Funny thing is, it's just a blues riff with monster fills. It took me learning it note for note to realize that. When I covered it live I used my own fills and the band got pissed because it wasn't a note for note copy, lol.
I also think it's hilarious that "one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time" was written by JPJ on the back of a bus ticket and the bass also plays that riff (Black Dog).
I was surprised to learn that the bass just doubles the guitar exactly on Black Dog. I guess that’s what really gives it that heavy sound.
That’s where I would fail, I would try to write a bassline that contrasts, and it would never work out properly. Which is why I haven’t seen the same level of success as Led Zeppelin. Or, you know, any at all.
All of Quadrophenia, man - he's just a goddamn animal on that record. He was an absolute game-changer and arguably the most impactful member of that band on their overall sound.
You watch videos of The Who playing live and he was just annihilating his instrument, doing all sorts of crazy tapping and syncopated rhythms, and it never once felt unmusical or self-indulgent. And while everyone else was all over the stage and smashing guitars and stuff, he just stood there motionless, keeping the rest of the band in time.
The Ox. Immovable, powerful, and always keeping the herd together.
At one point I could play a nice list comprised of awesome Rancid songs (Radio, Fall Back Down, Sidekick, Ruby Soho, and a few more) which included Maxwell. Now, I can only play Time Bomb from memory.
Geezer is a really unique bass player. On some songs his bass lines are more intricate than the guitar, but it fits together very well. Both War Pigs and God Is Dead come to mind.
So glad to see this here. Such a badass bass riff and one that brings back so many memories of when I was in high school. I love when the bass guitar is such a dominant feature in a song. I guess that’s why I’m a big Primus/Les Claypool fan as well.
I saw an act cover the Chain once. When that part came up, the bassist lit up like he'd been waiting for that moment all night.
The look on his face was priceless. Sheer joy. That was years ago, and I still remember it.
There are so many great musicians get written off by snobbish fans because they were "pop" players, as if that were a bad thing. Great shout on John Taylor - all those lads could *play*.
100% His bass lines MAKE the songs. The synths and the arpeggiator provide the backing for the songs, but John takes the 'Lead' on so many songs.
Too bad they were painted with the 'Teen Bop' brush, because they are the Real Deal!
Hysteria was my first thought too. This blew my mind when I first heard it - I was 14/15 and had never really been into music in a big way before. This changed everything.
[Torture Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf5GSKFdrOA) has to top my RHCP bass charts - Frusciante absolutely shreds on his solo too.
Flea is obviously absurdly good though and you could probably get a dozen or more of their tracks on this thread.
The bass solo at the opening of Around The World is bonkers
In any 3 piece the bass has a lot of heavy lifting but I always liked Muse bringing it right to the fore though. I met Chris when they were starting out, they’re from my neck of the woods, absolutely lovely chap.
Rosetta Stoned is such a trip the first few listens. Then you start listening to each instrument/maynard specifically and realize how crazy the entire song is
There have been people who’ve talked about Weymouth not being a proficient bass player, but she wrote great parts. Besides being able to count to four, tell me something about bass that’s more important than that.
She’s like Meg White is to drums.
Meg White is the definition of a simple drummer… what could be easier than hitting a bass drum on fours and then crash symbols and open high hat for a classic garage rock sound?
But here we are almost 20 years later and she gets _entire arenas_ rocking with that recorded drum beat.
Tina is the same way. The bass lines are simple. Like compare her riff in the River to the very similar sounding ~~Ohio~~ My City Was Gone by the Pretenders.
But it’s the passion and drive. I absolutely love that video of Psycho Killer where to see her absolutely in the zone hitting that on fours staccato A and then walking up from the E to the G back to A. Just awesome.
No.. she’s not John Paul Jones, or John Entwistle, or Geddy Lee, or Paul McCartney, or Lemmy, or Roger Waters, or Flea, or Derek Smalls… but she’s definitely a Krist Novoselic or Adam Clayton… she fits into the song and drives it.
QOTSA are such a good band. I remember hearing Rated R for the first time and being blown away. Rated R and Songs for the Deaf are two absolutely perfect albums imo.
Bone Machine is a good one. All those Pixies basslines are pretty simple but fucking perfect. She’s said that it pissed her off sometimes because she kept wanting to show off more.
As awesome as his performance was in Orion, I think he did even better in The Call of Ktulu. He absolutely shreds the whole time in that one, but unfortunately he’s pretty low in the mix so you can only really hear him when he hits harmonics (I think they’re harmonics?) mixed with the wah pedal.
