Prog bassists

Jeff Berlin could belt out a song and play extraordinary bass lines at the same time. He jammed with Rush once in the studio with Geddy on keys. Would have loved to hear that one. Tony Levin has to be one of my favourites. His playing always makes a difference. He was never just along for the ride. Alain Caron in my opinion rivals the playing of Jaco. Many of his compositions are dedicated to Jaco. I liked the raw bass playing of Wetton  during his KC years. He loved to crank it up. I love the riff  in Lark`s Tongues In Aspic Pt. II. Who doesn`t take out the air bass for that one? Da na da na da na da na DVVVV DVVVV DVVVV DVVVVV DVVVV DVVVVV DVVV DVVVV DVVVV da na da na da na da na...........

And what about Patrick Djivas from PFM?

I'm a suspect guy to talk about this question. I'm a bass player and I listen with a lot of attention the basslines.

Top 10
Roger Waters/Pink Floyd-simple and perfect, what about Money and Echoes?
Chris Squire/Yes-someone that had made A line like Roundabout deserve be in any to
Greg Lake/ELP-one of the best singer and, yes people he are one of the best bassists what about The Hut Of Baba Yaga and The Barbarian?
Geddy Lee/Rush-what a m*&-f*$ bassist .
Mike Rutherford/Genesis-great bassist
Patrick Djivas/PFM-another one of the Squire's school.
Pedrão/Som Nosso De Cada Dia-Som Nosso De Cada Dia deserves this good bassist.
Alan Pierre/A Barca Do Sol-A Barca Do Sol was a great brazilian band
Jon Camp/Renaissance-great lines in Prologue & Ashes Are Burning.

Great question Vapor trail..

It appears you all know a hell of a lot more than me, but hey this disscussion has given me a lot to look into.

P.s Chris Squire overrated, I dont think so!

So, Penguin... that doesn't answer the question... that just provokes.. haven't you learned anything... or are you just trying to continue the madness....

Anyway the questions was: How important is the bassist to Prog?  Well that depended on the band.  With a band like ELP... a trio, the bass is extremely important... with a band like the Moody Blues it might not be as important.  However, we have been fortunate to have some of the best bassists in prog bands... and yes that includes Greg, as well as Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Tony Levin, John Wetton, Dave LeRue, and my other favorite John Jowitt.

 

Edited by threefates

I think the guy from Eloy should get honorable mention, I mean just listen to apocalypse!

Hangedman wrote: I think the guy from Eloy should get honorable mention, I mean just listen to apocalypse!

I've just got the ELOY remasters from Silent Cries... to Metromania.The bass is superb on their records.Time To Turn is the one that amazes me the most

Well, to focus in on the question (and not just post a 'who is my favourite bass player' reply), the following have, IMHO, been vital in creating the band's unique sound:-

Chris Squire, John Wetton, Tony Levin, Paul McCartney, Mike Rutherford (if you'll allow his 12-string & Bass Pedal contribution as well), Ray Shulman.

I certainly dont feel that Greg Lake or Roger Waters were important in their contribution as bass players, but vocally (both) and conceptually (Waters) I would give them their considerable dues.

Jethro Fish wrote: You can have a band without keyboards, you can have a band without guitars, you could even do without the drums (even though the bass-drums marriage is not to be messed with) but you could never have a rock band without BASS.

What about The Doors?

Jethro Fish wrote: The bass is the most important instrument IMHO. It's the backbone of every rock band.

 

Not always true -  great keyboard players can readily provide the bassline on the bass pedals. Your fellow countrymen, the Johansson brothers have demonstrated this on Heavy Machine, Fission, and Fjäderlösa Tvåfotingar. And elsewhere they have also played with one of the greatest bassists in the form of Jonas Hellborg  - but I sometimes think Jens Johnasson's bass pedal work is really Hellborg! Dudley Moore, the late British comedy film actor, was also a superb pianist and organist; whilst an organ scholar at Oxford University, he was known regularly whilst playing one of Bach's Tocatas and Fugue, to conjure Smoke Gets In Your Eyes from the church pipe organ's bass pedals.

Edited by Dick Heath