Best Basslines

crispybug2

On a recent thread, posters were asked to post up pics of their guitars. I noticed that quite a few were bassists like myself, so simple question, what's the best bassline ever?.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHjBxL-aW4E


My choice is I Shoulda Loved Ya by Narada Michael Walden.

Just a sensational bassline, it's the meat and bones of the entire song. This is not the original but a guy playing along (it's just the best quality I could find on youtube) I could play this at one time in my life, but not with the same fleuncy of this guy, and I never was any good at 'slap and pull'

ballysmate

I know shag all about playing music but I am always amazed by 'Fever' by Peggy Lee.

john_kline

Always loved this, J. J. at his best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... PhwggDy7qo

finchy

Best in what way? Most technical or best to listen to? Most technical could go to any number of disco/soul/jazz session players, some prog bassists from the 70s or Jaco Pastorius:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjS9Y-T589g

For listening to, I'd go for JJ Burnel of the Stranglers - Peaches and Down in the Sewer are amazingly good basslines, even though Peaches is dead easy to play and Sewer isn't too hard as long as you can remember 8 minutes of music; Joy Division - She's Lost Control; Kula Shaker - Hey Dude; The Who - My Generation.

jawooga

I Am The Resurrection - Stone Roses
Hollywood - Red Hot Chili Peppers - probably better Peppers songs about but that has to be one of THE funkiest.

ben@31

A lot of stuff by Duff McKagan in Guns N' Roses?

Duff in Velvet Revolver playing the track Slither http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AjNJV8JEYU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKz2U4fvA4U

Metallica, Enter Sandman?

napoleond

Anything by Level 42

finchy

The Doctor Who theme tune. 8)

Cleat Eastwood

Bass

Cleat Eastwood

and it grips this song like a podium girls ass

pb21

Joy Division - Transmission
Low - Words
British Sea Power - Remember Me

wiffachip

walk on the wild side - lou reed

walk on by - stranglers

down in the tube station - the jam

thegreatdivide

Too many, but off the top of my head...

New Order - Age of Consent (actually, pretty much every Hooky bassline)
Bee Gees - Staying Alive
O'Jays - For The Love of Money

thegreatdivide

FGTH – Two Tribes (it was Trevor Horn what done it)

And how can I forget Derek Forbes’ mighty bassline from Simple Minds ‘I Travel’. Deffo one of the best UK bassists of all time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZs_l9hF8IY

markos1963

Anything with Norman Watt Roy in it but especially 'Hit Me With Your Rythym Stick' which has a wicked bass line in the middle of it.

thegreatdivide

Here's the vid of Horn playing the bass - feckin awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... BWY8oAnnww

mfin

So many wrong answers...

The best bass line in the world ever is definitely the bass line of the theme tune to QI.

(Rage Against the Machine 'Bullet in the head' is alright too I spose)

mfin

thegreatdivide wrote:

Too many, but off the top of my head...

New Order - Age of Consent (actually, pretty much every Hooky bassline)
Bee Gees - Staying Alive
O'Jays - For The Love of Money

Are you sure with Staying Alive? the catchy bit that people remember is a guitar line, the bass is simple underpinning that I dont think many people would remember/recognise. Give it a listen. I reckon a lot of people think the main riff is the bassline but its guitar that is sort of written like a bass line. I could be wrong, I'll have to listen to it, but I think Im right.

MattC59

The Cure - A Forest

lostboysaint

How can no-one have mentioned Bernard Edwards yet? You may not have liked some of the music but the man was a genius!

thegreatdivide

mfin wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Too many, but off the top of my head...

New Order - Age of Consent (actually, pretty much every Hooky bassline)
Bee Gees - Staying Alive
O'Jays - For The Love of Money

Are you sure with Staying Alive? the catchy bit that people remember is a guitar line, the bass is simple underpinning that I dont think many people would remember/recognise. Give it a listen. I reckon a lot of people think the main riff is the bassline but its guitar that is sort of written like a bass line. I could be wrong, I'll have to listen to it, but I think Im right.

Sure the guitar overlay is the part folk remember but Maurice Gibb played the bassline and it's pure disco funk.

random man

Sublime bass on Aja by Steely Dan, either Walter Becker or Chuck Rainey. Superb bass on all their stuff though.

vs

MattC59 wrote:

The Cure - A Forest

probably...

Phil Lynott's Dancing in the Moonlight is pretty tight too

also been re-finding The Bed's too Big Without You and Walking on the Moon lately; better than I remember.

cornerblock

lostboysaint wrote:

How can no-one have mentioned Bernard Edwards yet? You may not have liked some of the music but the man was a genius!

Indeed. He and Nile Rodgers are responsible for some superb music. Including if not the best then probably the most sampled bass line ever.

Another one for Down In The Tube Station At Midnight, Bruce Foxton is a very underrated bass player.

As mentioned Norman Watt Roy, a master of his craft.

And while not the best, this is very good and certainly one most of us have heard.

canny_lad

thegreatdivide wrote:

Here's the vid of Horn playing the bass - feckin awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... BWY8oAnnww

How good is that :shock:

Superb, cheers for sharing that

crispybug2

NapoleonD wrote:

Anything by Level 42

NO!!!!!.....just no!

crispybug2

thegreatdivide wrote:

Bee Gees - Staying Alive

Here's the very good Guy Pratt demonstrating why 'Staying Alive' should not be considered a great bass line

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwru3q10LW0

mfin

crispybug2 wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Bee Gees - Staying Alive

Here's the very good Guy Pratt demonstrating why 'Staying Alive' should not be considered a great bass line

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwru3q10LW0

Well found, I was racking my brains to think if the bass line was any good! The overall music is great though isn't it, its all the bassline it needed I spose.

MisterMuncher

Elvis Costello's Pump It Up

PedalPedant

crispybug2 wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Anything by Level 42

NO!!!!!.....just no!

To be fair, while level 42 were something of a cheese-fest Mark King is a hell of a bass player.

PP

PedalPedant

I accept this may provoke howls of derision but I consider this to be a fantastic bass line...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmaQFM7Auj0*

* Daft Punk - Voyager

It's deceptively difficult to play properly.

Feel free to shoot me down

PP