OFF: Great Bassists (was100 Greatest Guitarists)

[Nick Medford]

On Mon, 8 Sep 2003 16:07:29 -0400, Doug Pearson <jasret at MINDSPRING.COM>
wrote:

<snip interesting observations and opinions>

>Personally, I have zero interest in bassists I consider showy/flashy.  I
>can appreciate the virtuosity of Stanley Clarke, Tony Levin, Billy
>Sheehan, Jeff Berlin, Victor Wooton, Jaco, and all the other players they
>drool about on 'The Bottom Line' (renowned bass player email list that has
>included Berlin [an egotistical asshole], Levin [a super-nice guy], and
>Mike Watt [even nicer guy], among its contributors), but their playing
>does little to move me, personally

I find I have the same response. It all goes back to the question of how to
define great. Someone who is an astonishing virtuoso and can do things with
the instrument that almost no-one else can, because of the level of their
technique, vs. someone who has nowhere near that technical skill but has a
greater creative/aesthetic sense, which of course is totally subjective and
in the end means "an aesthetic sense that more closely parallels my own" :-)

Very few of the virtuoso players like Jaco et al feature in my record
collection, because their music tends to leave me rather cold. But I can't
deny that they are superlative technicians and I'd have to include them on
a list of great bass players, although they wouldn't be on a list of "bass
players I particularly enjoy listening to".

Although- Tony Levin's on quite a few albums I own, but then again he pops
up everywhere.

I think we are basically saying the same thing here.

Nick