John Paul Jones vs Geezer Butler vs Roger Glover!
veddertown
Scotland Posts: 5,260
Three awesome bands from the same era, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, three awesome bass players but which is the best? I'd personally rank them:
1. John Paul Jones
2. Geezer Butler
3. Roger Glover
There's not much in it between GB and RG but for me Geezer's fills are a little more busy than Roger's and he injects more life into the music. Roger is bailed out a bit by having John Lord by his side but is still a shit hot bassist all the same.
1. John Paul Jones
2. Geezer Butler
3. Roger Glover
There's not much in it between GB and RG but for me Geezer's fills are a little more busy than Roger's and he injects more life into the music. Roger is bailed out a bit by having John Lord by his side but is still a shit hot bassist all the same.
Like a book among the many on a shelf...
Dublin 02 Arena - 22/6/10. Belfast Odyssey Arena - 23/6/10. London Hyde Park - 25/6/10. Berlin Wuhlheide - 30/6/10.
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Dublin 02 Arena - 22/6/10. Belfast Odyssey Arena - 23/6/10. London Hyde Park - 25/6/10. Berlin Wuhlheide - 30/6/10.
Manchester MEN - 20/06/12. Manchester MEN - 21/06/12
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Oh, you weren't asking the best. Just of the rest. Carry on.
Chris Squire
Tony Levin
Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
As for Entwistle, much like Moon, he was perfect for that band, and had a very unique style, but couldn't play any other way BUT that style. Neither he or Moon could have played in any other band. Entwistle himself admitted he wasn't a "proper bass player". I'd say Townshend did more to keep the rhythm in that band than either member of the rhythm section. The sound Moon and Entwistle made was beautiful, but that's the only sound they COULD make. Not flexible at all.
I'm not arguing. JPJ was great. But, he is no John Entwistle, and lumping him with Keith (whose assessment I do agree with as good as he was) is wrong.
While we're at it, Moon couldn't even start to approach what Bonzo could do on the drums from a standpoint of diversity and taste.
If JPJ turned me down I'd go with Geezer, if all he did was write War Pigs on his resume.
So what? Bob Kurland was the first person to dunk a basketball, that doesn't make him the best basketball player ever. I'm not saying Entwistle wasn't innovative and original, he certainly was. He had the benefit of playing in a band that let him do his own thing, which is fortunate because he really couldn't do anything else. The only reason I brought up Moon is because of their similar situation, they both were in a band that let them shine by doing things their way, and never required them to have fundamentals. It worked for THAT band, but you couldn't really substitue Entwistle into Zeppelin, The Beatles, Stones, or whoever.
I love his playing, but I think he sort of falls into a category with the likes of Les Claypool (who I also love) as gimmick bassists. I know that probably sounds like a dig at them, but it's not meant to be. They work in their respective bands, but there are few other places that their talents would be needed, or even welcome. Sure, most bass players probably can't re-create their playing. But other than being a fan or wanting to tackle the challenge, why would they want to? There's more to playing bass than just wild solos and taking the lead on songs. It's the same reason I don't consider Buckethead the greatest guitarist ever. He can do things that the Jimmy Pages, Eric Claptons, and Mike McCreadys of this world can't, but there is more to music than just doing things that others can't.
Crazy technical skill is all well and good, but it's not the only thing. Which is why I would take JPJ over Entwistle any day. He might not be able to do some things Entwistle could (though I bet the farm Entwistle probably couldn't have done a lot of things JPJ did) but he has much more range and flexibility.
The Who are one of those bands that amaze me how lucky they were to find each other. They work so perfectly together, but I don't think any one of them would have made it in another band. And when I say that I'm just taking Townshend's guitar skill into account, not his songwriting, which I'm sure any band would have been happy to have. The Who might be the happiest accident in rock music history, and thank God for it. But the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. So I don't have any problem calling them one of the greatest bands, but don't really consider any of the individuals the greatest at their instruments.
Anyway, that's my two cents. And maybe I'm WAY off. That's how I see it though.