Prog bassists
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Music Lounge
Forum Description: General progressive music discussions
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4365
Printed Date: February 12 2025 at 20:30
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Topic: Prog bassists
Posted By: vaportrail
Subject: Prog bassists
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 06:59
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How important is the bassist to Prog? To me, an amazing bass player can make a band into a progressive Colossus. For example: Yes- Chris Squire Rush- Geddy Lee ELP- Greg Lake Gentle Giant- Ray Shulman What do you think? ------------- I can feel no sense of measure |
Replies:
Posted By: vaportrail
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 07:22
Oh...Not forgetting Dave Meros of Spock's Beard. apologies David......... ------------- I can feel no sense of measure |
Posted By: Reed Lover
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 07:32
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I think everyone's gone spineless and are posting as neutral topics as possible so as not to cause offence. So this one doesnt do the same, I am trumping things before they happen,I predict the following: Vapor deliberately includes lee and Lake as a sop to the "perceived rival factions. Pastorius and Clarke are thrown into the mix even though hardly anyone listens to them. At some point,after a few very obscure or very average bassists are mentioned, somebody mentions that Lake shouldnt really be there. "Congratulations Everyone This Site Has Now Been Recognised As The Official ELP Fansite" Peace. ------------- 
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Posted By: vaportrail
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 07:35
You realy have thought this one through! I'm impressed (not sarcastic) Anyway, the ELP fans will never take the site from us Yes people. ------------- I can feel no sense of measure |
Reed Lover wrote:Posted By: St Hubbins
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 08:02
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Reed Lover, is that a yes then? ------------- Here lies David St Hubbins and why not.... |
Posted By: Metropolis
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 08:32
Geddy Lee rocks the house
------------- We Lost the Skyline............ 
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Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 08:36
Speak for yourself - and never noticed anything remarkable about the SB bassist. As a basss fan I try to listen to the best, hence a preference for Pastorius and Hellborg. For Christ's sake - it is a matter of taste not generalisations
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Posted By: Swinton MCR
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 08:39
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Reed, elegantly put, and despite the repetition of these "Best ........." lists - For me it has to be either Lee or Squire because I tend to notice their bass licks most often and they are never anything short of perfectionist bassists...... ------------- Play me my song, here it comes again |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 08:49
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Reed Loverwrote:
I think everyone's gone spineless and are posting as neutral topics as possible so as not to cause offence. So this one doesnt do the same, I am trumping things before they happen,I predict the following: Vapor deliberately includes lee and Lake as a sop to the "perceived rival factions. Pastorius and Clarke are thrown into the mix even though hardly anyone listens to them. At some point,after a few very obscure or very average bassists are mentioned, somebody mentions that Lake shouldnt really be there. "Congratulations Everyone This Site Has Now Been Recognised As The Official ELP Fansite" Peace.
Living sin
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Posted By: Cluster One
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 09:57
What, no Roger Waters?!?!  ------------- Marmalade...I like marmalade. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 11:06
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Um... I quite like Geddy Lee...gulp (and not because he has good initials
And I'll hunt down and destroy anyone who doesnt agree with me |
Posted By: Rob The Plant
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 12:17
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What about poor Mike Rutherford? Seems way underrated. I love his bass, particularly in Funtain of Salmacis. And ELP is better than Yes. ------------- Collaborators will take your soul. |
Posted By: con safo
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 12:28
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ELP and Yes both rule. Lake, Waters, Squire and Flea are some of my favourite bassists.. ------------- 
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Posted By: Prog_Bassist
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 12:35
 ------------- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY |
Posted By: Miaugion
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 13:00
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Two words: Tony & Levin. And yes, he's very important. Without him "Secret World" would be just ... a long song. |
Posted By: JrKASperov
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 13:42
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Really amazing bassplaying bassists are hard to find in prog to be
honest. And I've heard some. Try brand X (precy jones) I'm awed by his
work. Chris squire is overrated and I say that as a Yes loving bassist.------------- Epic. |
Posted By: Azrael2112
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 13:44
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One name= John Wetton (a better bass player and singer than Greg Lake
IMO) ------------- http://www.flywithjet.com"> 
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Posted By: Prog_Bassist
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 14:44
John Wetton is an *okay* bassist, and a very bad singeri n my opinion. He can't carry a tune. Greg Lake is a very good singer, and an alright bass player (he doesnt do that much bass wise in elp, but check out the hot lines on king crimson 21st century schizoid man!). My fav is Jaco Pastorius for jazz and fusion, and for prog rock (since you can't compare these kinds of bassists really, cuz they have different styles) are Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Mike Rutherford, Tony Levin, Jon Myung. ------------- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY |
Posted By: The Owl
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 15:08
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Bass is a wonderful thing indeed, some faves for me in addition to Squire, Levin, Jaco & Jack Bruce: Colin Hodgkinson (Back Door): Talk about innovative and unique!! Pulling together equal parts Ornette Coleman, Delta Blues and Funk, Colin developed a chord melody/strumming technique uniquely his own. Percy Jones: Brand X/Tunnels fretless wonder, DOES NOT sound like Jaco in the slightest. Percy does have a unique guttural stuttering growl sound that fits the edgy musings of both previously mentioned bands quite well, and his way of playing with harmonics is uniquely his too. Anthony Jackson: Call him an understated genius! He was actually the first person to play a 6-string bass (from mid-70's onward). His influences are as far flung as Jack Cassidy (Jefferson Aorplane), Motown, Jazz and composer Oliver Messaien. Posessing an ungodly ability to reharmonize music on the fly and a unique dark piano-like sound, he blows you away with IDEAS, not displays of fast chops (though he's got chops to match anyone's). Best heard on albums by pianist Michel Camilo and guitarist Steve Khan. Janick Top/Bernard Paganotti: The mightyMAGMA fuzz bass virtuoso axis of doom! Hugh Hopper: Soft Machine's fuzz bass virtuoso stylist.
