alieninvasion76

Despite owning the R40 blu-ray and all the other videos containing the truly hilarious intermission clips they mashed together, I still thoroughly enjoyed this! The new interviews were quite good and with more substance. and the side stories were interesting. Mostly, though, it was a testament to the enormous amount of footage that was captured at the time of the R40 tour. As a result, there were not just different angles, but a whole different look much of the time, not to mention the hilarious soundcheck footage, as well as the artistic superimposing of image and sound while keeping a cohesive narrative!! It's also worth mentioning that my wife, who is not a Rush fan per se, quite enjoyed it. Interesting to see what they have in store for us next year...

I remember being a poor university student back in 1979... couldn't afford tickets when YES came to Toronto for their "Tormato" tour, so I played hooky the day of the concert and stayed home trying to win tickets off of 104.1 CHUM-FM. No such luck :( Had to hear all about it from a friend!!!

Thanks again, Bangkok (actually I realize now it's "Vaportrailer"). Ya, they're at that age when they're going to be pretty inconsistent. Eg., "Siberian Khatru" came off pretty well in Toronto. As for Steve, even a couple years ago at the RRHOF induction performance, there was a cringe worthy moment in the guitar intro to Roundabout. Took a bit of the pressure off Geddy I guess! And he started off "Gates" so slowly the other night, it took me a second to twig that they were about to launch into one of my all time favs (I misremembered on my first post when I claimed they played it in '97 - it was just the ending "Soon" section they did). And, as for Alan, he took over from Schellen a few tunes in and, honestly, I lost track of his comings and goings after that, except for him playing the encore tunes! I don't know, is he a hard hitting guy like Neil? Come this December, Peart will have been retired for 4 years now, if you can believe that, and he's 3 years younger than White to boot! On the other hand, Ginger Baker is still active according to Wikipedia, and he'll be 80 this year. Mind you, he has more of a Jazz approach, and a lot of those old jazz guys drum 'til they're half past dead!!! Regardless, it'll never be quite the same again anyway... Chris is gone, Alan's hurtin' (Bruford, even if willing, is long retired) and, keyboard wise, I'll never do better than Geoff or Igor at this point . At least I got to see Jon way back when! Anyway, I enjoyed the night overall. It's the "nowhere to hide" moments, like Steve's glitching on the "Gates" intro that stick out, but any other hiccups just kind of get buried in the excitement of the moment, and even bands in their prime have to count on that to get them thru those rough nights on a long tour!!!

Well, I'm glad we all agree we like YES... and Asia, etc. Guess I'll have to watch which hole I stick it next time :drool: Peace and love!!!!

Oh, and thank you Bangkok. Yes, I'd seen that Gates of Delirium post as well. Guess I was fortunate they played it much better in Toronto (that intro in Pennsylvania was particularly tortured). Also, they didn't have Alan White doubling on the side in Toronto either, though it would have been nice to have had him playing on that tune, seeing as he was the original drummer on it

Sorry that I offended "Prog Archivist", though his suggestion I intentionally posted in the wrong forum because I "crave attention", as he put it, is obviously just a reflection of his own sad soul. Truth to tell, I can't say I was really paying attention where exactly I was posting it: I just know there's a lot of YES LOVE on this site, and amongst Rush fans in general - one need only watch Yes's RRHOF induction ceremony to confirm that - and hence I couldn't wait to share my experience. Too bad some people have nothing better to do than piss all over other people's enthusiasms.

Has anyone else seen The Royal Affair tour? Just saw it last night in Toronto. Overall, I have to say I loved it!!! Started off rough sound wise, very possibly because the pre-compsensating they do for the "bodies in seats" that aren't there at soundcheck didn't level things properly until more people had shown up by the second act, ie. Moody Blues. Hence, the first act - Carl Palmer and the E.L.P. Legacy - was somewhat lost on my wife who, being mostly unfamiliar with the material, wasn't able to fill in the lost and muddied notes mentally. That said, Carl Palmer's drums were exciting (I didn't realize he was only 18 when he played with "The Crazy World of Arthur Brown" and, hence, just barely 20 when ELP formed). He had a guitarist - an insanely talented one at that - playing Emerson's keyboard parts on guitar-synth, which was weird but, if you closed your eyes, you wouldn't know the difference, technique and nuance notwithstanding. Arthur Brown did the vocals... wearing a mask the whole time (surely meant to represent the old days when he wore a helmet spewing fire - I kid you not). Anyway, my big chance to get some ELP love was overshadowed by bad sound. Things got better though. I loved the John Lodge of The Moody Blues set, despite not knowing a few of the tunes. Also, though John Lodge was the only original member, my knowledge of the band being fairly fleeting, I had no vested interest in authenticity, and the execution was very good, especially the vocal harmonies. Asia was a nice surprise. Started with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal on guitar & lead vocals (stellar on both). Then Steve Howe came on and Bumblefoot just sang. Also, as a nod to Geoffrey Downes' pre-Yes past, they included The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" which was a lark. But more importantly, at one point I turned to my wife and remarked how much Bumblefoot's voice sounded like John Whetton and hence, Greg Lake as well, and that they should have had him singing with the Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy. And no sooner had the words left my mouth when they broke into "Lucky Man" which was awesome, and made all the more authentic of course by Carl Palmer's being in Asia as well. Then there was Yes, who I'd sadly seen only once before in '97 at Massey Hall in Toronto. It would have been nice if there had been more original members, but Jon Davison's singing was crystal clear, Billy Sherwood has a kind of Chris Squire vibe (he played for Asia as well), and at least Geoffrey Downes has history with the band. Aside from that... Steve Howe was there at least - fingers slowin' down some, but he cooks when it counts. Alan White only played on some tunes (i think it was Jay Schellen doing the rest - I guess Alan has the arthritis). Also, related to Alan, they did John Lennon's "Imagine" as an encore (White played on the original). I remember, just after booking these tickets, saying to myself that I wished I hadn't been so stoned when I saw them in '97, and was particularly hoping for another chance to take in "The Gates of Delirium" on a more conscious level. And, so when then they started the opening notes to "Gates", I almost lost it... and it was spectacular... a thing of beauty... and a poignant reminder that you don't need drugs to get high at The Gates of Delirium. The coolest part of the evening to be sure. The other encore tune was Roundabout and, being we were in Toronto, all through the set I was holding out hope that Geddy would appear on stage when they got to this song, And then I remembered he was probably still signing his books in Europe. Regardless, he did not magically appear :( But, all things being equal, if this was the last glimpse of all these prog legends, it was an impressive and memorable night!!!! And, my wife, who is not a "progger" per se, quite enjoyed it, and that made it all the more special. Cheers!

