These threads seem to pop up every few months and the arguments just get recycled again and again.
I suppose in some way that is a tribute to Cliff and part of his legacy - the continuing interest and the controversy. But, its hard for me to stay silent...
I knew Cliff. The first bass I ever played was Cliff's Ric. He put it in my hands and told me to jam away. He was an extremely humble, fun-loving guy who LOVED to drink beer and play bass.
The stuff that makes me mad.
Questions about whether he wrote his own parts or contributed to the early albums. Let me tell you once and for all -- he did. Cliff was the most musically educated of the original members. He had the best knowledge of theory and harmony and melody of any of the band members. James and Kirk will tell you how much Cliff taught them. In fact, they have said as much in countless interviews. Enough. Cliff was a fantastic composer for the metal genre. Maybe its best. He married his love of Bach and classical music with the explosive energy of Marshall Amps and 10,000 watts and created what Metallica is known for. Anyone remember the S&M album? Symphony and Metallica. Why do you think the San Francisco Symphony spent weeks of rehearsals and countless hours to perform (and record) Metallica songs with a full symphony? Metallica did not ask them to do it. The Symphony (and Michael Kamen) approached Metallica. How many other bands can make that claim. Yes, Cliff was a great writer/arranger.
"Cliff's playing is sloppy." This bugs me too. Cliff's playing is sloppy because that was his style. He loved the punk ethic. He loved the Misfits and the Ramones. He married that punk energy into his very intricate playing to create this bombastic sound. No one played like that before Cliff. Not Entwistle. Not Geezer. Not Harris. No-one.
"I can't hear Cliff's notes." So what? The clip above was recorded at the Day on the Green at the Oakland Coliseum. I was there. Yes, the sound sucked. But when was the last time you played in an open air stadium in front of 20,000 people? It does not sound like it does in your bedroom.
Also, Cliff used Fuzz and Wah as part of his musical voice. Think of Hendrix banging his Stat into his Marshall stack to achieve feedback. Is it noise? Yes -- at least that's how many will see it. Can you hear every "note" Hendrix plays? No. Maybe pitch but not a "note." You can pick it apart if you want, but many others just get it. They feel it.
Thirty years later kids are still choosing to play bass in their high school metal bands because Cliff made it cool. I have no doubt that Cliff would have created so much more music if he were alive today. And it would be cool. Cliff just had a timeless cool. Kind of like Lou Reed.
I started this rant by talking about the Cliff I knew. I used the word "humble" - which he was. If Cliff were typing this, he would be the first to concede that Stanley Clarke and Jaco and a hundred other bass players could play circles around him. He would not compare himself or even pretend that he had a dog in that fight. But that was also Cliff. No ego. No pretense. He did what he liked and liked what he did.
Cliff was a iconic figure in the history of electric bass. Not because he died young. Screw that argument once and for all. Cliff was a pioneer. His punk/metal in-your-face bass playing brought bass to the forefront of the emerging metal scene. Cliff made people ask "what's the name of that bass player?" Cliff is why thousands of angry, isolated teen age boys take up the bass guitar every year. His playing is powerful and cool and those teens want that. Cliff is not going anywhere. Underrated/Overrated -- its just a lot of unnecessary opinion. Kids will still be talking about Cliff and trying to play his riffs long after I am dead and in the ground. He is immortal in that regard. And that's why you all still read these threads and post in them every few months.
I suppose in some way that is a tribute to Cliff and part of his legacy - the continuing interest and the controversy. But, its hard for me to stay silent...
I knew Cliff. The first bass I ever played was Cliff's Ric. He put it in my hands and told me to jam away. He was an extremely humble, fun-loving guy who LOVED to drink beer and play bass.
The stuff that makes me mad.
Questions about whether he wrote his own parts or contributed to the early albums. Let me tell you once and for all -- he did. Cliff was the most musically educated of the original members. He had the best knowledge of theory and harmony and melody of any of the band members. James and Kirk will tell you how much Cliff taught them. In fact, they have said as much in countless interviews. Enough. Cliff was a fantastic composer for the metal genre. Maybe its best. He married his love of Bach and classical music with the explosive energy of Marshall Amps and 10,000 watts and created what Metallica is known for. Anyone remember the S&M album? Symphony and Metallica. Why do you think the San Francisco Symphony spent weeks of rehearsals and countless hours to perform (and record) Metallica songs with a full symphony? Metallica did not ask them to do it. The Symphony (and Michael Kamen) approached Metallica. How many other bands can make that claim. Yes, Cliff was a great writer/arranger.
"Cliff's playing is sloppy." This bugs me too. Cliff's playing is sloppy because that was his style. He loved the punk ethic. He loved the Misfits and the Ramones. He married that punk energy into his very intricate playing to create this bombastic sound. No one played like that before Cliff. Not Entwistle. Not Geezer. Not Harris. No-one.
"I can't hear Cliff's notes." So what? The clip above was recorded at the Day on the Green at the Oakland Coliseum. I was there. Yes, the sound sucked. But when was the last time you played in an open air stadium in front of 20,000 people? It does not sound like it does in your bedroom.
Also, Cliff used Fuzz and Wah as part of his musical voice. Think of Hendrix banging his Stat into his Marshall stack to achieve feedback. Is it noise? Yes -- at least that's how many will see it. Can you hear every "note" Hendrix plays? No. Maybe pitch but not a "note." You can pick it apart if you want, but many others just get it. They feel it.
Thirty years later kids are still choosing to play bass in their high school metal bands because Cliff made it cool. I have no doubt that Cliff would have created so much more music if he were alive today. And it would be cool. Cliff just had a timeless cool. Kind of like Lou Reed.
I started this rant by talking about the Cliff I knew. I used the word "humble" - which he was. If Cliff were typing this, he would be the first to concede that Stanley Clarke and Jaco and a hundred other bass players could play circles around him. He would not compare himself or even pretend that he had a dog in that fight. But that was also Cliff. No ego. No pretense. He did what he liked and liked what he did.
Cliff was a iconic figure in the history of electric bass. Not because he died young. Screw that argument once and for all. Cliff was a pioneer. His punk/metal in-your-face bass playing brought bass to the forefront of the emerging metal scene. Cliff made people ask "what's the name of that bass player?" Cliff is why thousands of angry, isolated teen age boys take up the bass guitar every year. His playing is powerful and cool and those teens want that. Cliff is not going anywhere. Underrated/Overrated -- its just a lot of unnecessary opinion. Kids will still be talking about Cliff and trying to play his riffs long after I am dead and in the ground. He is immortal in that regard. And that's why you all still read these threads and post in them every few months.
)
