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Underrated bassists???

#21
how about Brian Ritchie from the Violent Femmes?

playing an ABG as pretty much a lead instrument, back in the early 80's? definately one of the major reasons i picked up a bass to begin with.

same goes for Simon Gallup, Mike Mills, Peter Hook, the guys from Ned's atomic Dustbin ... Norman Cook (i used to LOVE the housemartins) ... Colin Moulding was a genius, and unless you are 35-42 and used to skateboard, you haven't heard him probably.

seems like the only bassists i listened to in high school that anyone knows now are Mike Watt and Les Claypool ...
 
#22
becker4567 said:
Don't get me wrong...Gene Simmons is indeed a good bass player....just not at the top of most peoples list. And thats a good point about playing with 50lbs of armor and in high heels (and about the girls too!!!). If that makes him underrated or under-appreciated, I can agree with that, but I don't think you can put him on the same level as Macca, JPJ, Mr. Bruce etc.. Gene is very, very good at what he does, unfortunately, he's a bit of a one trick pony.
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I agree completely with that. And no, he definitely does not belong on the same level as Macca, Bruce, JPJ or some others, but he definitely resembles Macca in some form and was influenced by all of the above mentioned.

I mean alot of his basslines are very good, such as Goin Blind, 100,000 Years, and Detroit Rock City among many, but I was TRULY impressed when I saw him in this video at about 0;23


I agree also that he is a one trick pony, but hey, he does that one trick pretty damn well.

:bassist:
 
#30
I agree, bring on the girls
Noseferatu said:
John Deacon is a great addition as well.

However, I want you to explain to me why Gene Simmons is not a good bass player. Is it because he doesnt slap and pop and play over 13/4 time signatures?? Is it because he's used solely a pick his entire career?
Like it or not, Gene is a hard rock equivalent of Macca. Yeah, go ahead and laugh at me. I mean c'mon, he plays with a Macca esque walking style, doesnt play root notes. Rarely looks at the fretboard.

Ask yourself this.

Could I play 100,000 Years or Detroit Rock City flawlessly while running around on stage sweating to death, wearing 50 pounds of armor, in 15 inch platform heels, improvising a good bit, never looking at my bass, with girls in the audience flashin their sweaty wares at me??

If Gene Simmons is not a good rock bassist, tell me what makes one?

By the way, I don't really care for KISS music much, I just listen once in a while because I love Gene's basslines.
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#32
Most of these cats get plenty of props. JPaul Jones for example. I love Gene Simmons, but he gets WAAAAY too much recognition. He's a solid rock player, but he ain't amazing. I think Dennis Dunnaway of Alice Cooper's original band is a great example of someone not getting enough recognition. I think dudes like Mark Drillich of KONG, Ralf Hubert of MEKONG DELTA, and Doug Keyser of WATCHTOWER are underappreciated and maybe too unknown all together.
 
#36
Sonicfrog said:
Nick Seymour - Crowded House.
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+1. He plays some really intersting, subtle, melodic stuff that embellishes the songs beautifully without calling too much attention to himself. Great player.

Gotta mention Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees. He pioneered some really interesting bass textures back in the day, layering lots of modulation effects and often playing entire parts way up the neck. He and Budgie were, for me, just about the most interesting rhythm section in the post-punk era.

He could hold down a traditional bass role as well. I saw him playing bass with Iggy Pop (along with Carlos Alomar on guitar and Clem Burke on drums), and despite the fact that he was wearing a gray flannel women's business suit with nylons and high heels (or maybe because of that fact), he totally rocked!
 
#37
Atticus said:
Cliff Burton
Geezer Butler
Duff McKagan
Lemmy
Tim Commerford
Noel Redding
John Myung

To name but a few...
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I don´t think any of these are underrated at all :rolleyes:

I have to say John Deacon cause the flashyness (and of course all the other guys are also amongst the best in their instruments) of all the other guys in queen just keeps him in the dark more than he should, cause he´s a stellar bassist and really the only bassist Queen could ever have.
 
#39
Hi all. Long time lurker finally posting.

I have to agree with the 'Dee Murray' post. He's one of the great 'pop' bass players. Half of the time you barely notice he's there - simply playing the song and not trying to be the lead instrument. Like Leland Sklar in that respect. You'd really notice if he wasn't there! One of my all time favourites and a big influence.
 
#40
Agreed, Mike Rutherford doesn't get a lot of mention here. His live work during the Peter Gabriel era was incredible, often covering bass, guitar, and pedals all in the same song. He really covered a HUGE chunk of their live sound back then.

But the guy I always mention in the underrated bassist threads is Dave Hope from the classic Kansas lineup (70's through the early 80's). And that's certainly not a put down of his replacement, Billy Greer, who is also a helluva player.
 

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