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Which Bassist "Made" a Band?

#122
Carlos Dengler of Interpol. When he left almost 10 years ago, that band lost like a half of of its appeal for many people cause it's just not the same without his basslines. Funny thing is he quit cause he was tired of playing bass. His playing nevertheless made the sound of the band and even his ex-bandmates have admitted that on various occasions. To this day, the guy remains fans' favourite and people (myself included) still wish he'd come back one day.
 
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#123
socialleper said:
I'm amazed it took until post 34 for someone to mention Steve Harris.
Not only is his tone and playing style the signature of the band, but it is his band. He is one one consistent member, he writes a lot of the music and lyrics, he produces a lot of the band's albums. He IS Iron Maiden.

I know Geezer Butler seems to go hand in hand with Steve a lot, but I'm going to stick by this one. Black Sabbath was successful without Ozzy. However, they were not successful without Geezer. Tony is the soul of the band, but he really needs Geezer with him to make his playing work. They are peanut butter and jelly.

Les Claypool is really the core of Primus. He is what people focus on, but he is also the driving force behind the band. Without him there isn't a Primus.

Geddy Lee in Rush. Neil Peart is definitely a draw for the band, but as the vocalist and with his playing style, Lee is really the one at the head of that trio. Personally, I pay zero attention to Alex Lifeson's playing.

Ryan Martinie in Mudvayne. That band had no reason to exist without him and the drummer. The guitarist is mediocre and the vocals were at times annoying. Listening to Ryan's playing is what caught my interest about them, and why I have zero interest in Hell Yeah.

Anything Nick Schendzeilos does. Cephalic Carnage before him was OK, but launched to a whole new level with him. A Job for a Cowboy was one a forgettable blob of whatevercore bands, but Sun Eater was an absolute work of art. Without Nick Havok would be one of a dozen interchangeable trash retread bands. He makes their music lively and unique. Sadly, the high pitched vocals drive me up a wall, so I can't enjoy them as much as I would like to.

For me Jereon Paul Thesseling made Obscura. The current bassist is a good player, but his style just isn't as inspired. Thesseling pushed the music more. Maybe that's why he isn't in the band anymore.

Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse and the drummer Paul are the only two consistent members of that band. He is the tonal backbone of the band, and his incredibly precise playing is one of the things that separated them from a glut of US death metal bands in the early 90s. His relentless attention to detail is what has made Cannibal Corpse the Gold Standard in death metal, as well as one of the longest lasting, more consistent extreme metal bands out there.
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I called Harris in post #15 :D
 
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#125
K2000 said:
Dee Dee Ramone wrote a lot of their material during their prime years. When Dee Dee left the band, that was the beginning of the end.
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Totally, and Dee Dee also suggested the Ramones name, hence "making" the Ramones.

Seriously though, the aggressive, all-downstrokes style Dee Dee pioneered is among the most influential styles ever. And it's hard to do. Anyone can "play" Ramones songs, but try going on stage and doing it effectively. For example, compare this punchy performance of "Teenage Lobotomy" to Green Day's lackadaisical cover of the same song. Green Day's a great band, but in terms of technique, there's no contest here.
 
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#127
A band is the sum of it's parts (The Who wrote a rock opera about this, Quadrophenia) and the bass player is an integral part of the ensemble, if there's a bass player in the band (The Doors, as an example, did NOT have a bass player).
 
#128
MVE said:
+1
Yeah, everything JPJ has played since sounds a lot more like Zeppelin than anything Plant or Page have done. Even when Plant or Page play Zeppelin songs, they don’t really sound like “Zeppelin Songs”. When JPJ plays anything, it sounds like a “Zeppelin Song”.
He has very unique phrasing and always carries the feel and improvises arrangements of the song perfectly alongside whatever the singer or guitar player are doing. In a nutshell, that’s the “Zeppelin” sound.
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I was surprised at how long it took for someone to mention him. He may not have been up front and center in their stage show, but with a strong background in music he was the most studied musician in the band and he contributed a great deal to their overall sound through his skill in arranging and, of course, playing, and not just on bass. I think of him as the quiet genius in the back. He was lucky to be surrounded with other very capable talent, but without a doubt they would have been a different band had he not been a part of it.
 
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#133
I think there is a difference between a bass player 'making' a band and a band not being successful without that bass player. The only band I can think of where the band might not be successful without the bass player is Rush, with Geddy playing bass, singing and keyboards. Chris Squire certainly made Yes, but I think yes could have been successful with another bass. I would say the same thing about Cream, The Who, and a couple of other bands.
 
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#134
OldStrummer said:
Having turned to bass only recently, and having been here just a short time, there are a lot of threads about who's your favorite, who's the most underrated (and probably who's the most overrated, but I haven't seen that one, yet). It got me to wondering:

Is there a bass player in your opinion who, without having been in a specific band, would have caused that band to be just mediocre?

Put another way, while there may be flashy guitar players and superstar singers, would there have been a band that wouldn't have succeeded without the solid playing of a talented bass player?
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The rest of the thread for me is TL:DR, so forgive me if someone already gave these answers...

To answer your questions, three LEAP to mind.

Geddy Lee made Rush.
Paul McCartney made the Beatles. (John Lennon fans are about to try to kill me...)
Les Claypool made Primus.
 
#135
lfmn16 said:
I think there is a difference between a bass player 'making' a band and a band not being successful without that bass player. The only band I can think of where the band might not be successful without the bass player is Rush, with Geddy playing bass, singing and keyboards. Chris Squire certainly made Yes, but I think yes could have been successful with another bass. I would say the same thing about Cream, The Who, and a couple of other bands.
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Chris Squire was the primary writer and arranger in Yes, so I'm going to disagree with that one. I think we're selling some of these bassists short when we only look at their bass playing and not their whole contribution.
 
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#137
The parameters have to be more clearly defined for any answers to really be meaningful. Are we talking just playing bass or are we taking into account other contributions (fronting the band, stage presence, composition, etc.)? If it's just bass playing then I have a feeling the answers coming from bassists versus those coming from non-bassists are, for the most part, not going to line up.
 
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