The African guy who backed Paul Simon on "Graceland" and had a solo in "You can call me Al"... what is his name?
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Best Bass Solo Ever???
- Thread starter Spinal Tapper
- Start date
Well, Ralphe Armstrong kicked off this thread, and has been mentioned twice already, for two different solos...but the one that would come to my mind, if someone put a gun to my head and asked this question (because there really is no "best" in music...but I'll play along) is:
Ralphe Armstrong on Jean-Luc Ponty's - Enigmatic Ocean: The Struggle Of The Turtle To The Sea, Part III
Now, that makes 3 times Ralphe has made this list.
Kinda makes you realize the man is a little under-appreciated, huh?
Ralphe Armstrong on Jean-Luc Ponty's - Enigmatic Ocean: The Struggle Of The Turtle To The Sea, Part III
Now, that makes 3 times Ralphe has made this list.
Kinda makes you realize the man is a little under-appreciated, huh?
Bakithi Kumalo is the man.
Not only was he brilliant on Graceland but he was ace on "The Rhythm of the Saints" and "You're the one", two other Paul Simon records. On "you're the one" he even put Abe Laboriel's tracks to shame!
My Vote is for another Rush instrumental called "La Villa Strangiato". Another incredible bass virtuosity is called "Classical Thump" by Victor Wooten.[/B]
I love Geddy's licks in La Villa and also YYZ, but they are just short, fast runs, too short that IMHO I wouldnt call them solos, at least not in the context of what we are talking about here. I guess I am thinking more like soloing over chord changes or stuff like that, but dont get me wrong, Rush is my favorite band and I am heavily influenced by Geddy!
Basshole's right. It is The Struggle Of The Turtle To The Sea Part III. Havona is the runner up, an extremely close contender (and compositional genius no doubt) but Turtle epitomises the electric bass solo. It contains all of the cliches - the pentatonic base, chromatic approach, gravitating to sevenths and ninths, stacked fourth movement, bass distortion and filter etc - and yet presents them in a way that is anything but tired; it doesn't date; retains freshness even after the 100th (or add zeros) listen. (Not that Havona doesn't still have life after a similar number of listens, but to do so whilst drawing so largely from the "standard" components of a bass solo is absolute mastery)
That's even true after I remove my bias to Ralphe's tone. Both definers of the fretless sound, Jaco had the "standard" electric fretless thing, to me Ralphe had the presence of the upright on the fretless owing to the Precision pickup. I prefer Ralphe's tone personally.
That's even true after I remove my bias to Ralphe's tone. Both definers of the fretless sound, Jaco had the "standard" electric fretless thing, to me Ralphe had the presence of the upright on the fretless owing to the Precision pickup. I prefer Ralphe's tone personally.
And to try to do justice to his under-appreciation, I believe Ralphe Armstrong is the best bass player. His fashion sense aside, Mahavishnu's 1974 dvd confirms this time and time again.
I can understand why he is quoted as saying Jaco missed out on the Mahavishnu gig and switched to fretless afterwards as a result of this, even if it's not true, for exactly that reason. Jaco got the household name for "introducing" a sound to jazz that was really pioneered by Armstrong and Alphonso Johnson (another mostly unsung bass genius).
I can understand why he is quoted as saying Jaco missed out on the Mahavishnu gig and switched to fretless afterwards as a result of this, even if it's not true, for exactly that reason. Jaco got the household name for "introducing" a sound to jazz that was really pioneered by Armstrong and Alphonso Johnson (another mostly unsung bass genius).
The best bass solo is the one you like the best . . .
Having said that, Wooten's solo on The Sinister Minister is such an incredible solo. You have all these jaw dropping techniques, and yet it is so melodic and compliments the song perfectly.
Having said that, Wooten's solo on The Sinister Minister is such an incredible solo. You have all these jaw dropping techniques, and yet it is so melodic and compliments the song perfectly.
I haven't heard the studio version of Sinister, so can't comment. Always loved Wooten though, have a couple of his solo albums - Hip Bop is a standout bass solo and one that deserves mention on this thread!
The studio version is precisely the one I'm talking about. It's the one that put him on the map, and I still think it's one of his best solos, if not the best.
PS: A good amount of people can pull off Classical Thump. The same cannot be said about the above mentioned solo . . . (though the difficult aspect of it is just one thing)
Jaco on Ian Hunter's "All American Alien Boy."
Perfectly timed, perfectly executed, perfectly fits the song.
Intro and outro are impeccable.
Perfectly timed, perfectly executed, perfectly fits the song.
Intro and outro are impeccable.
As well as the LONGEST bass solo ever on a pop/rock record. Give it up for the Babbitt R.I.P...
"Mr. Pink" by Level 42, from the live recording "A Physical Presence" - I love the bass and drum trades about 2/3 of the way through. The first time I heard that recording, which might have been 1987, I couldn't believe it was the same band who played "Something About You" on the radio. Awesome wicked funk stuff.
But, there are about a million versions of Mr. Pink now, and the one on "Physical Presence" is the only one worth listening to, IMO. The more recent ones all seem to be trying to recreate or one-up that one, and they all sound frantic and derivative to me.
But, there are about a million versions of Mr. Pink now, and the one on "Physical Presence" is the only one worth listening to, IMO. The more recent ones all seem to be trying to recreate or one-up that one, and they all sound frantic and derivative to me.
