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Cliff Burton?

#21
Rimshot said:
Cliff Burton is, on the whole, an underrated bassist. While the milieu in which he received his notoriety is not for everyone, that is merely a matter of personal taste.
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I tend to think that he is overrated. It seems like everyone is in love with him now. All I ever seem to hear when discussing Metallica is "Cliff was so godlike and great. Metallica died when he did. They should have quit when he died. I cried when I heard Pulling Teeth or Orion. Rob and Jason suck A@# compared to him."

Seems like a million people are willing to testify to his greatness.
He did some great things, I give him that.
But I don't think they were enough to elevate him to the near godlike state people seem to want to put him in.

Makes me actually want to hate him.
Makes me not want to appreciate what he brought to Metallica while he was with them.

By the way, a musician who knows theory and who loves a wide range of music isn't that rare is it? I know Cliff was like that, but did that make him as unique in that area as everyone thinks?
 
#26
LifeIsBass said:
+1. Just listened to that file. That was bad! Maybe it's just that I can't usually stand the sound of pick playing (no offense to pick players, suit yourself, it's just not my cup 'o tea).

I respect Cliff in the sense that in the world of metal he's a legend, an originator, and an influence to countless metal bass players that followed. He was also quite a showman. In the grand scheme of things, though, I'm not really awestruck by his musicianship and feel he's a bit overrated.
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Thats not Jason playing from S/M. Thats some 16 yearold fan playing his SX Jaxx copy. The bass on Khutulu on S7M are distorted and Jason is a very tight player. And do u think a Sadowsky throu Ampeg sound like that crappy tone??
 
#27
rolleharris said:
Thats not Jason playing from S/M. Thats some 16 yearold fan playing his SX Jaxx copy. The bass on Khutulu on S7M are distorted and Jason is a very tight player. And do u think a Sadowsky throu Ampeg sound like that crappy tone??
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Yeah, I got that impression too; I mean, where would this have come from? And I do remember Jason's tone was distorted on the S&M DVD...
 
#28
rolleharris said:
Thats not Jason playing from S/M. Thats some 16 yearold fan playing his SX Jaxx copy. The bass on Khutulu on S7M are distorted and Jason is a very tight player. And do u think a Sadowsky throu Ampeg sound like that crappy tone??
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I'm sure you're right. I was in a hurry, listened to that file, and didn't give it much thought. Jason's tone usually is distorted (another reason I can't stand listening to him), and he does usually play better than that, although I think he's overrated too.

As far as his tone goes, I really can't stand it either.
When you take a fine bass like a Sadowsky and run it through an Ampeg with distortion it's like putting dog crap on a Filet Mignon IMO. :hiding:

Just my opinion! If that tone's what you like, then more power to ya! ;)
 
#29
Demon said:
Hes deffinatly not underrated rimshot. Overrated as a bassist if anything. Thing is he was a big inspiration in the band, and when he died, so did metallica:P But we will see when the new album comes.
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This is one of the contributing attitudes that makes me want to despise Cliff Burton. Metallica did NOT die when Cliff did. They have some great songs. They have some great stuff. The fact that they are still playing today and working on new albums shows that they're not dead. Cliff was not the be all and end all.

Would he really have as much noteriety if he was still alive?
Would he have the same noteriety if he never played for Metallica?
Could you say that Metallica would have never gotten as big without him?

Sorry to single you out Demon.


j-bass-kreep said:
Cliffs a great bass player , not the best . but compared to most of the LA. glam bass players he was god.
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No he wasn't. Just a guy. A good musician, inspiration, but not a god.
 
#30
Petary791 said:
I really don't see the whole fascination with Newsted. I don't think he's much of a player. He never really wow'd me. I'd take Rob over him any day. Especially after hearing just the bass track of "Call of Ktulu" S&M version... he's just bad. There's absolutely NO FEEL when he plays.

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Someone else already commented on this, but seriously; how could you think this was Jason? Have you listened to the actual S&M album? I'd love it if the bass came out that loud and clear. That was, IMO, a clear cut cover.
 
#31
On the S&M DVD there actually was a way to get a band-only or orchestra-only setting, but I still don't think the bass was THAT high in the mix - and besides that, like people have said, his bass was slightly distorted throughout the show when he wasn't using the wah.
 
#33
i think it's kinda funny how you guys can go on about "even though he wasn't a fantastic player, he wrote these awesome arrangements..." Have any of you really heard much of Newsteds playing outside of Metallica? If any of you have the chance, pickup Flotsam & Jetsam's 'Doomsday for the Deciever'. Wicked album, and Newsted wrote pretty much the whole damn thing. Awesome writing, and if only the rest of metallica had let him into the writing a bit more, Metallica would have kept being awesome. They'd also would have had to avoid Bob Rock, but thats something completely different.

overall i think Cliff is pretty overated, in some cases it's even worse than Dimebag Darrell. Jason is Underrated and you should all listen to F&J's first album. I personally don't like Rob, but i have yet to see any new stuff from him. his playing annoys me, hopefully he'll write some half decent bass lines.
 
#34
what i like about burton is the fact that he was a unique bass player and he put the bass out there as an equal to the guitars (well not quite) in a heavy metal band. not many bass players can do that.
and his little solo in orion is really nice and unlike any other bass solo i have heard before or since.
he's much better than newstead or trujillo in my book.
 
#35
Because...you've heard the Flotsam and Jetsam album that AshenBassist recommended, right? And you've also heard anything that Trujillo played on, right, mvw356?

Granted, Burton was a great arranger, however I didn't even think about the Flotsam and Jetsam album that Newsted wrote 90% of himself. That album alone is one of the most underrated thrash albums from the 80s.

And you've ALSO heard other metal bass solos (look at anything Steve DiGiorgio's played on, for christ's sakes!).

Burton was one of the, if not THE, most overrated bass players in the metal scene, period.
 
#36
I talked to Cliff last week at 7-11 he was buying nachos with Entwhistle and we talked about some rad stuff like playing bass and getting chicks and then afterwards we had a 3-way all-bass jam session behind the dumpster outside and even though there was no drummer or click track or amps we all did pretty good and all and all I'd say it was a good day.
 
#38
vashts80 said:
On the S&M DVD there actually was a way to get a band-only or orchestra-only setting, but I still don't think the bass was THAT high in the mix - and besides that, like people have said, his bass was slightly distorted throughout the show when he wasn't using the wah.
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Thats not distortion, thats his low action and picking noises your hearing, because he sets his action real low it makes kind of a clangy noise.
 
#39
LifeIsBass said:
I'm sure you're right. I was in a hurry, listened to that file, and didn't give it much thought. Jason's tone usually is distorted (another reason I can't stand listening to him), and he does usually play better than that, although I think he's overrated too.

As far as his tone goes, I really can't stand it either.
When you take a fine bass like a Sadowsky and run it through an Ampeg with distortion it's like putting dog crap on a Filet Mignon IMO. :hiding:

Just my opinion! If that tone's what you like, then more power to ya! ;)
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Again, NOT DISTORTION, low action.
 

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