Your top 5 favourite Heavy Rock bassplayers

[hagmeat]

These are my favourite Heavy Rock bassplayers -

Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)
Greg Mayne (Pentagram)
Scott Reeder (Obsessed/Kyuss/Goatsnake)
Al Cisneros (Sleep/Om/Shrinebuilder)
Bob Daisley (Kahvas Jute/Rainbow era)

 

[kitniyatran]

Not exactly a bass connoisseur, but Tim Bogert, Larry "The Mole" Taylor, unless he's excluded as a blues bassist, Lee Dorman(but probably more for his Captain Beyond songwriting),Jack Bruce/Casady, Glen Cornish, Dave Pegg, oops that's seven(or six, with the exclusion)!

 

[hagmeat]

Not exactly a bass connoisseur, but Tim Bogert, Larry "The Mole" Taylor, unless he's excluded as a blues bassist, Lee Dorman(but probably more for his Captain Beyond songwriting),Jack Bruce/Casady, Glen Cornish, Dave Pegg, oops that's seven(or six, with the exclusion)!

Oh yeah, that Captain beyond album is marvellous, I also dig his stuff with Iron Butterfly. Jack Bruce is another master as well
as Felix Pappalardi. The list goes on which is why I thought a top 5 would be more fitting than a top 3.

 

[kitniyatran]

Yeah, I guess Felix could go on there, as well!And, Captain Beyond always impressed me, too. Then there's Vincent Crane's organ bass pedal & left hand bass with Atomic Rooster(or Ray Manzarek with the Doors), but I don't reckon that counts!

 

[idealassets]

Here they are in my order of favorites. Hopefully no surprises:
1. Noel Redding, Jimi Hendrix
2. Jack Casady, Jefferson Airplane
3. Tina Weymouth, Talking Heads
4. Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead
5. Pete Farndon, The Pretenders

Craig

 

[hagmeat]

Here they are in my order of favorites. Hopefully no surprises:
1. Noel Redding, Jimi Hendrix
2. Jack Casady, Jefferson Airplane
3. Tina Weymouth, Talking Heads
4. Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead
5. Pete Farndon, The Pretenders

Craig

Hi Craig, I think your first choice would qualify as Heavy Rock to me, I`m not so sure about the others but
Thanks for your contribution, anyway heavy rock means different things to different people so it`s all cool.

 

[mellowgerman]

Here they are in my order of favorites. Hopefully no surprises:
1. Noel Redding, Jimi Hendrix
2. Jack Casady, Jefferson Airplane
3. Tina Weymouth, Talking Heads
4. Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead
5. Pete Farndon, The Pretenders

Craig

Hi Craig, I think your first choice would qualify as Heavy Rock to me, I`m not so sure about the others but
Thanks for your contribution, anyway heavy rock means different things to different people so it`s all cool.

:mrgreen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtxhd0Yvmg0

 

[idealassets]

I have seen the Woodstock movie lots of times, but don't remember this video as being in the original cut of the movie.

The Airplane looks a little spacey after being up all night, and who knows what all else was going on? Thats some really nice solid guitar by Jorma and Jack. I can't say that I hear Paul Kanter coming through on his 12 string much at all. Also Spencer was a little bit "free forming" it on the drums, but it all still fit in nicely.

I also think that Jorma looked hip enough without adding the swastika necklace for "added effect".

It looks as though the crowd didn't know quite what to make of this 3/5 version, since it is a variation of the Surrealistic Pillow album cut.

But hey, what kind of expert on am I really on this? -doubtful.

Craig

 

[kitniyatran]

Nice to see Tina faved, whether or not she counts as "heavy rock".

 

[mellowgerman]

I have seen the Woodstock movie lots of times, but don't remember this video as being in the original cut of the movie.

The Airplane looks a little spacey after being up all night, and who knows what all else was going on? Thats some really nice solid guitar by Jorma and Jack. I can't say that I hear Paul Kanter coming through on his 12 string much at all. Also Spencer was a little bit "free forming" it on the drums, but it all still fit in nicely.

I also think that Jorma looked hip enough without adding the swastika necklace for "added effect".

It looks as though the crowd didn't know quite what to make of this 3/5 version, since it is a variation of the Surrealistic Pillow album cut.

But hey, what kind of expert on am I really on this? -doubtful.

Craig

This clip was released with the 40th anniversary stuff. It's hands down my favorite Airplane video (and maybe recording in any regard). To quote Grace in the middle of their set that morning: "We had a whole lot of orange... and it was fine... still is fine" :mrgreen:
In regard to Jorma's necklace, it was actually a silver pendant that he picked up at a roadside Navajo craft stand in the Southwest. I think in their culture it symbolizes something along the lines of unity in the universe. He goes into detail about it when someone criticized him about it on the forum on his website. In his defense, it is a symbol that spans back thousands of years in cultures all around the world, almost always having positive peace and unity related meaning. Of course that all changed around WWII when the Nazi party bastardized it and now that's the main thing most people associate it with in "the western world."
But either way, I love love love that performance... it's so powerful and heavy in the best way!

