psionic11

Nice, good to hear keyboard renditions of Rush. Maybe next recording you could go direct out instead of mic'ing the room, might be a little clearer? Still, great job, it's the feeling and live performance that matters most. My chosen keyboard renditions are Losing It and Manhattan Project, for which I use a straight up layered acoustic piano sound. Broon's Bane and The Trees I've played on my acoustic since I was 17, and still love playing it to this day. Overall, great job, looking forward to more videos from you.

Yeah, a lot of Rush fans are hardcore and the idea of them doing "cover" songs is alien. But I like a couple songs off the album, even though I don't care for the originals that much. I like Heart Full of Soul the most. Especially like when Geddy sings, "tell her I have a heart full of soul". First time I heard this, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the boys play something so simple and heartfelt and, well, "normal" as far as rock songs go. Good stuff, if not epic.

I love stories like this. Makes us old-school musicians and Rush fans feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Before checking out this thread, I just happened to come home early from a half day at work, and some tall skinny kid was walking down the neighborhood sidewalk in front of my hose, playing a nice-looking custom 5-string bass. I struck up a conversation before I even got out of the car. Turns out he's going to Berklee, and is in a 3-piece power trio. We talked bass shop (I'm a bass player also), and names like Dave LaRue, Jaco, and of course Geddy came up. It's encouraging to know new musicians are still digging Rush.

True, but it's so easy nowadays to smoothly cut out parts and mix and match... Was it Pags or someone else who made that Rush compilation? It's a bit lengthy, and shows what can be achieved with editing. But the main point is, it's a quickie to fix or blend various Rush song parts into custom "re-mixes". For example, I have a Freewill edit without the banshee wails after the solo when I'm not in the mood or environment to broadcast screeching vocals. Rush has so much rocket juice that once in awhile a bad batch is bound to come forth, because tastes vary so much. Ain't nothing better than taking what you like and putting it all together for easy access. Like good food.

So this song somehow has come back into my playlists. And it rocks. Just wanted to give props to an old classic: Fast punk speed, length, and angst. Crunchy guitar. Prog-rock math changes with the swing part at the end. Classic Neil double-meanings and philosophical ramblings. Pure 3-piece power trio goodness, with above average bass and vocals. And Neil's drumming is just positively over the edge in creativity and energy. All this at just 3 minutes...

Aye, Bravest Face flip flops between good and iffy. I edited it to remove some of the repetitive parts, and it's much stronger. It's really a new area they started to explore, and had a lot of potential. But I think the majority of us fans look to Rush for energy and speed, not so much slower, bluesy nuggets...

Between, Beneath and Behind, besides and beyond the obvious sexual references, somehow resurfaced today. And stuck. Good old fashioned rock song, yes?

Just to disprove the "after Presto" theory: A Cinderella Man A Doing what you can A They can't understand B What it means A Cinderella Man A Hang on to your plans C Try as they might B They cannot steal your dreams In the betrayal of his love he awakened) Digital Man: great majority of the song (awesome 6/8 and swing reggae sections!), but the straight-8th ending "he's got a force field and a flexible plan" detract from an otherwise really solid song I'd be embrassed to introduce a would-be Rush fan to "Tears". And I won't even mention old classic stinker sections like "Return of the Prince" or pretty much the whole debut album... But yeah, speaking of heresy, Heresy is strong until "yes I guess we could/should/would"... EDIT: oh yeah, In The End... smooth intro, blah most of the rest of the song, drags on for almost 7 minutes.

I don't hate when Rush does covers. I do hate the Rolling Stones. Therefore, Socrates was a man.

I was 17 in '87 when HYF came out. That was back when you still had the awesome sense of anticipation when the new Rush album was about to come out... you just didn't know what it was going to sound like, but from a musician/Rush fanatic perspective, you knew it was going to be great!! Hemispheres was my first Rush album. Exit Stage Left after that was sonic bliss. Of course, Freewill and Moving Pictures were a given. Signals and Subdivisions, GUP and the love/hate relationship with it. I still very clearly recall wandering a public library where someone was listening to an album in an isolated and closed carol very loudly... the high pitched, soulful guitar licks are what grabbed my wandering attention. Sure enough, I recognized those as Lerxst, and it was HYF all over the place. I appreciate a lot of styles of music, but I mostly appreciate the musical peaks that Rush achieved with HYF. Show Don't Tell was a very intriguing change of pace, but Presto overall only rated as a very good album with several songs. Keep in mind back then we didn't have the CD loudnes wars, so volume was never a problem. Still, it wasn't until CP that things rocked Rush again. Here's hoping that CA is a return. HYF is still a great culmination to my musician bass player ears and soul. A testament to Rush's great diversity...

Never heard of O'malley's break till just now. Listened to it on Youtube. It's alright, more just like a free form ditty, with a couple good moments in it. Broon's Bane I learned years ago in high school, and still play it regularly to this day. It's solid. But I voted for Hope. This song is very fresh and original. Lots of good emotion in this, and a nice contrast to the rest of S&A. Several times I've had this on loop and listened to it for like 10 times over. Hope! For the emotion(s)...

Great song, great energy, great lyrics, great musicianship. Not my most favorite song, but definitely will be listened to over and over till I die. Imagine a Rush without any keyboards. Less than half the grandeur of where they would be now. A good deal of forgettable material like their myriad other contemporaries. So much stuff without stock. I love 2112 and Hemispheres, but without all those other colors and melodies that the synth era gave us, the world would just be that much more bland. Grand Designs!

More power to ya, Nate! I applaud your effort and enthusiasm to create something new in this world, potentially attracting a lot of like-minded people to get together and chill on something they all like --- METAL! IF you do get some new MOD who abuses his power, then you can KICK them from being a mod. Skate past the negativity and the naysayers and do what your heart and brain lead you to do... No one succeeds without first failing. If your new site is a flop, chalk it up to experience and keep going for the next one. And remember, "You don't get Something For Nothing" You can do a lot in a lifetime If you don't burn out too fast You can make the most of the distance First you need endurance - First you've got to last...

You can't slap expectations or make demands on an artist's creativity. The magic happens when the magic happens. Mostly, it doesn't. Do yourself a flavor and deflate your expectations. Appreciate what the boys have miraculously put out so far. I'm truly hoping CA is phenomenal, or at the least, very good. But I'm prepared if it's a flop. I'll still love my favorite Rush songs nonetheless.

These are what I can play on my acoustic. I'm mostly a bass player and keyboardist, so I don't do guitar solos. I do like playing without a pick, so there's a lot of songs below with finger work, so don't know if that makes it easier or harder for you. Can you read music? Or tab? Or do you go by ear alone? These songs I consider "easy to intermediate". They aren't hard technically, you just need lots of memorization of Lerxst chords and riffs. A lot of these are singable too, which makes if perfect for solo acoustic guitar. Years of enjoyment! Guaranteed, or your money back! Broon's Bane The Trees Xanadu Jacob's Ladder Discovery Oracle: The Dream Soliloquy* Heart and Mind (easy!)* Cygnus: Bringer of Balance The Sphere* Closer to the Heart Different Strings (current favorite) Freewill (minus solo, of course) Tide Pool/HyperSpace* (surprise!) Later on, you might surprise yourself by learning YYZ, Red Barchetta, and even La Villa Strangiato. Simpler versions of The Spirit of Radio, A Passage to Bangkok, and New World Man are fun. I better stop now, before I mention High Water, Chain Lightning, Dreamline, and Cut to the Chase... * easiest songs

I love the idea of playing thick sustained bass notes with your feet like how Rush used Taurus pedals. There's a whole different musical approach when you have those long bass note drones underneath versus linear and busy bass guitar lines. That said, I wish more bands used them, but they don't have to be Taurus pedals proper. Nothing wrong with just triggering musical events with MIDI foot controllers. This is what I do with my FCB1010, but while I do have Hollowsun's Taurus multisamples, I also use it to trigger other sounds as well. A bass player who plays Rush is half of what he could be without bass pedals and synths...