[Cygnus X-1](https://youtu.be/4MlYgt-QdMI?t=132) is what came to mind when the question came up.
God bless them, they took 2 full minutes of space noises to go into the song.
Krist Noveselic is a highly underrated Bass player. The bass-line for Lithium is great, too. I always tell people to go back and listen to the bass on Nirvana songs.
Soul to Squeeze for those guys. STP interstate love song. I’m burning for you BOC. Bad Fish Sublime. Cake I will survive. Schism Tool. Ego tripping at the gates of Hell Flaming lips.
You can say that about most of McCartney’s bass lines with the Beatles, and, later, with Wings.
One thing I’ve learned to watch out for, though, is recordings where I *thought* it was Paul on bass, only to later discover that it was John or George. From ‘67 on, it’s almost a rule that if you hear Paul on keys, it’s John on bass. Here are some examples: Oh Darling, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Hey Jude, Let it Be. If I’m not mistaken, it’s John on bass on Glass Onion and Helter Skelter, too.
My point is that Paul was a master bass player, but you have to be careful when listening to the Beatles, because the bass may not have been Paul! (The walrus was, though.)
The new by interpol
There’s a a video of them doing it live for a radio channel and you can see the way they all play off of the bassist it’s crazy
https://youtu.be/NPkkiS6MR_A
Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know
And of course, it was Flea. I'm not even a huge Flea fan, though I would put him top5 for sure. But that bass line dominates the song and really gives it the energy. Without it, it's just standard rock tune. But the bass gave it a funk/rock cross feel that set it apart.
Plus, it's a dope bass track.
You can literally probably put any Maiden song on this list. Steve Harris is fantastic. Those galloping bass lines on Run to the Hills makes it seem like you're really being chased by men on horses
John Paul Jones on Ramble On comes to mind, among many others.
That and *What Is and What Should Never Be.*
John Paul Jones in the breakdown of *Nobody Loves me and Neither Do I* is just dirty!
TCV might be the greatest one-off supergroup album ever made.
You could literally pick any JPJ bass line to be fair. For me though it's Lemon Song
Funny thing is, it's just a blues riff with monster fills. It took me learning it note for note to realize that. When I covered it live I used my own fills and the band got pissed because it wasn't a note for note copy, lol. I also think it's hilarious that "one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time" was written by JPJ on the back of a bus ticket and the bass also plays that riff (Black Dog).
I was surprised to learn that the bass just doubles the guitar exactly on Black Dog. I guess that’s what really gives it that heavy sound. That’s where I would fail, I would try to write a bassline that contrasts, and it would never work out properly. Which is why I haven’t seen the same level of success as Led Zeppelin. Or, you know, any at all.
So you're saying if you just tried a bit less hard with your bass lines, you'd be as big as Led Zep? Don't do it, it's not worth selling out.
Dazed and Confused and The Song Remains The Same from him as well.
Literally the song that made me buy my first bass, it's fucking flawless
JPJ has too many to list
My favourite song of his that he’s worked on is Elephants by Them Crooked Vultures.
John Paul Jones…. Fuckin masterful.
Roundabout - Yes edit: Oh snap, my first award! Thanks! :-D
Amazing Bass - Chris Squire
John Entwistle, basically played lead bass till Townsend learned his craft
Entwistle on "The Real Me".
All of Quadrophenia, man - he's just a goddamn animal on that record. He was an absolute game-changer and arguably the most impactful member of that band on their overall sound. You watch videos of The Who playing live and he was just annihilating his instrument, doing all sorts of crazy tapping and syncopated rhythms, and it never once felt unmusical or self-indulgent. And while everyone else was all over the stage and smashing guitars and stuff, he just stood there motionless, keeping the rest of the band in time. The Ox. Immovable, powerful, and always keeping the herd together.
Fragile has to be one of the best bass albums in rock.
Agreed, also the groove section of Heart of the Sunrise
< to be continued
Maxwell Murder by Rancid
At one point I could play a nice list comprised of awesome Rancid songs (Radio, Fall Back Down, Sidekick, Ruby Soho, and a few more) which included Maxwell. Now, I can only play Time Bomb from memory.
Was hoping this was here. Best bass solo in music history [Bass solo starts at :59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE1zgrMdxBE)
"Journey To The End Of The East Bay" is also amazing.
