Dscrapre

Genres are stupid.

I still maintain that VT is the worst thing Rush have ever released.

 

You sir are a damn fool!

 

But seriously, I think that you're getting Vapor Trails confused with Test for Echo.

They recorded the music, in too high a key, before Geddy recorded his vocals. It was too late to re-record the music in a lower key, so Geddy had to sing the entire album at the very top of his singing range.

 

how does this happen? Clearly there must have sessions where they wrote and rehearsed the songs before they recorded them. Geddy didn't realize before the recording process that the key they wrote the songs in was really high?

 

I love the vocals in Hemispheres but they would have to drop the tuning if there was ever a chance of performing any of it live.

 

According to Geddy, Hemispheres (the whole album) was basically written in the studio. They had nothing going in (though it might be fair to assume they probably had some instrumental bits and pieces roughly worked out from sound check jams and such.)

 

So yeah, they work out this awesome 20-minute piece, record it, studio time's ticking away and they've gotta get back out on the road soon and Geddy's now ready to do the vocals and... uh oh!

 

The experience of recording Hemispheres was a turning point for the band in a few different ways. Not only did they decide to chuck the epic-length songs, but they also decided from that point on to slow things down a bit and do more pre-production work before going into the studio proper. ;)

 

I just wonder why they didn't rewrite the melodies in order to be more easy to sing. It just seems bizarre that he was "forced" to sing certain melodies.

 

Those were the melodies that were in tune with the songs. To rewrite the melodies would require reworking the instrumentals. They did not have time to do all of that.

They recorded the music, in too high a key, before Geddy recorded his vocals. It was too late to re-record the music in a lower key, so Geddy had to sing the entire album at the very top of his singing range.

 

^^^^

This.

 

They worked out the without considering if it was in a key Geddy would be able to sing comfortably.

 

again how did they not realize this during rehearsals? I remember when I watched the documentary I was thinking "huh?"

 

I think it had something to do with how challenging the instrumentation was on that album. I'll bet that Geddy was putting all of his focus on perfecting the bass lines, that he didn't even think about how he was gonna sing it. At that point I think that he was probably taking his voice for granted. As he said, he never even tried to sing it before the instruments were all recorded.

I don't even get what having "high key" music has to do with how high your vocals should sound? I know nothing about music terms and all that

 

Vocalists have ranges that they can sing in. If vocalist is really comfortable singing in, say, the key of C, but the song is written in Eb (E-flat), then the melody that goes along with chords in that key may be too high for the vocalist to sing. Sure, a vocalist could come up with an alternate melody using harmony lines, but that often sounds weird without the main lines. The other choice would be to sing the main melody in Eb but a full octave down, which can also be a challenge for a vocalist, depending on his range.

 

You said it better than I ever could.

 

A good example from the Rush catalog is 2112. Listen to the original version and then listen to any live version after 1996. You will notice that all of the notes have been lowered in pitch so that Geddy's lower vocals will be in tune with the rest of the song.

Has it ever been done before? (The Enemy Within, The Weapon, Witch Hunt, Freeze)

 

That would be the greatest thing ever.

 

Especially Freeze!

I would be way too psyched if they played "In the Mood" as the last song of their encore.

I really hope they reach in to the back catalog and dust this one off on the next tour!

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Fonzie_jumps_the_shark.PNG

Absolutely yes and yay! I prefer the red block in the set list, right after the break...

 

Red Sector A

Red Tide

Red Lenses

Red Barchetta

Well 2 out of 4 ain't bad.... :D

 

Yeah too bad he had to put those filler tracks Red Sector A and Red Barchetta in there.

 

But seriously, the "red block" would be great! I like all of those songs!

Concentrate on the catalogue up to '97. Disregard the rest.

Why? My buddy told me to start early and work my way up. What happens after 1997?

 

Do your self a favor and ignore Gemini. He is a bitter old man who is stuck in the past.

YAY!

I saw a Rush tribute band play this recently. It was badass!

Bring out Bad Boy as well.

And for the encore, Fancy Dancer!

 

Man, now I really want them to play Fancy Dancer...

ATWAS- still haven't heard it...gulp...

 

meh. I think that they've done better. The version of 2112 on there is great. To me, the rest of the tracks on it are not the definitive versions.

I voted for the Anarchist, on account of it being my favorite song on the album.

 

Halo Effect is a close second. Just a beautiful track that was equally pretty live.

