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Overrated bass players

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#481
I don't play safe, bland music, i do not play in the shadows of jaco.

This thread is about who you think is overrated and why - I stated who I thought was overrated and why i think this and I get **** for it? This was my opinion, whether you agree or not is irrelevent - i stated my opinion to the question presented. if you don't like it then tough.

i try to listen to as many different types of music as i can - how do I know if I am going to like something if I have never heard it? I am open to all styles of music and will listen to pretty much anything.

I've listened to Jaco and he's overrated. that is my opinion.
 
#482
i think it is very narrow minded to think that one person and one person alone deserves all the credit for playing a particular instrument.

i don't approach fretless as a fretless player - When I am playing, I don't think "what would Jaco or Pino or any other fretless player do here?" In fact, my favourite players and the ones who have influenced me the most either don't play or play very rarely on anything other than fretted bass.

Examples are Chris Squire, John Deacon, John Entwhistle. the only exception is Jack Bruce who now plays predominantely fretless but i was influenced by his older fretted stuff.

And Tampabass - i would appreciate it if you did not patronise me - Not everyone thinks that Jaco is the be all and end all.

It is my right to think what i do without being shot down for it.

:mad:
 
#483
Okay, that's me vented some steam and changed back from the Hulk to mild mannered David Banner.

Has anyone stopped to look at all of the players that have been listed in this thread?

They are all players that could easily have featured in a best bass player one.

Why? You can't relate to their style of playing? their songs? their attitude? fed up hearing their name mentioned all the time? all/none of the above?

I personally think that as well as Jaco, Macca is overrated. Silly Love Songs? Mull of Kintyre? no?- I see, only the beatles stuff. Why couldn't he write decent stuff after the Beatles? Then again, maybe I haven't heard everything of his and their are some hidden gems somewhere in his back catalogue.

All I need to do is add James Jamerson's name and I'd have everyone after me but I haven't heard enough JJ to have an opinion as to whether he was great or overrated.

remember these are my opinions and at the end of the day its the people that matter to you that counts :ninja:
 
#485
JimK said:
Entwhistle, like Jack Bruce, played in a band unlike The Beatles...both The Who & Cream used only THREE instruments; as a result, the respective bassists had a lot more room/freedom to "pull out the stops".
Click to expand...

Before I jump down your throat, let it be known that I'm the worst Who fan. Note also that I don't care for soft pop ala the Beatles.

Yes, they used three instruments; Bass, drums and guitar.
But I wouldn't say they only used three instruments; on most of their albums (Who's Next onwards) Pete played synthesizer as an instrument of it's own and remember that Roger played the rhythm guitar sometimes too.

I don't know if I got my point across (that means I probably didn't), but it seemed as though you were undermining the technical and musical skills of Entwistle and Bruce based on their band's instruments. (Or rather lack thereof)


On a different subject, noone's mentioned any Reggae / Dub bassists (as far as I can see, I skipped to the last page and read backwards.) I can understand that they would not be overrated in light of duders like Burton and Sheehan and whonots, but remember that the bass guitar is the most important instrument in those genres and I'd even venture to say that extreme pressure is put on the bassists.
 
#486
I think that many of the problems is not bad bass-playing but bad history. A lot of bass players are credited with things that they did not invent. The Tenptations's version of My Girl is a cover. Otis Redding's version has the same intro, and I don't think Jamerson was the bassist. It was possibly Duck Dunn.

McCartney did not invent melodic basslines. There were loads of good bassists in the British power pop bands of the 1960s, and none of them were influenced by McCartney. I have even read articles which say that the bass guitar in Britain began when Maca walked into a shop in Hamburg and bought a Hofner. What utter drivel.

Overrated? I agree with the guy who nominated Noel Redding.
 
#487
Delberthot said:
at the risk of being unpopular - Jaco and Manring are overrated.

To me they make a lot of bizarre noises and strange music. Some people say that anybody who plays fretless tries to be like Jaco. I'm glad I don't play like he did, I play music. Also that pointless hyperbass thing with the 4 detuners - Why? Overall, he only gains an extra 2 notes. Handy if you wanted to tune your bass DGCF at the flick of 4 levers. :spit: :spit:
Click to expand...

[mod edit] all opinions are valid, even the ones not agreed with[/mod edit]

Rule #1: Respect
Address all forum members with the utmost respect at all times. If you do not agree with a fellow member, be courteous in your response. Thomas Jefferson said it best: "When I hear another express an opinion which is not mine, I say to myself, he has a right to his opinion, as I to mine".

Because of the limitations of text based communication, the expression of intent can be tricky. One of the most common triggers of rule violations is the misinterpretation of intent behind a post. Use smilies often, and remember, it never hurts to begin a response with "In my opinion"...

