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Rush's Most Technically Difficult Song?


newworldman20
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It seems I recall Geddy said something about The Main Monkey Business being pretty challenging live.

Yeah, for the audience...

 

I always found this performance cool to watch..i dig it

 

 

Thanks so much for the link Dood! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that song!!!! I was shocked and extremely disappointed it didn't make the CA setlist.

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It seems I recall Geddy said something about The Main Monkey Business being pretty challenging live.

Yeah, for the audience...

 

I always found this performance cool to watch..i dig it

 

 

I used to be cold to this song but now I really love it.

 

I've also heard Geddy say that it's one of the most difficult songs that they do. That bass is super intense.

 

I'm a non-musician, but I would have guessed 'Malignant Narcissism' to be more technically difficult for Geddy than 'Main Monkey Business'. Both are awesome songs in my book though.

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It seems I recall Geddy said something about The Main Monkey Business being pretty challenging live.

Yeah, for the audience...

 

I always found this performance cool to watch..i dig it

 

 

I used to be cold to this song but now I really love it.

 

I've also heard Geddy say that it's one of the most difficult songs that they do. That bass is super intense.

 

I'm a non-musician, but I would have guessed 'Malignant Narcissism' to be more technically difficult for Geddy than 'Main Monkey Business'. Both are awesome songs in my book though.

 

I would have assumed so too, but I recall hearing it from the man himself. I think it was during the Wall Street Journal Fan QnA Geddy and Alex did about a year ago.

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It seems I recall Geddy said something about The Main Monkey Business being pretty challenging live.

Yeah, for the audience...

 

I always found this performance cool to watch..i dig it

 

 

Thanks so much for the link Dood! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that song!!!! I was shocked and extremely disappointed it didn't make the CA setlist.

 

The bass and drums are technically more difficult than the guitar in this song but that makes sense since Geddy and Neil did their parts first.

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Most of their stuff seems to have some technical prowess to it. Some songs seem simple when you're watching one person cover a single aspect of it on YouTube but three people trying to pull it off comes off as a train wreck. Anyway, I no longer play an intrument (something I highly regret) but here are some that I think sound difficult.

 

 

Circumstances, Freewill, YYZ, La Villa Strangiato, Natural Science, Digital Man, Vital Signs, The Big Money, Kid Gloves, Subdivisions, Bravado, Test for Echo, Animate, Tom Sawyer, The Weapon, One Little Victory, Malignant Narcissism.

 

Just my .02.

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Kid Gloves and Bravado are walks in the park and Vital Signs is surprisingly not difficult. The rest... yeah.

 

Playing bass and singing Circumstances is always something I have to really pay attention on. My favorite bass line also, btw. Busy, aggressive and melodic.

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Most of their stuff seems to have some technical prowess to it. Some songs seem simple when you're watching one person cover a single aspect of it on YouTube but three people trying to pull it off comes off as a train wreck.

Very true.

 

Anyway, I no longer play an intrument (something I highly regret) but here are some that I think sound difficult.

 

 

Circumstances, Freewill, YYZ, La Villa Strangiato, Natural Science, Digital Man, Vital Signs, The Big Money, Kid Gloves, Subdivisions, Bravado, Test for Echo, Animate, Tom Sawyer, The Weapon, One Little Victory, Malignant Narcissism.

 

Just my .02.

 

We did all the ones in bold. From my perspective (guitar), Circumstances, Subdivisions, Tom Sawyer are all quite easy. Kid Gloves is, too, until it comes to that f***ing solo!

 

A song that was deceptively challenging for me is Cold Fire. There's nothing technically difficult about it -- no fast passages, no tricky chords -- but getting the feel right in the verses, choruses and solo was a real struggle. Alex can sometimes have this very loose-sounding feel that sounds like it borders on sloppy (and occasionally it crosses that border) but turns out to require a really strong sense of timing and rhythm, and Cold Fire is one of them. I always sounded stiff when I played it, which is pretty much the exact opposite of how it should sound.

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Xanadu and La Villa require a ton of feel on the guitar. That's where a lot of guitarists fall short. A lot of soul in those pieces. Challenging on bass and drums, too at times.

YYZed is challenging but never a doubt on it live. Too comfortable with it.

