Weatherman

I often like to point out that before he'd even turned 18 he 1) knocked up his girlfriend and 2) started a rock band. We all know what happens in those cases. 99 out of 100 times, the guy leaves both the girl and the band, with a lot of lifelong regrets. Alex stayed with the girl AND the band. He stayed with both for 50 years, and carried everyone through to success. That says a lot.

Hobble

Yeah - they sounded terrific live at that time, and Alex was composing his best, most melodic solos.

Based purely on the songs I find myself replaying the most (listed in reverse chronological order): 1) Dreamline 2) Bravado 3) all of Presto minus Superconductor 4) Time Stand Still 5) Turn the Page 6) Lock and Key 7) The Weapon 8) Subdivisions 9) all of MP 10) 2112 (Overture/Syrinx)

PLEASE for the love of God tell me this is going to happen. I know there've been rumors ... but what a gorgeous match it would be.

I've been torturing my young wife with the audiobook on our long cross-country drive this month. She's 29 and has little idea who Rush is. But she's actually enjoying Ged's narration -- not the album recording bits, but the human interest anecdotes. She liked Chapter 3 (Holocaust history), and the part about drugs. I'm also interspersing songs with the chapters. So far, her favorites include Time Stand Still, Turn the Page, Tom Sawyer, and the Overture/Syrinx parts of 2112. She's a fantasy nerd so I think she'll ultimately come around to full fandom. It might take another couple years. There's hope for millennials yet!

Replacing Neil is a fool's errand. Nobody wants that gig. Solution: No percussion at all. Instead, a full orchestral tour. I can see the marquee now: "Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson: The Best of the Synth Era, featuring the Vienna Symphony Orchestra."

I'm listening to the audiobook and loving it. Biggest surprises: 1) the separate lives that Ged and his wife have lived 2) Neil's drug use (Alex was no surprise) 3) Alex drunkenly destroying the hotel room in England for no reason sounded suspiciously similar to his felony charges at the Florida resort

They get a new drummer every 50 years.

This is my guess too.

He should've shrieked the first chapter just to give the haters something familiar to complain about.

Note: The mp3 version is now considered the regular audio version. You can get it free with a trial from Audible.

I just looked at the audiobook version on Audible and it has both Ged and Alex listed as narrators! That seals it -- I'm getting the audio version. I've got a long drive in December and I'd love to listen to both of them tell the stories. I'll bet they'll use snippets of the music too. Excited for this!

What do you call someone who hangs out with musicians? A drummer. (rimshot)

Anagram (for Mongo). I was singing along to that song for years without even realizing that the lyrics were all anagrams. I'm dumb that way.

He already sang in a comfortable range. It was on an album called Presto that everybody loves to crap on here.

It's kind of amazing how long that band existed. All this happened before I was even born.

Technicality: Steve Vai Emotiveness: Eddie VH Alex has several amazing moments where his technicality touches Vai's and his emotiveness touches Eddie's. But most of the time his playing rests just one shade below. This isn't a criticism. Vai's playing is so technical that it's hard to listen to. I overall prefer Alex to both of them.

I'd give him a 9 of 10 on both technique and emotiveness. His playing is very unpredictable, mostly in the good way. I learned guitar by copying his parts and am still kind of amazed by them.

I am thrilled to hear him in a different context. Really and truly. As great as Rush was, he needed to spread his wings. It's funny: I think Ged and Neil were more responsible for the Rush sound. In fact, anything Ged does going forward is probably going to sound like Rush. But Alex is freer. He doesn't carry that same weight.

They teased us with the Rushiest moment of the Rushiest song in the entire catalog.

Happy birthday! Change the title of your memoir! Thanks!

It's a shame because that tour featured their best setlist, hands down. Not a clinker in the bunch.

You all have to admit that Ged would be diving into artificial intelligence if he were still writing and recording music. He's the most curious one. Neil is the one who would've had no use for it whatsoever.

I'm really surprised how much love Hemi and PW have on this site. I like them too, but they're no 2112 or MP, not in my opinion.