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Top7 List #33

Who better to come up with this week's list, the Top 7 Bass Players, than the drummer from the greatest rock band that didn't have a bass player? Our guest Top7 compiler is John Densmore, the legendary drummer of The Doors.
 

The notion of putting together a list of bass players has been encircling my thoughts for several weeks, but I found it much more difficult to assemble that a list of guitarists or bass albums. I asked some of the musicians I know, and they were equally stumped. "Too hard to find a criteria," some said, or, "Some of the best players are invisible," or, "Beats the hell out of me." When I asked John, it took him all of one minute to come up with his first draft. He's since taken some time to put this list into order, and had to (painfully) exclude a few names, but in the end came up with a masterful list:

 

 		 Flea Red Hot Chili Peppers
 

The guy is just a monster. Electric, funk monster.
 


 

 		 Harvey Brooks misc.
 

Harvey played on The Doors fourth album, The Soft Parade, and I was very excited to work with him because of his feel in the Electric Flag, a group with many great blues players. Harvey is on a live Dylan cut, which is the funkiest thing that I've ever heard. We had lots of laughs playing together.
 


 

 		 Charles Mingus Mingus
 

Simply the most inovative jazz bassist alive or dead. Compositions poured out of this genius which were as Americana as Aron Copeland.
 


 

 		 Larry Taylor Canned Heat
 

Larry Taylor used to slam his head up and down so violently I was worried that it might just dislodge and roll off on to the floor. He now plays acoustic with Tom Waits, and plays it beautifully. In terms of feel, he's in the Ray Brown category.
 


 

 		 Larry Graham Sly & the Family Stone
 

Playing with The Family Stone, he invented the popping type of bass playing that started an entirely new style with fusion.
 


 

 		 Jaco Pastorius misc.
 

Jacko has been upstairs for several years now. He turned the electric bass into a guitar, his playing was so melodic. He was more self-destructive than our old lead singer, but so creative. Joni Mitchell has waxed on about how great it was to have him play on one of her albums.
 


 
Ray Brown misc.
 

Ray Brown, bass just checked into the big band upstairs, had the best groove of any bass player, acoustic or electric. In fact, I reviewed him playing with Oscar Peterson at the Westwood Playhouse some years ago. The piece was for the L.A. Weekly and I recall saying that "Ray Brown dug a groove so deep that the mud splattered halfway up his pant legs."


John is still feeling the pain of not having Jack Bruce or Danny Thompson on this list, what about you? If you're feeling that your fave has been snubbed, head on over to the Rush boards and lay it down, man!
 

(thanks, George)

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