Someone please explain all the love for Steve Harris

[Chrisk-K]

To the OP,

Play some Maiden songs and you will know why Harris is not a mere mortal like you and me.

 

[BubbaZed]

He's definitely an innovator... doing somethings that no one before him did. He was surely a pioneer of many things bass. I do love him. He was fast, melodic, and sat in the mix perfectly. He was also one of the first bass players that you could actually hear and was pronounced... and arguably the first to have a clean articulated tone, vs the overdriven muffled boom, which was the norm for heavy music back then.

As for the polls, don't forget, Maiden is as popular in Europe as Springsteen, Areosmith, and Bon Jovi are combined here in the States... So I'm sure that helps his numbers.

It's doubtful that a 20 year old in Macedonia knows who Jaco is, but they probably learn about Harris in Kindergarten.

last but not least, his daughter is SMOKING!!!View attachment 3011280

Now how cool would it be to have Steve Harris as your father-in-law?

 

[armyadarkness]

Now how cool would it be to have Steve Harris as your father-in-law?

Lol... There would be many perks on many levels.

 

[tb4sbp]

I think there is a lot more to playing an instrument than just being technically great
How you relate to the listener is a big factor
SH just has a great ability to write songs and bass lines that relate to their audience
By todays standards he may seem dated but when he arrived on the scene he was fresh and amazing
He was a pivotal player for me (and many others) to learn from
I love that type of music and go back to it all the time when I want to have fun.
I think he definitely deserves a place in bass history for his contributions.
I am not big into Jazz but I admire Jaco, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten
And I learn some tricks from them as well (of course, who wouldn't!)

 

[Jack Butler]

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when a “50 greatest bassists” link came up (Invalid Link Removed). Basically glorified trolling but with marketing and data mining behind it. Now I know that these things are click bait and designed to annoy you into commenting and I know I shouldn’t have clicked but I did. So can someone please explain why Steve Harris always does so well - above innovators like Jaco and Larry Graham, above Kaye and Jamerson. I’ve listened to Maiden and tried but I just don’t get all the love for him. What am I missing?

It's a fair question, some people just "get" certain players and others don't. Steve was a huge influence on me, and after all these years "Powerslave" is an album I don't get tired of. That's saying a lot since I'm much more of a blues and rockabilly guy than metal. So I get him. Jaco - I realize he turned the bass world on its ear, and was legendary in so many ways. One problem, I can't stand listening to anything he's done. I've tried many times and many different tunes. It's just torture for me. Jamerson I totally get and love. Pino, I don't get at all. Nothing about his playing gets me excited. Tons of folks think he's awesome though and he's very in demand by big name acts, so obviously he's great - just not for me.

 

[PaulJSmith]

I wouldn’t have played the bass back in 85 if it wasn’t for Harris.
It was powerslave that did me in

I started playing bass in '82. When Powerslave came out in '84, I spent months in my bedroom learning that album front to back. I already liked Maiden, but that album definitely sealed the deal for me, too.

If you don't "get" Steve Harris' influence, I can only guess that you've never really listened to his stuff. Many of us can cite a few of our favorite Maiden tunes as an indication of his prowess on bass, but it's really bigger than that. There is a body of work from him that goes back to 1980. He is widely cited as the guy who moved metal bass playing from the "pedal-on-the-E-string" thing to being a driving force of the music. His 35+ years of recordings documents this quite well.

 

[grocker]

Steve Harris is a great player, great licks,tasty old school heavy metal bassist.....His style seems self taught,if you emulate him it's tough to break out of it because it's so intrinsic to just him...Try to play his harder lines if you don't practice that technique and style and it's tough.....

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I hear ya. For me, it's not so much that he is fast. I could pull 100 other guys who are way faster out of a hat. I dunno, Steve just makes the band I guess, but if you don't like them/him that much, you just don't. : )

Speed kills... it's all about the groove!

 

[Snaxster]

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when a “50 greatest bassists” link came up (Invalid Link Removed). Basically glorified trolling but with marketing and data mining behind it. Now I know that these things are click bait and designed to annoy you into commenting and I know I shouldn’t have clicked but I did. So can someone please explain why Steve Harris always does so well - above innovators like Jaco and Larry Graham, above Kaye and Jamerson. I’ve listened to Maiden and tried but I just don’t get all the love for him. What am I missing?

Who's Steve Harris?

Seriously. Until I read "I’ve listened to Maiden", I didn't know anything about who he was.

 

[br1qbat]

Obimark,
Like you, I believed Steve Harris used a three finger technique (mostly because of him, I learned it) but I've seen either on this forum or elsewhere that he's only a two-finger guy(?!). He also uses flats(?!). What's this world coming to?

Back on track for the thread, I'd say the love for Steve is due to leading Iron Maiden, song-writing, great technique (and stamina) and is not one to sit in the back of the stage a la Bill Wyman (who I also like).

Yep, 2 fingers, and thick roto flats.

 

[armyadarkness]

In fact... he was such a big deal to me, that when Fender stopped making the blue Steve Harris bass, I built my own. I had to make the PG myself, G&L did the rest.

 

[mikewalker]

...like Geezer Butler, it is very hard to explain the love for him...

 

[Spidey2112]

View attachment 3011349​

My precious...

