Underrated Bass players

[Lfalex v1.1]

[i]Certain[/i] high-profile players get mentioned a fair deal on BC.
[i]Certain[/i] famous players get mentioned a lot, too
[i]Certain[/i] Very talented players are discussed frequently, and rightly so.

This thread is for none of the above.
Without searching, I can recall little or no mention of;

Andrew Weiss (Ex-Rollins Band)
DD Verni (Still going strong with Overkill)
Greg Christian (Testament)
The Eerie Von (Danzig)

Please add your own unmentioned players...

[Gust0o]

I'll just add four-or-so, off the top of my head - some we [i]do[/i] mention, but not on a par with some of the more regular names:

Alex Webster - Cannibal Corpse... probably the type of music limits plaudits for Alex.
DD Verni - Overkill... saw his BC Rich ST bass over on BCRichplayers.com, very nice... if a little road worn!
Dave Ellefson - Megadeth... goes without saying
Gordon Moakes - Bloc Party... some great little lines from Gordon, great rock/pop player

[Lfalex v1.1]

Consensus on DD Verni, then!! They don't [u]have[/u] to be Metal/Rock, though...

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1317216168' post='1388191']
Consensus on DD Verni, then!! They don't [u]have[/u] to be Metal/Rock, though...
[/quote]

Ah, I was mainly covering my iPod collection - a lot of the bassists we spend time talking about on here are the ones who have never made the iPod for regular listening

[LiamPodmore]

Johnny Christ (Avenged Sevenfold, a little bit of a hidden gem in my eyes)
Paul Gray (Slipnot, got a lot of mention when he passed but never any other time)
Jason James (Bullet For My Valentine, NEVER seen him mentioned on here)
Jeremy Davis (Paramore, not as good as the other 3, but still can hold his own pretty well)

I rarely, if ever, see any of those mentioned on here. Johnny and Paul are absolute monsters too.

Liam

Edited September 28, 2011 by LiamPodmore

[Gust0o]

Agree on Paul - I think a lot of people still labour under the misapprehension that he simply banged out open notes at lightspeed!

I would also add:

Rex Brown - Pantera... what a total monster! All those little runs, and a really good control of the ryhthmn.

[hairyhaw]

Ray Shulman - Gentle Giant.

[bartelby]

Andrew Weiss gets a mention now and again.

Two that come to mind straight away that only get mentioned in passing:

Rob Wight - NoMeansNo
Mike Watt - Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The (new) Stooges

[dc2009]

I don't know his name but the guy from Killers comes up with some great lines.

Alex Webster of CC is a great shout, a very talented bass player indeed.

I'll also add Steve DiGiorgio previously of Death and Testament, as well as some decent sessions with Quo Vadis, some lightning quick basslines that are great fun to play! And a fretless man too!

[Mr. Foxen]

Unlike most bassists talked about a lot here, DD Verni comes across as a kind of abrasive dude. Maybe that's a factor, Jeff Berlin mostly only gets mentioned when he's said somehting to look like a dick. Not heard much from the other rare mentioned.

[Hobbayne]

No one ever mentions the bass player from Blondie 'Nigel Harrison' who played on the original 70's hits. A very underated bassist.
Not the original bassist though, that was Gary Valentine.

[LiamPodmore]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1317216781' post='1388203']
Agree on Paul - I think a lot of people still labour under the misapprehension that he simply banged out open notes at lightspeed!

I would also add:

Rex Brown - Pantera... what a total monster! All those little runs, and a really good control of the ryhthmn.
[/quote]

+1 to Rex, he was a monster. Also anyone who disagrees about Paul should listen to Confessions off the album MFKR.

Liam

[Len_derby]

Oh no.
I'd already got a pile of stuff I was trying to find time to listen to and you lot have given me even more to explore.

It's a nice problem to have though.

