Best Bass Recordings? - 2 Categories

For prominent but appropriate acoustic bass--and bass vocals--check out "Spirit of the Century" by The Blind Boys of Alabama.

And finally (and much more difficult to find), possible only available on vinyl:

Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth: Pretty much the entire album. In fact, there's not much in the way of instrumentation on the entire album apart from the lovely driving bass.

I do in fact have a CD version of this album on the Crepuscule label TWI 984-2 so it is out there.

Off hand without too much thought I would have to say:

Agility: Sade - Paradise

Total bass awesomeness: Bela Fleck - Flight of the Cosmic Hippo

Worthy mention: Malia & Boris Blank - Convergence

You could try Ben Harper - Fight for Your Mind or Gary Boyle - Grumble (from the very first Naim Sampler)

BN

China Girl by David Bowie or even Iggy Pop's version.

Michael posted:

As Ebor listed Leftfield 'Leftism' is a sub-bass monster and how about this for left-field?

The title track is a beauty.

John.

Hello Graeme,

The Martin Gore/Vince Clark album SSSS has some good bass.

Also try the first track of the Batman Dark Night Soundtrack. Please turn the volume down before you play it though - there is some really low bass around the three and a half minute mark.

Does it have to be a mainstream/audiophile artist?

If not, there are bass CDs. When I was younger, and not so smart, we used to listen to these in cars. They use them in car audio shows to see how many db your car audio system can generate. Digitally produced bass lines, very low bass, and could be used to destroy speakers. If you can't find any of these and really want to hear some serious bass, please feel free to contact me.

Arun

Thanks Arun. I'm thinking integration within a musical whole - ie how well loudspeakers portray 1&2 without losing coherence.

G

Graeme

On q1 I'd recommend this as excellent test of a system's ability to cope with low, powerful yet tuneful and agile bass:

Another good test is Damien Rice's The Blower's Daughter. 

I'll leave the 'shear heft' recommendations to others. 

Mike

For (1) I'd suggest 'Barcarole', the first track on side one of Pat Metheny's album 'Offramp'. 

J.N. posted:

As Ebor listed Leftfield 'Leftism' is a sub-bass monster and how about this for left-field?

The title track is a beauty.

John.

I didn't know this one and just had a listen. This has indeed some interesting bass work.

Hmack posted:

And finally (and much more difficult to find), possible only available on vinyl:

Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth: Pretty much the entire album. In fact, there's not much in the way of instrumentation on the entire album apart from the lovely driving bass.

It's very readily available - Domino re-released it in 2007 as a 3-CD set, with the original album, singles, Peel sessions and various oddments. Really well done and well worth getting.

Indeed so, it's a nice box. 

I'm going to nominate two from New Order (providing you can get hold of Factory UK original pressings, not the awful Rhino ones of a few years back). Both have gorgeous rich bass which goes down low on and tugs at the heart strings - courtesy various synths and Hooky.

First of all, from 1983, "Power Corruption & Lies":

Then, in 1989, "Technique":

and let's not forget Jaco

A track I regularly use to test an amp's bass control and extension is the xx's "Fantasy". 

Crank it up and wait for it! :-)

Hungryhalibut posted:

For no. 1 I'd recommend this. The bass is just amazing, probably the deepest I've heard apart from on dub albums. Added to that its great music and a beautiful recording. I have the 24 bit version.

I saw them live and thought oh this low can't be that it sounds like that at home, the concerts was by the way great. And the. The funny thing, my system also played it that low, so very happy bunny.

So I could suggest a lot, but trying to come up with one not so obvious one..

The first song already hits in quite some low bass.

Iconoclast posted:

Off hand without too much thought I would have to say:

Agility: Sade - Paradise

Total bass awesomeness: Bela Fleck - Flight of the Cosmic Hippo

Worthy mention: Malia & Boris Blank - Convergence

In addition...

A couple of tracks I like to crank up to test if system/component can properly follow a bass line are:

Jack Johnson - Staple it Together

The Police - Spirits in the Material World

I must admit that my current system is  not quite up to the task compared to systems I once owned. Won't rest until this is corrected.

Bert Schurink posted:

J.N. posted:

As Ebor listed Leftfield 'Leftism' is a sub-bass monster and how about this for left-field?

The title track is a beauty.

John.

I didn't know this one and just had a listen. This has indeed some interesting bass work.

yes victor wooten, a master; 

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Pink Floyd's 'Welcome To The Machine'. The bass rumble on the intro sets the crockery vibrating in the breakfast room dresser two rooms away. My wife hates it, so I only play it when she's around. 

Franz Ferdinand, from the Album 'Tonight'.

Last four minutes of track 10 'Lucid Dreams' for the first test.

The last 10 seconds of the same track for test 2.

Just off to straighten those pictures......

Cheers,

Ian

Oren Ambarchi - In The Pendulum's Embrace

Borders Nick posted:

"Color of Iris" from Dave Holland's Prism - this one always gives my system a good bass work-out.  Could be somewhere between category 1 & 2.

Yes Sir!