The bass participant is historically the “quiet one” in a band – or as Spinal Faucet’s Derek Smalls would put it, the lukewarm water. However that’s seldom the case in prog rock, the place bassists have been liable for traditional riffs, mighty backside ends, and even a couple of dazzling solos. On this checklist of one of the best prog rock bassists ever, we soar into the deep finish, and salute the four-stringers (or, in some instances, eight or 12) that put the underside into prog.
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20: Nic Potter (Van der Graaf Generator)
Van der Graaf made do with no bass participant for a lot of its profession, however Potter was important on two early albums, and once more on the 1978 stay set Important. It’s his work on the latter that lands him right here, enjoying among the dirtiest, punk-inspired bass ever captured on a prog album – no shock he wound up in a punk band (the Tigers on A&M) simply afterward. He additionally has probably the most offbeat credit score of anybody on this checklist: That’s him on the stay facet of Chuck Berry’s London Classes.
19: Tal Wilkenfeld
This Australian prodigy made her identify as a monster of fusion bass, stealing the present in her touring stints with Chick Corea and Jeff Beck. Later touring solo, and releasing the album Love Stays, she proved to be extra about refined songwriting, hinting each at prog and the jazz-inspired pop of Joni Mitchell. Anybody who’s recorded with each Todd Rundgren and Trevor Rabin earns her place on a prog checklist.
18: Scott Thunes (Frank Zappa)
The final of Frank Zappa’s common bassists, Scott Thunes served the longest stint and arguably had probably the most on his plate. Recording and touring with Frank all by way of the ‘80s, Thunes got called on to play everything from hit singles (that’s him doing the fearsome lead bass on “Valley Girl”), to revived Moms oldies in live performance, to the endlessly sophisticated charts of Zappa’s remaining, large-band tour.
17: Billy Sherwood (Sure, and so forth.)
Sherwood is a kind of musical brainiacs that appear to abound in trendy prog; on quite a few band tasks (together with the Prog Collective and lots of tribute albums) he performs each instrument and sings lots of vocals. In Sure alone he’s performed keyboards, guitar, and bass in separate stints. However he performed bass effectively sufficient to impress his buddy Chris Squire; as a present Sure member he can efficiently evoke Squire’s model with out copying it.
16: Esperanza Spalding
Like many open-minded jazz gamers, Esperanza Spalding has saved a foot in rock – and when she rocks, she’s undeniably proggy. Greatest instance is the 2016 album Emily’s D-Evolution, whose greatest moments recommend what Rush and Crimson would possibly sound like if they’d robust frontwomen and a grounding in R&B. With producer Tony Visconti aboard, there’s additionally some Bowie-esque enjoying with id. Thus far it’s a one-off in her catalogue (although there are proggy moments on the followup, 12 Little Spells) however her work will doubtless proceed to fascinate.
15: Les Claypool (Primus, and so forth.)
Of all of the bass heroes within the trendy jam-band circuit, Les Claypool is the clearest about his love for classic prog – particularly for Rush, a love he shares together with his Primus bandmates who took up a full-blown tribute tour in 2022. However Claypool’s references go in different instructions as effectively: He has roots in funk, steel, and fusion and attracts these all collectively, together with his quirky humorousness, to create a mode of his personal. That’s what being progressive is all about.
14: Pekka Pohjola (Wigwam, solo)
Initially the bassist for Finland’s greatest (and possibly solely) internationally identified prog band Wigwam, Pohjola all the time labored melodic concepts into his basslines, suggesting that he was itching to department out as a composer. The 1977 solo album The Mathematician’s Air Show is maybe one of the best demonstration of his expertise, and options among the tastiest guitar work Mike Oldfield did exterior his personal albums.
13: Glenn Cornick (Jethro Tull)
Jethro Tull arguably had extra nice bassists than any prog band this facet of Zappa, however cofounder Cornick stands out for his jazz affect, which was key to Tull’s earlier sound. He additionally has the uncommon distinction of getting performed a bass solo on a UK hit single, “Bouree.” After Tull he was the founder and essential songwriter of the ignored Wild Turkey, whose materials was closely bass riff-driven.
12: Percy Jones (Model X, periods)
One of many nice prog rock bassists, the sound of Jones’s plucked Wal fretless is totally particular person, and it took the lead on lots of Model X’s signature items – most notably his composition, the dizzingly energetic “Malaga Vergen.” Additionally word the fantastically atmospheric use that Brian Eno made from his sound on the instrumental, “Energy Fools the Magician.”
11: Julie Slick (Adrian Belew, Echotest)
Ex-Crimson member Adrian Belew is all the time at his greatest when he has musicians who can chase and problem him, and given his degree of virtuosity, that’s a fairly tall order. However he met his match on this younger firebrand of a bassist, and their onstage interaction could be downright thrilling. Verify the assorted stay variations of “Ampersand” to see the form of sparring they get into, all throughout the confines of a heavy rock tune. Slick’s personal band Echotest additionally shows a mixture of technical chops and melodic smarts.
