Bahamas

Please tell your friend that the notion of Neil "coasting" is an oxymoron.

I saw the second (original date) R40 Toronto show and only later learned that was the better of the two - technical issues made the first concert very challenging. Details that probably lots of people didn't notice, but hearing it from Neil's perspective and reading his books with lots of details about concert issues and personal afflictions, pretty much every tour had its ups and downs. "One tour, it was my teeth!" During part of R40 his feet were killing him. So what was a good performance and what was a bad performance? From my side of the fence, playing twenty, thirty, forty dates on a tour, and the guys being human beings, I am always hesitant to be even the least bit critical. And for that matter, it should not go without saying that so often he was riding a few hundred miles between shows and that in itself had an impact on things. So to say a musical performance was less than ideal on a day when the riding was maybe better than ideal? I think you have to look at both when considering how Neil was performing and it's completely acceptable, to me. To me, they played amazingly, right to the end. Some adjustments and evolution over time (Geddy singing a big lower on some verses of some songs) but in the end () Rush had such a huge choice for set lists. Did they all sound the same as the original - and I think this is what some people might think of "as good" and I don't - no, they didn't. Sometimes is it was just different. To wonder if they lost the "sauce" as Jack Black put it, I would say no. Not ever. Because they continued to be true to the songs. To us. And to spend more money and include more musicians and rehearse it all so thoroughly right up to the end, that's not "ageing", that's investing. That's being better at something. I have seen and heard so many bands that go "unplugged" or do re-makes to suit their older selves and continue touring, or put out more best-of albums with re-dos and recycled music. These guys were committed to excellence right to the end and I think it sounds and shows exactly that. Nothing taken for granted? Nothing assumed as being acceptable simply by playing a song live - it had to be rehearsed and the backdrops had to be stunning. And they didn't re-visit having bands open the show. Would have been easier to play shorter set lists but not these guys. Very expensive, a huge group of people making it happen. Right to the end. So to decide (or accept) between them that it was over, it was probably at the best possible time. Not too old, not too young, just so. I was relieved to read that Geddy came to accept Neil's wishes about retirement. When I see Alex and Geddy play on R40, they are frickin' amazing. Same with Neil. And to state the obvious, it's after four decades together. I don't think they should have stopped touring sooner. And I am glad they stopped touring when they did. It feels like a sweet spot. And they are so open to discussing details and sharing intimate moments of almost every aspect of the band. Maybe I never needed "closure" because I keep getting more stuff from them. ytserush felt kind of bored with the second set of R40. To me it was very interesting and a bit edge-of-your-seat, because those earlier songs were brutal for Geddy to sing. But he wanted to honour those tracks and whether you love his voice or not, he made a decision to sing them. Watch the guys on stage. Neil or Alex aren't seen to be wincing or glancing about when Geddy hits the ceiling, it's a group project and they kept to their parts right to the end. To an outsider, one would wonder what the heck is he doing. To us, he was being the singer of the same band and if that is how they were written, that is how he is going to sing them. Truly wonderful.

Lucky me, our house is on a hilly part of town and the porch faces the harbour. Through the windows I can see ships waiting to load at port, the "Sleeping Giant" peninsula (Google it?) and big sky. The sun and moon both rise over the harbour. I feel very lucky. But after almost thirty years fixing up a 1905 clapboard century home, it also feels well deserved!

This made me think of 2020 and the long hours I spent reading in my front porch (probably like a billion other people). I have since wondered, as much as I love to read, it is as if I went through so many books during that time that as life slowly got back to normal I feel I should still be reading just as much? So long as we keep reading, we are doing good.

"Cygnus X-1/The Story So Far (drum solo)" - as listed in the R40 Tour Blue-ray Set Two. I had to log in now to look for this topic. Not so much listening, but watching and...experiencing... You get the song from Hemispheres, 1978. You get the (last) drum solo in 2015. Mix them together and our beloved seniors absolutely pull it off. It's cool rhythms and instrumental "know-all" stuff that any aspiring rock musician must be in awe of? If you haven't listened/watched in a while, go again. I love these guys.

