Three BEST and three WORST Lifeson solos -- name yours!

[Weatherman]

So I grew up cutting my teeth on Alex's parts. Learning his voicing gave me some of my musical knowledge, and a lot of my speed/chops.

He's not my favorite guitarist anymore -- my tastes have changed -- but some of his work still resonates.

 

THREE BEST SOLOS (in chronological order):

 

1) 2112 - Overture

2) La Villa Strangiato (that slow part in Am->F that builds to a crescendo)

3) Limelight

 

Of course you can argue with those. (The Pass should be a verrrry close fourth.)

But his melodic work sounds the best to my ears.

 

THREE WORST SOLOS (in chronological order)

 

You guys are probably gonna hate my list...

 

1) The Fountain of Lamneth

2) Freewill

3) Tom Sawyer

 

Freewill is spazzy and sounds like someone just trying to keep up with the frenetic pace of his drummer and bassist. Tom Sawyer I've never enjoyed the phrasing much. Lamneth: don't even get me started.

 

You?

[Crimsonmistymemory]

The best ones are the long solos!

The worst ones are the short solos...

 

However even the worst ones are pretty damned good!!!

[Entre_Perpetuo]

So I grew up cutting my teeth on Alex's parts. Learning his voicing gave me some of my musical knowledge, and a lot of my speed/chops.

He's not my favorite guitarist anymore -- my tastes have changed -- but some of his work still resonates.

 

THREE BEST SOLOS (in chronological order):

 

1) 2112 - Overture

2) La Villa Strangiato (that slow part in Am->F that builds to a crescendo)

3) Limelight

 

Of course you can argue with those. (The Pass should be a verrrry close fourth.)

But his melodic work sounds the best to my ears.

 

THREE WORST SOLOS (in chronological order)

 

You guys are probably gonna hate my list...

 

1) The Fountain of Lamneth

2) Freewill

3) Tom Sawyer

 

Freewill is spazzy and sounds like someone just trying to keep up with the frenetic pace of his drummer and bassist. Tom Sawyer I've never enjoyed the phrasing much. Lamneth: don't even get me started.

 

You?

 

Freewill and Tom Sawyer are the worst?? Those are top contenders for his best in my book. Freewill is positively inspired shredding and Tom Sawyer is a masterclass in build and tone. Sure there's nothing from RTB or something that strikes you as less good?

[Entre_Perpetuo]

The best ones are the long solos!

The worst ones are the short solos...

 

However even the worst ones are pretty damned good!!!

 

Generally I agree with this. The only "bad" solo from Lifeson is the one that isn't long enough (with the notable exception of Different Strings, which is awesome despite being way too short). However I do have favorites among his wealth of great material.

[Lorraine]

Best

 

Xanadu

The Weapon

Limelight

 

Alex never played a bad note in his life.

Edited May 5, 2020 by Lorraine

[Weatherman]

Best

 

Xanadu

The Weapon

Limelight

 

Alex never played a bad note in his life.

 

Ooooohhh -- The Weapon! I forgot about that!

The transition starting at 4:50 is sublime. God what a great song that is. That minute-long bridge just elevates the whole composition.

 

 

Alex did play a bad note, here and there. How about we agree to call them "less good" notes.

But not on The Weapon.

Signals has grown on me SO MUCH as the years have passed. I love everything on it.

[Weatherman]

Freewill and Tom Sawyer are the worst?? Those are top contenders for his best in my book. Freewill is positively inspired shredding and Tom Sawyer is a masterclass in build and tone. Sure there's nothing from RTB or something that strikes you as less good?

 

I knew that would get some knickers in a bunch.

 

Unlike most here -- presumably -- I've actually performed Rush songs live for an audience, ranging from between 40 to 200.

Freewill was one of those songs. I learned every note of that song.

The solo really doesn't work. It's shredding, but there is no melodic content at all, no emotional connection to the song.

It's just spazzing.

That's my general problem with too many of Alex's solos. Sometimes he forgets that guitar can (and should) sound like a human voice singing a recognizable melody.

 

I used to play with a guy who was a classically trained bassist and vocalist. He knew melody, quite well. But his real passion was Rush, and we used to jam all the time.

One day we were trying to play Tom Sawyer and I commented that the solo never really sat well with me and I wanted to substitute it with some different ideas of my own.

He said, "Yes, please. I hate the solo. It makes no sense, melodically."

So there's that.

[Three Eyes]

Freewill and Tom Sawyer are the worst?? Those are top contenders for his best in my book. Freewill is positively inspired shredding and Tom Sawyer is a masterclass in build and tone. Sure there's nothing from RTB or something that strikes you as less good?