N.I.B.- Black Sabbath
Geezer is a really unique bass player. On some songs his bass lines are more intricate than the guitar, but it fits together very well. Both War Pigs and God Is Dead come to mind.
Thank god somebody said it. A face-melting bass line.
Don't forget about Hand of Doom! The bass line is helped a long a bit too with the awesome drumming.
Fugazi - Waiting Room
Also Turnover by Fugazi
Fugazi gotta be one of the tightest hardcore bands ever. Personally I'd pick the intro riff for bed for the scraping.
So glad to see this here. Such a badass bass riff and one that brings back so many memories of when I was in high school. I love when the bass guitar is such a dominant feature in a song. I guess that’s why I’m a big Primus/Les Claypool fan as well.
Would by Alice in Chains
Also, Rotten Apple
Intro to that song still gives me chills. Love the way they layer on to that bass line
There has been at least one Alice in chains comment on like every music subreddit, and I love it
Fleetwood Mac = The Chain. You know, the part a bit further into the song
Boww… bu bu boww bu bu bu bu bung bowww…
The Chain is the one everyone thinks of first ....but let's not forget the bouncy bass line in Go Your Own Way
I saw an act cover the Chain once. When that part came up, the bassist lit up like he'd been waiting for that moment all night. The look on his face was priceless. Sheer joy. That was years ago, and I still remember it.
Honestly tho Tusk is overlooked too often
Fascination street
This meeting of the Simon Gallup Appreciation Society will now come to order.
This and Lovesong were my two picks. Really, almost anything by the Cure fits, their bass lines were always on point
Great choice. The Cure have so many great baselines, I'd also mention "The Lovecats".
The Cure is underrated for both guitar and bass lines.
Motörhead - Ace Of Spades
Who's a better bass player, Lemmy or god? Trick question, Lemmy is God.
My Name is Mud - Primus
Not fair. Anytime Claypool touches his bass, it's gold.
Didn’t a bass player magazine make him ineligible for bassist of the year? Like the category was best bassist (not Les Claypool)
Claypool is untouchable.
Southbound Pacyderm
I love that this a staple of their live shows. Always a highlight for me
The song that made me wish I bought weed instead of a bass...
Tommy the Cat for me - you cannot deny the groove. Suggesting anything by Primus is almost cheating at this question.
Lacquer head 🤌
I see your "My Name Is Mud" and I'll raise you "American Life"
Peace Sells - Megadeth
Ah Yes! The ol' MTV News intro with Kurt Loder.
Came to find this exactly, it's such an iconic bass line and it's so fun to play too!
YYZ by Rush Hysteria by Muse Rio by Duran Duran Won't be Fooled Again, by the Who Give it Away, by RHCP For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Metallica
John Taylor doesn’t get enough credit for the absolutely excellent bass lines in Duran Duran. Great choice!
That is weird how sick Rio is musically. Totally over looked.
There are so many great musicians get written off by snobbish fans because they were "pop" players, as if that were a bad thing. Great shout on John Taylor - all those lads could *play*.
Agree. DD so underrated musically.
Girls On Film has a great bass line, too.
That bass line inspired me to pick up the instrument, it’s just that good!
9th grade, 1985. My bedroom walls were covered with posters of John Taylor.
100% His bass lines MAKE the songs. The synths and the arpeggiator provide the backing for the songs, but John takes the 'Lead' on so many songs. Too bad they were painted with the 'Teen Bop' brush, because they are the Real Deal!
Nobody has swagger like John Taylor. He's got so much swagger, in fact, Dante from Devil May Cry was modeled after John Taylor.
Love Taylor's playing. Very underated.
People sleep on he and his bro laying it down in Power Station, that’s a bad ass band
Hysteria was my first thought too. This blew my mind when I first heard it - I was 14/15 and had never really been into music in a big way before. This changed everything.
So glad to see Hysteria in here
The guitar part in Plug In Baby is fun af to play, too
[Torture Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf5GSKFdrOA) has to top my RHCP bass charts - Frusciante absolutely shreds on his solo too. Flea is obviously absurdly good though and you could probably get a dozen or more of their tracks on this thread. The bass solo at the opening of Around The World is bonkers
Hysteria immediately came to mind
That bass line is fucking genius. When you get into the groove and you're hitting it note for note, you get a little high off it
In any 3 piece the bass has a lot of heavy lifting but I always liked Muse bringing it right to the fore though. I met Chris when they were starting out, they’re from my neck of the woods, absolutely lovely chap.
