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Which bands would suck without their bassist?

#81
Matt Till said:
Just so we know, I'm not arguing Sting was THE bassist for the Police, the comment I was quoting was talking about his songwriting though. I am (am = try to be) influenced by Sting, he's one of my favorite bassists. Sting and Stew worked together so well.
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Even though they apparently fought on occassion. Sting is one of my favorites too, even though I don't like everything he's done.

There's one local drummer who's a flat out weasel, I'd never hire him but from time to time we end up on the same gig... and we click every time. Funny how that works:D

With thousands of bassists working hard to put more notes in a physical space than the next guy, I've always found it refreshing to hear people put interesting notes and phrasing in the right place. It's like the difference between a painting picking up a brush and painting exactly what he has in mind vs. one who flings things at a wall to see what sticks.
 
#83
JimmyM said:
OBTW, Paul Simonon was a standard issue punk bassist when the Clash started. By the time he started doing reggae rhythms in the Clash, the Police were well-established.
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Sorry, if I remember correctly (and I'm not perfect despite my SN) London Calling came out around the same time as Outlandos d'Amour. Paul was moving to the the "fussion" bass by that time.

Brad Johnson said:
Now that's funny.
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Glad we agree on something... ;)

Brad Johnson said:
Where exactly did I cite his singing and songwriting... maybe I didn't realize I wasn't talking about his BASS WORK?
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Sorry, gave you credit for someone elses comment ;)

Brad Johnson said:
and since you like to cite the original question, was getting along with others a parameter?
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Nah, I was just making a point that if they were all happy and fluffy, they might have lasted longer and done even more amazing things. And like I also said, the dynamic that they had because of that conflict might have affected their music. Remember we're dealing with a very stupid hypothetical question here.

Brad Johnson said:
Yeah, they could've been the Stone Temple Pilots.
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heh Now who's the funny one? ;)

Who knows in the crazy bizzaro world where Geddy was never with Rush, Paul was never with the Beatles and Justin Mendel Johnson never met up with Beck...

Brad Johnson said:
Dense much?

Bye. I didn't mention your age but you definitely fit the sterotypical can't put anything into context type.
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Not you... if you noticed, it was quoted to someone else. I like to reply all in one post to save space. No reason to make five posts when two will work. You were being really civil till that last line there...


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As for a band that wouldn't have been able to do it without their bass player...

Ben Folds Five. Seems like a no brainer to me.
 
#87
Perfect-Tommy said:
Sorry, if I remember correctly (and I'm not perfect despite my SN) London Calling came out around the same time as Outlandos d'Amour. Paul was moving to the the "fussion" bass by that time.



Glad we agree on something... ;)



Sorry, gave you credit for someone elses comment ;)



Nah, I was just making a point that if they were all happy and fluffy, they might have lasted longer and done even more amazing things. And like I also said, the dynamic that they had because of that conflict might have affected their music. Remember we're dealing with a very stupid hypothetical question here.


heh Now who's the funny one? ;)

Who knows in the crazy bizzaro world where Geddy was never with Rush, Paul was never with the Beatles and Justin Mendel Johnson never met up with Beck...



Not you... if you noticed, it was quoted to someone else. I like to reply all in one post to save space. No reason to make five posts when two will work. You were being really civil till that last line there...


-----

As for a band that wouldn't have been able to do it without their bass player...

Ben Folds Five. Seems like a no brainer to me.
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I was being very civil considering you attributed things to me that I clearly didn't say and got an attitude about it. I guess that space-saving idea wasn't very workable.

No big deal;)
 
#89
Brad Johnson said:
I was being very civil considering you attributed things to me that I clearly didn't say and got an attitude about it. I guess that space-saving idea wasn't very workable.

No big deal;)
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WHAT!?!?! YOU DISAGREE ABOUT BEN FOLDS FIVE!!! YOU CAN ROT... errr...

:D

Guess we'll jsut have to agree to disagree about Sting. But... we both agree that both he and The Police are hella cool.
 
#90
Perfect-Tommy said:
Well... He's not exactly Geddy or Les.
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You're right. Sting can kick their butt every day of the week.

