Mark King or Flea?

[Rettoglide1]

So so true Chris.

[Pete Academy]

If you want to compare these guys in a funk context, Flea wins hands down. It's obvious he has a grasp of what the genre is all about.

King came from the jazz/fusion side of things, hence the compositions on their early albums. Mister Pink is a masterclass in slap bass.

I'm sure MK can do the dirty funk thing if he needs to. Level 42 were a jazz-funk outfit that saw a market grow from that genre.

They are both great players, who defined bass playing during their respective decades.

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='834535' date='May 11 2010, 07:03 PM']Mark King does get a lot of stick, but then when you're that good it is to be expected, there is always someone waiting to rain on the parade![/quote]

Er...anyone mention Victor? Probably the world's greatest, and boy does he get some stick on here.

Edited May 11, 2010 by Pete Academy

[Chris2112]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='834549' date='May 11 2010, 07:12 PM']Er...anyone mention Victor? Probably the world's greatest, and boy does he get some stick on here.[/quote]

Exactly my point! He's fantastic, but boy, have some people got a bee in their bonnet about him!

[Doddy]

[quote name='Rettoglide1' post='834525' date='May 11 2010, 06:54 PM']I like all sorts of players from MM to Stanley Clarke to Jaco and Weather Report, to Bernard Edwards, Mark King, JPJ, Verdine, Nick Beggs, Laurence Cottle, Bootsy, Francis Rocco, you name em i like em baby.

Only making a point about MK because he doesnt deserve the sh*t names he gets called here.... and as for Flea he's an ok bass player, but nothing special, and certainly nowhere remotely near league of the guys i mentioned.[/quote]

That's cool that you you dig all those players,but I'm willing to bet that there are also players that you don't really
like aswell. For me,Mark King is one of those players that I don't particularly like-I have never been particularly
impressed by his playing.I'm not giving him sh*t for the sake of giving him sh*t-I just feel that there are hundreds
of better players out there.The same with Flea.

[Rich]

[quote name='Rettoglide1' post='834525' date='May 11 2010, 06:54 PM']and as for Flea he's an ok bass player, but nothing special, and certainly nowhere remotely near league of the guys i mentioned.[/quote]
Or in other words, "bassist A is better than bassist B".

What was I saying about it being a pointless argument?

[Pete Academy]

I can't believe this thread has run to 8 pages!!!

[bubinga5]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='834674' date='May 11 2010, 08:40 PM']I can't believe this thread has run to 8 pages!!! [/quote]Not the first and wont be the last....

its like arguing that my girlfriend is better looking than your girlfriend......it purely subjective no matter how technically superior, one is to the other..technical ability doesnt mean musical ability..

My personal opinion is Flea is overated but thats not his fault....ive listened to more of his playing and hes very good but different to MK.....Mark King unfortunatley may be a little out of fashion and i think his rep as a slapper hasnt done him any favours.....His slapping is formidible though and his fingerstyle (IMO) is wonderful....


There both good in there own style and music...Neither is better than the other..

Competition doesnt belong in music..it all about sharing

[51m0n]

[quote name='crez5150' post='834493' date='May 11 2010, 06:21 PM']Thats the thing.... many different kinds of funk around.....[/quote]

Absolutely!

MK is technically extremely impressive, and I can dig that in and of itself, the Level 42 funk jazz thing just never appealed to me as much as rawer dirtier funk. Flea and RHCP at their best are a modern take on a long history of filthy dirty funky grooves (yum!)...

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='834760' date='May 11 2010, 10:04 PM']its like arguing that my girlfriend is better looking than your girlfriend....[/quote]

You're probably right though mate my girlfriend is a munter.

[peterG]

It is a strange comparison. Flea is just a good bassplayer in one off the most popular bands but as a bassplayer he doesn't do anything special; he is just a very good bassplayer and his basslines are nice but nothing special. When i heard him first I did not understand the excitement. All the bassplayers in the 80's , including me, were already playing things like that. Mark King is a complete different story. I was not really in to him(I was into Marcus miller and Jaco) but he created a style that maybe already existed but not at that level. He really brought something new to the bassworld. And he made bass so popular.Before him nobody wanted to play the bass, after him everybody including Flea wanted to play the bass. His style is a bit dated these days and nobody listens to him anymore but he is one of the most influencial bassplayers of all time. Flea will never reach that status. RHCP brought a new sound to the musicworld but not to the bassworld. Mark King did!

