All Time Great Bass Lines

When thinking of great rock performances, often as not it’s the guitarist or the vocalist who get the plaudits – typically with a band situation they tend to have the more in-your-face personalities – the pyrotechnics – the flashiest gear or technique – often it’s left to the drummer and bass player to hold the fort making sure everything hangs together. However when it comes to the music – bassists more than hold our own – we’re renowned for inventing some of the most compelling hooks and melodies in music as this list of all time great bass lines shows. 1/ New Years Day – U2 Adam Clayton tour-de-force – simple pounding riff – the key element to an all time classic taken from U2’s 1983’s War album 2/ The Chain - Fleetwood Mac Classic Fleetwood Mac – all burning guitars and energy – but there in the middle eight – building up for the finale - John McVie’s simple but incredible hook. 3/ Walk on the Wildside – Lou Reed Over 30 years old but still has that incredible sliding bass hook that everyone knows – produced by Bowie – Perhaps Lou Reed’s finest – and underpinned by that fabulous Herbie Flowers riff. 4/ Pink Floyd – Money Roger Waters in his prime – great riff to start the song – again – an all time classic that everyone remembers for the bass part.a 5/ Stand by me – Ben E King Originally a hit in 1961 – this soul classic with it’s repetitious (but instantly recognizable) 1–6-4 5 note bass riff is a lesson in creating a simple but great groove. 6/ Give it away – Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea – cut loose – loads of punk slap and slide – a single brilliant take on why Flea is one the best bassists ever 7/ Penny Lane – The Beatles Brilliant walking melody from Paul McCartney – released in 1967 – a fantastic lesson in how the melody and song structure can be derived from a brilliant bass line. 8/ Sunshine of your Love - Cream Jack Bruce – repetitious thundering bass line – from one of heavy rocks first great anthems – Cream’s finest hour. 9/ Under Pressure - Queen John Deacon’s finest – pulsating riff – sampled often but never beaten 10/ Don’t give up – Peter Gabriel Tony Levin showing that Bass parts aren’t just about storming riff’s - Levin uses a repeating hook to create the mood of the piece – a lesson in delicate playing! Bass-Soup.com - a resource for all Bass guitarists and enthusiasts - from articles, free bass guitar lessons through to Bass Guitar Reviews - Bass-soup has it all.