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Adam Clayton Does Not Suck.

#301
I'm not a huge fan, but I would only say AC sucked if he consistently was unable to play U2 bass lines correctly. But since he seems to be able to play them just fine, I'd instead refer to AC as "not flashy".

And why would he be? He gets paid a ton of money to play basic lines, and usually isn't the focal point of the band. I think of Cliff Williams from AC/DC or Dusty Hill from ZZ Top the same way, and they all seem like they have pretty good gigs to me.

Besides, in every interview I've seen with AC he seems incredibly humble and thankful for his good fortune as a musician.
 
#302
Thing is that as SIMPLE as With Or Without You is, it packs one hell of a punch. For all its simplicity, it is very creative and builds up masterfully. It is also such a powerful and dramatic track. It's now how many notes you play, it's what you do with them and how all the pieces fit.

The Joshua Tree is a masterpiece for me, up there with Yes' Relayer, Rush's Permanent Waves & Moving Pictures, Gentle Giant's In A Glass House, Genesis' Selling England By The Pound & Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and other favorite albums of mine with far more accomplished bassists/musicians.
 
#304
MikeyThrottler said:
I'm not a huge fan, but I would only say AC sucked if he consistently was unable to play U2 bass lines correctly. But since he seems to be able to play them just fine, I'd instead refer to AC as "not flashy".



And why would he be? He gets paid a ton of money to play basic lines, and usually isn't the focal point of the band. I think of Cliff Williams from AC/DC or Dusty Hill from ZZ Top the same way, and they all seem like they have pretty good gigs to me.



Besides, in every interview I've seen with AC he seems incredibly humble and thankful for his good fortune as a musician.
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Dusty Hill has a lot more going on than those guys IMO. He's in a 3 piece and everything he plays pops in my ear instantly. He has a signature tone and it's pretty hard to miss.

No I don't think comparing Dusty to Adam is very fair to either guy. A fairer comparison would be Adam and Ringo.
 
#306
spasepeepole026 said:
Clayton gets laughed at often by the bass playing community and is seen by many as a lousy bass player. He has been called overrated, boring, and just plain terrible. For some reason, he has the reputation of being someone who cannot play well enough for his band to be successful, but I would like to challenge this community to tell me why he has the reputation he does. Clayton may not be John Entwistle reincarnated but he is a solid player who keeps great rhythms and plays very well live. The music he plays sounds very good so I don't see the problem everyone else has in his ability as a bass player and as an asset to his group.
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People are just jealous he has a house on the ocean, does whatever he wants, and drives around in limos...oh yeah because he uses a pick! lol booya!:rollno:
 
#307
I can't believe this is still an ongoing thread. I mean come on. The guy has been the bassist for one of the most successful bands in history. Complain about whatever you think, he is worth millions, tours the world playing bass, married to a super model! What else would you need to confirm him as a good bass player?
 
#308
iriegnome said:
I can't believe this is still an ongoing thread. I mean come on. The guy has been the bassist for one of the most successful bands in history. Complain about whatever you think, he is worth millions, tours the world playing bass, married to a super model! What else would you need to confirm him as a good bass player?
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Substitute drums for bass and you get Ringo.
 
#311
10cc said:
All this about the bassist of U2? Should be directed to the guitarist. The Edge sucks.
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:rollno:

I think you confuse sucking with technically limited.

Also if you're not well versed in 1980 (id extend that to 1978 or so) to 1990 U2, you're not qualified to talk about the Edge as a guitar player.

If I could be any guitar player in the world i'd want to be 80's Edge. Talent/style wise I mean.
 
#312
Qualified ha. I've heard their stuff since they released October. The Edge sucks. Absolutely zero creativity. Zero.

Ps I checked out the porn chick band and the guitarists sounds like the Edge.
 
#313
iriegnome said:
I can't believe this is still an ongoing thread. I mean come on. The guy has been the bassist for one of the most successful bands in history. Complain about whatever you think, he is worth millions, tours the world playing bass, married to a super model! What else would you need to confirm him as a good bass player?
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Maybe good BASS playing? Whether you think Clayton is good or not (and I don't think he's bad), money, tours and a hot wife are no indicator of good bass playing. I guess a lot of people do not get the difference, because this same argument keeps coming up.
 
#314
lomo said:
Complexity and quality of music are independent variables. He plays simple, easy lines, and he is the perfect bassist for U2!
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He's the perfect bassist for U2? He's the only bassist for U2. If you put a really great player like a Pino Palladino or Willie Weeks who are not only technically superior but also can play many different genres in U2, the music would be exponentially better. Assuming you're a person who can hear bass. And I have to assume you hear bass quite well.
 
#315
10cc said:
Qualified ha. I've heard their stuff since they released October. The Edge sucks. Absolutely zero creativity. Zero.

Ps I checked out the porn chick band and the guitarists sounds like the Edge.
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Wow. K.

Let's just say not your cup of tea. No creativity is a ridiculous statement to make about The Edge otherwise.




What porn chick band are we talking about anyway?
 
#317
10cc said:
Qualified ha. I've heard their stuff since they released October. The Edge sucks. Absolutely zero creativity. Zero.

Ps I checked out the porn chick band and the guitarists sounds like the Edge.
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ZERO creativity? Are you kidding? As simple as "Bad" is, guitar-wise, it is still has very creative guitar parts. While I think Edge OVER-relied on delay pedals, it still lead to his own unique style.

Now I'm a guitarist first, bassist second and I do think that technically Edge isn't a good guitarist (Steve Howe is my hero) but there's a lot to be said for just creating unique cool sounds. I'm a big fan of Sonic Youth and they rely on alternate tunings and feed back the same way Edge relies on echo effects but I still love them and they sound like no other.

And obviously, if you've heard their stuff since October, you must like something about the music. You can't like them without liking the Edge as he's a huge part of their sound.
 
#319
I've heard many people play like him. Especially once they start using effects. It's been done too much. I'm not a fan at all but when your friends try and sell you onto a band time and time again you can't help but hearing a large part of their catalogue. Once they dropped that song about boots a few years back they finally realized. But I'll say what a exchange student that use to spend her summers with us said when first asked if she liked U2. She said I like you too.
 
#320
10cc said:
I've heard many people play like him. Especially once they start using effects. It's been done too much. I'm not a fan at all but when your friends try and sell you onto a band time and time again you can't help but hearing a large part of their catalogue. Once they dropped that song about boots a few years back they finally realized. But I'll say what a exchange student that use to spend her summers with us said when first asked if she liked U2. She said I like you too.
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Play like him before he did? Specifically his style? Not just well it's echoey and post punkish and has a lot of minor chords......... he has very signature things he does on "early" recordings I haven't heard guitar players in the same genre do. The rhythmic muted strings or harmonics, and the way he uses them are unique to him for a start. I think you think you heard many people play like him. Sorta reminiscent of isn't the same. And sure it's more effects than technique but so what? Personally I care about the final result, not how it's obtained...

You can hate the copycats sure, but the fact that there ARE so many kind proves to me it's because he did something unique and creative... you can hate Edge too, go ahead, that's your right, just don't make the mistake of thinking him untalented or uncreative cause you don't like him. I don't really care for the beatles. Never in the life of me would I think of saying there were bad musicians or not creative.. (and no i'm not saying U2 equals the beatles, whatever)
 

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