Most underrated bassist in prog - Progressive Rock Music Forum

This is one I've been meaning to make for a long time (though I hadn't yet seen the other threads for underrated players).

Which bassist is the most under-recognized in prog?

My vote is for Ray Shulman from Gentle Giant. He contributes a ton in terms of melody and counterpoint and he's one of the least mentioned when people talk about virtuosity in bass playing. I think of all the bands I've heard GG may be one whose sound is most indebted to complex bass lines!

MacGyver can do a super guitar solo with a broom and an elastic band. Can you do better?

Been getting into a lot of Magma these days. Jannick Top.

The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

I kind of think Mike Rutherford is under rated though.

Yeah - he's kind of like some of his fellow bandmembers (i.e. Tony Banks and Anthony Phillips on their instruments) in that he's not as flashy a player but he really makes the rhythm section rock - along with Phil of course.

Edited by Howard the Duck - July 26 2019 at 19:23

MacGyver can do a super guitar solo with a broom and an elastic band. Can you do better?

^Yeah, for keyboards Hugh Banton and Tony Kaye would be better examples imo.

twosteves wrote:

Love Mike Rutherford --very cool grooves and also agree Shulman of GG is amazing--(-^ disagree about Tony Banks underrated he's one of the greatest composers and players in prog---)

Rutherford is underrated simply because he can play pretty much everything! Jumping back and forth on guitar and bass, holding the damn band together, and Phil gets all the credit! LOL

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Howard the Duck wrote:

This is one I've been meaning to make for a long time (though I hadn't yet seen the other threads for underrated players).

Which bassist is the most under-recognized in prog?

My vote is for Ray Shulman from Gentle Giant. He contributes a ton in terms of melody and counterpoint and he's one of the least mentioned when people talk about virtuosity in bass playing. I think of all the bands I've heard GG may be one whose sound is most indebted to complex bass lines!

The only thing obscuring Ray Shulman from pure prog stardom was the size of Chris Squire's stage capes! He's RIGHT behind Squire in bass prowess. There's Squire, Shulman, then a HUGE rift before anyone else when it comes to my bass tastes.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021

Helmut Hattler of Kraan, Tab Two, Guru Guru and many other projects

Edited by BaldJean - July 29 2019 at 17:44

A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta

Mike Rutherford all day, every day. Manages to be one of two continuous members in one of the most successful and respected prog bands of all time (and one of the biggest pop juggernauts of the 80s), consistently helps to write great instrumental material, playing multiple instruments with ease and style, even getting in some absolutely next-level bass work along the way (like Get 'Em Out By Friday!)...and somehow barely gets mentioned even in conversations about his band, let alone larger discussions. Man is a monster player and writer, with a pro session player's flexibility. Mike Rutherford all day, every day.

Porg for short. My love of music doesn't end with prog! Feel free to discuss all sorts of music with me. Odds are I'll give it a chance if I haven't already! :)

At least once a year, my husband begs me to play air-bass on this version, of this song. Whoever plays bass on this, is underrated.

If we're going with the "most" underrated bassist in prog rock, it's gotta be Eloy's Klaus-Peter Matziol. He's a great bass player who's seldom talked about outside Eloy discussions. He doesn't overcomplicate things and yet sounds aggressive enough to complement the guitar and keyboards and he cuts through the mix pretty well!

eBay

Also, Mo Moore of Nektar (I might have misspelled his name).

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