Just saw The Royal Affair tour last night in Toronto. Overall, I have to say I loved it!!! Started off rough sound wise, very possibly because the pre-compsensating they do for the "bodies in seats" that aren't there at soundcheck didn't level things properly until more people had shown up by the second act, ie. Moody Blues. Hence, the first act - Carl Palmer and the E.L.P. Legacy - was somewhat lost on my wife who, being mostly unfamiliar with the material, wasn't able to fill in the lost and muddied notes mentally. That said, Carl Palmer's drums were exciting (I didn't realize he was only 18 when he played with "The Crazy World of Arthur Brown" and, hence, just barely 20 when ELP formed). He had a guitarist - an insanely talented one at that - playing Emerson's keyboard parts on guitar-synth, which was weird but, if you closed your eyes, you wouldn't know the difference, technique and nuance notwithstanding. Arthur Brown did the vocals... wearing a mask the whole time (surely meant to represent the old days when he wore a helmet spewing fire - I kid you not). Anyway, my big chance to get some ELP love was overshadowed by bad sound. Things got better though. I loved the John Lodge of The Moody Blues set, despite not knowing a few of the tunes. Also, though John Lodge was the only original member, my knowledge of the band being fairly fleeting, I had no vested interest in authenticity, and the execution was very good, especially the vocal harmonies. Asia was a nice surprise. Started with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal on guitar & lead vocals (stellar on both). Then Steve Howe came on and Bumblefoot just sang. Also, as a nod to Geoffrey Downes' pre-Yes past, they included The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" which was a lark. But more importantly, at one point I turned to my wife and remarked how much Bumblefoot's voice sounded like John Whetton and hence, Greg Lake as well, and that they should have had him singing with the Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy. And no sooner had the words left my mouth when they broke into "Lucky Man" which was awesome, and made all the more authentic of course by Carl Palmer's being in Asia as well. Then there was Yes, who I'd sadly seen only once before in '97 at Massey Hall in Toronto. It would have been nice if there had been more original members, but Jon Davison's singing was crystal clear, Billy Sherwood has a kind of Chris Squire vibe (he played for Asia as well), and at least Geoffrey Downes has history with the band. Aside from that... Steve Howe was there at least - fingers slowin' down some, but he cooks when it counts. Alan White only played on some tunes (i think it was Jay Schellen doing the rest - I guess Alan has the arthritis). Also, related to Alan, they did John Lennon's "Imagine" as an encore (White played on the original). I remember, just after booking these tickets, saying to myself that I wished I hadn't been so stoned when I saw them in '97, and was particularly hoping for another chance to take in "The Gates of Delirium" on a more conscious level. And, so when then they started the opening notes to "Gates", I almost lost it... and it was spectacular... a thing of beauty... and a poignant reminder that you don't need drugs to get high at The Gates of Delirium. The coolest part of the evening to be sure. The other encore tune was Roundabout and, being we were in Toronto, all through the set I was holding out hope that Geddy would appear on stage when they got to this song, And then I remembered he was probably still signing his books in Europe. Regardless, he did not magically appear :( But, all things being equal, if this was the last glimpse of all these prog legends, it was an impressive and memorable night!!!! And, my wife, who is not a "progger" per se, quite enjoyed it, and that made it all the more special. Cheers!

