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Why no Geddy solo ever?

quantex

By quantex,
in On The Lighted Stage

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kentpilot

kentpilot

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QUOTE (quantex @ Sep 10 2012, 11:46 AM)
Well...this was suposed to be the free formed tour with alot of branching out.

Why is it that Geddy never does a 5 min solo of some sort? Driven solos do not count.

They are annoying, and I'm a bass player, solos are just annoying anything over 45 seconds really annoys me, I'd rather them play Tom Sawyer again than any other solos.

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Tombstone Mountain

Tombstone Mountain

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QUOTE (kentpilot @ Sep 10 2012, 11:50 AM)
QUOTE (quantex @ Sep 10 2012, 11:46 AM)
Well...this was suposed to be the free formed tour with alot of branching out.

Why is it that Geddy never does a 5 min solo of some sort?  Driven solos do not count.

They are annoying, and I'm a bass player, solos are just annoying anything over 45 seconds really annoys me, I'd rather them play Tom Sawyer again than any other solos.

bass solo's = annoying

 

the last time I heard those connected was Man-O-war in concert laugh.gif

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gangsterfurious

gangsterfurious

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Meh, I love Geddy but I also agree that bass solos annoy me. I feel like there are certain songs like "Leave That Thing Alone" where the bass is the most prominent sounding instrument. I'm happy with that.

 

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tangy

tangy

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QUOTE (quantex @ Sep 10 2012, 11:46 AM)
Well...this was suposed to be the free formed tour with alot of branching out.

Why is it that Geddy never does a 5 min solo of some sort? Driven solos do not count.

i suspect the real reason is that he has been historically the hardest working member of the band. probably feels like he does enough already.

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Shreddy Lee

Shreddy Lee

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"Bass solos annoy me"? I don't understand this. To those who have said that, are you also annoyed by guitar and drum solos? If not, what is so different about the bass? A good solo is a good solo.

 

I would LOVE to see Geddy play a piece where he just plays alone for a while, like Alex gets to do.

Edited by Shreddy Lee
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drbirdsong

drbirdsong

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Unless your name is Jaco I wouldn't advise attempting to entertain anyone with a bass solo. Geddy always leaves me wanting more with his playing and stepping out for a five minute bass masturbation would bore most folks. It's just one of those things. (I wouldn't mind seeing Driven again thought, that was killer.) Edited by drbirdsong
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ThinkingBig

ThinkingBig

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QUOTE (quantex @ Sep 10 2012, 11:46 AM)
Well...this was suposed to be the free formed tour with alot of branching out.

Why is it that Geddy never does a 5 min solo of some sort?  Driven solos do not count.

I can't stand when Michael Anthony or some other dork struts around the stage make noise on a bass guitar for 8 minutes. When that happens, I wish I had something heavy and the accuracy of an outfielder.

 

A solo, didn't used to mean you're on the stage alone--keeping the audience entertained while your band mates take a piss. A solo was typically when a musician in an orchestra stands up and plays a special section of the piece written specifically for his instrument. Or in jazz circles, the musician improvises a few bars, putting his own personal touch on the bigger piece. In this traditional sense, Geddy solos quite a bit in many Rush songs. The ones that jump out are Freewill and Tom Sawyer. Before Alex goes into his ripping guitar bridge (solo), Geddy dazzles us with a bass solo. Geddy's bass solo bridges to the guitar solo, buy setting up a rhythm and tempo for Alex to play off of. Geddy also solos in the traditional sense in YYZ and other instrumentals.

 

The bass guitar is not an instrument that lends itself to the rock and roll solo, one guy alone on a stage. There are not enough tones and textures on a bass to create something as dynamic as a Neil Peart drum solo or an Eddie Van Halen Eruption type solo piece.

 

I have seen some pathetically bad solos from rock acts and hair bands that think their audience expects a solo from their lead guitarist. If you think about it, in most hard rock and heavy metal songs, the guitarist plays a solo during the bridge section. After hearing the guitarist solo in every song, why the hell would any musician think the audience wants to hear them make distorted noise while running from one side of the stage to other, putting his hand to his hear, pantomiming to the audience to scream louder if you like me!! I guess it's some kind of holdover from the guitar hero days where everyone wanted to be Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen -- two musicians who reinvented the rock guitar IMO. However, at the VH reunion in 2007, Eddie seemed to be going through the motions, still great, but not very passionate or excited about what he was doing. IMO.

 

Anyway, Alex Lifeson played a short acoustic piece for the S&A and TM tours after the drum solo to calmly transition into what comes next. Not really a solo, just a short original piece by a world class rock guitarist. After seeing Metthais Jabs of the Scorpions waste 6 minutes of concert time making pointless noise void of musical quality, I appreciate Lerxst letting us into his head and giving us real a musical gift.

