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Geezer Butler. + or -?

#26
NKUSigEp said:
His style is boring and stale because it's been copied millions of times by millions of bassists. Along with Entwhistle, I believe he was one of the first to make the electric bass more than a 3-note instrument.
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You should probably check out the playing by some of Entwhistle's influences, most of whom were black R&B artists, and the greatest of whom, until relatively recently, was an unknown - James Jamerson. Definitely not a 3-note player. :)

Geezer defined the sound of Black Sabbath and set the tone for the development of heavy metal and progressive rock as genres, not just for bass playing. Iommi's riffs were obviously the other half of the equation (or quarter?), but I definitely place Geezer's playing up there on equal or greater than status with Iommi's contributions. Geezer's bass playing, especially with his down-tuning, is exactly what made heavy metal "heavy."

Remember what rock was before Sabbath - the Who were the heaviest-known band, and many of the people at Woodstock didn't even know who they were. Compare the Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Jefferson Airplane, or anything by the Beatles, to Black Sabbath. Imagine being a flower child in 1969 and being exposed to Sabbath. They were absolutely groundbreaking. Geezer, IMO, is the most original bass player to come out of the late sixties.

Not to say that Joe Osborne, Carol Kaye, Jamerson, etc. are in any way *less than* Geezer - just that Geezer, and Sabbath as both individual members and as a whole, were unlike absolutely everything that went before or came after for several years.
 
#28
While his playing wasn't influential to my playing, I liked what he did, but I haven't really followed what he did after BORN AGAIN. What I like on all those old Sabbath songs is that they always tried to play different styles, what they (Iommi) did on later albums like Dehumanizer didn't appeal much to me, to me it sounded like they desperately wanted to keep up with all the newer heavy metal bands. Bob Daisley is another one that I really like as I have been a big Deep Purple/Rainbow fan in my early years. I followed the musicians to other bands they were in before or after, that way I got into Black Sabbath (Heaven and Hell).
 
#29
Hamerguy said:
While his playing wasn't influential to my playing, I liked what he did, but I haven't really followed what he did after BORN AGAIN. What I like on all those old Sabbath songs is that they always tried to play different styles, what they (Iommi) did on later albums like Dehumanizer didn't appeal much to me, to me it sounded like they desperately wanted to keep up with all the newer heavy metal bands. Bob Daisley is another one that I really like as I have been a big Deep Purple/Rainbow fan in my early years. I followed the musicians to other bands they were in before or after, that way I got into Black Sabbath (Heaven and Hell).
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I agree about Bob Daisley - not a lot of folks know, I don't think, about his role with Ozzy, many think it was Rudy Sarzo on the albums when it was Bob. Creative guy.

But doesn't compare to Geezer IMHO. :)
 
#30
Daisley is another great. Geezer, though, will always be in a class by himself to me.

One person I've mentioned a few times on this forum but don't ever see any discussion about is Dennis Dunaway who played bass on the first few Alice Cooper albums (when Alice Cooper was a band and not just a pseudonym for Vincent Furnier.)

He's one of my faves. Seems terribly overlooked.
 
#32
Muddslide said:
Daisley is another great. Geezer, though, will always be in a class by himself to me.

One person I've mentioned a few times on this forum but don't ever see any discussion about is Dennis Dunaway who played bass on the first few Alice Cooper albums (when Alice Cooper was a band and not just a pseudonym for Vincent Furnier.)

He's one of my faves. Seems terribly overlooked.
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+1 - Love his playing to death. ;) Well, not as much as Geezer, but that was classic music, and also groundbreaking for 1970.
 
#34
Yeah, like the rest of you who have posted already, Geezers playing is what got me into bass. Him and Steve Harris are GODS. I consider myself to be a pretty decent players and there's a couple of Geezers lines that I've never been able to get down. That guy can groove like there's no tomorrow.

Many have tried to imitate him but I've yet to hear someone who can match what he does.
 
#37
"Mixed reviews" and "Geezer Butler" don't belong in the same sentence.

I remember the first time I listened to Master of Reality with proper headphones. Mindblowing. I couldn't keep a grin from creeping across my face as I heard Geezer dancing around Iommi's pile-driver chords. Anyone who doesn't think he is one of the greatest is delusional.
 

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