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Victor, Why All Of The Hate?

Permanent-Rush

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treeduck
treeduck

It's not hate it's just reality.

Lucas
Lucas

It's too derivative and lacks any replay value IMHO   Alex was what, like 42 or 43 years old at the time, and he's making a record full of riffs that sound like what every cliché band was doing at tha

JohnnyBlaze
JohnnyBlaze

Dear Ms.74,   It deeply saddens me to hear that others would dare share their opinions and drive you to being sick and tired. I believe every living being on Earth should automatically know what you a

Wil1972

Wil1972

Posted
Posted

23360743.jpg

But YOU might be a mind reader. Just this morning I was doing one of those "Which (x) character are you?" questionnaires. I ended up with Doc McCoy. Probably right.

 

Haha! :LOL: I think it just dawned on me cause yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and I was watching it last night.

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x1yyz

x1yyz

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Ok I think we have successfully hijacked this thread. Star Trek rules. Happy 50th to Kirk and the gang. :) Now back to Victor and My Favorite Headache .. :D

 

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attachments/florida/107554d1353838545-creeks-back-hijack.gif

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ytserush

ytserush

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March 1996 Metronome Magazine:

 

METRONOME: Why did you record this album when you're still the member of such a successful band?

 

Rush works in a certain way, and I think that after so long we've established a pattern that we don't deviate from very much. I've always loved what we've done as a band, but at the same time, when you work with other people, there's always compromise involved. It's the same thing for each of the other guys too; it's a compromise for everyone.

 

Over the years I've learned that If I do hear something in my head in a complete version, I needed to find another outlet for it. I have a much better understanding of that after getting all this music out of my system and hearing it exactly the way I always heard it. I feel much more balanced in terms of where I want to go with Rush now, or where I think Rush should go.

 

 

 

That is where I think Victor influenced VT.

 

 

I set out to make a record that was disturbing, that was going to cause people to ask me questions. I wanted it to cause me to think, which was really putting me in an unfamiliar situation. This wasn't meant to be a showcase for my abilities as a guitarist. The challenge I was looking for was in writing songs.

 

I wanted to make an emotional statement. I didn't want to make a record that would typically be made by someone like me, from a band like Rush where you'd expect 50 minutes of all this textural guitar stuff and wailing away. I really wanted to downplay that.

 

 

 

There is also this little tidbit I never knew ... I always assumed Neil wrote the lyrics to this song ... of course he seems to be forgetting "Lessons" and "Chemistry"...

 

METRONOME: Have you ever written lyrics before?

 

The last thing I wrote was "Making Memories" which showed up on Rush's second album. I hadn't even tried it in 18 years! I found that I once I got the first couple of lines down, it just started flowing out.

 

 

 

 

And from another interview from that period, July 1996, from Paulsemel.com, discussing Test for Echo:

 

When Ged and I first got together, that first week was really rough. I really wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it anymore. We went to the same place to write, the set-up was all the same, but having the experience of doing my own album was so fresh, and to be in control was a new experience for me, so that first week Ged and I…I think we spent three-quarters of our work time just talking. We’d sit outside and talk for hours about a lot of different things: how we’re developing as people, what interests us, what’s becoming important, how our priorities are shifting. We kind of left it at, “let’s see how the first couple of weeks go and if it’s not there we won’t do it.” We’ve always said that if the spark was gone then that’s when we’re going to stop, we’re not going to milk it. And the following week we wrote five songs. We came back in so pumped.

 

A little context goes a long way.

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ytserush

ytserush

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It's too derivative and lacks any replay value IMHO

 

Alex was what, like 42 or 43 years old at the time, and he's making a record full of riffs that sound like what every cliché band was doing at that moment ....

 

It's one thing when he's 21 years old and has some Jimmy Page in him, but Rush became such a creative force by the time the 80s rolled around, and Alex's input and parts was so important to those songs - to the Rush vibe ..

 

It's just really disappointing to me .. If it's what he wanted, great - but there's gotta be something in it for me, and there was nothing

 

I was going to make like Living Colour and "Leave It Alone." but I have to know what is derivative and cliche about either of these records? I get that you don't like them and that's fine. Did you really expect an Eddie Van Halen and a Jaco record? Was there an expectation that it must sound like Rush between 1976 and 1982?

 

I guess we all have expectations and I guess I'm fortunate that I get off on both these records. But your mileage may vary.

