No. You are weird. Higher Ground to me is peak 80s. The RHCP released a bunch of albums all through the 80s, they were all very good and quite influential; and to me there is a sudden break with Blood Sugar Sex Magic, which (to me) immediately sounds very different: Slower less high mid metal distortion on the guitars distortion and also the typical 80s-snare sound is gone, all over a sudden. I am very sceptical about 80s music and Blood Sugar Sex Magic and One Hot Minute are my favourite RHCP albums, but: If you look at live concerts from the 80s at that time the RHCP were an unbelievably tight live band, arguably 80s RHCP are the best Chili Peppers. Discussions about music is where intolerant religious fanaticism has its place, so: No, you are wrong! Completely! Just listen!
One of the most killer underrated bassists of the 80’s was Eddie Jackson from Queensrÿche. He’s a solid bass player with a killer, prominent tone. I don’t think the dude gets enough love.
One of my favourites is Duran Duran - Rio. Absolutely powerful syncopated bassline. John Taylor has a video where he breaks the whole bass track down from basic principles, it rocks.
The two bass players I know inside and out on this list: Steve Harris - His technique is lightly striking the strings with the tips of his fingers and very low action. That creates the pick-like sound while maintaining speed. To get it down, start by striking a string with one finger, then go lighter and lighter and see how light you can go while still producing the same sound. Flea - Don't mute. Flea lets his slaps and pops ring out, muting only with his fretting hand. It's different from the usual clean, elegant funky approach we're used to. Playing thumb-down/bounce-off makes this easier because it keeps your palm away from the strings. Especially audible in Nobody Weird Like Me
you 2 are awesome. Just 2 Buddies just jammin out. Seeing Scott struggle with the Iron Maiden makes me feel like I am not alone in struggling with some lines. Glad that wasn't edited out. Thanks for making the bass awesome for all of us.
Even though I had learned every Iron Maiden bassline up through Powerslave by the time I was 15, watching Scott struggle with that made me feel like a king. I sat down and played it immediately, still got it 35 years later. Everyone has limitations and we all find certain things harder than others to play, and it is brave of them to show it in an honest way.
It's kind of funny when people dismiss Steve Harris as that guy that just does "the gallop" - Steve Harris is a mutant. Although technically the song was older - the intro to Innocent Exile is something I still can't wrap my head around.
Steve Harris is such a beast on bass. It makes or breaks iron maiden sound. He not just playing bass he is contributing to enhance the songs and push them forward
I love that you guys never shy away from the parts you're struggling with. I am a fresh fresh beginner, so it's kinda reassuring to see even pros having issues every now and then if that makes any sense 😅 Also I highly recommend you guys checking out Japanese bands like Dir en grey and Mucc, they have pretty cool basslines too. Especially Dir's Toshiya. He is such an underrated treasure.
I actually met Paul Gilbert outside of the venue just after one of those Presto shows and asked him about that very thing. Such a cool guy. We chatted for a good 30 minutes about his guitar techniques.
Steve Harris’s trick to playing so fast for so many years and sounding like that is low action, brand new strings (on each take!) and playing super light.
Super light touch piano hammer attack with chonky Monel 77's, a lot of dbx 160 compression. Treble all the way up on the amp. It's my favorite rock/metal tone.
I'm skeptical that he replaces them on every take. Let's say you recorded a 13-song album. Let's say you do five takes for song. That's $3000 in modern money on strings alone. Not to mention how time-consuming it would be to change them every time. And five takes is not even a lot of takes per song. And in the days before the internet, where are you even getting that many strings at once? That's 65 packs. I'm guessing he changes them every DAY, not every take, regardless of what the internet says. Regardless, he's lucky they got famous, because flatwound strings are NOT cheap. For most of us, the advantage of flats is that you never have to replace them.
@@rome8180 If you’re one of Rotosound’s biggest endorsers then you’re not paying for strings - and changing strings is the job of his tech. I remember being amazed reading how Jason Newsted had all the strings changed on all his basses before every gig when touring with Metallica, and he was taking nine basses on tour!
He also uses flatwounds from what ive read, ive also heard that he uses a ton of compression and boosting so that he just barely has to brush the strings (oops, just got to that part and they say flats) ((also, super glad they included wrathchild, one of my all time favorites, both just as a son and the bass))
Steve has the action set as low as you can get it without buzzing and his right hand uses the index and middle fingers to just bounce the strings off the fretboard. It’s not really a plucking action. You could never be that fast or have the endurance if you plucked. Your forearm would look like Popeye the sailor man’s! His “home base” (pun intended) is the D mixolydian in E minor. He runs up and down that all the time. If you want to play like Steve that’s a good thing to practice. And practice. And practice.
The thing that impresses me the most about Sting's playing is his awareness of where he needs to be in time. Ahead of the beet when he needs to push, behind when he needs to drag, and right on time all to support the what the rest of the band is doing in relation to what the melody line needs. It's truly masterful.
I know it seems counterintuitive, but seeing Scott struggle with that Maiden line is really encouraging and refreshing. So many videos are edited to remove any hint of error, but seeing an obviously great, masterful player stumble a bit can help others who are starting on their bass journey by showing that even the best players have to practice and learn.
I’m Running and Turn The Page!!! I’m sooooo grateful you included these, particularly I’m Running because Big Generator is one of the most ignored Yes albums along with Talk. Thank you so much.
