Do you think Michael Anthony is underrated??

[HP Hovercraft]

I'll just leave this right here.

OK I change my vote to underrated

 

[Not yet]

Yup. Mixed too low and I never paid much attention.....until now playing in a band doing VH for first time and his parts are perfect and not all that easy when he gets goin

 

[Medicine Man]

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!

But for the grace of God we would all have a terrible drunk bass solo on YouTube. Curse these cameraphones!

 

[Jefenator]

Any time a band is highly celebrated and a rhythm section member isn't...

Would VH have been more successful if Michael Anthony did a lot more fills & jaw dropping unison riffs alongside Eddie?

I'm thinking that would have probably put them more in a prog rock pigeon hole.

 

[prowla]

Could you mean "Dirty Movies" off of Fair Warning?

Nope - not that one.
I remembered some lyrics "Seems like forty days and forty night since someone used my first name" - it's "Push Comes To Shove", off that album...

 

[ChrisAlan]

I have never thought of the word underrated when thinking of his playing.
In my experience, it was usually guitarists that felt that way.

 

[5StringBlues]

fine player and who the hell cares about rating bass players?

 

[Basvarken]

He's an amazing bass player. You have to be deaf (or conceited) not to hear that.
Great bass lines, great tone and always in the pocket.

 

[MtManiac]

Oh no, I think you misunderstood my point sir... My point was that bassists who are really good at playing the root deserve more recognition (Michael Anthony, Dusty Hill, Pete Agnew, etc). It's a lot harder to fill in constantly for those mid-fast tempo rhythms on the root for the 80's hit songs than they get credit for... I used to play "Sharp Dressed Man" and sing lead on it in my dad's band and it's not easy to do just the bass part honestly...

Beer Drinkers is one of my favourite songs our band covers actually. Lock in tight and just drive that train.

 

[juancaminos]

Sammy said that Eddie would run amuck all over the fret board and not always spot on as far as intonation. If Michael wasn't careful he could make Eddies intonation issues stand out like a sore thumb and Eddie would get all over him. So Michael had to stick to the basic very low register.

Also Eddie has told the world that he had to show Michael his bass parts...well kind of. Eddie would tell Michael what he wanted him to play to keep him out of Eddies way. He had Michael play thing that complimented Eddie. It was all about Eddie.

If you listen to Michael on Chicken Foot songs (Highway Star live) he is much looser but after all those years of holding back he is still a bit the lesser of the ego's on stage.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Yes

 

[Herrick]

Sure he probably has some quick fills here and there but playing on the root and maintaining the rhythm is what Eddie wanted from him. That's by no means a criticism and if you read my post you wouldn't consider it one... TBH as much as I have huge respect for flashy bassists like Flea I'd literally pay to hear him fill in 80's fast tempo big arena thumping bass like this... I know he can do it but I'd love to see it honestly and hear a lesson about it from him!

Good song. I've never heard that one before.

 

[BassBrass]

I just saw his signature bass on some website.
I just Hope that after all he's been through, the highs and lows, the gifts of life and the struggles, that at this point he's immune from ridiculous questions like this one.
Opinions. You know what they say about opinions.

 

[waynobass]

He's regularly rated.

The word underrated is overrated.

 

[KellyC]

He's an amazing bass player. You have to be deaf (or conceited) not to hear that.
Great bass lines, great tone and always in the pocket.

Having a rock solid pocket and serving the music are underappreciated.

 

[Low-Five]

I had probably heard Juan Alderete’s bass solo on Racer X’s Extreme Volume Live a few hundred times before I’d matured enough as a music lover to be able to appreciate good meat-and-potatoes playing. After that, when I dug deeper into the old VH catalog, I began to respect MA a lot more. As others have said, EVH wouldn’t have had the same impact against busier bass lines. I certainly can’t look down on a guy simply because “all” he did for three decades was hold down the bass and backing vocals in one of the greatest rock bands that ever existed. When I listen to those VH albums now, I don’t think, “Man, I really wish someone like Victor Wooten or Billy Sheehan or Steve Harris had played on these songs.” I don’t just think his playing was “good enough” for VH; he was a big part of what made them the Van Halen that I loved.

 

[BassBeginer64]

I think EVH was about his guitar playing sound, when I listen to VH I crank the bass up to complement the music, I believe Edd and Ted Templeman toned down MA tones, Go try a set of headphones and crank the bass up on VH tune and you will hear a better mix - again just my opinion.....

 

[foolforthecity]

fine player and who the hell cares about rating bass players?

Hear hear! Everybody has their own sparkle. I’ve got an old buddy of mine that can’t get past immediately attempting to pidgeonhole a band into some comparison to another without REALLY listening to the tune. He’s so fricking worried about this that the whole thing blows over his little nugget. Same thing for individuals. Forget typecasts, comparisons, etc., cleanse your mental palate and groove on what that player offers right then, right there.

 

[Ostie]

If you search this subject on TB there must be a half dozen duplicate posts.

 

[Low-Five]

If you search this subject on TB there must be a half dozen duplicate posts.

Not surprising at all. It seems like a thing people would talk about.