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underrated bassists

Except for Ray Manzarek (who didn't really play bass) and some guy who's name I don't recall right now because its been a couple of minutes since I read it, I never heard of any of these guys. Really feelin old now.
 
Dan Maines of Clutch is one of my favorites. He has some killer grooves and a great tone.

Right you are. Dan Maines is supremely underrated.
He also gets to pound it out with JP, which makes his job better than mine. Gonna see them in 3 weeks.

Someone mentioned Colin Edwin and Roger Glover earlier in the thread. Two bassists who fit their bands perfectly. I could listen to these 3 guys all day/every day.
 
+999,999

some of my favorite bass lines have originated from this dude's left hand!

You do know that the studio recording bass lines were laid down by a group of legendary session bassists. Here is an excerpt from the BP article:

If you think the Doors didn’t have a bass player, you’d be only half right. While the band never recruited a full-time bassist, it called upon some of Los Angeles’s finest to lay it down on tape between 1966 and 1970. Recently remastered and annotated by Doors engineer and producer Bruce Botnick, these expanded editions of the six original Doors albums reveal some unsung bass work that deserves a fresh listen.
The psychedelic blues-rock of the Doors’ 1967 debut featured the low end of Larry Knechtel, whose other credits include the Monkees, the Beach Boys, Billy Joel, and Bread. Knechtel’s greasy thump makes “Soul Kitchen” go down easy, and his driving feel ignites the blues burner “Back Door Man.”
Douglas Lubahn was on hand for Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, and The Soft Parade. Lubahn’s mood-setting intro riffs on “You’re Lost Little Girl” and “My Eyes Have Seen You” mark a few of the many bass highlights from Strange Days. That’s his jaunty octave pedaling powering the shuffle of “Love Me Two Times.” Lubahn shows an even wider range on Waiting for the Sun, from the fat and lumbering bounce of “Love Street” to the nasty blues drive of “Five to One.” The album holds guest spots by Kerry Magness (“The Unknown Soldier”) and Leroy Vinnegar, who plays upright on the psychedelic flamenco dirge “Spanish Caravan.” Los Angeles session man Harvey Brooks tracked bass for The Soft Parade, the most musically varied and unconventional album of the lot. While it doesn’t include the recognizable hits of the other records (just the horn-y “Touch Me”), it contains some magical bass moments, nonetheless.
Of all the discs, Morrison Hotel benefits most from expanded treatment, with over 45 minutes of studio outtakes from the album’s centerpiece, “Roadhouse Blues.” The bonus tracks include fascinating control-room instruction from producer Paul Rothchild (and some bizarre ramblings from frontman Jim Morrison) and feature bass by blues guitarist Lonnie Mack. Elsewhere, Ray Neapolitan lays down some stanky grooves on “Peace Frog” and “Ship of Fools.”
Elvis Presley bassist Jerry Scheff brought a Memphis vibe to the band’s final offering, L.A. Woman, channeling Duck Dunn on “The Challenging” and delivering a dirty blues stomp on “Been Down So Long.” Scheff shines on “Love Her Madly,” seasoning the tune’s boogie-woogie with some well-placed slides and slurs.
Of course, no low-end analysis of the Doors would be complete without a shout-out to organist Ray Manzarek, whose classical music studies yielded some of the prettiest bass lines in rock. His left hand was all over the place on all these records, leaving some great untapped bass fodder for the rest of us. If you already own the originals, the bonus tracks and new packaging don’t exactly make these discs must-haves (with the exception of Morrison Hotel). But if you have yet to really check out the Doors, now’s the time.
 
You do know that the studio recording bass lines were laid down by a group of legendary session bassists. Here is an excerpt from the BP article:

If you think the Doors didn’t have a bass player, you’d be only half right. While the band never recruited a full-time bassist, it called upon some of Los Angeles’s finest to lay it down on tape between 1966 and 1970. Recently remastered and annotated by Doors engineer and producer Bruce Botnick, these expanded editions of the six original Doors albums reveal some unsung bass work that deserves a fresh listen.
The psychedelic blues-rock of the Doors’ 1967 debut featured the low end of Larry Knechtel, whose other credits include the Monkees, the Beach Boys, Billy Joel, and Bread. Knechtel’s greasy thump makes “Soul Kitchen” go down easy, and his driving feel ignites the blues burner “Back Door Man.”
Douglas Lubahn was on hand for Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, and The Soft Parade. Lubahn’s mood-setting intro riffs on “You’re Lost Little Girl” and “My Eyes Have Seen You” mark a few of the many bass highlights from Strange Days. That’s his jaunty octave pedaling powering the shuffle of “Love Me Two Times.” Lubahn shows an even wider range on Waiting for the Sun, from the fat and lumbering bounce of “Love Street” to the nasty blues drive of “Five to One.” The album holds guest spots by Kerry Magness (“The Unknown Soldier”) and Leroy Vinnegar, who plays upright on the psychedelic flamenco dirge “Spanish Caravan.” Los Angeles session man Harvey Brooks tracked bass for The Soft Parade, the most musically varied and unconventional album of the lot. While it doesn’t include the recognizable hits of the other records (just the horn-y “Touch Me”), it contains some magical bass moments, nonetheless.
Of all the discs, Morrison Hotel benefits most from expanded treatment, with over 45 minutes of studio outtakes from the album’s centerpiece, “Roadhouse Blues.” The bonus tracks include fascinating control-room instruction from producer Paul Rothchild (and some bizarre ramblings from frontman Jim Morrison) and feature bass by blues guitarist Lonnie Mack. Elsewhere, Ray Neapolitan lays down some stanky grooves on “Peace Frog” and “Ship of Fools.”
Elvis Presley bassist Jerry Scheff brought a Memphis vibe to the band’s final offering, L.A. Woman, channeling Duck Dunn on “The Challenging” and delivering a dirty blues stomp on “Been Down So Long.” Scheff shines on “Love Her Madly,” seasoning the tune’s boogie-woogie with some well-placed slides and slurs.
Of course, no low-end analysis of the Doors would be complete without a shout-out to organist Ray Manzarek, whose classical music studies yielded some of the prettiest bass lines in rock. His left hand was all over the place on all these records, leaving some great untapped bass fodder for the rest of us. If you already own the originals, the bonus tracks and new packaging don’t exactly make these discs must-haves (with the exception of Morrison Hotel). But if you have yet to really check out the Doors, now’s the time.

thanks...i did not know that...and the doors are one of my favorite bands!

but yeah...i also heard joe osborne played quite a few times with them too...
 
You know Brendan Benson's backup group, The Wellfed Boys?! Ya, their bassist is absolutely wonderful! :D I have no idea what his name is (I've looked everywhere :() that's how underappreciated he really is. All I can say is that he is quite excellent.
If anyone knows his name, please speak up.
 
Dee Murray. How he falls off so many lists amazes me, this man had such an ear for melodic lines, and in my opinion formed an absolutely solid backbone to Elton's early work. Is it any wonder that popular opinion states that EJ's popularity wained when he broke up up the band?

I miss Dee's playing. RIP
 
1. Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
He started off a a rythym guitarist, but I think he transitioned to bass nicely. Just listen to any of their live stuff, he really smokes!

2. Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Sabbath)
Watch anything from Purple's California Jam, and I rest my case.

3. John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)
I think he put a lot of emotion into his lines and was a very solid player. Plus its been rumored that Page turned him and Bonham down during mixing, and told camera crews during live performances not to film them as much.