Big Generator and Hold Your Fire are both underrated albums. And Geddy is on fire bass wise (as Turn The Page demonstrates well). I'm Running is easily my favorite track on BG.
I literally lolled at the Billy Sheehan clip. He's talking to the camera & playing as though he assumes anyone on this planet can just follow along with him. 🤣
So Violent Femmes, yes, an acoustic bass, but by no means a normal one. I’ve mixed them live multiple times and that bass looks like one of those giant Mexican basses with the distended belly. And he plays it LOUD. SERIOUSLY. Violent Femmes were in the top five loudest bands I’ve ever worked with. For Dinosaur Jr. , J had two Marshall full stacks side by side, and to the right was that Fender 6 X 12 combo, and there was a rack with ungodly gear in it, most notably a big Mesa Boogie power amp. During sound check, his guitar tech checked for vocal in my wedges and all was good, but when J walked up I saw the biggest bolt of shock I’ve ever seen in person. It was about a foot long and was just an ultra thin, ultra white flash from the mic to his upper lip, and he went down. I was stunned. I was sure it wasn’t on my house end of the gear, as I am uptight about extension cords and mic cables and sub snakes and. everything being wired correctly for both safety and quietness. I think it was the power cable to that Fender, the one with the red end, and it had been to a shop recently, Whoopsy. The bass player had the double Marshall Bass full stacks, in grey, cranked to 15. We had EAW KF 850s for PA, and I never had any concerns about blowing a driver. Well, the bass was panned to the house right, and sure enough, several days later during soundcheck with another band, while checking toms I heard an odd rubbing sound, and thought maybe my EV 408 was about done. Then the bass player plays like an A or G#, and right then. I heard the 15” driver in one of the cabs was torn. Dammit. Motörhead was very, very loud. The Ramones were all just Marshall, Marshall, Marshall, and then more, the PA was useless in that venue, a bit smaller, like 500 cap. Great show. GWAR was very, very loud, I was stuck on monitors, keeping the console free of alien ejaculate and blood, both of which were being shot some 80’ to the bar at the back of the room. One of my best friends said it was easily the best that room had ever sounded, and the low F made his nose just twitch to the point that drinking a beer became a chore. But that Femmes big stupid bass was so f’ing loud, that alone has to be about #3. They sucked. It was more about the lyrics and the snarky ‘tune, and I couldn’t tell if they had rehearsed between one gig and the next two years later. Yep. But they nailed Blister. Cause of course they did.
I did a misfits show in 2002 when Jerry was singing lead. His wall of acoustic amps with the mids cranked up was super loud. I gave him 5 wedges and blew a a horn or 3
And when we had the cramps with lords of Altamont as their opening band/roadies, we blew up 3 bass heads, one from the cramps, just during the period before the cramps went on, then they swapped to one of the lords amps, which also popped and smoked a few minutes later, so a 3rd Amp was plugged into a different power outlet. At the end of the night, we put an old.fender house backline head into the same outlet, which also blew up, so the club owner agreed to pay for fixing the amps. It is a mystery how it happened, because the local support didn't have any heads blow up. My guess was when they opened the aux bar that was on the other side of the stage wall, that a switch happened to swap ground and hot on that power outlet. And the place was haunted too.
One of my favorite bass work from the 80's was Mick Karn's work with Dalis Car, "His Box" is awesome! Lots of funky fretless work. I also really love Simon Gallup from the Cure, when you see the Cure play live, everyone's moving to the bass. Another influence was Peter Hook of Joy Division, lots of work in the higher registers of the bass. And of course Duran Duran's John Taylor was a beast as well.
Well said! And thinking of Joy Division and the Cure, one of the many great things about late 70's/80's post-punk and alternative rock was how extremely bass-centric it was. So many of these RUclips bass channels gloss over or ignore that whole era or family of genres, which is sad and ironic considering how bass stood front and center on so many albums.
You can’t talk about killer bass riffs of the 80s without mentioning Cliff or Lemmy, those guys are definitely two men who seriously redefined what bass players could do in a hard rock/metal band (and two reasons why I now own my Rickenbacker 4003S), also mad props for including Waiting Room on here. Joe Lally is definitely super underrated and that one is still one of my go-to riffs to play on my Music Man StingRay
@@yt-mull0r I know they did, I’m saying they always have to be included because they’re both legendary players who have also had a huge impact on my own playing as well
I’m so happy to hear waiting room by fugazi on here. I hadn’t heard them mentioned by another human being for so many years. I thought I was all on my own. Hearing it lifted my soul and reminded me of some great gigs in Leeds and Glasgow in the early 90s
Another 80’s artist I’d love you to look at is Paul Webb of Talk Talk. His bass lines on Living in Another World, It’s My Life, and Such a Shame have such bounce to them!
Hard to believe Duff played drums in Fastbacks and The Fartz, from 80-83, then went to rhythm/lead guitar in 10 Minute Warning, before moving to LA in 84, and answering that ad, for a bass player, which turned out to be Slash and Steven Adler, forming Road Crew, then joining Guns n Roses and dragging Slash and Adler with him.
Come on guys..Andy Rourke..quite possibly one of the most talented but underrated bass players of all time..the fella made it look easy..RIP Andy you will always be missed but we have the music forever x
Perry & Dave always got all the attention, but everything really revolved around Eric's bass lines. This is really apparent when you listen to the Strays album. Without Eric's input, it sounds and feels more like a side project than a Jane's Addiction album.
