Honestly, who are you to judge flea? It's pretty cringe the way you assess him as if he's your student. You'll never reach his level of success. Flea is your superior. He's fit to judge YOUR playing. Not the reverse.
The reason I picked up a guitar is because I actively hated the competition of sports. I always refused “battle of the bands” gigs, because whats the point of having a folk band vs a metal band vs an alternative band? Anybody who uses the term “best” for something without a scoreboard is annoying to me. Those are called different opinions.
He is an absolutely fantastic creative writer, and even though I'm not the biggest RHCP fan in the world these days I can admit that he's written some absolutely amazing bass lines. That being said, as Charles himself pointed out in this video, it's obvious that his technique is far from perfect or even efficient, and that he cares more about style than precision or technicality. You put Flea up against guys like Marcus Miller or Les Claypool, and the shortcomings of his playing become obvious very quickly. He's still a great bass player, but his technique objectively sucks.
@@Sheehy223agreed not great technically compared to some but you mention Marcus Miller there and although you’d struggle to find a cleaner slap player than MM his finger style playing technique is excruciating to watch with his bent wrist, I understand that he’s had wrist surgery in the past. In terms of Slap Flea is more like a Louis Johnson, loads of energy but sloppy. It is what it is and it suits his bands style. There are a ton of sloppy players seen as top tier players. Have you heard Jimmy Page’s lines isolated, or Steve Harris 😮
I'm sure at least half of the nay-sayers are either jealous because they can't play his basslines, or have never played bass, yet think they can judge how good a bass player is solely by watching RUclips videos.
@@Sheehy223 Sucks is a bit strong, but you are right that it's not a trained technique, it's a self-taught one. It hasn't really held him back much, but who knows what kind of cracking stuff he might have churned out if he'd picked up better technique early - then again, maybe that would have detracted from his really expressive performances and would have limited RHCP's reach in the early years.
It's not Flea's soloing that makes him great anyway. To me, it's his bass line composition skills. A bass line like "Soul to Squeeze" is 100 times more fun to play and listen to than any of these live clips. The live stuff is showmanship. Great writing is always more impressive than technical playing.
Agreed. He writes some gorgeously melodic lines and is a great showman. I don't much care about his slapping, and I really don't care about his solos, which are likely just the usual sort of mid-show filler that bands resort to to give the vocalist a break. At the end of the day, he's written great lines, contributed to great songs, sold millions of albums, and entertained stadiums full of people around the world, which is vastly more than any bedroom bass wanker can claim.
Agreed. I completely agree with these commenters, to be honest. Solos like this remind me of some kid in the school music room who is repeatedly applying one or two patterns, but has a limited repertoire and isn't really listening to whether what is coming out is actually good music. Honestly, showmanship without some degree of musical intelligence behind it is kind of empty and unimpressive to me. BUT Within a written context, and particularly within the context of the chili peppers, Flea can clearly make it work. And that's completely fine. (And by the way, Flea is most certainly not the only famous musicians in this camp lol)
Aeroplane has one of my favourite bass solos of all time. And Improvisation is anyways not my thing. I want to hear something pre arranged and well thought out.
listen: Not that long ago, Herbie Hancock said: "I could be a better keyboard player, but I have no time to practice. I'm too busy writing & composing & working in the studio." The same could be said for Flea. He is so incredibly passionate about music & everything around it. It literally is his life. Show after show, night after night, he comes up with a unique solo, & pulls it off, & the crowd goes nuts. What you're looking at is just a tiny sample. He developed his own style of bass playing, & his own tone, & basically made slap bass a household word. I *really* like almost all of his earlier stuff (up through & including One Hot Minute). During RHCP's hiatus after that album, Flea went to music school. It's clear his style became more "polished" since then, as he spends a lot more time coming up with unique music in lieu of fiddling around with gizmos or unusual basses to produce a unique tone. Also don't forget who he is & how he came up. He doesn't pay much heed to critics, & he truly doesn't give a crap if you don't like his output. Millions of people do, & that's plenty enough for him to be happy with it.
People who like to make top ten lists of best instrumentalists don’t ever seem to want to consider compositional ability along with their ability to weedley weedley on a solo People barely give Hendrix credit for what he wrote in 3 years while arguing whether he is or isn’t a good guitarist
Herbie Hancock is at a time & place in his life where no one should be questioning his keyboard skills. Much like the other musicians I love and respect the most, he's given himself to innovation and the quality-of-life for music lovers for several decades -- all while being a humble and kind man. He's a great and quiet hero.
Whatever they can think about Flea , he’s playing live and hard. He’s an animal, you can’t compare with some studio composed bass lines. I’m not a rock guy, but respect Flea, he’s a bass legend for sure.
@@derpderpin1568 Red Hot Chilli Peppers have some great songs you can call it marketing all you want but they have tunes that sound good to my ears. A great song is never boring to me I don't care how popular.
I think a lot of the whack commenters are intermediate or mediocre players who learned how to play "Higher Ground" and then got exposed to other incredible players like Victor, Jaco, Thundercat, etc. But yeah, probably plenty of gatekeepers who don't even play music as well.
I definitely think so also. Some of the comments you read online are just like, wow really? Not every single moment of a musician has to be some picture perfect spot on thing, especially if it's something like an improvised solo. That's one of the things musicians have been doing as routine parts of a live performance forever and ever, and it's not really supposed to be this precise perfectly orchestrated thing. It's about channeling feelings/emotions in the moment, and every time it comes out different. Some of the things I see people calling "horrible" really reveal what they know about things. Some live improvisations I've heard are truly magical and next level, like Hendrix for example. He was very well known for not playing songs the same way twice, except for retaining the key riffs/parts of a song. But of course that's a slightly different subject there. And of course sometimes fails/mistakes happen. That's just part of performing live. I think we've all heard tons of mistakes that were left in on lots of songs and albums as well.
@@Rikalonius may i recommend you a duel between 2 random bass players in a random expomusic? yeah they are improvising everything 😀 it's fun, it's part of the fun of being a musician, when you find your mates at room practicing something and you just tag along for fun, is not a blessed trait, is just typical interaction among musicians ruclips.net/video/madhZSxzIKA/видео.htmlsi=2B7sh95cOXXHjnAj
That year... but still a great album. Fwiw my votes for top : The Doors, Dark Side of the Moon, The Beatles, Master of Puppets, Van Halen,, Physical Graffiti, Dirt, Legend, Pet Sounds, The Cars, The Wall, Who's Next, Damn the Torpedoes,, The Low End Theory, The Stranger, Songs in the Key of Life, Tapestries, Kind of Blue, Rubber Soul, Thriller, Earth Crisis, All Eyez on Me, The Joshua Tree, Synchronicity, London Calling, Saturday Night Fever, Stop Making Sense, Disintegration, Graceland, Lateralus, Rock For Light, The Miseducation of Lauren Hill, Paul's Boutique, Out of Step, Stankonia, Superunknown, Ready to Die, Reign in Blood, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Jagged Little Pill, So, Nevermind. YMMV.
I play classical music and i was impressed by the first solo. Timing for classical musicians can be a form of expression and to me, his timing was very tasteful. It probably sounded a lot better live than trough a recording from a phone.
