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Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

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top 5 greatest bassists of all time
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Andfurthermoreagain
Andfurthermoreagain
696 posts

Edited Jan 06, 2014, 14:51
Re: top 5 greatest bassists of all time
Jan 06, 2014, 14:48
I figured you could approach this in 2 ways;

Best bass players (based objectively on genuine talent, regardless of personal taste)
or
Own personal favourite bass players;

I went for the latter as it seemed more appropriate and easier to justify subjectively;

In no particular order (and off the top of my head so I'll probably remember someone else immediately after posting);

Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone) - just won out over Bootsy Collins for sheer adaptability and effortless ability to switch between soul, funk and rock bass styles at will, sometimes within the space of one song (Sing A Simple Song folks). See also Billy Bass Nelson (I actually prefer his bass playing on the early Funkadelic albums to Bootsy's).

Julian Cope/Donald Ross Skinner - copped out for a tied entry here simply because I couldn't decide between one or the other. Donald may have been remembered as Cope's 80s/early 90s errant guitar lieutenant but let us not forget such Donald bass delights as Leperskin and Fear Loves This Place. And that funksome Skinner bass even rears its head from time to time following his general departure (Ephaedra, Feels Like A Crying Shame). As for Cope - well, see Kilimanjaro and skip right forward to Jehovahkill's free-bass workouts (Upwards at 45 Degrees) and then go straight to Brain Donor. Yowzah!

Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) - sludgy, doomy and a wonderful counterpoint to Iommi's ur-riffs.

Chris Hillman (The Byrds) - was gonna plump for Ken Forssi from Love and then cocked my ear down the Strip a few blocks and remembered Hillman's similar but slightly more mindblowing jazzy, often baroque runs that litter the first 5 Byrds albums. But special mention should be made of Forssi's dive-bomb bass on 7 and 7 Is. It were close, it really were!

Alex James (Blur) - a c**t in many people's eyes, which may not be far from the truth but overshadows just what an innovative and forward thinking bass player he really was (just listen without prejudice). Effortless? Well the louche fag-in-mouth, can't-really-be-arsed stage presence may well add to the c**t argument but also displays ironic evidence of one of his generation's most startlingly gifted players.
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