@@abouc Stephen is a great drummer too. When they're locked in, the groove is amazing. Dave is back with them and they all they're looking and sounding great.
When I first sat down and listened to Strays, I realized there wasn't a single bass line I immediately wanted to learn. Without Eric the magic was gone.
It's been nearly 15 years since I gave much thought to playing Bass myself, but seeing you guys so clearly infected by the vibes of Cliff's performance instantly reminded me all over again why I fell so deeply into my obsession with him as a young teen. I can confidently say without a shred of doubt that this version of For Whom the Bell Tolls (Day on the Green) is still the most profound live musical footage I've ever seen, in that nowhere else have I felt so convinced I'm watching someone truly experiencing the highest emotional peak of their entire life through song. That calls to me as much (if not more) than the sound or the riff itself... While I'm sure Cliff was never the sort of guy to give anything less than 100% on stage, it's abundantly clear that that day was even more special to him than it is to us fans.
It's so wild, three days ago Great White's song Rock Me showed up in my feed, and I (re)listened to several of their songs, then thought that you guys would do a great analysis of this deceptively seemingly simple bass line throughout the song. I was planning to write a comment on another video, and then you guys put this out. Would love to see the list increased in count and have Rock Me included....
This whole thing is so nostalgic!! Live After Death is why I started playing but being an aspiring bassist at that time I had to learn these songs and more back in the day just to be able to play live with bands. Still play professionally today but those were the days!!!!😊
Turn the Page is a double-stop drone with a rhythmically muted single note part. If you can play Force Ten, this is just a step beyond that. Force ten is a single note drone with a double-stop chord part
As a bass player in their 50's, I love this list. You guys are always entertaining and informative. I would have added Rio by Duran Duran. John Taylor was an early Kubicki Factor player also!
Love the content of you lads working together. Kudos lads. I LOVE the inclusion of Eric Avery and Jane’s Addiction. I would give my soul to see a special episode on Eric Avery’s work. He’s mega!
Next to some I’ve seen mentioned, like Rio and Too Shy, Tony Levin’s work with Peter Gabriel (saw him live last year), you gotta give props to the amazing bass on the Graceland album. The 80’s is full of great music. Also edit to add: gotta mention the bass in The Police (Every Breath You Take and Spirits in the Material World)
Joe Lally is in my top 5 bassists. Everything he plays is so cool. And it's a huge part of Fugazi's sound. I could name a dozen of his bass lines just as cool as "Waiting Room," whether it's "Combination Lock," "Break," "Sweet and Low," "Long Division," "Turnover," "Smallpox Champion," "Shut the Door," "Recap Modotti," etc., etc., etc.
Love it when these guys get bass face going when they are getting into some jams. Cool when they talk about working out the tricky little pats of a lick. I’m not sure how much of it is just part of the show and how much is genuine excitement , but is good fun either way.
dude's youre amazing, im long time admirer of you guys... perfect passion, perfect friendship, amazing bass playin level... what can i say, best bass content maybe futher more best content in the whole youtube world... we are so blessed to have you
My favorite bass intro of the 1980s is Forest Fire by Dead Kennedys. Klaus Fluoride is one of my biggest bass influences. Throughout the Dead Kennedys catalog, the bass stands out and has tasty riffs all over the place.
jeez, these decade packed a way bigger punch than i expected it to! I enjoyed so many more songs than i thought i would and immediately wanna learn as many as possible now haha thanks for the vid as always!
I'm Running was the first song I learned off of Big Generator when released. I think Cris Squire switch to a 5 string Tobias for that album. And to this day, every time I pick up my bass I play the opening of Turn the Page.
When I was a child I saw A Hard Day’s Night and I wanted to be a rockstar like the Beatles. I bugged my parents for a guitar but my dad said I should play bass. Long story even longer I did learn bass techniques but went for the six-string. A couple decades later around 1977 I picked it back up because of Graham Maby and Pino.
So after years and years of not playing I caught the bug hard. I absolutely love this channel. Just the knowledge gained from listening to you guys talk is insane. I was curious have ever done any vids on Dave Mathews Band? I saw them live years back and the bass player was incredible. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!!!! Not that all your videos aren't great, I loved this one because of growing up in the late 70's early 80's and there was so much great music from the 80's. 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 Rock on!!
WOW, I swear to God you guys reached into my Spotify top playlist and made a video!!!🤯🤯🤯 I absolutely love the sweep across genres that you boys covered. I am so glad you guys have as eclectic taste as I do. I SO APPRECIATE THIS VIDEO!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
A buddy of mine was at a swap meet and sent me a picture of a power wah fuzz i didmt know what it was at the time other than it being an old morley, told him to get it for me. Only cost me $20. Its a really unique fuzz. It works as a volume pedal with the wah and fuzz off. With only the fuzz on the treadle works as a clean blend.
Happy to finally see Eric Avery make a list. "Three Days" from Ritual didn't make the '90s list (which it should have), but "Mountain Song" was a good call for this one.
Regarding Steve Harris, when he learned to play he didn’t have an amplifier, so he ended up playing really hard so he could be as loud as possible. That carried forward, & is what gives him his iconic sound
I've heard many times about how great the intro into For Whom The Bell Tolls is and I never got it. I always thought that part was electric guitar and the bass was just hitting chords.
