eshine

I know that reahnna14 is just a member here who does that whole "pose as someone who can't type while I troll" thing - but it's definately become something of a recent trend for folks on these Rush boards to act as if Geddy used to be an incredible, amazing vocalist with razor sharp skills who has suddenly lost his ability to their utter bewilderment. ... because his voice creaks a few times. It's weird, because in actuality - Geddy has one of the best kept rock voices in the business, still able to cull from over 3 decades worth of material and pull it off night after night to huge crowds while playing instruments with both his hands and feet. It's rather absurd that his seemingly biggest fans now sound like the very detractors who used to berate him back in the day with all this "oohhh, we can't understand him and why is he straiiiining" crap. Personally, I thought his voice was far worse back in the day - like in the GUP video. He contstantly lost picth, had no control and his range was shot. He has learned to be a far more controlled singer - with the Snakes and Arrows tour being one of his best ever. Geddys live singing has actually improved with age. Fanbois seem to cringe now whenever his voice slightly cracks. I used to cringe regularly when he would sing entire passages in the wrong key. Sure, his voice breaks a few times early on in the Time Machine show. Big deal. He chose some tougher songs to open the show with and it took a few songs to get the pipes warmed up. For a perfect example of fine singing and his ability to shift between octaves with relative ease on a 30+ year old song, listen to The Camera Eye from pretty much any show on this tour. As far as the "enunciation" controversy - I just have to laugh. Since when did non-fans ever understand what the f**k he was singing in concert, and since when did we ever give a shit if they did? It's Rush - and not for much longer, kids.

I talked to a few people in the last four decades that saw Rush live and they all started burning on geddys voice. They all say. I can;t understand whats hes singing>? why is that guy straining and screaming.. snore

who is Tony Banks?

QUOTE (Mika @ Nov 6 2011, 04:54 AM) ... And a re-emergence of 'Earthshine'. YES!!!!

Great song. I can see why they dropped it - it's gotta be a tough song to sing.

QUOTE I hate the production of Presto, and Daniel's defense of the album doesn't really address what it is I hate. It's fine "giving the artist what they want," and bringing things "back-to-basics, stripped-down(ish), and vocal-and-melody-heavy." But you can do all that without taking the balls out of the sound. It's a rock album but sounds way too "polite" to my ears; very sterile. That's the sound, that's the "bad production," not which instruments are subtracted or highlighted. If you dislike Presto for it's lack of "balls" - then you must utterly loathe its predecessor. I had the complete opposite reaction when Presto was released. It was a blessed return to form after the absolute castration of HYF, which is about as sterile as you can get.

While I love Power Windows, I credit Peter Collins for producing two of the bands weakest efforts, HYF and the dreadfully dated TFE. As for Steve Wislon, his music is lovely wallpaper.

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Nov 1 2011, 09:26 AM) QUOTE (Drummerrobin @ Nov 1 2011, 07:55 AM) Why on earth the band kept hold of Rupert Hine after he made such a cock-up of the production of Presto is beyond me. Seriously why did they keep him?! Because there's nothing wrong with Presto. It sounds like the band wanted it to sound, it sold respectably, and it has a ton of fans. They were a 25-year-old band at the time - producers don't tell *them* what to do, the band tells the producer what *they* want to do, and the producer's job is to help them get there. If they wanted to put out an album of polka covers, the producer wouldn't be responsible for convincing them not to. They wanted Presto to be a more back-to-basics, stripped-down(ish), vocal-and-melody-heavy album. That's that they got. Hine helped them achieve that. BINGO!!!!!! Not to mention Rupert Hine is the first producer that treated Geddy like the gifted singer he is.