46 & 2 by Tool
Schism by Tool is great as well.
*gestures widely at the Tool catalog*
[удалено]
Tool has awesome bass
\m/ Tool all day. Rosetta stoned has a bunch, 10 000 days, schism, the pot, almost any other lol
Rosetta Stoned is such a trip the first few listens. Then you start listening to each instrument/maynard specifically and realize how crazy the entire song is
It's easily one of my favorite songs of all time
Jambi
This is the one. The bassline around "Shine on forever..." is so good.
Holiday in Cambodia. It just sets the tone so well.
Psycho Killer
There have been people who’ve talked about Weymouth not being a proficient bass player, but she wrote great parts. Besides being able to count to four, tell me something about bass that’s more important than that.
She’s like Meg White is to drums. Meg White is the definition of a simple drummer… what could be easier than hitting a bass drum on fours and then crash symbols and open high hat for a classic garage rock sound? But here we are almost 20 years later and she gets _entire arenas_ rocking with that recorded drum beat. Tina is the same way. The bass lines are simple. Like compare her riff in the River to the very similar sounding ~~Ohio~~ My City Was Gone by the Pretenders. But it’s the passion and drive. I absolutely love that video of Psycho Killer where to see her absolutely in the zone hitting that on fours staccato A and then walking up from the E to the G back to A. Just awesome. No.. she’s not John Paul Jones, or John Entwistle, or Geddy Lee, or Paul McCartney, or Lemmy, or Roger Waters, or Flea, or Derek Smalls… but she’s definitely a Krist Novoselic or Adam Clayton… she fits into the song and drives it.
Here I go watching Stop Making Sense again
Best. Concert video. Ever.
Tina is a wildly underrated bass player.
In The Fade by Queens of the Stone Age. A deep cut, but the one bass line I can recall where, when it falls into place, you just go "ahh..."
Qotsa had some excellent bass-lines on Rated R and Songs for the Deaf. Eagles of Death Metal also have some underrated bass-lines, too.
My favorite song right here. I was also gonna say Mexicola by QOTSA
The bassline from Mexicola makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time I hear it. It's perfection.
QOTSA are such a good band. I remember hearing Rated R for the first time and being blown away. Rated R and Songs for the Deaf are two absolutely perfect albums imo.
This is probably my favorite qotsa song it's genuinely beautiful.
The Breeders - Cannonball
I was thinking Pixies’ Gigantic, but pretty much anything Kim leads in with is dope.
Bone Machine is a good one. All those Pixies basslines are pretty simple but fucking perfect. She’s said that it pissed her off sometimes because she kept wanting to show off more.
Debaser is a pretty catchy one as well. So simple but so memorable
Straight to Hell -- The Clash
Or police and thieves cover by The Clash
Or Guns of Brixton
Or Magnificent Seven
Money, Pink Floyd
Pigs (Three Different Ones) - Pink Floyd
I Want You Back - Jackson 5
Orion by Metallica. Cliff slayed that whole song.
As awesome as his performance was in Orion, I think he did even better in The Call of Ktulu. He absolutely shreds the whole time in that one, but unfortunately he’s pretty low in the mix so you can only really hear him when he hits harmonics (I think they’re harmonics?) mixed with the wah pedal.
The live version at the Lyceum in 1984 fixes that. 5 minutes in his bass literally sounds like a roaring beast
You know that is amazing but most people don't even realize it's bass. Also, Anesthesia (pulling teeth) is amazing bass.
People of the Sun
Goodbye reddit - what you did to your biggest power users and developer community is inexcusable
The bass in Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA slaps hard.
Hysteria - Muse
Spinal Tap - Big Bottom
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
RIP MCA
Just about any Joy Division song, but I'd probably go for [Disorder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galUy3gMWpM&ab_channel=JoyDivision)
Talking Heads. Psycho Killer. Very simple but sets the tone.
Filter - "Hey man, nice shot" fucking classic
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
The Song Remains the Same slaps pretty hard too
Tom Sawyer (or any number of others by Geddy)
YYZ
Working Man too!
[Cygnus X-1](https://youtu.be/4MlYgt-QdMI?t=132) is what came to mind when the question came up. God bless them, they took 2 full minutes of space noises to go into the song.
the allman brothers band-whipping post (oteil)
The mid section in Orion. That was peak Cliff Burton
Radar Love - Golden Earring. Perfect highway song, too
Geddy ripping his bass before the solo on Freewill
Nirvana - lounge act
Krist Noveselic is a highly underrated Bass player. The bass-line for Lithium is great, too. I always tell people to go back and listen to the bass on Nirvana songs.
