Listen to Flea’s isolated bass on ‘By The Way’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flea has been known for his aggressive approach to slap bass. That’s what made the Red Hot Chili Peppers co-founder famous in the first place. While the other members of the band were still finding their respective voices throughout the 1980s, Flea’s bass became a lead instrument, barrelling through songs and forcing everyone else to keep up with him. He was even getting projects outside the band, like appearing on Young MC’s 1989 mega-hit ‘Bust a Move’.
But by the early 1990s, Flea had grown tired of his signature style. Although it was essential to his identity, slap bass could only take Flea so far as a musician. “I was trying to play simply on Blood Sugar Sex Magik because I had been playing too much prior to that, so I thought, ‘I’ve really got to chill out and play half as many notes’. When you play less, it’s more exciting—there’s more room for everything,” Flea told Bass Player Magazine in 1995. “If I do play something busy, it stands out, instead of the bass being a constant onslaught of notes. Space is good.”
By the time the Chili Peppers got to One Hot Minute in 1995, Flea was looking to strip things back even further. “I can’t even think of anything I played that was complex [on the record]; even the slapping stuff is simple,” Flea claimed in the same interview. “It’s original-sounding, and I’m proud of that—but what I played was more a matter of aesthetic choice.”
The 2002 album By the Way represented an identity crisis for Flea. With John Frusciante back to full strength, the guitarist took the lead in dictating the album’s more mellow musical direction. That often included writing basslines instead of collaborating directly with Flea. The bassist was appreciative of Frusciante’s musical abilities but felt a bit put out by the process. “John went to this whole level of artistry,” Flea told Q Magazine in 2006. “But he made me feel like I had nothing to offer, like I knew shit.”
Flea would eventually face these inadequacies by studying music theory at the University of Southern California. But while By the Way might be the album where Flea’s signature bass style is least prominent, that doesn’t mean it’s gone entirely: ‘Can’t Stop’ is as funky as the band had ever been. But, by and large, Flea was far more subdued on By the Way.
One notable exception is the album’s title track. During the song’s intro and chorus sections, Flea is once again exercising a fair amount of restraint, holding down the rhythm without spinning out too far. But once the song reaches its souped-up verses, Flea is once again free to indulge in some busy fretwork. It’s a study in contrasts, proving that Flea is much more than just a standard funk slap bass player.
Check out the isolated bass from ‘By the Way’ down below.
