5 Underrated Bass Players of Yore (and not so Yore).

Cliff Williams - AC/DC

I have often thought that Cliff Williams has one of the best jobs in the world. Stand to the left of the drum riser and hammer on a few notes per song while observing the onstage antics of your frontman and guitar player and delighting in the erstwhile female top-removal. Occasionally you walk up to the mic to shout “Hell’s Bells!” or some such thing, then head back to your post.

While Phil Rudd, Williams’ rhythm section partner, has come in for some accolades over the years for his unadorned grooves, Williams remains unappreciated. I love the sound of the 8th note bassline. I can’t hear it enough.

Adam Clayton - U2

Another 8th note man, Clayton varies things a bit more than Williams but still keeps it simple. Apparently a young Clayton bluffed his way into U2, having told the others he was a musician when in fact he had never played a note. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.

It’s notable that Clayton started as one of rock’s most unglamorous cliches--that of the kid shoved onto bass because he couldn’t play anything else--and has transformed himself into the coolest member of the band. An inspirational example for you kids out there.

Bill Wyman - Rolling Stones.

Wyman seems to have gotten into the Stones on the basis of being well-stocked in guitar amps, and thereafter was merely tolerated by his younger, hipper bandmates (the equally un-badass Charlie Watts has always seemed to command a level of respect that eluded Wyman).

In later Stones recordings he delivered a lot of prominent, high-on-the-fretboard basslines (‘Miss You,’ ‘Undercover’), but it’s the earlier stuff I like better. On songs like ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ or ‘Satisfaction,’ the bass often has a murky quality to it, adding something dark to the general feel of the song, but surging forward every now-and-then to provide some real dynamics. (Note that many of the more prominent Stones basslines of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, such as ‘Jumpin' Jack Flash,' Sympathy For the Devil’ and ‘Tumblin Dice,’ were supplied by Keith Richards or Mick Taylor).

Paul McCartney - The Beatles.

It’s hard to think of Paul McCartney as being under-rated, yet has he really ever gotten his due from an instrumental perspective? Right from the early Beatlemania days his playing provided a lot of pulse and backbone, and he was always capable of some ear-catching departures (‘Taxman’). Seen as the melodious pretty boy of the band, he plays with a lot more swagger than given credit for.

Alejandro de Malaspina - Huxley

Huxley is one of the more interesting ‘could’ve been’ bands to emerge with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Their first bassist, John Altamont, left shortly before recording commenced on the band’s debut album because of repeated clashes with some of the group’s more intractable personalities.

Initially the band’s driver, De Malaspina (credited on the album as ‘Aljoz’) was recruited hastily. An alleged illegal resident of Great Britain at the time, he had apparently never played an instrument before. This may account for why the bottom end is at times brought to almost inaudible levels in the mix.

And yet it’s presence is makes itself known in a solid, reliable way, asserting itself occasionally in what is something of a metal version of the Bill Wyman style I mentioned earlier.