The most underrated bassist in Talkbass: Tony Levin. In a bass forum!! ha incredible.

[Nasnederis]

Yes. Everybody here talks wonders about Marcus Miller, James Jamerson, Geddy Lee ( I love all of them), but I find absolutely incredible than in a bass forum there's only a little discussion about TONY LEVIN. This goes to rock lovers. Ok we all know Geddy is genius, Mr Harris, Squire, J P Jones, Mccartney etc but c'mon everybody!! I'm talking about maybe the most versatile rock player ever, he still lives, he still plays like a monster, he even invented a new way to play, "the funk fingers" (with drum sticks on the fingers).

The list of artist of his work :Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Liquid Tension Experiment and leads his own Tony Levin Band.

Cher, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Buddy Rich, The Roches, Todd Rundgren, Seal, and Yes. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Paul Simon (with whom Tony appeared in Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony), Gary Burton, James Taylor, Herbie Mann, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Tim Finn, Richie Sambora, and Claudio Baglioni.

Peter Gabriel!!, King Crimson!!!!!!! and with everyone he does and incredible and original job that we all should learn from.

It seems that we only talk about Geddy and Geddy and Geddy.
Sorry guys, Im just amazed of how underrated bass player he is in a bass forum!!

[onlyclave]

Cool story bro.

[CapnSev]

Pffft.

Geddy is so much better.

[nysbob]

Tony is the man, and deserves accolades for sure.

He seems to be content with doing choice gigs and sessions rather than seeking the spotlight. He's a cool guy and a superlative musician.

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Nasnederis

Yes. Everybody here talks wonders about Marcus Miller, James Jamerson, Geddy Lee ( I love all of them), but I find absolutely incredible than in a bass forum there's only a little discussion about TONY LEVIN. This goes to rock lovers. Ok we all know Geddy is genius, Mr Harris, Squire, J P Jones, Mccartney etc but c'mon everybody!! I'm talking about maybe the most versatile rock player ever, he still lives, he still plays like a monster, he even invented a new way to play, "the funk fingers" (with drum sticks on the fingers).

The list of artist of his work :Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Liquid Tension Experiment and leads his own Tony Levin Band.

Cher, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Buddy Rich, The Roches, Todd Rundgren, Seal, and Yes. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Paul Simon (with whom Tony appeared in Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony), Gary Burton, James Taylor, Herbie Mann, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Tim Finn, Richie Sambora, and Claudio Baglioni.

Peter Gabriel!!, King Crimson!!!!!!! and with everyone he does and incredible and original job that we all should learn from.

It seems that we only talk about Geddy and Geddy and Geddy.
Sorry guys, Im just amazed of how underrated bass player he is in a bass forum!!

Uh, so does that mean that you like him?

MM

[Ezbass]

TL is a huge influence on me and his list of sessions over many years speaks as to his profound ability. Why he isn't mentioned in more threads is probably that he plays a proper supportive role on bass and isn't playing with any "of the moment" artists like Pino (another of my bass heroes) is with John Mayer for instance, and so doesn't get noticed more. The same can be said for Lee Sklar too.

[Derk_Falsco]

Took the words right outta my keyboard Ezbass.

[lo-toots]

Chuck Rainey - his creativity is boundless.

Check out his work with Steely Dan & Quincy Jones.

Rainey's style has always been to provide a rhythmic and melodic bottom that works with the drummer for the benefit of the song.

I pathetically strive to do something similar ...

[Swift713]

Tony rules!

[kevin newsham]

Biggest problem with Tony Levin being credited as a great bass player, is that half the time you hear him he isn't playing a bass at all. He plays whatever tool is best for the sound he is looking for, and 50 percent of the time that is a Chapman stick.

As a musician he Is top notch, but he is not always regarded as a bassist. The ability to think in both bass, and stick adds points IMHO. Look up King Crimson Elephant Walk, on youtube, and you will get a better idea of his ability.

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by kevin newsham

Biggest problem with Tony Levin being credited as a great bass player, is that half the time you hear him he isn't playing a bass at all. He plays whatever tool is best for the sound he is looking for, and 50 percent of the time that is a Chapman stick.

As a musician he Is top notch, but he is not always regarded as a bassist. The ability to think in both bass, and stick adds points IMHO. Look up King Crimson Elephant Walk, on youtube, and you will get a better idea of his ability.

Way true, but he himself admits that he pretty much only plays the bass section of the stick.

[Rano Bass]

That's true... he's not mentioned here very often but the same happens to other great studio bass players like Nathan East, Neil Stubenhaus, Will Lee, Lee Sklar, and others.

[kevin newsham]

Granted, if I had one I would string it double bass reciprocal. So no matter where I played, it would be bass.

But in a lot of peoples eyes it is NOT a bass. Like a keyboardist playing bass note's, it may sound good, but it is not a bass.

