Ten brilliantly bouncing bass lines from 1970s classic songs

Yes - “Roundabout”

A brilliant upbeat song from prog rock’s amazing band Yes. “Roundabout” was released in 1971 and features on their Fragile album. Chris Squire has quite a complex bass line on this song, as an amateur myself, and meaning no disrespect, it’s much more of an aggressive squiggle or signature riff than a rhythmic throb or beat. Certainly not one that’s in the easy category to try and pick out on your own guitar. 

It’s pretty distinctive though and the bass role develops even further through the song. My outstanding memory is of watching Yes live in a stadium in the 1970s and feeling Squires’ bass on this very song bouncing off my chest. I could feel every riff right there. It was an enormous sound and took a highly skilled bass player like him to pull it off. 

Squires’ bass complements all the many other song elements, including some wicked keyboards from Rick Wakeman. As an aside, Wakeman joined Yes as Tony Kaye refused to incorporate new keyboard sounds into this track. Kaye was out and wizard Wakeman was in. Squires’ intricate bass works very well alongside him.

Fleetwood Mac -  “The Chain”

Let’s switch to another iconic bass from a more pop and rock-based classic, “The Chain”. One of many superb songs from Fleetwood Mac's standout album Rumours from 1977.  “The Chain” is one of those songs where you know what it is from the intro. But that’s by no means the high point. 

There’s a great chorus to the song, which features John McVie, the Mac in the band name, with a bubbling bass underneath. It’s pretty impressive. But then McVie has his hold my beer moment.

It’s a good three minutes into the song before he excels with one of the best bass solos you’ll hear. He and his fretless bass lead the lengthy outro of the song magnificently. This part of “The Chain” is a standout, it’s also well known for its use by the BBC on their Formula One racing programme. McVie’s bass on it is as iconic as you get.

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