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Lucas

Lucas

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It's too derivative and lacks any replay value IMHO

 

Alex was what, like 42 or 43 years old at the time, and he's making a record full of riffs that sound like what every cliché band was doing at that moment ....

 

It's one thing when he's 21 years old and has some Jimmy Page in him, but Rush became such a creative force by the time the 80s rolled around, and Alex's input and parts was so important to those songs - to the Rush vibe ..

 

It's just really disappointing to me .. If it's what he wanted, great - but there's gotta be something in it for me, and there was nothing

 

I was going to make like Living Colour and "Leave It Alone." but I have to know what is derivative and cliche about either of these records? I get that you don't like them and that's fine. Did you really expect an Eddie Van Halen and a Jaco record? Was there an expectation that it must sound like Rush between 1976 and 1982?

 

I guess we all have expectations and I guess I'm fortunate that I get off on both these records. But your mileage may vary.

 

I'm assuming that you bring up the period between '76 and '82 because it was such a high point - in terms of creativity and excitement ... you don't mean "sound like" as in retro recording, right ?

 

There's nothing on Victor that makes me think "Alex Lifeson" as, for example, a Jon Anderson solo album would do, or a Stev Howe album ..

 

Howe is a great example of being very successful in YES, solo, with Asia, etc - music obviously means a lot to a guy like Steve Howe, but with Alex, the entire thing came off as a half assed mess ..

 

More power to him if that's the album he envisioned having his name on, but for me, it has nothing

 

 

 

 

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toymaker

toymaker

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I'm not wild about Victor either, but for me the instrumental Strip and Go Naked is a cool enough song to make me glad he did the project. Interesting mix of 12 strings, clean and distorted electric rhythm, and slide guitar, which we don't get to hear from Lifeson very often. The other leads are very distinctively him as well, particularly the heavy reverb'd stuff. And I think the song has good textures, and a range of moods and dynamics.
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Lucas

Lucas

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I'm not wild about Victor either, but for me the instrumental Strip and Go Naked is a cool enough song to make me glad he did the project. Interesting mix of 12 strings, clean and distorted electric rhythm, and slide guitar, which we don't get to hear from Lifeson very often. The other leads are very distinctively him as well, particularly the heavy reverb'd stuff. And I think the song has good textures, and a range of moods and dynamics.

 

But are we setting the bar too low ?? .. I don't even own Victor anymore and never have a desire to even listen to it ..

 

I think some of my dislike comes from the fact that he just didn't seem to dedicate himself .. Sure, he produced it himself, but I think comes from the fact that a) he didn't want to answer to anyone ( which he really should have ) b) he didn't feel the album was worth investing any money in ..

 

Unlike Geddy's album, Victor was recorded prior to the tragedies that befell Neil, and while Rush was intact as a band ..

 

It wasn't as if Alex had some spare time and just tossed it together ... He had the opportunity to make some sort of statement

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Segue Myles

Segue Myles

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Listening to it right now!! BEST SOLO ALBUM EVER!!

I guess you haven't heard very many solo albums....

 

I have heard 3, but Victor is the best by far!

 

This gave me a serious case of the chuckles...

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toymaker

toymaker

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Lots of us could probably generate a list of at least 100 artist solo albums that are better than Victor "in our opinion" . . . having said that, Surrender, if you're moved by the album, that's fantastic. You like what you like, and just ignore anyone that gets judge-y or on your case about it.

 

Having said that, there is a universe of great, great music out there, and I kind of envy you the experience you will have discovering it for the first time. I don't mean to sound patronizing - it's just a huge part of what's great about life.

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Lucas

Lucas

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And

Lots of us could probably generate a list of at least 100 artist solo albums that are better than Victor "in our opinion" . . . having said that, Surrender, if you're moved by the album, that's fantastic. You like what you like, and just ignore anyone that gets judge-y or on your case about it.

 

Having said that, there is a universe of great, great music out there, and I kind of envy you the experience you will have discovering it for the first time. I don't mean to sound patronizing - it's just a huge part of what's great about life.

 

This is a great point ... and this is why I love this forum .. A certain album can be mentioned, perhaps not even relating to the original topic, and there can be that discovery ..

 

It has happened to me here - I am 49 and still being introduced to albums that I have never known about

 

Steve Hackett's "Voyage Of The Acolyte" comes to mind

 

And Toymaker completely rekindled my love for a song called Spaceship Superstar .... When he mentioned it, I went back and listened for the first time in decades and it was amazing - all over again

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