Songs where the bass surprises

Jonathangus

Queen - Another One Bites the Dust and Under Pressure.

The Beatles - Come Together.

Anything by Motörhead.

Nothing off ...And Justice for All.  

munckee

Not sure about surprising but as I understood guitar more it always surprised me how busy Bruce Foxton was in the Jam.  Down In the Tube Station being my favourite bass track of theirs.  Flea is a master, at the other end I'm a massive fan of the pixies where Kim Deal played very basic bass lines but they always sounded great and worked for the song.

GJK1959

munckee said:

Not sure about surprising but as I understood guitar more it always surprised me how busy Bruce Foxton was in the Jam.  Down In the Tube Station being my favourite bass track of theirs.  Flea is a master, at the other end I'm a massive fan of the pixies where Kim Deal played very basic bass lines but they always sounded great and worked for the song.

I saw From the Jam last Saturday - Bruce still has his chops despite looking a bit frail. Mind you they had a chap behind the amps with a tambourine and a bass guitar round his neck just in case…..

riffbrother

Burlesque by Family, played by John Wetton

blobb

Anything with Richard Sinclair on it.

M1ck

Simple minds - waterfront

wesker123

Blur - girls and boys
RATM - bullet in the head

jdgm

Almost anything with Anthony Jackson.

Musicwolf

hollywoodrox said:

Duran Duran - John Taylor
 

I’ve spent quite a bit of today laying down the bass for a backing track for Rio.  AI tech means that I’ve been able to isolate the bass on the original recording so that I can hear what’s going on, plus there are some good YouTube tutorials.  But it’s still a monster.  Getting those ghost notes in was a challenge.

Stuckfast

Herbie Flowers I think. 

Shrews

Atmosphere - Joy Division

(here New Order but still Peter Hook)

Bloody makes you want to cry this song

dindude

The bass in this is an underrated integral part of the song

https://youtu.be/-PdKGDMhau4?si=w88B-CDun1LDZaZk

JezWynd

Dave Richmond on Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3WeNexb2a8

tone1

Rio Duran Duran….during the sax solo. 

ICBM

munckee said:

Not sure about surprising but as I understood guitar more it always surprised me how busy Bruce Foxton was in the Jam.

Foxton's bass is really the lead instrument in the Jam - he carries the melody much more than Weller, who mostly plays rhythmic chords and stabs.

munckee said:

I'm a massive fan of the pixies where Kim Deal played very basic bass lines but they always sounded great and worked for the song.

We've played a few Pixies songs in my band, and her basslines are apparently simplistic but critical to the song.

John Taylor's basslines in pretty much any Duran Duran song are a huge part of why they're a lot more interesting musically than often given credit for.

The Cure's The Lovecats is one where the bass part really pulls you in too.

Philly_Q

I've always loved the way the bass drives Lady Evil by Black Sabbath:

roberty

Not being funny but Paul walks the bass all over the f'n place here while fronting at an arena. Arena shows were still a new phenomenon at this point in history. Cheesy as f but you cannot deny his brilliance, succeeding in a new form and giving Jameson a run for his money 

RocknRollDave

munckee said:

Not sure about surprising but as I understood guitar more it always surprised me how busy Bruce Foxton was in the Jam.  Down In the Tube Station being my favourite bass track of theirs.  Flea is a master, at the other end I'm a massive fan of the pixies where Kim Deal played very basic bass lines but they always sounded great and worked for the song.

Bruce Foxton is very humble about his talents, but he really has no need to be. 

Down in the Tube…is a very well-chosen example, @munckee.

guitars4you

Paul Simon - You can call me Al - Don't know who the bass player is but great lines

Stevie Wonder - I wish - especially the end/fade out - great groove

EricTheWeary

guitars4you said:

Paul Simon - You can call me Al - Don't know who the bass player is but great lines

Bakithi Kumalo. South African musician who went on to be Paul's regular bassist. He plays on most of Graceland. 
The bass solo on Al is the solo he originally played but then played backwards on the tape. Bakithi had to learn the backwards solo for live performances.