10: Dave Pegg (Jethro Tull, Fairport Conference)
This nice participant tends to get pegged (sorry) as a folk-rock bassist, as a consequence of his lengthy stint in Fairport Conference. However he additionally helped make them a harder-rocking outfit, when he changed the extra traditionally-minded Ashley Hutchings. And he got here into Tull simply as they had been popping out of their folk-rock interval, venturing into the fashionable rock territory of A and Broadsword & the Beast. His folks background meant that he might add a sprightly contact to the trickiest components.
9: Holger Czukay (Can, and so forth.)
Can’s cofounder by no means thought of himself a proficient bassist, however that’s irrelevant: He expanded the sonic and textural prospects of bass guitar, laying down among the quirkiest grooves ever recorded. “Pinch” and “Soup” (each from 1972’s Ege Bamyasi) had been left-field but funky, and proved extremely influential. In later years Czukay collaborated with a few of his admirers, notably PiL’s Jah Wobble and U2’s The Edge.
8: Hugh Hopper (Smooth Machine, and so forth.)
A key participant in the fertile Canterbury scene, Hopper didn’t a lot step over the jazz/rock/avant-garde boundaries as ignore them fully. His enjoying on “Facelift” (one among 4 side-long tracks on Smooth Machine’s Third) is a bass catalogue in itself – from the drones within the opening atonal part, to the heavy riffage because the piece fires up, to the eerie calm on the finish, the place Hopper is seemingly enjoying forwards as the remainder of the band is recorded backward.
7: Jon Camp (Renaissance)
The traditional Renaissance lineup was one of many few with no lead guitarist (Michael Dunford performed solely acoustic), and their keyboardist John Tout was strictly classically-oriented. That left Camp to place the rock into Renaissance’s prog: His basslines had been upfront, muscular, and on a monitor like “Running Hard,” the de facto lead instrument. His solo on the lengthy Carnegie Corridor model of “Ashes Are Burning” is a stunner too.
6: Greg Lake (ELP, King Crimson)
Whenever you’re enjoying with one of many flashiest drummers and most flamboyant keyboardists in prog historical past, you’d higher be a rock-solid prog rock bassist. That was Greg Lake’s job in ELP (when he wasn’t singing or enjoying acoustic guitar), and he held down that backside finish with mighty energy: Verify “Fanfare for the Common Man,” the place he anchors the jam with a riff derived from John Lee Hooker. Or the “Blues Variation” part of Footage At an Exhibition, the place he kicks his bandmates into motion.
5: Mike Rutherford (Genesis)
Lengthy earlier than he took over the lead guitar slot in Genesis, Mike Rutherford performed bass like a pissed off lead guitarist. And that was an exquisite factor, leading to among the band’s most muscular moments – the fuzz bass lead in “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” the busy riffing in “…In That Quiet Earth,” the barrage of rhythm in “Los Endos.” As if that wasn’t sufficient, he might then flip round and play one thing as mild as his personal composition, “Ripples.”
4: John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia, Household)
John Wetton was so good at singing – and so well-known for it in his Asia days – that his greatness as a prog bassist tends to get ignored. However look no additional than a classic King Crimson monitor like “Larks Tongues in Aspic, Part 1,” the place his wah-wah bass put the gasoline in a ferocious jam; or to the heavy bass riff on UK’s “In the Dead of Night.” He was additionally one of many few prog rock bassists with a stable grasp of funk; verify Household’s “Burlesque” for proof.
3: Tony Levin (King Crimson, and so forth.)
Levin might be the main participant of the Chapman Stick, a twelve-stringed monolith that allows the participant to tackle basslines, chords, and melody strains concurrently – if, after all they’re as much as the duty. It’s the right software for modern-day King Crimson, the place polyrhythms are the factor. For all of the exploration he will get into, Levin by no means overwhelms the track; he was the bassist of selection for all of the A-list songwriters (James Taylor, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel) earlier than entering into Crimson.
2: Geddy Lee (Rush)
Rush was distinctive amongst energy trios in that everyone performed lead just about on a regular basis. Rush piece hits you with a lot data that you simply don’t all the time register who’s enjoying what. However Lee’s dexterity on the bass is not possible to overlook, as is his full-blooded tone. The supremely difficult instrumental “YYZ” will all the time be a kind of items that younger prog rock bassists will attempt to grasp – and as soon as they’ve finished that, later Rush instrumentals just like the multi-part “Leave That Thing Alone” are much more of a masterclass.
1: Chris Squire (Sure)
Maybe an apparent selection, however Squire was a large and probably the most distinctive of prog rock bassists, with a Rickenbacker tone to die for: One lick and you realize it’s him. He offered the instrumental hook of many key Sure tracks; enjoying lead on the opening of “Roundabout” whereas guitarist Steve Howe is on acoustic. He could possibly be delicate and supportive when crucial – however for pure sonic thrills try his opening solo of Sure’ “On the Silent Wings of Freedom.” Or the Rick Wakeman solo monitor “Crime of Passion,” the place he enters two minutes in with a dramatic monster riff.
On the lookout for extra? Uncover the Biggest Prog Rock Albums Of All Time.
