Someone please explain all the love for Steve Harris

[Chrisk-K]

Steve Harris is a great example of anti-GAS. He could have any basses but has been playing the same simple lowly P bass for 40 years. I’m sure most TB folks have bought more basses than Steve.

 

[Session1969]

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?

I was one of many teenagers that wanted to become a professional musician in the 80's. Hard rock bands like Def Leppard , Judas Priest, The Scorpians were some of the bands that inspired me. Out of all the bands , Iron Maiden was one of the "bass player's" bands , along with Rush, and well, that was about it. Ha ! They were more challenging to play than a lot of the other stuff and it gave me an idea as to how important the bass can be in a style of music where, let's face it , the bass was kind of buried, compared to other styles of music. I would say that what the big deal about Steve Harris is , he made the bass more important in metal.

 

[snarebear]

I ve seen him live a few times and listened to some live performances and he seemed kind of sloppy at times. Good but not great in my book.

 

[Jazz Ad]

My main gripe regarding Mr. Sheehan is his gawdawful tone!!

It tends to growl on you.

 

[7dollarbologna]

As a kid from the 80's, I loved Steves gallop - I think he's a great player.

 

[Yonni]

It tends to growl on you.

For some reason I only like his stuff with Niacin.

 

[NeonVomit]

Steve Harris is a great example of anti-GAS. He could have any basses but has been playing the same simple lowly P bass for 40 years. I’m sure most TB folks have bought more basses than Steve.

Yup, it's the same blue bass that you saw up until the Seventh Son album. He had it repainted white with the West Ham Utd crest at the Fender custom shop. Michael Kenney, his bass tech, says that simply it's 'the One'. He obviously has a couple of others on tour for backup (one of the times I saw them he was rocking a black and white chessboard-pattern P bass) but I guess once you find the one you keep it... he used the odd Ibanez in the 80's, but is to me the archetypal P-bass guy.

 

[Wisebass]

One thing I have to say is that it’s always made me smile that his signature bass has the West Ham crest and colours on it. As a fellow hammer (West Ham fan) I love the fact that loads of players out there are carrying the badge but maybe fans of other teams yet their appreciation of him overcomes their (soccer) club loyalty.

Good!

Tomorrow is now officially Maiden Day for me.

Take a ball!

Steve is the best soccer player on the poll!


Wise(b)ass

 

[Mark McClelland]

Very sorry. No issue at all with anyone not getting the popularity of Steve Harris, but he's the reason I picked up the bass in the first place. While I'm here, I should also mention that he does not use three fingers like so many believe.

 

[Yonni]

*Maiden Day update*

I’m up to Powerslave. So far:
Iron Maiden - liked
Killers - not so much
Number of the Beast - liked
Piece of Mind - Trouper the highlight but overall didn’t like it as much as the other two.

Two to go plus Moonchild.

 

[Misfit Wookiee]

For me, the first two albums were the last two I bought way back in high school (No Prayer For The Dying was their most recent release back then - an album you should skip) when I was completing my collection. They were an acquired taste, as I was a bigger fan of Dickinson over DiAnno. I've developed a better respect for them, and they currently occupy two of the slots in the car's 6 CD changer. I did make sure when I was buying my first two CDs that Powerslave was the first CD I ever owned because the songs on it were so amazing. Still are, IMHO. Hell, I turned my wife on to metal by loaning her the album after I found out "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" was her favorite poem.

FWIW, she thought all metal was of the "Cookie Monster" vocal variety - y'know, death metal-style. Bruce surprised her and she became a big "Maiden 'Head" (her words) after that. So much so that we made sure Iron Maiden/Anthrax/Lauren Harris at Irvine Meadows was her first concert...

...8 1/2 months pregnant, to boot.

Don't worry. I bought seats, not lawn. What am I, a savage?

 

[BubbaZed]

*Maiden Day update*

I’m up to Powerslave. So far:
Iron Maiden - liked
Killers - not so much
Number of the Beast - liked
Piece of Mind - Trouper the highlight but overall didn’t like it as much as the other two.

Two to go plus Moonchild.

You can listen to Maiden up and down, left and right, backwards and forwards. If it's not for you, it's not for you. Not the biggest fan of Jaco and I've given Weather Report and first solo albums tons of listening time. Great albums but it made me realize jazz is not my preferred genre. But Jaco did wonders for the instrument. I would imagine most players were inspired more by a Steve Harris than Jaco only because Maiden's stuff was more mainstream with a younger audience.

For the record, I've followed the Premiere League now for 15 years. When it came to following a team it was West Ham mostly because there was always a West Ham reference in the album's liner notes.

What a frustrating team to watch!!!!!!!

 

[Yonni]

What a frustrating team to watch!!!!!!!

And it’s only getting worse!

You’re probably right about the influence bit. I admire Jaco but I picked up a bass because of Geddy.

 

[BubbaZed]

And it’s only getting worse!

Yup. My take on what seems to be a cycle: Finish mid-table. Make a few changes and hope for some European play. Next year, a relegation battle. Then a mid table. Make a few changes and hope for some European play. Then a relegation battle. Rinse and repeat. But I understand the loyalty and I'll keep blowing bubbles.

 

[franklindayala]

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?

You forgot to mention that he plays a P bass

 

[Ringhammer]

That p bass was straight white for a short time too, Just before it went blue for next decade or so.
He plays an Ibanez in the Run to the Hills video. Another fun song is Total Eclipse which was a B-side of Run to the Hills. Not hard, just kind of dramatic (but for the solo part where the song falls apart for a few seconds). I always wondered if he used the Ibanez to record the Total Eclipse song because in that song doesn’t seem to have the same tone he usually went for.

 

[Dean N]

Maiden Day

 

[Kragnorak]

*Maiden Day update*

I’m up to Powerslave. So far:
Iron Maiden - liked
Killers - not so much
Number of the Beast - liked
Piece of Mind - Trouper the highlight but overall didn’t like it as much as the other two.

Two to go plus Moonchild.

So far this matches my opinions of those albums.

 

[djshawn47]

Learn how to play “Phantom of The Opera”, and then come back and respond to your own original post.




Or Wrathchild:

 

[basseux]

I don't get it either. He doesn't do anything special. To me, he is just an average bass player.

are you trolling or something ?