drbirdsong

You really have to see it to get it, but near the end of Beyond The Lighted Stage Alex says: "Hey Dirk, here's that thing you ordered." BTLS is just a wealth of quotes.

QUOTE (trenken @ Jun 29 2011, 12:16 PM) QUOTE (StellarJetman @ Jun 28 2011, 10:51 PM) John Petrucci. Well yeah, obviously he destroys both of these guys, but I think its more appropriate to compare Eddie and Alex because they are fairly similar and closer to each other in terms of ability. Neither of them can touch Petrucci though so thats not a fair comparison. He can rip a solo and absolutely bury Alex and Eddie all day, but he also knows how to keep it simple too when it needs to be. You rarely see that in quitarists with his skill level. They usually just shred all the time but he has a lot of feeling in his playing. He has a lot of the same qualities as Alex but he's a far better technical player. Watch this. I clicked the link and watched all 7:18 of it. Well, watched a bit because I had to close my eyes so I wouldn't dismiss it as hair metal noodling. I kept waiting for the brilliance and didn't find it. The man is talented and technically proficient and incredibly boring. I'll always like guitarists like Alex Lifeson or Steve Howe or even Keith Richards more than guys like that or Eddie Van Halen because they have soul in their playing. It's just my opinion and we all like what we like, but I think without soul and a little bit of blues the electric guitar sounds cold.

I thought Geddy meant that the Live CD / DVD would be out by Christmas, but if Clockwork Angels is ready by then... hey mon, count me excited. I didn't think we would see it before next year.

Permanent Waves always leaves me wanting more. Moving Pictures is just enough. It's the best back to back one-two punch in their entire catalog. Don't choose between them, just listen. Sorry, can't be more critical than that.

There was a time when fast playing and fretboard pyrotechnics on the bass were important to me and when I am recording a bass track, that is still very important to me. Geddy Lee

He has been battling ear infections that went untreated and neglected until he had to take antibiotics to clear it up. He mentions it in "Far And Away". I guess the meds are done and his ears may finally be feeling better. Also, it is very near the end of the tour and maybe he just got tired of the ear buckets. I'll ask him next time I see him.

QUOTE (Captain Avatar @ Jun 28 2011, 08:46 PM) I found a website that goes into detail about each guitarist's strengths, weaknesses and style. It's a bit dated (probably written around the Counterparts era). You guitarists out there will be able to tell if the information is accurate or not, but whoever wrote them seems pretty knowledgeable to me. Here's the verdict on Eddie: http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/new/node/65 And Alex: http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/new/node/32 I found it to be an interesting read. Funny and informative especially if you follow the "Alex Lifeson Disease" link. I think these two articles prove my point that EVH is a showoff and a narcissist and Alex is a musician and innovator. It's why I say that EVH is very very good, but I'm not that interested anymore. Alex, on the other hand, I have been following for over 30 years.

QUOTE (vital signz @ Jun 28 2011, 06:23 AM) I can't vote here... Here's my 0.02.... I have been playing guitar for 35 years...I would consider myself pretty qualified to make this statement. You asked which is the most skilled.... Eddie has more raw skill IMHO. He can play circles around just about anyone. Eddie is different from guys like Malmsteen and Vai, and Satriani and Johnson etc., because although they may be more technically skilled than Van Halen, Van Halen is a master song writer and is simply far more emotive than these guys. It is why I prefer Eddie to all of these guys. Van Halen is classically trained which helps him in soloing and chord arrangement, and is the one with the multiplatinum records hanging all over the place. Sadly Eddie could have been quite the guy these days, but his self-destructive nature has darkened his brightness far too early. He is a shadow of his former self because he didn't take care of himself and grow as a musician. Alex is the better guitarist--IMHO. I would rather hear 10 seconds of Alex's playing than 10 minutes of Eddie's. I have everything both of these guys has ever written. Alex's emotion trumps Eddie's. He isn't everyone's cup of tea, but he is mine. I know he can't play at the technically virtuoso level that Eddie can, but just like I prefer Van Halen to all the other listed above for what Van Halen can do with arrangement and emotion within his music, I prefer Lifeson to Van Halen for similar reasons. Lifeson can get more out of a chosen chord at a spot in a song, or a chosen note within a song, or a chosen way to go with a solo than just about anyone I can think of. It isn't always flash, but it is just about always soul shaking. He is so underrated, it makes my head hurt. Alex is a good role model as well, which I believe is important for young musicians striving to make it in such a screwed up business. I have learned to play most of the early Van Halen songs and solos over the years, and most of the Rush songs and guitar solos over the years....Let me tell you, it is a LOT HARDER to sound like Alex Lifeson playing than Eddie Van Halen playing. There are fewer notes and slower scales with Alex's songs, but his deep feeling is something that is just so very difficult for even a guitarist that has been playing for 35 years like myself to capture. The way he can phrase his notes and chords is simply sublime. So I can't vote based on the way you asked the question. Eddie is more technically skilled, Alex is a better guitarist... I don't own anything by VH for the same reason that I don't own anything by a lot of good sounding musicians. They sound great on the radio or I have seen a video, but they don't move me. I'll take EVH in small doses.

