Name three albums a literate bassist should know front to back.

[cassius987]

Title says it all: what are three records, if you could only choose three, that you would instruct any new player to study until they could muster up with the bass parts of every song with the right feel and groove. I'm not talking about telling everyone to go learn the hardest thing by Victor or Jaco just so they can say they did. I'm asking what is going to teach a bassist the most about how to get work by immersing that player in the bass lines of up to three records that are so influential to music today (specifically, the way bass is utilized) that if the player can understand these varied performances they will at least have a good shot at finding work and maybe even excel over those who have neglected to extend their vocabulary at least this much.

I honestly don't know the answer to this question, but here are my best three guesses at this time... please deposit your own ideas. Or maybe you have done this with one or more records and can speak to the benefits of doing it.

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
The Beatles - The White Album

[jrcorp]

Awesome thread, I'm a noob on bass but from my limited experience I would agree on What's Going On and Kind of Blue. Not as sure about the White Album, I guess if you're looking to tackle rock as a genre in one influential bassist then maybe Sir Paul is the man but I wouldn't know. Good choices and a good idea. I'll have to fire up those albums with bass in hand.

[CalboDaGo]

+1 @ What's going on (Marvin Gaye), ANYTHING James Brown, and ANYTHING Rick James.

[AltGrendel]

Actually for the Beatles, I'd go with the Blue Album (Best of 1967/1970). More of a cross section of Sir Pauls work that way.

For more rock, I'd add 50 Licks from the Stones. Bill W. is way under rated.
I'm a Chris Squire fan, so I'm going to throw Fragile into this list too.

[jrcorp]

Originally Posted by AltGrendel

For more rock, I'd add 50 Licks from the Stones. Bill W. is way under rated.

Not to nitpick, but you mean Forty Licks? Fifty licks from the Stones sounds like a flashy book off the shelf at Guitar Center.

[Jeremy Allen]

Originally Posted by AltGrendel

Actually for the Beatles, I'd go with the Blue Album (Best of 1967/1970). More of a cross section of Sir Pauls work that way.

Yeah...it's not really an album, though, is it? If we're including compilations, then maybe we can do box sets, too. That would really blow the roof off the sucka! Like:

Amazon.com: The Complete Motown #1s Box: Various Artists: Music

Amazon.com: The Complete Columbia Album Collection: Miles Davis: Music

Metal Gets Its Due On Massive Rhino Boxed Set | Billboard.com

[Jeremy Allen]

For a real answer, I would say that the original three mentioned are great. Also:

Led Zeppelin, "Led Zeppelin II"

Oscar Peterson, "The Sound of the Trio"

Donny Hathaway, "Everything is Everything"

[agreatheight]

For a rock bassist, I'd go with:

Beatles, maybe the white album.

Led Zeppelin, either Zep II or IV.

Stone Temple Pilots, Core. Yup, that's right.

[TC2112]

What's Going On is a nice choice. Babbitt and Jamerson will never steer you wrong.

I personally would have an Otis Redding record, or some kind of Stax compilation. Duck Dunn is the master of the simple groove that every bass player should know and that crosses over into several genres.

My third record may be a little surprising to some, but I would suggest "Dusty in Memphis" by Dusty Springfield and the great Tommy Cogbill on bass. Tommy absolutely covers it all from country to jazz to soul, and makes it look easy. Vastly underrated, but was said to be one of Jaco's biggest influences.

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by jrcorp

Not to nitpick, but you mean Forty Licks? Fifty licks from the Stones sounds like a flashy book off the shelf at Guitar Center.

Could be, I pulled the title from memory.
Still Bill Wyman should be checked out at a minimum.

[bassbombs84]

Charles Mingus - Blues and Roots

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese

[cassius987]

It's interesting to see wide agreement on What's Going On, even though it's not entirely surprising. Some great suggestions so far, keep 'em coming!!

I had seriously considered mentioning Led Zeppelin II or Who's Next but they got pushed out in my suggestions by the Beatles. I am all about Chris Squire re: Fragile but I have to wonder how big of an impact it has had relative to the other mentions. I know my first bass idol, Paul d'Amour, was clearly influenced by Squire, but I still don't think he can claim as wide a swath as the others from his time. This is coming from a Rickenbacker player too!

Explaining my logic in choosing Kind of Blue over other jazz recordings, I believe its simple approach to harmonic structure really helped me understand why Paul Chambers was doing what he did, and it took the mystery away from more complicated ii-V-I changes etc.

[brndn123]

Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

[onosson]

One of the first two Police albums might be a worthy consideration...

[DannyNFLD]

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Dream Theater - Images and Words

[Zoa]

What's Going On definitely, or a Four Tops record

Two others no one has mentioned: perhaps Heavy Weather and Blood Sugar Sex Magik?

A P-Funk album would also give one an insight into the best of funk, as well as the origins of all hip-hop bass.

[cassius987]

I have to wonder if Heavy Weather and even some of the RHCP/Primus/etc. slap-happy material is a little too technical and loses the point of the list. (To this day I still can't play "Havona" that well even though it's been years since I've been listening to it, and nailing down some of the wackier slap parts out there is a real chore if it's not your core technique.) I think if a bassist wants to find work this kind of technical facility is actually superfluous compared to being able to hold down a groove the way it was done in a few seminal recordings. The technical stuff should probably go in the "extended/specialized learning" file.

[carlthegroover]

How about starting with Anything By:

- James Jamerson/ Marvin Gaye (soul)
- Charles Mingus and Miles Davis (jazz)
- The Beatles and Led Zeppelin (classic rock)
- James Brown (funk)

Should I throw in The Who, or it would be too risky?

[Ric5]

The Who Quadrophenia
Rush Moving Pictures
Beatles Abbey Road

Also Led Zepplin, Cream, Yes albums

[bassistjoe93]

Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin
Blue Hats by the Yellowjackets
A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio