re: Best bass lines of all time?

Lots of good stuff ITT. As a bassist I have always been fascinated by how others regard certain bass lines as "great".

For me, the quality of a bass part has two components: the technical proficiency required to play it, and it's musicality, i.e. how well it fits into and supports the song.

A few posters have cited some excellent examples of the latter type - parts that aren't necessarily difficult to play but are memorable because they define the song so well: Roger Waters' unforgettable riff in Pink Floyd's "Money" (weird time signature but pretty straightforward I-IV-V blues progression otherwise) and a lot of Simon Gallup's work with The Cure.

The best bass lines, IMHO, are the ones that meet both criteria. A few of these have already been mentioned, particularly John Entwistle's jaw-dropping "The Real Me". Another of my favorites is this from the late Chris Squire, whose stellar work on "Roundabout" was always second fiddle, so to speak, to another selection from Fragile.

I could go on and on (and already have) so I'll leave you with another fave of mine, one that as a kid made me want to play bass in the first place. It always puts a smile on my face when I hear it, and its even more fun to play: I wonder what ever happened to the kid lead singer...

quote:

---

For me, the quality of a bass part has two components: the technical proficiency required to play it, and it's musicality, i.e. how well it fits into and supports the song.

---

Exactly. Which is why I scoffed at geauxbrown's comment of

quote:

---

Half the guys mentioned in this thread couldn't play these much less come up with them on their own.

---

Its not all about technical proficiency.

But speaking of technical proficiency,
these are three of my favorite bass lines:

Teen Town(Pastorius)

Black Market(Pastorius)

Cucumber Slumber(Alphonso Johnson)

Sting
Murder by Numbers

Hey Bulldog- Beatles

How about Bob Marley's "I shot the sheriff"?

I'm glad that someone at least mentioned Good Vibrations - but that mention should have a little more detail about the bass player.

Carol Kaye - Wrecking Crew If you don't know about the Wrecking Crew - well, you should.

Carol Kaye set a standard that any real bass player knows is pretty much the pinnacle for popular music studio recording. Most of the bass players referenced in this thread are still playing her riffs (or wish they knew how).

quote:

---

No bass player changed the instrument like Rocco

---

John Entwhistle absolutely did.

Probably something Les Claypool wrote

Guaranteed to make you dance or your money back.

Naughty by nature - feel me flow

quote:

---

5 pages and no "roundabout" by YES?

---

Roundabout mentioned several times. Great song.