Your favourite basslines?
 

I'm looking for some more basslines to listen to and possibly try out. But don't keep back any complex ones on my account.

One of mine would definitely be abbe may with this song:

Just to expand on this thought I love the kind of funky meanderings in the bass line of this Marvin Gaye song. Here's some dude on YouTube giving it a fair crack.

Here's four songs with really great basslines. No idea how easy or hard they would be to learn to play, but they're some of my favorites.


Money - Pink Floyd + Lyrics - YouTube


Nirvana - Come As You Are - YouTube


The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored - YouTube


Cream - Sunshine of your Love - YouTube

Peter Hook has a long line of good Bass leads.









Yeah, some may call it a "Taxman" rip, but it still is a great line!

Hard to beat this particular monster as far as basslines go.

^ Some really great ones, I especially love those songs by Ride, The Jam, and The Clash. Ride has a lot of other really good ones I know of too.

What do you guys think of this one? I think the bass intro is what really makes the song. Anyways, the bass is pretty catchy.


B.R.M.C. - As sure as the sun - YouTube

The best bassline that doesn't even really sound like a bassline:

First one I thought of. Another couple awesome ones from The Clash:





Also:

Overwhelming response! The clash ones really surprised me I'd never really given them that much thought before.

Bass kicks in properly about halfway in this one.

Ever since I picked up a bass to add some rumble to my tunes, I've been zoning in on bass more than I've ever thought I would. Listening to the radio in the car, this tune came on and I was impressed at just how busy this bass line is without being over the top:


Genesis No Reply At All (Official Music Video 1981) - YouTube

Then there's also tunes like this:


Living Colour - Ology / Fight The Fight - YouTube

...and this


Billy Sheehan Bass Solo! - YouTube

The first song you posted, Genesis' "No Reply At All," does have a nicely subtle bass line.

In contrast, Billy Sheehan's bass solo (above) is the exact sort of bass playing (or similar guitar playing) that I abhor! I mention this because, while listening to his solo, I was surprised at how much I hate it. It's like a migraine of sound to me. :(

This just shows how different people's music tastes can be. In general, I love low notes in songs (much more than high notes), but Sheehan's bass solo is an exception.

* * *

Two of my favorite songs happen to have simple, memorable, prominent bass lines, which is one reason I like them:

Joe Jackson - "Is She Really Going Out With Him"


Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him - YouTube


The Raconteurs - "Steady As She Goes"
The bass line may have been inspired by the song above


The Raconteurs "Steady, As She Goes" - YouTube

Was just showing contrast, VEGAN.

I saw Bill back in '85 when he was with Talas who opened up for Malmsteen at Milwaukee Fest. Bill did a 45 minute bass solo that blew me away, moreso than Malmsteen.

Beauty/Eye/Beholder

Yes, that was definitely a contrast!

I think if I had to listen to a 45 minute bass solo by Bill Sheehan, I would end up as a squirming mass of screaming protoplasm seeping over the grass/floor. ;) But don't mind that. I'm glad you enjoy his bass playing.

Carry on.

OH YEAH BABY!

This probably requires a good sound system to appreciate much.

Extreme - Get The Funk Out - YouTube

Plankton points out Living Colour - I like the "Glamour Boys" bass line a lot.

My favorite overall bass performance probably is the Ozzy Osbourne + Primus version of "N.I.B." - but that's not a bass line per se.

Aerosmith
R.I.P. 1973-1989

A friend of mine has been trying to learn his bass riff ever since I introduced him to Josef K.

Simon Gallup

in my opinion seriously underrated bass player

exhibits

Oh good call Bob.

The bass sound on Faith & Seventeen Seconds really give those albums a real bleak sound to them.
Now that I think about it I can't think of a single guitar riff in any songs on those 2 albums, yet I can remember almost every bassline.

Funny how I never noticed that till now.

i think its the bass on those albums that make them the pinnacle Cure albums.....i mean everything meshed so perfectly with those two albums

edit

i have never understood why he never seems to get mentioned in discussions like this....

edit 2

i must be that robert Smith really outshines the rest of them....which is a shame they are all very good at what they do

I'll tell you what song has a badass Simon Gallup bassline: "Fascination Street".



not only do I love the way he plays bass, but I love the hell out of his bass tone as well.

I'll play along too and jump on the Simon Gallup bandwagon ...



And I'll throw this in at random too...

MOOOHAHAHAHA THE WORLD IS MINE!


^anybody else still have this? :)
edit 3

all the songs on Disintegration have excellent bass lines

*raises hand*

I've been wanting to compile a little mp3 version of it for a long time.

Yes. Yes, they do.

^ Aww darn I almost put Fascination Street in my first post on this thread but then I decided I liked the other songs I posted better. I agree about Simon Gallup being underrated; I was listening to Disintegration earlier & noticed a lot of the songs having great basslines... Lullaby, Homesick, Pictures of You, etc. Nice call.

Oh & to whoever mentioned the Stone Roses - I Am the Ressurection (I can never spell that right) is another one off that album with a great bassline. (:

edit; Here's some more I like-

Radiohead - The National Anthem
Pixies - Hey
The Killers - Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

i remember when i first bought that....and thought it was the greatest fucking thing on earth....double play!?

have they ever released the b-sides on disc?

there are also these pig fuckers




^no guitar needed!


also with the mention of Peter Hook and no She's Lost Control?

shame.



the next woman i fall in love with will have this tattooed on her

I still remember getting that tape in my stocking for Christmas! :beer:

Not that I know of, or at least not as that album.

A lot of the Fall's 80s stuff was very bass led so I would add Steve Hanley to the list of underrated bass players. In fact he's the only member of The Fall that Mark E Smith said that he regrets firing.

when i think The Fall and bass

this comes right into my head

You could probably pick any song off that album and it would fit right in.

You know who else is an underrated bass player? David Wm. Sims.

Exhibit A:

@ Urban

it is very bass heavy that one :)

Exhibit B for Sims



hmmm have i ever mentioned that David Yow is my Jesus Christ

Paul Barker



but especial with Revolting Cocks


man when i get home i'm breaking out the vhs and watching this show.....i love the wasted go go dancers

I enjoy the R&B/Soul and Funk percussion I get from this particular single. This song Do I Do is a little more complicated on bass than most of the other ones from this genre. It really takes awhile for me personally anyway, to master just all of the little accents on songs of this nature.

Whats Going On by Marvin Gaye has always been a personal favorite. Everyone one was excited when Marvin Gaye announced that James Jamerson would be playing bass guitar on this song. I remember reading that he actually layed on his back in the middle of the studio floor while recording the bass tracks. When I listen to it, the vocals seem to dominate the length of the song with James Jamerson accenting bass guitar along side his vocals. I doubt anyone could ever imitate Jamerson to the tee.

One of the easier songs to cover on bass guitar would be I Was Made To Love Her by Stevie Wonder. James Jamerson is on bass with this one as well. Jamerson does change rhythm a lot of separate different times on this one though! (Be Careful). :laughing:

I'd never noticed that about bass in The Cure songs, but I also agree and think "Fascination Street" is great musically. Probably the bass blends in so much with the other instruments on most of the band's songs that Gallup doesn't get the acclaim he deserves.

Nice videos you are share in this forums .. For this thanks a lots.............

Anything by the Flecktones, because Victor Wooten is a monster.

Nick Beggs' Bass certainly wins! Not the biggest fan of the song, but since this is about Bass lines, it seriously saves it.

...but if you want 80's with pure class and great music, Mick Karn of Japan provided some great Fretless Bass playing for some stylish sounds.



With Peter Murphy in Dalis Car