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Alvy Singer

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Everything posted by Alvy Singer

  1. 1. Moving Pictures 2. Permanent Waves 3. Power Windows ... then all of the others in no particular order...
  2. 1978, I was 11, in awe of my older friend (16 I think) who had an electric guitar and grown-up records! One day he said 'have a listen to this...' It was Xanadu, I was hooked...
  3. Hmm..not convinced about 'eras' in general, Rush have evolved and adapted with each album. However, if there is a 'synth era' it is Signals to HYF. After MP Rush wanted to explore new directions, challenge themselves and definitely not repeat themselves. The idea of using keyboards as a lead instrument took hold resulting in Subdivisions, the quintessential Rush 'synth' track. They then fiddled with the formula over the next three albums (the best balance being achieved on PoW imo) but the idea of keyboards taking the lead (on some tracks of course, not all) largely ended with HYF. Presto onwards is Rush attempting a more guitar based sound - despite the thin guitar sound, common at the time. I love the 'synth era' esp. PoW and full credit to the boys for unapologetically letting it rip during the CA tour...
  4. 1. Moving Pictures 2. Permanent Waves 3. Power Windows 4. Grace Under Pressure 5. Hold Your Fire 6. Signals 7.Counterparts 8. Clockwork Angels 9. Hemispheres 10. 2112 11.Roll The Bones 12. Presto 13. A Farewell To Kings 14. Snakes And Arrows 15. Vapor Trails 16. Fly By Night 17. Test For Echo 18. Caress Of Steel 19. Rush 1-3 never change 4-19 would probably be totally different if I did this again tomorrow
  5. The Big Money outro The synth middle eight in Middletown Dreams and of course... 'It's really just a question of your honesty...yeah your honesty'!! They get me every time...
  6. I doubt they're writing formally but may be jamming from time to time during soundcheck and recording it at the sound desk. I understand Geddy sifts through their jams and picks out bits he thinks are promising...
  7. I was sat next to a reporter during the show, not sure if this is him. He said he had interviewed Alex a few days previously (by phone) and had managed to get 35 minutes with him (lucky so and so!!). Alex had mentioned playing Middletown Dreams so he was a bit disappointed afterwards but it seems we got setlist A not B... Mrs Singer was pleased though, she loves The Wreckers...
  8. Great set, thought the sound was a bit muddy in the first set but improved in the second. Highlights for me were The Big Money, The Analog Kid, The Anarchist and Red Sector A. New material sounded great. I agree with the OP that 2112 is getting a little predictable, would have preferred Xanadu personally...but happy just to see them and in great form!!
  9. Counterparts was the last album to be widely available on vinyl in the UK. No lyric sheet with mine though unfortunately... I own TFE on cassette - remember those??
  10. This would have to be A Passage to Bangkok from ESL for me. The best example of a live track trumping the studio original of almost any band I like...
  11. These lists are all bullshit. Clapton, Richards? Do me a favour, Clapton is the most overrated guitarist in history. The greatest rock guitarist who has ever lived (IMO) is Michael Schenker. Alex is my second fave after mad Mickey. EVH is much more influential though than either.
  12. QUOTE (An Enemy Without @ Jul 10 2011, 10:09 PM) Once again, Hemispheres has 11 votes, but only one person has owned up to it. Everyone else is hiding their heads in shame and embarrassment. Man up. Easily Hemispheres for me. The rest are going to be impossible though.
  13. Permanent Waves Moving Pictures Power Windows Signals Hold Your Fire Top three never change ; other two change regularly!
  14. QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Jun 23 2011, 10:30 PM) cygnus x-1 the voyage it is getting difficulter Totally off-topic, but who's the girl in the top right photo?
  15. I like pretty much like everything they've done. I find the slagging off of whole swathes of their work here very odd.
  16. My two fave bands at 1 and 2 Can't wait to see Maiden at Nottingham on 27th July
  17. Ghost Of A Chance and Bravado however I like all of them
  18. QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 26 2011, 05:25 PM) QUOTE (Alvy Singer @ May 26 2011, 01:03 PM) Sorry, but this is terrible news if true. Rush are an arena band, they've said so themselves many times. I remember in the 80s when they were linked with Donington every year but it never happened. Who wants to trudge all the way to London to see Rush 3mm high from the back of a muddy field? Fingers crossed for an arena tour. Amen Bro. If Rush play festivals then it will be the last nail in their integrity coffin. Not that HV will be muddy. It's in Larndan. Cosy is agreeing with me. Should I be worried?
