Your top 5 favourite Heavy Rock bassplayers

[mikko]

Not in any particular order:
Dickie Peterson
Ian Kilmister
Steve Harris
Roger Glover
Terence Butler

 

[hagmeat]

Not in any particular order:
Dickie Peterson
Ian Kilmister
Steve Harris
Roger Glover
Terence Butler

Nice stuff Mikko, Lemmy is another one of my faves. 8) :wink:

 

[fronobulax]

Frono, you haven`t added your list yet. Whatever you consider to be heavy.

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how I should define heavy. Part of my issue is that I am musically schizophrenic and the music that I listen to and the music I admire and aspire to play are not always the same thing.

I'll leave out Jack Casady since the focus is on heavy, and so offer up, in no particular order,

Jack Bruce - Cream
Mel Schacher - Grand Funk Railroad
John Paul Jones - Led Zeppelin
John Entwistle - Who
whoever was playing with Zappa when Zappa decided it was a good day to be heavy.

I note a distinct generational bias so I will just say that there is an awful lot of heavy bass playing that I have heard, liked, but never gotten around to figuring out who was playing.

On the plus side, it is lists like this that lead me to seek out music. Sometimes it is new to me and sometimes it is things I have known about for years but just never knew names.

 

[mikko]

On the plus side, it is lists like this that lead me to seek out music. Sometimes it is new to me and sometimes it is things I have known about for years but just never knew names.

I totally agree with you Frono. When I see somebody´s listing, let´s say his/her 5 top player/bands and I see there one or two from my own list, I definitely want to check the rest too. Sometimes I find something I really like.

What is "Heavy rock" and what is not, I think that would be endless debate. I personally listed Steve Harris as a Heavy Rock bassist but he´s more NWOBHM than traditional Heavy Rock. I make a difference between Heavy Rock and Heavy Metal. On the other hand, my friends say my own bass playing is very heavy to listen. No matter what I´m playing.

 

[mellowgerman]

What is "Heavy rock" and what is not, I think that would be endless debate. I personally listed Steve Harris as a Heavy Rock bassist but he´s more NWOBHM than traditional Heavy Rock. I make a difference between Heavy Rock and Heavy Metal. On the other hand, my friends say my own bass playing is very heavy to listen. No matter what I´m playing.

I agree. Another point of debate would be does a heavy rock bassist always have to be playing as loud and aggressively as possible at all times, or can he still have versatility and dynamic variation? :shock: 8)
Take these two clips in comparison for example and keep in mind it's the same bassist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=777OLZzfurc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr_KnscgBZc

 

[idealassets]

keep in mind it's the same bassist

Mellow, thats a great post of "Its No Secret", i didn't know it existed. There's some great 12 string in that song.

Personally I was ruined on "heavy" rock about the time that some bands began freaking out with some super loud and bad material. Ted Nugent was formerly one of the best local Michigan guitarists under the auspices of the Amboy Dukes. When he went solo in the 1970's with his new ear-shattering stuff, I quit going to their concerts. Here's from better days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN2VNFpiGWo&feature=related

 

[adorshki]

What is "Heavy rock" and what is not, I think that would be endless debate.

Yep. But I gotta admit I was pleased to see Dickie Peterson of Blue Cheer cited twice and surprised anybody still remembered him (or even the band) after all these years.
And if Jack Casady ain't "heavy", NOBODY is. 8)

 

[hagmeat]

What is "Heavy rock" and what is not, I think that would be endless debate. I personally listed Steve Harris as a Heavy Rock bassist but he´s more NWOBHM than traditional Heavy Rock. I make a difference between Heavy Rock and Heavy Metal. On the other hand, my friends say my own bass playing is very heavy to listen. No matter what I´m playing.

I agree. Another point of debate would be does a heavy rock bassist always have to be playing as loud and aggressively as possible at all times, or can he still have versatility and dynamic variation? :shock: 8)
Take these two clips in comparison for example and keep in mind it's the same bassist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=777OLZzfurc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr_KnscgBZc

Those are both good points, I think ultimately it comes down to their sound and style and what you define as heavy.
I don`t think the person has to be playing loud and aggressively all the time,just most of the time.
Mellow,that first song was pretty cool,a nice dark vibe about it.
Craig,that Amboy Dukes song had some really nice fuzz towards the end. 8)

 

[Yggdrasil]

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.

I would classify the Hot Tuna "rampage" era, starting with America's Choice, through Hoppkorv,as heavy rock.
Those five hour live concerts were something else!

OT PS - I'm off to FPR in 2 weeks for "Double Dose" workshops with Jack & Jorma!

 

[kitniyatran]

What is "Heavy rock" and what is not, I think that would be endless debate.

