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Are Bass Albums Boring?

#21
YES! I agree 100%. I can't stand solo bass albums or really the bass as a solo period. To me its just not its place and allot of the wanking sounds horrible... Jaco included.. I'm not even into jams bands or long guitar solo's unless there is structure and a song with lyrics in it. I can't sit thru that rubbish. Give me a good simple song a little guitar, fiddle, whatever solo and I'm good.
 
#24
cnltb said:
...and then there are Acoustic players albums....
Scott colley-architect of the silent moment
drew gress 7 black butterflies
dave holland ones all are all fantastic, bt do not belong to the same category as those talked about by the op.

I am always open for recommendations !!
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All great stuff!
...& if you're serious about being open for recommendations...in the same vibe/mold include-
Ben Allison
Avashai Cohen
John Lindberg
John Patitucci (some of the electric + all of the acoustic)
William Parker
Miroslav Vitous
...and you can't go too wrong with Charles Mingus!

...and a big shoutout for Soul Machine by Fima Ephron (bassist for the Screaming Headless Torsos, The Hasidic New Wave, etc).
 
#26
JimK said:
All great stuff!
...& if you're serious about being open for recommendations...in the same vibe/mold include-
Ben Allison
Avashai Cohen
John Lindberg
John Patitucci (some of the electric + all of the acoustic)
William Parker
Miroslav Vitous
...and you can't go too wrong with Charles Mingus!

...and a big shoutout for Soul Machine by Fima Ephron (bassist for the Screaming Headless Torsos, The Hasidic New Wave, etc).
Click to expand...

+1 on that whole list. I just started picking up Ben Allison's work a couple years back, wonderful writer!
 
#28
BigOldHarry said:
...like Gary Willis' solo albums - mostly because they don't sound like "Bass" albums.
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I agree with that.
For awhile, I admit...I avoided "(electric)bass-led" albums.
Then, I do recall taking a chance when Patitucci's 1st solo disc came out...to me, that did not sound like a "bass album"...it had nice heads, nice chords, lotta sax & keys, great interplay within the rhythm section, etc.
 
#29
I usually like one or two tunes of the album, but other than that not to interested. My actual least favorite is wootens stuff...no offense the guy cause he is an AWESOME AWESOME player, but his tone is so smooth, it just feels emotionless and its just cause he is so technically good that he pulls it off. I enjoy a good groove, wilkenfield's ablum are good for that and so are michael manrings, i feel like even though he is playing solo there is still an awesome groove there.
 
#30
There are plenty of great albums (CDs) by bassplayers. Some showcase bassplaying others that are band/composition oriented.

If some people don't like it, then they don't like it no big deal. And I am not saying that all "Bass" music is great, certainly there is lots of music that is uninteresting for many reasons in every musical genre, But there is much going on out there with our instrument and many bassplayers are pushing back the boundries and overturning the old assumptions of what the role of bass is and what it is capable of and I think that is a very good thing.

Cheers!
 
#31
I disagree, some solo bass albums are amongst my most favorite, and it is from the strength of the songs that they derive their longevity for me. Two of my favorites are "A Show Of Hands" by Victor Wooten and "School Days" by Stanley Clarke. Now School Days has a few cheesy tunes on it, but most of it is strong and a few of the compositions are just superlative in my opinion (School Days and Dessert Song). A Show Of Hands doesn't have any duds in my opinion, and the title track and a few others are just great songs in my opinion.
 
#32
Skitch it! said:
May I suggest Tom Jenkinson aka Squarepusher's Feed Me Weird Things or Just a Souvenir, an incredible bassist, even more incredible drummer, keys, classical guitar etc.

It's not for everyone, but the 2 albums above count as some of his more accessible stuff imo, he's not interested in mainstream success whatsoever, if you want to hear his influence, the latest stuff by Garrison or Willis tip's the hat quite a bit. Old live track from Normal Hard Daddy - Coopers World.

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My intern is always trying to get me into Squarepusher. I am still trying, but that is some REALLY challenging music to listen to.
 
#33
garmenteros said:
I love Micheal Manring's solo efforts, give soliloquy some plays in your ipod or computer and it'll change your mind. As far as bass being the lead in the music in a band, generally I don't like music that showcases any particular instrument more than the others save for a few exceptions (jaco being one of them). Thats why I could never get into steve vai or other guitar virtuosos. I like it when both guitar and bass together compliment each other perfectly. Rush, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Rage Against the Machine come to mind when I think of perfect musical balance.
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Manring has some serious talent, although I haven't heard his entire album.
 
#36
JimK said:
All great stuff!
...& if you're serious about being open for recommendations...in the same vibe/mold include-
Ben Allison
Avashai Cohen
John Lindberg
John Patitucci (some of the electric + all of the acoustic)
William Parker
Miroslav Vitous
...and you can't go too wrong with Charles Mingus!

...and a big shoutout for Soul Machine by Fima Ephron (bassist for the Screaming Headless Torsos, The Hasidic New Wave, etc).
Click to expand...

Thank you!!

Yup...Fima Ephron is interesting. I like what he does!
I am no fan of avishai cohens "solo stuff" but do rate him as a musician.
Same goes for miroslav vitous-I just don't like what he does but apprecoate his abilities.
I do like John patitucci on acoustic.

William parker and Mingus...I absolutely love what these two do/did.
To me they live on a different plane altogether to many,many others.

I have to look up John Lindberg.

Thanks again.:)
 
#38
dtsamples said:
I think Tal Wilkenfeld's "Transformation" is an awesome bass-feature album. No lame backbeats there. Just good old fashioned musicality.
Click to expand...

pretty good example.

when you hear good bass featured music, its not an issue. the problem is that a lot of it does suck. even cats like victor are way guilty of relying on chops, even though he's written some cool stuff, his albums tend to bore me after the first two or three listenings..

a cheesey but good "Bass" record is something like brian brombergs downright upright. while the music is super-cheesey, he takes bass solos that are nice and appropriate, but the focus is good music, not "my chops."

just keep digging- theres plenty of it thats very good, out there. look further than victor and jaco.
 
#40
I'm not into the whole "four tracks of bass on one song" approach. I just don't like bass for much else besides fulfilling the standard function of the bass. When I hear guys talk about how they used this bass for the actual bass line and that bass to lay down chords and their piccolo bass to play the melody it just doesn't interest me. Victor Wooten with the Flecktones? Great. Victor Wooten as solo artist? No thanks. I have to agree with Roy about Jaco's first album, though - that strikes me as being more about composition than anything else. And one thing I respect about Richard Bona is that you can listen to his albums without being knocked over the head with his incredible bass chops. But don't get me wrong - I have a lot of admiration for the skills demonstrated by a lot of virtuoso players, and I appreciate their desire (and ability) to stretch out on their instruments - I'm just not likely to want to listen to the results myself.
 

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