 

Neil is like the the Eddie Van Halen of drums. He reinvents the instrument and art of rock percussion, taking it to a new level beyond rhythm and time keeping. People who think Neil is overrated don't really understand what's truly great about what he does. And since I found out he doesn't count, what he does and how he doesn't, makes more sense to me. Neil Peart's drumming, like Keith Moon and John Bonham, has a uniquely musical quality. The drums are one with guitar and bass. Tone, textures, and rhythms that compliment every lick and every lyric. Every fill, cymbal, and rhythm is used in a incredibly inspired manner that creates drum parts 100% integral to the song. Replace Neil's original drum parts with standard rock drumming, even by a talented drummer, and it would completely change the feel and dynamic of a RUSH song. Neil's drum parts are so well conceived and so creative that the music becomes a single musical thought or idea, and not three rock musicians playing their parts while the drummer keeps time.

 

For example, One Little Victory. The drum intro is fast and furious double bass, we're not sure where this is going, but then the guitar comes in, it all makes perfect sense. So much so, it's hard to say which musical idea came first, the drum intro or the guitar. Integral.

 

Neil's solos have a highly musical quality, telling a story, expressing emotion, full artistic percussion. Contrast that with James Kottack of the Scorpions pounding on his set for 8 bars, then standing on his drum throne and putting his hands to his ears, pantomiming to the audience, "Come on, come on, don't you love what I'm doing?" No, James. We don't.

 

Stewart Copland is the only other drummer in a music act I like that I think has that unique enough percussion voice to warrant a solo. Copland often solos in the more traditional mid-song manner.

 

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gangsterfurious

gangsterfurious

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QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ Sep 10 2012, 02:40 PM)
"Bass solos annoy me"? I don't understand this. To those who have said that, are you also annoyed by guitar and drum solos? If not, what is so different about the bass? A good solo is a good solo.

I would LOVE to see Geddy play a piece where he just plays alone for a while, like Alex gets to do.

I'm sorry! To be honest I didn't even really like the bass until I found Rush. Give a girl a chance, pleeeassseeee.

 

I'll be the first to admit I'm kind of an idiot sometimes.

 

banghead.gif

 

But anyway, I guess I'm not really a fan of solos, period. I never have been big on em'. The one time I liked a drum solo was at a Fletwood Mac concert in 2008, what can I say? To each their own. Maybe "annoy" wasn't the right word.

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micgtr71

micgtr71

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QUOTE (kentpilot @ Sep 10 2012, 11:50 AM)
QUOTE (quantex @ Sep 10 2012, 11:46 AM)
Well...this was suposed to be the free formed tour with alot of branching out.

Why is it that Geddy never does a 5 min solo of some sort?  Driven solos do not count.

They are annoying, and I'm a bass player, solos are just annoying anything over 45 seconds really annoys me, I'd rather them play Tom Sawyer again than any other solos.

Agreement from another bass player.

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Shreddy Lee

Shreddy Lee

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Posted (edited)

QUOTE (CygnusGal @ Sep 10 2012, 09:29 PM)
Personally, I find bass solos best kept very short (like YYZ,  La Villa or MalNar - here's a bar or two...go!).  To my ear, there is nothing worse than a "lead bass player".  The bass is a rhythm instrument and I believe best belongs in the "pocket" stepping out maybe only for a musical smile. smile.gif  Then, it's right back into the pocket.

That's what it is traditionally, but I don't believe it has to be relegated to only that anymore. That's an old way of thinking. I'm not saying the bassist should be running all over every track in every band, but there is room for it to share the spotlight and not only be in the "pocket". Exactly the way it is in Rush. And I would point to Les Claypool and Primus as an example of the great things that can be done by a "lead" bass player.

 

To be clear, I'm not advocating for an "eight minute bass masturbation" which for some reason is what some people here have immediately thought of when a bass solo has been mentioned. I wouldn't want to hear any instrument doing that sort of thing. All I'm saying is that there's no reason there couldn't be a nice, relatively brief, musical piece of just Geddy playing his bass, just like the times when it'll only be Alex playing his guitar before a song. I'm sure he could come up with a great composition that would be very pleasing to the ear, if he wanted to do such a thing.

 

As for solos in the other sense of the word, such as a guitar solo in the middle of a song, I think Geddy does a perfect job of those already. I'm always happy to hear it when it happens. But that's not what the OP was talking about.

Edited by Shreddy Lee
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professornutbudder

professornutbudder

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Geddy is the very reason I started playing bass way back in the early 80's. His ability to dazzle while adding another texture to their songs with his note choice and incredible right hand fill any desire for a "solo" in my opinion. I too have seen many bassists solo and never come close to what Geddy does in The Big Money, The Enemy Within, and so many other songs.

If you must see him do a "solo", watch Leave That Thing Alone on the Time Machine DVD. THAT is some amazing stuff.

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