‘The Ultimate Metallica Show’ Recap: Celebrating the Life + Legacy of Cliff Burton

On Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, the heavy metal world celebrated what would have been Cliff Burton's 61st birthday. The Ultimate Metallica Show joined in on the celebration all weekend long with a full hour of nothing but songs that honored the Major Rager's life and legacy.

The bulk of the hour featured live performances from throughout Burton's time with Metallica, including two different recordings of "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth," that always-evolving, never-the-same bass solo he was and still is so well known for; the first performance came from his first-ever show with Metallica in 1983 and the second was recorded at what would be his final show in 1986.

While we could have spent days honoring Burton, in the second hour we shifted gear just a bit as we put our focus on the latest—and final—release in the Metallica Vinyl Club: Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set. We listened to the record in full and then finished out the hour with a few other tracks from other Vinyl Club releases.

If you missed the show, you can stream it right here; check out the full playlist and recap below.

The Ultimate Metallica Show — Hour 1

• "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" — Live at The Stone, San Francisco, California, March 5, 1983
• "Damage, Inc." — Master of Puppets
• "For Whom the Bell Tolls" — Live at Monsters of Rock, Donington Park, England, Aug. 17, 1985
• "Ride the Lightning" — Ride the Lightning
• "Master of Puppets" — Live at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1986
• "Creeping Death" — Live at The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey, April 21, 1986
• "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" — Live at Solnahallen, Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 26, 1986
• "Whiplash" — Live at Metro, Chicago, Illinois, Aug. 12, 1983

The Ultimate Metallica Show — Hour 2

• "Nothing Else Matters" (String & Vocal Mix) — Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
• "My Friend of Misery" (December 19th, 1990 Rough Mix) — Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
• "No Remorse" — Live at Day on the Green, Oakland, California, Oct. 12, 1991, Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
• "The Shortest Straw" — Live at Castle Farms Music Theater, Charlevoix, Michigan, June 27, 1992, Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
• "All Your Lies" — Soundgarden Cover, Tribute to Chris Cornell
• "Sad But True" — Live at Kroeg Bar, Brunssum, Netherlands, Sept. 10, 1996, Motherload
• "I Disappear" (Leaked Napster Version) — Disappear (Leaked and Live)
• "Leper Messiah" — Live at Monsters of Rock, Castle Donington, England, Aug. 22, 1987, Live at Donington '87

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Watch Metallica Perform Live in Chicago on Aug. 12, 1983