Anastesia (Pulling Teeth) Overrated?

[The_Ryst]

Ok, so I downloaded this song (well, had a friend send it to me) after long hyped up readings of it, and if this is the "masterpiece" that everyone holds as "one of hte best solos ever" they really need to open their ears.

yes, some of it sounds nice, other parts just sound "off" to me. I'm not sure if I'm just not listening correctly, but when he's chording sometimes it just doesn't sound "right."

He seems like a very sloppy player to me, now note, this guy could've probably outplayed me, but this song is nothing impressive to me. Yes, I respect what he did for hte metal world, but come on, there have been better by leaps and bounds.

[Wrong Robot]

Firstly, that's fairly disrespectful to fans of that song and band, you are entitled to your own opinion, but there are more graceful ways of expressing it.

Secondly, I think a large reason why it's praised so much is largely to do with the style of music and the people that listen to it.

There are tons of really impressive solos out there, but the ones you hear about the most are the ones done by a famous player in a famous band with a large following.

I don't even think I've heard it but I am sure it's not the best solo in the world, fans over exaggerate, that's what they do.

[Matt Till]

Yeah, there are a lot of better bass solos.. but many of them aren't... well metal sounding I suppose. It is overrated... but so what... so is... the internet...

[Josh Ryan]

Originally Posted by The_Ryst

Ok, so I downloaded this song (well, had a friend send it to me) after long hyped up readings of it, and if this is the "masterpiece" that everyone holds as "one of hte best solos ever" they really need to open their ears.

yes, some of it sounds nice, other parts just sound "off" to me. I'm not sure if I'm just not listening correctly, but when he's chording sometimes it just doesn't sound "right."

He seems like a very sloppy player to me, now note, this guy could've probably outplayed me, but this song is nothing impressive to me. Yes, I respect what he did for hte metal world, but come on, there have been better by leaps and bounds.

Why would we care that you don't like it?

It's unique in that to many of us, it's a musical sounding metal bass solo. Not a chops fest (it was one of the first things I learned when I got my first bass), not a solo in almost any other genre where bass isn't the red-headed step child like it frequently is in metal. In other words, we like it and think it's great for subjective reasons, that apparently you do not share.

[Pantsman]

Learn some theory son, then you will appriciate it more, cliff wasn't just a bass player, he was a pioneer in metal bass, Pulling Teeth is highly rated because of what it is, not what it sounds like. Anyway, we all know that Cliffs solo in Orion is the best bass solo in the world. :P

[f'nar f'nar]

I dont think it's over rated, the fact that its played with fingers and some bits are quite fast makes it good by itself, but Pantsman is right, the theory behind it is the best part IMO.

[conk97]

I think its a good metal solo..you dont really get many metal solos so give him credit for that.

[Adam Barkley]

If you like how if sounds, it's good. If you don't like how it sounds, it's bad.

Apply this any to form of music.

[METALHEAD]

it also only took one take for him to record, ONE goddamit. Cliff was a god on the bass add his impressive knowledge of time signitures and classical moments and you've got of the best bassists ever!

RIP CLIFF

[Vorago]

As much as I respect Cliff Burton’s music, I have to admit when I first heard it, it was a bit disappointed too. I don't like his tone on that track, imo he sounds too much like a guitarplayer and not enough like a bassplayer. Yes he was great, and yes he died too young, and hell I love Metallica (well most of it), but I think there are better metalbassists out there than Cliff.

ofcourse MY OPINION

[bassmonkeee]

It's a concept called "context." You might want to look it up.

John Entwistle's solos in "My Generation" aren't technically difficult to play, either. That doesn't make them any less groundbreaking.

[Vorago]

Originally Posted by bassmonkeee

It's a concept called "context." You might want to look it up.

John Entwistle's solos in "My Generation" aren't technically difficult to play, either. That doesn't make them any less groundbreaking.

hey dude, I'm as much entitled to an opinion as you are. You are obviously a major Cliff Burton fan, well guess what, I'm not. There is no reason to be offended. Why do you think I put "MY OPINION" as last words in my post?

[ihixulu]

Pulling Teeth is a nostalgic recording for many people and was a landmark in many ways for metal so expressing even a valid negative opinion will raise some hackles. I used to love it, learned how to play it and now it just sounds kinda hokey and overblown (dare I say...dumb?) to me.

