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Do you think Michael Anthony is underrated??
- Thread starter Cadillac_Mike
- Start date
Yes! Way overlooked. I’ve listened to some isolated tracks and this guy has some nifty chops. He served the song, but in his own stylish way. I’ve read other musicians praising him for how talented he is… one even making the comment that he can play jazz well. If he was in a band that required a “busier” bass line, there’s no doubt that he could handle it.
He & Sammy Hagar still rock. I think MA was just a victim of the Van Halen brothers replacing him with Wolfgang when it was time to transition Eddie's son into Van Halen. The DLR breakup, it was obvious DLR was going his direction, the VH brothers were going in another direction. By the numbers DLR fared better than the Van Hagar albums. And when Sammy Hagar's time was up, they went with Cherone & Van Halen couldn't pull off the trilogy. By that time, everyone was even moving on from grunge into the late 90's Rock. VH became a Boomer band. VH died when EVH died. There's zero chance of Wolfgang reviving VH with Alex. Not even sure Alex's heart is into a VH tribute tour. The problem is, who do they get to play like EVH ? I think if White Lion's Vito Bratta were healthier, he could get them close, if not outright be a dead ringer for a EVH plug & play ? That's not slighting EVH, it's that Bratta had gotten that good.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/off-stage-paul-gene-want-092907086.html
Anyway, this is about VH, I think if there is any role for Wolfgang, he would have to fill Eddie's lead guitar. MA could easily do what he had done for 30+ years for VH, I doubt Wolfgang could do the entire catalog of VH songs. I think Bratta could, but how long would that take to learn ? And that's just another reason VH is a dead tour at this point ?
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/off-stage-paul-gene-want-092907086.html
Anyway, this is about VH, I think if there is any role for Wolfgang, he would have to fill Eddie's lead guitar. MA could easily do what he had done for 30+ years for VH, I doubt Wolfgang could do the entire catalog of VH songs. I think Bratta could, but how long would that take to learn ? And that's just another reason VH is a dead tour at this point ?
I think Michael Anthony is regarded pretty much where is should be. Good player, who improved over years of constant touring. He does his job in the band, and that's appropriate. His work on "Right Now" is damned good (although I wouldn't be surprised to find out if this was Le Sklar on the recording. No one has ever said it was, but sure sounds like Le's style and bringing in a hired gun to nail the part wouldn't have been uncommon).
Van Halen's songs wouldn't sound right with a very technical bassist. Want proof: look at the David Lee Roth band.
Roth left Van Halen, and set out to build a new one with basically unlimited funds. He grabbed (arguably) the best individual musicians in the rock world at the time with Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai and Greg Bissonette. In respects to pure instrumental "firepower" there may have never been a better band.
Billy (wisely) did his damndest to play like Micheal Anthony.
Van Halen's songs wouldn't sound right with a very technical bassist. Want proof: look at the David Lee Roth band.
Roth left Van Halen, and set out to build a new one with basically unlimited funds. He grabbed (arguably) the best individual musicians in the rock world at the time with Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai and Greg Bissonette. In respects to pure instrumental "firepower" there may have never been a better band.
Billy (wisely) did his damndest to play like Micheal Anthony.
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He has a legacy he should be proud of. Over- or under-rated is up to the beholder.
Definitely not underrated. Good rock bassist, phenomenal background vocalist. Everybody says this, nobody underrates him, but it’s fun to talk about ‘insert your favorite player here - aren’t they underrated???)
I’m sure Eddie played bass on Girl gone bad (1984)
Even so it is a great song and a very good bass line.
Who cares if Michael is underrated
He played with one of the top bands in the 80’s
And is a millionaire!!!
He is a TEAM player and Rock solid, THAT’S what Bass playing is all about.
Imho
Even so it is a great song and a very good bass line.
Who cares if Michael is underrated
He played with one of the top bands in the 80’s
And is a millionaire!!!
He is a TEAM player and Rock solid, THAT’S what Bass playing is all about.
Imho
There's a VH song like this that dispels the whole M Anthony as a 'root' player thingy:
this sounds like AI…
Underrated is such an odd question, in this context.
He regularly had solo spots, at like arena/stadium level shows, to cheering crowds for decades. Very odd to call that underrated. When he’s had that factual level of recognition.