It's an ok album. Definitely not my favorite ever, but it has it's moments. Alex's guitar on this thing is just tremendous and his tones are gorgeous. No One At the Bridge is a particular highlight in that regard. Necromancer is excellent as well and is a total highlight of the 70's catalog. I will never understand why the "Under the Shadow" instrumental jam hasn't made any live appearances. It would absolutely kill! I Think I'm Going Bald is pretty funny, but also a strong track.

 

For me though, a good number of the tracks on here just don't work. Lakeside Park is meh, as are many parts of the Fountain of Lamneth. Bastille Day is pretty cool, but it always struck me as being Anthem's less dynamic younger brother.

I guess there is a sort of formula that works well for this kind of thing.

 

Big Hit (Tom Sawyer, Spirit, Subdivisions etc.)

2 or 3 Minor Hits (Big Money, Force Ten, Distant Early Warning etc.)

Deep Cut (Grand Designs, Circumstances, Between The Wheels etc.)

Long cut (Natural Science, parts of 2112, Xanadu etc.)

A few Big Hits to go home on.

 

Rush tried that formula (minus long cut) on the CA Tour and lost most of the crowd by the end of Territories. That's why Limelight was rediscovered. And the audience was still lost by too many "minor hits" from the synth era. If you want to get casual or less than casual fans interested, be wary of putting too many synth era songs in a row...or in the set for that matter.

 

My preferences were definitely showing in those examples! Add songs like Anthem or Entre Nous to the minor hits.

 

Here's a pretty well-balanced sample setlist:

 

The Spirit of Radio

Anthem

Force Ten

Cinderella Man

Natural Science

YYZ

Limelight

Tom Sawyer

*Encore: Closer to the Heart*

 

EDIT: I added it up and this would be roughly 45 minutes of music.

Albums with no over all theme:

 

Vapor Trails

 

I don't know about that, I feel like Vapor Trails has a pretty clear theme of loss, rediscovery of self, and hope for the future.

I guess there is a sort of formula that works well for this kind of thing.

 

Big Hit (Tom Sawyer, Spirit, Subdivisions etc.)

2 or 3 Minor Hits (Big Money, Force Ten, Distant Early Warning etc.)

Deep Cut (Grand Designs, Circumstances, Between The Wheels etc.)

Long cut (Natural Science, parts of 2112, Xanadu etc.)

A few Big Hits to go home on.

I wouldn't shed a tear if it was replaced that's for sure.

 

The moment of pure joy that myself and everyone else in the United Center experienced on September 15 2012 when Working Man was replaced by The Spirit of Radio is a testament to the universal truth of that statement.

Since that song has become a jam song (and a slight bit of improv) on recent tours, I'm not sure why Neil would get criticized for over-playing, but Alex doesn't. Did you see the Time Machine DVD? I have little interest in hearing this song played straight, and luckily I think they have little desire to play it that way.

 

It's different coming from the rhythm section. In my estimation Alex could play basically anything and as long as Geddy and Neil were smooth, it would probably sound fine.

 

See, I'm not saying that Neil should play this thing EXACTLY as it's recorded. One of his great gifts is his ability to add interesting accents and fills without ruining the momentum of the song he is playing. The problem is that, to my ears, his fills and accents on Working Man do not suit the song and serve only as a distraction. It sounds like he added fills after every bar just so that his version is more complex than the original.

I've always thought that Neil goes WAY overboard with the pointless fills when he plays Working Man. It didn't start right away, though. The earliest version I know of with Neil is from the "Fifth Order of Angels" Bootleg (also known as "ABC 1974") and on that version he plays a much more faithful version of the original album's drum part than I've ever heard out of him. By All the World's a Stage, he was playing it completely differently.

 

After that I think he started to become more comfortable playing with the other two and so he started to branch out. Personally, I don't feel like what he does on Working Man really fits the song at all. Working Man is supposed to be a loose jam, but Neil's fills are massive groove killers. I hold it up as an example of how a lot of times, less can be more.

 

But, I'm not a huge fan of Working Man anyway so it's no big loss to me.

Yeah, he's just noodling. You hear it all the time on rehearsal bootlegs.

All that work and yet a complete unequivocal immense fail. Almost as original as calling Rush "The Boys"...

 

When you try to do an April Fool's joke, at least TRY to something that isn't cliched. I mean, at least make an attempt.

 

Stupid, and completely predictable...not to mention totally unfunny, and not even worth the non-paper it's not printed on.

 

The absolute worst attempt at an April Fool's joke I've ever witnessed.

 

Did anybody else NOT read this too?

 

Lame with a capital F...as in "off"...

 

April Fool's?

 

you seem very angry and not too funny.

 

I think that this guy is Gemini's slightly more obtuse and way less amusing alter ego.

Wow, people gotta lighten up a bit.