You really need to look at the incredible Stuart Morrow playing 'No Rest' by New Model Army - superb inventive playing. Also Andy Rourke of the Smiths is rarely discussed, the way he had to negotiate melodically around Johnny Marrs complex guitar parts.
Even with his relatively recent passing, the RUclips bass channels mostly ignored Rourke, who was a monster player (in an amazing band). The guy needs way more attention.
What a great video boys! It's so great to see Scott come around to appreciating the pick. I've been a subscriber for a long time now and I still feel a little guilty about using a pick. ( I use my fingers as much as I can) but, ya' kinda need that pick sound from time to time.
No need to feel guilty about using a pick. Countless players have used it partially or exclusively, including tons of big names. Just another tool in the toolbox, but an extraordinarily useful one.
I'd add Love Will tear Us Apart from JD( love Peter Hook and his Rick) and Planet Earth from Duran Duran, two pieces I always love to play with the bass!
Watching this, and at 7:09 just instinctively drumming along on my desk. Ah yeah. So many of my faves on here: Brian Ritchie, Eric Avery, Joe Lally, and obviously Cliff/Lemmy.
You guys have been talking about note length a lot. Very helpful. I’ve noticed Laura Lee from Khruangbin really exemplifies the importance of that with her lines. Carol Kaye too. Thanks for pointing all that out.
100% agree with the Fugazi phase! Was one of the 1st bass lines I learned!
2 месяца назад
For a bit of a deep dive into 80s rock, have a listen to Pete Way’s intro to Any Day by UFO from the 1980 album No Place to Run. Not the typical riff you’d expect to hear on a rock album…
Opening with RHCP/Higher Ground and I'm like 'That's not 80's', googling it and finding it was 89 and now I just feel old.
I feel you, man!
I mean technically 1973 when Stevie released it.
groove was from the 70s, though. so i geuss it averages out?
No. You are weird. Higher Ground to me is peak 80s. The RHCP released a bunch of albums all through the 80s, they were all very good and quite influential; and to me there is a sudden break with Blood Sugar Sex Magic, which (to me) immediately sounds very different: Slower less high mid metal distortion on the guitars distortion and also the typical 80s-snare sound is gone, all over a sudden. I am very sceptical about 80s music and Blood Sugar Sex Magic and One Hot Minute are my favourite RHCP albums, but: If you look at live concerts from the 80s at that time the RHCP were an unbelievably tight live band, arguably 80s RHCP are the best Chili Peppers.
Discussions about music is where intolerant religious fanaticism has its place, so: No, you are wrong! Completely! Just listen!
😂
One of the most killer underrated bassists of the 80’s was Eddie Jackson from Queensrÿche. He’s a solid bass player with a killer, prominent tone. I don’t think the dude gets enough love.
I never gave QR the credit they deserved at the time. Listening to them now I feel stupid😢
Absolutely. He's a great example of laying down the beat with the occasional fill here and there. One my favorites.
The bass sound on "Empire" is killer!
OMC is filled with so many great bass parts. Deep, sustaining bass that helped to set the scenes in each song.
@@watchmedumb6844 I saw them a few weeks ago, and Eddie’s bass was cranked up, and it sounded fantastic live.
Steve Harris's Rhyme of The Ancient Mariner is the first song I played along to on CASSETTE!! The reason I became a bassist 😎
🔥🔥🔥
One of my favourites is Duran Duran - Rio. Absolutely powerful syncopated bassline. John Taylor has a video where he breaks the whole bass track down from basic principles, it rocks.
John Taylor is the best.
My favorite Duran Duran song, partly for that reason!
John Taylor is incredible.
John Deacon just up there in regular street clothes, so understated yet such a fantastic player!
Agreed! No John Deacon, no Queen, in my opinion.
🧡🧡🧡
Y'all did Another One Bites The Dust and Under Pressure, but my favorite '80s Deaky tune was Dragon Attack.
The two bass players I know inside and out on this list:
Steve Harris - His technique is lightly striking the strings with the tips of his fingers and very low action. That creates the pick-like sound while maintaining speed. To get it down, start by striking a string with one finger, then go lighter and lighter and see how light you can go while still producing the same sound.
Flea - Don't mute. Flea lets his slaps and pops ring out, muting only with his fretting hand. It's different from the usual clean, elegant funky approach we're used to. Playing thumb-down/bounce-off makes this easier because it keeps your palm away from the strings. Especially audible in Nobody Weird Like Me
you 2 are awesome. Just 2 Buddies just jammin out. Seeing Scott struggle with the Iron Maiden makes me feel like I am not alone in struggling with some lines. Glad that wasn't edited out. Thanks for making the bass awesome for all of us.
Even though I had learned every Iron Maiden bassline up through Powerslave by the time I was 15, watching Scott struggle with that made me feel like a king. I sat down and played it immediately, still got it 35 years later.
Everyone has limitations and we all find certain things harder than others to play, and it is brave of them to show it in an honest way.
It's kind of funny when people dismiss Steve Harris as that guy that just does "the gallop" - Steve Harris is a mutant. Although technically the song was older - the intro to Innocent Exile is something I still can't wrap my head around.
