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Overrated Bass Players

#181
I won't say Stefan Lessard is overrated - he does a fine job.

But given the musical environment he is in, the astounding talent of the guys around him, and the musically demonstrative style of that band, I'm surprised he hasn't become a different kind of player than he has become through the years.
 
#184
A lot of people on here are just listing bassists who are usually well rated. Jaco, Victor Wooton, Stanley Clarke are/were good at what they do. They might not be your style but I wouldn't say they're overrated.

I've found I've learned a lot from bass players who I didn't previously rate.

Also I would say that Mike Dirnt is pretty underrated. Yes, he might not slap a million notes per second but he has written some excellent basslines.
 
#185
Rockmusician said:
I has been a few years since this topic was discussed so I am curious to see if perceptions have changed. Which bass players to think are overrated? Here is my list.

Flea – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Tony Kanal – No Doubt
Mike Dirnt – Green Day
Duff McKagan – Guns ‘n’ Roses
Nikki Sixx – Motley Crue
Krist Novoselic – Nirvana
Jason Newstead – Metalica, Ozzy Osbourne
Lemmy Kilmster - Motorhead
Click to expand...

I hear where ur coming from, but except for Flea, I've never heard anyone rave about the super bass talents of the other players on ur list- have you? I myself have never heard anybody talk about the bass prowess of Green Day's bass player or how Krist Novoselic was a great bass innovator. So maybe ur list is just a bunch of average playing bassists that are big time famous? Because who can u really compare them to? Someone like Les Claypool may be looked on as a great bass player...but compare him to Hadrian Freud, John Patattucci, Matt Garrison- those type of players- then Claypool doesn't sound anywhere as good as them. I used to dig his stuff, and most of my younger students always hail him as great. Lets be real, his fretless playing is horrendous i.e. sloppy, bad intonation, real amateurish compared to, lets say Garry Willis' playing. But if we listen to his bass playing in context- then he's great right? So who really cares?:ninja: lol lol
Disclaimer: Any thing I post on TB is only my opinion man! lol
www.basslessonslosangeles.com
Invalid Link Removed
 
#188
I think Wooten is a phenomenal bass player. I don't think it's all too technical or flashy and I think he plays with a lot feeling and he's awesome, but.............I don't like most of his music. I don't particularly like his tone and I don't like most of his songs. I like a few though.

The same opinion pretty much applies to Marcus Miller.
 
#189
davidhilton said:
Someone like Les Claypool...Lets be real, his fretless playing is horrendous i.e. sloppy, bad intonation, real amateurish
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Claypool is a showman; he's got a unique musical voice and a quirky creativity, plus a few parlor tricks, along with very questionable musical fundamentals. But he has a following, and has had one for a long time now. I'm not sure whether he could be overrated, given those facts. As a guy in show business, he clearly is "effective."

As many have said, in a thread like this we all probably aren't using the same definition of "overrated." Most people use it to mean "a bass player a lot of people seem to like but I don't." Not quite the right definition.

Here's overrated - at the moment, Johnny Depp commands among the highest compensation of any leading man actor. Yet, most of his recent films have failed to succeed in any objective way. He is clearly burning with talent, but does the talent make him effective at his craft?
 
#190
vishuddha said:
Paul McCartney
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How could Paul McCartney possibly be considered "overrated"? His accomplishments as a musician, showman, songwriter, and bass player stretch 60 years and possibly nobody else can approach them. List your criteria - record sales, Grammies, awards from fellow musicians, some kind of measurement of presence in the collective consciousness...you name the list, he is at or very near the top of it.

Or are you really just saying everyone seems to like McCartney and you don't? That's a legitimate statement but it's not "overrated."
 
#191
Lemmy has been touring almost non stop for almost 40 years, has written most of Motorheads music for their 20 plus albums, is one of the ORIGINAL metal personalities, lived one of the most hedonistic lifestyles in music, and is still making ears bleed into his 70s. He may not be the most technical player, but *** do you want. He is one of the most underrated BP in my opinion. How many bass players can front a band into their 70s? LONG LIVE LEMMY
 
#192
3234718 said:
I think Wooten is a phenomenal bass player. I don't think it's all too technical or flashy and I think he plays with a lot feeling and he's awesome, but.............I don't like most of his music. I don't particularly like his tone and I don't like most of his songs. I like a few though.

The same opinion pretty much applies to Marcus Miller.
Click to expand...


I have expressed similar feelings around musician friends of mine only to have them look at me like I have 3 heads. Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten are great bass players. They have accomplished much. They have brought a certain spotlight to what they do. It's just not my thing. I become really bored listening to their stuff. Their tone is abrasive to my ears and after about two or three tunes on their discs, it is even unpleasing to my ears. Are they still great. Yes. Is it my thing? No. Do I devote any energy to trying to emulate them. Not at all. I am not as good as they are. I am the first to admit it. But I also never wish to become them or be a clone. (There's enough of those already.)