People often forget Flea's background comes from playing jazz trumpet, George Clinton / Bootsy's funkadelic stylings, and punk rock. If you expect the harmonic complexity of Jaco, you're barking up the wrong tree. He's about punk energy, funk grooves, and melodic hooks. It usually goes like this cycle (Flea-cosystem?): Beginners (and non players) are usually in awe of Flea, then people get exposure to other incredible players and think Flea is overrated. However, a lot of times (myself included), it comes full circle that Flea is indeed one of the greatest. Beyond all that, music isn't a ranked competition; there's room for plenty of amazing players on the top of the mountain.
This is just radio music in general. Once you realize there is anything else out there you quickly come to the objective fact that the musicians in radio bands are nowhere near as good as the pedestal everyone puts them on and they don't deserve so much more praise than the actual top level players who get no recognition.
"He's actually quite an accomplished bassist." Haha no shit sherlock. When you are in the bunch of top 5 guys everyone talsk about when you enumerate a field of specialist, you are accomplished. And this guy is in "top 5" for the last 40 years. I started bass thanks to him in 94, I still play his lines now and then. And Aeroplane is a tribute to the instrument, if you have one to refer on.
@@BassCampOfficial Aye. If he can't play clean...then what's this? ruclips.net/video/X5HzuV9LscU/видео.html Don't get much cleaner than unplugged electric bass...
Flea is a very good bass player. And he plays what is needed for his band. Just because there are people who are more technical and virtuosic than Flea, it doesn't mean Flea sucks. My personal take is that Flea writes very good basslines for songs. His solos do not connect with me personally but I see nothing wrong with them. A lot of these guys who have negative comments about flea are probably from those who have leveled up technically and started playing some Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller and other fancier stuff. They think it gives them the right to bash Flea. It completely does not because these guys who bash Flea couldn't write basslines of the quality that Flea has been writing for Red Hot Chili Peppers for all these years. At the end of the day, if they don't like Flea, they shouldn't listen to him and RHCP. Why listen to it and write some crap in video comments to ruin it for someone else who does?
Exactly, like Tim Henson with guitar. I'm amazed by it on a YT video but will never gravitate to it when listening. I'll take Funkadelic's Maggot Brain over Polyphia's Playing God
The people making negative comments about Flea are Trolls who have never played bass a day in their life. Anybody who has put in the hard hours to have leveled up to play note for note what Miller, and Wooten are doing (Which is a very small percentage of all bass players), knows how inspirational and influential Flea is to the bass world. Guys like Flea, Claypool, and Mike Watt, amongst a few others, were the Foundation and backbone of the 2nd wave Rock Bass.
I can't believe people actually think he's bad. He's such a damn perfect genius and I love him. If you don't get why then you're one of those annoying musicians/fans. Also one of the best, if not the best rhythm section in active rock bands today.
Once you realize there is anything else out there you quickly come to the objective fact that the musicians in radio bands are nowhere near as good as the pedestal everyone puts them on and they don't deserve so much more praise than the actual top level players who get no recognition. Literally comments like yours that are oblivious to the sheer extreme amount of better music that's out there but you're not exposed to it.
I think people say he is bad as a reaction to people calling celebrity musicians genius and perfect as you do, while they obviously are not perfect. It is frustration over or a critique of people who actively want to buy into idol culture and drool over mass hyped musicians. Perhaps it is the frustration of musicians who don't get MTV attention. I think Flea is definitely not the worst famous bass player, but I have seen at least equally impressive bass playing in my humble home town.
All fleas and any of the Chili Peppers improv is literally that. Improvised. Everyone has their own style and way to play that’s comfy for them. I’m a huge fan of Flea and Marcus and Victor Wooten. I’m able to play more Flea style stuff cos of how he plays. I’ve been playing for over 30 years. Flea has always played really hard and puts all his energy into it. Really feel it when seeing it live
this is what i always tell anyone who wants to make it in music. Song writing and composition are 10x more important than the level of difficulty you play. Look at nirvana. All 3 of them were very mediocre at their instruments technique wise. But they were brilliant at writing and making covers their own. Not everyone is going to be a Victor wooten or tommy emmanuel. And music has nothing to do with difficulty
@@derpderpin1568 Music is not a competition. Musicians highly don't give a damn. They only care about you fitting into the sound. Only elitist randoms are "level" minded.
Nobody asked for it, but here’s my take. Flea is not, and was never a solo artist. He’s one of the best when it comes to laying down a solid groove for a song in a band to make your head bob, and to make a crowd go wild. He’s very good at playing slap and finger style. And he’s got incredible showmanship. so in a way judging him based on a solo is like that quote about judging a fish based on its ability to climb a tree: pointless… There are people out there who play Incredibles solos, and that’s awesome, it’s quite possible though that those people are not as good at playing in a band as Flea. And that is fine. You need all kinds of bass players to make a world.
The whole Flea critisism is of course utterly ridiculous: he’ s on a limb out there playing with maximum expression ! To suggest he has no skills is sacrilege !!
exactly - they are just green with jealousy because no matter how "great" they are with the bass or the guitar or with the kazoo (lols) , they're just a bunch of nobodies...
i'd say it's far easier to hit all notes perfectly when it's done from the comfort of the bedroom sitting on a gaming chair, instead of playing standing up on a live show with crowd and lights shouting your way and speakers blasting your ears.. and you need to look cool while at it -- when i go to a live show i want to watch something raw, improvised if needed be, and couldn't care any less if the band effs up on stage or doesn't play all the notes perfectly, all i want is to be entertained and the more genuine the play, the better.. stay metal🤘
Flea is a legend and an innovator. If he threw the Bass on the ground and humped it for a Bass solo, how could anyone not get it and love the beautiful being he is, what he brought us and what he represents
Some bass players that are great in bands aren't all that great playing bass as a "stand-alone" instrument. Keeping the groove while having a few solo spots during a show is much different than being a bassist who is the show with no other instruments added.
There's a big difference between playing to impress youtube, and playing in a large arena while jumping around the stage -- fast notes tend to get lost, and large audiences look for broader gestures. Michael Anthony would run around stage during his solo section, punch his bass, and fall down, crowd loved it.
Some of Flea's basslines are actually trickier to play with your thumb parallel to the strings. Certainly not impossible (like the other way around with Power), but your palm can get in the way of reaching Flea-level power and speed on some of his stuff (Nobody Weird Like Me, for example). It's that punk energy!
I've noticed now that you explain the thumb up/down difference how I personally have different songs I write using both techniques. I never noticed it till you mentioned it in a few videos and now trying to combine both into certain songs has been fun and added sounds to my music that have opened it up
Angry musicians who never made an album are popular judges, the rest are just idiots that don't seem to realize you can turn stuff off that doesn't interest you.
I was living in Los Angeles when they hit the radio. They definitely were different and before you know it, everyone was walking up and down Ventures Blvd shaking slapping the #%& out of there bass. I think Flea and RHCP have their place in music. I still listen to them for nostalgic reasons.... I don't know that i would call then great.... but music is art and is in the eye of the beholder. Charles was very polite in his description. I think it was fair and adequate.
flea for as many shows as he's done not all can be his best work.. but his record sales speak for themselfs him and claypool /lemmi where selling concerts before most could tune a bass..plus flea dosent do backing tracks like alot players do..the old boy still shreds
if you have long hands and you use finger picking it's really hard to wear your bass short. And when wearing your bass longer it's easier to slap with the thumb down technique and it's enough for most scenarios.
Thank you Charles for trying to keep the interwebs civil. All the haters wouldn't even have the balls to play live in front of a large audience let alone improv or taking risks while improvising.
The point is It’s Fleas style He has written some fabulous bass lines that you Charles would have killed to have written Technique has its place but it doesn’t make someone talented
Flea's fingerstyle is S tier: check the bassline for the chorus of 'If you have to ask' and the outro part of 'Funky monks'. Those are absolute gems, funky as f, fun to play and trickier than they seem (especially the outro one). But I'd say that his slap game is not as interesting, or least more limited. Apart from 'Aeroplane' his slap lines are rather basic. But his fingerstyle alone grants him God of Bass status nevertheless.
Flea était la raison pour laquelle j'ai acheté une basse en 1992. Je trouve que votre vidéo est pleine d' humilité et de respect pour un bassiste original.
Le truc c'est que les gens sont maintenant tellement habitués aux chants parfaits parce que ajustés par autotune, aux quantifications réglées au poil près sur ordinateur et aux lignes de basse et batterie électronique qu'ils ne comprennent plus que le live ce n'est pas rejouer un morceau "comme sur le CD/stream". C'est faire le spectacle, enflammer le public, faire d'une soirée un moment spécial. Pas de remplacer des machines par des humains sur scène.
These guys who only value "technique" always forget about CREATIVITY. In the 80s and 90s Flea managed to get a lot of people interested in the bass. As someone who has been playing this wonderful instrument for 20 years, I can attest that I have used many of his compositions to practice. I congratulate you Charles for not losing your temper and explaining them in a super clear way, if the video had been mine it would have literally exploded xD
People seem to have a hard time with rough improvisation these days on youtube (I see a lot of similar types of comments on guitar videos, even videos on people like Hendrix). There also seems to be a galvanizing consensus among people who have formed opinions on youtube, where they are just kind of out to tear down formerly lauded or respected players (and to be fair some people get acclaim and don't deserve it, but I found myself having to defend Hendrix's legacy in a youtube thread recently and that is just asinine).
you should take a look at Hiromu Fukuda of Suspended 4th, he mostly slaps thumb down when not doing rotaries/double pulls etc. and has some of the most technical slap bass I've seen - the Stratocaster Seaside bass solo/intro for example
That lick isn't necessarily from Pulling teeth, Flea plays something like it on the intro to "Me and my friends" (though it could have been inspired by Cliff still then).
If you do what Flea does on stage, studio, life - you can start a negotiation about his technique. And I didn’t mention his wonderful personality. I’m not listening RHCP anymore but what he done is marvelous in every way
I don't know if you take request but would you consider checking out MISA. She is the bassist for a Japanese all-girl rock group called Band-Maid. She plays a 5 string bass while barefoot and is like nothing I've heard before. Some tracks where she really shines is "Hate? (live)", "Dice" and "No God (LIVE)". I believe she may be worth your time.
Whenever someone complains to me about how a band or a musician or a singer "sucks", I ask for them play or sing some of the music they have made. Most of this time the complainers aren't even musicians. 🤔
@@foljs5858 Except people who don't play the instrument have no concept of what's technical and not technical like, at all. The analogy doesn't work at all here.
@@thedoctor1346 actually it kinda does. People can critique their cooking but because they don't know the technical aspects of the kitchen they can't say where they went wrong. Same thing with music. Everyone has their opinion but you should listen to the ones who know what theyre talking about and want you to improve.
@@thedoctor1346 If you think you need to know what's technical and not technical to know whether one is a good player, you don't belong anywhere near music. Hint: it's about what they bring artistically and emotionally to the music, not technical skills and fast playing
I watched Flea on a Bass Day video. He hung on stage with Victor and couple of other guys I can't remember. He held his own just fine. Actually better than I expected considering the guys he was on stage with.
Saw RHCP at Reading or Leeds Fest like 15y ago and despite being a fan of their pre-By the Way era they blew live quite honestly. Just constantly playing long, tedious solos. Genuinely think they played about 6 songs in a 1hr+ set. Wasnt the only one either, lots of people were complaining on leaving.
I felt the same way when I realized there's a decent sized group of people who say the same thing's about Jimi Hendrix and almost seem to hate him. It goes to show no matter what you do in life there will be people who automatically just hate you, and probably hate a lot of other things including themselves
I think most people who make these kinds of criticisms don't understand the difference between creating a flawless Instagram clip, and performing a live, improvised solo in the middle of a long set, while moving around on stage.
People only call him overrated because he’s the most famous bassist and non-musicians call him the best bassist ever. Sure his live solos can be sloppy but he’s improvising which is tough when you’re doing it every night on tour. Even he will tell you he’s nowhere near the best on the planet, but you’d be a fool to suggest he’s not one of the most influential and important. His bass lines showcase a great blend of virtuosity and songwriting skill, most players pick one or the other.
I always just considered him a regular average bassist, and couldn't understand why ppl felt he was so good because of the slapping he did in a lot of the RHCP songs. I was listening to a local jazz station here one day and could not believe when the DJ said Flea the bassist on the song they just played. I WAS STUNNED!!! It was VERY GOOD jazz bass playing, with highly revered jazz veterans. HE WAS REALLY REALLY GOOD! Completely made me take notice of his abilities. Few months ago I saw a quick vid of Flea at home jamming to so Paco. Again, he blew my mind. Respect.
He's not some virtuoso, but he's written some incredibly memorable basslines. He does his own thing, and he has a lot of fun doing it. I'm not sure why people have to diss on other players/artists and play the comparison game.
Why do I get the feeling that those who said Flea's improvised solo sucks probably couldn't even play the RHCP song "Pea" or haven't even played the bass, or any instruments for that matter?
I love how you give honest deconstruction of the performance without ever shitting on Flea and even explaining the difference in accuracy based on how low you play the bass live (most likely something he did originally to make it look cool and for running around on stage, not because he thought it was easier to play better like that). I also love how you don't point out how much better you are than him just purely based on technical playing.
It's sad how the Internet has amplified the misguided notion that playing an instrument is a competition. An instrument is a tool with which to make music and express yourself. It doesn't matter who's the "best" on technical grounds--that's juvenile nonsense.What matters is how much joy someone gets from playing and/or how much joy they bring to others. And bassists, of all people, should understand that being good doesn't mean being flashy or technically advanced. The bass is a support instrument. Very often, it's called on to play dead simple lines to serve the music. If you want to show off with a bunch of technically adanced stuff just for the heck of, give up bass and become the sort of egotistical lead guitarist everyone hates.
hey charles, i higly recommend you to check out the bass technique of pedro aznar, take a look at eiti leda and grasa de las capitales most latin bassist are underrated most of the time
Over the years many people try to play so clean and perfect that they forget the feeling, the joy of playing the bass, that energy that emanates from the body when we play the most beautiful instrument (for us bassists), they forget the love for music, they don't dance or move when they play, even worse... THEY DON'T SMILE. They don't experience the beautiful feeling we have when playing the electric bass. Unfortunately they seek "perfection" so much that they forget to be happy playing and transfer that wonderful thing to the instrument. Greetings from Chile to all my bassist colleagues around the world. NEVER FORGET TO SMILE AND BE HAPPY WHILE PLAYING.