 

I knew that would get some knickers in a bunch.

 

Unlike most here -- presumably -- I've actually performed Rush songs live for an audience, ranging from between 40 to 200.

Freewill was one of those songs. I learned every note of that song.

The solo really doesn't work. It's shredding, but there is no melodic content at all, no emotional connection to the song.

It's just spazzing.

That's my general problem with too many of Alex's solos. Sometimes he forgets that guitar can (and should) sound like a human voice singing a recognizable melody.

 

I don't agree with the majority of this but I admire your chutzpah. :P

 

Life isn't always melodic so art shouldn't be either.

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Freewill and Tom Sawyer are the worst?? Those are top contenders for his best in my book. Freewill is positively inspired shredding and Tom Sawyer is a masterclass in build and tone. Sure there's nothing from RTB or something that strikes you as less good?

 

I knew that would get some knickers in a bunch.

 

Unlike most here -- presumably -- I've actually performed Rush songs live for an audience, ranging from between 40 to 200.

Freewill was one of those songs. I learned every note of that song.

The solo really doesn't work. It's shredding, but there is no melodic content at all, no emotional connection to the song.

It's just spazzing.

That's my general problem with too many of Alex's solos. Sometimes he forgets that guitar can (and should) sound like a human voice singing a recognizable melody.

 

I used to play with a guy who was a classically trained bassist and vocalist. He knew melody, quite well. But his real passion was Rush, and we used to jam all the time.

One day we were trying to play Tom Sawyer and I commented that the solo never really sat well with me and I wanted to substitute it with some different ideas of my own.

He said, "Yes, please. I hate the solo. It makes no sense, melodically."

So there's that.

 

I've never played either song in front of an audience but I can hum both solos note for note. I also love how both of them interact with Geddy and Neil, because imo often times what makes a great solo is a great rhythm section, and Alex is hyper aware of this, giving plenty of space where needed for the listener to latch onto the groove.

 

I'm not gonna tell you you're somehow wrong for not liking the solos, but I do think you've maybe overthought them, or you've maybe held them up to an ideal that Alex was never aspiring to in the first place.

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Best

 

Xanadu

The Weapon

Limelight

 

Alex never played a bad note in his life.

 

But I heard him miss a note in his Distant Early Warning solo on the R40 tour! :poke: .....and it was still epic. :clap: :Alex:

[Planet X-1]

<snip>

He said, "Yes, please. I hate the solo. It makes no sense, melodically."

So there's that.

 

Nice topic.

 

That's why Lifeson is so unique, he creates these solos out of thin air :)

 

Top 3 (for today)

 

Limelight (ESL video)

Between the Wheels

Cut to the Chase

 

Honorable mention: The Necromancer

 

Bottom 3

I'm sure they're on Clockwork or Snakes....meh

 

Anyway, I thought Alex always recorded a bunch of takes and had Geddy piece his solos together....(or only true for some solos?)

 

:rush: :Alex:

[Weatherman]

 

Nice topic.

 

That's why Lifeson is so unique, he creates these solos out of thin air :)

 

Anyway, I thought Alex always recorded a bunch of takes and had Geddy piece his solos together....(or only true for some solos?)

 

 

Yeah, Alex is very idiosyncratic.

There's really nobody else who plays in his original melange of techniques -- and originality is all that matters, isn't it?

 

I don't know how he composed his solos. The process you describe is how David Gilmour typically writes his. He jams for thirty minutes or an hour and picks out the best bits, marking them on a ticktape, and then figuring out how to run them together in an inspired way. I imagine the hard part is finding transitions and telling a story out of all the bits...

[lifeson90]

Fav will always be la villa but his shorter more abstract stuff really appeals to me like the solos in Marathon and Time & Motion

 

Tom Sawyer's a killer

 

He hasnt done a bad solo, he the master of the genre

Edited May 5, 2020 by lifeson90

[chemistry1973]

So I grew up cutting my teeth on Alex's parts. Learning his voicing gave me some of my musical knowledge, and a lot of my speed/chops.

He's not my favorite guitarist anymore -- my tastes have changed -- but some of his work still resonates.

 

THREE BEST SOLOS (in chronological order):

 

1) 2112 - Overture

2) La Villa Strangiato (that slow part in Am->F that builds to a crescendo)

3) Limelight

 

Of course you can argue with those. (The Pass should be a verrrry close fourth.)

But his melodic work sounds the best to my ears.

 

THREE WORST SOLOS (in chronological order)

 

You guys are probably gonna hate my list...

