• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

you know why Will Lee is great?

#21
heath_the_great said:
well it was true...still bass day was mentioned...but fine...will lee doesnt really stand out for me, does what he does, but still, id rather listen to Hub play
Click to expand...

Hub is.......well I'm glad you dig him...... :hmm:
Just buy any older Brecker Brothers disc with him on it. Or better yet, get Hirum Bullocks disc "Live At Manny's Car Wash". My God, Will gives some big lessons on that one!!
Or D'Angelo's first one (can't remember the name off hand) Will's on that as well, and there are some killer azz grooves all over that disc.
Will´s playing is all class. Like a Mercedes, nothing over the top flashy, but when you see it (or in this case hear it), there is no question that it's the real deal.
And how may records has Hub played on???? Yeah, can count on one or two hands huh?!?!.
And Will???? How many views has there been to this thread???? At least double that many for Will. And hundreds of sessions for a few tracks here and there. In ALL styles.
Will Lee wrote the book that Hub reads from.
He has got to be my number 1 fav bass player.
 
#23
what does it matter about how many more albums will lee has played on over Hub...its not gonna effect me in a way to prefer will lee over Hub, or Meshell Ndegeochello, Noel Redding, Tommy Shannon, Braylon Lacy or Aaron Mills

Will lee may be a better player than any of these, or any others that i prefer, but he still doesnt, Appeal to me, same goes for victor wooten.......


in saying that, i prefer a Toyota, and whats wrong with Hub?

listening to The Tipping Point atm, all i can do is

MikeBass said:
nothing over the top flashy, but when you see it (or in this case hear it), there is no question that it's the real deal.
Click to expand...
 
#24
Nothing is "wrong" with Hub.
He just came off as a royal azz in the Bass Player interview.
Players like him, while good at what he does, should watch what they say. And yeah, I think he would sound better if he played a five string.

I don't get 9 string basses or what ever they are called, but I don't pass judgment on the players like he did.
His playing, while it may be good, will be overlooked by me because of his attitude.
My loss, oh well. I'm sure Will Lee has something to make up for it ;)
 
#25
Personally I think its pretty hard to say I prefer x's playing over y's playing unless you are fairly familiar with the works of both.

So yeah, if you say "I prefer driving a Toyota", but have never driven any other car then whilst its an opinion, it doesn't carry much weight.
 
#26
ok i love will for who he is and what he does AND i love hub for who HE is and what he does.i know that we who post on talkbass love our "so and so couldn't carry sos and so's jock" discussions but why is that some people can't praise one guy without tearing down another? will lee was/is a major studio cat in nyc for many years but most people wouldn't know who he is if he wasn't on lettermen.hub has played on more records than you think but is a member of a grammy award winning band so thats why many people know who he is. my point is their both great in their own right so don't tear down one to build up another it's getting a little old
 
#27
I got nothin' bad to say about no one, I love SRV and DT, but IMHO, Tommy and Will ain't close. I met Tommy here in town, great guy, very nice down to earth, and sat right next to his rig while he played, and, no doubt, an excellent player, but he can't touch Will Lee.

I respect your opinion, but Lee's book of work is broad and varied, and he is respected and in demand by in-the-know musicians worldwide. As has been stated, Will is the consummate professional, possessing jaw-dropping chops AND pile drivingly righteous groove! The man is lint, deeep in the pocket and never overdoes his stuff, so that when he pulls out the smoke, it's timed right and makes you smile and then laugh.

I like those other guys too, but Will Lee deserves our respect and love.
 
#28
Just the length of the guy's career speaks for itself. There are a huge number of talented players out there. Mr Lee has the personality and professionalism to keep getting hired ...

not to mention a fabulously strong picking hand and gob's of taste ...
 
#31
heath_the_great said:
im just saying......all the things ive heard will on just dont leap out to me, make me wanna listen more, just because he's done this or that many recordings doesnt make me have to like him or respect him, im not saying i dont.....but overall i prefer tommy, hub and braylon
Click to expand...


Cool.
Good points. But you gotta give the man a little respect, you don't have to like his playing, but his history lends itself to a great deal of respect alone.
There are a bunch of players I don't like, but if they have the goods, you gotta give them the props they deserve.

But, if ya get a chance, and I could point you to some cool Will playing, check out the Hirum Bullock "Live at Manny's Car Wash" disc.
You may not dig it, and thats cool, but it's a real good disc.
What I dig about it is it's raw sounding, not fixed up at all really. Just as if they threw an ADAT or two in the corner and went to town.
It is mixed cool, but still raw as hell. And they do some nice covers too- now, if only someone would tell Hirum Bullock to not sing.............. ;) I'm not a fan of his vocal "stylings".
 
#33
It's so nice to read all of your comments on Will's technical abilities and his staying true to the songs he covers night after night.

My experiences with Will Lee were almost 40 years ago. I was 16 and Bill (as he was called then) was 14 or 15. I played electric accordian (stop laughing!) in a band with him. We would sometimes practice at his parents house. I remember a Grand piano there and many ASCAP awards on the wall earned by his dad, William Lee Sr.

I was amazed then of his talent. He could sing 3 octaves. He played a white Fender bass (precision I think) and a fender bassman amp (is that the one with 2 12" or 15"s?)

I smile at the irony of it all; our band, playing the Stones, Beatles, James Brown, etc. then; and Will backing up these same people at the Rock and Roll hall of fame awards.

Play on Will; you're the best!!

Mike
 
#36
c-ba55 said:
Will's a great player and a nice guy, but I am not going to give anybody props for their ability to regurgitate a bass line. That's a useful thing in this world, but that's about the best I can say for that ability.
Click to expand...


Huh?!?!??!??
Lemme see, not giving props because someone can cop just about any style of playing, in just about any style of music, in just about any situation? And play the line true to the original with respect to the players/writers original intent.
Umm... OK!
A "Useful thing in this world" is an understatement.

Excuse me, I need to go practice throwing up now............
 
#38
MikeBass said:
Huh?!?!??!??
Lemme see, not giving props because someone can cop just about any style of playing, in just about any style of music, in just about any situation? And play the line true to the original with respect to the players/writers original intent.
Umm... OK!
A "Useful thing in this world" is an understatement.

Excuse me, I need to go practice throwing up now............
Click to expand...

That's worthy of zero respect in my book, correct. Reproducing somebody else's work is not interesting. There's a demand for it, certainly, but capitalism doesn't define artistic merit. Before printing, there were people called scribes, who just copied out other peoples' manuscripts. Even if they had super great penmanship, I wouldn't accord them a lot of respect, relative to the actual writer.

Will has other skills beyond regurgitating, and I do respect him for those.
 
#39
As a classical bass player, I spend most of my time "regurgitating" (I've never heard it put so elegantly) other peoples bass lines; people like Bach, Mozart, etc. What a waste of time! They didn't even know how to slap!
I could have been making up super-cool pentatonic licks! Or learning how to shred!
 
#40
Does everybody forget Will's basslines from the Brecker Bros albums from the 70's or the thousands of other songs he had to come up with the basslines? He has written hundreds of cool basslines, that's why he gets the call. I used to see Will Lee playing clubs all the time in N.Y.C., and he improvised at almost every small gig. Just because a cat gets a twenty year high profile gig on T.V. playing mostly covers, dosen't mean he can't come up with his own lines.........anybody remember Ernie Watts from the tonight show....that cat can play!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back