Greetings back from the Netherlands! :-) I am very happy with your comment. Bass is part of life, or somehow connected to life. And somehow, the best play comes from not giving a damn about anything, and just play what you like yourself at any moment. Of course, you have to really practice an awful lot to get things done, but in the end you just pick up the bass, and try to find joy in anything you find challenging.. The famous Brazillian bassist Ney Conceição (from "Trio Nossa"), once told how surprised he was, when he came from the music academy and went to Rio de Janairo.. He had a lot more of technique then the guys on the streets, but their music just sounded better. He advices bassists to first start playing in dance clubs a few years.. There is something mystical about bass. I've played for 50 years (as an amateur) but still haven't figured it out. It's where simplicity meets meaning. Good timing is everything in bass. It partly is percussion. Try to play with West-African djembé groups on youtube. Latin is also hard. You get nothing done without the feel for it. Imitating it, will never sound really good. All musical styles have their own rhythmical fingerprint.. You got to live it, to be able to do it. And rhythm is about life. It reflects something of the meaning of life, or the value of life. And simple guys can do things, I absolutely can't.. Bass is therapy too. I have been a lawyer, an IT-specialist, and a writer about religion and about Israeli crimes and western corruption. And I had a lot of problems in my life. That resulted in a bad lifestyle and mental routines, that keep me jailed. Playing bass reveals a lot of that, and can be very confronting. I played along with all styles in the world for many years, but feel limited, because I often can't reach that feel for life in that music anymore. The Islamitic Kor'an or the Hadith (I am a western christian) acuses people of "Having forgotten their first Love"! I think, this is what you mean, when you acuse bassists of being too technical. These bassist may be great, and may have very good idea's, but just can't perform them really well. Often their timing is too artificial, lacking meaning. But I don't agree about having to laugh. My laughing comes automatically, when I really feel what someone else is doing, and find ways to play parts, that really supports that. Again, timing is everything here. And when you do that right, these musicians start to look at me with a big smile. They feel heared and understood. Then it is the joy of sharing, that makes us both laugh.. I am really happy to write to someone in Chile from the Netherlands. :-) We hardly know anything about it, except Pinochet and a lot of misery poverty there. But it must be special. I often play along with what I call 'Lama music' (slow): Remixes with electronics and folk music from the Andes. Talking about natural feel.. :-) All the best to you!
Flea is a master of showmanship and letting his presence be known both in the studio and on the stage, saw them for the first time last year and the level of flow that he, John and Chad after playing for so long is honestly unmatched even if they aren’t playing dragon force levels of notes. No use having all that skill if you don’t sound good not just by yourself but in a band and honestly they are one of the biggest bands for a reason, you can’t please everyone, but hot damn flea is legendary for killing any status quo of what a bass can bring to a sound.
A lot of people don't realize most youtuber musicians often do fake performances where they film themselves play over a track they previously recorded. Then, even real performances on youtube are the result of multiple takes. Live shows are so far away from any of that, you get the pressure to perform live, you have to play while moving otherwise the show is boring for the audience, you have to play along with other imperfect musicians, the sound monitoring is rarely good, etc.
It's best not to assume that people don't like it because it was improvised. You can improvise and still have clean technique and clear ideas. If it's sloppy, it can be sloppy whether it's improvised or not. I'd imagine people didn’t like it because it was a bit sloppy, and that's it. Talented improvisers can get their ideas across and make it sound like it was composed, thanks to their advanced knowledge of harmony and efficient technique, which really shows in their playing. Btw, I'm not saying it was a bad solo or that he sucks at bass, but certainly not the best either.
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Flea sucks he's just not good...someone had to say it even if it's a ridiculously stupid comment😂
@@generaljj71Horrible rage bait
Especially rock
Honestly, who are you to judge flea? It's pretty cringe the way you assess him as if he's your student. You'll never reach his level of success. Flea is your superior. He's fit to judge YOUR playing. Not the reverse.
Thanks for making this video - I have to say I agree with you on every point!
LOL
🤔
Says the random dude who has probably never picked up a bass in his life. Rando. (I'm kidding you're a giant inspiration to me in real life)
Charles when will you guys collab
That bass is absolutely beautiful!
Modern tech has spoiled humanity into expecting everything to be grid-aligned (boring.)
Agree
Facts
Music is art, not AI.
Where would RZA or JDilla be if they quantized everything?
@@williampacult9431 Exactly
Music is not a competitive sports.
☝🏼yep
Ideally, this is true.
But we have all had conversations with vocal insecure fanboys.
The reason I picked up a guitar is because I actively hated the competition of sports. I always refused “battle of the bands” gigs, because whats the point of having a folk band vs a metal band vs an alternative band? Anybody who uses the term “best” for something without a scoreboard is annoying to me. Those are called different opinions.
It's not... but I wish it was!!! Would be so much more interesting to watch than literally any other sport.
It is
People who think Flea can't play bass are less into music and more into gatekeeping pedantry
Agreed. Dude is amazing, but plays mostly in his distinct style.
He is an absolutely fantastic creative writer, and even though I'm not the biggest RHCP fan in the world these days I can admit that he's written some absolutely amazing bass lines. That being said, as Charles himself pointed out in this video, it's obvious that his technique is far from perfect or even efficient, and that he cares more about style than precision or technicality. You put Flea up against guys like Marcus Miller or Les Claypool, and the shortcomings of his playing become obvious very quickly. He's still a great bass player, but his technique objectively sucks.
@@Sheehy223agreed not great technically compared to some but you mention Marcus Miller there and although you’d struggle to find a cleaner slap player than MM his finger style playing technique is excruciating to watch with his bent wrist, I understand that he’s had wrist surgery in the past.
In terms of
Slap Flea is more like a Louis Johnson, loads of energy but sloppy. It is what it is and it suits his bands style.
There are a ton of sloppy players seen as top tier players. Have you heard Jimmy Page’s lines isolated, or Steve Harris 😮
I'm sure at least half of the nay-sayers are either jealous because they can't play his basslines, or have never played bass, yet think they can judge how good a bass player is solely by watching RUclips videos.
@@Sheehy223 Sucks is a bit strong, but you are right that it's not a trained technique, it's a self-taught one. It hasn't really held him back much, but who knows what kind of cracking stuff he might have churned out if he'd picked up better technique early - then again, maybe that would have detracted from his really expressive performances and would have limited RHCP's reach in the early years.
It's not Flea's soloing that makes him great anyway. To me, it's his bass line composition skills. A bass line like "Soul to Squeeze" is 100 times more fun to play and listen to than any of these live clips. The live stuff is showmanship. Great writing is always more impressive than technical playing.
Agreed. He writes some gorgeously melodic lines and is a great showman. I don't much care about his slapping, and I really don't care about his solos, which are likely just the usual sort of mid-show filler that bands resort to to give the vocalist a break. At the end of the day, he's written great lines, contributed to great songs, sold millions of albums, and entertained stadiums full of people around the world, which is vastly more than any bedroom bass wanker can claim.
Agreed. I completely agree with these commenters, to be honest. Solos like this remind me of some kid in the school music room who is repeatedly applying one or two patterns, but has a limited repertoire and isn't really listening to whether what is coming out is actually good music. Honestly, showmanship without some degree of musical intelligence behind it is kind of empty and unimpressive to me. BUT Within a written context, and particularly within the context of the chili peppers, Flea can clearly make it work. And that's completely fine.
(And by the way, Flea is most certainly not the only famous musicians in this camp lol)
Aeroplane has one of my favourite bass solos of all time. And Improvisation is anyways not my thing. I want to hear something pre arranged and well thought out.
Back up vocals too.
100%
listen:
Not that long ago, Herbie Hancock said:
"I could be a better keyboard player, but I have no time to practice. I'm too busy writing & composing & working in the studio."
The same could be said for Flea. He is so incredibly passionate about music & everything around it. It literally is his life.
Show after show, night after night, he comes up with a unique solo, & pulls it off, & the crowd goes nuts. What you're looking at is just a tiny sample.
