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Man, if only Cliff were still alive today...

Felix1776

Felix1776

Dec 4, 2014
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Pueblo West, Colorado
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#1
Since today is Cliff's birthday it got me thinking about just how badass he was in his day. Early Metallica is obviously classic stuff but his playing was just so impressive. For such a young guy, he was very skilled and came up with some pretty innovative stuff. He's always been one of my favorite players and he continues to inspire me and I'm sure many others even after he's been gone 30 years. What could have been....
 
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#3
Megalon said:
I agree completely. He was also the main musical arranger in Metallica,that is why their early stuff is so good. As far as I'm concerned,Metallica died with Cliff.
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They just weren't the same after he passed. I'm a big newsted fan as well but he just wasn't on cliff's level IMO. It would have been really interesting to see what Metallica and Cliff would have become. I think personally that Cliff would have been one of the true GOATs.
 
#4
I think Metallica missed their peak because of Cliffs' death. Jason is a great player but he was never allowed to shine like Cliff or even Trujillo for that matter.
In the past I often thought about how much better AJFA would have sounded with Cliff but what's the point. Unfortunately it is what it is.
I hope Cliff is resting in Peace and he's oblivious of the 90's and early 2000's Metallica.
 
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#5
Metallica is still to this day one of the biggest bands in the world. I think they did well without him. There was obviously a lot more to the band then what Cliff had to offer otherwise they truly would have disappeared off the map. That did not happen. Cliff was good yeah, but I also think people tend to over rate him because he's now dead. this happens with a lot of musicians so it's not a surprise. but come on... missed their peak? really?
 
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#6
casper_morgan said:
Metallica is still to this day one of the biggest bands in the world. I think they did well without him. There was obviously a lot more to the band then what Cliff had to offer otherwise they truly would have disappeared off the map. That did not happen. Cliff was good yeah, but I also think people tend to over rate him because he's now dead. this happens with a lot of musicians so it's not a surprise. but come on... missed their peak? really?
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I don't think anyone questioned the fact they went on and achieved huge success. That's pretty obvious. You're telling me you think it's a coincidence that their best and most legendary work just so happened to include Cliff? It's pretty widely known that, in addition to his skills on bass, he had a huge influence on how those early albums came together. I personally think the Metallica we've known for the last 30 years would be a lot different (better) than it is/was.
 
#7
I agree that Cliff's work was incredible. But, Jason's time in the band and his exit taught me a lesson in internal band politics. I suppose there's more to a musician's life than what is left behind. I still enjoy the early albums more, but I don't think that's a Cliff vs. Jason thing. If anything, I place the blame at the feet of Bob Rock. He Bon Jovi'ed that band into the mainstream. Flemming Rasmussen's may have been a more significant driver than what he's credited for over the course of their history.

At the end of the day, though Cliff was incredible.
 
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#8
MichaelPatrick said:
I agree that Cliff's work was incredible. But, Jason's time in the band and his exit taught me a lesson in internal band politics. I suppose there's more to a musician's life than what is left behind. I still enjoy the early albums more, but I don't think that's a Cliff vs. Jason thing. If anything, I place the blame at the feet of Bob Rock. He Bon Jovi'ed that band into the mainstream. Flemming Rasmussen's may have been a more significant driver than what he's credited for over the course of their history.

At the end of the day, though Cliff was incredible.
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I personally don't even compare Jason to Cliff. Two totally different styles of players. I have serious respect for both of them. Jason's playing is actually more similar to my own but I just love some of the more innovative stuff that Cliff was doing on those early records. Jason was so precise and powerful but he just didn't have those memorable lines and licks like Cliff had.
 
#12
casper_morgan said:
Metallica is still to this day one of the biggest bands in the world. I think they did well without him. There was obviously a lot more to the band then what Cliff had to offer otherwise they truly would have disappeared off the map. That did not happen. Cliff was good yeah, but I also think people tend to over rate him because he's now dead. this happens with a lot of musicians so it's not a surprise. but come on... missed their peak? really?
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I totally stand by my comment. If you look at Master of Puppets you see that everyone was involved in the songwriting process. They were a juggernaut doing their own thing away from the mainstream. And Justice for all was all James and Lars.

The Black Album? It's like Lars gave up trying to do anything creative and Jason's lines fit that approach. They became the mainstream. Kirk and Jason punched in and did their thing as employees. Cliff would not have allowed it.

On MOP they were onto something special and they knew it.
The songwriting was sharp and intricate and everybody signed off on it. I'm pretty sure Jason didn't sign off on having his parts being inaudible for AJFA! If Cliff were playing on Justice it would have been absolutely incredible! It was a very good album but an integral part of their success disappeared. James and Lars became Metallica and Jason and Kirk became employees.

When was the last time Kirk got a songwriting credit? Like I said Jason and Kirk started cashing in their paychecks and became"yes men" . Was it successfully? Absolutely! But their music lost its magic when they took on this approach.

They missed their peek. As it is Master of Puppets is their peek. AJFA would have killed if Cliff and their democratic approach were still in place.
 
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