If Phil Lesh just sounds like "cranked amps" then I can tell you don't listen to the Grateful Dead. He's a lot weirder than that!
I actually think your opinion is interesting. Do you like listening to music? Hasn't a bass "sound" ever turned you on?
It occurs to me it's possible Lunginimsam has heard a limited amount of Jack and Phil and based his opinions on those.
Personally I awlays preferred Jack to Phil, I was "lit up" by his tone on
Baxter's .
Interestingly his solo on "You and Me and Pooneil" on
Fillmore East 1969 (the "Egyptian" cover)
does sound like "cranked amp",
screaming overdrive, and I love it!
Also "Water Song" on
Burgers; think that one's his first true Alembicized bass.
Liked the
other Jack (Bruce), too, not sure if I liked his singing or playing better, but he was pretty versatile as well, using
Wheels of Fire as a good compendium.
Interesting you mention Squire and Clarke. I always thought of them as being in bands that were 1 of 2 primary examples of a "school": Yes/Genesis for "progressive rock" and Return to Forever/Weather Report for "jazz fusion".
Actually never really lit up to Yes or Genesis 'til Yes released
Relayer, with Genesis it was actually Hackett's
Voyage of the Acolyte, but I still don't own any.
Never really lit up to RTF at all, they always sounded too "cold" to me, too" technical", including DiMeola and will always prefer Jaco Pastorius (and Miroslav Vitous) to Clarke (and Zawinul to Corea, although that's a lot closer race) .
At the time I was even bemoaning Jeff Beck getting too "slick" on
Blow by Blow but
Wired and the live "Freeway Jam" on the
Live with the Jan Hammer Group are examples of my stylistic preferences at the time (And still): Less Notes. More Emotion via tone and sustain.
Was also discovering "Euro-rock" like Gong (w/ Steve Hillage) and Aphrodite's Child and Ange, you should check out Gong's
You if you're into the jam band stuff.
Definitely one of those bands where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
"You Never Blow Your Trip Forever":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nu6X5yLrac&list=RD4nu6X5yLrac&index=1
(Hmm, getting the dreaded "black box" when trying to post the direct video today for some reason)
And then there was ECM, the whole damn label, home of Ralph Towner and many other luminaries.
Jazz bassists: Eberhard Weber and Dave Holland.
Heck I even love Jimmy Garrison on
A Love Supreme, I love that woody thrum of a well-played stand-up bass.
In the end I have to say tone, technique, and the music itself all have to satisfy me.
I'll forgive a little bit of weak technique if the tone and music light me up.
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