Les Claypool is a one-man modern bass-playing powerhouse, a post-modern polymath, a punk-rock virtuoso – a genre-defying master of bass playing who is as well versed in jazz fusion as he is in heavy metal or progressive rock. His band Primus mixed funk, metal and bizarre humour to rise above the 'cult sensations' tag and become a genuine phenomenon – headlining Lollapalooza, recording the theme tune for South Park, and melting the brains of TV viewers through appearances on Letterman.
He's a member of Oysterhead with Trey Anastasio (of Phish) and Stewart Copeland (of the Police), auditioned for Metallica after the death of Cliff Burton, and his list of collaborators is huge, from Tom Waits to Limp Bizkit. His most recent album is The Claypool Lennon Delirium's South of Reality, a collaboration with Sean Lennon that was voted 23rd best album of 2019 by Classic Rock magazine (opens in new tab).
He talked us through his favourite bass albums in his own words…
Fragile by Yes (1971) (opens in new tab)
All The World's A Stage by Rush (1976) (opens in new tab)
Star Walk by Graham Central Station (1979) (opens in new tab)
Security by Peter Gabriel (1982) (opens in new tab)
Yes by Morphine (1995) (opens in new tab)
For all the latest information about Les Claypool, visit his official website (opens in new tab). Buy Les Claypool on vinyl and CD here (opens in new tab).