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Rivendell from Fly By Night


Thunder Bay Rush
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I had Fly By Night on the other day and my wife (who is a VERY casual Rush fan) asked who it was... when I told her, she was in shock and - VERY impressed. She said it's one of the nicest songs she's ever heard. So, maybe now she's slightly less casual when it comes to being a Rush fan, eh? Give it a listen if you aren't familiar... I'm pretty sure it's Geddy playing the classical (nylon stringed) guitar with Alex using an electric guitar and a volume pedal putting those soft nuances in there. And, Neil's lyrics are SO good, especially, for a guy who was 21 when he wrote them.
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I was just listening to it earlier today. Rivendell still does nothing for me though...it's definitely my least liked song off Fly By Night. If I were to be totally honest, I'd say it DOES sound like lyrics by a younger guy. Not that that's always bad but in this case it seems apparent. However, I do think it's better than some songs off Clockwork, Snakes, Counterparts, & Bones.
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I have zero problems with this song.

I think the problem lies in the listener lol! I think some macho guys just can't "allow" themselves to like it for fear of being a wuss.

IMO it proves the range of what they were capable of even at the beginning, and growing up as a fan of LOTR, there are/WERE times when I get lost in the song. I think it captures the feel of the journey that the books take you on pretty well.

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I think some macho guys just can't "allow" themselves to like it for fear of being a wuss.

:LOL:

I think your use of "some" is closest in meaning to "a very small number of".

 

Any macho guy that has that kind of fear in the first place isn't macho at all but actually IS a wuss.

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I'm sorry but the song really does blow. I didn't expect it to be that bad, then I listened to it and literally said to myself "Oh my god I actually like Tai Shan better"
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I'm sorry but the song really does blow. I didn't expect it to be that bad, then I listened to it and literally said to myself "Oh my god I actually like Tai Shan better"

I'm still not at "the song really does blow" level BUT I do agree with what's in your quote. And, (believe it or not) I like it more by a large margin

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Rivendell is a gorgeous song!

 

FBN is a top five album for me now. Phenomenal collection of rifftastic gems!

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I think it's a beautiful song. I don't really care that it sounds like it was written by very young guys...because that's what they were.

 

I like the play the finger-picked melody on the acoustic (as I don't have an actual classical guitar). It's really lovely.

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In 1975 there weren't many hard rock bands that played anything other than hard rock, and when they did it was usually a schmaltzy love song, so the song was a bit of a statement that this band was going to deviate from the norm. In that context it has some weight, but when placed within the canon of Rush, it, like Tai Shan, is a song that should've been messed with, perhaps, but left off the record to make room for better material.
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I'll say the same thing I've said in every other Rivendell thread.. it'd be cool to hear an all out electrified rocking version of it.. with a drum solo!
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I think the problem lies in the listener lol! I think some macho guys just can't "allow" themselves to like it for fear of being a wuss.

 

I don't think that's the problem at all. For me it's the song itself, which is a bit dull. Compare it to Gong to California, which is a better length, i think, and overall more interesting in that it has range. Of RUSH's slower, lighter fare, there are three songs that I have three distinct reactions to.

 

Rivendell, I don't hate, nor do I not like it. It's just there, as background. Nothing offensive about it, nor does it really engage me in any way. And I'm a Tolkien fan. Then there's Tears, which I absolutely love. I think the melody is well-written and the build up of the song is well-crafted. I even like Neil's approach to the drums. At the other end of the spectrum is Madrigal, which for me has no redeeming qualities. Melody, instrumentation, lyrics. Nails on a chalkboard for me.

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Listening right now...

 

It starts with what feels like an outro... :LOL: And the lyrics...well... When Zep alludes to Tolkien, it's pretty brief or cryptic, or at least lyrical. But here the lyrics strike my as a bit too literal, as sometimes the case with Neil. The music is fine...but doesn't really keep my interest. 90 seconds of it as a musical interlude would be just fine with me.

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I like Rivendell, love the fact that they did it, as it was obviously something that came from nothing more than the desire to do it ..

 

Alex's volume swells are fantastic - I love this aspect of his playing, as he later incorporated it into some amazing sections of Xanadu, The Necromancer and Hemispheres

 

But if I never heard the lyric "elven" again, I would be a very happy man

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I like Rivendell, love the fact that they did it, as it was obviously something that came from nothing more than the desire to do it ..

 

Alex's volume swells are fantastic - I love this aspect of his playing, as he later incorporated it into some amazing sections of Xanadu, The Necromancer and Hemispheres

 

But if I never heard the lyric "elven" again, I would be a very happy man

:LOL: for the "elven" statement. And I agree 100% about Alex's swells. That is a redeeming feature of the song for me.
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I was a Lord Of The Rings fan before I ever heard the song, so I was open minded to it and liked the reference and change of pace as far as the "sound" goes.

 

I have the same experience - I thought it was cool that someone had written a song so clearly about a book I liked. I still have fondness for it, but I wish it weren't so long. I tried to make a shorter edit of the song, but was only half successful.

Edited by toymaker
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It's not a bad song. I don't mind that it'sa slow and acoustic song. It's quite good. I think it's just dated by now... that's why I skip it. I ike stuff that has 'a bit more pop'.
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