I don't hold these feelings, but I do follow Chapman Stick as well. Tony is a very talented bassist, and stickist. But I don't think either camp gives him enough credit when he is not playing the favored instrument.

I am also a big Trey Gunn fan, but he would never get a mention here because he plays a Warr guitar, and has never played a bass. Even though most of his work falls into the bass guitar range, he is not considered a bass player. Check out KTU Absynth on youtube.

[kevin newsham]

Originally Posted by Rano Bass

That's true... he's not mentioned here very often but the same happens to other great studio bass players like Nathan East, Neil Stubenhaus, Will Lee, Lee Sklar, and others.

Quite true, there are top notch players that never get proper credit.

[burk48237]

I loved his playing when I saw him live with Peter Gabriel. I suspect the reason that both he and Pino Palladino (who gets a bit more press) don't get quite the love here, that guys like Rainey, Marcus, and Will Lee get, is the context of the material they became famous on. The Jazz Rock acts like Steely Dan made a big deal about who played on their albums, but you had to hunt for the name of that bass player on that Peter Gabriel or Paul Young tune. Also the pop music of the era they came up in was filled with so much drivel, many of us avoided it. I must admit, I don't have a lot of Tony Levin or Pino on my ipod even though both are great players. I just suspect they got lost in their mediocre music era. Many of us had tuned pop out by the time Madonna was ruling the charts.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by burk48237

I loved his playing when I saw him live with Peter Gabriel. I suspect the reason that both he and Pino Palladino (who gets a bit more press) don't get quite the love here, that guys like Rainey, Marcus, and Will Lee get, is the context of the material they became famous on. The Jazz Rock acts like Steely Dan made a big deal about who played on their albums, but you had to hunt for the name of that bass player on that Peter Gabriel or Paul Young tune. Also the pop music of the era they came up in was filled with so much drivel, many of us avoided it. I must admit, I don't have a lot of Tony Levin or Pino on my ipod even though both are great players. I just suspect they got lost in their mediocre music era. Many of us had tuned pop out by the time Madonna was ruling the charts.

True.

TL was on the Robbie Roberston solo album of that era,
buried in there with an impressive list of sidemen. You had to put on
a strong pair of reading glasses to find his name in the credits.

Just because I don't gush about TL constantly doesn't mean
I don't respect his work. Can't speak for others, but I spend a
lot of time here checking out gear, amps, cabs, band stuff, but
not that much time discussing individual players. Just my
preference.

[NickBass81]

Tony is one of my favorite 10 players of all time,one of those who can really add something to a song..
That said, I don't think he's particulay underrated here in TB, I've seen some topics talking about him, and anytime I have the occasion I'd mention him...

[Hamrhed]

Originally Posted by Thor

TL was on the Robbie Roberston solo album of that era,
buried in there with an impressive list of sidemen. You had to put on
a strong pair of reading glasses to find his name in the credits.

The album you speak of (I believe) by Robbie Robertson is called Robbie Robertson ('87)- oddly enough

Actually, considering he shared the tracks w/ Larry Klein, Abe Laboriel, and Adam Clayton- Tony was well credited on each of his tracks... even got to play some stick! He played bass on the bulk of the record.

I mention that record because its one of the few that I own that Tony plays on- but is also one of my all time faves. Tony is one guy who is as cool as he is good, imo...

[Shovelbone]

Originally Posted by Nasnederis

Yes. Everybody here talks wonders about Marcus Miller, James Jamerson, Geddy Lee ( I love all of them), but I find absolutely incredible than in a bass forum there's only a little discussion about TONY LEVIN. This goes to rock lovers. Ok we all know Geddy is genius, Mr Harris, Squire, J P Jones, Mccartney etc but c'mon everybody!! I'm talking about maybe the most versatile rock player ever, he still lives, he still plays like a monster, he even invented a new way to play, "the funk fingers" (with drum sticks on the fingers).

The list of artist of his work :Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Liquid Tension Experiment and leads his own Tony Levin Band.

Cher, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Buddy Rich, The Roches, Todd Rundgren, Seal, and Yes. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Paul Simon (with whom Tony appeared in Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony), Gary Burton, James Taylor, Herbie Mann, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Tim Finn, Richie Sambora, and Claudio Baglioni.

Peter Gabriel!!, King Crimson!!!!!!! and with everyone he does and incredible and original job that we all should learn from.

It seems that we only talk about Geddy and Geddy and Geddy.
Sorry guys, Im just amazed of how underrated bass player he is in a bass forum!!

I agree 100 %
I think the reason that Mr. Levin does not get the recognition that many of the others do is simply he is not known for playing as many notes as the others. His note selection has always been very tasty, economical and well placed.
To me... his most flavored and poignant piece of playing is on the Peter Gabriel tune 'Your Eyes'. That simple bass still just knocks me out and truly helps to make that song one of the classics in my book.

[Dr. Cheese]

I love Tony Levin's playing with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. The man is monster. He also makes total liars out of people who say that Stingrays are one trick ponys.