Underrated and Overrated Bassists

[FLOYDtheBARBER]

underrated:
-"family man" barret, of the wailers.
-rob derhak, of moe. he tears it up.
-daniel brummel, of Ozma.
-every good bassist i've never heard of, because i want to hear of them
overrated:
-all the big-name bassists that get tons of recognition are somehow overrated; simply because so much attention is paid to them, other equally-remarkable players often go unnoticed. i dunno; basically what i mean is, all players have some value, to someone. and it's different to everyone.

 

[Brendan]

Originally posted by Viktor
First of all this is a reply to:

-CndrSmrof:You think Jacp Patorius is overrated????You've got to be kidin' me!!!!Have you even listend to his music...man they don't call him "the greatest bass player" for nothing!!!

-JMX:Cliff Burton was(is) not overrated,have you heard his solos?...Anestesia,Orion,....He wrote half of Metallica stuff(the good old stuff),his was one the most talented bass players around,!And he's speed......I think I don't have to say nothing about that!And second of all...you saw him live.....how old R you??????He died in 86!

-Brendan:Les Claypool is overrated???Are you mad???????The man invented 10 ways of playing bass!My advice,to you,s to check out Sailing the Seas oc Cheese!

PEACE!I am waiting for replyes!

Um...so, does that mean if I can play the solo to Orion, I'm as good as Cliff Burton? Solo's mean precisely squat. Speed is also nothing. Check out some of the death metal nutbars out there. They can go miles above and beyond Burton's speed. Talented? Meh. MEH.

The freaking problem with Cliff Burton is that he's reached some sort of faux mythological status because he played in a band that was influential that started slipping after he died. So people start claiming he was the true talent, that he was amazing, that he was a god like bass player. NO. He was a rock bassist who could run a few chords patterns into a solo that means nothing out of context. Influential? Yes. Something special? Not by far.

IMO.

And, Les created none. He slaps, taps, uses flamenco style strumming, and plays out of tune. Invented precisely 0.

 

[CmdrSmirnoff]

CndrSmrof:You think Jacp Patorius is overrated????You've got to be kidin' me!!!!Have you even listend to his music...man they don't call him "the greatest bass player" for nothing!!!

Go ahead and call him the "greatest bass player", but I just don't find any of his stuff interesting. *shrug* He kinda reminds me of those guitar wankers like Michael Angelo, who may be amazingly talented but are a chore to listen to.

 

[jenderfazz]

John Myung is definitely underrated. Nobody knows who he is, and he's seriously amazing.

 

[Viktor]

THANKS FOR YOUR REPLYES!!!!!
I'm sorry Cndrsmrnoff,I just can't agree with you about Jaco Pastorius.He's simply the best....You should check out Slang & Punk Jazz!!!!!
For Brendan about Cliff Burton..........it's not hard to play his solos.....but have you tought what it was to create something like that?I am not saying that he is the best bass player bla bla ......but show me a man with his energy & creativity and belive me he influencial & wery special(IF NOTHING FOR HIS HEADBANGING )
PEACE!!!

 

[JMX]

Originally posted by Viktor
[..]-JMX:Cliff Burton was(is) not overrated,have you heard his solos?...Anestesia,Orion,....He wrote half of Metallica stuff(the good old stuff),his was one the most talented bass players around,!And he's speed......I think I don't have to say nothing about that!And second of all...you saw him live.....how old R you??????He died in 86!

Well, I was listening to Metallica when Kill 'em all came out and you had to buy those records (not CDs!) as an US import. I grew up on that sh!t, but I found out later that the top of the game in bass playing is on another level entirely...Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Dominique Di Piazza etc.
But to each his own.

Oh, and you can go concerts as a minor in Germany

-Brendan:Les Claypool is overrated???Are you mad???????The man invented 10 ways of playing bass!My advice,to you,s to check out Sailing the Seas oc Cheese!

PEACE!I am waiting for replyes!

Name one technique he invented. Just one.
Slapping? No.
Cord strumming? Hel! no.
Tapping? No.
Distortion on bass? No.
Percussive playing? No.
etc.pp.

He may have been one of the first to use them in an alternative/metal environment, but that doesn't
make him an inventor.
FOr the record. I used to LOVE Primus, I saw them on the STSOC tour with Limbomaniacs opening for them.
Les is good, but he's no god.

 

[DEFELDUS]

Originally posted by Viktor
THANKS FOR YOUR REPLYES!!!!!
I'm sorry Cndrsmrnoff,I just can't agree with you about Jaco Pastorius.He's simply the best....You should check out Slang & Punk Jazz!!!!!
For Brendan about Cliff Burton..........it's not hard to play his solos.....but have you tought what it was to create something like that?I am not saying that he is the best bass player bla bla ......but show me a man with his energy & creativity and belive me he influencial & wery special(IF NOTHING FOR HIS HEADBANGING )
PEACE!!!

there you go again trying to change others opinions

originally posted by jenderfazz
John Myung is definitely underrated. Nobody knows who he is, and he's seriously amazing.

hell yeah. this guy warms up for three hours before a show, and warms down after a show! he is simply a master of three and four finger technique (right hand) and his left hand does some of the most technical stuff i've ever seen. What really makes him so great imo is the level of intensity and passion he puts into his playing. just listen to trial of tears or learning to live and you'll see what i mean. he wrote both of those and while they arent anywhere near their most difficult stuff it is insanely emotional and beautiful. He is by far my favorite influence and my favorite player ever.

 

[JMX]

Check this vid:

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[mans0n]

i feel that Victor Wooten is highly over-rated as a musician.

He surely can slap tho, every song is seemingly a bass-off contest.

 

[cobrasneverdie]

the bassist from operation ivy is pretty under rated fun lines . and matt freeman is under rated.

 

[Bernie Connors]

Originally posted by mans0n
i feel that Victor Wooten is highly over-rated as a musician.

He surely can slap tho, every song is seemingly a bass-off contest.

 

[fclefgeoff]

Under-rated : Kenny Gradney, Berry Oakley, Oteil Burbridge, Allen Woody, Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Alphonso Johnson, Phil Lesh, Bill Wyman, Larry Graham, Dave Schools, Krist Novoselic, Kim Deal, Doug Pinnick, Ben Shepperd, Roger Waters. (There are MANY more)

Over-rated * : Les Claypool, Vic Wooten, Flea, Bootsy Collins, Paul McCartney, Jaco Pastorious....

* I am not knocking the talent of any of these guys but they're names get thrown around alot more often than most other bassists....

 

[Airsick Pilot]

I think Tony Kanal is very underrated. He may not be one of the best players around but he stays in the pocket and has alot of really nice basslines not to mention his unique style of playing. The man's really down-to-earth too.

 

[cassanova]

There are currently two threads in the FAQ about this very same topic. Please use those threads to post.

Much Love
Mama Cass