Did you all see this headline from https://rushisaband.com ? Rapper Travis Scott performs at Grammys wearing a Rush "Counterparts" t-shirt It was actually referencing a story from this page... https://pagesix.com/...e-2019-grammys/

Did you all see this headline from https://rushisaband.com ? Rapper Travis Scott performs at Grammys wearing a Rush Counterparts t-shirt It was actually referencing a story from this page... https://pagesix.com/2019/02/11/travis-scott-borrowed-kylie-jenners-t-shirt-for-the-2019-grammys/ (Going to make a separate post of this as well)

Chris Cuomo of CNN, during his editorial of yesterday, Jan. 16/19 quoted "epic rock band Rush" - as he put it - in addressing yet another stretch of inaction on Trump's part in the face of white supremacist remarks by Republican house representative Steve King! The Rush quote occurs at the 40 second mark...

re Serenity crew drummer: I have a soft spot for Kaylee the mechanic, such that even if she couldn't keep a beat I'd just blame everyone else! re Police influence and The Edge (rant alert "I can't hold 'er, Captain! She's breaking up!!" ): Rush's intermittent dabbling in reggae was bound to draw the comparisons; Lerxst's sudden flirtation with the Fender "Telecaster" and increasing use of the Chorus effect cemented them. But technology led to many an 80's mix quickly evolving into a big wash of electronica, and the technical challenge of keeping the guitar from getting lost in all of this led to: 1. The creation of the "Superstrat", ie. the generic term applied to any Fender "Stratocaster" style guitar with the more powerful and edgier Humbucker pickup (ie. double coil) in the bridge position where a single coil pickup would typically be used. (N.B. The "Stratocaster" traditionally sports 3 single coil pickups, the other common configuration being 2 Humbuckers, such as on the Gibson "Les Paul"). 2. The preponderance of the Chorus effect and, even more so, the Digital Delay which was used, sometimes as a gimmick, but mostly to simultaneously thicken and lift the guitar out of the mix. (N.B. This was the original benefit of the Chorus effect, but when there are 2 or 3 synths in the mix, all with their own onboard Chorus turned on, the benefit to the guitar can be somewhat dissipated). U2's guitarist The Edge, mentioned in the previous post, is probably most associated with the Delay effect as he almost never turned off his Korg SDD-3000. But The Police guitarist Andy Summers' Chorus/Delay thickened Telecaster dates back to their 1979 album "Regatta de Blanc" (think "Walking on the Moon") and, henceforth, as Punk crossfaded into New Wave and holdouts like The Clash faded away and Joy Division morphed into New Order, the guitar became a different sonic animal in the 80's. Ah yes, the 80's! The era of... ...the reverse-gated, off-beat snare drum... ...Simmons and Roland 808 electronic drums (yes, that is indeed where 808 State got their name)... ...layer upon layer of synths... ...electronically enhanced bass (think ZZ Top's "Eliminator")... ...chronic overuse of the Yamaha DX-7 electric piano patch (think Chicago's prolonged "schmaltz" phase)...* ...and the aforementioned chorus and delay ridden guitars!! This, of course, exacerbated the "Rock 'n' Roll is dead" debate that began during the disco era. But this is only meaningful if you truly think Rock is indeed dead, a viewpoint which, to my mind, presumes a very narrow definition of the term "Rock 'n' Roll". If you grew up with Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, you probably equate Hard Rock to Metal and therefore consider AC/DC unfit to carry on the mantle of Rock. Conversely, while Metal "purists" may struggle to agree in the face of the genre's splitting into sub-genres, one thing they generally agree on is that it's Metal... NOT Rock 'n' Roll!!! So who kept the drive alive until Nirvana rescued us all with the release of "Nevermind" in 1991? If we look back at the bands of the classic 70's Rock persuasion, and where they were at by the 80's, we see that they either... A. Packed it in by the 80's B. Went dormant and resurfaced in the late 80's or 90's C. Plodded through without being sucked into the 80's electronic vortex, sometimes successfully, sometimes anonymously D. Embraced the electronic vortex and thrived (or not) in their new found direction Well, the answer to "who kept the drive alive?" of course lies in "C" and "D". For Rush fans, whether you liked their electronic period or not (which puts them in the "D" category), we can take pride in the fact that they were still quite successful during this period, their newly acquired fans carrying them until the release of "Counterparts" marked their return to a purer brand of Rock, and put them back in the good graces of their old fans. Van Halen finally caved in, and on, "1984"! The band Yes was successful in embracing the new technology as well, though they weren't as prolific as Rush during this period. (While still in the "D" category, mention must be made of Wishbone Ash who outdid themselves with the electronica for a couple of albums but more importantly, while not experiencing nearly the success of Rush in the 80's, nevertheless followed up the 9 studio albums they released in the 70's with 6 in the 80's... after which they released another 10 thru the 90's and 2000's). As for the "C" list - the stalwarts who resisted the lure of the synthesizer - we have the 70's holdovers who entered and exited the 80's with their Rock 'n Roll soul intact, ie. Tom Petty, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, etc. These acts, of course, had the advantage of having massive followings that were so firmly entrenched by this time that they could count on their faithful to come see them play their oldies, regardless of how good or bad their most recent recording! As for those whose careers were born right there in the 80's, notable are the ones who avoided the synth trap. While there's any number of acts I could cite, I think the following list illustrates a no-nonsense, Rock 'n' Roll sensibility, embodied in four distinctly different flavours: The Stray Cats, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Guns N' Roses. And then, of course, came Nirvana... and all the imitators/derivations it spawned, thus ensuring that the concept of your neighbour's teenage kids' garage band sonically assaulting unsuspecting civilians and pets was alive and well! Speaking of which... let's not forget that, all through this period, Metal, and all its eventual offshoots, was exploding... and continues to thrive! But, as far as the "music intelligentsia" are concerned, Metal isn’t even in the conversation. Often they're not even willing to cite Classic Rock reunion tours and latent releases as proof of the vitality of the genre. And while they might have a point based on that criteria alone, particularly given the "lame" factor often associated with such endeavours, the overarching point here is that their theory of Rock’s evolution is fairly linear, ie. Rock begat Punk, then New Wave, followed by Indie, Alternative, "Madchester", and eventually Grunge and LoFi... and whatever Nickelback is (sorry, couldn't resist). It’s the old story: the same journalistic snobbery that Rush endured for so long now precludes today's Prog, Metal, Progressive Metal, etc. from the ongoing "Is Rock 'n' Roll dead?" debate! Big surprise!! So now, most likely having overthought all of this, I'll leave you with... Litmus test 1: I'm going to pass on arguing the Rock 'n' Roll merits of all these idioms and sub-idioms based on the oft trotted out "detectibility of their Blues roots" indicator. Instead, I'll stick with the argument that their very lineage is proof enough on that score. Litmus test 2: And just in case you think I forgot him, there's always the Neil Young test, ie. "Is Neil still kickin'? Yes? Then, so is Rock 'n' Roll!" Now, full disclosure: I didn't really come to appreciate Neil Young until much later, despite being a baby boomer! But, having now righted that wrong, I would gladly give Rock a clean bill of health based on this second litmus test; not just out of some flakey sentiment... it's flakey sentiment AND a morbid fear of being labelled an unpatriotic Canadian!!! Cheers! * The Yamaha DX-7 electric piano patch (think more metallic sounding Fender Rhodes) was used and abused ad nauseam from its inception, and no one abused it more than iconic Canadian (sadly) Producer/Composer David Foster (who I hold personally responsible for turning this here Hoser's beloved band Chicago into the schmaltz machine they became in the 80's). The perfect audio sample of this infamous patch is linked here in Jazz Fusion outfit Tribal Tech's tune "The Big Wave", the opening cut from their album "Illicit". The DX-7 sound in question is used as a joke intro - quite possibly aimed directly at Foster - before the tune gets serious at the 20 second mark...

