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Who's Overrated? Who's Underrated?

#101
Overrated:
Flea
Cliff Burton
Steve Harris
Jack Bruce (but to be fair I think Clapton is overrated as a guitarist, too)
Tal Wilkenfeld-She is very good, but I just can't connect with her playing. It doesn't resonate with me.
Carol Kaye - she's without a doubt a good player, but I don't think she's as good as some people say.

Underrated:
Geezer Butler
Roger Glover
Chris Squire
John Entwistle - Now, a lot of people would argue that he is far from underrated, and at one time i would have agreed, but I think he is better than people realize in some very subtle ways.
 
#102
bass12 said:
To be fair, are you talking about bassists or composers? The OP said nothing about a given bassist's ability as a composer, so that aspect of things would seem irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
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In my opinion, and I think most people would at least partially agree, a musician's skill is more about what they create than it is about what they are capable of doing with their hands.

Regardless of how you feel about techincal expertise vs. creative artistry, I don't think the OP was making a distinction.

Really? It seems as if a lot of people here are evaluating certain players on the basis of their being solo artists only. If you grew up in the 80s, you no doubt unknowingly heard Marcus as a session player on so many records that it would make your head spin. Part of the reason MM gets so much respect in the industry is that he has made an incredible contribution as a studio musician and a sideman. His solo work is really only a small fraction of what he has accomplished as a bassist, composer and producer.
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That's a great point that I didn't consider. Miller did the soundtrack to "The Ladies Man", which I loved.
 
#103
Raoul_Duke said:
In my opinion, and I think most people would at least partially agree, a musician's skill is more about what they create than it is about what they are capable of doing with their hands.

Regardless of how you feel about techincal expertise vs. creative artistry, I don't think the OP was making a distinction.
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Creative artistry is not limited to composition. The "classical" world, for example, is full of exemplary musicians who "merely" play other people's music and are recognized for their skills, not as technicians necessarily, but as great interpreters.
 
#105
plangentmusic said:
I don't think anyone over the age of eleven actually thinks Simmons is a great player.

Supposedly, Vicious never even played on any recordings. He was so inept that the guitarist recorded the bass parts.
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Odd. Dave Ellefson does.

David told me that without a doubt guys like Gene Simmons were definitely an influence on his playing. “I look back on what Gene was doing with the bass playing especially his playing on the early KISS records and knowing now that he was a big Beatles fan, I listen to his music and it’s basically full of Paul McCartney bass lines which are really these old German pub walking bass lines. Gene has just been an inspiration to me as a survivor in the music business and as an entrepreneur I admire what he does”.
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So does Krist Novoselic. THere are more.


There's nothing wrong with Gene as a bassist. Perfectly executed walking basslines that fit KISS songs. Very musical stuff.

Just a couple of his best basslines.






I'm glad to see that someone mentioned Felix Pappalardi. I believe I read that he went deaf somewhere along the line before he died.


I love his approach of playing basslines independent of the kick drum, kind of like what Gene did later on.
 
#107
Noseferatu said:
Gene is seriously underrated. One of the best rock bassists of all time. Notice, I said ROCK. Let's stay within context here. Gene was not a jazz wanker. Never claimed to be. Most who bash the guy have never heard more than two KISS songs.
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He played notes that fit pretty well with the songs, many of which sold in the millions. So give him credit for that.

But did he do anything special? anything really distinctive? anything that wasn't obvious? anything that a million other guys couldn't have come up with?

If not, then what makes him one of the best rock bassists of all time?

Seriously, this isn't an attack. I'd just like to know how anyone could come to that conclusion.
 
#108
Noseferatu said:
Gene is seriously underrated. One of the best rock bassists of all time. Notice, I said ROCK. Let's stay within context here. Gene was not a jazz wanker. Never claimed to be. Most who bash the guy have never heard more than two KISS songs.
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Bob Babbitt was apparently asked to do some ghosting work for Gene Simmons at one point, for what that's worth...
 
#109
Tampabass said:
He played notes that fit pretty well with the songs, many of which sold in the millions. So give him credit for that.

But did he do anything special? anything really distinctive? anything that wasn't obvious? anything that a million other guys couldn't have come up with?

If not, then what makes him one of the best rock bassists of all time?

Seriously, this isn't an attack. I'd just like to know how anyone could come to that conclusion.
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There are PLENTY of bass players who weren't particularly inventive and still get praised regularly. However, notice that at the time Gene and Co. came around in 1973, there weren't ALOT of other rock bassists playing that way. I find myself humming his basslines much more than other "approved" bassists basslines.
 
#112
Noseferatu said:
There are PLENTY of bass players who weren't particularly inventive and still get praised regularly. However, notice that at the time Gene and Co. came around in 1973, there weren't ALOT of other rock bassists playing that way. I find myself humming his basslines much more than other "approved" bassists basslines.
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Still, what makes Gene "one of the best rock bassists of all time"?
 
#117
+1 to Nate Watts being underrated. 'Do I Do' is absolutely brilliant, one of the first basslines that made me think twice about being a guitarist when I was younger. I can attribute being a bassist now, in part, to that song!

Another underrated bassist is Mike Rutherford from Genesis. I'm not their biggest fan but I'm always impressed by his basslines. He's got that guitar/bass hybrid thing which I think is part Gibson and part Yamaha, but I'm not too sure!
 
#120
I often wonder how much time people actually invest in listening to a players work before they dismiss their abilities.
It so much easier to criticize something without really understanding it. The same goes for religions, race and cultures.
 

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