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Underrated bassists???

#41
Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam and Kim Deal of the Pixies.

Kim stuff is always really simple but it's soooo catchy and tastful. She never over plays and she sings too.

I never see Jeff get props but especially in the early days TEN and Vs. his stuff is really awesome. The bass line for Rats on Vs. is one of my favs.
 
#42
How are we defining underrated here? Flea (for example) isn't that well-known among people who don't either play bass or care about RHCP, but he wouldn't be considered underrated here. JPJ has always received tons of respect from fellow musicians but isn't well known among non-players or people who don't love Zeppelin. But that's almost always going to be the case- unless the bassist in question is a singer as well as a musician, he's probably not going to be that well-known by non-musicians anyhow. Our views are skewed (at least mine is) because we know more about musicians than people who are not musicians know.
 
#43
How about late Ronnie James Dio´s original lineup bassist JIMMY BAIN:hyper: Listen to those first two albums "Holy Diver" and "Last In Line" And don´t forget early Rainbow stuff and this is top secret hysss...... They say and Jimmy himself said on the interview that he played bass on Scorpions´s "Love At First Sting" album. Listen to his pick sound, note choices and GROOVE!(and he composed and played keyboards too....)
Can´t get enough of him.... And never seen him on Bass Player or anywhere else....... maybe someday he got what he deserves ;)
 
#47
stepswork4me said:
Dave Hope - Kansas
Mike Inez - Alice In Chains/Ozzy
Rex Brown - Pantera/Down
Sven Pipien - The Black Crowes

Sorry, but I agree that Gene is deserving of being underrated. He's just never impressed me at all.
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Don't you mean undeserving??

Also, I find that odd, considering Gene's stuff is in some ways much more inventive than Mike Inez's. Not to slight the guy, but I find Gene's playing much more interesting to listen to.
 
#51
stepswork4me said:
Dave Hope - Kansas
Mike Inez - Alice In Chains/Ozzy
Rex Brown - Pantera/Down
Sven Pipien - The Black Crowes

Sorry, but I agree that Gene is deserving of being underrated. He's just never impressed me at all.
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Cool, someone else finally jumped into one of these threads with another vote for Dave Hope!
 
#54
Noseferatu said:
Oh, and I'll take the opportunity to add Duff McKagan to the list.
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+1 to Duff. He crafts simple, but melodic, tasteful lines. Although, I don`t know if I can really call anyone with their own signature Fender "underappreciated" lol ! And DeLeo is a master ! For truly underappreciated, I`ll say : 1) Jon Evans - touring bassist for Tori Amos. Have seen him live several times with her. He`s the only stringed instrument on stage, so he knows he has a big job to do, and he does it expertly. 2) Jeff Rouse - Duff`s "Loaded" side project (Duff plays rhythm guitar). Duff picked someone for his band that can smoke his a** on a 4 string. Rouse is incredible, yet practically no one has heard of him. Highly recommend all rock fans to check out the "Sick" album - he is the best bassist you`ve never heard of. Monster tone ! 3) Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs - he crafts some amazingly varied lines. Several standout tracks on "Consolers Of The Lonely", most notably "Carolina Drama". Are these three "underappreciated" ? Absolutely. But anyone who listens to their work will become fans !
 
#55
slipkyes said:
I don´t think any of these are underrated at all :rolleyes:.
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If John Paul Jones is underrated, then I'm surprised anybody knows who these guys are. Certainly nobody on TB seems to mention them when they talk about their inspirations. Everybody likes Wooten, Jaco, Graham, and maybe Les Claypool and Geddy Lee. Very rarely does anybody get mentioned who doesn't play blisteringly fast bass solos or complex slap lines (or is Jaco). So yeah, maybe Myung is a bad fit, but I stand by the rest.
 
#56
I agree that Robert DeLeo seems to be underrated. I remember when I subscribed to Bass Player magazine though the 90's and early 00's, he was rarely mentioned, and as far as I can tell had only one cover story. He deserves more recognition IMHO.

Another vote for Dave Hope of Kansas. Fantastic bassist.

A couple more:

Pete Way of UFO. I was admiring his playing on "Strangers in the Night" the other day. You can tell that Steve Harris was a fan, there is certainly some Pete Way influence in his playing.

Charlie Colin, who was the bassist for Train until 2003. The bass work on the "Drops of Jupiter" album are fantastic.
 
#58
Atticus said:
If John Paul Jones is underrated, then I'm surprised anybody knows who these guys are. Certainly nobody on TB seems to mention them when they talk about their inspirations. Everybody likes Wooten, Jaco, Graham, and maybe Les Claypool and Geddy Lee. Very rarely does anybody get mentioned who doesn't play blisteringly fast bass solos or complex slap lines (or is Jaco). So yeah, maybe Myung is a bad fit, but I stand by the rest.
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Yeah, I've only been here a couple months, and I've realized that this is pretty much what TB is about.

Oh well, no skin off me.


If I want to be inspired by Duff, DeLeo, Dirnt, Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, Jack Bruce, AND Gene Simmons all in the same breath, I will proudly do so.

:bassist:
 
#59
FromTheBassMent said:
+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!
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Ditto, praise oftne goes to Peter Hook and Simon Gallup when it comes to alternative music, but I put Mr Severin into that exclusive club of simple but effective!
 
#60
Kinda surprised Mark Sandman hasn't been mentioned.
His band Morphine definitely wasn't the norm. I mean what rock band uses a baritone sax instead of a guitar player?
He also broke out of the bass player mold with his weird tunings, using a slide, and only 2 strings.
Heres a vid of one of his more popular songs:
 

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