[bubinga5]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='834860' date='May 11 2010, 11:11 PM']You're probably right though mate my girlfriend is a munter.[/quote]
Ha ha..well i havent even got one so i will fold

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='peterG' post='836675' date='May 13 2010, 10:12 PM']It is a strange comparison. Flea is just a good bassplayer in one off the most popular bands but as a bassplayer he doesn't do anything special; he is just a very good bassplayer and his basslines are nice but nothing special. When i heard him first I did not understand the excitement. All the bassplayers in the 80's , including me, were already playing things like that. Mark King is a complete different story. I was not really in to him(I was into Marcus miller and Jaco) but he created a style that maybe already existed but not at that level. He really brought something new to the bassworld. And he made bass so popular.[b]Before him nobody wanted to play the bass,[/b] after him everybody including Flea wanted to play the bass. His style is a bit dated these days and nobody listens to him anymore but he is one of the most influencial bassplayers of all time. Flea will never reach that status. RHCP brought a new sound to the musicworld but not to the bassworld. Mark King did![/quote]
Are you seriously saying that before Mark King nobody wanted to play bass? What a load of nonsense.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='peterG' post='836675' date='May 13 2010, 10:12 PM']It is a strange comparison. Flea is just a good bassplayer in one off the most popular bands but as a bassplayer he doesn't do anything special; he is just a very good bassplayer and his basslines are nice but nothing special.[/quote]

I don't get why people are still buying RHCP records, I don't think they're any good any more, but Blood Sugar Sex Magik has some really tasteful bass playing on it. As good as you'll find on any record IMO.

Even the simple line from Give It Away is a brilliant bass line. Really simple and brilliant. I don't know if Mark King's ever demonstrated that sort of restraint, I'd be surprised if he has.

[peterG]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='836692' date='May 13 2010, 11:32 PM']Are you seriously saying that before Mark King nobody wanted to play bass? What a load of nonsense. [/quote]
Off course people wanted to play the bass before MK. What I'm saying is that when he came around the bass became suddenly very very popular. Before hem everybody wanted to play the guitar or the drums but not the bass. It was already happening in jazz and other less popular styles because of Jaco and Stanley and others but he brought it to popular music and really, I remember this very well, he really changed the bassworld.There is really a time before and after Mark King. But to be honest, I personally like the basslines of Flea more than the ones of Mark King. But you have to give Mark King credit for what he did to the bassworld. Flea also inspired al lot of young kids to pick up the bass like many musicians from popular bands do. But Mark King changed the musicworld completely.(My native language is not English so I hope I don't make to many mistakes)

[JTUK]

[quote name='peterG' post='836802' date='May 14 2010, 07:18 AM']Off course people wanted to play the bass before MK. What I'm saying is that when he came around the bass became suddenly very very popular. Before hem everybody wanted to play the guitar or the drums but not the bass. It was already happening in jazz and other less popular styles because of Jaco and Stanley and others but he brought it to popular music and really, I remember this very well, he really changed the bassworld.There is really a time before and after Mark King. But to be honest, I personally like the basslines of Flea more than the ones of Mark King. But you have to give Mark King credit for what he did to the bassworld. Flea also inspired al lot of young kids to pick up the bass like many musicians from popular bands do. But Mark King changed the musicworld completely.(My native language is not English so I hope I don't make to many mistakes)[/quote]

Not for me he didn't..
Depends how you define popular music though... but he was an add-on to earlier stalwarts and did take it into the charts over here. That is probaby why he gets so much credit in Europe. In the U.S, I am not so sure, they already had plenty of guys to choose from.

MK did nail one particular technical style, IMV..and so took that on..
If you liked his typewriter style, then fine, and loads copied it... but it didn't transpose over to other records, only L42's, I think.

Congrats on your english..it is fine..

[Rettoglide1]

[quote name='peterG' post='836675' date='May 13 2010, 10:12 PM']It is a strange comparison. Flea is just a good bassplayer in one off the most popular bands but as a bassplayer he doesn't do anything special; he is just a very good bassplayer and his basslines are nice but nothing special. When i heard him first I did not understand the excitement. All the bassplayers in the 80's , including me, were already playing things like that. Mark King is a complete different story. I was not really in to him(I was into Marcus miller and Jaco) but he created a style that maybe already existed but not at that level. He really brought something new to the bassworld. And he made bass so popular.Before him nobody wanted to play the bass, after him everybody including Flea wanted to play the bass. [b]His style is a bit dated these days and nobody listens to him anymore[/b] but he is one of the most influencial bassplayers of all time. Flea will never reach that status. RHCP brought a new sound to the musicworld but not to the bassworld. Mark King did![/quote]


Level 42 are about to tour the UK, EUROPE and the STATES Pete.....so i wouldnt exactly try to say no-one listens to him anymore mate.