"Adventures suck when you're having them." NP

QUOTE (StellarJetman @ Jun 24 2011, 11:16 PM) I really don't think that this is the "real" cover. Bands often release singles with different covers from their albums, and this one has been around for quite a while. I'd be surprised if they didn't roll out a new one for the album proper. QUOTE (trenken @ Jun 24 2011, 09:34 PM) Wikipedia is irrelevant. That's the cover the band released. That's not some photoshopped pic by a fan. This, on the other hand... Holy cow, that is what the cover will look like if Rush starts doing death metal. Good job, though.

QUOTE (drbirdsong @ Jun 24 2011, 11:47 PM) http://rmacdownloads.blogspot.com/2009/05/...61974-flac.html Find it here. I got a pm asking if this link is safe and I have to admit that I don't know. My copy came from some forgotten source years ago. You can find it here: http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?showtopic=58504 That's from TRF and I never got anything nasty from downloading boots around here so it should be safe if you are looking for a pretty good copy to listen to. (Full disclosure: I'm on a Mac and laugh at PC viruses. Always scan everything you download and then scan it again.)

It is indeed and odd choice. I will probably get it because so far all the gold discs have been the best sounding Rush CDs I own. Signals is a little iffy because of the missing lyrics, but overall they are a lot warmer than your average aluminum disc.

http://rmacdownloads.blogspot.com/2009/05/...61974-flac.html Find it here.

Did not read this thread. No songs should be left out. Yes I am a fanboy and proudly so, but if we didn't have the "ugh" songs then perhaps the later ones would not be so good? Maybe?

It's just what we have for now. I doubt big time that it will be the final cover. I don't want to be the cynical one who says it doesn't matter, but after the latest tour who can say what the final cover art will be. Rush never did this before, I don't think. You know, the thing where they record a couple of songs and then go on tour and then think about what they want to do with them and then make a different album with new versions of those songs. The Rolling Stones made Honkey Tonk Women and then Country Honk. If we get some sort of different version of that magnitude then who knows how Clockwork Angels may turn out. There are big things in store or maybe just possible. I'm looking forward to all of it... music, art, tour. Yeah, bring it on.

I had to go with Driven from the Different Stages solo. For a moment you think he is done and then... DAMN can a man play the bass that cool and still be human? You decide. I'm a fanboy and can't be objective.

QUOTE (Tarkus406 @ Jun 24 2011, 10:17 PM) Gotta say, this is a pretty good thread idea, trenks! What he said. I've been listening and paying attention since 1979 and every now and then we get a new perspective. Much 'spect to the OP. How about Beneath ... Between ... Behind Can you be all three at once? If only.

Between The Wheels? My heart breaks. Say it ain't so.

He does have some quotes in his sig.

This doesn't really have to be in the tour forum because it shows how everyone is finally getting it. I was blown away when Rolling Stone Magazine finally gave Rush a favorable article. They didn't need it and I didn't care if they got it or not, but it is very satisfying to see the rest of "them" come around.

The idea is simple: Quotes from Geddy, Alex or Neil. I'll start with an easy one... "It's so great to drink wine, it tastes fantastic and it makes you feel funny." Alex (from Beyond The Lighted Stage)

I hope you will do more too, especially the Nashvegas show. I put it on my facebook page so I can watch it all the time with just a click. I only joined facebook after being begged by my family and now I slam them with constant Rush videos. Heh.

When you hear the differences in the studio and live versions of the songs I'm not sure if the current versions or the picture will survive once they get in the studio and get back to work. Wouldn't that be cool if they re-recorded both songs in light of how they went live?

I just read it all and the man's heart is there for anyone to see. Read it. It isn't that hard. Take a little time, point your eyes at the words and focus. It was well worth the time. I hope there is more. Rush fans are a unique bunch.