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Cliff Williams leaving

#22
PluckyThump said:
Good on Cliff. I wish all these old has-been bands would retire gracefully instead continuing to milk it 20,30,40 years past their prime with most of the original members out of the band.
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Not an unreasonable concept, but the reason they are still doing it is because people will still come to see their shows and buy their albums. We all carry our heros through life.
 
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#23
Gravedigger Dav said:
Not an unreasonable concept, but the reason they are still doing it is because people will still come to see their shows and buy their albums. We all carry our heros through life.
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I agree with everything except the first sentence fragment. It's a very unreasonable concept. Why should these bands who haven't had a hit since their big heydays 20 or 30 years ago be forced to pack it in? They can still make very good money and people still go to the shows and have a good time, so why should they stop? Because some musician on the internet resents it? I guarantee you that every single one of you would do the same thing if given the opportunity, even those complaining about it. It's not as if everyone moves up the musical food chain a notch when a famous band retires. If you're a bar hack now, you're not going to graduate to arenas because AC/DC retired.
 
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#24
JimmyM said:
I agree with everything except the first sentence fragment. It's a very unreasonable concept. Why should these bands who haven't had a hit since their big heydays 20 or 30 years ago be forced to pack it in? They can still make very good money and people still go to the shows and have a good time, so why should they stop? Because some musician on the internet resents it? I guarantee you that every single one of you would do the same thing if given the opportunity, even those complaining about it. It's not as if everyone moves up the musical food chain a notch when a famous band retires. If you're a bar hack now, you're not going to graduate to arenas because AC/DC retired.
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I'm not? Damn, I've been doing all these bar gigs waiting for my big chance and it isn't going to happen?
And I was really only saying I understand his position, not that I agree with it.
 
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#31
The Funkapotamus said:
Interesting. I've listened to/ played their stuff since I was a kid. My current band even plays a few of their tunes when requested. Pretty basic stuff. Give me an example of some of his heavier (ie more technical) lines and I'll check them out.
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Who gives a crap about that? This is AC/DC, not Bela Fleck And The Flecktones. I have heard bass players rush, I've heard them drag, I've heard them try to embellish and make it sound like crap in the process, and meanwhile Cliff is near-perfect on everything. He doesn't rush or slow down, his lines are absolutely perfect for every song, he knows exactly where on the beats to put the notes for max impact, and anyone who dismisses that ability in the way you do means you probably don't appreciate those fine points well enough to hang with AC/DC. But don't feel bad...not many people can. That's why Cliff got the gig and everyone else didn't.
 
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#33
JimmyM said:
Who gives a crap about that? This is AC/DC, not Bela Fleck And The Flecktones. And I've heard many bass players who are on a par with Vic completely make AC/DC songs sound like crap.
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I just figured he must have some monster lines if you've heard guys on par with Vic messing up his stuff. Figured I'd better check it out. Cuz I don't see that being the case at all.
 
#34
The Funkapotamus said:
I just figured he must have some monster lines if you've heard guys on par with Vic messing up his stuff. Figured I'd better check it out. Cuz I don't see that being the case at all.
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I think he's implying that a certain type of virtuosic player may have a hard time not being a virtuoso if a song doesn't necessarily call for it...you know, like some of those metal guitarists that can shred a billion notes per second but can't play a 12 bar blues.
 
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#36
I would also add that Phil Rudd is a huge part of that equation. He is an incredible rock drummer. There's nothing flashy about his playing. I love his straight-ahead style as much as I love Neil Peart's aggressive approach. The bass and drums are pivotal to the AC/DC sound.....Simplistically driven and powerful! I love playing "Let there be Rock" by AC/DC as much as Limelight by Rush. Playing AC/DC is like working on a machine on an assembly line, powerful, repetitive and precise. And playing Rush is like being behind a complex, immensely powerful computer. Each produces different, yet highly desirable results.
 
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#37
petrus61 said:
I think he's implying that a certain type of virtuosic player may have a hard time not being a virtuoso if a song doesn't necessarily call for it...you know, like some of those metal guitarists that can shred a billion notes per second but can't play a 12 bar blues.
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I'm downright saying it, not just implying it :D For example, I LOOOOOOOOVE Doug Wimbish, guy can play just about anything you throw at him and then some...but Living Colour covered "Back In Black" as a B-side once, and Doug was all over the place on it and it did not sound good.

scheil442 said:
I would also add that Phil Rudd is a huge part of that equation. He is an incredible rock drummer. There's nothing flashy about his playing. I love his straight-ahead style as much as I love Neil Peart's aggressive approach. The bass and drums are pivotal to the AC/DC sound.....Simplistically driven and powerful! I love playing "Let there be Rock" by AC/DC as much as Limelight by Rush. Playing AC/DC is like working on a machine on an assembly line, powerful, repetitive and precise. And playing Rush is like being behind a complex, immensely powerful computer. Each produces different, yet highly desirable results.
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Agreed, though I do think Chris Slade does an admirable job, even though he's a bit stiffer than Phil. Now Simon Wright...did not impress me at all. Great with Dio, hated him in AC/DC.
 
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