I bought Metallica's album Ride The Lightning shortly after it came out solely based on the cover being mostly of my favorite color back then (dark blue). I was also intrigued by the picture of the bass player, who was playing an old-school Rickenbacker and bending the strings! I was blown away by the album. I had never heard anything so heavy and fast. I dubbed the album onto a cassette and listened to it a lot over the next few weeks. As I listened to it more, I was very blown away by the bass playing. Although low in the mix, I could still tell this was no ordinary bassist. Some time later I managed to get Metallica's debut album, Kill 'Em All, and I was blown away even more particularly after listening to his bass solo! Playing like a lead guitarist, with distortion and a wah-wah pedal? Wow!
I became a devoted fan. I didn't have a bass yet, so I learned to play Cliff's bass lines on the top four strings of my acoustic guitar!
With a lot of anticipation, I got Master Of Puppets once it became available. I was a bit disappointed that the bass still seemed to be low on the mix, but was again blown away by the whole thing, particularly by the track "Orion". I managed to catch the band at one of those "Day on the Green" concerts, but honestly I couldn't really see or hear them very well.
Now, when all of this happened, I was between the ages of 14 and 17. There were no personal computers or internet, and the only information I got was from Circus or Hit Parader magazine whenever I could go to the record store or bookstore to read them. I didn't find out about Cliff's death until about a month after it happened. When I learned about it, I was pretty devastated. By now I had a very cheap bass and (due to Cliff's influence), a distortion pedal. To mourn, I guess I played a lot. A few weeks later I taped myself playing Anesthesia, The Four Horsemen and Jump in the fire, and sent my tape to the address in the back of one of the albums. I can't imagine it ever got to anyone's hands! :D
So, as a bassist, Cliff was one of my main influences. His style cemented my decision to remain a finger player and to not play over the song, but try and do amazing things in the background instead. Can't say I became an awesome player, but I think I'm OK, even though I haven't played in a very loooong time!
I've read up about Cliff and apparently he was a guy who was very dedicated to his music. He studied theory and composition at Chabot College (just down the road from where I live), and was very influential in Metallica's development as a band. There isn't a lot out there in the way of all things Cliff, but the DVD Cliff 'Em All is just right. It's a must have in any collection! Sometimes I wonder what would have happened with Metallica had Cliff lived, but they did just fine. Still those first three albums still get heavy rotation in my portable player. My go-to versions are the early 90's release of Kill 'Em All with the two bonus tracks, and the DCC versions of Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets (yes, I finally got both!)
All Hail Cliif!!
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As I write this, the death of Whitney Houston at age 48 is being reported. I always appreciated her huge singing talent. 48 is way too young. Rest in peace Whitney.
