# Top 5 bass lines. Of all time???



## haplesshacker (May 6, 2013)

I never could resist the 'Out Of Bounds' section!! 

As a bit of Bank Holiday silliness as I sit here with my face glowing like a 5 bar electric heater. I'd thought I'd have a go at the top 5 bass lines. Subjective of course.

In no particular order.

Chic - Good Times (As used by the Sugarhill Gang's - Rapper's Delight).
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes & Welcome To The Pleasuredome.
Simple Minds - Sons & Fascination.
New Order - Blue Monday.
U2 - Two Hearts Beat As One.
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean.
Okay that's six! (Though technically it's eight!) But I couldn't leave out Billie Jean!

I have links to all the above songs via the blog to YouTube. Just in case you wanna check 'em out like!! (The Frankie Goes To Hollywood one is an absolute treat.)
http://mid-life-crisis-man.blogspot.co.uk


Nope. Still not trying to flog anything, no pop ups and no adverts.


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## Imurg (May 6, 2013)

Chic's I want your love is quality
Police - Walking on the Moon
AC/DC - Sin City
Free - All Right Now
Simple Minds - Glittering Prize...


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## haplesshacker (May 6, 2013)

Derek Forbes and Nile Rodgers in two lists instantly. Though I thought that Derek had lost a bit of his edge, or at least the producer had taken it away a bit by the time NGD was released.


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## brendy (May 6, 2013)

The Jackson 5 "can you feel it" when the bass is tweaked up is pretty powerful in any club I have ever heard it played.
HH, you have your blog link in your sig anyway, is your surname Simpson by any chance?


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## DappaDonDave (May 6, 2013)

Blackstreet Feat Dr Dre - No Diggity
Puff Daddy - I'll be missing you ( i know its an old genesis/phil collins bass line)


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## srixon 1 (May 6, 2013)

I have Rappers delight on 12" vinyl, 15 mins each side and both sides are exactly the same. The label says DJ copy only, but I never was one so don't know how I came accross it.


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## haplesshacker (May 6, 2013)

brendy said:



			The Jackson 5 "can you feel it" when the bass is tweaked up is pretty powerful in any club I have ever heard it played.
HH, you have your blog link in your sig anyway, is your surname Simpson by any chance? 

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Hi Brendy. It's been a long time!! Lol. I only included it in the post as a link to the actual pieces of music. I wouldn't want people having to guess that the blog had the links on it. 

I was going to say something about Mr S's blog. But I'll think you'll find it has a lot more variety to it. oo:


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## Wolfman (May 6, 2013)

Intro to Living on a Prayer

Two Tribes


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## triple_bogey (May 6, 2013)

Agree with the Billie Jean one, but for pure chaos its ''House Of Pain's- Jump Around''


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## Imurg (May 6, 2013)

Have a listen to Red Hot Chilli Pepper's version of Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gs2o5T7oN8


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## user2009 (May 6, 2013)

INXS -  Devil inside, especially the intro


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## Gopher (May 6, 2013)

The Stranglers

Peaches


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## birdieman (May 6, 2013)

Great bass line through Stranglehold by Ted Nugent.
WMA by Pearl Jam has a great hook bass line too.


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## Liverbirdie (May 6, 2013)

Temptations - ball of confusion.


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## pendodave (May 6, 2013)

I love the sheer musicality of Bernard Edwards. The definition of cool.


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## Crow (May 6, 2013)

Oh Well, Peter Green


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## williamalex1 (May 6, 2013)

The Animals -- we gotta get out of this place. to start .


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## Blue in Munich (May 6, 2013)

Wolfman said:



			Intro to Living on a Prayer

Two Tribes
		
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Had to go and listen to Living on a Prayer to see that it actually had a bass line in the intro.  Personally I'd go for the intro to Keep The Faith.  Surprised no-one has mentioned Fleetwood Mac & The Chain, surely the best known bass line of all time?  Ball of Confusion by The Temptations and the intro to The Eagle's One of these Nights would be another 2 for me.


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## haplesshacker (May 6, 2013)

Blue in Munich said:



			Surprised no-one has mentioned Fleetwood Mac & The Chain, surely the best known bass line of all time?
		