He developed his own style of bass playing, & his own tone, & basically made slap bass a household word.
I *really* like almost all of his earlier stuff (up through & including One Hot Minute). During RHCP's hiatus after that album, Flea went to music school. It's clear his style became more "polished" since then, as he spends a lot more time coming up with unique music in lieu of fiddling around with gizmos or unusual basses to produce a unique tone.
Also don't forget who he is & how he came up. He doesn't pay much heed to critics, & he truly doesn't give a crap if you don't like his output. Millions of people do, & that's plenty enough for him to be happy with it.
It's funny that the haters are saying ''he has sloppy technique'' when he literally invented his own technique
People who like to make top ten lists of best instrumentalists don’t ever seem to want to consider compositional ability along with their ability to weedley weedley on a solo
People barely give Hendrix credit for what he wrote in 3 years while arguing whether he is or isn’t a good guitarist
Everyone using Herbie quote is right 😇
Totally agree with you here. Also his influence on other bass players has been massive.
Herbie Hancock is at a time & place in his life where no one should be questioning his keyboard skills. Much like the other musicians I love and respect the most, he's given himself to innovation and the quality-of-life for music lovers for several decades -- all while being a humble and kind man. He's a great and quiet hero.
Whatever they can think about Flea , he’s playing live and hard. He’s an animal, you can’t compare with some studio composed bass lines. I’m not a rock guy, but respect Flea, he’s a bass legend for sure.
I don't. His work is extremely boring. We don't owe artists respect just because their band was good at marketing.
@@derpderpin1568you sound like such miserable person holy fuck 😂
@@derpderpin1568 Red Hot Chilli Peppers have some great songs you can call it marketing all you want but they have tunes that sound good to my ears. A great song is never boring to me I don't care how popular.
@@derpderpin1568god people like you just suck.
@@derpderpin1568wouldn't say they were particularly prevalent at marketing
It amazes me to read comments about professional musicians. I've concluded 90% of them have never picked up the instrument.
I think a lot of the whack commenters are intermediate or mediocre players who learned how to play "Higher Ground" and then got exposed to other incredible players like Victor, Jaco, Thundercat, etc. But yeah, probably plenty of gatekeepers who don't even play music as well.
I definitely think so also. Some of the comments you read online are just like, wow really? Not every single moment of a musician has to be some picture perfect spot on thing, especially if it's something like an improvised solo. That's one of the things musicians have been doing as routine parts of a live performance forever and ever, and it's not really supposed to be this precise perfectly orchestrated thing. It's about channeling feelings/emotions in the moment, and every time it comes out different.
Some of the things I see people calling "horrible" really reveal what they know about things. Some live improvisations I've heard are truly magical and next level, like Hendrix for example. He was very well known for not playing songs the same way twice, except for retaining the key riffs/parts of a song. But of course that's a slightly different subject there.
And of course sometimes fails/mistakes happen. That's just part of performing live. I think we've all heard tons of mistakes that were left in on lots of songs and albums as well.
I am here to peer review your hypothesis and can confirm from my finds that your statement is accurate 👍
Facts! Posers running their uneducated and inexperienced mouths.
@@Rikalonius may i recommend you a duel between 2 random bass players in a random expomusic? yeah they are improvising everything 😀 it's fun, it's part of the fun of being a musician, when you find your mates at room practicing something and you just tag along for fun, is not a blessed trait, is just typical interaction among musicians ruclips.net/video/madhZSxzIKA/видео.htmlsi=2B7sh95cOXXHjnAj
Blood sugar sex magic is one of the best albums ever made.
In my top five for sure. Funky as all get out!
Absolutely. 👍😎
If you aren't moved by 'Suck My Kiss' you're clinically dead. 😅
It’s a good album.hybrid theory is also up there with the best albums
Lol no
That year... but still a great album. Fwiw my votes for top : The Doors, Dark Side of the Moon, The Beatles, Master of Puppets, Van Halen,, Physical Graffiti, Dirt, Legend, Pet Sounds, The Cars, The Wall, Who's Next, Damn the Torpedoes,, The Low End Theory, The Stranger, Songs in the Key of Life, Tapestries, Kind of Blue, Rubber Soul, Thriller, Earth Crisis, All Eyez on Me, The Joshua Tree, Synchronicity, London Calling, Saturday Night Fever, Stop Making Sense, Disintegration, Graceland, Lateralus, Rock For Light, The Miseducation of Lauren Hill, Paul's Boutique, Out of Step, Stankonia, Superunknown, Ready to Die, Reign in Blood, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Jagged Little Pill, So, Nevermind. YMMV.
I play classical music and i was impressed by the first solo. Timing for classical musicians can be a form of expression and to me, his timing was very tasteful. It probably sounded a lot better live than trough a recording from a phone.
I've seen him live and I can tell you it definitively does!
@@playinggames4u364 how much alcohol did you drink before you got to the gig?
that much? wow!
@@onesong2001The same "joke" again? You just copy paste comments on RUclips.
@@Erickhetfield It's not a joke. Most of their fans go to their gigs trashed.
People often forget Flea's background comes from playing jazz trumpet, George Clinton / Bootsy's funkadelic stylings, and punk rock. If you expect the harmonic complexity of Jaco, you're barking up the wrong tree. He's about punk energy, funk grooves, and melodic hooks. It usually goes like this cycle (Flea-cosystem?): Beginners (and non players) are usually in awe of Flea, then people get exposure to other incredible players and think Flea is overrated. However, a lot of times (myself included), it comes full circle that Flea is indeed one of the greatest. Beyond all that, music isn't a ranked competition; there's room for plenty of amazing players on the top of the mountain.
This is just radio music in general. Once you realize there is anything else out there you quickly come to the objective fact that the musicians in radio bands are nowhere near as good as the pedestal everyone puts them on and they don't deserve so much more praise than the actual top level players who get no recognition.
He's actually quite an accomplished bassist.
He's not just a one slap pony, he's got a breadth of knowledge well beyond RHCP
"He's actually quite an accomplished bassist." Haha no shit sherlock. When you are in the bunch of top 5 guys everyone talsk about when you enumerate a field of specialist, you are accomplished. And this guy is in "top 5" for the last 40 years.
I started bass thanks to him in 94, I still play his lines now and then. And Aeroplane is a tribute to the instrument, if you have one to refer on.
@@iriondalcor Your anger is being thrown at the wrong person, you should be throwing it at the spicy comments dissing Flea.
@@iriondalcorYeah, hate to be a nutball, but I agree with Angelous. The OP's on _your_ side. Lol.
Those spicy comments are just angry
👏🏻🥉
@@BassCampOfficial Aye. If he can't play clean...then what's this? ruclips.net/video/X5HzuV9LscU/видео.html
Don't get much cleaner than unplugged electric bass...
wow. You are really good at generalisation.
@@onesong2001 , the best.
@@SamBrockmann you are the 💩
Flea is a very good bass player. And he plays what is needed for his band. Just because there are people who are more technical and virtuosic than Flea, it doesn't mean Flea sucks. My personal take is that Flea writes very good basslines for songs. His solos do not connect with me personally but I see nothing wrong with them.
A lot of these guys who have negative comments about flea are probably from those who have leveled up technically and started playing some Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller and other fancier stuff. They think it gives them the right to bash Flea. It completely does not because these guys who bash Flea couldn't write basslines of the quality that Flea has been writing for Red Hot Chili Peppers for all these years.
