Is Flea the best bassist of the past 15 years?

D'amour wrote 5 tracks off of Aenema? Could you link me to an article about that? I never knew

And just to toss in the name, what about Chi Cheng from the Deftones?

 

Go to Toolshed and look up about any article from that period.Theres a review of a show in hawaii from that period that mentions it.

 

Peter may not be the best but I still like him.

And the reason why Jason didn't write a lot for Metallica is because James didn't let him.

 

If I want to think Jason was better, I can, it's my opinion. And Flea damn sure isn't the best bassist in the past 15 years.

 

Well, I give Jason credit. If he could play what Cliff wrote and learn it all quickly, he's definately got talent

His own style, though, isn't (his solo work) on par with what I was hoping it'd be.

 

While im not a huge metallica fan,i geuss cliff was ok.I still think no ne can slap as well as Flea.Yes claypool can slap,but his style is laid back and has lots of finger tapping.Fleas is way more aggressive(even thou he has mellowed out)

 

Darthfunkasaurus: What about Larry Graham and John Entwistle? They practically invented slap-bass.

 

Yes but fleas style is sooooo much different than either of theres

 

Would you mind writing us a comparison for them, funkasourous?

 

Well, I give Jason credit. If he could play what Cliff wrote and learn it all quickly, he's definately got talent.

...and mess them up live.

Sorry, couldn't resist. =D

 

Darthfunk: Different? In what way(s)?

 

Fleas style was so much more agrressive.Case in point:at a show in 89,flea was playing so hard he wore a hole in his thumb,having a roadie come out between songs to put glue in the hole.
Now thats fast and hard.There was blood all over his bass.Sly and the familys slap was much more straight funk style.While flea fused punk rock styles(his first band was fear)with that funk to create his own sound

 

And thats why when u listen to the new rhcp record,his playing has evolved so much its amazing.Over the past 20 yrs he has became ,in my mind one of the best musicans ever.Some of u will differ for sure,but thats just me

 

Flea's very good... but I'm just saying you have to give props to Graham and Entwistle for pioneering the sound and paving the way for guys like Flea.

I would also place Geddy Lee's licks right up there... Specifically, in Rush's instrumetal track La Villa Strangiato, Geddy slams through so many styles and tempo and time changes that I seriously doubt Flea could keep up... but then Geddy's got probably 10-15 years of playing on Flea... and Entwistle and Graham have easily more than that over Flea as well. The ferocity and melodic style with which Geddy plays, as opposed to monochromatic rhythmic bass, makes Rush unique... they're one of very few bands where the guitar most often plays rhythm and the bass plays lead.

 

I nearly agree with you funkasaurus. Flea is definitely one of the best out there, no argument there. He's one of my main inspirations.

Whoever said Jason was able to play what Cliff wrote (Metallica) is dead wrong. Cliff used the three finger pluck style, a wah pedal, and did some amazing chops for a metal band. Jason grabbed a pick and played the root notes in steady 4's. Hardly the same thing.

 

I never saw Metallica live, let alone with the different bassists. I figured the guy would be able to at least play the stuff Cliff wrote to get him in the band. My bad

 

With Jason or Cliff, Metallica kicks @$$, and when they reveal their new bassist on their new album they're still gonna kick @$$.

 

I never saw Metallica live, let alone with the different bassists. I figured the guy would be able to at least play the stuff Cliff wrote to get him in the band. My bad

I didn't see them live either but there are alot of MP3's around with them live and Jason screwing up on a song. (most notably Master of Puppets.)

I'm sure he usually plays flawless, I just couldn't resist saying that.

 

I must say cliff is super good.Around the world by the rhcp is a good example of fleas command of the funk.No one plays the funk like him

 

to get to know the difference between Metallica's bassits, first listen to Orion (the original) from Master of Puppets, and Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) from Kill 'Em All.

Then listen to anything post-Cliff and compare basslines. My favorite bassline from Jason was a dead rip-off of Anesthesia, only slower, and more melodic. This was on the Black Album, though the name of the track escapes me. I think it was My Friend of Mysery. He used the same exact notes as the beginning of Cliff's famous bass solo, only changed up the order of them, and repeated it throughout the song.

I know this because I play bass, and know how to play all of the songs I just mentioned.

 

zeev, I hope you weren't talking to me because I know precisely the difference of albums and bassists, I have every album and listen to them religiously. I bleed Metallica, I'll even cut myself to prove it to myself, really. And My Friend of Misery kicks @$$! I love that song, it was on the radio today.

 

Yep, zeek, that's the song

And I think he was talking to everyone, not one person in particular

 

right on, MCOY. I heard a couple people voice their lack of knowledge about the two bassists. I just wanted to clarify.

you don't have to cut yourself to prove you're obsessed with metallica. I can see it in your eyes from here...... I used to really love Metallica, but then I got sick of all the distortion and screaming, and classic rock rip-offs that weren't as good as the original.


oh, and PS - Flea's flippin groovy. That man knows his bass so well. I used to think Les Claypool was better, but then I began to realize that music is about what it sounds like, not how many notes you can cram into a bar. Claypool's the man, but his style leaves something to be desired, IMO. Flea all the way. best rock bassist in my lifetime, methinks.