Is Marcus Miller overrated?

[Tupac]

In my opinion, he is. Very much. I just don't see the appeal. His riffs come off as generic. I don't know why on Earth people bash Flea for simplicity yet praise this as a grand master bass solo. So people, explain why or why not Marcus is overrated.



Flame suit = on

[MikeBass]

Listen to him as a sideman.......I prefer to listen him as a sideman than a solo artist.
But over-rated?
I don't think so.

There is a point though that I can't stomach all the imitators which I think ruins the "punch" at the party.

[cire113]

hahaha are you kidding? marcus miller overrated? no chance man...

I'd love to see you try to play that solo....

Listen to every video of him on youtube...

He's one of the masters of bass...

[taliesin]

No.

[jmattbassplaya]

It's only generic because soooo many people have copied his sound over the years. He was, and still is, a trend setter in many ways. Also, if you don't find that solo to be good then you probably need a lesson in groove

[pedroims]

I am not a fan of Marcus and Victor. Are they overrated? No way, those guy know what they are doing... that does mean that you must like their music? No. hate it if you want which is ok.

[colcifer]

Stuff like that seems to be them cashing in. Don't forget-Miles didn't hire him for nothin'.

[c2thej2theizzo]

Originally Posted by MikeBass

Listen to him as a sideman.......I prefer to listen him as a sideman than a solo artist.

+1 as a sideman
Marcus Miller is like the modern day Jamerson in my opinion. Besides Stanley Clark, He is one of the originators of the super smooth & accurate studio slap sound. Get some 80's David Sanborn albums. Plus the dude produces and sings backup. Marcus is a super cool Mofo. He keeps alot of his talent in his reserve tanks cause he is always performing with a stage full of great artists. Cant really compare Marcus to Flea also, pretty different styles.

But I bet flea definitively has an edge on Marcus in the shirtless live performance category.

[bottomzone]

Marcus Miller, overrated? HMMM. let's see..... Check out his discography, currently at 605:

marcusmiller.com

-He plays clarinet (his major instrument before playing bass), drums and keys. Because of his reading skills honed on clarinet pieces by Stravinsky, reading and playing bass parts was easy by comparison.

-He was a first-call NY studio musician in the late seventies and early eighties, where reading was a must on almost every date. Along with some other OK bassists, Anthony Jackson, Will Lee, Francisco Centeno and Neil Jason, the ability to not only read, but play as if you weren't reading, Marcus became a go to guy.

-He started getting calls to play his own style without any notation.

-Marcus' style and tone is imitated by many and duplicated by few.

-He was 16 when he played on his first recording with a not too shabby drummer who was in a fairly decent band called Return to Forever-Lenny White.

-He composed and produced some pretty good songs for Luther Vandross.

In other words, no-Marcus is not overrated.


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

[Matt R.]

[matti777]

I'm not a big Marcus fan but I love his version of What is Hip.

[JPSBassist]

No... because ultimately the best bassists have impeccable timing and not the ability to riff or throw out notes like Steve Vai.

I think there's something to be said for a bassist that can lay down the groove and support the low end of the melody, creating a perfect lock with the drummer, and push the time while adding depth and dimension to the melody.

Marcus Miller does this incredibly well.

[beebassdude]

um, no.

his playing is sick, his touch is phenomenal, and his riffs or runs are anything but generic. hes probably the most tasteful of the shred bassists.

[bass12]

Let's get this flame sparked! I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of Marcus Miller's role in the history of electric bass. Marcus was probably the first session musician to use his thumb as cleanly and efficiently as other bassists were using their fingers or picks. If you listen to a lot of his lines from the 80s you might be fooled into thinking he's playing those lines with his fingers when, in fact, he's not. Miller is a bassist's bassist. He understands that rhythm comes first and the solo you posted a link to demonstrates this approach (though Miller can certainly do a whole lot more than play rhythm). Flea is a groovy bassist, but he doesn't have nearly the command of his instrument that Marcus has. Different league altogether. Try digging beneath the surface a bit (since the surface doesn't seem to be impressing you ) and you might begin to understand why Marcus is held in such high esteem - not only amongst bassists but amongst musicians of all types.

[beebassdude]

Originally Posted by Tupac

In my opinion, he is. Very much. I just don't see the appeal. His riffs come off as generic. I don't know why on Earth people bash Flea for simplicity yet praise this as a grand master bass solo. So people, explain why or why not Marcus is overrated.



Flame suit = on

if you wanna hear some pretty awesome bass playing check out his solo album The Sun Dont Lie. theres some pretty awesome stuff on there. while hes not victor all the time (which i think is nice) he can pull it out when he needs to.

id agree that the solo you posted was nothing thatd id get jazzed about either, but check out that album i mentioned and i think youll change your mind.

[funkydanbass]

Let's not forget that Marcus has not only played for but written and produced for the likes of Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn and George Benson!!

[funkydanbass]

...and that solo is tasteful and funky!

[esa372]

Hmmm... I've never seen his "rating", but he seems to know what he's doing:

Marcus Miller - "Thoughts on Miles" - Tutu Revisited (Official) Part 1/2 - YouTube

Marcus Miller - "Tutu"

[T Bassman]

Originally Posted by colcifer

Stuff like that seems to be them cashing in. Don't forget-Miles didn't hire him for nothin'.

Check out the album 'Star people'( I think thats what it was called?) Turned me onto his deal for sure!

[metalstorm]

Marcus has absolutely sick time and groove. That to me is why he is so great. If you don't understand that, that's cool.