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Very surprised indeed. And it should of been on my list.


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## Iaing (May 6, 2013)

Money...Pink Floyd.


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## Captainron (May 6, 2013)

haplesshacker said:



			Very surprised indeed. And it should of been on my list.
		
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Another One bites the dust by Queen is another very well known one


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## williamalex1 (May 6, 2013)

Spencer Davis -- keep on runnin. 
Pink Floyd -- money. [ try playing and singing it ]
Stevie Winwoods ---gimmie some lovin . so simple but , powerful when played right .
Deep Purple --- black knight ,  easy and good to play
Drifters -- down at the club


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## pendodave (May 6, 2013)

Captainron said:



			Another One bites the dust by Queen is another very well known one
		
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Rip of good times by the aforementioned Mr Edwards...

I hope the dates bear me out...


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## PhilTheFragger (May 7, 2013)

Taste of honey- boogie Oogie Oogie
Nirvana - Come as you are
Cardigans - Zombie
Level 42 - lessons in Love
Diana Ross- Upside Down  ( Bernard Edwards again )


All goodies


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## super hans (May 7, 2013)

Joy Division - Digital
Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums (nap)
Senser - Switch
Cypress Hill - I Aint Going Out Like That
Neds Atomic Dustbin - Legoland


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## Sharktooth (May 7, 2013)

PIL - Public Image
Beastie Boys - Sabotage


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## birdieman (May 7, 2013)

Gary Numan's Music for Chameleons - causes the listener to engage in involuntary air bass as demonstrated by Alan Partridge:clap: -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lecytazY6n4


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## StrangelyBrown (May 7, 2013)

haplesshacker said:



			Michael Jackson - Billie Jean.
		
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Really? Over and above Smooth Criminal?

Anyways, the best bass line of all time happens to be the intro to "Three Button Hand-Me-Down" by The Faces


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## MarkA (May 7, 2013)

Imurg said:



			Chic's I want your love is quality
Police - Walking on the Moon
AC/DC - Sin City
Free - All Right Now
Simple Minds - Glittering Prize...
		
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Great choices! Can I add:

Queen: Under Pressure


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## Wolfman (May 7, 2013)

Blue in Munich said:



			Had to go and listen to Living on a Prayer to see that it actually had a bass line in the intro.  Personally I'd go for the intro to Keep The Faith.  Surprised no-one has mentioned Fleetwood Mac & The Chain, surely the best known bass line of all time?  Ball of Confusion by The Temptations and the intro to The Eagle's One of these Nights would be another 2 for me.
		
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I had to play it for many years so there was no doubt in my mind !


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## Region3 (May 7, 2013)

RHCP - Around The World


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## StrangelyBrown (May 7, 2013)

I forgot about "From Out Of Nowhere" by Faith No More - amazing bass all over that song.


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## Alex1975 (May 7, 2013)

I am a drum & bass head, I owned a record shop that just sold drum & bass as a young man.... My top 5 bass lines are things you would never have herd of and would smash everything listed.


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## One Planer (May 7, 2013)

Papa Roach - Last Resort
Slipknot - Vermillion
System of a Down - Chop Suey
Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff
Marilyn Manson -  Fight Song


I could name more, but that'll do for now :smirk:


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## Paul_Stewart (May 7, 2013)

Was only talking about this subject last night.    Two Tribes was one we came up with and we had Beat it by Michael Jackson in there too.   Atomic by Blondie got a few mentions as well.


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## SatchFan (May 7, 2013)

Level 42 - Hot Water


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## ADB (May 7, 2013)

Can't believe 'Walk on the Wild Side' by Lou Reed has not had a mention. Might not be the most complex, but certainly one of the most recognisable.


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## ADB (May 7, 2013)

SatchFan said:



			Level 42 - Hot Water
		
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Gotta agree - Mark King can really slap a line...great underrated song.


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## Doon frae Troon (May 7, 2013)

Queen.....Under Pressure


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## Darth Fader (May 7, 2013)

Ace of spades.....................Motorhead


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## 6inchcup (May 7, 2013)

anything that the late and greatest bass player ever bar non played on i am of course referring to JOHN "THE OX" ENTWISTLE.