Here's a new YouTube link, this time with Copeland himself talking about the same stuff with RockCellarMagazine.com. The Police's Stewart Copeland talks about Rush momentarily at the 1:36 mark of the video, and more at length about Rush at the 18:55 mark...

I definitely appreciate Signals and Grace Under Pressure more now than I did back then - some great writing enhanced by sonic landscapes galore!! Moving Pictures deserves all the accolades that have been heaped on it, and of course got thoroughly revisited on the Time Machine tour, much to my extreme delight. Call me bananas, but for some reason I take particular delight whenever I see the video of Neil performing for "Drum Week" on Letterman, and Dave hyping the 30th Anniversary edition of what he referred to as "their seminal album Moving Pictures" - that's some very flattering historical context, and deservedly so: a credence-bestowing moment that nicely capped off that period that started with the Colbert appearance, followed by "Beyond the Lighted Stage"... and then Neil putting on a one man clinic on Letterman! Anyway, inspired by the article in question, I re-watched the "Rush: The Rise of Kings" doc and by the third time they mentioned The Police and their influence on Rush, not to mention the reference to Stewart Copeland specifically and his influence on Neil, I imagine Copeland was feeling like a bit of a horse's ass about the jibes they lobbed back then at the expense of our boys!! Oh well, everyone's made nice now, I guess!!!

This is an excerpt from a story that Ultimate Classic Rock's Dave Lifton just wrote about the band "The Police" trying to get attention by criticizing Rush during their early days... "Police drummer Stewart Copeland is on HDNET this week hosting “Classic Rock Week” and and showing many documentaries on Allman Brothers Band, Bob Dylan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elton John and tonight it's Rush: The Rise of Kings 1968-1981. Tonight Copeland shares when they threw the first stone at Rush but Rush wasn't biting. Copeland says, "They're Canadian, They are the best guys on the planet. I don't know if being Canadian has anything to do with it, but Rush are one of the best hangs in show business. Back when my band, the Police, was a struggling punk rock [band], just trying to make noise and cause attention and throwing bombs wherever we could. Rush? That's some place where we threw bombs." Rush seemed to take it all in stride however, Copeland contiues, "And years later, it turns out Rush -- [the] guys in the band -- Neil Peart, is so Canadian that he didn't even mind, And we became really great friends in spite of the fact that we used to criticize his band when we were just trying to get attention. I think he's old and wise and Canadian enough to understand all that. They couldn't be nicer if they were New Zealanders, also a nation that only produces good people." Link to original article: http://ultimateclass...lice-rush-feud/ John Beaudin reporting the above for YouTube channel "Rock History Music":

Some very interesting responses here!! Though, whatever your take on whether DT is often too "Rushified", I tend to think of them more of what would result if nature permitted offspring as a result of a 3-way. In this instance the proud parents would be Yes, Rush, and Metallica. Certainly I love how Dream Theater, thanks to the virtuosity of Emerson/Wakeman heir apparent Jordan Rudess*, manage to weave that keyboard ladened, classic British prog flavour into that dense forest of metal. And when Yes finally pack it it, DT may be the closest thing we have to a worthy custodian of that particular genre!!! * Though Rudess, by consensus, appears to have inherited this crown, original DT keyboardist Kevin Moore kicked ass on "Images and Words" (my co-favourite DT album along with "Metropolis - Pt. 2"). Definitely Moore, whose inability to "play well with others" made his departure inevitable, must be given credit for his role in establishing this facet of DT's sound!

