Possibly Underrated Bassists?

Hi,

Mike was always on the money and he could play and not worry about being up front or behind. He was really tight and careful and detailed and it showed many times. His work on some of the live albums is just as good, and we also did not see that he played with Pip, Pierre and then the S2S kid ... three very different drummers, and his playing still fit ... did we miss a beat? Never.

Lothar Meid is one of the great ones, that is ignored. His work on the MM Soundtrack is even better and shows some patience and touch that is not a part of most bass players ... it's about the silence and when not to play and still have a touch left to help propel the music forwards.

I seriously doubt that these two will get any credit. However there are/were several very nice choices, though I do not think they are necessarily the best. John G. Perry did an outstanding job with Caravan for one album and quit the bass it seems. Helmut Hattler is very special but I don't think that most folks here listen to Kraan, Guru Guru (in a couple of albums), and other bits here and there. The live Kraan albums are a good start for what this guy can do! 

I was thinking that Hugh Hopper should also be mentioned in this group.

Honorable mention ... thx to DE for putting John Glascock on this list. His work in Carmen was out of this world, and I'm not sure that he shined as much on JT albums as he did on Carmen, but maybe this was because he was not to be as close to the front as he was in Carmen.

Last addon. Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention and with Richard Thompson on a couple of live albums ... outstanding!

Hi,

I'm not sure it was that these folks were taught by Bob or Ian ... more than likely those folks wanted a very specific touch of the bass on this or that passage which helped make the piece more attractive. The majority of bass players are too concerned with beat and the drum, than they are with the whole of the music in front of them, so a bass player being asked/told to do this or that is not out of the question (see note below) ... it only means that one person is much more attuned to what their music is about, which another player would not be, thus being asked/told to do this bit or that bit this or that way, is far out. But the "talent" inherent in the player himself/herself is the issue, and Boz went on to do even better work on the fretless which is a credit to his ability. Geoffrey had become one of the folks that added the "personality" to JT, which Ian slowly took out and replaced as his own vision and take on things, although it seems that Geoffrey left on his own. John G was a very nice substitution, but I think he lost the ability to be out front and drive the music, since Ian was the driver not any other musician! That's when I fell out of JT ... I thought the touch of "band" was gone. Still fine and really well done, but not half as valuable or important as the older stuff that we all love and still talk about. But that's not to say that JT albums were not good at all from then on. 

I think there is a lot more to the bass playing than we think about ... the ones that stand out are not just about the beat and staying with the drummer ... when you hear Dave Pegg with Richard Thompson in those live albums (specially Live More/Less), you will find that Dave is magnificent at adding to the space that Richard intentionally leaves open when taking his time on the piece or notes! Those versions, of "Night Comes In" and "Calvary Cross" still are the best I have ever heard, and I think that Dave Pegg is the difference.

Note: One of the worst bass lessons of all, is when a teacher tells you that you are rhythm, and have to play with the drums ... meaning that you learn your instrument without learning to hear and pay better attention to the rest of the music. In rock music, I suppose the simplest thing to say is stay on the drummer, but by the time you get to jazz and more free form music, staying with the drummer, means you can't play!