Why is Eric Wilson not ever mentioned as a great bassist of the 90s?

Eli_Upright12 · #1 04-16-2007, 05:16 PM

Seriously how have him and Sublime as a band been so forgotten, the guy could really groove, and wrote incredibly tasty riffs.and he new when to back off and let the roots car parts of songs, thats one thing that many good bassist can't do.

superbassman2000 · #2 04-16-2007, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

...and he new when to back off and let the roots car parts of songs, thats one thing that many good bassist can't do.

that doesn't exactly make them good now does it?

Eli_Upright12 · #3 04-16-2007, 05:54 PM

No not neccesarily, but I dont know dont you ever get bored of bassist who just solo around the neck and forget that theres a song going on, also Im not saying thats what makes him a good bassist I think its an attribute that he had that adds to his repetoire. He had chops and style for sure, but that style also involved not always playing as many notes as possible. It is good to point that out though and I thank you for that.

gkbass13 · #4 04-16-2007, 06:02 PM

i love sublime and eric, but honestly a lot of his parts were incredibally busy...too busy imo. great band though.

Nappa · #5 04-16-2007, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

Seriously how have him and Sublime as a band been so forgotten, the guy could really groove, and wrote incredibly tasty riffs.and he new when to back off and let the roots car parts of songs, thats one thing that many good bassist can't do.

Who? j/k not much of a fan of Sublime, some good songs.

beggar98 · #6 04-16-2007, 08:00 PM

Just because plays bass in a good band, doesn't mean they are a good bass player.

Rano Bass · #7 04-16-2007, 08:34 PM

But he IS a good player and was in a very popular band.
I like his style, not my favorite by far but good in his band.

Ian Manley · #8 04-16-2007, 08:48 PM

I don't know why Eric Wilson is not ever mentioned as a great bassist of the 90s. But I do think he was a great bassist. I think he was one of the best of the decade. And I think the fact that there was a Krist Novoselic (however you spell it) thread about him before there was an Eric Wilson thread is depressing, because there is no way Nirvana had a better bassist than Sublime.

Dave Bassincus · #9 04-17-2007, 09:37 AM

Eric Wilson is a fantastic player who just keeps the tunes bubbling along, but one of the things I like about him most is his ultra-bassy tone. Super fat but still defined. After hearing him, I got hooked on dub music but good.

Eli_Upright12 · #10 04-17-2007, 03:06 PM

Yeah I'm always so impressed by how he can give that big bass Reggae tone to every song, and it just drives that band to have him and Bud Gaugh as such a solid rhythm section, the song "Ebin" might be my favorite bass hook of all time. I can also see how his bass lines could be seen as busy, but I think that it usually turns out pretty well like the bass part in the chorus of "40oz to Freedom" where he takes 4 notes yet the way he arranges the rhythms it seems like a lot more. Personally Eric Wilson is my second biggest influence bass-wise second only to Jack Bruce, and actually I don't see there styles as being all that different.

Senor SQUID · #11 05-19-2007, 08:01 AM

Eric is my #1 influence and does not get enough credit as far as I'm concerned. I think I only have seen 2 small articled on him in the past 15 years that I have been reading Bass Player. He is a mucho talented mofo and gets nothing buyt love & respect from SQUID

4lPh4n0m3g4 · #12 05-19-2007, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

Seriously how have him and Sublime as a band been so forgotten

IMO, even though he's a good and competant bassist, he didn't really bring anything new or different to the game.

As for Sublime, as above, nothing new or different really. No dis, but for the most part, just a glorified west coast party band.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

.and he new when to back off and let the roots car parts of songs, thats one thing that many good bassist can't do.

IMO, "tasteful" playing is what differentiates a good bass player from one who is not.

MammaryVest · #13 05-19-2007, 10:07 AM

Of Course there is absolutely know way to determine whether or not Eric Wilson was a "better" bassist than Krist Novocelic, so I guess that was just blowing smoke up our asses. But as far as Eric Wilson goes, he was a pretty good player, not one of the best of the decade, and I'm not a fan of his tone. His "signature" sound reminded me of a really cheap bass turned up all the way with the tone knob rolled all the way down. So it's like really bassy, and then if you listen really close you can hear the trebly-ness underneath trying to come out.

Matt Till · #14 05-19-2007, 11:24 AM

I think Badfish is probably among my top 40 basslines of all time. Unfortunatly, Sublime has kind of been taken over by the pseudo-hippie-pothead-collegekid crew, so they are a bit overplayed, but good basslines.

steamthief · #15 05-19-2007, 11:37 AM

I love Eric Wilson as a bassist! "Wrong Way" is one of my favorite lines ever. I agree with OP, he truly doesn't get enough props.

And to even mention Novoselic in the same sentence? Please.

bobstefntes · #16 05-20-2007, 06:42 AM

Eric Wilson is a fanfreakintastic bass player, and the combination of him and Bud Gaugh is most impressive. You should check out the two Long Beach Dub Allstars CDs, Right Back and Wonders of the World. Miguel, Field Marshall and about 13 other guys, it is bad ass. Nowadays, I hear, Eric is jamming with an outfit called ShortBus. At a minimum I know the LBDA split into two camps, and I believe Bud and Eric stayed together. By the way, has anybody checked out "Eye's Adrift" It's kinda sucky but, I thought it was cool that Bud Gaugh, Krist Novoselic, and the meat puppet guy recorded an album together. All this Sublime talk is making me want to get another tattoo, or go try to remember how to play the basslines in "Rosarito". Later cats.

Bob

Senor SQUID · #17 05-20-2007, 06:59 AM

LB shortbus are rgeat live. You should pick up there records they are great. They have 2 out

bobstefntes · #18 05-20-2007, 07:09 AM

Is Bud with them too?

GrooveBass · #19 05-20-2007, 07:17 AM

I've been a Sublime addict from the minute I heard Santeria. It seriously brought a tear to my eye. Granted, I wasn't in a "solid" headspace, but still.... Eric and Bud really are what Sublime is about, plus Brad's awesome vocals. It's party-style dub most of the time, in my opinion, but when it needs to get cranked up, Eric lays back on the root and lets Brad's guitar make some noise. As for the tone, very subliminal at times....I'm a fan anyway. And for the record, Eyes Adrift does kinda suck, interesting tho. So....can you tell Eric's one of my biggest influences

Senor SQUID · #20 05-20-2007, 07:19 AM

Nope Damien Ramirez