Jaw droppingly good albums for bass players to hear

[SteveXFR]

Angel Dust - Faith No More

The first album where Billy Gould really showed the full range of his talent and versatility. The record blurs genres with bits of pop, heavy metal, lounge jazz and alternative rock mashed together in to something completely original. 

 

Paranoid - Black Sabbath 

Geezer Butler at his most creative and possibly the most influential metal album ever.

 

And out come the wolves - Rancid

Matt Freeman was absolutely on fire from the first note to the last on this album. About as far from typical punk bass as it gets. He combines elements of ska, rockabilly and punk in to something really special and in my opinion, the greatest punk album of all time.

[AndyTravis]

Circle of one - Oleta Adams

 

Pino Palladino on the majority, if not all tracks.

 

 

[Leonard Smalls]

 

 

And many more, including:

 

 

[SH73]

For metal fans I'd recommend 

Dave Ellefson 

 

Also Jason Newsted bass playing, shame some Richard interfered in mixing in Justice for all album

 

[Hellzero]

Anything by Uzeb or EST, but these are bands where the bass (Alain Caron) or double bass (Dan Berglund) is totally integrated in the composition process.

 

And those extraordinary albums :

Adfa by Jonas Hellborg,

Bass Time by Offground Tag,

Bestial Cluster by Mick Karn,

Discipline by King Crimson,

East West by Bill Frisell,

Hejira by Joni Mitchell,

Rebirth by Aka Moon,

Space Ritual by Hawkwind,

Trio in Tokyo by Michel Petrucciani,

Upper Extremities by Bruford Levin,

Voice by Hiromi,

We get Requests by The Oscar Peterson Trio.

 

And a lot more...

[dand666]

Abbey Road 

[lowdown]

  On 25/12/2021 at 09:49, Hellzero said:

 

We get Requests by The Oscar Peterson Trio.

 

 

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 I love that album. It's interesting how the Trio have been panned as well, Ray Brown on the right side. You can hear every note and articulation so clearly.

[paul_5]

  On 25/12/2021 at 09:20, SteveXFR said:

Angel Dust - Faith No More

The first album where Billy Gould really showed the full range of his talent and versatility. The record blurs genres with bits of pop, heavy metal, lounge jazz and alternative rock mashed together in to something completely original. 

….

 

And out come the wolves - Rancid

Matt Freeman was absolutely on fire from the first note to the last on this album. About as far from typical punk bass as it gets. He combines elements of ska, rockabilly and punk in to something really special and in my opinion, the greatest punk album of all time.

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Absolutely these two. This is (IMHO) the best FNM album by a country mile.

You’re spot on with MF on the Rancid album too.

[SteveXFR]

  On 25/12/2021 at 09:46, SH73 said:

For metal fans I'd recommend 

Dave Ellefson 

 

Also Jason Newsted bass playing, shame some Richard interfered in mixing in Justice for all album

 

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I could just never get in to Megadeath. I think it's Dave Mustains vocals that ruin it for me.

Jason Newstead definitely deserved better. It's a shame no one has remixed And Justice For All and a shame he didn't get picked up by another major band. 

[Johncee]

"Pressure Drop" Robert Palmer

Some lovely playing by Jamerson and Kenny Gradney.

[bassace]

  On 25/12/2021 at 10:06, lowdown said:

 I love that album. It's interesting how the Trio have been panned as well, Ray Brown on the right side. You can hear every note and articulation so clearly.

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Just listen to Ray Brown’s playing on  Have You Met Miss Jones.  Every note in its place and an example of how to swing without going he’ll for leather.

 

Happy Christmas!

[Coilte]

"Chicago's" early albums with Peter Cetera on bass, especially their first album "Chicago Transit Authority". 

[SH73]

  On 25/12/2021 at 10:23, SteveXFR said:

 

I could just never get in to Megadeath. I think it's Dave Mustains vocals that ruin it for me.

Jason Newstead definitely deserved better. It's a shame no one has remixed And Justice For All and a shame he didn't get picked up by another major band. 

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Yeah agree with Mustaines vocal and face pulling, but David deserves a top ten metal bass players. I forgot to mention Frank Bello, so understated. Was a big fan in late 80s, early 90s. Can't wait to see Anthrax in October. I can't believe I never saw the original line up with Dan.

