Weekly Worthy List #3: Personal “Best of the Bass”

Of all the players in a “standard” band format, it seems like the bass player holds the most frequently under-appreciated role. In cases like Bootsy Collins and Sting there are obvious exceptions, but lets face it…we all owe the bassists a little love. I don’t really know if I am going to go for top ten or fifteen…we’ll see in a minute. As always, I’d love to see your list…don’t be shy!

 
1. Paul McCartney: Yes, his bass lines tend to be very structured but they are SO awesome!!! It is a given that Sgt Peppers is a classic, but give it a listen sometime and just focus on the bass…it is my favorite instrument on the whole album!

2. John Paul Jones: No big surprises here, but this guy really knew how to create a DEEP groove pocket with John Bonham and his lines are really interesting.

3. Steve Harris: This guy is a monster! His parts seem like they should destroy any normal bass players’ right and left arms/hands…harmonically interesting and usually relentless!

4. Carol Kaye: I love her work on The Beach Boys’ records, her tone and percussive attack is awesome. There are a couple of weird spots in “Good Vibrations” but it is one of the most awesome bass lines and bass performances ever.

5. Brian Wilson: In all fairness, he wrote the awesome bass lines that Carol Kaye played…to love one is to love the other…Brian was a huge champion of the electric bass.

6. Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen: There is a good chance that you have not heard of this guy…but he is amazing nonetheless. His work with Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, and Joe Pass is some of the best jazz bass ever played…check it out.

7. Bryan Schepps: This guy was actually my bass player when I was in Infinity Sam, he was very creative and had a quirky sense of groove that I really liked. Check out “Daylight Messiah by Infinity Sam” and you’ll see what I mean.

8. Ray Manzarek: Oh yeah, I went there!!! Yeah, he played bass on a keyboard, but his repetitious groove was just awesome! He was playing psychedlic rock-hop way before there was any type of hip hop around!

9. Bill Wyman: This guy could play the weirdest bass line underneath a seemingly normal song. This being said, after you hear his interpretations…you wouldn’t want to hear anything else in it’s place…the guy is the king, in rock and roll at least, of playing “outside.”

10. Phil Lesh: I have a similar love for Phil that I have for Bill Wyman, but Phil plays outside, quasi-melodic, and super intervallic madness…love it! Bob Weir and Phil painted a really great backdrop for Jerry Garcia to bebopatwang over…lovely stuff.

Ok…I only went for ten…now you go for fifteen! Come on don’t be shy!

When he’s not enjoying fishing, road testing cables with his band, or fielding musical/instrument cable questions over the phone / e-mail, Michael handles operations and purchasing and is simply loving life. You can also follow Michael on Twitter!