MUSIC COMMENTARY by The Mong
NEW
Purling Hiss – “Water on Mars” = 3.5
A great channeling of early-Nirvana by way of Sebadoh meets '70s Rock Post-Psychedlia Fusion. Very catchy and badass stuff although a bit
much; if each track was about half as long the songs and thereby the
album would have been all the better for it.
Wyldlife – “The Time Has Come to Rock & Roll” = 2.5
A lot of good bar-band tunes that get way too repetitive all
bunched together.
OLD
Megadeth – “Risk” = 2
Seemingly without irony or even an ounce of self-awareness,
its oh-so-evil assertions and on-the-nose narratives have become even more
laughable with age.
Gary Moore – “Corridors of Power” = 2.5
I remember me and my fledgling musician friends heard this
on WHCN back in the day and immediately decided to walk to the Meriden Square
to buy the album. We listened to “End of the World” about a million times and
the rest of the album only a few times start-to-finish. So, nostalgia aside,
that track remains the standout and the rest, solid as it is, is mostly filler.
G’HITS and TOPIC
“Bass in Your Face” Mix
QUESTION:
Suggestions for additions and other lively hubbub . . .
CONCLUSIONS:
My list was accused of being “expansive” but, in my defense,
if this was a best guitarist compilation, it would have been by the decade starting
with the '50s and each collection would probably have been as expansive. Yes,
that means there are far fewer exceptional bass players than there are
guitarists in Rock & Roll because, clearly, a lot of bass players are lame,
failed guitarists who fill space on stage and in the mix by plucking root
notes. The other niggle was a somewhat understandable lack of understanding of what a
bass player does or should do, which brings us full circle since my goal was to
try to educate on this very solvable mystery. Sure, like all things, some of
this comes down to preferences, prejudices and predilections, but any serious bass
player (as well as most music geeks) understand that bass is its own medium, not something lesser to guitar, with almost as many approaches and styles as there
are nuances and attitudes within each variation. Yeah, just like guitarists
and drummers, dudes. So, what’s a bass player supposed to do? Well, one
universally embraced concept is that, first and foremost, a bass player is the
foundation of the rhythm section. In my experience and interactions
with other musicians this concept is more of a philosophy than a rule since the
exceptions [often] prove the rule. And my list has many exceptions but I also
endeavored to spotlight many bass players who are indeed rhythm players yet so
far beyond basic root note fundamentals with consistently excellent basslines
and sounds that, thus, they’re among the greatest of all time. But I know my
tastes and knowledge-base wouldn't cover every possible candidate for greatness
so here’s a list of your suggestions and my responses (so far):
Chris Ballew / Presidents of the United States of America
No. Good but not great. Even Ballew admits: "I’m
technically not really a bass player.”
Lou Barlow / Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, etc.
Yes. It is I who is “somewhat silly” to have dissed him in
my original companion text. Recently seeing him live set me straight.
Michael Been / The Call
No. Kind of defines root note lame, actually. Also, he
always seems to be about a half-step out of time.
Tony Butler / Big Country, etc.
Yes, definitely. Anyone who is the go-to sans Entwistle,
well, duh!
Peter Cetera / Chicago, etc.
Okay, sure. Great chops with imaginative flourishes but he is
essentially a Jazz bassist.
Tim Commerford / Rage Against the Machine, etc.
Yes, definitely. He would have been on my original list
under “Metal & Math” but Henry Bogdan edged him out due to the CD’s runtime.
John Deacon / Queen
Yes. Simple but great, standout, hooky basslines.
Mike Dirnt / Green Day
Probably not. As much as I love his playing, he’s really
only written a few truly exceptional basslines. He’d be on my personal list of
favorites but I’d have a hard time putting him on a greatest list.
Donald “Duck” Dunn / Booker T. & the M.G.'s / Stax
Records, etc.
Agreed. Perhaps the definition of laying down a groovy, solid
root foundation for everything else around it. Not overly flashy but far from merely
functional, Dunn is the definition of what a “real” bass player should do/be.
Glenn Hughes / Deep Purple, etc.
Yup. Clearly an oversight.
Berry Oakley / Allman Brothers
He didn't even own a bass when he joined the band.
Functional, yes...great, no.
Spencer Page / The Heavy
Sure. Solid and inventive! I’d put him in my “Often
Overlooked” section. Nice addition.
Mark Sandman / Morphine, etc.
No. Two-string slide bass sounds pretty rad but this gimmick
doesn't make him one of the greatest bass players of all time.
Billy Sheehan / Talas, etc.
Nope. The self-indulgent Whitney Houston of bass players: the
definition of ability not equaling talent.
Pete Way / UFO, etc.
Yes, definitely: especially early-Pete Way.
Bill Wyman
No. Good but not great. Sorry.
---------------------------------
Addendum (8/10/13)
Graham Maby / Joe Jackson, etc.
Tight, tight and tight: a definite all-time great.
Rob Grange / Ted Nugent, etc.
He has chops for sure and wrote one “essential” bassline (“Stranglehold”) but is any of it anything another sold bassist couldn’t have done…not really.
Tom Hamilton / Aerosmith
One of the most overlooked and under-appreciated bass players ever (that even I forgot to put him on my original list), Hamilton is easily top ten for straight up Rock & Roll bass players.
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That’s the list so far. I can do this all day so any other proposals...? I will likely do a third disc from the results.
And remember, this is all just my opinion so if you disagree, start your own damn list.