At the end of the day, if they don't like Flea, they shouldn't listen to him and RHCP. Why listen to it and write some crap in video comments to ruin it for someone else who does?
Exactly, like Tim Henson with guitar. I'm amazed by it on a YT video but will never gravitate to it when listening. I'll take Funkadelic's Maggot Brain over Polyphia's Playing God
I cant play a not and still have the right to say he suc
The people making negative comments about Flea are Trolls who have never played bass a day in their life. Anybody who has put in the hard hours to have leveled up to play note for note what Miller, and Wooten are doing (Which is a very small percentage of all bass players), knows how inspirational and influential Flea is to the bass world. Guys like Flea, Claypool, and Mike Watt, amongst a few others, were the Foundation and backbone of the 2nd wave Rock Bass.
"with your thumb parallel, you can play really cool double thumb"... Ok dude, you have way too much confidence in me, sir
On god , I can finally sorta consistently slap now compared to before, let me learn the basic stuff first lol
I can't believe people actually think he's bad. He's such a damn perfect genius and I love him. If you don't get why then you're one of those annoying musicians/fans. Also one of the best, if not the best rhythm section in active rock bands today.
Once you realize there is anything else out there you quickly come to the objective fact that the musicians in radio bands are nowhere near as good as the pedestal everyone puts them on and they don't deserve so much more praise than the actual top level players who get no recognition. Literally comments like yours that are oblivious to the sheer extreme amount of better music that's out there but you're not exposed to it.
@@derpderpin1568you consume music incorrectly.
I think people say he is bad as a reaction to people calling celebrity musicians genius and perfect as you do, while they obviously are not perfect. It is frustration over or a critique of people who actively want to buy into idol culture and drool over mass hyped musicians. Perhaps it is the frustration of musicians who don't get MTV attention. I think Flea is definitely not the worst famous bass player, but I have seen at least equally impressive bass playing in my humble home town.
All fleas and any of the Chili Peppers improv is literally that. Improvised. Everyone has their own style and way to play that’s comfy for them. I’m a huge fan of Flea and Marcus and Victor Wooten. I’m able to play more Flea style stuff cos of how he plays. I’ve been playing for over 30 years. Flea has always played really hard and puts all his energy into it. Really feel it when seeing it live
Flea isn't in a competition with anyone. So music has to be super complex to be enjoyed? Must be why UZEB just raced to the top of the charts.
Please… do not compare commercial music and real music… Thank you (I also love Flea but U just can’t compare him with Alain Caron)
@@IonlyplayMILFsno one cares
But, surely it should sound good?
this is what i always tell anyone who wants to make it in music. Song writing and composition are 10x more important than the level of difficulty you play. Look at nirvana. All 3 of them were very mediocre at their instruments technique wise. But they were brilliant at writing and making covers their own. Not everyone is going to be a Victor wooten or tommy emmanuel. And music has nothing to do with difficulty
@@ScootsMcPoot Absolutely.
I love how someone tried to talk smack on Flea and the goat went ahead and made several exercises based on Flea's bass lines and technique
Flea is still extremely boring. There are still levels to this. He's not anywhere the top on the whole spectrum.
@@derpderpin1568 but flea dont sucks, thats the point here
@@derpderpin1568 Music is not a competition. Musicians highly don't give a damn. They only care about you fitting into the sound. Only elitist randoms are "level" minded.
@@derpderpin1568 Who are you again?
@@spill1ta nobody with fried eardrums that ironically thinks he knows good music
Nobody asked for it, but here’s my take. Flea is not, and was never a solo artist. He’s one of the best when it comes to laying down a solid groove for a song in a band to make your head bob, and to make a crowd go wild. He’s very good at playing slap and finger style. And he’s got incredible showmanship. so in a way judging him based on a solo is like that quote about judging a fish based on its ability to climb a tree: pointless… There are people out there who play Incredibles solos, and that’s awesome, it’s quite possible though that those people are not as good at playing in a band as Flea. And that is fine. You need all kinds of bass players to make a world.
He's not one of the best at that though. All the better music that's not on the radio directly proves that.
The whole Flea critisism is of course utterly ridiculous: he’ s on a limb out there playing with maximum expression ! To suggest he has no skills is sacrilege !!
Musicians nowadays are wanting too much of “cleanliness”. just play the god damn instrument with your soul.
Totally..clean polished technique can be replicated...soul can't be
Albums like, Mothers Milk (1989), Blood Suger Sex Magic (1991), and One Hot Minute (1995), show off Flea's bass work much more than later albums
Took the words out of my mouth.
Agreed on all fronts. RHCP's older work is definitely way better than the current stuff. Plus, Anthony Keidis has gone full on weird too.
The types of people who say this are jealous guitarists and jazz elitists.
exactly - they are just green with jealousy because no matter how "great" they are with the bass or the guitar or with the kazoo (lols) , they're just a bunch of nobodies...
@@pchykins6680 I wouldn't call bass maestro Jeff Berlin a nobody though...
Lol cope
Disagree, they are just mean and square minded
@@bassbuffricky when has Jeff criticized Flea?
I thought that solo was pretty cool to be honest
Likewise. I was confused.
He got shit on......for THAT?!???????
i'd say it's far easier to hit all notes perfectly when it's done from the comfort of the bedroom sitting on a gaming chair, instead of playing standing up on a live show with crowd and lights shouting your way and speakers blasting your ears.. and you need to look cool while at it -- when i go to a live show i want to watch something raw, improvised if needed be, and couldn't care any less if the band effs up on stage or doesn't play all the notes perfectly, all i want is to be entertained and the more genuine the play, the better.. stay metal🤘
This!🤘
Yea that 1 take of 100 in our bedroom sounds amazing lol
Okay? The guys in the gaming chairs also do it live perfectly 99.8% of the time.
@@ÉdouardBrasseur That 1 take is also played live to perfection. This is a stupid comment thread.
@@derpderpin1568 you didnt get my comment.
Flea is a legend and an innovator. If he threw the Bass on the ground and humped it for a Bass solo, how could anyone not get it and love the beautiful being he is, what he brought us and what he represents
Some bass players that are great in bands aren't all that great playing bass as a "stand-alone" instrument. Keeping the groove while having a few solo spots during a show is much different than being a bassist who is the show with no other instruments added.
Some bands, like RHCP, also just aren't good to everyone on the planet. Some of us are allowed to think they suck.
@@derpderpin1568 yeah, and I can't fucking stand Zakk Wylde, doesn't make him a shitty guitarist.
I have been meaning to ask this the last few videos. Why does the Stiletto 4 string hanging in the background only have 3 strings?
There's a big difference between playing to impress youtube, and playing in a large arena while jumping around the stage -- fast notes tend to get lost, and large audiences look for broader gestures. Michael Anthony would run around stage during his solo section, punch his bass, and fall down, crowd loved it.
Some of Flea's basslines are actually trickier to play with your thumb parallel to the strings. Certainly not impossible (like the other way around with Power), but your palm can get in the way of reaching Flea-level power and speed on some of his stuff (Nobody Weird Like Me, for example). It's that punk energy!
I've noticed now that you explain the thumb up/down difference how I personally have different songs I write using both techniques. I never noticed it till you mentioned it in a few videos and now trying to combine both into certain songs has been fun and added sounds to my music that have opened it up
Angry musicians who never made an album are popular judges, the rest are just idiots that don't seem to realize you can turn stuff off that doesn't interest you.
