Les claypool is very sloppy.......which is very cool.

He's only sloppy on fretless.

 

Nope, don't know.

GOOD Sloppy. An oxymoron that makes sense? Nah.

If he's sloppy then he must be lucky.

 

I understand what you mean, but I think it's also a "feel" thing. I know Claypool CAN play tight, listen to some other songs then "My name is Mud" and the whole Brown album. Take Anti-Pop e.g., on this album he plays some very tight basslines.
I also think Les wants it to sound sloppy, especially on certain songs.
But as far as his intonation goes, it could be better.
Les should have the abbility to pull it of, but I think the intonation is not his priority.

All in all I think Les is great because of his totally wacked vision of music and bassplaying in particular.

 

For me, it's more like some of his live solos just don't groove. He doesn't really play fretless live much anymore, so that's not much of an issue. I like some of the solos on his Primus albums, wankerish though they were, but I wonder sometimes if he could duplicate that kind of thing cleanly live. (I suppose we'd need a Primus reunion tour for me to find out for sure; I've only seen him with the Frog Brigade and Oysterhead).

And Corgan and Cobain pulled off singing badly? I used to love the Pumpkins a few years back, but when I listened to them again recently, Corgan's voice sort of killed some of that joy I used to have. Cobain was just a mess- he had a better voice IMO, but the live recordings I've heard of him are often sketchy to the point I'd rather not hear them. As music is made for listening, I'd say that's not good.

 

Ok I just got done reading "to all the primus haters out there" and now I'm reading this and both have said lots of nice things about les....so for the sake of being different and an antagonist


I've seen Les once with primus (brain on drums) once with frog brigade and once with Oysterhead. I really enjoy his singing and lyrics. when I was 13 primus was really funny and I learned a lot of it. I haven't touched it sense. it really works for les but I can't stand his tone touch or taste. thats 3 out of 5 senses (he seems to dress ok although not my style and I haven't smelled him) I just think he's a very overrated bass player I can't stand when he guest plays on stuff because it all comes through the same way showing how much of a one trick pony he is. with maybe the exception of what he played on the latest gov't mule album. Oysterhead to me is the most musical thing he's done partly because of stewart copeland being involved in the project it got pushed more melodically I'm sure. as far as les' technique, If I wanted to hear a guy beat an instrument aimlessly I'd go to a drum circle

as they say "Primus sucks"

 

Horray for Les Claypool! Numero uno influence on me. He's not the best... SURELY not the worst. He's very unique, you can hear a bassline he wrote and be like... yeah that's Claypool.

 

I agree with stupid Matt. When I hear that claypool phased out sound I always know when it's him so I can turn off the radio or cd player. And Billy Corgans voice sucked and was maybe the only reason I could not listen to the smashing pumpkins. Same goes with Nirvana. I think Recently Les is making a turn around on the gov't mule thing and on his last solo album.

but if your gonna play something in a guitar store play some jamerson

 

i read that BP interview with Chris Wood where he talks about purposely "playing stupid" sometimes, and i think he's got the right idea. which is not to say that sloppy is always good, or even most of the time. but sometimes it just feels right. see Page, Jimmy.

 

I think too many people are musically restrained by the Latin 12-notes-per-octave style by which they are accustomed.

There are so many other cultures out there with very different takes on music. A good place to start is the Orient.

Or closer to home: Down Deep in the Pain on Steve Vai's Sex and Religion album: That solo is done on a guitar with the octave divided evenly into 16 steps instead of 12.

Lighten up, those who think Les is off-key. The guy rocks!

 

well dance hall thats that mingus thing where you have your musical center and then you form a circle around it and use it as an axis and you can play real close to it or on the outskirts. and thats what I hear a lot of in Chris's playing especially cause Chris is a mingus freak

 

I really love how everyone acts like everyone's tearing Claypool apart, though there is only a few people who poo poo him.

 

Yeah, i know. he's very decent. i love his work. Sure, his fretless playing is not all that great, but the guy can write basslines. and his tone is pretty sweet on the albums ive heard... like...all of them. while we are talking about les, what do you people think about carl thompsons? Ive heard people dog em, but the tone's ive heard from them sound pretty good?

 

whatever. les has 4 more good albums to make before he even breaks my top 50 bass players. and he needs to do something about that scraggly beard. he's giving facial hair a bad name

 

"I really love how everyone acts like everyone's tearing Claypool apart, though there is only a few people who poo poo him."


Well, the problem with this board is that if you do poo poo somebody, the thread gets shut down. I completely respect Les Calypool's right to record total wank fests for 15 year old boys, but when one tries to point out his lack of songwriting skills, over-reliance on the really silly technical- almost athletic rather than musical- aspects of bass playing and the bad influence that may have on younger players, one finds oneself being accused of negativity (even though I'm quite positive about some of this) and the thread police shut it down. Personally, I think that it's just as valid to discuss a player's deficiencys as what makes him so rad, but whatever. Mind you, I've only seen Primus live once and heard just a few of their albums, but it struck me as the opposite of what's good about bass.

 

As a young whippersnapper and former 15-year-old Claypool nut, I must concur.