Now, Geddy is also an amazing musical force and I haven't heard enough Claypool to comment on him either way, but judging by the available recorded output, Sting is a far superior musician in every measurable way, except perhaps if you consider chops, but there's way more to music than that.
 
#91
BTW, Perfect-Tommy, I couldn't find the exact release date for Outlandos D'Amour but it came out in 1978. London Calling came out on December 14, 1979. Which means the Police pre-date the Clash's reggae excursions by at least a year.

Also, what you said about Sting and Stewart being happy and fluffy might have made them last longer and been better for the music...ever known a happy and fluffy rock band that made good music? I sure haven't! I'm sure the musicians playing with Sting now try to keep things happy and fluffy with their boss, but hardly anyone thinks Sting is better on his own. But at least you think the Police are cool. I have to give you credit for that. We just need to work on your sense of history and perspective ;)

BTW, listen to stuff by Rush like "New World Man" and "Time Stand Still" and tell me Geddy wasn't influenced by Sting just a little.

Blackbird, Les Claypool is inventive and has chops out the wazoo, and I like Primus just fine, but your assessment of Sting vs. Geddy goes double for Les.
 
#92
Secondhandloser said:
Agreed.

Rancid. Matt's playing is the only reason I listen to them...
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thats not the onley reason i listen to it,but matt is practicley tims reasonfor living (rehab). plus if he wasnt there (wich hes not currently) there would be no rancid(witch theres not right now) plus he rights like half of the lyrycs.
 
#95
Not sure if this fits the question since the bands I'm thinking about, The Peter Gabriel 'Band' and King Crimson, are more of a revolving cast of characters assembled for an album/tour than what we normally think of as bands, but I wouldn't have all of Peter Gabriels cds if not for Tony Levin (I know he didn't play on every song from every era), and if not for Tony, I wouldn't have decided in 1981 that bass guitar was the instrument for me. :D
 
#97
Perfect-Tommy said:
Well... He's not exactly Geddy or Les. I'm pretty sure there were a lot of people that could have stepped in and played equally or even better basslines, especially if we're not taking in account singing. I think the only thing that has ever impressed me about Sting's bass playing is when I heard a live recording of "Can't Stand Losing You" and Stewart starts it off way above time. Sting sang and played it spot on. But honestly, there are plenty of musicians that can do that.

I'm not saying he's not good. He is. I think he's a cool dude to boot, but I think that they could have had another bassplayer (maybe not singer) and done just as well.

Even though creativity has nothing to do with this list... I think the more input Sting got with The Police, the less I liked them. Not a fan of his solo stuff and I think that Stewart really was the guy with the better vision. I would rather listen to the Soundtrack to Spyro the Dragon, which Copeland did, then listen to Sting's past couple solo albums ;)
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+1 Absolutely agree...
 
#98
I disagree that Metallica "continued" after Cliff died. They've never been the same band, and to me they're a great example of what the original poster is asking for.

I'll definitely second Jamiroquai. That band is beyond boring now that Stuart is gone.

Of the ones which haven't been mentioned..

Lord Only :)
Sublime
Molotov
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Widespread Panic
Phish
 
#99
JimmyM said:
BTW, Perfect-Tommy, I couldn't find the exact release date for Outlandos D'Amour but it came out in 1978. London Calling came out on December 14, 1979. Which means the Police pre-date the Clash's reggae excursions by at least a year.
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I don't really see the point in fighting over dates like this, but I'd like to add something:

The Clash dabbled in reggae with their first album and released singles like Pressure Drop and White Man in Hammersmith Palais during 1977 and 1978. This was way before London Calling and several months before the Police had their first album out. Paul Simonon has also said in interviews that he learned to play bass by playing along to reggae records. So the Clash got their reggae stuff out first while the Police were forming and out hustling to get signed to a label. However, I feel that the Police concentrated more on specifically incorporating reggae and punk into a new sound while the Clash were relative purists about the genres they explored.

Reggae was huge in Britain at the time and The Police were one of many "punk" bands that loved and started to incorporate reggae into their sound. Heck, even Johnny Rotten loved reggae while he was a Sex Pistol.
 

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