• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Mark king...Overated?

Stinkoman20xx

Stinkoman20xx

Oct 19, 2003
1,188
411
41
Cincinnati
#1
Ok I finally got to hear mark king and I wasnt to impressed. Granted I only heard 4 or 5 songs and everything he played wasnt anything special.But since i only heard a few songs Im not trying to bring his name down cause obviously alot of people see him as awesome and im must be missing something. What are some good songs that show his skill? Oh yeah everything i heard was level 42 if that helps.
 
#3
Thing is, you might hear something like 'Hot Water' and 'Lessons In Love' and not be that impressed at first. But try playing that groove as solid and on the beat for the duration on the song and you'll get an appreciation for his technique.

Apart from the slap, there's his finger playing as well. He's had some great finger parts - 'The Sun Goes Down', 'The Chinese Way' and some simpler ones which are great bass lines - 'Children Say' for example.
 
#8
davidmwilson said:
Thing is, you might hear something like 'Hot Water' and 'Lessons In Love' and not be that impressed at first. But try playing that groove as solid and on the beat for the duration on the song and you'll get an appreciation for his technique.

Apart from the slap, there's his finger playing as well. He's had some great finger parts - 'The Sun Goes Down', 'The Chinese Way' and some simpler ones which are great bass lines - 'Children Say' for example.
Click to expand...


Amen to that man!! I tried playing "Lessons on Love" in a band and it killed my hands. Mark King does not constantly show off his chops but they are there big time. His live solos and the early Level42 stuff are a good showcase for his talents. A friend of mine saw Level42 at a smaller club in Boston in the early 90's and he was blown away by Mark Kings playing. He said that he sang almost everything while laying down incredibly complex funk lines and dancing all over the place.
 
#9
Check out live videos, and be amazed. :)

I just saw Level 42 Live in Reading 2001 (that may not be the exact title) yesterday, and I expect it might give you a different perspective.

It's not the original lineup (Gary Husband is on drums though) but it still smokes.

There's another video I have where Mark King plays while suspended up in the air, the freak. He doesn't miss a beat. Hah.


P.S. You don't have to like the guy just because other people do.
 
#11
He really almost holds back on alot of level 42's studio albums, If you listen to their live records he "lets loose" alot more... Also check out his live solos, he is prone to repeating himslef but so does jaco... stanley...etc... His slapping technique is also somewhat "old school" but when you compare traditional slappers, he is one of the few that still has speed comparable to victor and most other double thumbers...Anyways I would say Kng is underrated if anything because of his ability to hold up against modern slappers with his old style technique...
(his jaco stlye finger funk is also nice to listen to as well.)
 
#15
I remember in the eighties lots of my non-musician friends thought that Mark King invented slapping. Of course, they didn't know any better, but then again Level 42 had a string of pop chart hits and Mark King took the technique to the general public. Just because he was in a popular band with hits made me think he could not really be that good. Then I heard some of the other stuff mentioned above...

I downloaded (sorry Mark) a tune from a CD called Live at the Jazz Cafe. Stunning.
 
#17
I think Mark King is a fine bass player and his playing is not overrated - in fact I can't think of anything bad to say about his playing, however... I can't think of anything particularly nice to say about Level 42's music (other than that the bass playing is good), which (in my opinion) is watered-down jazz-funk-lite with rubbish lyrics

and in the UK in the late 80's early 90's, you couldn't walk into a music shop without hearing someone thwacking out a cringe-inducing rattling sub-Mark King slap bass line, their taped-up thumbs a hubristic blur :)

although Mark himself is a good musician, his disciples should probably have been rounded up and sent to an island somewhere ;)
 
#18
The only place he could be considered overrated I think is England. Ask around in the states. Noone knows who he is. Running in the Family (I think is the title) has been sitting at the used CD store since it opened. Until it goes into the discount bin, I'm not buying it because I'm fairly sure the music sucks.
 
#20
Thedeadking (what a nick :), what tunes have you heard?

Its not his skills, there are plenty of players with the same technical abilities. THE thing about mr. King is that he writes good basslines. I spent my teenage years listening to and playing along Level42, so I can't be really objective about the subject. But he is still my favourite bassplayer.

Some (basswise) cool tunes: Children say, I sleep on my heart, Overtime, Good man in a storm, Lying still in your arms, Out of sight out of mind, Mr Pink, eyes waterfalling, Tracie, If you were mine, With a little love (with a fantastic guitar solo by Allan Holdsworth!), Dream crazy, Physical presence, Something about you, Kansas city milkman, Fashion fever, just to name a few...

I can't wait to get the live at Apollo DVD ! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: BritFunk

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back