Totally disagree. While I really dig Caravan and BU2B, the bassline just isn't anything spectacular when you compare it to Geddy's other basslines. Listen again to Caravan. The first half of the song is just Alex and Geddy playing a riff together over and over. Sure, Geddy's bass has a great tone, but it's a simple bass line compared to so, so many other songs. Then at 3 and half minutes where the bass finally breaks into its own, it's really not much different from what Geddy did waaay back on the solo section of Working Man. Sure, it gets a little spiffed up a la Strangiato in places, but that's about it. Again, great tone, nice articulation, but not his best "Jack Bruce" or melodic stuff. CP easily trumps CA, basswise. YMMV

QUOTE (vital signz @ Jun 28 2011, 06:23 AM) I can't vote here... Here's my 0.02.... I have been playing guitar for 35 years...I would consider myself pretty qualified to make this statement. You asked which is the most skilled.... Eddie has more raw skill IMHO. He can play circles around just about anyone. Eddie is different from guys like Malmsteen and Vai, and Satriani and Johnson etc., because although they may be more technically skilled than Van Halen, Van Halen is a master song writer and is simply far more emotive than these guys. It is why I prefer Eddie to all of these guys. Van Halen is classically trained which helps him in soloing and chord arrangement, and is the one with the multiplatinum records hanging all over the place. Sadly Eddie could have been quite the guy these days, but his self-destructive nature has darkened his brightness far too early. He is a shadow of his former self because he didn't take care of himself and grow as a musician. Alex is the better guitarist--IMHO. I would rather hear 10 seconds of Alex's playing than 10 minutes of Eddie's. I have everything both of these guys has ever written. Alex's emotion trumps Eddie's. He isn't everyone's cup of tea, but he is mine. I know he can't play at the technically virtuoso level that Eddie can, but just like I prefer Van Halen to all the other listed above for what Van Halen can do with arrangement and emotion within his music, I prefer Lifeson to Van Halen for similar reasons. Lifeson can get more out of a chosen chord at a spot in a song, or a chosen note within a song, or a chosen way to go with a solo than just about anyone I can think of. It isn't always flash, but it is just about always soul shaking. He is so underrated, it makes my head hurt. Alex is a good role model as well, which I believe is important for young musicians striving to make it in such a screwed up business. I have learned to play most of the early Van Halen songs and solos over the years, and most of the Rush songs and guitar solos over the years....Let me tell you, it is a LOT HARDER to sound like Alex Lifeson playing than Eddie Van Halen playing. There are fewer notes and slower scales with Alex's songs, but his deep feeling is something that is just so very difficult for even a guitarist that has been playing for 35 years like myself to capture. The way he can phrase his notes and chords is simply sublime. So I can't vote based on the way you asked the question. Eddie is more technically skilled, Alex is a better guitarist... Very well put, it's about how I see it also. My first band's guitarist worshipped eddies style and sounded just like him. I've heard many guitarists over the years play and sound like Eddy. Very few get Alex's sound right for more than a few songs, nevermind his other 4 decades worth of tones, styles, and approaches to the guitar as a flexible and emotional tool. Lerxst ftw

Jordan Rudess shows a cool little sampling app for the iPad. He's wearing a Rush t-shirt from a recent tour. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showth...-have-an-iPad... Man, I need to get an iPad soon...

+ 1 Back then, Anthem sucked compared to other rock anthems. Today, it lives on a bit more nobly as an homage to a living legend's experiments. A funeral dirge indeed.

