Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Top 5 Under Rated Bass Players

In most cases bassists are some of the most overlooked members of a band. Usually they just lay back and lay down a groove for the rest of the band to feed off of and don't concern themselves with getting an abundance of audience attention. From time to time though certain bassists will distinguish themselves and stand out to those who care enough to pay attention. However, there are plenty of bassists who despite having some fantastic chops on their instruments still get glanced over because they don't choose to make a spectacle out of themselves. They bring styles of playing to their respective bands that without them things just wouldn't be the same. Today I'm listing my personal top 5 most overlooked bass players in no particular order.


1. Neil Murray: Whitesnake/Black Sabbath/Brian May Band/etc.

Neil Murray's bass playing feels like it's on a whole other level than that of your run of the mill bass players. In my opinion his style surpasses even that of some more well known bass players because when he plays it's like he is creating a song within a song. It's almost as though Murray's bass is a melodic instrument that still somehow holds together a groove and boosts the lower end of a song. The way he ties things together is phenomenal. The best example of Neil Murray's playing would be in Whitesnake's Trouble album.


2. Gary Thain: Uriah Heep

Gary Thain unfortunately passed from this world too quickly, but when he was in Uriah Heep in the early 70's he presented a style that made the bass a distinguishable instrument from the rest of the band. Thain also made the bass rather melodic and would play so smoothly that in the right context it would make the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck stand up. Of course he also knew when to tone things back a bit and just hold down a steady groove for the rest of the instruments in the band to fall into. The best example of Gary Thain's playing would be Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards album.

 
3. Craig Gruber: Elf/Rainbow

Craig Gruber isn't exactly the first name that comes to a hard rock/heavy metal fan's head when they think of the bassist for Rainbow, but he laid down the groove on many of Rainbow's best early tracks including Man on the Silver Mountain and Catch the Rainbow. His playing was not the most melodic, but it managed to fall into pocket in all the right ways and have the right kinds of flourishes at just the right moments. Without his style of playing a lot of the early Rainbow songs just would not have had the same warmth and charm that they did. The best example of Craig Gruber's playing would be Rainbow's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow album.


4. Glen Matlock: The Sex Pistols

Though Sid Vicious holds the legacy for being bassist for The Sex Pistols it was actually Glen Matlock who helped write the tracks on the one album they did release as he was the original bassist for the band. It's admirable to see someone who actually had some legitimate musical talent just rumbling away on the bass with a lot of attitude and not a care in the world. Fortunately for Matlock whenever The Sex Pistols have reunited he is the one playing with them at the shows (seeing as Sid Vicious died in 1979). The best example of Glen Matlock's playing would be The Sex Pistols' Spunk demo album.


5.  Bob Daisley: Rainbow/Ozzy Osbourne/Gary Moore

Bob Daisley has been in TONS of bands, but his most notable ones were Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, and Gary Moore. Daisley wrote most of the lyrics for the vast majority of Ozzy Osbournes early solo albums. His bass playing has also always been up to snuff as he could keep up with the likes of guitarists like Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore, and Randy Rhoads. He is very versatile; as he can go from playing something that is straight blues, to hard rock, to fast paced heavy metal. Daisley really should get more credit as a songwriter and player than he has the past 4 decades or so. The best example of Daisley's playing is Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz album.

Conclusion:

So did you agree with my list? If not who are some of your favorite bass players that you feel don't get enough credit and limelight? Leave your comments below.

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