Rush Didact, I really appreciate your post, have been thinking about it for a couple of days. Perhaps my reply is more to offer support for you than summarising my own experience, but obviously I am keen to share. I never felt a need for closure. I needed closure when a former member of these forums passed away - because it was a bit unknown, they were a complete stranger to me and yet I was drawn in to their world. But the band? I feel it was pretty clear. I believed the talk around the R40 tour that it could be their last. I got two tickets, told my brother down in Toronto that he was going with me on the Friday night and it would be special. The years of silence that followed didn't actually strike me as odd. I have been a fan my entire life, older brothers listening to them, my friends' older brothers also, all Willowdale people. I remember walking home from Cub Scouts and Scouts with my chums and we would speculate that "They live in Casa Loma and you can only see private shows if you are really close to them!". We explored the grounds of the CNE deciding where exactly they filmed a video with Max Webster. We collected golf balls from the Don River, literally walking through muck with bags in our hands, slowly filling them with over-shot balls to sell for a nickel so we could buy Lolas and bottles of Coke. Caress Of Steel and the Necromancer was our sound track. I listened to 2112 endlessly on my Sony Walkman delivering the Globe and Mail every morning before school. To this day I listen to any CD I randomly pull from a shelf and listen on the way to a camping trip, a bike ride, on a road trip. I don't absolutely love every album, but that isn't a thing for me. I focus on the stories they tell about the difficulties of one album or another, the final mixes and perhaps disappointments that follow. They were the hardest working, most experimental, most willing to try musicians I have read about. Closure? After R40 and the relative silence that followed, Geddy and Alex doing projects, nothing from Neil, I didn't suspect anything. But now we know a lot more about that time. And there was a forum member who was near spastic in his commitment to not reveal anything Neil. Poor fellow, I often wanted to PM him with comfort but never did. When it was announced on Friday Jan. 10, 2020 that Neil passed away, I was in my kitchen getting ready to shake up cocktails and I was quite mildly shocked. That precise moment which answered the silence, ended any speculation whatsoever, was my closure. It was a surprise and it hurt but over the next few days I accepted the absolute end of Rush. Because Alex and Geddy continue to accomplish new projects and are willing to give so many interviews, so many, I feel we are all in the same sphere together, in one way or another. To me, "they" are not done. And so I can accept that the band is finished but I love that new shares and more projects continue to keep the "band" alive. May I offer, that you have nothing to forgive yourself for. You saw them live. You are still part of one group that loves the band. I only saw them twice. Am I less of a fan than those who paid for a hundred shows? (OK, yeah, I am) but I don't feel any less of a fan. And neither should you! I am sure many of us spent years listening and other years not listening. But always, they were there. I think you should think of them as still there. Cheers, and let's celebrate what continues.

I only saw this today, thank you rugen for the post. But I have to say...4 "Likes"? 3 replies? I am not affiliated with this group from Singapore but they obviously spent a hella-lot of time recording this. The album is Examination put out in 2019. They also do a version of Manhattan Project and BU2B (What?!) and I Walk The Line, by some old country music dude as well as some others. And The Sound of Muzak by Porcupine Tree. Seems to be a western music appreciation album. But they are really good at what they do! These folks are amazing, they recorded some tracks separately, just like ours faithful, instead of recording multiple vocal tracks they used two singers, the guitarist is playing both classical and electric guitar pieces, like ours faithful and the drums are simple but work perfectly. And the lyrics are clear with a similar emphasis on timing that Geddy always talked about. This group looks relaxed and the notes are all spot on. There are some variations (I think I heard some flute?) and with the guitar and obviously the drumming, but it works really well and the tone and respect of the song is really strong. Who spends that much time making new artwork that keeps to the steam-punk theme but adds - a lover story -a journey of ageing - and builds on the original images with the great playing? This group did! I think it's one of the best "band appreciation" projects I have seen. Highly recommended viewing.

