Geddy Lee and keyboards

[fraroc]

I make it no secret that I believe that the most talented member of Rush is Geddy Lee. However, sometimes I feel that when it came to synth-era songs being played after the 1980s, he had begun to get kind of...and I honestly do hate to say this, lazy when it comes to certain keyboard parts.

 

If you compare Between The Wheels being played in 1984 on the GUP tour

 

 

To that same song being played live in the 2000s and 2010s

 

 

He clearly does not play synth part during the chorus anymore like he did in the 80s, rather he continues to play bass and use a pre-recorded track. I'm sorry, but he really shouldn't have done that, on the album version there isn't even a bass playing during the chorus rather clearly a synth bass pedal. Between The Wheels isn't the only song where this happened, on the 1983 Signals tour, he did in fact play a small keyboard part during the chorus to Digital Man, on the Snakes and Arrows tour, he played bass over a recording.

 

 

What are your guys thoughts on this issue? Do you believe that he should have continued to play the keyboards or does it not even matter to you?

 

To me, in the end it really doesn't matter. After many years of touring and recording, I think he's earned the right to take it easy with the keyboards onstage if he wants to.

[edhunter]

He has gotten extremely lazy, to the point you wonder why the keyboard is there at all. Since 90% of the parts are digital triggers, why all the hassle of setting up a full rig just so he can play Subdivisions straight?

On S&A Live, he doesn't even bother with the D to A chords in the beginning of Mission. They would have been just as good leaving all the triggers up to Neil. Maybe next tour....

[fraroc]

He has gotten extremely lazy, to the point you wonder why the keyboard is there at all. Since 90% of the parts are digital triggers, why all the hassle of setting up a full rig just so he can play Subdivisions straight?

On S&A Live, he doesn't even bother with the D to A chords in the beginning of Mission. They would have been just as good leaving all the triggers up to Neil. Maybe next tour....

 

Well to be fair, he didn't play the D and A chords on the Hold Your Fire and the Presto tours either. And one of Rush's most keyboard-heavy songs Mystic Rhythms pretty much consisted of him holding down one key while his left hand doesn't even leave the bass neck.

Edited September 8, 2016 by fraroc

[YYZumbi]

I like that he play bass more. That is what he is best at. And I rather hear him play bass then keyboard.

[satchmothesnowdog]

I don't think it's so much lazy as it is just letting technology do certain things and it frees him up to do more of what he loves, play bass.

[EagleMoon]

I don't think it's so much lazy as it is just letting technology do certain things and it frees him up to do more of what he loves, play bass.

 

Exactly. All of the synth triggers are there so he doesn't have to work as hard on stage and play bass. He's said multiple times that he doesn't like being tied down to the keyboard and to play some simple repeating part that can be covered by stomping on a pedal or touching a note on the keyboard just makes sense. Plus they don't have to carry as much gear on tour.

[GeddysMullet]

He wants to play bass. Let him play bass. I'd rather hear him play bass than do anything else anyway. All that extra bass playing is probably why I love the 21st Century live sound so much.

 

Yes, I'm going to post this again. Pertinent bit at starts at 7:13

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv_HuCLhBZs

[fraroc]

He wants to play bass. Let him play bass. I'd rather hear him play bass than do anything else anyway. All that extra bass playing is probably why I love the 21st Century live sound so much.

 

Yes, I'm going to post this again. Pertinent bit at starts at 7:13

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv_HuCLhBZs

 

I love Geddy, but admitting he actively tries to Milli Vanilli as many keyboard parts as he can unfortunately proves my original post...

[Ancient Ways]

He wants to play bass. Let him play bass. I'd rather hear him play bass than do anything else anyway. All that extra bass playing is probably why I love the 21st Century live sound so much.

 

Yes, I'm going to post this again. Pertinent bit at starts at 7:13

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv_HuCLhBZs

 

I love Geddy, but admitting he actively tries to Milli Vanilli as many keyboard parts as he can unfortunately proves my original post...

Bad analogy. The 2 guys in milli vanilli did not record the vocals originally. Geddy recorded all the parts himself (unless you know something the rest of us don't) and is just physically unable to reproduce all of the parts live so uses samples.

[JARG]

I make it no secret that I believe that the most talented member of Rush is Geddy Lee. However, sometimes I feel that when it came to synth-era songs being played after the 1980s, he had begun to get kind of...and I honestly do hate to say this, lazy when it comes to certain keyboard parts.

 

If you compare Between The Wheels being played in 1984 on the GUP tour

 

 

To that same song being played live in the 2000s and 2010s

 

 

He clearly does not play synth part during the chorus anymore like he did in the 80s, rather he continues to play bass and use a pre-recorded track. I'm sorry, but he really shouldn't have done that, on the album version there isn't even a bass playing during the chorus rather clearly a synth bass pedal. Between The Wheels isn't the only song where this happened, on the 1983 Signals tour, he did in fact play a small keyboard part during the chorus to Digital Man, on the Snakes and Arrows tour, he played bass over a recording.