Oh yeah, bass players in the house. That bass line from Turn the Page is the main thing that grabs me, but the rest of the song is strong too.... synths and explosive climax and all... I've only learned the bass intro and the first verse note for note, then just wing it from there on out. Subdivisions is your classic vocals + bass + synths song, but Turn the Page brings it all to a new level. Great rush from pulling it off when in the zone... I was also in the US Air Force band, unfortunately on trombone and in the protocol/symphonic band. I wasn't lucky enough to be in the 6 piece rock band detachment, but I hung out with the guys all the time. I picked up bass that same year, having been mainly a keys and guitar musician before that. They played one Rush song, and it was Lock and Key. Strange choice at first, but now that I look back at it, it's a song that offered each musician a challenging enough part to appease any non-Rush fans in the band (the leader was the drummer, an obvious Neil fan). The guitarist had awesome chops, esp for country guitar, and the keyboardist was obviously classically trained, even though he stood behind the classic 80's racks of synths playing block chords. Rush's musicianship on the HYF studio album was top notch, and the songs very able to cross over commercially as well as artistically without selling out. The world is bigger than rock-metal purists and their spin-offs. Geddy's bass lines very much groove and cleverly hide the fact that the songs are still basic rock song chord progressions. Acid Jazz pre-cursor? An argument could be made... Alex's solos and guitaristic styles range the gamut, and orchestrally are hard to beat. Who does better orchestrally on guitar? Neil's lyrics are not only the most accessible, but also, imho, the most mature he has written to date. Prog or hard rockers may not relate, but there's more realistic humanity without the preaching in them than anything else he's ever written. And Geddy is a melodic master. Good thing we like his voice. Other non-Rush fans may not, but any gifted vocalist who would cover HYF has plenty of soul to draw from. You can't please all the people all the time, and Rush fans are such a diverse mixture that you can't please the majority of them the majority of the time either. What a balancing act that must be, at least on a subconscious level when Geddy goes to write the melody to some new Neil lyrics.

Girls, girls, girls, don't get your panties all in a wad. Cheese and rice. What are ya? A bunch of crotchety old grumpy men? Oh wait, that is exactly what we are. Carry on, then. Now what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, something about a drum solo. It was ok. Neil is great at what he does best -- compose original supporting parts in a variety of styles that are collectively Rush songs. He may have been a pioneer at one time decades ago, but the world has gotten larger and talent more spectacular. One can't be best at everything. There are plenty of other drummers out there with better metal chops, better grooves, crisper technique, better showmanship, etc, etc. Neil hopefully impressed a lay audience with his oversized kit and mash-up of styles. But critics will be critics.

QUOTE (trenken @ Jun 12 2011, 10:08 AM) QUOTE (psionic11 @ Jun 12 2011, 09:40 AM) Glad the boys are still doing their thing, hope they will continue for the rest of the decade. But bad is bad. Not saying I heard anything terribad yet... Please, Geddy, stop the yodeling. Sounds like you're hitting puberty again with all the voice cracks and sudden flips to falsetto in the middle of a word. Sounds like an intentional choice to me, not a sign of age. A little here and there is fine, esp as it was on the studio versions of songs off of S&A and the 2 CA songs, but every other line of every other song...? That yodel thing he does is on purpose. He's been doing it for a long time now going back to the 90s. Not sure why he does it, I guess he likes it, who knows. Worst example of it I think is Bravest Face. It sucks too because I really like that short pre-chorus after it. I like the way he does it in Bravest Face. The whole song has some other, not- quite-bluesy feel, an almost snide commentary on yet another pop culture idiom. The song just repeats a bit too much, and my own version of that has edited out a section or two to make it more compact. But Freewill shouldn't be yodeled. Still, I'm going to throw the baby out with the dirty bathwater...

Apparently there's at least one other Rush fan who digs Jamiroquai... ...6 days ago HoldYourFire2112 commented how hard he was digging the groove on a live version of Cosmic Girl...

Geddy sounded/sounds unique, but I for one never thought he sounded like a female. What female has a voice like that? But there are two other vocalists from other bands who I can't believe my eyes are male -- Supertramp Jamiroquai Seriously, when I first discovered Jamiroquai, I thought Acid Jazz found a fresh new, brave black diva, who sang and had a vocabulary other than "baby". Surprise. Love the unique voice of all 3. Makes them stand out, in a good way.