------------- People are puzzled why I don't dig the Stones, well, I listened to the Stones, I tried, and I tried, and I tried, and--I Can't Get No Satisfaction! www.myspace.com/theowlsmusic |
Posted By: Azrael2112
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 15:10
the Wetton/Lake debate is all about opinion as far as singing goes. The one thing that does stand true is that Wetton's voice has held up better over the years than Lake's. But again, it's just a matter of taste. I think Wetton's best bass playing was done in the UK years before Asia. ------------- http://www.flywithjet.com">
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Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 16:34
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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...........
------------- |
Posted By: goose
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 16:38
Lark's Tongues!  . Does Starless have a monster bass bit as well? sort of "DUM, DUM, da DUM DUM DUM. You must know that one..!  ) I can't quite remember if I'm thinking of the right song (and if I am, it's not a very difficult part, but it really sounds great). In fact Starless is one of my favourite songs ever, although it's more due to the guitar/violin/synth than the bass part.
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Posted By: ProgShine
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 16:55
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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 Great question Vapor trail. ------------- https://progshinerecords.bandcamp.com 
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Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 17:15
Daa dada daa dada Daa dada daa dada. And at the same time Fripp is doing this: Deer der der der Deer der der der It`s the dynamics rather than the complexity that make the piece. When the whole thnig gets out of control at the end shivers go up my spine. I mean Bob just let`s it rip! ------------- |
Posted By: vaportrail
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 18:40
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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! ------------- I can feel no sense of measure |
Posted By: penguindf12
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 19:45
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I dOnt Think LAke ShOUld bE HeRe
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Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 21:13
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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.
------------- THIS IS ELP 
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Posted By: penguindf12
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 23:07
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No hard feelings. |
Posted By: Hangedman
Date Posted: March 17 2005 at 23:33
| I think the guy from Eloy should get honorable mention, I mean just listen to apocalypse! |
Posted By: starofsirius
Date Posted: March 18 2005 at 04:32
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Yes! I mean listen to his bass lines in Ocean. All of them are just awesome. Poseidon's Creation he does one hell of a slap bass line. ------------- "I'm in a freefall like a snowflake falling down down down down down." |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: March 18 2005 at 05:20
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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 |
Posted By: Jethro Fish
Date Posted: March 18 2005 at 06:06
------------- All the best, Per www.salvaband.com New cd: Salva "Left to burn", out now Available through: www.caerllysimusic.co.uk www.progressrec.com www.justforkicks.de www.salvaband.com |
Posted By: Moribund
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 06:31
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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. |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 07:02
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Interesting to read the interview the original members of UK gave the Melody Maker, when that band released their eponymously titled album. Wetton's interview is memorable because he said with the quality of musicians around him he had to shift his game plan considerably, in terms of playing and thinking about what he was playing - he reckoned up until that point of time, what he did on UK was his best. Interesting to see how many jazz and jazz rock fusion electric bass players, acknowledge Jaco - for instance Marcus Miller regularly - Christian McBride reckoned he had been one of Wynton Marsalis's big disciples (e.g. with 'jazz is America's classic music' etc. thing), until he started to listen to Weather Report and Jaco. And I see there is yet another Jaco tribute album due out soon. |
Posted By: nacho
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 07:02
What about The Doors? |
Posted By: Rob The Plant
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 07:10
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What about some Hammill Solo albums? A band can be made to work with many arrangements of instruments, it will just create a different sound. ------------- Collaborators will take your soul. |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: March 21 2005 at 07:19
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. |
Posted By: Cygnus
Date Posted: August 04 2005 at 05:35
Agree. He is remarkable. Sometimes I belive he sounds like Geddy. |