or any musician is stupid and pointless. 1. You can't really compare bassists that play totally different genres of music i.e. Art Davis (who recently died) and Flea, both great but completely different, because what each genre demands and the influence they have had are almost completely polar opposites. 2. Even 2 people who love the same bass player may love him for different reasons.

It would be impossible for me to pick all my favorites but a few are Ryan Stasik from Umphrey's McGee (the man is a machine and insane improviser), Victor Wooten (tasty chops for days), and Phil Lesh (a master of rock counterpoint and harmony.)