Staying in the moment and playing the same line as written is not a sign of weakness. I've been playing for well over 20 years. I've always found gonzo drummers who get bored easily to be annoying and all over the place. Just play the song. Drummers, more then any other player, often mistake "improv" for "musicianship". I cannot tell you how many times I have played with a drummer who thinks he is way better then he is when really, they are incapable of just playing the song - and have subsequently fired them to their utter disbelief lol Having said that, I agree that you can play pop and rock music with a different "feel" and not get bogged down by the routine - but as a player and songwriter, I am of the opinion that a song should be played as written unless it begs for improvisation. Nothing wrong with changing the "way" you play it - as long as it serves the song. Of course playing freestyle is a whole different beast. I don't play freestyle music - although I don't thing players that do are any more gifted. And I'm not touchy feely over Neil - I just find comments like "he should change" being directed at a 60 year old drumming legend to be kind of ironic. If he want's to, then hey - go for it - but he certainly doesn't need to at this stage of the game. Cheers.

QUOTE (Oracle @ Oct 30 2011, 08:14 PM) As tempting as it is, I don't think I'll manage to see the CW tour. Even if they played 2112 in full again, I think my first Rush show will be my last. I think we've seen them give their best performances by far. Still, it would be nice to see them break out the beast again. huh?

QUOTE (druid13 @ Nov 1 2011, 02:04 PM) QUOTE (jacklifeson @ Nov 1 2011, 07:35 AM) Name one memorable beat, fill, or song from Weckl (that he wasnt playing to a musical directors chart), or any of those other people either. I think DW is amazing but his living is being able to play anything at the drop of a hat. NP on the other hand has been in the same band for 30+ years with the same musicians. And, like others have said, he has not had to improvise. I have no doubt that if he had worked on being able to improvise when he was much younger, he would be great at it. Im sure its not easy to learn a new major skill after 40 years of playing. How about the groove Weckl used for Mercy Mercy Mercy....I mean obviously it was pretty memorable because Neil stole it and used it over and over again (his version of it any way)...going back to T4E. I think Neils problem is he just has a hard time letting go...just plain saying eff it...I am GONNA JAM....because that is what improving is...freedom I won't argue its tough to change...but not at all impossible. It's his personality that gets in his way. I really think that. I remember reading an article where he said ( paraphrasing) "I can't just get up there and just play anything I want"...my answer would be...Yeah Neil you can and you should. For myself I like to be more in the moment playing....I try to not repeat myself and don't like pre-determined fills in the same place anymore. Reason? The first ime you are in a situation where you have to just play...it gets all weird , convoluted, over wraught and embarassing. The other thing is constantly playing carbon copy fills all the time gets boring and uninspiring over time. You end up with "Well I got through that" ...rather than .."Whoa...what was THAT!?!?" I hope you are referring to soloing and not playing through an actual song, because as a bass player, there is nothing more annoying then having an undisciplined drummer play with reckless abandon becuase he thinkis it's cool. It's not. A good drummer serves the song, not himself. It's what separates the pro's from the amatuers. As for Neil - last I checked he's done rather well for himself - lol. He doesn't need to change, nor should he.

QUOTE (Zanadoo @ Oct 31 2011, 09:13 AM) I think what really makes the song for me is the vocal arrangement. It's what separates Presto from any other album, beautifully constructed vocals. THIS! Rupert Hine may not have given Rush an edgy, hard rock sound - but he was instrumental in teaching Geddy how to use his voice. Presto is Geddy's tour-de-force. The simplicity of the lyrics are of benefit as well. I find the lyrics charming and uplifting without being overtly "cheesy".

I really wish Geddy had more of a hand this time. He has a better ear then Alex - Different Stages is really their last "great" sounding live album. Having said that - based on the Tom Sawyer clip, I am excited about the sound of this show.