That solo was a callback to their Slane castle show. Goodbye Angels was such a good song from the Klinghoffer era
Those commenters are just jealous that they can't play as good as him. Don't hate the player, hate the game!
Unironically this
I was living in Los Angeles when they hit the radio. They definitely were different and before you know it, everyone was walking up and down Ventures Blvd shaking slapping the #%& out of there bass.
I think Flea and RHCP have their place in music. I still listen to them for nostalgic reasons.... I don't know that i would call then great.... but music is art and is in the eye of the beholder.
Charles was very polite in his description. I think it was fair and adequate.
flea for as many shows as he's done not all can be his best work.. but his record sales speak for themselfs him and claypool /lemmi where selling concerts before most could tune a bass..plus flea dosent do backing tracks like alot players do..the old boy still shreds
if you have long hands and you use finger picking it's really hard to wear your bass short. And when wearing your bass longer it's easier to slap with the thumb down technique and it's enough for most scenarios.
Thank you Charles for trying to keep the interwebs civil. All the haters wouldn't even have the balls to play live in front of a large audience let alone improv or taking risks while improvising.
The point is
It’s Fleas style
He has written some fabulous bass lines that you Charles would have killed to have written
Technique has its place but it doesn’t make someone talented
Flea's fingerstyle is S tier: check the bassline for the chorus of 'If you have to ask' and the outro part of 'Funky monks'. Those are absolute gems, funky as f, fun to play and trickier than they seem (especially the outro one). But I'd say that his slap game is not as interesting, or least more limited. Apart from 'Aeroplane' his slap lines are rather basic. But his fingerstyle alone grants him God of Bass status nevertheless.
Flea était la raison pour laquelle j'ai acheté une basse en 1992. Je trouve que votre vidéo est pleine d' humilité et de respect pour un bassiste original.
Le truc c'est que les gens sont maintenant tellement habitués aux chants parfaits parce que ajustés par autotune, aux quantifications réglées au poil près sur ordinateur et aux lignes de basse et batterie électronique qu'ils ne comprennent plus que le live ce n'est pas rejouer un morceau "comme sur le CD/stream". C'est faire le spectacle, enflammer le public, faire d'une soirée un moment spécial. Pas de remplacer des machines par des humains sur scène.
These guys who only value "technique" always forget about CREATIVITY. In the 80s and 90s Flea managed to get a lot of people interested in the bass. As someone who has been playing this wonderful instrument for 20 years, I can attest that I have used many of his compositions to practice. I congratulate you Charles for not losing your temper and explaining them in a super clear way, if the video had been mine it would have literally exploded xD
He’s not technically impressive but he is very expressive, and he writes great riffs
Flea is a good bassist. That was a terrible bass solo. These statements aren't mutually exclusive.
People seem to have a hard time with rough improvisation these days on youtube (I see a lot of similar types of comments on guitar videos, even videos on people like Hendrix). There also seems to be a galvanizing consensus among people who have formed opinions on youtube, where they are just kind of out to tear down formerly lauded or respected players (and to be fair some people get acclaim and don't deserve it, but I found myself having to defend Hendrix's legacy in a youtube thread recently and that is just asinine).
I love your videos!!
👏🏻🥈
you should take a look at Hiromu Fukuda of Suspended 4th, he mostly slaps thumb down when not doing rotaries/double pulls etc. and has some of the most technical slap bass I've seen - the Stratocaster Seaside bass solo/intro for example
If Flea sucks at bass, the rest of us ought to invest in paper bags to cover our heads in shame.
That lick isn't necessarily from Pulling teeth, Flea plays something like it on the intro to "Me and my friends" (though it could have been inspired by Cliff still then).
0:49 that really sounds good to somebody really? listen to it again and imagine it's not flea. Sounds like a kid who's been plying for about a month.
Yes Charlie boy! Great work as always, my man! Pete 🏴
Sure, and i am the best surgeon in the world (i actually have low iq).
If you have memorization, steady hands, and can stay calm under pressure, you can totally be a surgeon. Don't sell yourself short.
If you do what Flea does on stage, studio, life - you can start a negotiation about his technique. And I didn’t mention his wonderful personality. I’m not listening RHCP anymore but what he done is marvelous in every way
Long story short, Flea is one of the best bassists EVER.
I don't know if you take request but would you consider checking out MISA. She is the bassist for a Japanese all-girl rock group called Band-Maid. She plays a 5 string bass while barefoot and is like nothing I've heard before. Some tracks where she really shines is "Hate? (live)", "Dice" and "No God (LIVE)". I believe she may be worth your time.
Whenever someone complains to me about how a band or a musician or a singer "sucks", I ask for them play or sing some of the music they have made.
Most of this time the complainers aren't even musicians. 🤔
On the other hand, if a chef serves you a turd, you don't need to "be a chef" to tell he sucks at cooking
@@foljs5858 Except people who don't play the instrument have no concept of what's technical and not technical like, at all. The analogy doesn't work at all here.
@@thedoctor1346 actually it kinda does. People can critique their cooking but because they don't know the technical aspects of the kitchen they can't say where they went wrong. Same thing with music. Everyone has their opinion but you should listen to the ones who know what theyre talking about and want you to improve.
@@thedoctor1346 If you think you need to know what's technical and not technical to know whether one is a good player, you don't belong anywhere near music. Hint: it's about what they bring artistically and emotionally to the music, not technical skills and fast playing
@@foljs5858 That is true, but a bit extreme. 😮
I watched Flea on a Bass Day video. He hung on stage with Victor and couple of other guys I can't remember. He held his own just fine. Actually better than I expected considering the guys he was on stage with.
How does Fieldy's position compare? He almost holds his vertical. Does he have the some thumb angle issue as Flea?
I'm having trouble with the Flea exercise could you hum it for me slowly while I tear up and my lips start blubbering?
It's Rock and Roll in the end!
Saw RHCP at Reading or Leeds Fest like 15y ago and despite being a fan of their pre-By the Way era they blew live quite honestly. Just constantly playing long, tedious solos. Genuinely think they played about 6 songs in a 1hr+ set. Wasnt the only one either, lots of people were complaining on leaving.
I felt the same way when I realized there's a decent sized group of people who say the same thing's about Jimi Hendrix and almost seem to hate him. It goes to show no matter what you do in life there will be people who automatically just hate you, and probably hate a lot of other things including themselves
I think most people who make these kinds of criticisms don't understand the difference between creating a flawless Instagram clip, and performing a live, improvised solo in the middle of a long set, while moving around on stage.
People only call him overrated because he’s the most famous bassist and non-musicians call him the best bassist ever.
Sure his live solos can be sloppy but he’s improvising which is tough when you’re doing it every night on tour. Even he will tell you he’s nowhere near the best on the planet, but you’d be a fool to suggest he’s not one of the most influential and important. His bass lines showcase a great blend of virtuosity and songwriting skill, most players pick one or the other.
I always just considered him a regular average bassist, and couldn't understand why ppl felt he was so good because of the slapping he did in a lot of the RHCP songs. I was listening to a local jazz station here one day and could not believe when the DJ said Flea the bassist on the song they just played. I WAS STUNNED!!! It was VERY GOOD jazz bass playing, with highly revered jazz veterans. HE WAS REALLY REALLY GOOD! Completely made me take notice of his abilities. Few months ago I saw a quick vid of Flea at home jamming to so Paco. Again, he blew my mind. Respect.
He's not some virtuoso, but he's written some incredibly memorable basslines. He does his own thing, and he has a lot of fun doing it. I'm not sure why people have to diss on other players/artists and play the comparison game.
