As the title states, my 16 year-old son is an aspiring rock god. He has been playing the cello and the double bass in a youth symphony for the past five years and he has joined the jazz band in school. That said, he has asked me for all of my good rock cds. Specifically, he wants all of my Zeppelin cds. Of course I told him to bugg-off.
That said, I am going to the recycled record store this weekend to buy him a bunch of rock cds to feed his new passion. So which ones would be useful for a young rocker to cut his teeth on? As far as I can tell, he is not mad at me, so please do not recommend any speed/death metal (plus, I do not want to have to listen to it).
Here is my current list:
Led Zeppelin - II and Physical Graffiti
Rush - Moving Pictures and Rush
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon and Animals
The Who - Who’s Next or Greatest Hits
Chicago - Greatest Hits or ??? (Pre-sappy ballad Chicago)
When I got into playing bass I focused on Rush. Figured if I could handle that, I could play anything. But what you show here is perfect. Especially Led Zep. Just reminded me, Tony Levin (one of the best bass players of all time) is a neighbor of mine and plays at a local bar on occasion. Christ, talk about inspiration…
Led Zeppelin - II and Physical Graffiti
Rush - Moving Pictures and Rush
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon and Animals
The Who - Who’s Next or Greatest Hits
Chicago - Greatest Hits or ??? (Pre-sappy ballad Chicago)
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Anything by The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Van Halen, Credence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, AC/DC, and Queen.
A bass affliction???
Ain’t no pill gonna cure that ill.
There are so many good basslines in rock and roll, and so many good bass players. But it will all come down to 1)who your son likes to listen to, 2)his talent and ability to learn, and 3) the transition from double bass to electric bass.
If he plays the upright, his hands are already strong enough to close the strings, although you need to adapt to some elbow and wrist twist.
Fret technique is very different on electric, too, he’ll learn to use four fingers, one per fret.
As for albums? Everything already mentioned is good, but listen to Transformer by Lou Reed. Herbie Flowers has some unique basslines, and he plays doublebass on a couple songs, too.
John Deacon from Queen plays some great bass lines.
Iron Maiden’s bass player, Steve Harris, was/(is) their primary songwriter so a lot of their stuff has some pretty cool lines.
I just watched a concert on tv of REM and Mike Mills bass playing was very cool. I never really noticed from listening to their music, but he really showed how a bass player can be the most important member of the band.
Anything by Rush is good. Althought I can’t stand the band, Red Hot Chili Peppers has tons of good bass, by Flea. Also, anything Les Claypool touches would be great…Primus mainly but Les has about 10 bands going at any given moment.
My 16 year old son’s been playing bass for about 2 years (after 9 years of classical piano). He advanced so quickly that he was a better bassist after 2 months than I was after 3 years! He learned to play the rock classics, and now is studying Zappa, Jaco, and jazz. He’s on a 5-string right now and wants a fretless. He’s a finger player.
It is simply amazing how kids can shift from one instrument to another in what seems like no time at all. While not quite as much of a switch as piano to bass, my boy went from cello to the double bass (big kid- big hands) and was plucking away like a champ in a matter of weeks.
[quote]VanderLaan wrote:
was plucking away like a champ in a matter of weeks. [/quote]
Like Ted Nugent says, “It’s all the attitude” though Ted probably said, it’s all in the fuckin’ attitude. It’s great how kids don’t feel self-conscious like us old fuckers and can just rock !!!
OP and Iron Dwarf…if you guys play, do your best to get your kids to jam with you. My son played bass to my guitar in a youth band at our church. It was awesome. I welled up every time we played…of course…he was only 11/12 at the time so he wasn’t ‘too cool’ to be seen playing with me…with your sons being 16…you might have to start out jamming in the garage.
Yes - Yessongs You either have this or know someone that does.
Extreme - Waiting For The Punchline(always thought bassist Pat Badger was like Nuno, an outstanding musican, but underappreciated) If the only thing you’ve heard is “More Than Words” do yourself a favor and check them out!
Get him “Exit, Stage Left” by Rush. This is a live album which has a lot of their earlier material. 2112 is another good one. Moving Pictures as well. Basically any Rush is good, although I’d avoid anything from 1984-1991 (Grace Under Pressure to Roll the Bones).
Actually Geddy got nominated for “Best Bass Line” in the instrumental of their new album, called Malignant Narcisism
As almost everyone knows, before Sting went solo and sorta “soccer mom” he was with The Police. He played some tremendous grooves; especially live. Check out their live album that features a 1979 concert in Boston and a 1984 concert in Atlanta. Also, if you can find some live bootlegs (they are floating around out there) you’ll hear some tremendous playing.