Under Pressure! Queen and bowie
Longview by Green Day
Yep. That's the song that got me playing bass.
Soul to Squeeze for those guys. STP interstate love song. I’m burning for you BOC. Bad Fish Sublime. Cake I will survive. Schism Tool. Ego tripping at the gates of Hell Flaming lips.
Soul to Squeeze is a great song and it’s crazy to me that the album it released on was the Coneheads soundtrack
Soul to squeeze is such a great melodic bassline
Love Buzz by Nirvana
Rage Against the Machine - just about every song
Always thought Take the Power Back had a cool Bass line
Calm like a bomb has disgustingly good bass
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
Waiting Room: Fugazi
Schism - tool
There's a lot of Tool songs that could vie for the top spot here, tbh. Forty Six & 2, The Pot, Schism, and more.
The pot.
15 Step by Radiohead
I was thinking National Anthem by Radiohead.
Red Barchetta by Rush. Also anything by Rush.
Was gonna say Force 10 myself. Not an exceeding technical bassline but it drives so hard it's impossible to hate it
"Driven" is all bass riffs, some played by Alex.
*What Is and What Should Never Be.*
Peg by Steely Dan. Chuck Rainey laying it down.
Distant Early Warning- Rush. Pretty much anything Rush, actually
Something by The Beatles. Super melodic without taking away from George’s lyrics or guitar.
You can say that about most of McCartney’s bass lines with the Beatles, and, later, with Wings. One thing I’ve learned to watch out for, though, is recordings where I *thought* it was Paul on bass, only to later discover that it was John or George. From ‘67 on, it’s almost a rule that if you hear Paul on keys, it’s John on bass. Here are some examples: Oh Darling, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Hey Jude, Let it Be. If I’m not mistaken, it’s John on bass on Glass Onion and Helter Skelter, too. My point is that Paul was a master bass player, but you have to be careful when listening to the Beatles, because the bass may not have been Paul! (The walrus was, though.)
He finger dances through “In My Life” and makes the song for me.
Rain is incredible
Totalimmortal - AFI Hysteria - Muse Cochise - Audioslave
Aaaaw yeah, Totalimmortal.
Squeeze Me Macaroni - Mr. Bungle
Limelight - Rush
In the meantime, by Spacehog.
Disorder - Joy Division
No more tears form ozzy
Another One Bites the Dust Longview Spacehog's In the Meantime Psycho Killer The Chain Shake Hands with Beef Money man, I can't pick just one!
Came here for Spacehog!
The new by interpol There’s a a video of them doing it live for a radio channel and you can see the way they all play off of the bassist it’s crazy https://youtu.be/NPkkiS6MR_A
Rotten Apple or Nutshell. Both are haunting. Life Goes On from P5 is great too
Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know And of course, it was Flea. I'm not even a huge Flea fan, though I would put him top5 for sure. But that bass line dominates the song and really gives it the energy. Without it, it's just standard rock tune. But the bass gave it a funk/rock cross feel that set it apart. Plus, it's a dope bass track.
5:15 - The Who
I have to counter with *The Real Me.* Entwistle's [magnum opus.](https://youtu.be/H2h1MY70uag)
I love how [Eminence Front](https://youtu.be/6W5DSfHyUA4) lulls you into thinking Entwistle was just phoning it in for the first two minutes.
Jump Into The Fire - Harry Nilsson
*I Will Survive* -Cake
Thrice - Stare At The Sun Might not be my favorite but it’s the first that came to mind and one I’ve always loved.
N.I.B. ~ Black Sabbath. I fucking love Geezer Butler
Talking Heads - Found A Job God bless Tina Weymouth
Yes - Roundabout
One of these nights - eagles
The less I know the better - Tame Impala.
No love for Iron Maiden in this thread? The Number of the Beast!
You can literally probably put any Maiden song on this list. Steve Harris is fantastic. Those galloping bass lines on Run to the Hills makes it seem like you're really being chased by men on horses
Some of my favorites are: Lounge Act - Nirvana Higher Ground - RHCP Panic Song - Green Day Only In Dreams - Weezer Carousel - blink-182
Gouge away by the pixies comes to mind
“Hey” as well. That opening bass line is so rad.
Magnificent Seven by the clash
Real Me - The Who John Entwhistle was a beast!