Wheat's BassBook

Listening Guide

No one can tell you what you should listen to in order to be a good bassist. Most musicians will tell you that it's important to listen to everything (especially styles and instruments you're less familiar with). All I want to do here is include a few albums which I think have had a substantial impact on my own playing, and on electric bass playing in general. This isn't a popularity contest, so I hope I won't offend anyone by not mentioning a player someone out there admires. I'll be exapanding this list everytime I encounter a new player or remember another who deserves mention, but this is not meant to be a comprehensive list.

The name of the bassist (except for solo albums by bassists) is in parenthesis following the name of the band or artist the bassist acompanies.

James Brown (Bootsy Collins) -- The CD of JB
Bootsy is one of the kinks of funk. His approach is minimal, not flashy, but he knows how to add just the right emphasis to make people move.

The Police (Sting) -- [the entire catalog]
Sting's lines are a perfect example of effective, tasty, melodic minimalism. He can bring the simplest of lines alive by the grace of note choices and articulation.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (Victor Wooten) -- Live Art
A truly inspirational double-live album with stunningly intricate and melodic bass playing throughout. I've seen Victor live, and this disk captures much of the excitement of his playing.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers (Flea) -- [most anything]

I first understood slapping by learning Flea's line to "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" which is on the Chili Peppers' first, self-titled, album. Flea's playing covers a lot of styles, especialy for a player who freely admits that he knows nothing about music theory. He certainly has great ears and quick hands.

Marcus Miller -- The Sun Don't Lie

This album is a bit too clean and synth oriented for my tastes, but it does feature Miller's signature tone and some fine soloing.

Charles Mingus -- [Entire Catalog]

The absolutely incredible bassist, pianist, and composer. Most of his stuff is great. Grab a greatest hits (the Rhino Box is good) or a copy of Mingus Ah Um. Mingus takes lots of great bass solos. One of the best is to be found on "Hatian Fight Song" which is available on many "best of" collections.

Fishbone (Norwood Fisher) -- Truth and Soul

Norwood Fisher is one of the best slap bassists out there. "Bonin' in the Boneyard" was an early classic of slap/funk. This is, to my knowlege, Fishbone's most listenable album. The songwriting is strong throughout.

Jaco Pastorius -- Jaco Pastorius

What can you say about Jaco that hasn't already been said? Probably nothing. He was one of the greatest inovators of all time on the electric bass (especially the fretless). He was one of the first bassists to exploit the full range of the bass. This, is first, self-titled, solo album was released in 1976. It features some of his finest playing and writing.

Weather Report (Jaco Pastorius) -- Heavy Weather & 8:30
Jaco's solo work has been very influential. But you owe it to yourself to check him out in the group that made him famous. Weather Report's Heavy Weather is a landmark jazz/fusion album. And 8:30 is a good live recording that will give you a pretty broad introduction to Jaco's work.

Victor Wooten -- [entire catalog]

Victor has done a great deal to show just what can be played on the bass, and he has something many virtuoso's lack: taste. His first solo release, A Show of Hands is all Victor: no overdubs or punch-ins. But trust me, you'll find that hard to believe. Victor's second solo release, What Did He Say? continues to document his incredible playing. This time around he uses lots of overdubs (the opposite of his no-overdub apporach on "A Show of Hands"). The effects are amazing. The most recent effort, Yin/Yang is a double album aimed much more at the smooth jazz crowd. But the writing is very solid. And one disc is entirely instumental, while the other contains vocal tracks.

Black Sabbath (Geezer Butler) -- [the first thee albums] Geezer Butler's work on the first three Black Sabbath albums sets the stage for all hard rock and metal bassists who came later. Geezer's lines are high in the mix on these discs. He's the sort of bassist who knows when to follow the guitar and when to play in counterpoint to it. His gritty, slightly distorted tone and occasional use of effects also had a lasting influence. If rock or metal is your thing, you have to check this stuff out.