[clarkpegasus4001]

Doug Lunn

[Coilte]

Glenn Cornick (Jethro Tull) was a big influence on me at one time. Another not much talked about name ( at least as far as his bass playing is concerned) is Peter Cetera. His work on the early "Chicago" albums is just amazing.

While he is better known as a sax player, Wilton Felder ("Crusaders") doubled on bass on a lot of the early "Crusaders" albums. Anyone needing a lesson on how to hold down a groove, should have a listen.

Granted these guys are not contempory players. However in their day they were among the best bassists, and I'm sure could still give the younger guys of today, a run for their money.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='hairyhaw' timestamp='1317216943' post='1388205']
Ray Shulman - Gentle Giant.
[/quote]

I rarely listen to that 70s prog rock stuff butRay Shulman is a great player - 'progressive' (whatever that means) and funky at the same time.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1317218378' post='1388245']
No one ever mentions the bass player from Blondie 'Nigel Harrison' who played on the original 70's hits. A very underated bassist.
Not the original bassist though, that was Gary Valentine.
[/quote]
Off topic, but I really like Clem Burke's drumming too.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1317224175' post='1388341']
Glenn Cornick (Jethro Tull) was a big influence on me at one time. Another not much talked about name ( at least as far as his bass playing is concerned) is Peter Cetera. His work on the early "Chicago" albums is just amazing.

While he is better known as a sax player, Wilton Felder ("Crusaders") doubled on bass on a lot of the early "Crusaders" albums. Anyone needing a lesson on how to hold down a groove, should have a listen.

Granted these guys are not contempory players. However in their day they were among the best bassists, and I'm sure could still give the younger guys of today, a run for their money.
[/quote]
Wilton Felder is also the bassist on Jackson Five [i]I Want You Back[/i].

[skankdelvar]

Alan Lancaster. A tiny little 'root-driver' with a Mustang hung off him.

[bartelby]

Another couple:

Klaus Flouride. I love his DK stuff.

Joe Lally - both is Fugazi and Solo work is fantastic.

[wombatboter]

Steve Greetham (Annabel Lamb)..such a great fretless bassplayer
Marcus Cliffe (one of my heroes when he played with Brendan Croker and the Five o'clock Shadows)

[RhysP]

Can't recall seeing Nick Lowe's bass playing mentioned on here.
Martin McAloon (Prefab Sprout) is rarely if ever mentioned despite being a really good player.
Laurence O'Keefe (Levitation/Dark Star). I've seen drummer Levitation/Dark Star drummer David Francolini mentioned more times on here than the bass player.

I'm sure there are lots of others.

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1317224566' post='1388351']
Marcus Cliffe (one of my heroes when he played with Brendan Croker and the Five o'clock Shadows)
[/quote]
Good call!
I was going to mention Marcus Cliffe but I didn't know if anybody would know who he was. Brendan Croker & the Five o'clock Shadows were a great live band.
Last thing I heard of Marcus Cliffe he was playing in bloody Emma Buntons backing band.

Edited September 28, 2011 by RhysP

[mike257]

I think Nate Mendel from the Foo Fighters plays some really great, melodic stuff that quite often goes unnoticed underneath all those loud guitars and showboating drummers (yeah, including the one at the front with the microphone ) Rarely, if ever, gets a mention on here, but a great player with some lovely lines under his belt.

[Coilte]

One of the most legendary and iconic bassists of them all, seldom gets a mention, especially on this side of the pond...Carol Kaye. She has played on some of the major hits of the 60's with bands like the Beach Boys ( that's her bass line on the intro to "Good Vibrations"), and also played on a lot of Motown hits. As well as this, she has played on countless film scores and theme tunes to TV series. At around 75 years of age, she is still going strong and is as busy as ever.

Edited September 28, 2011 by Coilte

[Randy_Marsh]

Tye Zamora from Alien Ant Farm is a brilliant bass player.
Arif Miradolbhagi of Protest the Hero is unreal