As far as the theoretical angle of it, he goes through some key changes with no transitions whatsoever so theoretically it is flawed. But it's metal. Who cares about theory as long as it kicks?

Also don't forget, Billy Sheehan was doing fingerstyle gymnastics around this time as well. Way faster than Cliff, just as melodic, but certainly not as ballsy. Also check out Dan Lilker's work from that era.

[bassmonkeee]

Originally Posted by Vorago

hey dude, I'm as much entitled to an opinion as you are. You are obviously a major Cliff Burton fan, well guess what, I'm not. There is no reason to be offended. Why do you think I put "MY OPINION" as last words in my post?

Actually, I'm not that big of a Cliff fan, to be honest with you. And, believe me--I wasn't offended in the least.

And, you are pretty presumptuous to think that I was even replying to your post--let alone get huffy about it.

The original poster asked "why," my response to him was "context."

[Shooshami]

It needs to be looked at/listened to in the context of the time it was recorded and the style of music it was a part of. Remember, this was 1983, and Motley Crue was big. Metallica wasn't very popular among the "metalheads" until after Cliff died.

I also think that Cliff's death raised his status to that of legend.

He was very young when he recorded it, and I don't think anything like that had been recorded before.

[paz]

i used to love it, but years of listening to it has slightly turned me off it. its a good solo ans pretty original, but their are a lot better things out there, and quite a lot of people like it just because it was cliff, if an unknown metal bassist did it i dont think many people would love it as much

btw im a huge burton fan, so im not dissin anyone here

[Shooshami]

if an unknown metal bassist did it i dont think many people would love it as much

I agree.

To elaborate on what I said earlier, think about the time period this came out in. I don't think "Kill 'em All" got much notice until Metallica broke through with "Master of Puppets". After that album, the folks who were into it went back and picked up the previous two albums.

Back in the '80's, independent labled records were found at your local record store in the "import" section. This is where you found all the hardcore punk and "real" metal; the stuff that wasn't mainstream. You had lables like Megaforce, Metal Blade, Combat, Lookout, Alternative Tentacles, etc. There was no internet, mp3s, or CD burners; there were hardly any CDs yet. You had to spend your hard-earned money, and it was a real gamble to pick up a record you had never heard before. Metallica was originally on Megaforce, so that record was in the "import" bin and didn't make a major impact.

When Electra picked them up and released their third album, they were getting a bit of a following, but for the most part they were just another "thrash" group. No one expected that they were going to get as big as they did in the '90s. Cliff died just as they were starting to break through, and they released the "Cliff 'em All" video. I really believe that's what started the legend of Cliff Burton, and really boosted Metallica's popularity.

In my own personal opinion, the first three albums are the best, the "real" Metallica, and "Master of Puppets" is the best of the three. I really like the "$5.98 EP-Garage Days Re-revisited" too.

Anyway, I think Anastesia (Pulling Teeth) is making more of an impact now than it ever did when it came out, especially with the younger generation who have discovered Cliff second-hand. Like so many other musicians who died young,(for example, Hendrix, Allman, Oakley, Cobain, etc.) Cliff had not yet reached his potential and one could imagine where he would have taken his creativity and skills.

I know, I'm long-winded. I'm a long-time fan and this thread has made me feel nostalgic.

[xolin]

His solo was what it was...its just a classically inspired piece with a nice melody. Much classical music is based on such simple melodies...and Cliff did this solo probably ad-hoc and without a great "composition" background Im sure.

Its a simple but nice piece of music, his tone sounded like a guitar because he liked it that way, if you look at a lot of metallica's riffs...they are devised similarly to his solo, but with harmonies and guitars to embellish them and make them sound a bit better.
The fact that Cliff did this on bass for a thrash/metal band was impressive to them, just as Flea's playing is impressive for a now mainstream funk/pop band (dont make direct techn. comparisons, they are not needed).

Anyways, mad respect to Cliff and what he did...its also too bad Metallica didnt want to replace his creativity and not just his bass after he died (claytallica, heh).

[Shooshami]

all great points, XOLIN.

[Pantsman]

I actually have a bass player mag around here with Anesthesia as the cover story, has about 7 pages of information then transcribes it. talks about how cliff got has Aria bass and loved to smash it against side fill monitors and even chuck it into the crowd. hehe