 

1) The Fountain of Lamneth

2) Freewill

3) Tom Sawyer

 

Freewill is spazzy and sounds like someone just trying to keep up with the frenetic pace of his drummer and bassist. Tom Sawyer I've never enjoyed the phrasing much. Lamneth: don't even get me started.

 

You?

 

yeah you’re nuts.

[chemistry1973]

There is too much good. I mean Victor has tons of great licks in and of itself. Also - the Garden, the Anarchist. Beautiful.

 

HOWEVER:

 

His solo in Crossroads is abominable.

 

also -

The Way the Wind Blows

Far Cry

and the original Working Man solo - he’s just a kid there, I know. But the phrasing bugs the shit outta me. What do I know, the song blew them up, but I give credit to the RIFF, which was monstrous.

[JARG]

As of today my top 3 faves are:

 

Time & Motion (this is almost always in my top 5 or so). I love the apparent lack of melody and structure. It's always sounded like a hive of angry bees to me. Very cool.

The first solo in La Villa. Excellent structure, dynamics, melody, expressiveness.

2112 Soliloquy. He perfectly captures the angst that the lyrics convey.

 

Least 3 faves are:

High Water. It sounds like he couldn't come up with a direction and so just sort of wanders around the fretboard.

The Weapon. Sterile, aimless noodling.

Working Man, Live in Cleveland (Time Machine tour). I feel so bad and embarrassed for Alex whenever I listen to this. He sounds as bad as I did whenever we played it live.

[ST3V]

As of today my top 3 faves are:

 

Time & Motion (this is almost always in my top 5 or so). I love the apparent lack of melody and structure. It's always sounded like a hive of angry bees to me. Very cool.

The first solo in La Villa. Excellent structure, dynamics, melody, expressiveness.

2112 Soliloquy. He perfectly captures the angst that the lyrics convey.

 

Least 3 faves are:

High Water. It sounds like he couldn't come up with a direction and so just sort of wanders around the fretboard.

The Weapon. Sterile, aimless noodling.

Working Man, Live in Cleveland (Time Machine tour). I feel so bad and embarrassed for Alex whenever I listen to this. He sounds as bad as I did whenever we played it live.

 

God that Working Man Time Machine solo is atrocious... 100% agree with that and The Weapon being at the bottom of the list.

[Three Eyes]

Anyway, I thought Alex always recorded a bunch of takes and had Geddy piece his solos together....(or only true for some solos?)

 

I seem to recall reading that sometime in the early 80s - possibly about Limelight. I wonder when they actually started practicing this method though. Can anyone link to an interview where they mention it?

 

I have my doubts they did it on anything prior to AFTK the album which is when these angular, jagged solos started showing up (although there were hints of the style in solos on prior albums). The song A Farewell to Kings specifically was a new kind of solo for Alex at the time and I think it can be argued it was the prototype for Tom Sawyer's great solo. It's more abstract in nature than denoting a specific emotion through melody. Of course, Rush went full-tilt with the odd time sigs on AFTK which must have forced Al to get really creative with his soloing. Can anyone identify another guitar player soloing quite like this prior to AFTK?

 

Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage, Cinderella Man, La Villa Strangiato also have stand out solos in this style. It really emerged as one of his musical signatures as time went on.

 

Sometimes hearing someone else competently playing Al's stuff can be a refresher on what a musical genius the guy actually is.

 

http://youtu.be/GN5taxJRg5g

Edited May 5, 2020 by Three Eyes

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Anyway, I thought Alex always recorded a bunch of takes and had Geddy piece his solos together....(or only true for some solos?)

 

I seem to recall reading that sometime in the early 80s - possibly about Limelight. I wonder when they actually started practicing this method though. Can anyone link to an interview where they mention it?

 

I have my doubts they did it on anything prior to AFTK the album which is when these angular, jagged solos started showing up (although there were hints of the style in solos on prior albums). The song A Farewell to Kings specifically was a new kind of solo for Alex at the time and I think it can be argued it was the prototype for Tom Sawyer's great solo. It's more abstract in nature than denoting a specific emotion through melody. Of course, Rush went full-tilt with the odd time sigs on AFTK which must have forced Al to get really creative with his soloing. Can anyone identify another guitar player soloing quite like this prior to AFTK?

 

Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage, Cinderella Man, La Villa Strangiato also have stand out solos in this style. It really emerged as one of his musical signatures as time went on.

 

Sometimes hearing someone else competently playing Al's stuff can be a refresher on what a musical genius the guy actually is.

 

http://youtu.be/GN5taxJRg5g

 

Hearing that guy try to nail those solos just amplifies how incredible Alex's timing really is on the originals, and in the age of tape!!