I'm a big fan of Steve Harris, am trying to learn bass but heck he must have more fingers than most of us. 😂
Steve Harris(Aka, God;) is a freaky genius 🤘🤘
Steve Harris is such a beast on bass. It makes or breaks iron maiden sound. He not just playing bass he is contributing to enhance the songs and push them forward
I love that you guys never shy away from the parts you're struggling with. I am a fresh fresh beginner, so it's kinda reassuring to see even pros having issues every now and then if that makes any sense 😅 Also I highly recommend you guys checking out Japanese bands like Dir en grey and Mucc, they have pretty cool basslines too. Especially Dir's Toshiya. He is such an underrated treasure.
Steve Harris is always light striking plucks on flats with a VERY low action
Yeah always fresh Rotosound flats played lightly & a DBX 160A Compressor
"' 'E just tickles the strings" according to Nicko!
now why would he do a silly thing like that?
These two are so animated. Best duo 10/10. (and so is higher ground)
How ironic was it in 1990 when Mr Big was opening for Rush on the Presto tour playing "Addicted To That Rush"!
I Saw them In Worcester, MA on that tour.
@@MrBruinman86 I saw them in New Jersey on that tour!!!
I actually met Paul Gilbert outside of the venue just after one of those Presto shows and asked him about that very thing. Such a cool guy. We chatted for a good 30 minutes about his guitar techniques.
Steve Harris’s trick to playing so fast for so many years and sounding like that is low action, brand new strings (on each take!) and playing super light.
Super light touch piano hammer attack with chonky Monel 77's, a lot of dbx 160 compression. Treble all the way up on the amp. It's my favorite rock/metal tone.
I'm skeptical that he replaces them on every take. Let's say you recorded a 13-song album. Let's say you do five takes for song. That's $3000 in modern money on strings alone. Not to mention how time-consuming it would be to change them every time. And five takes is not even a lot of takes per song. And in the days before the internet, where are you even getting that many strings at once? That's 65 packs. I'm guessing he changes them every DAY, not every take, regardless of what the internet says.
Regardless, he's lucky they got famous, because flatwound strings are NOT cheap. For most of us, the advantage of flats is that you never have to replace them.
@@rome8180 If you’re one of Rotosound’s biggest endorsers then you’re not paying for strings - and changing strings is the job of his tech. I remember being amazed reading how Jason Newsted had all the strings changed on all his basses before every gig when touring with Metallica, and he was taking nine basses on tour!
He also uses flatwounds from what ive read, ive also heard that he uses a ton of compression and boosting so that he just barely has to brush the strings (oops, just got to that part and they say flats) ((also, super glad they included wrathchild, one of my all time favorites, both just as a son and the bass))
Steve has the action set as low as you can get it without buzzing and his right hand uses the index and middle fingers to just bounce the strings off the fretboard. It’s not really a plucking action. You could never be that fast or have the endurance if you plucked. Your forearm would look like Popeye the sailor man’s!
His “home base” (pun intended) is the D mixolydian in E minor. He runs up and down that all the time. If you want to play like Steve that’s a good thing to practice. And practice. And practice.
The thing that impresses me the most about Sting's playing is his awareness of where he needs to be in time. Ahead of the beet when he needs to push, behind when he needs to drag, and right on time all to support the what the rest of the band is doing in relation to what the melody line needs. It's truly masterful.
Tony Levin's collaborations with Peter Gabriel were also a gem of the '80s
💯💯💯
Violent Femmes is not a track I was Expecting, but that Album is a legit Must Listen
I know it seems counterintuitive, but seeing Scott struggle with that Maiden line is really encouraging and refreshing. So many videos are edited to remove any hint of error, but seeing an obviously great, masterful player stumble a bit can help others who are starting on their bass journey by showing that even the best players have to practice and learn.
I’m Running and Turn The Page!!! I’m sooooo grateful you included these, particularly I’m Running because Big Generator is one of the most ignored Yes albums along with Talk. Thank you so much.
Big Generator and Hold Your Fire are both underrated albums. And Geddy is on fire bass wise (as Turn The Page demonstrates well). I'm Running is easily my favorite track on BG.
I literally lolled at the Billy Sheehan clip. He's talking to the camera & playing as though he assumes anyone on this planet can just follow along with him. 🤣
@@Jeff-rd6hb he says it so easy he's embarrassed to even play it ...... I think Billy is calling me a loser(?)
So excited to hear "I'm Running" on this list - it's one of my all-time favorites!