 

 

Bingo!

 

I get annoyed when I hear how Alex's stuff isn't difficult to play or that it's all about Geddy and Neil and how technically difficult it is to play their stuff. There is technical ability and then there is feel and soul. No one can touch Alex's feel. He has the best tone of any guitar player I've ever heard. It's just a beautiful sound that's so crisp and kind of emotional. I have heard plenty of Rush cover bands and, while they can play the tunes, the guitar "sound" just isn't the same. Only Alex can do what he does. The riff in Double Agent. Is it technically hard? Maybe not. Can anyone repeat the same sound? Doubtful. His solo in No One at the Bridge and Limelight are both technically easy to repeat but no one can touch the soul.

 

Tone is so important to me. Songs that come to mind are Red Barchetta, Limelight, Hemispheres, Spirit, Caravan, and Double Agent. The song with the most feel and soul in my opinion is Jacob's Ladder. The part right after "Bright unbroken beams" and Alex comes in with that easy to play, but impossible to repeat sound. It gives me goosebumps

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Geddy has a hard time with the Anarchist live. Something about the bass line and vocals going in different places.

 

Rush is absolutely one of a kind and we will never see it again. Sum of the parts is a great way to put it.

 

Alex—The heart

like it or not, is Alex, his guitar is upfront and gives the audience the rhythm, beat, and catchy riffs to reel us in. Alex provides the heart and soul that makes rush stand out as much more than a technical band. Without Alex, they are another dream

 

Neil- the brains

Neil would likely be successful in whatever he did a in life. He's to smart and driven not to be successful. But he got very lucky when he found rush. The perfect band for him to develop his drumming and ultimately show off his drumming and have his lyrics heard. Neil would likely be just another drummer in a progressive sounding bad if not for Rush. He is technically brilliant, but I can't say I hear a lot of soul in his playing. Neil himself has always said he is very structured and plans out his drum parts very methodically, like a machine. But like it or not, rush has reached a completely different audience thanks to Neil's sometimes nerdy/sometimes cold/sometimes dispassionate lyrics. But that appeals to. Certain group and has helped the band connect to that group

 

Geddy- a good mix of heart and brains

Without a doubt, one of the most talented musicians ever. He provides the diversity and flexibility to allow rush to go in so many directions. And he's a monster musician on stage, enabling the band to pick most anything from their catalog. Not only is geddy considered by most to be the best rock bass guitarist , but he sings and plays keyboard at the same time. I hear his melodic "feel" on songs like roll the bones, kid gloves, leave that thing alone, Jacobs ladder, etc. the thinking mans player

 

 

Together, with the heart and mind united, they form a single, perfect sphere......

 

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Alex—The heart

like it or not, is Alex, his guitar is upfront and gives the audience the rhythm, beat, and catchy riffs to reel us in. Alex provides the heart and soul that makes rush stand out as much more than a technical band. Without Alex, they are another dream

 

You've nailed it with this. I realized the other day that when I really fall head over heels in love with a Rush song, it is Alex that has lured me in. Always. In fact, it is always Alex and his guitar that make me like any Rush song.

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And for me Mr. Geddy Lee is the best of them (All of them is great!!!) and why he the lead singer in the world for me Geddy can makes you feels what he sings about be it "Tears" or "Red Sector A" or "The Garden" and for me is why we all love Rush because they can makes you feels what they are saying in songs
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Kid Gloves and Bravado are walks in the park and Vital Signs is surprisingly not difficult. The rest... yeah.

 

Playing bass and singing Circumstances is always something I have to really pay attention on. My favorite bass line also, btw. Busy, aggressive and melodic.

 

Bravado I was more referencing the drum parts towards the end. Like I said, I don't play but I've heard many a drummer say the ending section is incredibly difficult. Sad to hear Vital Signs isn't more difficult because I love it. The bass in that song is gorgeous. I just love everything about that song. It's one of my absolute favorites.

Edited by Snyder80
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Sad to hear Vital Signs isn't more difficult because I love it

 

Doesn't have to be hard to love it. :huh:

 

Plus, don't get me wrong. It ain't gonna be the first thing you learn at your first lesson, it's just not as hard as it sounds.

