Flea: this generations Jamerson/McCartney/Lee?

John Paul Jones? one of the greatest rock bassists of all time? Surely there must be some mistake.

 

Oh not at all!

 

Wait, people dislike John Paul Jones?

 

i think that saying that flea is the whatever of this generation is a joke. i'm sure that flea has got alot of people into playing the bass that may not have done so. to compare a bassplayer who has such a public profile to some one like jamerson who most people didnt even know who he was until recently is stupid. i think that flea would be the first person to say that he has been influenced by people like jamerson and mc cartney.
any student is influenced by those who come before either directly or indirectly.

the thing that irritates me the most are the people who start playing bass because of flea or whoever and believe that slapping a whole heap of notes constitutes being funky.its all second hand information.
go to the source and take it from there i say.JMO.

jb

 

Some people aren't satisfied with "the Source" and would prefer something from the next level up. And to be fair, the original question was not whether Flea was as good as those people (which IMO he is anyway) but whether or not he would be viewed as an icon like them. Know that I think of it, I don't think this thread is all too nessessary, because I think Flea has already reached that status.

 

i wasnt saying that flea isnt as good as these guys. i really like fleas playing. i had the oportunity to hang out with him once and he is a really great guy .the man deserves respect for what he has done to bring the bass to the point it is at. i dont see the harm in having all the information about something though.

anyway. flea is flea. i dont know if he would really care if he is this generation such and such.
JMO

 

Brilliant!! It's pointless to compare bassists from different generations but I think there is no doubt that Flea will go down as one of the most memorable bassists ever.

 

who is "flea"?

 

John Entwistle did that long before Geddy and Flea did. Then Chris Squire did the same thing. IMO, bass was a WAY more legit instrument in the days before RHCP (not Flea bashing, and not because of the Chilis, who I love, that's just the era).
The 60's and 70's had far better bass playing, in general, than the 90's, in general. Of course, this had to do with the style of popular music (compare My Generation or All Right Now to All The Small Things or In Da Club. Ridiculous.)
But yes, Flea is an icon, more so than any of the bassists you mentioned (outside of the bass-playing community anyway). And that's why he won't be remembered as this generation's McCartney, or Jamerson, or Geddy. He'll be remembered as Flea. And people probably will still be listening to the Chilis a long time from now. I just hope that by then they'll wise up and put some clothes on for crying out loud

 

I admit Flea was a guy who made me want to play bass cuz he sounded good and made it look cool. But yea, once I started playing and learning some of his riffs I realized some of them aren't nearly as hard to play as they sound. Kind of like for a guitar player and say- Kirk Hammett maybe. He got a lot of ppl into guitar, but he's certainly not the best guitarist of all time... that said, they're both still good musicians.

 

Yeah. I'm not a big "Chili's" fan, but Flea is one of the greats. I have a DVD Improv. Very cool.

In years to come it'll be Flea. Totally UNDERATED!!!

 

i think flea is the master of slapping
back on their early stuff is some real great stuff
he was one of the first people to bring slapping to rock music
he inspired me to start slaping...and now i can play almost
every single chili pepper song ever written
flea is the best

 

Flea is a great bass player. And im sure he'll be remembered later on.
he is as prominent in RHCP's style of music as Lee and mcartney were in theirs.

it's just different. He'll be remembered as one of the most influential from this generation for sure.

(and im no flea-holic either...i just gotta give him his props)

 

Really?? Wow, I did not know this!

 

Flea is Flea. He is more entertaining on stage to me than a great bass player. Can he slap? Yup. Can he help write catchy tunes? Absolutely. Is he one of the best bassists ever? Not a chance IMO and I am a huge RHCP fan.

When I think of great rock bassists, Geddy, Entwhistle and Chris Squire come to mind first.

 

i like flea, i think he is good, ive' known about him for a long time way before they were famous. but as far as him being this generations Geddy maybe, but Jamerson (oh hell to the f-ck naww!!) Jamerson is the bassist of every generation. flea has had no influence, in funk, jazz, soul,electronic dance and especially r&b and these are where the truly great players are and have always been even in this day and time....if you do your reading (and listening)flea himself has said that all the accolades and mainstream attetion his playing gets is undeserved..why?? cause it sends the wrong message and cast aside the truth.. it insults his and alot musicians intelligence.. i have read numerous interviews in Bass Guitar, Bass Player magazine and threads in TB where young players cite him as their main influence. and flea can hear and see all the mediocre chopless bassist that have dominated pop rock and he doesn't want anything to do with it..this is why he switched up to a more Jamerson-like style..flea's playing does not travel outside the rock idiom and to established players like Jamerson's playing did. what is disheartning is that no matter how many times flea tries to tell the world where all that stuff he does is 40 year old r&b techniqe and that there is a Marcus Miller, Anthony Jackson,a Gerald Veasley a Al Taylor, they still want to give all the credit to him.....its not your fault Flea..........

 

Hey, how'd you know I was a cretin?

Maybe I was misinformed and although I may have to admit there are others who can play faster or fancier, he's still damn good at what he does, his slapping included.

 

Geddy Lee is still alive and kicking, and Sir Paul, well, he's still alive.

 

Most LA session players have as much or more bass knowledge and facility than any of the players mentioned.

These guys are lauded because of the band in which they played and the unique voice or style they contributed.

Flea's got his own thing going anyway.

Geddy is a great bass player too. Too bad we generally have to hear him sing when we listen to his playing...