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Do you think Michael Anthony is underrated??

#84
Ampslut said:
To be honest, I never gave it much thought because I never found his playing with that band all that interesting. If they had had to replace him would it have changed the bands sound all that much? Take for instance, Ringo Starr. While his playing with the Beatles was never all that technically difficult, his innovative style gave the band a certain sound that would be hard to replicate with a different drummer. Same could be said about Keith Richards with the Rolling stones. His playing is so unique that the Rolling Stones would never sound the same with a different guitar player. Can you say this about Michael? jmho
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Well, his vocals were definitely not replaced to the letter. And as a Fan of VH I can tell.. It tweaked me when I would here WVH singing background.. it was just a touch off from what I had listened to my entire life. WVH is an amazing bass, guitar, drummer and singer.. but he doesn't sound like MA
 
#85
This is my pure bias of not being a giant fan of 80s rock of all kind, especially the bands will drown out bass - so sorry in advance just my 2 cents - !
I think any overly popular band LZ, Van Halen, AC/DC... (Ok I do think Cliff Williams should get some more notice because a lot of their older songs he made groovy basslines or at least he wasn't drown out)

Back to my point, I think they aren't underrated, it is simply because they are the bass player, in those bands they aren't meant to be the show or shine and they are somewhat overrated because literally someone always saids "Wow John Paul Jones is so underrated" No he is not... I'm not a big fan of LZ but I give it to him that he did what did and he did it good, he had a studio musicians mindset that's all. Also like others said I do not know much about Van Halen but the band literally is name after them, so I doubt they wanted to make it "Van Halen and Anthony as well" lol bad joke or unfunny one. Hence why I dislike most 80s rock, and I apologize I am generalizing a lot of great bass work but much rather go to the 70s or 90s for my mainstream bass needs.
 
#87
I know the critics point to things like his (in)famous drunk bass solo video on Youtube as evidence that he was nothing more than a single note palyer who hit the lottery. I get it, but that video is indicative of the band at that time. What he's done with Chickenfoot and The Circle show he can play.

And, on top of his musical abilities, everything I've heard from him and about him also indicate that he's one of the most decent human beings on the planet, which puts him WAY above the Van Halen brothers in my book.

Long live Mikey!
 
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#88
getrhythm said:
I'll just leave this right here.
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I lived through the 80's, when everyone had to take long solos, even the bass player - even bar bands did that crap. I didn't do that in my band - made no sense to me. Anyway, that was at least kinda entertaining, even if it was schtick more than playing - you're not gonna outplay Eddie, you might as well do something different, so he did - makes perfect sense to me.

The part where he drops on his back - ouch! I've had back surgery, no way would I do that to myself voluntarily.
 
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#90
Cadillac_Mike said:
I personally think he is but I'd really love to hear others opinions... The whole "he's just a meat and potatoes bassist" thing just irks me tbh... Sure all he does is play on the root BUT literally 75% of the VH hits are fast mid tempo to slow fast tempo... Anthony had to maintain the bottom and rhythm on those songs night after night especially live. Most guitar players who think he's a meat and potatoes bassist couldn't fill in for one song like "Jump" live for Eddie without a pick but I bet they couldn't double pick that rhythm without screwing up!
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No. He is appropriately rated as a fine bassist who played in a hugely successful band. He is not on the level of the icons of TB though.
 
#91
stringthrough said:
Adequate bassist, great singer.

Many pro bands would love to have him as their bassist and singer.
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I would say more than adequate. Good? Very good? Whatever falls just short of great. I can’t imagine EVH would have accepted a bassist who took too long to learn their parts or failed to deliver the right tone. He is by all accounts a great pro and nice guy.
 
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#92
Maybe it's already been said here, but to me MA's best contribution to VH was his backing vocals. The harmonies he sang with EVH are actually far more important in my mind than whether or not it's David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar on lead vox. Most of the classic DLR songs are just him sort of crooning or whatever, but the parts you sing along with are MA and EVH's vox i.e. Dance the Night Away.
As a bass player, he's fine. I think I prefer his tone more than his actual playing: That bass thump at the lead in to Runnin' With the Devil. But I'm not sure how much of that is attributed to him or to the sound engineer in the studio. Just my opinion. Love me some VH. Love me some MA.
 
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#96
I think the question of whether something or someone is overrated or underrated when there is no actual “rating” and there is no “rating scale” kind of confuses the discussion.

This is (and can only be) all about individual opinions of Michael Anthony’s bass playing, singing, and any other aspect of Anthony that a person wants to discuss. A poll of TB members about Anthony and other bassists from similar bands or bands from the same era can give him a “rating” against his peer group. That might reveal he is highly “rated” among his contemporaries. Then you can ask if he’s overrated or underrated and have some starting point for the discussion…..
 
#98
Mikey is great!! He freely admits he was only involved with three songs on VHIII. Everything prior, that was him.

I’ll say this too: of everyone who has ever been in VH, Mikey is the one I’d invite over for a BBQ with my family. Just an all-around good dude.
 
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#99
Smooth_bass88 said:
Michael Anthony is a very highly rated bass player. Everyone who listens to him says this. There are many very very challenging van halen basslines that require a very high level of skill to perform. Recordings upon which Michael Anthony has performed have sold many millions of copies. He has played many many concert tours that were very popular. He has his own signature instruments. He is also an outstanding vocalist.
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I mean he has played outside of VH.....he is very good.
 
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#100
If you want to get a sense of his playing, it's good to listen to the first few Van Halen records, and then skip to some live Chicken Foot stuff. VH moved away from more complex bass lines and mixed him lower as time went on. It was sort of a less dramatic and more drawn out Jason Newsted treatment. He didn't complain and was always willing to serve the song, and a lot of those more 80s and 90s tunes didn't need much more than 8th notes anyways.

I think he's underrated as a rock player, and then throw in his iconic backing vocals and he's a top talent IMO.
 
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