Flea’s favourite basslines of all time
If you remove some artists from a band, you remove the essence of the band. This is what would happen if Flea were not in the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Don’t get me wrong, every member of Red Hot Chili Peppers is essential, but given they’re a band who champion funk rock so heavily, there is no escaping the fact that they do rely a lot on the funk side of their music. Flea, with his unique bass-playing ability and close connection to rhythm, is able to provide these elements of funk in spades.
Regardless of the kind of song which is brought to him, whether it’s one of the band’s upbeat and hard rock-inspired tracks or whether it’s a slow number for which people hold lighters in the sky, Flea can pick up on the sound and provide the perfect bassline for it. The way that he is able to take what would have been a good song and elevate it to something astronomical is truly inspired, and it’s one of the main reasons why Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the biggest bands in the world.
It’s interesting to learn that Flea wasn’t always destined for the bass. He was originally a trumpet player and believed that his future lay in playing the trumpet. A school friend, Hilel Slovak, told him that he should give playing the bass a try, and opened his mind to the shimmering world of rock.
“I never would’ve played bass if not for Hillel,” Flea admitted, “I was a jazz trumpet player, and he said, ‘Dude! You should learn how to play bass and be in my band.’ Two weeks later, we were on stage at the Troubadour.”
From that moment on, Flea was constantly listening to a range of music in the interest of stumbling across pieces that he felt a real connect with. There are plenty of basslines dotted around both rock, funk and jazz that the bassist is a fan of, so much so that it would likely be difficult for him to pick a favourite. However, when prompted, Flea was able to narrow it down to a final three.
The first was Led Zeppelin’s ‘Ramble On’. Widely considered one of their most popular songs, the track highlights just how well John Paul Jones could hold down the chaos of Led Zeppelin and create something cohesive out of the playing styles of Jimmy Page and John Bonham.
Rush bassist Geddy Lee once commented on how much of an integral part of the band John Paul Jones was. “The thing that held the whole thing down was John Paul Jones’ bass playing,” he said, “So if you listen to ‘How Many More Times’, I mean, no matter how wild that song gets at times, there’s John Paul Jones just holding it all down in such a fluid way.”
The two other basslines that Flea picked out as his favourites were ‘Flashlight’ by Parliament-Funkadelic and ‘Journey To Satchidananda’ by Alice Coltrane. It’s interesting that with just three basslines, Flea has managed to perfectly reflect how much versatility there is within his style of music. Each one of the songs touches upon the jazz, rock and funk elements that he champions as a musician.
Flea’s favourite basslines of all time
- ‘Flashlight’
- ‘Ramble On’
- ‘Journey To Satchidananda’