Going back to difference with Flea and Mark King...the difference in levels as players is huge.......Mark is a far superior player....you only have to see the Live In Wembley dvd to see that, his use of chords, 10th chords etc, and harmonics- to see the difference....Flea may be good but he's really just a better than average player.

To even [b]compare[/b] the two is silly really, they are both from different genre's and levels of music for a start...the type of music King plays is far superior to Flea's anyway...and Mark King has a proven track record of being able to play anything you can throw at him.........so the two are on totally opposite playing levels anyway.

Edited May 14, 2010 by Rettoglide1

[Pete Academy]

I think if anyone doubts MK's ability, they should really have a listen to the very first album, which is funk fusion. I still think it's very impressive.

In Flea's corner, this track from the Freakey Styley album shows his amazing sense of groove using the barest of notes.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pSgsW2Jc1A"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pSgsW2Jc1A[/url]

[iconic]

crikey, what a thread!

Well, I'm totally biased and for me Mark King is still Mr Bass King but then he had a big influence on me, it's I had ever had on my car tapedecks....I still love the older L42/Mark King stuff. L42 were for me my favorite group up to the 'Family' album.

Memories coming back now... I first saw L42 at Gillingham Central in Kent, ohh must of been, hang on what car did I have..Ford Corsair.... so must of been 80/81 and then Margate Winter Gardens when the only songs that were generally known were those played by Robbie Vincent and OGWT...ohh and they had just been had just been played on that radio 2 live thing they did every week I think....saw Haircut 100 later same year I think in Gillingham....they had a great bass player too!

Up till when I first saw Level 42 live I'm embarrassed to say I didn't really know what a bass guitar was.... coming from trying to play piano very poorly...but I do remember thinking, wow, what a talented guy playing that Alfa red oversize banjo type thing with 2 strings missing and only with his thumb....I also thought the poor guy must of removed 2 strings due to some nasty finger accident to make it easier to play...no really, I did!

...I knew really wanted to play bass after seeing them live....but waited nearly 30 years to pick one up, typical!

After a years twanging around with my bass I can learn and 'recognisably in a rough and ready way' play a lot of the funky stuff I liked back then, the Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson Stomp, Slave, Shalamar ohh and Duran Duran choons etc but I gota say I still really struggle with most anything Level 42...which is why I wanted a bass in the 1st place!

.....it's been a quiet week workwise and thought bugger this I will play some Level 42 if it kills me, so have been playing for hours and now can 'do' Are You Hearing What I Hear', The Chinese Way' 'Children Say' and now Love Games.....but I still find it so difficult....but don't know why...can only think it's because my bloody fingers are all over the shop and most of it is so fast for a newbie!

...not quite up to this std yet though.....is this a fretless?...if it is then bash my balls... I'm even more in awe of this guy....he must like his bass enough to have a bass clef tatoo too...I quite like that!

Edited May 14, 2010 by iconic

[Rich]

[quote name='Rettoglide1' post='837121' date='May 14 2010, 01:25 PM']the type of music King plays is far superior to Flea's anyway[/quote]
Can you prove or quantify that, or are you just stating a personal preference? I suspect the latter. Doesn't make it a fact.

[WalMan]

[quote name='Rettoglide1' post='837121' date='May 14 2010, 01:25 PM']To even [b]compare[/b] the two is silly really, they are both from different genre's ....[/quote]
Precisely! The rest of this sentence is all your opinion.....that's t'internet for you.

[Rettoglide1]

[quote name='Rich' post='837152' date='May 14 2010, 01:57 PM']Can you prove or quantify that, or are you just stating a personal preference? I suspect the latter. Doesn't make it a fact.[/quote]

If you've been playing for any amount of time or are any kind of decent musician you will know the Level 42's records are musically and technically superior to RHCH just by listening.

[iconic]

[quote name='WalMan' post='837190' date='May 14 2010, 02:24 PM']Precisely! The rest of this sentence is all your opinion.....that's t'internet for you.[/quote]


I did think too.... this is like comparing apples and oranges...but hey, it's sure got a lot of replies

[iconic]

[quote name='Rettoglide1' post='837220' date='May 14 2010, 02:46 PM']If you've been playing for any amount of time or are any kind of decent musician you will know the Level 42's records are musically and technically superior to RHCH just by listening.[/quote]



I sense some bias with a name like rett®oglide1 ...could be a Harley though?

[tauzero]

[quote name='Rettoglide1' post='837220' date='May 14 2010, 02:46 PM']If you've been playing for any amount of time or are any kind of decent musician you will know the Level 42's records are musically and technically superior to RHCH just by listening.[/quote]
You are bass_ferret and I claim my reference to the Wiki.