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What makes Rush different than other trio rock bands?


Texas King
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I think the equal status amongst the three isn't as unique as their ability to co-operate and remain intact for decades.

 

Genesis (from ATTWT onwards) lasted 15 years and 6 studio albums as a 3 piece

Cream seemed to have equal status but blew apart after only a few years

Triumph had a 10 year run as an egalitarian outfit with a distinct and equal division of labour but again that was 10 years not 40

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They are all equals. The other two trios which to me are as arguably as great as a unit -- The Police and Nirvana -- clearly had a front man even if all the members were respectable and recognizable/popular musicians. Rush really is The Three Musketeers of music -- one for all and all for one (I think that's how it went). Edited by Rutlefan
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They made unique but profoundly versatile music with a unique but profoundly versatile and large audience, which came to trust Rush's honesty and righteous awesome power so much that it kind of became the world's biggest cult fanbase.

 

Wait, Rush is the rock band with the largest fanbase in the world? I don't believe it!

 

Key word there is cult. As in, generally out of the public eye as far as music goes, but they've become pretty generally well known in the past couple of years with Beyond The Lighted Stage, the RRHoF induction, more and more Rush books coming out, CA charting so high, and R40.

 

Um, all the members of Genesis DID have equal status when they were a trio. Just because Phil had a huge solo career and started doing a lot of writing at the start of the eighties, doesn't mean he ruled the band. He'd actually been in the band the least amount of time out of the three of them.

 

Tony Banks was a huge influence on their post-Peter musical direction, no?

 

Imo it was always Tonys band.

 

Mike wrote a lot on acoustic guitar as well, and by the s/t album most compositions were collaborative efforts between all three members anyway. The keys were always a huge part of the sound, yes, but Tony never wrote everything and never tried to be solely in charge of the band's direction.

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Alex Lifeson made Rush special and different

 

As a power trio no other band could create such a big sound as Alex created for the band in the 70's

 

Yes OK Genesis went down to a 3 piece but live they needed Chester Thompson and Daryl Sturmer.

 

Geddy and Neil are the virtuoso musicians in the band but Alex created this "massive" sound that filled in for both guitar and keyboards. There is nobody out there that has done what Alex did in the late 70's and early 80's.

 

I know that Geddy has become a very proficient synth player and Neil embellishes his percussion with all sorts of stuff but Alex on Kings through MP just created a wall of beautiful guitar tones that made Rush sound as full as any prog rock band with keyboards.

 

That is why he was my first and still remains my greatest guitar hero. Listen to the guitar work and sounds he creates on The Trees, Spirit of Radio, Red Barchetta, Limelight. It is sheer brilliance. He underpins the band. Geddy and Neil are wonderful virtuoso musicians but without Alex they would not be what they are.

 

All time hero's - Eddie Van Halen - lead guitar and weird techniques, Alex Lifeson - sound, versatility, interpretation, incredible intricate chord work, finger style and appegiation. Alex's chordal work is so intricate and complex, he uses so many wonderful different voicings. For example the simple strumming of the E major chord on Xanadu before the unison riff with Geddy. It is not a simple E chord, Alex adds a C sharp note on the A string to create an E6 chord.

 

Andy Summers from the Police had a style using similar chord voicings as Alex

 

Steve

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^ Not being a guitarist I don't know about all these claims but as a fan Alex is my favorite as well. Even when I had distanced myself from Rush in the mid-'80s through the '90s I still loved Alex. Along with David Gilmour, my favorite of all-time. Maybe stands alone for me. For a guy who comes across as kind of a lovable schlub, his playing is emotionally profound.

 

"Listen to the guitar work and sounds he creates on The Trees, Spirit of Radio, Red Barchetta, Limelight. It is sheer brilliance." Yes! Again, even when I had turned my back on Rush, these are four of a handful of songs I'd return to from time to time. They always had me. That middle part in The Trees is transcendent.

Edited by Rutlefan
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I admire how humble they are, and they have more integrity than a lot of other musicians. Plus they're such great friends with each other which is heartwarming.
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At nearly all trio bands there is an apparent leader, the other two guys are usually extras/interchangeable characters, no matter how much good they are. There's plenty of examples of such bands, for example The Police, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nirvana, Cream, Genesis, Motorhead etc. There are few examples where all three band members have almost an equal status, but it is a special kind of internal harmony within the band and the best example for it is RUSH.

 

Your comments?

 

What makes Rush different than other rock trios is that other rock trio has Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson as members.

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I agree very much with your assertion but with a few provisos.

 

Cream were a supergroup of three guys, legends already at a young age with equal standing. Their two years together produced some outstanding music in the studio, really great material that will always be regarded as sublime and classic.

