I'm listening to Iron Maiden's "Powerslave" right now, and the bass licks from Steve Harris just really hit me. I've always been a fan of his, but of all the bass players out there, i find him to be one of the best, if not my favorite. His playing on "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is outstanding.

Which bassists are you all into?

James Jamerson, probably.

Mike Watt & Johnette Napolitano

give some examples....which tunes/albums?

Simon Gallup
and the aptly named Peter Hook

Les Claypool

stanley clarke.

John Myung
Martin Mendez
EARLY John Taylor

From James Jamerson:

"Reach Out, I'll Be There", The Four Tops
"You Keep Me Hanging On", The Supremes
"Standing In The Shadows Of Love", The Four Tops

...plus a million other Motown songs.

for Mike Watt, just about anything he's ever played on (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, DOS, Minuteflag, Bootstrappers, solo, guest appearances), but particularly on Double Nickels On The Dime and Contemplating The Engine Room.

for Johnnette, check out Concrete Blonde's most recent album Mojave, which sadly has gone nearly unnoticed and is one of the best of last year.

I hate people that play slap bass (although les claypool got me wanting to play bass in the first place)

In my opinion, great bass players know when NOT to play. They should not constantly be trying to show off their bass chops, and stick to holding the rhythm.

Perhaps my favorite example of this would be Colin Greenwood from Radiohead. Just listen to the bass part on Airbag to hear what I'm talking about.

For sheer mongering: Bill Wyman

For harmonies: Mike Mills/McCartney

For ridiculousness: Les Claypool



Honorable mentions: Sting, Sid Vicious, John Paul Jones, Cliff Burton

Unless the bass is a crucial and intricate part of the song, meaning the bass player is so good that they transcend "holding the rhythm" but aren't just bass-turbating, either.

(see: Mike & Johnette's playing).

Hooky and Carlos D

When I play bass, I have always tried to emulate Peter Hook.

Others I love:
Larry Graham
James Jamerson
Steve Harris (the first bassist I ever noticed)
Bootsy Collins

John Entwistle
John Paul Jones

Fugazi's Joe Lally is an excellent example of that. He winds up really playing what is sort of the melody of the song a lot of times with them, but in a very tasteful, subtle, creative way. And that lets Guy and Ian kinda get spacier with the guitars. Reclamation is a great example. Just 16th note guitars nailing one note nice and loud while the bass has a nice strong major-key thing moving everything along. Great bass player.

Bootsy Collins (particularly while he was in James Brown band)

Duck Dunn (particularly when he was playign with Otis Redding)
but he's pretty much always awesome and in the pocket.

I remembered Bootsy when I was cooking my oatmeal, but Jewels and Todd beat me to it.

John Deacon - Queen

the guy from the Descendents whose name escapes me.
John Doe
Larry Graham
Bootsy, before he added like 300 pedals
Matt Freeman
Daryl Jenifer



as far virtuosos:
Victor Wooten
Jaco Pastorius

excellent call, i always forget about him.

that's because his band has gotten progressiveely suckier as the Pink factor has taken its toll.