If you do not address everyone on the board with respect, be prepared to lose your membership.
Click to expand...
 
#489
Delberthot said:
Also that pointless hyperbass thing with the 4 detuners - Why? Overall, he only gains an extra 2 notes. Handy if you wanted to tune your bass DGCF at the flick of 4 levers
Click to expand...

That's not the point of the tuners. Changing the tuning he can get different natural harmonics, those "bizarre noises".
 
#490
I know people who dislike Jaco or Manring. My former teacher for example, has never been a Manring fan, since he doesn´t like his approach, musicality, etc, etc. He´s more in the traditional / fusion jazz vein.

However, I recently showed him one of Manring´s instructional vids (the one where he performs some jazz tunes in a trio (quartet ?) setting) and he was highly impressed with what he saw and heard.

My opinion: Michael Manring is not overrated. It´s like saying that Hendrix was overrated because he was an innovator. MM has chosen his own approach, but he´s also played countless musical styles from Bach tunes to Jaco stuff.
I don´t know any other overrated player who can do that.
 
#493
Is Tina Weymouth any good? I can't tell ... I've been watching the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" DVD, and it really bugs me the way the fingers on her left hand flail around like that. She seems to have a groove, but her technique is suspect. She was having trouble with articulating note lengths on a couple of the tunes. Help me out here.
Click to expand...

yeah, but her line on 'girlfriend is better' is pretty cool.
 
#496
Delberthot said:
I don't play safe, bland music, i do not play in the shadows of jaco.

This thread is about who you think is overrated and why - I stated who I thought was overrated and why i think this and I get **** for it? This was my opinion, whether you agree or not is irrelevent - i stated my opinion to the question presented. if you don't like it then tough.

i try to listen to as many different types of music as i can - how do I know if I am going to like something if I have never heard it? I am open to all styles of music and will listen to pretty much anything.

I've listened to Jaco and he's overrated. that is my opinion.
Click to expand...



yeah man, you tell em' !:D
 
#497
Topics like this are often just plain stupid.

I've learned to enjoy a vast majority of bands, and their bassists.

From Nikki Sixx to Gene Simmons to John Patitucci to Marcus Miller.

You have to appreciate what they do for the songs they like to write and perform.

To say guys like Nikki is overrated is assinine. I'm a huge fan of Nikki and Gene (that's my era, I can't help it:), enough that it got me interested in a T-bird, and enough to make me buy one. And I love it. He's a rock'n'roller, and I guess if you listen to Primal Scream or Dr. Feelgood, what else should have been done?

Yeah, he keeps it simple, but I don't think it calls for Wooten's thumpity thumps, or Marcus's delicate melodic slap lines. There's no question as to the disparity in talent, but both guys like Nikki and Marcus are performing music that they love-both requiring different approaches.

You don't always have to like what one does or plays, but hats off to them for being able to do what they love, and giving us a variety in the music we listen to.

Isn't that what it's all about?

That said, I'm going to listen to Jaco's 'Teen Town' followed by the Who's 'Substitute' followed by The Crue's "Live Wire" followed by.............
 
#499
I haven't read everything in this thread, but it's nice to know that here at talkbass, there is still a lot of love going around!

"Love is all around us, and so the feeling grows..."

I shall go and think happy thoughts...
 
#500
F-Clef said:
I think that many of the problems is not bad bass-playing but bad history. A lot of bass players are credited with things that they did not invent. The Tenptations's version of My Girl is a cover. Otis Redding's version has the same intro, and I don't think Jamerson was the bassist. It was possibly Duck Dunn.
Click to expand...

A post about bad musical history that itself shows bad musical history? Not trying to be mean, but the irony is amusing here.

The Temptations were the first group to record My Girl, though (as was common for Motown) it was written by someone else. That someone else was Smoky Robinson.

Otis Redding's version is a cover and appeared a year or two later.

The Otis Redding song that everyone forgets is an Otis Redding song because of a more popular cover version is Respect. And while Otis Redding might be my favorite singer (even though he died a good decade before I was born), it's hard to argue that Aretha's version is incredible.

Back to the actual topic of this thread, I can't even think of a bass player that I would call overrated, but I suppose that comes from my view of music. To put it simply, there's music I like and there's music I don't like. Music I like almost always has basslines that I like and that fit the song well. If they are also interesting or technically challenging, then that bassplayer will likely influence my playing in some way. If not, then I don't really think about the bassplayer at all.

Not to mention that outside of bassplayers, the general public would be hard pressed to name more than 3 or 4 bass players anyway. Overrated by whom?
 
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