Thanks RushFanForever and Driventotheedge!! Had totally forgotten about the meaning behind "Hey You" and was completely unaware of that story about the record exec and Bachman's brush with obscurity!!! I heard a lengthy interview on the radio with Cummings - back in the 80's I think it was - where he came off like a total dick, though i don't think he was Randy bashing or anything like that. I do remember though, in that same interview he was trying to advise people on how to preserve their singing voice over time, exercising it and all that, something which, if his singing on the Guess Who reunion tour a few years back is any indication, he is eminently qualified to do, love him or hate him. All that said, the drama that ensued when Bachman left The Guess Who in 1970, regardless of who said what was very un-Canadian!!! :hockeygoon:

Have always been a fan of Randy Bachman, but was disappointed that B.T.O. never found that next gear!! They started out when, what was the remnants of Bachman's first post-Guess Who attempt "Brave Belt", ended up thru happenstance playing at a club in Thunder Bay, Ontario where they realized they got a better response when they played songs people could dance to. This resulted in what became B.T.O. writing a lot of pretty vanilla stuff, the highlight of which was surely Randy's cool guitar hooks and solos. Certainly I liked their hits [except "Hey You" whose repetitiveness, even at age 14, was too much to bear]. The problem was, some of their albums' filler tunes were so pedestrian that you would most likely miss some great soloing if you didn't stick it out past the front half of the tune! Granted, when he was with The Guess Who, the more experimental nature of the late 60's period elicited, even from the self-professed drug-free Bachman, some pretty nice psychedelic guitar turns. Though it was when he invoked his jazz influence - due largely to his childhood friendship with future jazz guitar legend Lenny Breau - in tunes like "Undun", and B.T.O.'s "Blue Collar" and "Looking Out For #1" that you really see that extra dimension to his playing. Even some of his later, lesser known solo efforts while, not groundbreaking, are still more sonically interesting - to me at least - than the bulk of B.T.O.'s repertoire, hits aside. [Though, possibly his greatest contribution (with no disrespect to Randy's own legacy) is his custodianship of the mound of unreleased tapes of Lenny Breau, the best of which Bachman released thru his own "Guitarchives" label. Lenny Breau's place in jazz guitar history can't be understated. During his tenure at the clubs in L.A. the respect he commanded amongst his peers was such that, with the frequency with which they themselves would come to see Lenny play, if you dropped a bomb (so it was said) on one of these clubs you would wipe out half the jazz guitar pantheon]. All that said, and for all my love of jazz, jazz fusion, and prog, one of my favourite guitar solos - in all its relative simplicity - is still the one from "Roll on Down the Highway"... and neither would I ever change the channel on "Let It Ride"!!

Just had to post the link to this blog: "Dream Theater: stop trying to be Rush 2.0, start trying to be Dream Theater". While the guy does make some interesting points, mostly, whether you're a Dream Theater fan or not, I'd be tickled pink seeing a band whose career has evolved this far beyond its early, self-professed Rush fan boy days, and yet still can't quite get completely over their "first love"!!! The blogger's detailed comparisons and inferences may or may not upset Dream Theater fans, but Rush fans will certainly revel in this... http://mrdreamtheater2retirementmessage.blogspot.com/2018/03/dream-theater-stop-trying-to-be-rush-20.html

Ya, that's what its been like here in T.O. the past week!! Hope you hydrated and had a blast!!!!

LOL... or we, here in Toronto, were so busy celebrating the Maple Leafs signing John Tavares that we missed the fireworks!! Actually, no... saw some awesome fireworks!!!!

Yes, I thought some LOVE might be needed!! :eyeroll: And, re that kit... looking for something "Rush-ish", while also being apropos to July 4th, on a whim I searched "Neil Peart red white and blue", and that came up along with some kits that were definitely Neil's, amongst other stuff that you'd expect. And while I can't say I've ever seen that Red White and Blue kit in connection with Neil, I thought we could pretend it was, if only for a day...

As a distraction from the unnecessary tensions between our two countries, created by people in power, I'd like to say a heartfelt "HAPPY BIRTHDAY U.S.A." from your eternal friends north of the border!!!

