Cliff Burton - is he a legendary bassist?

[temp100]

Now... I love Metallica (4th fav band) and I think they have a fair amount of skill. I was thinking of the top bassists ever with my mate (I understand that you can't have a best bassist because of different styles etc.).
We knew that a few bassists like Pastorius, Claypool, Flea, Entwistle, Steve Harris, Victor Wooten etc... would be up around there somewhere. My mate is a bit of a metal fan (mainly nu metal unfortunately) and he wanted Cliff Burton and the Korn bassist up there. I didn't like the Korn bassist being there lol, but I knew that a lot of people consider Burton to be up around there. I haven't really listened to much of Burton playing, but I was looking at the Metallica bass tabs and I can't understand why in the world he is revered so greatly? I know that he did a bit for bass in metal as I don't think it was terribly big in metal, but still, I can't understand why he is considered to be so great.
His bass tabs look really simplistic and it doesn't look like they're that creative either. BTW, I have heard Anaesthesia and I'm not sure that it was even written by him, but it doesn't sound that special to me.
Please don't flame me as I do like Metallica. I don't know a huge amount about bass, but can someone tell me what was so great about Burton?

[MalYoung]

Cliff was a mastermind behind Metallica though, he wrote almost all the music for them, and he was a great bass player. Look at Kirk Hammet, most of his solos arent really hard, but he came up with them and played them incredibly well, which is what Cliff was.

Cliff Burton is a god for a few reasons in my mind. He heavily influenced how Metallica's songs were put together, he could PLAY(Just listen to Pulling Teeth). And bellbottom's rule

[temp100]

I think that "to come up with bass lines" comes under creativity. I do value creativity over technicality, but are they really that creative? I also appreciate musicians who would prefer to play (for example) Level 2 music really well rather than musicians who would play Level 3 music not so well. I understand that he was the mastermind behind Metallica but I didn't realise that he wrote their music. If he wrote the the lead/rhythm guitar lines, then he is an incredible musician, but that still doesn't make him an incredible bassist. Thanks anyway...

[gigatonblast]

IF he were still alive,he would not have the "legendary influence" that he has.

The way he died...

The fact its Metallica...

He was fairly quick,and did have a certain style that drew me to the band 20 years ago.

Hes in my top *thinking long and hard*..... between #17-#25 overall.

No, he is not.

[temp100]

Originally Posted by gigatonblast

IF he were still alive,he would not have the "legendary influence" that he has.

The way he died...

The fact its Metallica...

He was fairly quick,and did have a certain style that drew me to the band 20 years ago.

Hes in my top *thinking long and hard*..... between #17-#25 overall.

Thanks for this. I thought people would think he was a legendary bassist because of the fanboy syndrome and the whole death incident. You guys have confirmed my original opinion that he was a good as a bassist, but not legendary. At least I now know that he was legendary for holding Metallica together and writing their music. Is his bass style influential?

if u guys actually listened to his bass work on kill em all, RTL and MOP you would realise why people think he was so great and not just becuz he died. Watch some his life work...its truely beautiful and playing so insanely until his fingers were bleeding is showing real dedication to his fans...hes far better than newsted and that other one, the current one

[temp100]

Originally Posted by bono_b

if u guys actually listened to his bass work on kill em all, RTL and MOP you would realise why people think he was so great and not just becuz he died. Watch some his life work...its truely beautiful and playing so insanely until his fingers were bleeding is showing real dedication to his fans...hes far better than newsted and that other one, the current one

I'll have a look at it. I did hear that Metallica tried to hide the bass on Kill 'Em All though. I'm not quite sure why? Can someone confirm this?

he was an excellent bassist for a metal bassist.. great work on call of ktulu, orion, and anesthesia (the latter is a bit sloppy, but you'll live)

He's not the best, but he's better than average.

And fieldy is so overrated it's not even funny. He's a one trick pony, slapping with no mids on his low A string. Please, if you want a talented nu metal bassist (better than Burton or Fieldy, for that matter), check out Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne.

Originally Posted by temp100

I'll have a look at it. I did hear that Metallica tried to hide the bass on Kill 'Em All though. I'm not quite sure why? Can someone confirm this?

No, the bass wasn't very high in the mix because cheap recording equipment rarely picks bass frequencies ~< 60hz very well. They were just starting out then, and the recording quality was shit. And, it was also a factor that they were playing metal, in which the guitar is generally the most emphasized anyways.

[temp100]

Originally Posted by Deathw1sh

he was an excellent bassist for a metal bassist.. great work on call of ktulu, orion, and anesthesia (the latter is a bit sloppy, but you'll live)

He's not the best, but he's better than average.

And fieldy is so overrated it's not even funny. He's a one trick pony, slapping with no mids on his low A string. Please, if you want a talented nu metal bassist (better than Burton or Fieldy, for that matter), check out Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne.


No, the bass wasn't very high in the mix because cheap recording equipment rarely picks bass frequencies ~< 60hz very well. They were just starting out then, and the recording quality was shit. And, it was also a factor that they were playing metal, in which the guitar is generally the most emphasized anyways.

Yeah, I thought it might have been due to recording equipment. I do realise that the Korn bassist is bad, but my mate doesn't. I know that the Mudvayne guy is good. Lol, doesn't he slap on anything other than the A string lol... Steve Harris will always be the best metal bassist in my books.

cliff was good,..certainly in the time he was around,...he wasnt 'legendary' I dont think.but he still beats the crap out of newsted.
Fieldy absolutly sucks giant donkey balls.
Ryan Martinie,...certainly one of the best metal bassist to come around in awhile.

Originally Posted by MalYoung

Cliff was a mastermind behind Metallica though, he wrote almost all the music for them, and he was a great bass player. Look at Kirk Hammet, most of his solos arent really hard, but he came up with them and played them incredibly well, which is what Cliff was.

You're an idiot. Cliff wrote minimal music. James and Lars wrote everything. As for Cliff's playing, it's just so-so. 90% of the time he just follows the guitar. Sometimes he broke out and did his own thing (Orion and Call of Ktulu for example) which is where he shines, but it's still nothing special. Jason Newsted was at least as good as him, if not better.

As far as a metal bassist that deserves to be on your list, it's without a doubt Steve Harris from Maiden.

[temp100]

Yeah... I discovered Maiden 2 and a half months ago, and now I love them (2nd fav band). Steve Harris is a really good bassist.

Originally Posted by Sick Individual

You're an idiot. Cliff wrote minimal music. James and Lars wrote everything. As for Cliff's playing, it's just so-so. 90% of the time he just follows the guitar. Sometimes he broke out and did his own thing (Orion and Call of Ktulu for example) which is where he shines, but it's still nothing special. Jason Newsted was at least as good as him, if not better.

As far as a metal bassist that deserves to be on your list, it's without a doubt Steve Harris from Maiden.

lol........... steve harris is great but you need to understand how they put together their albums. lars and james put the music together and decided on everything but....cliff submitted all the bass work