[Three Eyes]

Anyway, I thought Alex always recorded a bunch of takes and had Geddy piece his solos together....(or only true for some solos?)

 

I seem to recall reading that sometime in the early 80s - possibly about Limelight. I wonder when they actually started practicing this method though. Can anyone link to an interview where they mention it?

 

I have my doubts they did it on anything prior to AFTK the album which is when these angular, jagged solos started showing up (although there were hints of the style in solos on prior albums). The song A Farewell to Kings specifically was a new kind of solo for Alex at the time and I think it can be argued it was the prototype for Tom Sawyer's great solo. It's more abstract in nature than denoting a specific emotion through melody. Of course, Rush went full-tilt with the odd time sigs on AFTK which must have forced Al to get really creative with his soloing. Can anyone identify another guitar player soloing quite like this prior to AFTK?

 

Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage, Cinderella Man, La Villa Strangiato also have stand out solos in this style. It really emerged as one of his musical signatures as time went on.

 

Sometimes hearing someone else competently playing Al's stuff can be a refresher on what a musical genius the guy actually is.

 

http://youtu.be/GN5taxJRg5g

 

Hearing that guy try to nail those solos just amplifies how incredible Alex's timing really is on the originals, and in the age of tape!!

 

You hit upon a good point there. The age of tape required a guy be ready, willing and able to lay down a hot performance when that red light went on. Surgical editing and pitch correction wasn't available so you couldn't phone it in and fix it in the DAW later. They had to perform on the clock in expensive studios. I think that's why 70s rockers were so organic and high energy on tape. Rush's relentless touring didn't hurt either. They were a turbocharged Maserati at this point.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Three Eyes

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Anyway, I thought Alex always recorded a bunch of takes and had Geddy piece his solos together....(or only true for some solos?)

 

I seem to recall reading that sometime in the early 80s - possibly about Limelight. I wonder when they actually started practicing this method though. Can anyone link to an interview where they mention it?

 

I have my doubts they did it on anything prior to AFTK the album which is when these angular, jagged solos started showing up (although there were hints of the style in solos on prior albums). The song A Farewell to Kings specifically was a new kind of solo for Alex at the time and I think it can be argued it was the prototype for Tom Sawyer's great solo. It's more abstract in nature than denoting a specific emotion through melody. Of course, Rush went full-tilt with the odd time sigs on AFTK which must have forced Al to get really creative with his soloing. Can anyone identify another guitar player soloing quite like this prior to AFTK?

 

Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage, Cinderella Man, La Villa Strangiato also have stand out solos in this style. It really emerged as one of his musical signatures as time went on.

 

Sometimes hearing someone else competently playing Al's stuff can be a refresher on what a musical genius the guy actually is.

 

http://youtu.be/GN5taxJRg5g

 

Hearing that guy try to nail those solos just amplifies how incredible Alex's timing really is on the originals, and in the age of tape!!

 

You hit upon a good point there. The age of tape required a guy be ready, willing and able to lay down a hot performance when that red light went on. Surgical editing and pitch correct wasn't available so you couldn't phone it in and fix it in the DAW later. They had to perform on the clock in expensive studios. I think that's why 70s rockers were so organic and high energy on tape. Rush's relentless touring didn't hurt either. They were a turbocharged Maserati at this point.

 

I mean, you can be great and use the advantages of new recording techniques and also not tour half as hard as Rush....but if you manage to do that think of how much greater you'd be if you were gigging with your band every night and could lay down a killer take after only a try or two on a whim? There are definitely advantageous to the new way of doing things and some artists use them to great effect, but I think there's a balance to be struck. Listen to the shear energy Dave and co. got on the Foo Fighter's Wasting Light when they decided to record it to tape in Dave's (very studio like) garage and tell me that record would have turned out the same had it been done with Pro Tools in a "real" studio. The Foos also tour an absolute ton and I think that and their great friendship must make it much easier to go in, lay down a great take, and get out. If you're playing every day with these same guys already, there's never any dust to shake off.

[Lorraine]

Best

 

Xanadu

The Weapon

Limelight

 

Alex never played a bad note in his life.

 

But I heard him miss a note in his Distant Early Warning solo on the R40 tour! :poke: .....and it was still epic. :clap: :Alex:

 

:o Not Alex!!

 

No way

 

No how

 

If he missed a note, I'm sure the missing of it added to the epicness of the tune. :guitar:

[Lorraine]

Best

 

Xanadu

The Weapon

Limelight

 

Alex never played a bad note in his life.

 

Ooooohhh -- The Weapon! I forgot about that!