Full disclosure: “I’m a Hoser, eh?” :sundog: of 57 years who is proud of two of our most musically progressive and innovative Canadian exports. That said, I totally expect skepticism at the mere suggestion that a Top 40 Jazz-Pop crooner should even be discussed in a Rush forum. And this is obviously a thinly disguised attempt at highlighting the non-Rush side of this coin. Unless you’ve heard Gino Vannelli beyond the ‘singles’, or seen video of one of his many Jazz Festival appearances over the last couple of decades, you may be unaware of the progressive, even fusionistic, flavour of Jazz that he frequently embraced on his recordings, especially during the 70's. Indulge me then, if you will, this highwire balancing act of attempting to convince you of more than a passing connection between the Godfathers of Progressive Metal, Rush, and this crooner from Montreal whose big break came as a reuslt of accosting the head of A&M Records in their L.A. parking lot, wielding a guitar while being chased by a security guard! Suffice it to say, those who only know him from Top 10 ballads like “I Just Wanna Stop” and “Living Inside Myself” are missing out on a whole other world of his music (samples of which included as YouTube links at bottom with reference numbers throughout). And hopefully, in laying out my theory re these "connections", apart from learning something about someone I consider to be an important artist, you’ll be more convinced of my supposition in the end than your were in the beginning… The Band Geek connection: Why am I even pondering this all of a sudden? Well, my son recently gave me a “Caress of Steel” t-shirt for Father’s Day (see my recent post “My own history with “Caress of Steel” + my new t-shirt w/original art work from that album!” - link below1 ) and the other day, while proudly wearing my new shirt, i ran into someone who knows me primarily as a jazz musician, and they inquired: “Rush? What the dillio?” In response I explained how, when I was younger, I and my fellow “jazzers” in talking one day discovered that we were all big Rush AND Gino Vannelli fans. Now Rush fans in here know well the legend of the “band geek” drawn to Rush’s musicianship… and Gino Vannelli is no exception. And, of course, I’m sure you’re aware that there’s actually footage on YouTube of Marching Bands, of all things, playing Rush songs… and the same can be said for Gino, which may partially be owing to the fact that legendary drummer Buddy Rich and his band covered a couple of Gino’s tunes, which brings us to… The Kick-Ass Drummers connection: The son of a Big Band singer, Gino himself was a jazz drummer (he majored in Percussion and Music Theory at McGill University) before he became a singer. So it is no coincidence that the complexity of many of his song arrangements necessitated top-notch drummers playing very dynamic drum parts.2 And this may be why Neil Peart’s hero Buddy Rich’s “Speak No Evil” album boasts cover versions of 2 cuts from Gino’s “Storm at Sunup” album (N.B. 4 of the 8 tunes on “Storm at Sunup”,3 released in 1975, have yielded all these years later a multitude of YouTube "jazzers" doing covers and video clinics of same). I would be remiss, however, if I did not also mention Billy Cobham who Neil not only cites as an influence, but whose licks, by Neil’s own admission, he copied verbatim and practiced as part of his early development. No doubt then, it gave Neil great pleasure when his own star had risen such that he could invite Cobham to appear on Volume 1 of his “Burning for Buddy” Buddy Rich tribute project. Vannelli’s connection to Billy Cobham, on the other hand, was being invited to sing lead on the “groove-tastic” tune “We the People” 4 from Cobham’s multi-disc project “Drum N Voice”. Ultimately… well, call me Alex Jones but I thought that, through some twisted logic, with Buddy having done covers of Gino, the fact that Neil, in turn, did covers of Buddy’s tunes on “Burning for Buddy”, and then one of the guys he hired for that tribute (Cobham) turns out to have later worked with Gino… well in my mind… wait for it… it completes a rather mind-bending brand of “drum circle”… or Mobius Strip perhaps (my brain hurts ). The Concept & Long Song connection: To members of this forum, Rush’s mid-to-late-70’s indulgence in Prog is not news! Beginning with “By-Tor and the Snow Dog”, their first, and victorious, stab at “internal concept”, the lads followed that up with 4 concept-laden albums, 3 of which contained full blown, side-long concept pieces. Even after the straw-that-broke-the-camels-back “Hemispheres”, they snuck in a few long, internal-concept tunes over the course of the next couple of albums, a weaning-off period for both band and fans alike… until, that is, “Clockwork Angels”. Vannelli, on the other hand… with his indulgences of a more conceptual nature, while not necessarily always “Prog” by definition, were text-book “concept” nevertheless. His first crack at this was the title tune from his second album, “Powerful People” in 1974. Now, while it only clocks in at a mere 6:09 in length - a haiku in Prog terms - Gino still manages to squeeze in numerous mood, tempo and feel changes, with an anti-pollution message as its underlying lyrical concept. And under the “I”… for Industry Anomaly… this song, by all accounts not the ideal “dance” choice, was nevertheless featured during Gino’s appearance on “Soul Train”. If you YouTube this, you’ll be treated to the bizarre sight of people attempting to dance (sound familiar?) to this very cool, but nevertheless complex, semi-concept Jazz piece.5 In general, his 70’s albums featured Jazz-Pop songs interspersed with Funk, and then more exploratory works that rode the fine line between Prog and Jazz Fusion - some short, some long, and not necessarily always “concept” - sometimes they were just complexly arranged Jazz Fusion tunes. That said, a full blown example in the “very much Prog” vein is the side-long, “pure concept” 7-part work entitled “War Suite” from his 1976 release “Gist of the Gemini”. In addition to Gino’s inspired singing, it features great sonic landscapes and the usual exemplary musicianship. But perhaps what was most Prog about it was how E.L.P.-esque it sounded on some of the more aggressive tunes.6 And if one didn’t know his background, they may leap to the conclusion that the inspiration for his next album came from Deep Purple’s 1969 recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. And Vannelli did indeed use that same orchestra in realizing his 16 minute, 4 part opus “A Pauper in Paradise” from the album of the same name. But this was, in fact, inspired by the same force that drove him to study music theory at McGill: his love for the orchestral arrangements of French impressionist composers like Ravel and Debussy - that and, of course, his Jazz bent! The flavours in “A Pauper in Paradise” also include touches of Prokofiev and Gershwin; but it’s the 3rd movement that is of the intensity and quality that any Progger would be proud to include in their repertoire.7 The Embracing Technology connection: Rush have long been famous for latching on to technology, the potential of Moog’s ‘Taurus’ footpedals in particular being instrumental in them not having to add another band member in order to achieve a “bigger” sound. Likewise, the advent of Midi in 1983 enabled them to take that next step of live-triggering more complex synth and other sounds on stage. Neil even incorporated this technology on his kit! The arranging on Vannelli’s tunes was all done by Gino, along with his brother/keyboardist Joe Vannelli, and their brother/producer