 

 

What are your guys thoughts on this issue? Do you believe that he should have continued to play the keyboards or does it not even matter to you?

 

To me, in the end it really doesn't matter. After many years of touring and recording, I think he's earned the right to take it easy with the keyboards onstage if he wants to.

 

I guess you can argue that it's laziness. He's certainly not as interested in playing keys as he once was. Laziness/lack of interest. Either way, I personally am glad he wants to spend as much time playing bass as he can.

[fraroc]

==

He wants to play bass. Let him play bass. I'd rather hear him play bass than do anything else anyway. All that extra bass playing is probably why I love the 21st Century live sound so much.

 

Yes, I'm going to post this again. Pertinent bit at starts at 7:13

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv_HuCLhBZs

 

I love Geddy, but admitting he actively tries to Milli Vanilli as many keyboard parts as he can unfortunately proves my original post...

Bad analogy. The 2 guys in milli vanilli did not record the vocals originally. Geddy recorded all the parts himself (unless you know something the rest of us don't) and is just physically unable to reproduce all of the parts live so uses samples.

 

Yeah I know that wasn't the best analogy :P

[GeddysMullet]

He wants to play bass. Let him play bass. I'd rather hear him play bass than do anything else anyway. All that extra bass playing is probably why I love the 21st Century live sound so much.

 

Yes, I'm going to post this again. Pertinent bit at starts at 7:13

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv_HuCLhBZs

 

I love Geddy, but admitting he actively tries to Milli Vanilli as many keyboard parts as he can unfortunately proves my original post...

 

It doesn't "prove" anything that was in dispute. It's been quite clear for a while that Geddy now prefers to play the bass live rather than the keyboards. No big revelations there.

 

I don't think it proves he's lazy. The only thing it maybe proves is that he loves to play bass and that these days he places more of a priority on enjoying himself on stage than he does on replicating the studio performances. I don't see anything wrong with that. Especially considering that he's Geddy Lee, legendary master on the bass guitar, somewhat mediocre experimenter on the keyboards.

[toymaker]

I vaguely remember an interview in which he said something like "I'm not a keyboard player; I'm a bass player who sometimes plays keyboards."

[fraroc]

Ged definitely underestimates his keyboard skills. He managed to write one of the most iconic synth parts of the 1980s and that is no easy feat to pull off. Subdivisions is right up there with Axel F and Jump by Van Halen,

[JARG]

Ged definitely underestimates his keyboard skills. He managed to write one of the most iconic synth parts of the 1980s and that is no easy feat to pull off. Subdivisions is right up there with Axel F and Jump by Van Halen,

Wow.

[GeddysMullet]

Ged definitely underestimates his keyboard skills. He managed to write one of the most iconic synth parts of the 1980s and that is no easy feat to pull off. Subdivisions is right up there with Axel F and Jump by Van Halen,

Wow.

 

[Lorraine]

Subdivisions is right up there with ... Jump by Van Halen,

 

 

I'm sorry, I love Subdiviisions, but it doesn't hold a candle to Eddie's keyboards in Jump.

 

In my opinion, folks. In my opinion.

 

:sigh:

Edited September 8, 2016 by Lorraine

[Fridge]

To be honest, I hate the idea of samples being used in live performances at all...I'm sure they could do stripped down versions if they really wanted to.

[GeddysMullet]

To be honest, I hate the idea of samples being used in live performances at all...I'm sure they could do stripped down versions if they really wanted to.

 

This would be incredibly cool.

[lifeson90]

Ged is one of the truly great rock keyboard artists he aint no rick wakeman but has gotten the perfect sound from those things fitting perfectly into his masterful song arrangement at all times, never under or overstated and his real power with keyboards is the absolute subtlety of them at times - look no further than Xanadu, La Villa or more recently BU2B, the keyboards in which for such a powerful hard rocking track are beautifully and exquisitely crafted well in the background. listen to Cold Fire for instance you can hardly hear them at times but they just perfectly right for that particular track the guy is a master of the art. it's all down to artistic imagination really, like i said he isnt no Wakeman or technical genius on the instrument but over the decades knew exactly how to get what he needed from it. you hear Ged's keyboards and straightaway you know it's Rush with the Rush feel about em.

[fraroc]

That interview does really explain why Geddy chose not to play the piano parts to The Garden live and instead made Alex do it...And funny enough, Alex always hated excess keyboards in Rush.

[ytserush]

Geddy fell in love with the keyboards because they were new and they were a different pallet of expression. Even then he never considered himself a keyboard player. Later he got bored and lazy with them (understandable as a bass player.) I know there are people that don't like the triggering that went on later, but at least they are still the same ones triggering the parts and not someone else.

 

Pretty easy to see how much he enjoys playing bass (especially playing all of his basses) rather than be trapped by the keyboards.