I remember the Mettalica gig in 91, Jason was just full in 110% performance.

[Shaggy]

Inspirational to my formative years, and still inspirational:

 

”Rumours”,  Fleetwood Mac - John McVie doing nothing flashy, but totally underpinning each great song

 

”Secondhand daylight”, Magazine -  Barry Adamson’s wonderful tone and feel absolutely key to the mood of the album

 

”Quiet Life” / “Gentlemen take Polaroids”, Japan - Mick Karn just finding a highly individual way to play bass, but again; the playing is always for the song rather than for itself.

[Gwilym]

It doesn't get much better than this. NHOP and Mulgrew Miller playing the Duke Ellington piano & bass duets.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duets_(Mulgrew_Miller_album)

[Velarian]

  On 25/12/2021 at 01:07, Boodang said:

Eberhard Weber - Pendulum

 

This album turned me on to the  Electric Upright Bass, which Weber considered a key element to his tone, plus his sense of melody really resonated with me and has greatly influenced my playing. A haunting album. 

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Thanks for the recommendation. I’m just listening to this now. Really nice; haunting is a good description. 😊 

[MacDaddy]

  On 25/12/2021 at 10:23, SteveXFR said:

 

I could just never get in to Megadeath. I think it's Dave Mustains vocals that ruin it for me.

Jason Newstead definitely deserved better. It's a shame no one has remixed And Justice For All and a shame he didn't get picked up by another major band. 

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Go on the YouTube and search for "And Justice For All with bass", enjoy! 😃

[Grimalkin]

[Grimalkin]

Sly & The Family Stone - Fresh.

 

"Jazz legend Miles Davis was so impressed by the song "In Time" from the album that he made his band listen to the track repeatedly for a full 30 minutes. Composer and music theorist Brian Eno cited Fresh as having heralded a shift in the history of recording, "where the rhythm instruments, particularly the bass drum and bass, suddenly [became] the important instruments in the mix."

George Clinton, who has listed Fresh as one of his favorite albums, later convinced the Red Hot Chili Peppers to cover "If You Want Me to Stay" on their second 1985 album, the Clinton-produced Freaky Styley..."

[Grimalkin]

In an interview a couple of decades back:

 

"What are your influences Pino?"

 

"Stevie Wonder's left hand."

 

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life.

[Grimalkin]

Squarepusher - Feed Me Weird things.

 

Toward the end of the '90s, I'd never heard anything quite like it. I would recommend a few SP albums, "Just a Souvenir" would be another.

[Old Horse Murphy]

Any of the live Marillion albums are worth a listen to to hear Pete Trewavas at his best. 
 

John Mayer's Try is great for hearing Pino in his pomp

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Old Horse Murphy

[Cosmo Valdemar]

  On 25/12/2021 at 07:51, Dazm66 said:

Quadrophenia. IMO JE’s finest hour. 

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[super al]

  On 25/12/2021 at 12:32, Grimalkin said:

Sly & The Family Stone - Fresh.

 

"Jazz legend Miles Davis was so impressed by the song "In Time" from the album that he made his band listen to the track repeatedly for a full 30 minutes. Composer and music theorist Brian Eno cited Fresh as having heralded a shift in the history of recording, "where the rhythm instruments, particularly the bass drum and bass, suddenly [became] the important instruments in the mix."

George Clinton, who has listed Fresh as one of his favorite albums, later convinced the Red Hot Chili Peppers to cover "If You Want Me to Stay" on their second 1985 album, the Clinton-produced Freaky Styley..."

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Both the original and the Chili's version of 'if you want me to stay' are great imho... myself and the drummer in my last band put it forward as a possible cover but, alas no other takers.

Sly was definitely an innovator and wrote some cracking toons! Probably the third most sampled artist after James Brown and George Clinton.

[Grimalkin]

  On 25/12/2021 at 14:49, super al said:

Both the original and the Chili's version of 'if you want me to stay' are great imho... myself and the drummer in my last band put it forward as a possible cover but, alas no other takers.

Sly was definitely an innovator and wrote some cracking toons! Probably the third most sampled artist after James Brown and George Clinton.

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The whole album changed the definition of funk for me, I do consider it a landmark album. Just take Andy Newmark's drum track for "In Time"...

 

It's the sh....    It's exceptional.