He doesn’t get the same recognition as bassist like Sting, McCartney, Lee, or Claypool, but he’s also not a lead singer or primary songwriter.
But as a bassist, that isn’t a lead singer or primary songwriter, he gets the level of “rated” ness that he deserves imo lol.
He regularly had solo spots, at like arena/stadium level shows, to cheering crowds for decades. Very odd to call that underrated. When he’s had that factual level of recognition.
He doesn’t get the same recognition as bassist like Sting, McCartney, Lee, or Claypool, but he’s also not a lead singer or primary songwriter.
But as a bassist, that isn’t a lead singer or primary songwriter, he gets the level of “rated” ness that he deserves imo lol.
I wish I was as underrated as Michael Anthony.
I would contemplate where I went wrong from the deck of my Malibu mansion.
Maybe I'm just too " over-rated"?
I would contemplate where I went wrong from the deck of my Malibu mansion.
Maybe I'm just too " over-rated"?
I never thought of him as as being a Entwistle type player. Frankly, he wasn’t “The Show” although his skills in filling the bill were spot on. His did the job really well and that is pretty good insurance against being underrated in my book.
After listening to my work back in the 70’s trying to be “The Show”, came to the conclusion that although I could, it wasn’t good for the band as a whole. Hence a paradigm shift in my approach to the instrument to serve the music/arrangement/ensemble that has kept me employed for almost 50 years.
On a gig playing in a very commercial corporate event high end wedding band, a singer in a very popular band came up to me and suggested I should “get out of the cage” once in a while as I had the chops. I replied that staying in the gage keeps me employed. Like they say, discretion is the better part of valor.
For me the art is in being tasteful and purposeful. I think one of the best compliments I’ve ever received was after an audition, the BL said “Being honest, the three other bassists we auditioned were a lot better bassists, but with you we sound like a band.” And from me that is exactly where Anthony was with VH.
After listening to my work back in the 70’s trying to be “The Show”, came to the conclusion that although I could, it wasn’t good for the band as a whole. Hence a paradigm shift in my approach to the instrument to serve the music/arrangement/ensemble that has kept me employed for almost 50 years.
On a gig playing in a very commercial corporate event high end wedding band, a singer in a very popular band came up to me and suggested I should “get out of the cage” once in a while as I had the chops. I replied that staying in the gage keeps me employed. Like they say, discretion is the better part of valor.
For me the art is in being tasteful and purposeful. I think one of the best compliments I’ve ever received was after an audition, the BL said “Being honest, the three other bassists we auditioned were a lot better bassists, but with you we sound like a band.” And from me that is exactly where Anthony was with VH.
I love Van Halen, one of my all-time favorite bands, especially the DLR era. So, of course I'm a huge MA fan too. I think he played his part perfectly without any rock star ego or bluster. He grounded that early lineup and certainly isn't a flashy player, but was exactly what the VH brothers needed. There was nothing more, nor less that he needed to do. I sure wish the last years of the band included his talents, but can't blame Eddie for wanting to spend time playing with his son. Just a solid professional who knows how to best serve the song.
Off topic, but really curious by what number standard are saying David Lee Roth’s solo career fared better than the Van Hagar albums?
DLR had 2 big singles thanks to MTV videos, then a couple of albums (Eat em & Smile and Skyscraper) that sold ok before dropping off the musical radar. In that same time period, the 3 Van Halen albums sold 6x as much! (just looking quickly at U.S. numbers on Wikipedia). I really enjoyed DLR and bought both his 80s albums when they came out, but in that same time frame Van Hagar was MASSIVE, especially 5150 and OU812.
ETA: On topic, Michael Anthony is a great professional bass player (and excellent vocalist). He strikes me as a rock n roll Tony Levin - has chops he can stretch out if there’s the space and opportunity, but whose playing first and foremost is what the song (or in VH, songwriter) requires.
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He served every song beautifully. never really followed VH after their first 4 LP's, but always had mad respect for his playing.
"Lighting up the Sky" is a great play along and i'm sure there's more intricate basslines of his.
not my vid.
"Lighting up the Sky" is a great play along and i'm sure there's more intricate basslines of his.
not my vid.
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