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Why Roger Waters ?

L

Laudou

Mar 25, 2012
34
2
#1
On the web you can find some lists of Great Bassists Ever... And more than once I found Roger Waters. He was nice musician, but I will not say that he's good as Geddy Lee, Squire, McCartney or PASTORIOUS.

His bass lines are very simple !
 
#3
Laudou said:
On the web you can find some lists of Great Bassists Ever... And more than once I found Roger Waters. He was nice musician, but I will not say that he's good as Geddy Lee, Squire, McCartney or PASTORIOUS.

His bass lines are very simple !
Click to expand...

Im no PF expert but some of the bass on their albums wasnt even played by him, it was Gilmour.
 
#4
He is a musical player in a hugely popular band, I'd say that says something about being "good"

Consider the VW beetle. It's probably on many lists of "greatest cars ever" and yet it's simple. It may not be something that a lot of people like, it it pleased many many many others and gained a place in history.

Roger Waters is the VW beetle of Rock Bass lol.
 
#5
The Rodger Waters-thing has been done to death. "Couldn't play, couldn't tune, couldn't sing, Gilmour played bass alot". Search for long, long arguments about that.

All members of Pink Floyd played "simple" things, and Roger was the most "simple" of them. But it was the way that just they played it that makes them so great. Pink Floyd doesn't benefit from virtous playing, it makes it impossible to lose yourself in the music, which I belive is the main reason so many people like Pink Floyd. Roger played exactly what the band needed.

When making "Top 100 Bassists of all time" and things like that it depends on who you ask. When Rolling Stone, Mojo etc makes list like that they usually go for the bassists of the bands they like, which is why loads of time it's Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones and John Entwhistle, all amazing players. Roger Waters makes it on those kinds of lists because Pink Floyd is one of those bands, and Waters had much to do with the writing.
When bassists themself choose the list those people often remain in the top, but people like Wooten, Pastorius and Claypool make it on there for being virtous players (something Rolling Stone doesn't care about). I think Waters is valid here aswell. Loads of bassists love his playing. Playing technique shouldn't mean everything. Wooten and Waters are amazing in different ways, and both should be allowed to be on the "Top"-lists.
 
#7
Because it was based on the popularity of the band as a whole and not the ability of Waters. You ask a bunch of people who love Pink Floyd who their favorite bass player is and most of them will say Waters just because he is in one of their favorite bands.
 
#9
Why can't people just appreciate what the bassist brings to the band and not what he doesn't? Pink Floyd, ACDC, U2..........What do they have in commom besides "solid" bass players? They were geat bands that a lot of people liked. Put, Geddy, Wooten, Claypool in those bands and they don't work. I can appreciate and respect both ends on the bass playing spectrum. (I'm closer to the Waters end of that spectrum myself) But I like bassist who fit the band.
 
#10
Technically skilled? - not very. But his lines were "just right" for the vibe that the band was going for. And Gilmour did play some of the busier stuff. So what? Pink Floyd was a guitar/keyboard dominated band, and Roger held the groove just fine.
 
#11
One thing I always say about Pink Floyd songs is that you can't cover their songs and overplay the bass lines. The songs don't sound right if you do. They were deliberately simplistic on purpose to fit the songs. I'm not saying that whoever played those parts was a great bassist; but, they played what was appropriate. When we learned Another Brick In The Wall with my 3 piece band, I stated to my drummer that we could not add anything to our parts or the song would not sound good.
 
#12
odin70 said:
You cannot compare Cliff Williams to Waters. Williams is a great rocknroll bass player.
Click to expand...

Wow,


I wasn't trying to compare any bass players. Rather players with simpler lines in great bands to bassist who are more technical. Simply that I like and appreciate all players who fit the music of their band. And yes Williams is a great R&R bass player. ACDC was one of my favorite bands growing up. Was he playing incredible lines in ACDC? Not really, but they fit the music perfect and that is all I was trying to say.:D
 
#13
Gilmore in interviews has definitively stated he recorded a lot of the bass parts, including "Money," then had to teach them to Waters to play concerts.

Waters is a genius when it comes to songwriting and rendering ideas to recording. But that's all.

Any person saying otherwise would mean he was cruisin' for a bruisin, and must be able to say, "I never said I was frightened of dying," because there is no dark side of the moon. As a matter of fact, it's all dark.
 
#19
iiipopes said:
Gilmore in interviews has definitively stated he recorded a lot of the bass parts, including "Money," then had to teach them to Waters to play concerts.
Click to expand...

Rolling Stone mag. 2003

'The demo tracks for the song (Money), including some of the sound effects, were recorded in a makeshift recording studio Roger Waters had in his garden shed. ....Though credited solely to Waters, since he wrote the basic music and all the lyrics, it is very much a group effort.'

Pink Floyd - Money - (Roger Waters Demo) - The Dark Side Of The Moon - Immersion Box Set - YouTube
 

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