Ross. And, as Gino’s brothers all shared his love for those lush French Impressionist orchestrations, the rapidly evolving synthesizer technology of the 70’s was just waiting there for them to exploit it! And, if Keyboard Magazine’s 2012 article “An Afternoon with Joe Vannelli” is any indication, keyboard gurus continue to talk like giddy school girls where the keys on Gino’s “keyboard-centric” 70’s albums were concerned.8 The restrictions re “polyphony“ (ie. how many notes a synth could play at one time) during Gino's early days meant considerable innovation, overdubbing, and carrying 3 keyboardists on tour to reproduce, live, their multi-layered, sometimes in-your-face, always exciting keyboard tour-de-force… …and the pioneering that resulted now consitutes numerous threads on today’s synth forums. The Devoted Fan Base connection: Okay… to suggest that Gino’s fan base boasts the same, insane Rock-Hall-of-Fame-email-inbox-flooding-Travel-to-a-different-continent-to-see-them devoted insanity of Rush fans would be a lie. That said, Gino, now three decades removed from his glory days, is still in demand enough such that, while all these old acts - I’m talkin’ Deep Purple, Chicago, Three Dog Night, The Beach Boys, etc. - that show up in places like Branson, Missouri and Casino Niagara - can be seen for $80 per ticket or less, the most recent concert tickets of Gino’s, here in Canada anyway, were going for almost $200. Regardless, both acts felt the love from fans even when it wasn’t forthcoming from critics and Grammy Award committees (Rush had zero wins despite 7 nomnations - Gino the same despite 4 nominations, though both acts took home a lot of Juno Awards here in Canada). It’s worth noting that Vannelli’s European success was largely due to sales in The Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries where Jazz and particularly Jazz Fusion have a large following. Moreover, the new millenium has brought collaborations between Gino and Jazz artists from these areas which have served to revitalise his popularity there! The Latent Cultural References connection: Rush’s transition into more of the mainstream via “South Park” and “Freaks and Geeks” references, etc., as well as their “Colbert Report” appearance, is now a part of rock history. As for Gino who back in the 70's appeared on “Soul Train”, “American Bandstand”, “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” and later "Arsenio Hall", his latter day popularity injection includes his music being used for TV shows like “Mindhunter”, “The Sopranos”, and “Walker, Texas Ranger”, movies such as “Behind the Candelabra”, and the video game “Grand Theft Auto”. Also, part of Vannelli’s European resurgence was due to “People Gotta Move” - his 1974 super funky breakout tune - being used in commercials there in 2008. And, still in Europe, the Classical infused, multilingual songs from his critically acclaimed 2003 album “Canto” led to a Europe-wide televised command performance for Pope John Paul II. Of course, in the “from the sublime to the ridiculous” category we have as our final entry what is best illustrated by referencing the following excerpt from Wikipedia: ”In 2008, Vannelli became a symbol of sorts for the NBA championship run by the Boston Celtics. After each blowout home victory during the 2008 season, the video crew at the TD Banknorth Garden played a clip from Dick Clark’s American Bandstand that featured a bearded disco dancer clad in a tight Gino Vannelli T-shirt. The tradition became known in Boston as “Gino Time” and Gino T-shirts became common at Celtics games.” Priceless! That’s it in a nutshell! Though, if you’ve managed to read this far, then you certainly deserve better than having to read… A few things you wanted to know about Gino Vannelli but were smart enough not to ask: As singles go, overall he had 11 songs make the Top 100 in the U.S. Of those 11 songs, 6 broke into the Top 40. As for albums, most of what Vannelli recorded in the 70’s and 80’s turned to gold or platinum in Canada. And while 8 of them made the Top 100 in the U.S., only “Brother to Brother” broke the American precious metal barrier - platinum - while the main hit from that album, “I Just Wanna Stop”, made it to No. 4 on the Billboard chart. His next release, 1981’s “Nightwalker”, while not as successful as its predecessor, still yielded the No. 5 U.S. hit “Living Inside Myself”. But it was, what was supposed to be, the next album that begat Vannelli’s contractual entanglements with his new label, Arista Records. To quote Billboard Magazine’s March 13/82 issue re Gino's new single: "The Longer You Wait" made several radio station playlists across the country, so it seems the song was starting to gain some real momentum & then Arista Records pulled the plug on the song…” In fact, the whole album got kiboshed, the beef apparently being with label owner, the controversial Clive Davis’ problem with Gino’s new “edgier” direction. Not that there was anything "edgey" about that single - but the hit song that was to come two years later, "Black Cars", may have been indicative of this. Nevertheless, mercifully, after a long legal tussle in which he managed to finally break free of Arista, Gino managed to score a handful of hits in the U.S. on the next two albums he released in ’84 and ’87: most notably the aforementioned “Black Cars”, as well as “Hurts to Be in Love” and “Wild Horses”, all three of which also proved to be his biggest international hits to date. But Vannelli’s disenchantment with the record industry subsequently drove him to withdraw from touring for several years. Eventually, having embarked on a “spiritual quest” in the Andes Mountains in Peru, he came to realize that he needed to do only that which brought him artistic fulfillment, rather than chasing commercial success, a stance borne out by the next few projects he pursued, including the classical turn with “Canto”. Today, with his entire catalogue available on CD, including all that old scrumptious vinyl, he has settled down in his home nestled in the Columbia River Gorge in his wife’s home state of Oregon. Here, when he’s not touring, he spends his days in his state-of-the-art studio writing and teaching what he calls “Art of Voice” to small group classes comprised of people who, in some cases, have travelled halfway across the world to study with him. Video Links: 1 re my Father’s Day t-shirt: http://www.therushfo...+steel +t-shirt 2 Kick-ass drumming, and other very hip stuff, as seen on tune “Brother to Brother" (from “Live in Montreal” DVD, 1991 - the drummer is the late Enzo Tedesco): 3 My 2 favourite tunes from the album “Storm at Sunup” - "Mama Coco": https://www.youtube....h?v=yE0ig8YWTW8 - "Where Am I Going" (it goes into overdrive at 3:45 mark): 4 Billy Cobham's "We the People” “featuring Gino Vannelli: 5 Performing “Powerful People” on “Soul Train” in 1975: 6 “War Suite: The Battle Cry” (from the album “Gist of the Gemini”) 7 “A Pauper in Paradise - 3rd Movement” (from the album “A Pauper in Paradise): 8 Keyboard Magazine’s web site orginally posted an awesome video to accompany the 2012 article, the link for which appears to have been subsequently removed, article and all! Fortunately, I managed to download it prior to this catastrophe and I can email it to anyone who is interested!!! Bonus videos: 9 Had to include this performance of “People Gotta Move” from his 2014 “Live in L.A.” DVD. We should all be able to sing like this at age 62: 10 Documentary excerpt in which he recounts history behind his first hit as well as how a very cool happenstance led to him opening for Stevie Wonder on tour:

