Favourite basslines

[TeleDrifter]

Live With Me from Let it Bleed......Very cool opening...Bill Wyman

[momotrucker]

Another Day - Paul McCartney

I Looked Away - Carl Radle (Derek & The Dominoes)

Jailbreak - Phil Lynott ( Thin Lizzy )

[drewsblues]

"Orange Crush" - REM
"Green Earrings" - Steely Dan
"Skin Tight" - Ohio Players
"Born Under A Bad Sign" - Albert King
"The Barney Miller Theme"
"Shining Star" - EWF
"Llama" - Phish
"The Scoop" - Beastie Boys
"New York" - Digable Planets

There are others... these are just the ones that pop into my head as I sit here typing.

[djdeacon]

Originally Posted by Dave O

Graham Maby on Joe Jackson's "Look Sharp" album, especially on "(Do The) Instant Mash".

From the same album..."Sunday Papers".

And since we don't have much else Noo Wave here, "Hangin' Around" and "Peaches", by the incomparable Jean-Jacques Burnel of the Stranglers.

And if we're gettin' funky, "I'll Take You There", by the Staple Singers (one of the best bass/drums grooves I've heard), which I think is David Hood.

[daddyplaysbass]

I always liked the Bassline to "She Thinks I Still Care" by George Jones

[drewsblues]

Originally Posted by daddyplaysbass

I always liked the Bassline to "She Thinks I Still Care" by George Jones

Great song! Great bass line!

I'm off to dig through the CD pile...

[mudbean]

Originally Posted by HoodieMcFoodie

Hmm, there are so many, but I'll go with three by my all time fave bass player, Tiran Porter from the Doobie Brothers.

China Grove
Long Train Running
8th Avenue Shuffle

I had the absolute joy of playing China Grove and Long Train Running in our band many years ago, but unfortunately 8th Ave Shuffle was too obscure for the rest of the guys...

+1, esp Long Train ... one of my favorite songs to sing backups to, also!

mud

[play_loud]

Let me tell you how it will be... there's one for you nineteen for me...

TAXMAN!!

Another absoluetly iconic bassline..

Come Together!

Although being a huge Beatles nerd, I am slighty biased. I do have to state that Sir McCartney made me pick up the bass though. So many great, simple basslines: from Saw Her Standing There to Back In The USSR to Sun King... If you look at all the "stages" of the Beatles musical development, one thing remians the same. Great basslines!

[play_loud]

Also, +1 to Jailbreak. Phil Lynott = bass guitar god!

[winny pooh]

Tony Levin guys!!!!

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer, steam, Don't give up
Paula Cole - Feelin Love
King Crimson - Sleepless

[DHowardAir]

Originally Posted by momotrucker

'I Looked Away' - Carl Radle - Derek & the Dominoes
'Heavy Music' - the bass player? in The Bob Seger System
'Another Day' - Paul McCartney

i type with 2 fingers...i'd be here all night...........................................

I'm with you dude..... CARL RADLE of Derek and Dominos.
I have been listening to ALL of those bass lines from the 'Layla' album and they are legendary and unique. Especially, "I Looked Away", "Have You Ever Loved A Woman", and my gosh if you haven't ever heard it before, you hve got to hear that high-speed MoJo he laid down on "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad". UNBELIEVABLE !! And, after to listening to it several times, I think he may have done that last one with a pick!

[LarryM]

Anything Paul ever played!

The Real Me - John Entwistle
She Said Yeah - Bill Wyman - Nothing Fancy,but on the money
Shapes of Things - Ron Wood

[thunderbyrd]

i can't pick a single favorite because there are so many gret ones, but all the basslines by Gary Thain on those old uriah heep albums were beautiful. loved those records when i was 14-ish, when i hear that stuff today, his bass is the only thing i want to hear.

[jrfrond]

Man, you guys beat me to all the punches!

Listen, I've been a professional drummer for 41 years, and a bassist almost as long. The only thing I have to say is that the bass part can TRULY make or break a song, because it's the glue that holds all of the other parts together. If the bassist or the part sucks, the tune is toast, period. I'm somewhat fortunate that I play both of the primary rhythm section instruments, so I can "think like the other guy".

