Right; nothing mind-blowing or show-offy like “The Real Me” or anything, but it does some of everything: instantly identifiable catchy hook, run-ups before the beat, just hitting the downbeat chords, descending scale (that somehow turns into the hook again), dropping out for a few measures to leave some space and make the bass line grab a little more when it comes back, busy fill below a single chord. Did I mention the hook?
And, like a B.B. King solo, nothing fancy or difficult, but every. note. is. the. right. one.
How about AP’s ‘precision engineered’ bass part for Mayor of Simpleton? I love it.
But my personal favourite bassline is Chuck Rainey's on Peg by Steely Dan. It's grooving along to begin with - but tight - then that line in the lead-in to the chorus - then thumbing and slapping in the chorus! Awesome work.
MiM
Tony Levin’s wack playing with the Chapman Stick here:
(starts at 0:25)
Mesmerizing - I think I’ve seen this Crimson vid a trillion times
Only time I watched that Fridays show when I was a kid - I knew they were gonna come on, and they also did “Thela Hun Gingeet”, where he plays really creepy/awesome lines in the verses, and then punches out a hard-driving three-note pattern during the choruses. I wish I could have located the vid for that one.
(and those “funk finger” thingies he invented - nuts! Can’t tell if uses them on the song “Sleepless” or if he’s just slapping)
Set this one up to play loud (if you like this sort of thing) though be prepared for a law enforcement visit due to neighbors noise complaint. Tommy Bolin’s Post Toasties
I’m really grooving on this bass line that I’m learning right now:
Time Bomb, by Rancid (so upbeat and happy)
Other favorites:
[ul]
[li]Mirror in the Bathroom, by The English Beat (simple, yet mesmerizing)[/li][li]Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Joy Division (full of double stops (“droning”) with the open D string that sound really cool)[/li][li]Longview, by Green Day (again with the double stops)[/li][li]Wipe Out, by The Surfaris (a 12-bar blues bass line has never been so much fun to play!)[/li][/ul]
