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One Bass Player You Think Is Underrated?

#81
Has anyone mentioned Sting yet? I know he's known more as a singer and all around celebrity, but I always thought he was one bad ass bass player. Especially since he had to sing over what he was playing. As someone who has been struggling to try to coordinate singing and playing at the same time for years, I am in awe of guys who can do it like it's nothing.



I know this isn't the most complex bass line to play, but to play and sing over has to be a challenge.
 
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#83
Underrated to who?By who?My opinion.All bass players are highly rated among those who like what they do.Those who listen to the musicians that they play with.For instance;Is Anthony Jackson an underrated bassist?To who?The fans of Lady Gaga?Quite likely!!Underrated to the bass playing fans of the music of Steve Khan?Hiromi?Simon Phillips?Al DiMeola?A resounding NO!We cannot expect everyone to highly rate those who do not play on the music that they don't like or listen to.
A.J.with Simon Phillips.

Really!How many must approve of a certain bass player so that he is finally not considered underrated?
Do we really expect ALL to approve of a given bass player?
So we need not be concerned whether a certain bassist is "rated"as long as WE, the fans,the bass players,appreciate what they contribute.5 min intro solo(yes,that's a bass) is Anthony Jackson.Master of harmonic dissonance,the tritone and chromatics...
 
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#85
1. My underrated bass player for the thread (in reality there's thousands of them) will be John McVie. Laying down solid, great grooves since the sixties.

2. Paul McCartney can't be overrated, because of his contribution to how the instrument was both played and perceived. People who make a big deal about him aren't making a big deal about his technical ability and chops; they are making a big deal about his legacy. He also had something we call "feel," and that's nothing to sneeze at.
 
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#88
Percy Heath - Listen to MJQ, really listen. These guys played together for 40 years! Heath's playing may seem spare at first, but listen to where his lines sit in the arrangement; he never played over anyone. The ensemble had a perfect balance. Percy never wasted a note, never played a quarter-note when a half worked better. He never played for personal glory; only for the good of the ensemble.
 
#90
vmabus said:
That was David Gilmour...
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actually it was both of them, if memory serves me correctly, waters started screwing around with the vibrato and delay that gilmour was experimenting on a guitar with and used it on bass. I think when they layed it in the studio, both of them played. At pompei, and live there after, waters played it through two amps with the effects to get the same effect.
 
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#93
John Glascock of Jethro Tull. If not for his untimely death and the early demise of that lineup of the band, I think he and Barrie Barlow would have come to be widely recognized as the classic, and unusual, rhythm section they were.



 
#94
I think John Wetton is starting to get more recognition for the absolutely mind-blowing bass work he turned in with King Crimson. Most just know him for Asia, but he was a monster before those days. Check out this improv from their live 'USA' album - it starts slowly but builds masterfully. I don't understand how fingers can move that fast on a P-bass at the 3:28 mark.

 
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#95
mellowinman said:
2. Paul McCartney can't be overrated, because of his contribution to how the instrument was both played and perceived. People who make a big deal about him aren't making a big deal about his technical ability and chops; they are making a big deal about his legacy. He also had something we call "feel," and that's nothing to sneeze at.
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Agreed. Players like Macca and Jamerson changed the was bass was played. They have great grooves too, but I feel like their real legacy is reinterpreting bass as an instrument that can be in the forefront of a tune in (at the time) newly developing styles of music.
 
#96
Okay, one more - Dave Pegg, known mostly for his work in Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull (where he succeeded John Glascock). He created some really wonderfully composed and thought-out lines, full of melody and deft touch. This old vid, with bass-heavy mix, shows how he can fluidly play traditional folk melodies at full speed, but much of his playing is more reserved, though still with many fluid flourishes throughout.



And a later example, with Tull:

 
#100
Funk$tar said:
Hey TB People!

I wanted to know if any of you out there know of a bass player you think is underrated and deserves more credit than he/she gets!

For me, I believe Tracy Wormworth of the Waitresses is a very underrated bass player! A big influence being the fact I'm black and a women and I just don't see many women like that up on stage or women of any color at all getting credit! She is one hell of a bass player and an awesome one at that!

And Just for a little bonus there is also a VERY VERY underrated player by the name of Joe Dworniak who played for an English Funk group called," I Level." They had a hit back in 82'or 83' called,"Give Me." Great song but the greatest part was the bass line, PLEASE check it out, such an awesome player!

Link:

Thanks And Please Comment!
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I didn't bother to read the others (Come and get me if this man was mentioned)!
Brad Houser
Critters Buggin, folks! Take a listen,
f n o r d !
 

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