JARG

Arpeggiating the ascending chord progression in Bastille Day was inspired. Nicely done. And I really like how you arranged Working Man. Never before have I thought, "Working Man, now there's a beautiful composition". In the C-D progression, what flavor of C are you playing? Is that a Cmaj7 or maybe a Cadd9?

I certainly grew up wanting to be the next Alice Lifison.

Oh wow, so sorry about your loss.

Going from memory.... Do you have Input Monitoring on the track enabled? In preferences there's an "audio" (or perhaps "devices") section, make sure ASIO is selected. For what it's worth, my setup is similar to yours (Cakewalk + Scarlet), but I have headphones plugged into the Scarlet.

That's amazing. I don't think I've ever bought an album without first having heard at least something by the band.

Your facility on the guitar has really grown in the years I've known you, Paul, and your influences are now diffuse enough that I think you've got a style that's all yours.

Track by track impressions Waving White: Classic JR composition. I love it when aggressive guitar first comes in. Cool tone on the solo. Paul's playing continues to improve. Perfect: Sounds like another JR song. Love the note choice at 1:09. Creepy in all the best ways. Lots of interesting arrangement choices on this one. EoN: Excellent guitar tone choices. Another JR song? Four Winds: So Jeremy! Jetsam: Excellent intro concept. One minute in and I'm thinking this is the best song so far. Bizarre, delightfully bizarre! Zero Sum: I knew from the tom figure at the intro that it was a JR song. New Army: Sonically, this sounds very different from the other songs so far, as in the mix and mastering. Is this an older song that didn't get included in previous releases? Face Down: Sounds like Mike song. Lovely choruses. No Retreat: Paul is having fun with harmony guitar parts! Maria: Jimi would be proud! Fever Dream: I like the overstated quarter note feel. Reminds me of the way Jethro Tull would segue into Locomotive Breath in some of their live shows. Happy Idea: The piano is lovely. Really, the whole intro was excellent.

Depending on the timeline for the next album, I may have a new one of mine ready for inclusion, assuming I still hold Cowboy status.

When I first got into Rush AFTK was the new album, but it was 2112 that got worn out first.

It was a fine interview, Rod. Congratulations.

I've heard it. It's just awful. Yes, there's some amount of improv in many of his solos, but there also seems to be a fair amount of form. When I'm working on a solo for a song, I mostly start out just "feeling" my way around (and like Alex, it's just awful). After a few passes a form begins to suggest itself, and from that point on, I switch to a more compositional approach, keeping what I liked from previous takes and expanding from there.

I'd ask Alex about the ratio of improvisation vs. composition in his guitar solos when tracking songs. For example, if you listen to live pre-release versions of Best I Can, his solo on it sounds nothing like the recorded version (the live solo sounds 100% improvised, and as such lack form/structure).

Both he and Geddy have mastered the art of being interviewed (turns out there's a real skill to it). Geddy, in particular, is a master at it and makes the interviewer's job seem effortless.

I won't quote you. Doh!

Rik, too, is a better player than Alex.