So Violent Femmes, yes, an acoustic bass, but by no means a normal one. I’ve mixed them live multiple times and that bass looks like one of those giant Mexican basses with the distended belly. And he plays it LOUD. SERIOUSLY. Violent Femmes were in the top five loudest bands I’ve ever worked with. For Dinosaur Jr. , J had two Marshall full stacks side by side, and to the right was that Fender 6 X 12 combo, and there was a rack with ungodly gear in it, most notably a big Mesa Boogie power amp. During sound check, his guitar tech checked for vocal in my wedges and all was good, but when J walked up I saw the biggest bolt of shock I’ve ever seen in person. It was about a foot long and was just an ultra thin, ultra white flash from the mic to his upper lip, and he went down. I was stunned. I was sure it wasn’t on my house end of the gear, as I am uptight about extension cords and mic cables and sub snakes and. everything being wired correctly for both safety and quietness. I think it was the power cable to that Fender, the one with the red end, and it had been to a shop recently, Whoopsy. The bass player had the double Marshall Bass full stacks, in grey, cranked to 15. We had EAW KF 850s for PA, and I never had any concerns about blowing a driver. Well, the bass was panned to the house right, and sure enough, several days later during soundcheck with another band, while checking toms I heard an odd rubbing sound, and thought maybe my EV 408 was about done. Then the bass player plays like an A or G#, and right then. I heard the 15” driver in one of the cabs was torn. Dammit. Motörhead was very, very loud. The Ramones were all just Marshall, Marshall, Marshall, and then more, the PA was useless in that venue, a bit smaller, like 500 cap. Great show. GWAR was very, very loud, I was stuck on monitors, keeping the console free of alien ejaculate and blood, both of which were being shot some 80’ to the bar at the back of the room. One of my best friends said it was easily the best that room had ever sounded, and the low F made his nose just twitch to the point that drinking a beer became a chore. But that Femmes big stupid bass was so f’ing loud, that alone has to be about #3. They sucked. It was more about the lyrics and the snarky ‘tune, and I couldn’t tell if they had rehearsed between one gig and the next two years later. Yep. But they nailed Blister. Cause of course they did.
I did a misfits show in 2002 when Jerry was singing lead. His wall of acoustic amps with the mids cranked up was super loud. I gave him 5 wedges and blew a a horn or 3
And when we had the cramps with lords of Altamont as their opening band/roadies, we blew up 3 bass heads, one from the cramps, just during the period before the cramps went on, then they swapped to one of the lords amps, which also popped and smoked a few minutes later, so a 3rd Amp was plugged into a different power outlet. At the end of the night, we put an old.fender house backline head into the same outlet, which also blew up, so the club owner agreed to pay for fixing the amps.
It is a mystery how it happened, because the local support didn't have any heads blow up. My guess was when they opened the aux bar that was on the other side of the stage wall, that a switch happened to swap ground and hot on that power outlet. And the place was haunted too.
Can confirm regarding the Femmes’ bass rig. (And performance quality) As a former stagehand, this is precisely how I remember it.
I read that Lemmy of Motorhead didn't use any distortion pedal for his tone and it's all coming from his marshall stack cranked up
@danyomega1472 yes, same with Angus young
Ohhh I was thinking Geddy's line on "Turn The Page" and here it is! Thanks Gents!
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One of my favorite bass work from the 80's was Mick Karn's work with Dalis Car, "His Box" is awesome! Lots of funky fretless work. I also really love Simon Gallup from the Cure, when you see the Cure play live, everyone's moving to the bass. Another influence was Peter Hook of Joy Division, lots of work in the higher registers of the bass. And of course Duran Duran's John Taylor was a beast as well.
Well said! And thinking of Joy Division and the Cure, one of the many great things about late 70's/80's post-punk and alternative rock was how extremely bass-centric it was. So many of these RUclips bass channels gloss over or ignore that whole era or family of genres, which is sad and ironic considering how bass stood front and center on so many albums.
You can’t talk about killer bass riffs of the 80s without mentioning Cliff or Lemmy, those guys are definitely two men who seriously redefined what bass players could do in a hard rock/metal band (and two reasons why I now own my Rickenbacker 4003S), also mad props for including Waiting Room on here. Joe Lally is definitely super underrated and that one is still one of my go-to riffs to play on my Music Man StingRay
But they did mention them... Or are you just lifting them up a bit more?
@@yt-mull0r I know they did, I’m saying they always have to be included because they’re both legendary players who have also had a huge impact on my own playing as well
i think they are talking about bass intros in particular
I’m so happy to hear waiting room by fugazi on here. I hadn’t heard them mentioned by another human being for so many years. I thought I was all on my own. Hearing it lifted my soul and reminded me of some great gigs in Leeds and Glasgow in the early 90s
One of my favorites from the era was always the bass intro to No More Tears. Such a great bass line.
Yep, that's a great one too!
Yeah what a vibe
The Jane´s Addiction intro sound like Hang Tough from Tesla!!! 1989🤘🏼
Came for the bass info; stayed for the camaraderie and fun. 😊
Appreciate that!!
Another 80’s artist I’d love you to look at is Paul Webb of Talk Talk. His bass lines on Living in Another World, It’s My Life, and Such a Shame have such bounce to them!
Hard to believe Duff played drums in Fastbacks and The Fartz, from 80-83, then went to rhythm/lead guitar in 10 Minute Warning, before moving to LA in 84, and answering that ad, for a bass player, which turned out to be Slash and Steven Adler, forming Road Crew, then joining Guns n Roses and dragging Slash and Adler with him.
Come on guys..Andy Rourke..quite possibly one of the most talented but underrated bass players of all time..the fella made it look easy..RIP Andy you will always be missed but we have the music forever x
Eric Avery is vastly underrated and has tons of amazing bass lines. The intro to "Three Days" is iconic.
Perry & Dave always got all the attention, but everything really revolved around Eric's bass lines. This is really apparent when you listen to the Strays album. Without Eric's input, it sounds and feels more like a side project than a Jane's Addiction album.
Mountain Song was my intro to them and is still probably my favourite Jane’s Addiction song, such a killer bass riff
@@abouc Stephen is a great drummer too. When they're locked in, the groove is amazing. Dave is back with them and they all they're looking and sounding great.
