Oh lord. I am so incredibly happy to see bassists alive and serious. Its not very often you can have a serious discussion about the bass that doesnt finish with 'can you do that seinfeld thing?'
First off, its geddy
. And I cant believe I forgot jon entwhistle. The poor guy, I always forget his name. He is without a doubt a superb bassist. Along with steve harris, though in my HONEST opinion, the man started off a good bassist, and didnt improve a lot. He just stayed a good bassist.
S8N, I understand your point about bringing in the rhythm, but when start to explore options involving making the bass really sing, you can get a far more beautiful and original sound to it. Right now I'd like to mention the song darling dear by the jackson 5. James Jamerson on bass, credited with being the first bassist to not play a generic bass line. The song can carry itself without the bass, but when his riff is put in, it just creates a whole new sound. Its just awesome. James Jamerson did a lot of similar things with big motown people like stevie wonder.
Ironically, I have to laugh at your slap bass comment, because you got it in the wrong direction. Larry Graham actually began slapping on an electric bass for the first time because they lost there drummer and he was trying to get a more percussion-like sound out of it. Thus the ghost note - slap technique, which has become a trademark of funk. Especially sly and the family stone/graham central station's music.
And that best rock bass riffs actually almost brought a tear to my eye. There were no bass lines in there I actually thought could be considered 'the best,' and it was quite clear that the songs had been picked by someone who was either not a bassist at all, or just a mainstream-listener. There was no rush, which is just sad. The john entwistle song was easily not his best. Pink Floyds bassist was a better lyrcist than bassist.
Then again, we're talking about rock here, rock bass lines have just been at a steep incline of crap since it started. Bands in the 70's had it right. Now we've gotten to the pinnacle of craptastic basslines with emo music. That being said, you see some metal bassists who are darn good. Arif of Protest the Hero comes to mind. Hes flipping amazing.
FYI, Larry Graham invented slap bass, jaco was famous for his fretless and harmonics playing. He even did pinch harmonics on bass, which was completely new. Check out birdland by weather report if you wanna hear what it sounds like. It took me a darn long time to get it right but it sounds sick.
As for best bassists; Jaco of jamerson should be at the top. Jamerson bassically made bass interesting, jaco was the first solo bassist ever. And the only electric bassist in the jazz hall of fame. He was flipping superb. Victor Wooten is obveously high on the list, but I seriously hate seeing flea on those lists. If it was a list of 'best bassists in mainstream music', then flea would be number one. But when it comes to solo'ing, he comes pretty short. Its just how these things work.
What it comes down to is two people, theres the musician and the bassist. The musician practises his theory and knows exactly what fits, and plays what will fit. Thats it. Its just how it goes. No one complains, everyones happy. When you say a bassist who plays something that carries the song is good, their a good musician, not a good bassist. That being said, you can be a good musician and a good bassist, and the true best bassists are those people. Which is why I'd say jamerson might be the best. He just managed to make the most abstract basslines no one could ever think of, but they were so well crafted they fit perfectly. Thats when you really here the bass riff and realize how darn good that bassist is. There are countless songs with 'good' basslines, but the few that stand out as superb are the bassist's I consider great.
Also, Im a funk bassist, so naturally Im more into bass-heavy songs. I.E. Tower of Power, Jamiroquai, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins' stuff. Yea.
Me ranting about second bass list;
And if it means anything, I learned how to play yyz two months after buying a bass guitar. PROBABLY not the best riff. Tommy the Cat was harder to learn. And I hate people who say the bass "solo" in pictures of home is good. No. Its easy as hell, and took little to no skill. Easy song. Its like the 1 millionth best rock bass line possibly. Good The Who song, well deserved position. It pleases me to see Graham Central Station and Dream Theatre up there. Both superb bassists. I dont agree with the song choices, however. Graham Central Station has some seriously amazing bass lines. Actually thats a pretty good list. Theres a lot of songs that would easily not be in there, but whatever. You cant get them all right. All the Larry Graham made me happy