  19. Sorry, but this is terrible news if true. Rush are an arena band, they've said so themselves many times. I remember in the 80s when they were linked with Donington every year but it never happened. Who wants to trudge all the way to London to see Rush 3mm high from the back of a muddy field? Fingers crossed for an arena tour.
  20. QUOTE (MarkyWarky @ May 25 2011, 03:12 AM) @douglip. Given the location and what you describe (I've checked, and we were in block 13, not 14), I think it's pretty obvious that the small group in front of you was us, so lets correct the facts shall we: We stood up at the beginning of the second half, as did many many others below and off to either side of us. Not directly in front, as you say, but I'd say at least half of those in the banked seating were standing. That's what happens at rock concerts; people stand. It's nothing to do with seeing over the people in front, it's to do with getting into the music, and giving some feedback to the band. If it were just about being able to see, everyone in the stalls would sit too, as you see LESS when everyone stands there. Re threats of violence, what actually happened was that someone tapped my brother on the shoulder and asked, quite nicely, if he'd mind sitting down (no mention of anyone being disabled). He said, equally nicely, that he'd rather not as it's a rock concert, and carried on enjoying the show. A few seconds later someone grabbed him by his shoulders and his shirt, and pulled him backwards onto the seat backs. He turned and knocked the person's arms away, as anyone would. The only violence, and it was more than a threat, was from the person behind, not from us. I'm genuinely sorry if your friend couldn't see, but no one mentioned that he had trouble, and venues of this type provide facilities for people who have difficulties. I don't blame your friend for not taking up those facilities, but if he chooses not to he's got to expect that at a rock concert, people will stand. On the last two Rush tours, virtually everyone has stood at the LG, with a resulting much better atmosphere, whereas this time it was about 50%. If someone had explained that your friend was disabled, we'd have gladly swapped seats, though that would only have helped by chance, as in other blocks everyone was standing right to the front. If that had happened in our block, would everyone in front of you have been considered selfish? Yes, we were selfish in the sense that we didn't agree to the request to sit down, but in fact it was the request that we stop doing what people do at rock concerts that was most selfish. If we'd stood through a Shakespeare play, you'd have a very valid point, but I'll say it one last time: it was a rock concert - people stand at rock concerts. All of that said, I think it's pretty amazing that we've "met" on here, and it's a shame it couldn't be in friendlier circumstances, as we just wanted to enjoy the concert the way countless rock fans always have done. Mark I too was disappointed with the number of people sitting on Sunday night, it detracts from the atmosphere. However, at a rock concert you have to expect people will stand. If you don't like it don't go. It isn't the opera.
  21. QUOTE (Mr. Krinkle @ May 24 2011, 09:28 AM) QUOTE (Gompers @ May 24 2011, 08:23 AM) QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 20 2011, 06:55 PM) 2112 Yes. The mellotron appeared on a Rush record. Correct. And shortly afterwards, Geddy had a set of Moog Taurus pedals at his feet before the Mini Moog showed up. So I'd say that 1976 is the correct answer. The Mellotron appeared on "Tears" and the Moog Taurus pedals debuted during "Lakeside Park" when they played it live later that year. The "A Farewell to Kings" tour was the first one for keyboards. (Mini Moog/Taurus) Why it's Moving Pictures or Signals, I have no idea. The keyboards started five years earlier. I think the OP meant the start of the musical period in which keyboards became a dominant sound. Not the first instance of keyboards in their music. In which, I think he is correct in suggesting either MP or Signals.
  22. QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ May 23 2011, 11:32 PM) I definitely dont think he was kidding. I think he was being genuine in his dissatisfaction with the direction the band was taking on Power Windows and Hold Your Fire. Remember, the closest these guys ever came to breaking up was after HYF when there was tension about all this. And Alex is right, they aren't real. Also, they are the devil to rock music. Alex is the heart and soul of Rush and is the main reason they became what they became. Anytime, you ask an incredible player like that to take a back seat to a bunch of pre programmed keyboards, you're making a big mistake. Shockingly, PoW seems to be a fan favorite on message boards, but the hardcore ones that understand the soul of Alex's playing undertand how brutal that album and HYF were to the real core of this band. So you can't be a hardcore fan of Rush if you like Power Windows? It's my third fave and one of my faves to play on guitar (been playing for 34 years now). I have an interview with Alex where he calls HYF their best yet (admittedly this was in 1987 and he was obviously pushing the new album). The so-called keyboard era was full of great guitar IMO.
  23. Signals. I remember interviews at the time when the band said as much as they liked MP they found the recording of it almost too easy and were worried they could become too slick. The answer was to shake things up on Signals using keyboards as a lead instrument for the first time with guitar becoming more rhythmic. Power Windows is the best of the keyboard era for me, eight perfect songs.
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