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## AuburnWarrior (May 7, 2013)

If you want basslines then it's EZ Rollers - walk this land.

Or Sonz of a loop da loop era - far out.

Or Faithless - Insomnia.

Get yourself an active subwoofer, set it to MAX and away you go!

The neighbours WILL complain though.


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## SocketRocket (May 7, 2013)

Not really sure what a 'Bass Line' is but in ignorance I would say 'Bat out of hell'


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## Blue in Munich (May 7, 2013)

Wolfman said:



			I had to play it for many years so there was no doubt in my mind !
		
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Fair enough, for me Keep the Faith was the much more distinctive bass line intro, and I don't notice too much bass line in my preferred version of Livin' on a Prayer;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5g_LX0BYi0


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## andycap (May 7, 2013)

Norman watt roy  , hit me with your rhythm stick , Ian dury and the blockheads. Great bass player and a great backing band , 
Also look at stuff by people like Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius and you can see where a lot of bass players got their ideas and styles from


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## AuburnWarrior (May 7, 2013)

Mark King of Level 42?  One of the best bassists of all time!


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## Liverbirdie (May 7, 2013)

Smoke on the water - but the rock aid Armenia version (Bruce Dickinson on vocals also).

Sacrilege, cos it's not Purple? No way, listen and judge.


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## JPH (May 8, 2013)

Alex1975 said:



			I am a drum & bass head, I owned a record shop that just sold drum & bass as a young man.... My top 5 bass lines are things you would never have herd of and would smash everything listed.
		
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Try me , love the bass line from return of forever , all those really rotten ed rush and optical ones as on wormhole or even the creeps - pacman has a nice bline - I'm a techno head myself , produced and played live for many years with limited success - a few mates are dyed in the wool Drum and bass djs so have been exposed to tons of it


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## JPH (May 8, 2013)

Pump panels remix of new orders confusion 

Fat and direct and played on a little plastic silver box ... Awesome


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## JPH (May 8, 2013)

AuburnWarrior said:



			If you want basslines then it's EZ Rollers - walk this land.

Or Sonz of a loop da loop era - far out.

Or Faithless - Insomnia.

Get yourself an active subwoofer, set it to MAX and away you go!

The neighbours WILL complain though. 

Click to expand...

Ha ha nice I had an active thx approved 600 watt mackie sub in my studio , rattled the windows proper , used to run my synth through it and set the frequency on the oscillators way down , then turn up the volume , didn't make any noise but the house would vibrate 
Awesome


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## Liverbirdie (May 8, 2013)

Shame on the forum - no mention of The Jam's "Down in the tube station at midnight".


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## Ethan (May 9, 2013)

The Cure - A Forest


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## JPH (May 9, 2013)

F



Ethan said:



			The Cure - A Forest
		
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Good call


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## palindromicbob (May 10, 2013)

brendy said:



			The Jackson 5 "can you feel it" when the bass is tweaked up is pretty powerful in any club I have ever heard it played.
HH, you have your blog link in your sig anyway, is your surname Simpson by any chance? 

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they were pumping that song in Liberties last year.


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## Darth Fader (May 10, 2013)

Heaven and Hell........................Black Sabbath


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## PhilTheFragger (May 10, 2013)

Smokey Robinson - just to see her
Lovely smooth bass line


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## Luulox (May 10, 2013)

darling dear- Jackson 5
war pigs - Black Sabbath
I want you back- Jackson five
rabbit - chaz and dave. No laughing at the back! check it out its better than you would expect 
Cake - I will survive
Search and destroy - stooges/rhcp
One too many but I couldn't decide which to dump
Cheers
Pete


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## hangover (May 10, 2013)

The Who - My Generation
Pink Floyd - One of these days
The Who - 5'15. The john entwhistle bass solo is awesome too.


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## Sharktooth (May 18, 2013)

As its Ian's anniversary I've got to mention Hookys bass on "Love will tear us apart"


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## SaintHacker (May 18, 2013)

Metallica - Orion. End of thread


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