The Ox - Greatest Bass Player Ever?

[BizarroRonJeremy]

A couple of weeks ago I purchased the restored version of The Kids Are Alright on DVD.

Wow!

15 years ago I was turned on to the Who because of this very film. As a bass player, I tried as much as possible to emulate the stylings of John Entwistle.

Anyways, since I got the DVD, I'm in love all over again. Even my 7 year old daughter has become a Who fan.

One of the cool features on the 2nd disc, is the ability to isolate the video and audio feed of Entwistle's bass playing on Baba O'Reilly and Won't Get Fooled Again.

Amazing rythm. Fantastic melodies. Great punches.

Could it be that John Entwistle is the greatest rock bass player ever?

This, in terms of how much he contributed to the success of the band and his actual technique.

[Bruce_Daddy]

I think Entwistle was an awesome bass player and I have always been a fan of his. I can even remember where I was when I heard that he died. :(

I don't think he's the best ever though. Names like J.P. Jones and Claypool come to mind for superlatives. Honorable mention goes to Justin Chancellor of Tool.

[yawndave]

If you enjoyed the "Ox Cam" in TKAA, you should check out his solo in the Royal Albert Hall DVD. They filmed it via a camera at the head of his bass, looking down the strings. Very cool.

[Chefguy]

Sorry, the title has already been claimed (http://www.duke.edu/~wongola/Jaco_Man_&_Myth.html) by Jaco Pastorius. If you type in the words "world's greatest bass player" on Yahoo, you will get a multitude of hits concerning the life and times of this guy. While the title was somewhat self-proclaimed, the man was a major force in jazz.

[Jerrybear]

All the names mentioned so far are fine, but IMO the best bass player ever is Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead.

Bass Great...Lesh Philling!

[statheist]

All the names mentioned so far are fine, but IMO the best bass player ever is Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead.

Bass Great...Lesh Philling!

Please tell me you're kidding. If I had to pick a best musician in The Grateful Dead, perhaps it would be him given the lack of competition, but "Best Rock Bassist of All Time?!?!" Please!

[The_Peyote_Coyote]

I myself would say that James Jamerson, Ron Carter, and Charles Mingus are the three greatest bassists of jazz & popular music.

[vl_mungo]

Personally I'd put Mike Watt right up there. Les Claypool too.

[Hey, It's That Guy!]

Victor Wooten, of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, has to be in the Top Five Bass Players Of All Time, regardless of genre.

[Marley23]

Someone's gotta nominate Berry Oakley, and that someone will be me.

Also, just to get it out of the way, I'll say Paul McCartney. Because eventually the name will come up, and then someone else will say "no way," and then another party will correctly point out that his style was hugely influential in the development of rock bass playing.

Just trying to save some time. ;)

[Green Bean]

Yep. I'll agree with the OP wholeheartedly.

(In the interest of full disclosure, however, I should tell you that I consider Keith Moon to be the greatest drummer ever, Pete Townshend to be the greatest guitarist ever, and Roger Daltrey to be the greatest vocalist ever.)

Entwistle also wrote some really great songs.

The other bassist I really love is Flea.

[Club 33]

Why is it so important for people to affix labels to artists such as "greatest ever". There is no such thing as "greatest" and I've never understood the temptation to label someone as such. There are so many talented bassists out there, each with their own strengths and nuances.

Entwhistle was a wonderful bassist. His contributions to The Who are noteworthy. I would think that he would be embarrased though to be though of as the best when there are so many others.

James Jamerson
Pino Palladino
Jack Bruce
John Paul Jones
Geddy Lee
Chris Squire

just to name a few...

[SolGrundy]

The greatest bass player of all time is Kim Deal of the Pixies.

My grounds for saying this are the same as for my saying that Rachael Ray is the World's Greatest Chef of all time. Unbelievable cut-off-circulation-to-everything-but-you-know-where hotness goes a long way.

[Malacandra]

I think Entwistle was an awesome bass player and I have always been a fan of his. I can even remember where I was when I heard that he died. :(


So can I. Watching the morning news in the bedroom, and then going downstairs to break it to my wife that her uncle had just died. (His first wife is my mother-in-law's kid sister - my one claim to cling to the coat-tails of fame.)

Not that I ever really knew him, I only met him the once at his son's wedding, and he had quite a number of better acquaintances to be hobnobbing with. He pushed the boat out in fairly grand manner, mind you.

