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How is Cliff Burton overrated?

#81
After watching some kind of monster, and year and a half, it is awesome to see the level of r
espect that the guys had for Cliff. You get the impression that he had a big impact on where the music of metallica was going.

Cliff made me pick up the bass and start jamming with friends.
 
#84
The answer to the question is simple. Burton is overrated because all the fanboys say he's the bestest bass player ever. Yes, I know there is no "best ever" but there are many bassists out there who are clearly better than Burton, and many of them play in genres I don't enjoy.

Disclaimer: I'm a Burton fan and he was one of my inspirations. There's no denying that Burton was a damned good bassist, was a unique player in Metal for that time, and an inspiration to many.

Burton's talent: Well...Thrash Metal isn't centered on bass playing so who knows how good Burton really was. I doubt he displayed most of his skills in Metallica, and that includes those few live performances floating around on Youtube. He was probably a lot better than we think. It really is a shame that he is barely audible on the albums, but this is an epidemic with a lot Metal music in general.
 
#86
Sartori said:
Best bass player ever? No, certainly not, and besides, that's such a stupidly subjective argument.
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So then whos your best bassist ever? whether obscure or mainstream, there probably is at least some bias in it. We all possess bias. Some people deserve the affection, some dont...i try not to compare bassists but honestly, Cliff has to be the best mixture of sheer creativity, energy, ambition, and true devotion to his skill and Metallica. Is he the best? no...is Anyone the BEST? no
 
#90
JetBlackJazz said:
So then whos your best bassist ever? whether obscure or mainstream, there probably is at least some bias in it. We all possess bias. Some people deserve the affection, some dont...i try not to compare bassists but honestly, Cliff has to be the best mixture of sheer creativity, energy, ambition, and true devotion to his skill and Metallica. Is he the best? no...is Anyone the BEST? no
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm saying. There is no "best," because music is subjective. Arguing about who is the "best" at anything involving music, any instrument, or who is the "best" composer, is a fool's errand. There's no objective way to judge. Not even close. It's not a competition.

Even if there was such a thing as a "best" bassist, he'd probably be some guy just playing for the joy of it by himself in a garage somewhere, completely anonymous.
 
#91
JetBlackJazz said:
you probably wouldnt have said that if he was still alive. He didnt get the chance to refine and correct himself...
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So true.

When he died, he was the same age as I am now. My technique isn't as good as it could be, either. It would be a sad thing if I just stopped developing as a musician where I am now. And I'm not even anywhere near as good as he was.
 
#93
genericusername said:
Well, that would be one of the reasons why he might be overrated, but nevertheless he was good at writing/performing, and inspiration to many.


Also, according to Dave Mustaine in his autobiography, Cliff grew his own weed.
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a good performer/writer he was and the only metallica i like was with him on bass but i just couldent get past all the metalheads in my school talking like he was the only bass player on the planet.

plus i know people who grow there own weed too
 
#94
s_mcsleazy said:
a good performer/writer he was and the only metallica i like was with him on bass but i just couldent get past all the metalheads in my school talking like he was the only bass player on the planet.

plus i know people who grow there own weed too
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Lots of people, especially of school age, have trouble appreciating performers without turning it into a weird competition of who's "best" or who's "better," I've noticed.
 
#95
I'd say he was overrated because I've heard many people say he was the greatest bass player ever and if you listen to his performances and even his soloed bass tracks from his albums he's sloppy and doesn't have solid timing. I think the people that say he's the best really like his style and tone and forgive other technical aspects.
 
#96
Massimo636 said:
I'd say he was overrated because I've heard many people say he was the greatest bass player ever and if you listen to his performances and even his soloed bass tracks from his albums he's sloppy and doesn't have solid timing. I think the people that say he's the best really like his style and tone and forgive other technical aspects.
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The timing/sloppiness thing has been addressed earlier in the thread - think "Lars". ;)

Cheers!
:bassist::bassist::bassist:
 
#97
I actually think what many people reference as sloppy on his album recording wasn't really slop at all and completely on purpose. From watching his live bass solos and what-not, his skill was definitely there. I just think he had his own perspective for the role of bass in a band. Case and point is the bass from Fight Fire with Fire, where his bass has like free-form percussive quality that really adds a chaotic feeling to the song, which imo really helps bring it to life.

Also wanted to add that he may not be the best bassist to ever live, but he was truly original and added alot to a great band, whose style drastically changed after he passed away. And even though he may not be the best, a label I don't think could ever be given to a single person, he's still one of my favorites.
 
#100
He was not offtime and sloppy on the album. He was grooving, and yes groove is not dead on time. If it was it would not swing. It aint got a thing if it aint got that swing. Cliff was an inventive and fun bassplayer. It feels good to listen to his tracks be cause they got groove and swing. Myung is dead on time and very stiff, very boring player in a very boring band. Metallica was always funny
 

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