 

[fronobulax]

I also think that Jorma looked hip enough without adding the swastika necklace for "added effect".

This[/url]]Jorma on the swastika necklace: “It is a piece of Navajo pawn silver that I bought at a trading post in the early sixties. That’s what it meant to me… The symbol of the four winds, four seasons etc. The overriding power of symbols is undeniable.? Is it important what it meant to me as opposed to what you and others think when you see it? At the time, I would have said ‘Yes. I know what it means to me and it doesn’t matter what you think!’ Would I say that today. Absolutely not.”

While I would not normally quote a YouTube comment as authoritative I have seem this as a direct quote of Jorma's in what I consider a reliable source.

 

[Strap on Guildo]

Hard to limit to just five so it's all 70's players for me;

John Paul Jones/Led Zeppelin
Roger Glover/Deep Purple
Geezer Butler/Black Sabbath
Billy Cox/Band of Gypsys
Burke Shelley/Budgie

 

[hagmeat]

Hard to limit to just five so it's all 70's players for me;

John Paul Jones/Led Zeppelin
Roger Glover/Deep Purple
Geezer Butler/Black Sabbath
Billy Cox/Band of Gypsys
Burke Shelley/Budgie

I should have made it a top 10, all those guys aside from Geezer would have been next.

 

[idealassets]

In regard to Jorma's necklace, it was actually a silver pendant that he picked up at a roadside Navajo craft stand in the Southwest

I believe the difference is the direction that the notches face. The Reich turned it around, as though mirror imaged.

So I'll overlook the whole swastika thing, seeing as how I have always, and still do regard Jorma's guitar playing as at the very top of the list.

Craig

 

[hagmeat]

Hi Mellow, thanks for the link mate, interesting but it`s just not my cup of tea or mug of grog.
Maybe I was born too late. Like I said before, heavy rock means different things to different people.

 

[fronobulax]

Hi Mellow, thanks for the link mate, interesting but it`s just not my cup of tea or mug of grog.
Maybe I was born too late. Like I said before, heavy rock means different things to different people.

Well you have stumbled into the realm of the Cult of Jack so sooner or later Jack Casady will be mentioned. However Cult membership is not a requirement so you're still welcome here :wink: In this case I kind of agree that I would not use "heavy rock' to describe (m)any of Jack's projects although there are a lot of outstanding players who transcend the genre(s) they are most closely associated with.

 

[mellowgerman]

Hi Mellow, thanks for the link mate, interesting but it`s just not my cup of tea or mug of grog.
Maybe I was born too late. Like I said before, heavy rock means different things to different people.

Different strokes for different folks!

I just realized I never stated my top five...
never really thought of my "heavy rock" top 5 but I think it's something along these lines

1. Jack Casady - Jefferson Airplane
2. Dickie Peterson - Blue Cheer
3. Mel Schacher - Grand Funk Railroad
4. Steve Harris - Iron Maiden
5. Krist Novoselic - Nirvana

 

[idealassets]

Here's my revised "heavy" bassist list. The first ever description of a recognized "heavy" band that I recollect was Mountain. Their style was typified as loud, direct, and with a new 1/2 time drum beat, for example on the song Mississippi Queen, the drumming had the main beat on "every other" beat, not every beat where you might expect it to be. Also similar was "Babylon" by Blue Cheer.

Then there was an 80's version of "heavy metal", or just plain "metal" bands. Then there were the "big hair" bands (yuck!).

Here we are:
1. Felix Pappalrdi, Mountain & producer of Cream
2. Dickie Peterson, Blue Cheer
3. Ron McGuinnet, Metallica
4. Michael Davis, MC5
5. Gordy Garris, the Frost http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-OFTXOxD2E
Give this song a listen, it was quite exciting to see them open on this song live in concert. At the time the Frost was as prominat as Bob Seeger and Grand Funk.

Craig

 

[idealassets]

Correction:

Tie for number 3 is Don Honnaker, bassist for Bob Seeger and the Last Heard, who originated the term "heavy music" with their song Heavy Music in 1967:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EjO6lzvnIw

Bob Seeger's band was exciting to watch live for about 50c admission way back in those days.

Craig

 

[hagmeat]

Dickie Peterson,of course,how could I forget ! The Godfather of heavy and Pentagrams reason for being.
Those first 3 Blue Cheer albums are awesome. I reckon Randy holdens `population II`album after he left
them is just as great. The frost is another cool band,although I prefer Dick Wagners work with Ursa Major,
it is killer. A really great album from start to finish. I remember hearing a live Mountain album for the first time,
Felix had this awesome bass fuzz, like molten lava bubbling on a volcano, vincebus erupt us !
Frono, you haven`t added your list yet. Whatever you consider to be heavy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7W7cckdvCs