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Oct 30 2011, 01:15 PM) I think they lyrics are pretty terrible. The concepts presented are worthwhile, but it's such a heavy-handed goofy delivery getting them across. Here's the part where I was going to quote selected lyrics to illustrate my point, but really it's the whole song. It might not be as bad as "season of the itch" and "chasing cars in doggie heaven," but "boys and girls together" and "let's paint the mirror black" is pretty up there among the badness level of "net boy net girl" and "put your message in a modem and throw it in the cyber sea." Oh well, I picked out some individual lyrics after all. This is so often why the whole era from Presto onwards can be so weak, obviously with notable exceptions, especially on Counterparts and Snakes & Arrows. The lyrics just too often don't cut it, and the music can't overcome this deficit. Presto contains some of Neils strongest lyrics. This is perfectly evident in the ease with wich Geddy is able to write such good melodies around them, versus the awkward, shoehorned lyrics of, say, HYF. The lyrics are certainly no less chessy then much of their older material, unless you consider songs about 100100-1-SOS, or snowdogs or fast breaks on honey-doo to be literary masterpeices

QUOTE (shail @ Oct 27 2011, 03:20 PM) http://www.cymbalvote.com/ Guess it was a bad day for him. He even flubbed a fill on one of the clips. Weckl on the other hand is amazing. yeah - by all means, he f*cking sucks without the safety nety of Rush. Brilliant topic. You should work for the CIA.

Am I the only one who finds these type of hypothetical topics utterly boring? Neil Peart will never, ever be anything other then Rush's drummer.

QUOTE (friendlyvoice @ Oct 24 2011, 12:51 PM) I really miss those days...radio was still kinda cool back then. We didn't get paid very much, but we had fun. There is definately something to be said about the old days of radio. Back when Show Dont Tell was released, I was a senior in high school and skipped school next day so I could wait by the radio and record it to tape. I was blown away - still am. Presto has it's naysayers - even the band talks the album down - but I think it's misguided. Rush returned to form with Presto. The album is chock full of tight, melodic tunes carried by great lyrics. And it's easily Geddy Lee's best vocal album to date.

Ive seen them. Circumstances Entre Nous Presto The Camera Eye Earthshine. Rush have fullfilled my wish list - the rest is all gravy from here on out (although Middletown dreams would be swell

Not only is there zero - "My Sharona", but there really isn't much "jamming" going on during A Show of Hands. This was Rush on auto-pilot.

I'll never forget hearing the opening riff of Show Don't Tell for the first time. Easily one of my best Rush moments - especially considering the total castration that was Hold Your Fire. It's a great riff - but certainly not one of his last greats. Cut to The Chase, Stick it Out, Earthshine, Carvan, Far cry (and pretty much anything off of Snakes) - all just as good. Show Don't Tell was simply a return to form after having completely over-used the synth to a point of aural exhaustion.

QUOTE (reani14 @ Oct 16 2011, 10:26 AM) grace under pressure tour video! all flock of seagulls looking hair. and those silly zubaz pants. would have been better if he wore black leather pants he wore on signals tour... Wow - someone looked silly in the eighties? Man - you sure have your finger on the pulse of all that is fashion.

I cant beleive how much I used to hate Power Windows. Back in 85 I was of the "old Rush good, new Rush bad" mindset (some things never change lol) Today, Power Windows not only ranks as one of my alltime favorite Rush albums - but I feel it is one of the best produced albums of its time. A soaring, experimental masterpiece. The definative "synth" album - and easily the peak of that era. I'm glad they made the wise decision to move away from heavy syth after HYF (which was overdone). Power Windows is also one of Geddys strongest vocal performances - Grand Designs being a prime example.

It has it's moments, but also contains some of the silliest stuff Rush has ever recorded. The spoken word parts of the Necromancer make the RTB rap look gangster. 2112 blows COS away.

I understand the desire to see a different set-list night after night, especially with a band that has such a vast catalogue - however, a band like Rush veiwes their set as a "production" in much the same way a broadway show is a production. It actually is not boring to perform the same set night after night - just as it isn't boring putting on the same play or musical. Each performance is different. The level of playing and energy varies - and the ultimate goal is to fire on all cylinders and "perfect" the show as best you can - and when you do, the feeling is amazing.