 

[Kevorargh]

One of the first songs I learned was Revelations off of Piece of Mind - Steve was a huge inspiration for my playing. His technique, which I can barely do (I'll never be bale to play the Trooper or Run to the Hills), is astounding for its endurance, but his taste in licks is what speaks to me. He is melodic as hell, and knows how to underpin a song and add to it without getting in the way of the guitars. It helps that he writes the songs, but still, it's his ear for melody that makes him a stupendous bassist.

 

[wintremute]

I think others have done a fantastic job of explaining why Steve Harris gets so much love. The only thing I can add is that I think his playing does a fantastic job of serving the song. He's not just out there soloing and wanking all over. He goes off when the song needs it, and he pulls back when the song needs it.

Here's my favorite SH bass line. To me, this has everything I want in a bass line: Carries the song, has great fills, and the bottom just grooves.

 

[wintremute]

I need to take (some) issue with the comments: (“…If you don’t like Metal you won’t get IM; if you don’t like Jazz you won’t get Jaco…”…

There is some truth to those comments, but I really like a lot of metal and I like Jazz, but I never cared for Iron Maiden or Jaco.

I just listened to ‘Moonchild’ posted earlier – VERY cool. I may never have given IM a chance musically, but that song reminded me of why I never cared for, or paid attention to, Iron Maiden – the vocals - which are undeniably skilled and theatric, but are in no way something I like or want to listen to.

Honestly I’d never heard of Steve Harris until I saw him on ‘That Metal Show’ and now I am a fan of his. His playing in Moonchild is awesome. I like some Metal bands and not others. I like some Jazz music but not others.

I really like Rush, but I have never been a fan of Geddy’s tone, or his playing in general. I am a drummer too and don’t always like Neil Peart’s playing – I find it rather mechanical (at times) and “technical for technical sake” (at times). But I like a lot of Rush songs and have been a fan since they started.

There is no denying (and I am not denying) the skill and artistry of Jaco & Geddy…it’s just not something I like, or emulate in my playing. As I said in a related thread, it’s not that I don’t get why these players are admired; it’s just that I don’t enjoy their playing/tone/style. I don’t get them, not because I am not smart enough or don’t like the genre.

Talkbass rocks – learn something every day. I really liked Moonchild…thanks for posting.

If you're not a fan of the vocals, check out these 4 instrumentals.

 

[wintremute]

He has them changed after every single show, because by the end they get worn out - as you would expect from flats! His bass tech even uses an aural enhancer to boost the top end partway through every gig as their sparkle goes. He likes the feel of them, and is loaded enough/gets enough free strings from Rotosound to not have to worry about the expense.

Chris Wyse is another player who changes his strings pretty much daily.

 

[Luciferiad]

Steve is going to rank high on a clickbail poll. He's recognizable. Even people who don't listen to a lot of metal know who he is, or at least who Iron Maiden are.

But he's also good. He's a skilled musician and songwriter, a savvy bandleader and businessman. You don't have to like Iron Maiden or Steve's music to appreciate his talent.

 

[Ringhammer]

It's because of Steve Harris that I picked up the bass. As a 13-14 y-o teenager at the very beginning of the '80's, who was definitely on the path to being a rock listener (already loving AC/DC, Van Halen) and having been exposed to Fleetwood Mac, ELO, Boston, by my parents, all through the '70's, it was definitely a rock kid. But I never thought much about the Bass, being more interested in the guitar (air guttering all the time). But when I first stumbled on the Killers album, I was like *** IS that? I was instantly in love, and at 51 (and untold thousands of dollars later), playing bass is still my favorite thing to do. Thats why I'm here!

I did grow out of Iron Maiden awhile ago, and really only like the first 2 albums, and did have some lover for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th albums at the time, but after Powerslave, I was OUT. Now when those songs come up in my iPod rotation its a little nostalgia.

Still a rock guy, never really got into virtuoso type bass players, although I can appreciate the talent, I am more into the whole band and songs, and have a greater appreciation for a band when the bass player gets his fair share of the mix. As a hard rock/metal fan (again, mostly grown out of it, only like the old stuff I grew up on, think most new metal is crap), I always felt the bass mix in Metallica and Slayer records and the like always got the short end.

Now I'm just into the classic rock (Stones, Zeppelin, Rush, etc.) and stoner rock (Kyuss, Pelican, etc.) and the current Tool related stuff (Perfect Circle, Puscifer, and Tool-if they ever release a new record...) and Jack White related stuff (him solo, Dead Weather, etc.) and other stuff similar to all the stuff mentioned.

But Steve Harris, I think, put the Bass Guitar on the map for that '80's hard rock metal era, where it otherwise may have been lost under the two screaming guitars of all the bands like them...

 

[Sixgunn]

Let's see- he founded the band, he writes the majority of the songs and riffs for the band ON HIS BASS. He puts on an energetic show, his tone is unique, his playing style is unique (chords, gallop, three finger technique) and has been copied by every metal/hard rock bassist around, he is a very cool guy as well... Hmmm, I really wonder how he could be so popular?

I guess as a follow up we should also explore how Geddy is so popular. WHy is Metallica so popular? Why is Lars the best drummer ever?

Actually, Steve only uses two fingers on his right hand.