The transition starting at 4:50 is sublime. God what a great song that is. That minute-long bridge just elevates the whole composition.

 

 

Alex did play a bad note, here and there. How about we agree to call them "less good" notes.

But not on The Weapon.

Signals has grown on me SO MUCH as the years have passed. I love everything on it.

I have not sufficient adjectives to use when it comes to that song. Suffice it to say, I love it!!! :wub: :wub: :wub:

[Three Eyes]

If you have 37 minutes and nothing else to do, every Al solo from the debut through Hemispheres. He put links to each solo in the descriptions of all three videos.

 

http://youtu.be/FoUSpYZzMCg

 

http://youtu.be/RZtTYk7drZI

 

http://youtu.be/OKXhUlO2Mgs

[Three Eyes]

Anyway, I thought Alex always recorded a bunch of takes and had Geddy piece his solos together....(or only true for some solos?)

 

I seem to recall reading that sometime in the early 80s - possibly about Limelight. I wonder when they actually started practicing this method though. Can anyone link to an interview where they mention it?

 

I have my doubts they did it on anything prior to AFTK the album which is when these angular, jagged solos started showing up (although there were hints of the style in solos on prior albums). The song A Farewell to Kings specifically was a new kind of solo for Alex at the time and I think it can be argued it was the prototype for Tom Sawyer's great solo. It's more abstract in nature than denoting a specific emotion through melody. Of course, Rush went full-tilt with the odd time sigs on AFTK which must have forced Al to get really creative with his soloing. Can anyone identify another guitar player soloing quite like this prior to AFTK?

 

Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage, Cinderella Man, La Villa Strangiato also have stand out solos in this style. It really emerged as one of his musical signatures as time went on.

 

Sometimes hearing someone else competently playing Al's stuff can be a refresher on what a musical genius the guy actually is.

 

http://youtu.be/GN5taxJRg5g

 

Hearing that guy try to nail those solos just amplifies how incredible Alex's timing really is on the originals, and in the age of tape!!

 

You hit upon a good point there. The age of tape required a guy be ready, willing and able to lay down a hot performance when that red light went on. Surgical editing and pitch correct wasn't available so you couldn't phone it in and fix it in the DAW later. They had to perform on the clock in expensive studios. I think that's why 70s rockers were so organic and high energy on tape. Rush's relentless touring didn't hurt either. They were a turbocharged Maserati at this point.

 

I mean, you can be great and use the advantages of new recording techniques and also not tour half as hard as Rush....but if you manage to do that think of how much greater you'd be if you were gigging with your band every night and could lay down a killer take after only a try or two on a whim? There are definitely advantageous to the new way of doing things and some artists use them to great effect, but I think there's a balance to be struck. Listen to the shear energy Dave and co. got on the Foo Fighter's Wasting Light when they decided to record it to tape in Dave's (very studio like) garage and tell me that record would have turned out the same had it been done with Pro Tools in a "real" studio. The Foos also tour an absolute ton and I think that and their great friendship must make it much easier to go in, lay down a great take, and get out. If you're playing every day with these same guys already, there's never any dust to shake off.

 

Yeah I heard about Wasting Light. Not that familiar with the album though. I'm not much of a Foo fan generally but I'll give some songs from the album a listen. But cool that they did that. They brought Butch Vig in for that one.

 

The subject of quantization is a favorite rant of Rick Beato's.

 

http://youtu.be/L-8EbHkc8tc

 

I tend to agree, old fogey that I am. But I'll come clean. I've used drum machines on most of my past demos. I tried to make them sound as organic as I could but you can only do so much with those old machines. Drum software of today sounds a lot more organic. In any event, drum machines and software are excellent songwriting tools, at least.

 

Right regarding striking a balance. I also make use of the modern DAW's incredible powers. In fact, DAWs, plugins and the affordable quality music gear that's being developed for the home recording boom has truly democratized making music. It's a great time at least in that regard.

 

I'm not against digitally tweaking rock songs. Tweaking was done in the old studios too, after all. And I'm not necessarily against gridding an entire song if it fits what you're trying to accomplish artistically. As with most things, it's good to keep an open mind. I'm sure there are many people nowadays who don't play any instruments at all but are skilled at programming their musical creations.

 

But the dark side of the DAW is that quantization seems to be everywhere now. I heard that if your music doesn't sound perfect you're going to be ignored by the industry. That sucks. But you know what? Who wants to work for a soulless major label anyway? Promote yourself on the web and take all the profits instead of a tiny percentage. YYNOT is a good example of this. I'm hoping they can eventually build a big fan base.