Also, remember that a lot of the band's great recordings are pre-digital. No time alignment, no undo button...
I enjoy bass. I'll always love Flea sloppy or clean, it's the ferocious way he plays that made me love him so much
Why do I get the feeling that those who said Flea's improvised solo sucks probably couldn't even play the RHCP song "Pea" or haven't even played the bass, or any instruments for that matter?
2:20 anybody knows what song is that?
It's the outro from Goodbye Angels on the getaway album
@@gamesmaster1060 Thanks
Anybody know what song that is?
Cliff would be hanged for his solos today.
My response to all the on-line critics of musicians is: let's hear you do it.
A cool video would be on Martin Mendez, who plays with Opeth. His bass work is phenomenal, tasteful, and very musical
Can you imagine hearing Flea play and your first instinct is to criticize it, lol.
If you don't like it, fine, but he can play
I love how you give honest deconstruction of the performance without ever shitting on Flea and even explaining the difference in accuracy based on how low you play the bass live (most likely something he did originally to make it look cool and for running around on stage, not because he thought it was easier to play better like that). I also love how you don't point out how much better you are than him just purely based on technical playing.
Loved seeing you blow Rick Beatos mind with your playing. Great video. 👍
It's sad how the Internet has amplified the misguided notion that playing an instrument is a competition. An instrument is a tool with which to make music and express yourself. It doesn't matter who's the "best" on technical grounds--that's juvenile nonsense.What matters is how much joy someone gets from playing and/or how much joy they bring to others. And bassists, of all people, should understand that being good doesn't mean being flashy or technically advanced. The bass is a support instrument. Very often, it's called on to play dead simple lines to serve the music. If you want to show off with a bunch of technically adanced stuff just for the heck of, give up bass and become the sort of egotistical lead guitarist everyone hates.
How I can get lessons online from this instructor
Najlepszy kanał dla BASISTÓW, dziękuję 👍🏻♥️🥊
hey charles, i higly recommend you to check out the bass technique of pedro aznar, take a look at eiti leda and grasa de las capitales
most latin bassist are underrated most of the time
1:52 lick sounds like Dani California end jam or other RCHP song which I don't remember.
Do Futoshi Uehara next.. he's the super Flea Fan.. He's the bassist of Maximum the Hormone.. you're gonna be like.. yeah that's Flea 😁
Futoshi is the best live I've ever seen. He took me to places I've never been.
2:19 whats the song
Goodbye Angels
@@samsam7588 thank you :)
Over the years many people try to play so clean and perfect that they forget the feeling, the joy of playing the bass, that energy that emanates from the body when we play the most beautiful instrument (for us bassists), they forget the love for music, they don't dance or move when they play, even worse... THEY DON'T SMILE. They don't experience the beautiful feeling we have when playing the electric bass. Unfortunately they seek "perfection" so much that they forget to be happy playing and transfer that wonderful thing to the instrument. Greetings from Chile to all my bassist colleagues around the world. NEVER FORGET TO SMILE AND BE HAPPY WHILE PLAYING.
Greetings back from the Netherlands! :-) I am very happy with your comment. Bass is part of life, or somehow connected to life. And somehow, the best play comes from not giving a damn about anything, and just play what you like yourself at any moment. Of course, you have to really practice an awful lot to get things done, but in the end you just pick up the bass, and try to find joy in anything you find challenging..
The famous Brazillian bassist Ney Conceição (from "Trio Nossa"), once told how surprised he was, when he came from the music academy and went to Rio de Janairo.. He had a lot more of technique then the guys on the streets, but their music just sounded better. He advices bassists to first start playing in dance clubs a few years..
There is something mystical about bass. I've played for 50 years (as an amateur) but still haven't figured it out. It's where simplicity meets meaning. Good timing is everything in bass. It partly is percussion. Try to play with West-African djembé groups on youtube. Latin is also hard. You get nothing done without the feel for it. Imitating it, will never sound really good. All musical styles have their own rhythmical fingerprint.. You got to live it, to be able to do it. And rhythm is about life. It reflects something of the meaning of life, or the value of life. And simple guys can do things, I absolutely can't..
Bass is therapy too. I have been a lawyer, an IT-specialist, and a writer about religion and about Israeli crimes and western corruption. And I had a lot of problems in my life. That resulted in a bad lifestyle and mental routines, that keep me jailed. Playing bass reveals a lot of that, and can be very confronting. I played along with all styles in the world for many years, but feel limited, because I often can't reach that feel for life in that music anymore.
The Islamitic Kor'an or the Hadith (I am a western christian) acuses people of "Having forgotten their first Love"! I think, this is what you mean, when you acuse bassists of being too technical. These bassist may be great, and may have very good idea's, but just can't perform them really well. Often their timing is too artificial, lacking meaning.
But I don't agree about having to laugh. My laughing comes automatically, when I really feel what someone else is doing, and find ways to play parts, that really supports that. Again, timing is everything here. And when you do that right, these musicians start to look at me with a big smile. They feel heared and understood. Then it is the joy of sharing, that makes us both laugh..
I am really happy to write to someone in Chile from the Netherlands. :-) We hardly know anything about it, except Pinochet and a lot of misery poverty there. But it must be special. I often play along with what I call 'Lama music' (slow): Remixes with electronics and folk music from the Andes. Talking about natural feel.. :-) All the best to you!
Im curious why you wrote that in 4 with all triplets instead of 12/8
what's that second song called
Flea is a master of showmanship and letting his presence be known both in the studio and on the stage, saw them for the first time last year and the level of flow that he, John and Chad after playing for so long is honestly unmatched even if they aren’t playing dragon force levels of notes. No use having all that skill if you don’t sound good not just by yourself but in a band and honestly they are one of the biggest bands for a reason, you can’t please everyone, but hot damn flea is legendary for killing any status quo of what a bass can bring to a sound.
oh no in 1:51 it wasn't cliff burton reference. It was still RHCP from "Me and my friends"
A lot of people don't realize most youtuber musicians often do fake performances where they film themselves play over a track they previously recorded. Then, even real performances on youtube are the result of multiple takes. Live shows are so far away from any of that, you get the pressure to perform live, you have to play while moving otherwise the show is boring for the audience, you have to play along with other imperfect musicians, the sound monitoring is rarely good, etc.
It's best not to assume that people don't like it because it was improvised. You can improvise and still have clean technique and clear ideas. If it's sloppy, it can be sloppy whether it's improvised or not. I'd imagine people didn’t like it because it was a bit sloppy, and that's it. Talented improvisers can get their ideas across and make it sound like it was composed, thanks to their advanced knowledge of harmony and efficient technique, which really shows in their playing.
Btw, I'm not saying it was a bad solo or that he sucks at bass, but certainly not the best either.
This flexed my frown muscles on this one. What song is this?
He's one of the most unique and stylistic bassists around. RHCP is known for its groovy funky basslines and also as being very prominent with bass.
Michael is a national treasure for crossover! Just like Geezer Butler for metal and Geddy Lee for Canadians
Jesus... wow, something I never thought about but just noticed, your right hand thumb must be callous AF! Did you ever get bleeding on your thumb?
Great video and exercises! What I love about Flea is simply how exciting his playing is. From the 80s to the 2020s he's still fresh and lively.
Wow the more vids of yours i watch the more respect I have for not only your skill and talent, but also your intelligence and knowledge 👍
One of the licks mentioned being alike Burton sounded like a part from sir psycho