I can't name tunes really. There are WAY too many. Some of the parts are very simple, others are so complex that you can't even believe they work, but the PLAYERS whom I feel always came up with the RIGHT bass lines are:

- All of the Wrecking Crew players (Kaye, Osborn, Babbitt, Knechtel)

- Carl Radle

- Klaus Voorman

- McCartney

- Tiran Porter

- Will Lee

- Jamerson

- Rainey

- T-bone Wolk

- John Paul Jones

- Bill Wyman (liked him WAY better than Darryl Jones, who's great, for the Stones)

- et al

When I write and record my own tunes, I belabor the bass parts the most, and look at my mental list above, pick a similar style and say "What would ________ do?". Hopefully, I can then cop the feel I need.

[crowden]

My favorite would be Meshell Ndegeocello on Mellencamp's cover of "Wild Night" but mudbean beat me to it.

Jack Bruce on Cream's "Crossroads" seems to me to deserve a mention.

[José]

Walk On The Wild Side, it works everytime to me.
Klaus Voorman bass line in Harry Nilsson Jump Into The Fire is also very great.
Everything recorded by Donald Dunn sound amazing to me and I really dig the guy who cut the bass with Al Green in the '70s.

[psychetelec]

Most of John Lodge's bass lines are memorable little tunes within the tune.

Question
I'm Just A Singer In A Rock And Roll Band
Voices In The Sky
The Story In Your Eyes
..all great stuff.

[claudel]

Originally Posted by 4mal

<Snip>

Guy's who just blow me away with their ability to just groove - not necessarily way out front, but just make the song smoke ...

Lopsey Lu - Hey that was like 74 ? 75 ? and Stanley could do that way back then ? OK - so he's a 'little out front' on that one ...

and speaking of Stanley - Light as a Feather - the whole thing. I mean I could pick the title track, but then there's Spain and the rest of it ... damn!

Jaco - my fav Jaco stuff isn't the over the top - out in front solo stuff. I really, really dug what he did with Joni Mitchell. Just smoking playing.

<snip>

+1 on Jaco/Joni although most any Jaco is top shelf.

One day, I too will be able to play "Blackbird" on fretless without cringing.

Decent guitarding on Lopsy Lu too. Wish I could have caught one of those gigs..

Originally Posted by tomkatf

Jack Casady's live (!)playing on "Bless It's Pointed Little Head" , esp. "The Other Side of This Life", he carries/pushes the band on throughout the entire album ... (not sure about the singing though)...lol... just great playing and tone...

Best,
Tom

Most any Jack is great.

White Rabbit was the one of the first things that came to mind when I saw this thread for some reason.

Originally Posted by jimmtimm

John Paul Jones-Heartbreaker

The guitar riff gets your attention, but listen to that overdriven Jazz Bass!! Yeah!

Tough to go wrong with JPJ, too.

The other first one that came to me for this was Jimi's "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be) "

[jrfrond]

Should have added:

- Jack Bruce

- Phil Lesh

- Jack Casady

- John Entwistle

- John Deacon

- Tony Levin

- Kasim Sultan

- Duck Dunn

- Anthony Jackson

- Timothy B. Schmitt

- Willie Weeks

- Ross Valory

- Adam Clayton

- Michael Anthony

- Derek Smalls

- Danny Partridge

... just kidding on the last two folks! Wanted to see if you're paying attention.

Heck, just about ANY bassist who plays it "just right". Come to think of it, behind every great band was a great bassist, even moreso than drummers. An excellent bassist can make a mediocre drummer sound good.

[4mal]

Conrad Lozano needed another mention so here it is. Run, don't walk to your next Los Lobos show ... He has got to be the best, most under-rated bassist out there ...


From what I hear, the current (well, last tour) Stanley Clark shows are great. I have a bass player buddy that caught that in Seattle and he was raving about it. He's normally a little more understated abou tstuff ...