All the instrumentalists in Jane's were top notch. Tight as it gets
When I first sat down and listened to Strays, I realized there wasn't a single bass line I immediately wanted to learn. Without Eric the magic was gone.
It's been nearly 15 years since I gave much thought to playing Bass myself, but seeing you guys so clearly infected by the vibes of Cliff's performance instantly reminded me all over again why I fell so deeply into my obsession with him as a young teen. I can confidently say without a shred of doubt that this version of For Whom the Bell Tolls (Day on the Green) is still the most profound live musical footage I've ever seen, in that nowhere else have I felt so convinced I'm watching someone truly experiencing the highest emotional peak of their entire life through song. That calls to me as much (if not more) than the sound or the riff itself... While I'm sure Cliff was never the sort of guy to give anything less than 100% on stage, it's abundantly clear that that day was even more special to him than it is to us fans.
It's so wild, three days ago Great White's song Rock Me showed up in my feed, and I (re)listened to several of their songs, then thought that you guys would do a great analysis of this deceptively seemingly simple bass line throughout the song. I was planning to write a comment on another video, and then you guys put this out.
Would love to see the list increased in count and have Rock Me included....
This whole thing is so nostalgic!! Live After Death is why I started playing but being an aspiring bassist at that time I had to learn these songs and more back in the day just to be able to play live with bands. Still play professionally today but those were the days!!!!😊
I am just so delighted that y’all went deep for “I’m Running”! My whole high school drum line lost their minds on that record the year it came out.
Turn the Page is a double-stop drone with a rhythmically muted single note part. If you can play Force Ten, this is just a step beyond that. Force ten is a single note drone with a double-stop chord part
As a bass player in their 50's, I love this list. You guys are always entertaining and informative. I would have added Rio by Duran Duran. John Taylor was an early Kubicki Factor player also!
Hold Your Fire is such a great rush record.
Love the content of you lads working together. Kudos lads. I LOVE the inclusion of Eric Avery and Jane’s Addiction. I would give my soul to see a special episode on Eric Avery’s work. He’s mega!
Next to some I’ve seen mentioned, like Rio and Too Shy, Tony Levin’s work with Peter Gabriel (saw him live last year), you gotta give props to the amazing bass on the Graceland album. The 80’s is full of great music.
Also edit to add: gotta mention the bass in The Police (Every Breath You Take and Spirits in the Material World)
Joe Lally is in my top 5 bassists. Everything he plays is so cool. And it's a huge part of Fugazi's sound. I could name a dozen of his bass lines just as cool as "Waiting Room," whether it's "Combination Lock," "Break," "Sweet and Low," "Long Division," "Turnover," "Smallpox Champion," "Shut the Door," "Recap Modotti," etc., etc., etc.
1.5 million cant wait to see it guys love all the great content
Love it when these guys get bass face going when they are getting into some jams. Cool when they talk about working out the tricky little pats of a lick. I’m not sure how much of it is just part of the show and how much is genuine excitement , but is good fun either way.
Really enjoyed the vid! Good mix of songs and great playing.
Thanks for including Fugazi. Amazing band and ethos.
Brian Ritchie, Eric Avery AND Joe Lally - SO underrated - you should do more on/with these guys!
dude's youre amazing, im long time admirer of you guys... perfect passion, perfect friendship, amazing bass playin level... what can i say, best bass content maybe futher more best content in the whole youtube world... we are so blessed to have you
Cheers, really appreciate the warm words!
My favorite bass intro of the 1980s is Forest Fire by Dead Kennedys. Klaus Fluoride is one of my biggest bass influences. Throughout the Dead Kennedys catalog, the bass stands out and has tasty riffs all over the place.
That Yes and Rush album both remind me of mowing the lawm with my walkman. Listened to both of those tapes a LOT when they were new.
jeez, these decade packed a way bigger punch than i expected it to! I enjoyed so many more songs than i thought i would and immediately wanna learn as many as possible now haha
thanks for the vid as always!
Guys, you both have such a chemistry. Cheers from Brazil
Cheers!!
I'm Running was the first song I learned off of Big Generator when released. I think Cris Squire switch to a 5 string Tobias for that album.
And to this day, every time I pick up my bass I play the opening of Turn the Page.
I’d watch this all day long. Love the passion
Lemmy, on vinyl, right as people were fully realizing what a rhythm/bassist is exactly. Wore those albums out!
OMG, respect for Hold Your Fire!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
I wasn’t expecting Rush! I love Turn the Page! Yes!
Another fact about Lemmy's tone is that it's not a pedal, he just has the amp gain cranked to full which makes it distort
The bass work on Jeopardy (Greg Khin Band), always caught my ear in the 80s...just so funky. Also, Billy Squire's Emotion in Motion.
You guys are awesome, and I love that you include Eric Avery! Subscribed!
I was at that concert where Cliff Burton was playing FWTBT! Day on the Green, Oakland Colosseum - Aug 1985
When I was a child I saw A Hard Day’s Night and I wanted to be a rockstar like the Beatles. I bugged my parents for a guitar but my dad said I should play bass. Long story even longer I did learn bass techniques but went for the six-string. A couple decades later around 1977 I picked it back up because of Graham Maby and Pino.
So after years and years of not playing I caught the bug hard. I absolutely love this channel. Just the knowledge gained from listening to you guys talk is insane. I was curious have ever done any vids on Dave Mathews Band? I saw them live years back and the bass player was incredible. Keep up the great work!