Yep. But I gotta admit I was pleased to see Dickie Peterson of Blue Cheer cited twice and surprised anybody still remembered him (or even the band) after all these years.
And if Jack Casady ain't "heavy", NOBODY is. 8)

I thought about mentioning Dickie Peterson somewhere along the way, but I guess I didn't because I'm such a fan of Leigh Stevens Blue Cheer guitar, and always disappointed they never(as far as I know) patched things up. My understanding is, Leigh was always the only one somewhat sober.

I loved Lemmy's bass work with Hawkwind, but Motorhead has always seemed just LOUD, to me.

 

[adorshki]

I thought about mentioning Dickie Peterson somewhere along the way, but I guess I didn't because I'm such a fan of Leigh Stevens Blue Cheer guitar, and always disappointed they never(as far as I know) patched things up. My understanding is, Leigh was always the only one somewhat sober.

I still have my vinyls of "Ousideinside" and "New and Improved". It's interesting how different they are. 8)

 

[Happy Face]

You folks should listen to mgod play. After that, you'd have to agree that the top two are:

1) Happy Face

2) Mgod

The others only paved the the way.

 

[Nigel Wickwire]

I'm not really a Bass guy, but here's my Heavy Rock list:

1. Steve Harris
2. Rudy Sarzo
3. John Paul Jones
4. John Entwhistle
5. Tom Petersson
6. Joey Bouchard

I threw in an extra for good measure.

~nw

 

[fronobulax]

You folks should listen to mgod play. After that, you'd have to agree that the top two are:

1) Happy Face

2) Mgod

The others only paved the the way.

But, but...

Where, oh where can I hear the collected works of these Bass Gods who cannot be mentioned in the same breath?

Here and here but where else? Is there a Pandora channel devoted to bass godly happiness?

 

[kitniyatran]

I thought about mentioning Dickie Peterson somewhere along the way, but I guess I didn't because I'm such a fan of Leigh Stevens Blue Cheer guitar, and always disappointed they never(as far as I know) patched things up. My understanding is, Leigh was always the only one somewhat sober.

I still have my vinyls of "Ousideinside" and "New and Improved". It's interesting how different they are. 8)

It was all down the drain after "Outsideinside". You have the original cover? I remember an "interesting" cloud formation in the upper right corner of the front!
I guess it was too much for the corporate/censor types in later pressings & the CD. I LOVE Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger, by the way; my favorite all time fiddle tune!

 

[mgod]

You folks should listen to mgod play. After that, you'd have to agree that the top two are:

1) Happy Face

2) Mgod

The others only paved the the way.

But, but...

Where, oh where can I hear the collected works of these Bass Gods who cannot be mentioned in the same breath?

Here and here but where else? Is there a Pandora channel devoted to bass godly happiness?

I see the children have been (hyper)active while I was looking away...

If someone wants to hear me, I recommend this one (more Guild content per track count).
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Cadillac-Ro ... 807&sr=1-1

Young HF will have to point our way to him.

 

[adorshki]

It was all down the drain after "Outsideinside". You have the original cover?

Yes, I do. A gatefold with some very psychedelic photography insided.

I remember an "interesting" cloud formation in the upper right corner of the front! I guess it was too much for the corporate/censor types in later pressings & the CD.

I'd forgotten noticing that when I saw the re-issue.
A Dali-esque reference that cloud was, in the "soft watches school". :lol: They obviously missed the significance of the mushrooms however. Or they just couldn't figure out how to cut 'em out.

I LOVE Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger, by the way; my favorite all time fiddle tune!

The guitar player in my first garage band turned me on to the album. The first song I "understood" on it was their version of "The Hunter". I was heavily into Steppenwolf at the time.
After some mind-stretching excercises (wink, nudge) I began to understand the real good stuff. My faves were "Feathers From Your Tree" "Sun Cycle" and "Babylon"
Just noticed for the first time Wiki says it was engineered by Eddie Kramer.

 

[kitniyatran]

May have been more "musical" than "Vincebus Eruptum", and I always loved it. Different take on "Satisfaction", also!

 

[hagmeat]

I thought about mentioning Dickie Peterson somewhere along the way, but I guess I didn't because I'm such a fan of Leigh Stevens Blue Cheer guitar, and always disappointed they never(as far as I know) patched things up. My understanding is, Leigh was always the only one somewhat sober.

I still have my vinyls of "Ousideinside" and "New and Improved". It's interesting how different they are. 8)

I like some songs off "New and Improved", just the ones with Randy Holden on guitar, but I don`t care
for any of their albums after that. They set the bar pretty high with their first 2 albums, hard to top those.

 

[adorshki]

I like some songs off "New and Improved", just the ones with Randy Holden on guitar, but I don`t care
for any of their albums after that. They set the bar pretty high with their first 2 albums, hard to top those.

First band to set the knobs at "11".
And I think more than just the bar was "pretty high".
:lol: