Bassist make or break a band?

[iridiumrocks]

i tend to have an unpopular perspective on this subject.

could a band like queen or LZ have made it with a just mediocre bassist. yea.. probably. since the rest of the band was proficient, they could have covered. hell.. deacon and JPJ are 2 of the most overlooked bassists of that era.

I can understand the "unpopular perspective" part of your post. I would love to hear your explanation of how Led Zep or Queen could have "made it" with a mediocre bassist. The thing that made these bands great were the musical ability and chemistry of every member of the band. Neither band would have made it without a great bassist. Can you imagine "The Lemon Song" with a crappy bass player?

 

[s_mcsleazy]

i respect good bass playing but ONLY if it suits the band in question

i think some bass players do excesive bassplaying in bands where it really doesnt suit the songs

when i played in damn these metal arms i basicly knew the song styles didnt require anything over compicated but i knew when i did have the freedom to do some cool bass fills

 

[lowregister]

If I find a band that actually gives some liberty to the bassist, and when you can tell that they are working together I have more respect for the band. There are too many bands out there with passive bassists. I find it funny that on many of them that I hear on CD they barely have the bassist mixed in. It might be a problem when a fellow bassist has trouble discerning the bassline.

 

[phatbass]

Being bassists I wonder if you all share my feelings on this particular subject.
Can a bassist make or break a band for you?
Will a bassist alone make you like a band?
I myself have never that I can think of liked a band solely or even mainly for that matter because of the(ir) bassist.

Any dud player will kill a band for me. So I guess a Bassist can break a band in my view. But good players don't make me like a band. Them Crooked Vultures leave me cold, even with JPJ.

Assuming all members are at least competent, a band has to have the songs.

This is one reason I'm not into Bass-wank albums, unless the songs are there.

 

[Jaco who?]

Interesting subject. I guess in a live setting, everyone makes the band, and any one of them can break it. If not, then there really isn't any reason for them to be there. Wow that was deep.