 

However live (and I have watched one or two of their concerts) it just ended up as a mess. 3 virtousos just freaking out in there own "silo" and not really having empathy with the other two.

 

Please understand this is just my opinion and I love Clapton, Bruce and the mad Ginger bugger in equal measures.

 

The difference with Rush I believe is that they all know and accept their role and how it impacts on the other two in the band. Alex is happy to let Geddy and Neil be the flashy players and he always concentrates on the best guitar playing for the good of the band.

 

He is a wonderful player and what I would call the "consummate team player".

 

Let there be no mistake, Geddy and Neil get the plaudits for technical ability but they would be nothing without Alex.

 

That is why he was my first and greatest influence on electric guitar (I played acoustic for a year or two before my dad would allow me to have an electric and I am eternally grateful to the old man because my playing and right hand finger style is so much better for it)

 

Thanks

 

Steve

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I think Genesis were fairly democratic but Tony and Mike were the more prolific writers. I don't know how much influence Peter Gabriel had on the music but for The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway he wanted to write all the lyrics and the rest of the band didn't like that. I think Steve Hackett was a bigger loss although his reason for leaving was that he felt not enough of his ideas were being used. Phil didn't write alot early on but upped his when he began singing and more when he had started his solo career, but he never eclipsed Mike and Tony. Steve Hackett is brilliant but the music was more often keyboard driven with guitar textures.
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At nearly all trio bands there is an apparent leader, the other two guys are usually extras/interchangeable characters, no matter how much good they are. There's plenty of examples of such bands, for example The Police, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nirvana, Cream, Genesis, Motorhead etc. There are few examples where all three band members have almost an equal status, but it is a special kind of internal harmony within the band and the best example for it is RUSH.

 

Your comments?

 

What makes Rush different than other rock trios is that other rock trio has Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson as members.

 

Of course what makes ZZ Top different than other rock trios is that no other trio has Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard as members.

 

The thing that made Triumph from any other rock trio was....you get the idea.

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Musicianship

 

their music plays as a singular musical thought. e.g. in One Little Victory the opening drums don't just set-up or compliment the guitar intro--they demand a guitar intro that fits perfectly with the double base and snare HH combos... (even though we know in their creative process, the guitar/bass are written first) seamless orchestrations, I guess, is the best was to describe what they do.

 

Drums don't just keep time, they transcend the rhythms and beats of a song and become part of a singular composition--the non-melodic becomes part of a melody through the highly creative use of the tones and textures of percussion.

 

The bass simultaneously supports, uplifts, compliments, and sometime upstages the guitar.

 

The lyrics have a point of view, something to say about the world, life, the nature of things.

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Hi Pinky

 

Triumph were interviewed in 1980 and they totally slagged off Neil. "Oh I just love the words about little stars in the sky".

 

Not a nice thing to do and just showed their inferiority complex

 

End of

 

Steve

 

I'm guessing you were trying to make a relevant point there?

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Hi Pinky

 

Triumph were interviewed in 1980 and they totally slagged off Neil. "Oh I just love the words about little stars in the sky".

 

Not a nice thing to do and just showed their inferiority complex

 

End of

 

Steve

And look at the horrible things Rik Emmett (Triumph guitarist) says about Alex :rage: :

 

... He's a lovely guy. You know, he's a sweetheart and originally upon meeting Alex and spending time with him, you kind of get the impression that he's almost even a little shy and a little bit reserved but then the more you get to know him the more you realize he's very much like a renaissance man, like he has a tremendous artistic ability. I don't know if you are aware of the fact that he can oil paint and his paintings are really good. And of course he is a connoisseur of wine and he can fly planes. I mean, the guy is unbelievable. He's got all these renaissance man qualities so that if you sit down and you start to get in a conversation with him that has any depth you start to realize he can hold his own in any intellectual kind of thing...he's a lovely guy and a great player. He really does have a very wide spirit about the making of music and the making of art.

http://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2013/02/04/3494/Triumphs-Rik-Emmett-praises-Alex-Lifeon-in-new-Glide-interview

 

What an asshole.

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1) Chemistry. Three virtuosic musicians who encourage each others' idiosyncratic inclinations.

 

2) Unique lyrics. Only Rush offered what Rush offered when it came to storytelling, iconography, and an alternative to songs about chasing women.

 

3) Longevity. They kept going and stayed together whereas so many others did not.

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I apologise

 

I just perhaps took one sarcastic comment that Rick Emmett made maybe out of context.

 

That was stupid of me and I apologise

 

Steve

No need to apologise. Or apologize, either. :P
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