Top 10 Hardest Bass Riffs To Play
#10: “Maxwell Murder” (1995)
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Rancid The world of punk rock isn’t always known for the complexity of its musicianship, but Rancid has always been a notable exception. Matt Freeman is up there with the genre’s best, an outlier from the often-simplistic technique of many punk bassists in that he works his way allll up and down the neck. Root notes? Matt Freeman laughs at your root notes, and instead does a bitchin’ bass solo during “Maxwell Murder” that is straight fire. Freeman’s bass actually fills out the entirety of “Maxwell Murder,” pumped up high in the mix so we can hear just how much the Rancid and Operation Ivy veteran makes every song better by his playing.
#9: “One Nation Under a Groove” (1978)
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Funkadelic Simply stated, Bootsy Collins is a BEAST. He’s a funk bass playing icon, and he was joined by two other fantastic fat stringers on Funkadelic’s 1978 commercial smash, “One Nation Under a Groove.” The album credits Collins, Skeet Curtis and Boogie Mosson on bass duties, but you’ll likely be too busy gettin’ DOWN to notice who’s laying down those fat grooves. Funk and soul bass playing serves as an essential cornerstone of these genres, working together with the drums to conjure up the proper energy. “One Nation Under a Groove” doesn’t feature anything particularly fancy, but here the difficulty lies with finding that pocket, spreading out when you can and getting lock-step in filling up that dancefloor.
#8: “Immigrant Song” (1970)
Led Zeppelin One of the secrets to Led Zeppelin’s success was the amazing sum of its creative parts. Oh sure, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham may have got all the attention, but it’s not unfair to say that bassist John Paul Jones was the band’s secret weapon. Want proof? Look no further than “Immigrant Song,” one of Led Zep’s most popular tunes. This doesn’t make it overrated, however, and the song also features a monster of a bass run that’s repeated a number of times. It’s easy to miss, since it shows up beneath Robert Plant’s vocals, but a deeper listen finds Jones running his way over the fretboard, like a Viking warrior charging down the battlefield to victory.
#7: “Hammer Smashed Face” (1993)
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Cannibal Corpse The extreme death metal underground doesn’t always get the respect it deserves when it comes to the level of its musicianship. Thankfully, Cannibal Corpse bassist and songwriter Alex Webster seems to be an exception to this rule, with musicians from all walks of life realizing what sort of skill and technique goes into executing this music. “Hammer Smashed Face” was an early example of this, featuring a classic, finger-picked phrase from Webster that leads into one of the band’s most popular and brutal songs. Cannibal Corpse only got more intense from there, however, crafting a career full of dizzying technical exercises, including another memorable bass workout from Webster on the track, “Frantic Disembowelment.”
#6: “Teen Town” (1977)
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Weather Report It may seem strange that a jazz-rock album would be so commercially successful, but the seventies, as they say, “were a different time.” Radio was a weird, wild and wide-open place back in the day, and it wasn’t uncommon for the smooth fusion of Weather Report to be played alongside the popular soft rock, funk and soul of the day. “Teen Town” was a showcase for bass deity Jaco Pastorius, a standout cut from Weather Report’s landmark 1977 album, “Heavy Weather.” The song possesses a loose and meandering feel, allowing Jaco to indulge himself in some atmospheric bass licks atop some swirling synth and congas. Pastorius even recorded drums for the track, essentially working as a one-man rhythm section.
#5: “Panic Attack” (2005)
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Dream Theater “Panic Attack,” indeed. Dream Theater wastes NO time in showing you what’s up with John Myung’s bass playing, as this track from the prog-metal icons’ eighth album opens up with a neck-cracking lick from the master himself. The track on the whole is classic Dream Theater: bombastic, complex and melodic, but also heavy as hell. There’s a frenetic energy to “Panic Attack” that seems to stroll hand-in-hand with the title, an edge-of-the-seat thrill ride that’s barely hanging on to sanity. Everyone is firing on all cylinders here, especially Myung, who restrains himself for the most part, but branches out with some serious finger stretching that makes our hands hurt just at the thought.
#4: “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)” (1983)
Metallica “Bass solo, take one.” These were the words that kicked off Metallica’s instrumental “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth).” They were also the harbinger of who would go on to become one of the thrash metal world’s foremost bass assassins: Cliff Burton. Although Burton is no longer with us, his work on Metallica’s first three albums cemented him as a legend. Many fans justifiably point to “Orion” as a crowning achievement for Cliff, but we just love the raw intensity that’s brought to the table with “Anesthesia.” From the overdriven pedal and wah-wah to drummer Lars Ulrich’s energetic accompaniment, it’s one of the most perfect bass exercises ever put to tape.
#3: “Heart of the Sunrise” (1971)
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Yes Yes was another band that achieved breakthrough commercial success in the seventies, despite being considered synonymous with a genre notorious for being UN-commercial: progressive rock. “Roundabout” was a huge hit for the band, and featured great bass playing from Chris Squire, but let’s face it: “Heart of the Sunrise” is just a tour-de-force. The opening three minutes alone earns it a spot on this list, as Yes burst through with an aggressive riff that leads into a funky run by Squire and drummer Bill Bruford. It moves in 4/4 time, but it feels so dynamic by how Squire works off Bruford’s beats that it gets our heads nodding every time.
#2: “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” (1991)
Primus We could’ve easily populated our list only with Primus songs, that’s how massively influential Les Claypool has been to the art of avant-garde bass playing. “Tommy the Cat” and “My Name is Mud” are two favorites around WatchMojo HQ, but we have to give our number two slot to the heavy and aggressive jam, “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.” Claypool’s distinctive tone and relentless technique are set on full display with a main riff that’s slapped, plucked and beaten into submission. “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” is deceptively heavy, as well, and even features one of the most memorable uses of a film sample ever, when Bill Moseley’s “Chop-Top” from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” exclaims: Before we name our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions! “More Love” (1996), Victor Wooten Instrumental Jazz Fusion Madness “Aeroplane” (1995), Red Hot Chili Peppers Do We Really Need to Tell You How Great Flea Is? “Boris the Spider” (1966), The Who A Proper Showcase for John Entwistle’s Dizzying Bass Talent “Hysteria” (2003), Muse Sometimes, Just Keeping It Even & Steady Can Be Under-Appreciated
#1: “YYZ” (1981)
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Rush One does not simply close out a discussion about complex bass playing without placing Geddy Lee and Rush at the number one spot. “YYZ” was another outlier for progressive rock: an insanely involved and intricate instrumental that somehow remained memorable. A prog hit single? Perhaps. All we know is that Geddy’s fretboard gymnastics during the main “verse” riff are catchy-as-hell, while what he plays behind guitarist Alex Lifeson’s lead runs is somehow even more impressive. Oh, and did we mention the great little lick around a minute-thirty-eight? [1] Incredible. “YYZ” doesn’t even feel like a five-minute song. We want it to keep on going, revealing more melodic secrets to us like a classic Russian Doll. It’s worth ALL the hype.