Appreciate the warm words! Nothing on the Dave Matthews as of yet but we might look at them in the future!
Thank you!!!! Not that all your videos aren't great, I loved this one because of growing up in the late 70's early 80's and there was so much great music from the 80's. 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 Rock on!!
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WOW, I swear to God you guys reached into my Spotify top playlist and made a video!!!🤯🤯🤯 I absolutely love the sweep across genres that you boys covered. I am so glad you guys have as eclectic taste as I do. I SO APPRECIATE THIS VIDEO!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Wow!
Thanks for mentioning Chris Squire, one of the greatest legendary bass players ever... )
A buddy of mine was at a swap meet and sent me a picture of a power wah fuzz i didmt know what it was at the time other than it being an old morley, told him to get it for me. Only cost me $20. Its a really unique fuzz. It works as a volume pedal with the wah and fuzz off. With only the fuzz on the treadle works as a clean blend.
I always played Living on a Prayer with the A string for the A-B hammer on.
Happy to finally see Eric Avery make a list. "Three Days" from Ritual didn't make the '90s list (which it should have), but "Mountain Song" was a good call for this one.
Great video. But it’s that descending bass part right after the into of It’s So Easy that really ties the intro and the song together
that Lull sounds so ridiculously good
Fugazi Waiting Room was what made me decide to learn bass, in the year 2021 😂
Hear his playing with the Mesthetics!
First time seeing one of your videos, great stuff, subbed.
thank you for taking us back, it was a blast! 🥰🤘
I had a Fugazi phase. The first 3 albums were so important to me.
Regarding Steve Harris, when he learned to play he didn’t have an amplifier, so he ended up playing really hard so he could be as loud as possible.
That carried forward, & is what gives him his iconic sound
I've heard many times about how great the intro into For Whom The Bell Tolls is and I never got it. I always thought that part was electric guitar and the bass was just hitting chords.
You really need to look at the incredible Stuart Morrow playing 'No Rest' by New Model Army - superb inventive playing. Also Andy Rourke of the Smiths is rarely discussed, the way he had to negotiate melodically around Johnny Marrs complex guitar parts.
Even with his relatively recent passing, the RUclips bass channels mostly ignored Rourke, who was a monster player (in an amazing band). The guy needs way more attention.
What a great video boys! It's so great to see Scott come around to appreciating the pick. I've been a subscriber for a long time now and I still feel a little guilty about using a pick. ( I use my fingers as much as I can) but, ya' kinda need that pick sound from time to time.
No need to feel guilty about using a pick. Countless players have used it partially or exclusively, including tons of big names. Just another tool in the toolbox, but an extraordinarily useful one.
Cosmetics by Gowan! Ok, the bass doesn't start immediately (short piano intro), but the bass playing is stellar.
Big Generator.... Chris had some tight work on that. Still have that "CD" on my playlist... Talk (from the 90s) was sick too
I'd add Love Will tear Us Apart from JD( love Peter Hook and his Rick) and Planet Earth from Duran Duran, two pieces I always love to play with the bass!
Actually, Peter Hook never played a Rickenbacker. It was a cheap Hondo copy. He donated it to a school charity auction.
@@andyronayne7947 Oh really? My first bass was a for rental Hondo Jazz Bass! 😅
Watching this, and at 7:09 just instinctively drumming along on my desk. Ah yeah. So many of my faves on here: Brian Ritchie, Eric Avery, Joe Lally, and obviously Cliff/Lemmy.
Missed Falling to Pieces - Faith No More
You included Fugazi! You absolute legends. 🙌
Just subscribed! Can't wait to see the hair metal bass lesson with you guys in spandex!! 🤣
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You guys have been talking about note length a lot.
Very helpful.
I’ve noticed Laura Lee from Khruangbin really exemplifies the importance of that with her lines.
Carol Kaye too.
Thanks for pointing all that out.
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The vibe and energy of both of you is so uplifting ! Thank you SBL for making the bass shine more than ever !
Did I hear a wee Toast Of London reference in there? “Purchase!” As in, ‘Bloody Ray Purchase”
100% agree with the Fugazi phase! Was one of the 1st bass lines I learned!
For a bit of a deep dive into 80s rock, have a listen to Pete Way’s intro to Any Day by UFO from the 1980 album No Place to Run. Not the typical riff you’d expect to hear on a rock album…
Violent femmes was probably the first song I learned how to play, amazing.
So much fun when you both where playing Blew and saying "this is the definition of grunge" and looking like passing trough a storm 😂
Lemmy! R.I.P we miss you
Tell me you don’t want to have to ever clean your fret board without telling me. 60s-90s music is the best and always will be.
Mystery Achievement by the Pretenders
I'm a Rush and Tool kind of guy but nothing makes me smile like 'Don't Get Me Wrong'.
You guys got serious Beavis and Butthead vibe when started commenting on the BonJovi clip!! :D
you guys should do one of these with "new wave" 80s songs too! Theres tons!
Duff came out of the punk rock world… That riff was probably borrowed from the beginning of Liar by Sex Pistols. +1 on Fugazi.
Lmao Billy Sheehan "It's that simple". Billy is the man, it's not so easy for a newbie like me
awesome episode, you guys are brilliant :)
Cheers, glad you enjoyed it!