So great, thank you rugen! I look at the CBC on a daily basis but missed this. I clicked on your link, saw Alex being introduced and immediately logged into the forums to say thank you. I know exactly what I will be watching for the next 55 minutes !!!!!!!!!!

Thank you RAY4583 for this link. Over many years, you don't post often! I have not seen other interviews with Jeff Miers, he says he has interviewed the other guys and that his career needed to be re-invented, so I will look that up soon. I remember Ray from Rush: Time Stand Still, but both of them are clearly articulate and huge Rush fans. It shows in the very loose references, the mutual appreciation for every detail. At first I also wanted to hear more technical stuff about the band and their instruments and such, but as Ray said about Geddy's book, some people might want more details about the making of an album or more specs about music making, however, that is what makes My Effin' Life more interesting. It is a great account about the life of a musician and not always about the band. Jeff says he has read hundreds of rock musician bios, but this one stood out as special. The hour long interview is not just about the book. It is more about personal journeys and relating to music during the course of your life. I had to admit some of that, watching these two guys talk about what music means to people and how it can help one feel part of a collective (my third suggested word to community and/or communion). I almost closed the interview a couple of times because it was a little corny or overly sympathetic to the band and "everything about Rush is great" but realised this felt different. If anybody has time for a "fire side" chat about the band, this seemed very honest. A line from Hold Your Fire or Farewell To Kings was easily suggested, they know their stuff. Alex and his on going projects, Geddy needing to be creative... These two guys had no boundaries, no obvious cheat notes to look at. It is simply this-or-that Rush reference, relating to this-or-that personal experience. And seeing that Ray is a teacher of Grade 4 students, they both kept it civil and worthy of a class discussion - if "why music matters" should ever be part of a lesson plan for young (or older) students. That was very enjoyable, thanks RAY4583, very much. Bahamas (Edit - And I hope Ray's sister forgave him for keeping her 8 Track)

Freewill, sweet! I was listening to Permanent Waves recently for Jacob's Ladder. But when doing so, I must also listen to the rest of the album.

I think what I was getting at, was that Jason Vail has a medieval chronicle series and so does Mel Starr. But maybe Starr is the better writer, and perhaps Vail is kind of copy-catting on the genre? But yes, I wanted to read more of those kind of stories and found Vail a bit awkward and Starr more supported, or polished? I wondered if you might be more familiar with self published authors vs. famous authors - all having a medium like the Kindle to publish stories and maybe the lines get blurred between good and (not so good, hate using those words but don't have better ones) self published, typos and all. I was curious if you had an opinion, Cheers :)

I have to say as a huge lover of their lyrics as most of us are, I am sure, I need to correct myself: It is "I am made from the dust of the stars..." Yes it was obvious, and maybe a small thing? Maybe. But if lyrics is the issue, let's appreciate every word and beat that they made, correctly.

I was looking down through the Neil topics when I started a recent one about this book. I didn't look here until now. Thanks for starting this! I don't know if I will buy it, but the side stories and such would be nice to have.

I am sure I posted much earlier about Mel Starr and the Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton - which I think you "liked". A genre I never read before it was recommended, and I really enjoyed them. Simple, old school, so to speak. Then, I returned to some favourites and read new stories for a while. But THEN, I wanted a taste of those books again and the atmosphere and context and such. It was suggested I try Jason Vail. I liked the first two, but by the third book in the series there are enough typos to distract me. Without looking too much into it, I think he might be self-published or writes too fast? I wonder if he also likes Mel Starr. Last week I went back to said Starr and jumped to The Tainted Coin. It feels cozy and nice. And it feels like "care was given" on every page (Kindle).

A January 30 CBC article quoted Rush's official Instagram post about the book being released in May. The 96 page coffee table book includes a Foreword by Carrie Nuttall-Peart and a portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the Neil Peart Memorial at Lakeside Park and to the American Brain Tumor Association from The Estate of Neil Peart. Very cool! I bet all the glossy car photos will add up to a hefty price tag, but I think it's wonderful that we will be able to see the project he started before he passed away. I just wanted to spread the word.