RobertC

I want to buy one of these metallica dvd.Which is the better out of (A year and a half in the life of metallica) or (Metallica Cliff' em all).

Regards
Bob

WMAangel

They are very different....you should ask yourself: Do you want to see the band playing live with Cliff Burton performing songs from their first three albums during their early tours? Or would you rather see the band with Jason on bass during the making of the "Black Album" and its subsequent tour?

I prefer the Cliff albums, so I'd go with Cliff 'Em All, but if you are more of a "Black Album" era fan, then you'd probably enjoy A Year And A Half better....

tcoursen

I will ditto what WMAAngel says and add that neither is a complete concert.

I don't own either one, but have seen them both. If I remember correctly the Cliff DVD was put together ( originally on VHS ) as a tribute to Cliff and shows show interviews and some performances with Cliff. If I remember correctly some of the performance video is so so, especially compared to more modern recorded for DVD concerts. It's all pretty raw.

The year in the life DVD is pretty much a document of the making of the Black Album and then the tour. So there is a mix of stuff with them making the album and then behind the scenes stuff on the tour, and I think there are a few full live song performances.

Personally they were OK to watch once, but neither one was all that long and didn't really hold much replay value. But that is me.

if you are looking for a complete concert DVD of black album and earlier Metallica then look for the "Live S**T, Binge and Purge". It is a 3CD/2DVD package. 3 complete concerts. 1 DVD from the And Justice For All Tour. 1 DVD from the black album tour, and 3 CD's from the black album tour. I think one of the shows is from early on in the black album tour, and the other from the end.

wishbone

If you are just looking for a video and not so much the concert aspect then it probably comes down to "Cliff Burton" vs. "After Cliff." Both videos mentioned by the OP are enjoyable on their own merits.

I am a bit surprised that these videos are still online.

dick_grayson

yeah, the quality on Cliff em All isn't great whereas the Year and a half in the life one is clear and the footage is really cool since they show the recording process and all that. Plus, there's a part in it where Slash spills a beer on himself, Tony Iommi and James at a pub. That's pretty good. But, the Cliff Em All bass solos make that worth it alone.

johnbook

From those videos i was most impressed with the "cliff em all" video, they were so hungry back then, i know it was 24 years ago but damn they looked so cool with the long hair, the outdoor show etc, makes me wonder if cliff was still alive today if he would have cut his hair.

boc4ever

Cliff Em All - I'm a huge fan of the old stuff.

nodeerforamonth

Most of "Cliff 'Em All" was bootleg footage they got from fans.

I'll take "Cliff 'Em All" anyday. The songs are much, much better. "A Year..." is also interesting.

islandclaws

Cliff 'Em All, for sure. It was the band's greatest era.

I like Year & A Half because there's a funny part where James is going over GnR's rider and he's making fun of the fact that Axl requested Sue Bee Honey. For some reason that always stuck out as hilarious to me.

GuessWho

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GuessWho

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NoirFan

If Cliff Burton were still alive, I'd like to think he would have quit the band years ago.

boc4ever

It would have been interesting to see play out. He certainly could care less what people thought of him. So, depending on his loyalty to the band, he would have embraced the new direction, or he would have been long gone faster than you could say "exit light, enter night!"

nodeerforamonth

I think the band would've been more likely to cave into Cliff's wishes, not the other way around. Cliff said that the only way he would join Metallica was if they moved up to SF. And they did.

Wallet Boy

Just wanted to add that although Cliff Em All is great, I've watched A Year And A Half a lot more often, because it's a great little view into the making of an album, and a phenomenal sounding one at that. It's interesting to see what ideas were Metallica's and what were Bob Rock's.

Boba Fett

Robot Rock

Buy a year and a half. If anything, just because it's 4 and a half-5 hours. You get a lot of info into the recording the black album and the tour thereafter.

nodeerforamonth

Good point. And it's worth it. I HATED the "black" album and bought "year and a half" and never really regretted it. It's interesting.

But if you want great songs, "Cliff 'Em All" is the way to go.

To the OP, you can probably get both used for a total of $30. Totally worth it and affordable (even in these times).

Mordred

Yeah, there's a lot of good stuff in Year and a Half. In fact that video is the reason I decided I wanted to learn to play guitar. It's this scene in fact.

I remember it went on a bit longer at the start with Kirk trying some things Bob Rock's way and it not working to well and then the stuff in the video happened.

I remember after watching that for the first time knowing that I wanted to be able to do that.