Finally found a "Caress of Steel" t-shirt with the original pic from the album cover (front AND back, and NOT that cartoonish art work on the Amazon and even Rush website t-shirts). Ironically, I couldn't find one in Canada. Amazon.UK had them but wouldn’t ship to North America. Anyway, having finally found one (on a U.K. site that does ship over here), I sent the link to my son as a Father’s Day present suggestion… hint hint… and he came through… (N.B. That's not me! Those are just pics from the website :sarcastic: ) Having been a Rush fan since 1976, specifically when “2112” hit the stores, I always wear my Rush t-shirts proudly; but apart from this new one being my most visually stunning one yet, “Caress of Steel” has always been one of my favourite albums. I didn’t discover "Caress of Steel" until it was re-released a couple of years after “2112”, on the 3-record-set re-release of the first 3 albums known as “Archives” (yes, I'm that old Mind you, I was completely unaware at the time that it was the ill-fated album - initially - that was the "raison d'etre" for the now infamous "down the tubes" tour). Anyway... I remember vividly the countless hours lying on the floor listening to that whole 2nd side, ie. "Fountain of Lamneth", and each time probably giving the “No One at the Bridge” movement an extra replay or two!! Sadly, one day, while frantically cleaning up after the party I’d had while my parents were away for the weekend, I had side-2 just beginning to play in the background, when our cat jumped, from 3 feet above, onto the turntable… …and while cooler heads certainly appraised, after the fact, the seeming tragedy of gouging out that section of the tune as easily remedied - given the easy replaceability of polyvinyl - the fact that the door nearest the stereo at the time of the incident became suddenly in need of repair is a testament to my overreaction and, no doubt, apoplectic state of mind, not to mention the apparent lack of sleep. In the end, my parents, well aware of my passion for music were, for the most part, just glad that in the heat of the moment I’d nevertheless elected to kick the door and NOT the cat!!! But seriously... the fact that this album, as early as it occurred in their history, still had this impact on me despite "A Farewell to Kings" and "Hemispheres" having already dropped, is of one of the reasons why I believe this album to have been ahead of its time!! At the very least, it foreshadowed a band on the verge of greatness!!! Would love to hear other people's associations with this great album!!!!