[jjimm]

I agree with the OP - I first noticed Entwhistle's modest genius on the same Kids are All Right video, and was blown away. He just stands there at the edge of the stage while the rest of the band go bananas, but his hands are like gymnastic tarantulas. Quite amazing.My grounds for saying this are the same as for my saying that Rachael Ray is the World's Greatest Chef of all time.Hold on there buddy. She can't be the world's greatest chef by those criteria; not while the delectable Nigella Lawson (http://images.google.com/images?q=%22nigella+lawson%22&svnum=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=0&sa=N) is on the planet. She can bake my polenta any time.

[Small Clanger]

I liked Pete Townshend's description of the Whos members roles:

Roger: Well, the singer I guess, can't remember what he said about Roger, might have had something to do with fighting (hehe).

Pete: Drummer. someone in the band had to keep time.

John: Lead guitar.

Moon: 100 piece orchestra.

[Evil Captor]

I'd have to say it was whoever did the bass on the Peter Gunn theme. Nailed it.

[Evil Captor]

And the bass player for the Atlanta Rhythm Section. Had a strange lilting quality to his bass lines.

[Labdad]

I have to nominate Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna as one of the greatest bass players ever. In fact, it's quite disheartening to see the list get this long without Casady being mentioned!

[Lamia]

John Entwistle was the greatest rock bassist of all time. As far as I'm concerned, all other bassists whose names might come up in such a discussion are, at best, battling it out for an honorable #2.

[Spoke]

Entwistle is hard to top.

I would rate Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers pretty high in the pantheon as well.

[yojimbo]

You guys are still talking about this? Chefguy nailed it a while back :D

Jaco was the man all the way down to the cuts between his fingers so he could reach further.

I'm off now to listen to The Chicken on my HD.

[Marley23]

Why is it so important for people to affix labels to artists such as "greatest ever". There is no such thing as "greatest" and I've never understood the temptation to label someone as such.
Well, there's something I bet nobody here has ever read. How about "to express personal preference" or "for the sake of having a conversation?"

[BizarroRonJeremy]

Yeah, "Greatest Bass Player" sounds a bit presumptious, but I said it that way for brevity's sake.

The Ox brought more than his fair share to the Who table.

And, my real point is that he played a more important role in the Who than any other bassist did in their respective band.

Granted, Flea and RHCP are forever intwined. But he didn't really revolutionize funk bass. He just brought it to a different audience.

So long as he was part of the Beatles it doesn't matter what instrument he plays.

So, the Who = Ox + Moonie + Pete + Rog

Remove any of the variables and you cease to have the Who (as proven by Kenny Jones' stint)

Could you imagine any of the others playing in another group?

Keith Moon in Led Zeppelin? Almost happened, but no way.

Entwistle in the Beatles? Nah, never. Townsend with anyone else?

That's why the Who sucked hard when Kenny Jones came on board.

[BizarroRonJeremy]

Quote:
"So long as he was part of the Beatles it doesn't matter what instrument he plays."

"he" being Paul McCartney...

[Chefguy]

You guys are still talking about this? Chefguy nailed it a while back :D

Jaco was the man all the way down to the cuts between his fingers so he could reach further.

I'm off now to listen to The Chicken on my HD.

Five minutes of Weather Report's music makes me drive ice picks into my ears.

[Marley23]

So, the Who = Ox + Moonie + Pete + Rog
The guys who are still around have admitted this is the case.

I'm not sure what the comment about Paul McCartney meant.

[BizarroRonJeremy]

Marley23, in my previous post, I mentioned the Beatles but I wasn't clear about who I was talking about. I was talking about Paul MCartney.

As if no one knows that Paul was in the Beatles.

Duh.

[Quack]

I'm quite partial to Matt Freeman of Rancid and Operation Ivy. His speed is simply amazing (see the song 'Maxwell Murder' for an example).

However, he is on record as saying that he learned to play by emulating John Entwistle, so I gotta give the edge to Entwistle for being the pioneer.

[Marley23]

I got that bit. I didn't quite understand what you meant by "So long as Paul was part of the Beatles it doesn't matter what instrument he plays."

[Jerrybear]

Please tell me you're kidding. If I had to pick a best musician in The Grateful Dead, perhaps it would be him given the lack of competition, but "Best Rock Bassist of All Time?!?!" Please!

No, I am not kidding! I would also nominate Jerry Garcia for best guitarist and Mickey Hart for best drummer. Why are you hatin' the Dead?