After a discussion in a bar last night, I put you all up in a challenge. I disagreed with the list of top 25 Bass lines that my friend Nick had compiled for his site, Friggin Fabulous Radio. So now we are going to see what you all come up with! Give me your top 5 Bass lines!

the link to his site is http://www.frigginfabulousradio.com/top25.html

I vote for anything by The Rezillos and "Prolixin Stomp" by Rhino 39.

These are my top 5 favorites :

5 - Smokestack Lightning - Howlin Wolf

4 - Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut - Bo Diddley

3 - Peter Gunn - Hank Mancini

2 - Come See Me - Pretty Things

1 - Feel It - It's All Meat

 

Duck Dunn and James Jamerson need to be mentioned.  Alot of people take a dump on punk rockers saying they don't know how to play but the bass playing in Stiff Little Fingers, The Ruts, and especially The Rezilloes (No and Flying Saucers are my favorites) is top notch.  I'd like to see the friends top 25 list.

Good on ya! Eric Avery's playing is top notch!

Kill, Baby...Kill! said:

I am going to throw this out there fully prepared to get flamed for it. In the past 20+ years, some of what I have found to be the most memorable bass lines were written and performed by Eric Avery from Jane's Addiction. Sure, simplicity was key, but one cannot deny the power of the bass lines from Mountain Song, Three Days, Pigs etc.

How can you not include Love Song by The Damned?! Agree with JJ Burnell, Paul Simonon and John Entwhistle - almost anything by these three guys would appear in my list. But as an ex-bass player I Wanna Be Your Dog by The Stooges has to be right up there, along with Powerline by Husker Du. Probably much more will come to mind but that's an off the top of the head stab.

I am going to throw this out there fully prepared to get flamed for it. In the past 20+ years, some of what I have found to be the most memorable bass lines were written and performed by Eric Avery from Jane's Addiction. Sure, simplicity was key, but one cannot deny the power of the bass lines from Mountain Song, Three Days, Pigs etc.

1- Peaches- The Stranglers
2- My Generation- The Who
3- Neat, Neat, Neat- The Damned
4- The Guns of Brixton- The Clash
5- Damaged Goods- Gang of Four

"Peaches" The Stranglers; "Public Image" Public Image Limited; "Neat, neat, neat" The Damned; "Im a man" Spencer Davis Group; "Mountain song" Jane's addiction; "She's lost control" Joy Division.

sympathy for the devil - stones
this is my happy hour - scientists
funhouse - stooges
sex bomb - flipper
gutter cat - alice cooper

My Generation - The Who
Substitute - The Who
Young Man Blues - The Who
We Gotta Get Out of This Place - Animals
White Man in Hammersmith Palais - Clash
White Riot - Clash
Career Opportunities - Clash
Suffragette City - Bowie

YEAH, FUCKIN STRANGLERS "NICE AND SLEEZY"
MIRACLE WORKERS "5-35

Joy Division - Exercise One
Golden Cups - Hiwa Mata Noburu
MC5 - Borderline [single version]
TC Atlantic - Faces
Dearly Beloved - Flight Thirteen

The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
The Stooges - I'm Sick Of You
Link Wray - The Swag (It just has that SWAG)
The Centurions - Bullwinkle Part II

Fugazi - Waiting Room
Jane's Addiction - Mountain Song
White Stripes - 7 Nation Army (they don't play it on a bass, but all covers do)
The Stooges - 1970
MELVINS - Night Goat
Flipper - Sex Bomb Baby
Sly and the Family Stone - Dance To The Music
Iggy Pop - Mask
Funkadelic - Back In Our Minds

Okay I hate to say this but... Earth Wind and Fire's "Lets Groove Tonight". I know, I know, it gets stuck in my head all the time.

The introduction of Crawdaddy Simone!

I got one more, It's so uncool that it's cool... Woodchoppers Ball On the early live lp by Ten Years After called "Undead". Stagnant Artist said:

What is amazing is that this list is so vast and barely any duplicates! Except for the hands down agreement that John Entwhistle needs to be represented! I am compiling all my lists and will post again for a pick of the top 40 from that! And thanks everyone for not being snobby about this! I know this can easily be that type of topic! You all just made it a great discussion!

Over the Falls - Primus (or Tommy the Cat, Les Claypool is THE man!)
Jimbo Song - Reverend Horton Heat
Got the Time - Anthrax
Fireball - Deep Purple
any version of Pipeline
and, yeah.. John Entwistle

What is amazing is that this list is so vast and barely any duplicates! Except for the hands down agreement that John Entwhistle needs to be represented! I am compiling all my lists and will post again for a pick of the top 40 from that! And thanks everyone for not being snobby about this! I know this can easily be that type of topic! You all just made it a great discussion!

More of a guilty pleasure than anything but I really loved the bass on "Blood and Roses" by the Smithereens when I first heard it on the radio (KJET Tomorrow's Hits - TODAY). I also enjoy the bass on 96 Tears.

That there japo-nese cover was some cool silly fun, I dug it too. Bass lines hmm a few quick ones (a wee bit random): Buena - Morphine (2 string fretless slide bass no less) Planet queen - T-Rex Ode to a Black man - Dirtbombs Ghost Town - The Specials Shiverin' In the corner- Amazing Royal Crowns power chord hack said:

Yeah man, that was actually a compliment. I like that particular version!

Yeah man, that was actually a compliment. I like that particular version!

its just humor, have a sense of it. El Tiki said:

Count Von Tuthrie said:

Ha-haa! Well put.
power chord hack said:

OI!
That's the best, worst cover of Hey Joe I've ever heard! Craptastic!!

... i'm so happy this thread ain't about smart boys giving crappy comments on other people's taste.

Count Von Tuthrie said:

Ha-haa! Well put.
power chord hack said:

OI!
That's the best, worst cover of Hey Joe I've ever heard! Craptastic!!

... i'm so happy this thread ain't about smart boys giving crappy comments on other people's taste.