This is an exceprt from a blog on Best Bass Players by Simon Sweetman, July 29, 2009
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment...t-bass-players
I love the bass playing of John McVie from Fleetwood Mac. As his long-time crony Mick Fleetwood said, "John tends to play in front of the beat, I tend to play slightly behind and we meet somewhere in the middle." It's a style you cannot teach - and maybe some would never want to learn it - but it has served the pair well, working with Peter Green to present a direct descendent of the Chicago blues, taking on soft-rock with Bob Welch and supporting the million-selling breakup pop and rock of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
Like McVie, Roger Glover of Deep Purple knows how to drive, playing thick chunks of sound, doubling the guitar when required, offering a standalone bass motif now and then. Neither McVie nor Glover has the harmonic grace of Pastorious but both were just right (and continue to be) for the bands they play in. You would not want Jaco (if he were still alive) working in and around Fleetwood or Iain Paice.