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Sad to hear Vital Signs isn't more difficult because I love it

 

Doesn't have to be hard to love it. :huh:

 

Plus, don't get me wrong. It ain't gonna be the first thing you learn at your first lesson, it's just not as hard as it sounds.

 

I know. It's just one of those bass lines that when I hear it, I can just picture Geddy standing there, playing it like, that's right f*ckers, another killer line!

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Sad to hear Vital Signs isn't more difficult because I love it

 

Doesn't have to be hard to love it. :huh:

 

Plus, don't get me wrong. It ain't gonna be the first thing you learn at your first lesson, it's just not as hard as it sounds.

 

I know. It's just one of those bass lines that when I hear it, I can just picture Geddy standing there, playing it like, that's right f*ckers, another killer line!

 

And it is. It is clever, interesting and melodic. And like I said, it ain't too easy, just once you got it, you got it.

 

I love how you can sing Geddy's bass lines. Not just his solo lines, all of 'em (except that solo in La Villa that's so damn fast I wanna shoot myself in the head).

 

He is the David Gilmore of the bass guitar. He can play as fast as you wish you could but what makes him truly great is the soulful, melodic and perfectly fit parts that he comes up with. Who else plays that aggressive and still beautifully at the same time. Uh... nobody!

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The bass guitar in Red Sector A was so difficult that Geddy didn't even dare record it Edited by Your_Lion
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Xanadu and La Villa require a ton of feel on the guitar. That's where a lot of guitarists fall short. A lot of soul in those pieces. Challenging on bass and drums, too at times.

YYZed is challenging but never a doubt on it live. Too comfortable with it.

 

 

Bingo!

 

I get annoyed when I hear how Alex's stuff isn't difficult to play or that it's all about Geddy and Neil and how technically difficult it is to play their stuff. There is technical ability and then there is feel and soul. No one can touch Alex's feel. He has the best tone of any guitar player I've ever heard. It's just a beautiful sound that's so crisp and kind of emotional. I have heard plenty of Rush cover bands and, while they can play the tunes, the guitar "sound" just isn't the same. Only Alex can do what he does. The riff in Double Agent. Is it technically hard? Maybe not. Can anyone repeat the same sound? Doubtful. His solo in No One at the Bridge and Limelight are both technically easy to repeat but no one can touch the soul.

 

Tone is so important to me. Songs that come to mind are Red Barchetta, Limelight, Hemispheres, Spirit, Caravan, and Double Agent. The song with the most feel and soul in my opinion is Jacob's Ladder. The part right after "Bright unbroken beams" and Alex comes in with that easy to play, but impossible to repeat sound. It gives me goosebumps

 

You should check out our guitar player. Youtube won't do it much justice but his tone is glorious. Very Lerxst.

 

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Xanadu and La Villa require a ton of feel on the guitar. That's where a lot of guitarists fall short. A lot of soul in those pieces. Challenging on bass and drums, too at times.

YYZed is challenging but never a doubt on it live. Too comfortable with it.

 

 

Bingo!

 

I get annoyed when I hear how Alex's stuff isn't difficult to play or that it's all about Geddy and Neil and how technically difficult it is to play their stuff. There is technical ability and then there is feel and soul. No one can touch Alex's feel. He has the best tone of any guitar player I've ever heard. It's just a beautiful sound that's so crisp and kind of emotional. I have heard plenty of Rush cover bands and, while they can play the tunes, the guitar "sound" just isn't the same. Only Alex can do what he does. The riff in Double Agent. Is it technically hard? Maybe not. Can anyone repeat the same sound? Doubtful. His solo in No One at the Bridge and Limelight are both technically easy to repeat but no one can touch the soul.

 

Tone is so important to me. Songs that come to mind are Red Barchetta, Limelight, Hemispheres, Spirit, Caravan, and Double Agent. The song with the most feel and soul in my opinion is Jacob's Ladder. The part right after "Bright unbroken beams" and Alex comes in with that easy to play, but impossible to repeat sound. It gives me goosebumps

 

You should check out our guitar player. Youtube won't do it much justice but his tone is glorious. Very Lerxst.

 

That is a very good cover, Kenny. :ebert:

 

Your guitarist's tone is wonderful. :)

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