My tastes lead me to enjoy music and songs that feature the songs and the grooves. I prefer bass players whose primary function within a song, and the sub hooks the contribute, is mainly a supportive function to propel the groove for the song....players like Pino Palladino, Nathan East, George Porter Jr., Eric Coomes, Tommy Simms, Bobby Vega etc. (this list could get long). These are players who I feel, play within the song and not use the song as an occasion for them to be in the spotlight. I think it is almost a higher calling as a musician, but this is all my opinion.

I also don't think I would ever classify someone as overrated...that is unless it was like say... Sid Vicious. I dug the Pistols, but Sid didn't play. It was like watching an entertaining cartoon character to me.
 
#193
jaypee said:
I have expressed similar feelings around musician friends of mine only to have them look at me like I have 3 heads. Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten are great bass players. They have accomplished much. They have brought a certain spotlight to what they do. It's just not my thing. I become really bored listening to their stuff.
Click to expand...
I like Marcus a lot more as a sideman than as a bandleader. There's only so many songs-with-bass-popping-the-melody that I want to hear. A little goes a long way.

Back in the 80s when he was working with Miles and later with Sanborn - that music sounds dated now but at the time it was a perfect situation for his tone and his musical approach. How cool was Run For Cover?

But this is all about whether we like Marcus, rather than whether he is overrated, as you suggest. I think in order to know whether someone is overrated you have to know what the rating was.
 
#194
To me phenomenal chops does not go hand and hand with great songwriting or listenable music,

In fact the "fast math" part of the playing often detracts from the whole performance.

While there are intricate pieces I enjoy, this is why I could never consider Paul McCartney overrated,

He just writes great songs..
 
#196
Joe Nerve said:
Not sure why I'm about to get involved in this thread...

IMO anyone who thinks Flea is overrated, doesn't know anything about Flea. I hear a lot of kids who don't get it, because all they know of is the last few albums.

The other guys I don't know their playing well enough to offer any opinon.

Wanted to say though that I think one of the most underated bass players of all time is Dee Dee Ramone. Very few bassists can pull off what that guy did at the live shows, and if you disagree, have a look at some live videos... then have a go at it. With all down strokes. As tight as he did, for as long as he did, while jumping around like he did. Good luck. Even forget the jumping around. Just try to last through 20 minutes of ramones sitting down. :)
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For that matter Marky Ramone is a very good drummer. Check out his band Dust (pre Ramones)
 
#198
jaypee said:
I have expressed similar feelings around musician friends of mine only to have them look at me like I have 3 heads. Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten are great bass players. They have accomplished much. They have brought a certain spotlight to what they do. It's just not my thing. I become really bored listening to their stuff. Their tone is abrasive to my ears and after about two or three tunes on their discs, it is even unpleasing to my ears. Are they still great. Yes. Is it my thing? No. Do I devote any energy to trying to emulate them. Not at all. I am not as good as they are. I am the first to admit it. But I also never wish to become them or be a clone. (There's enough of those already.)

My tastes lead me to enjoy music and songs that feature the songs and the grooves. I prefer bass players whose primary function within a song, and the sub hooks the contribute, is mainly a supportive function to propel the groove for the song....players like Pino Palladino, Nathan East, George Porter Jr., Eric Coomes, Tommy Simms, Bobby Vega etc. (this list could get long). These are players who I feel, play within the song and not use the song as an occasion for them to be in the spotlight. I think it is almost a higher calling as a musician, but this is all my opinion.

I also don't think I would ever classify someone as overrated...that is unless it was like say... Sid Vicious. I dug the Pistols, but Sid didn't play. It was like watching an entertaining cartoon character to me.
Click to expand...

This, exactly! SERVANT OF THE SONG!
 
#199
There is no such thing as overrated. Imagine if everyone played just like your favorite bassists/artist/band. Everyone playing the same style, using the same techniques all the time. How boring would the world of music be? And also anyone that says Flea is overrated is usually just a troll. Lol I'm not a flea worshipper but if you believe he is overrated you haven't seen enough youtube videos of him really doing his thing. It's just like Victor Wooten said: "We're all the best because everyone finds different sounds."
 
#200
Bass players are not overrated. Our opinions of what a great bassist is, is overrated. Folks are just confused by the plethora of super bassists that are now out there and think if you don't or can't play like them while other people still love what you do, you're considerd overated by the folks who idolize cats with all the chops and techniques. Many of us forget the function of the bass in a group setting and suscribe to a "ME" mentality about bass playing.
 

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