lifeson90 Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 ok so Al for me is the greatest rock guitarist there'll ever be, right... but how much do you think he really owes to Andy Summers? i mean, at a time in the early 80's when rush really needed a change in sound and direction, did Al consciously try to incorporate some of Andy's sound into his own playing, possibly even to the point of copying him to a degree? dont get me wrong, i dont care if he did or didnt... Signals is just a truly superb album and Al's never sounded better or more unique but, i recall being around at the time, when The Police were massive, and i remember thinking ' hmm interesting Alex is definitely ripping off Andy Summers a bit ' :) so personally speaking, even though as i say Al will always be my untouchable number one, i do believe Alex has a helluva lot to owe to andy Summers for the rejuvenation of his sound and the band in general, propelling them into the 'modern' era of rush so to speak. even the albums after Signals banging well on into the late 80's still bore the influence imo, the sound was a mechanism by which the band could write an album of 4 or 5 minute tracks instead of the longer prog stuff, you know what i mean... Anyways, probably been said many times before in this forum and others but... props to Andy Summers I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomesickAlien Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 The quality of this recording leaves much to be desired, but it's very Summers-esque: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AthRv__R_Lw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Finally some credit to Andy - he never got the respect he deserved in The Police because Sting and Stewart were dominant personalities in the band. The similarity between Andy´s and Al´s tones in Middletown Dreams demo posted above is uncanny!!! It sounds really cool - I wonder what this would have done for Rush in terms of ppopolarity if they kept it like that. Eventually Alex has changed his sound, as was the case with Neil and Geddy - no two albums sound the same when it comes to Rush! But it´s interesting how the boys have always been able to capture the essence of each era into their sound: first with Led Zeppelin, then with prog giants like Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis etc., later with New Wave and The Police, and grunge to a certain extend in the Counterparts era. I dare say that even Muse circa Absolution has some influence in a few things they have done since 2000... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifeson90 Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) Yeah nice one substance that demo recording illustrates quite powerfully the undeniable influence of Andys sound you simply have to acknowledge that Al took the style and sound for himself, dare i say it even in a plagiarist way, i mean its almost like a direct copy of artistic style, which ordinarily i'd say wasnt too cool but, bearing it mind the great modern rush albums it helped to produce, we shouldn't care too much if at all. By the way i wouldn't say Alex was just blatantly copying Andy's playing, which obviously is far from truth, more like twisting the sound into another kind of animal altogether.... theyre obviously two completely different artists, just making point that Alex drawn to Andy's groove and jumped into it, producing his own Alex Lifeson take on it, thats all :) Edited April 12, 2013 by lifeson90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todem Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) Finally some credit to Andy - he never got the respect he deserved in The Police because Sting and Stewart were dominant personalities in the band. The similarity between Andy´s and Al´s tones in Middletown Dreams demo posted above is uncanny!!! It sounds really cool - I wonder what this would have done for Rush in terms of ppopolarity if they kept it like that. Eventually Alex has changed his sound, as was the case with Neil and Geddy - no two albums sound the same when it comes to Rush! But it´s interesting how the boys have always been able to capture the essence of each era into their sound: first with Led Zeppelin, then with prog giants like Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis etc., later with New Wave and The Police, and grunge to a certain extend in the Counterparts era. I dare say that even Muse circa Absolution has some influence in a few things they have done since 2000... Funny I heard Rush's influence in Muse On the epic jam that closes out Knights of Cedona. Totally agree about Andy Summers and his influence on Alex's tone and approach/phrasing in the mid 80's. Some of Alex's finest work during the so called keyboard era. And so happy they are cranking out he mid 80's stuff on the CA tour. AWESOME!! 14 days away. Edited April 13, 2013 by Todem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitboaf Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Alex is great at everything- power chords, shredding, soloing, and rhythm.But, I consider Andy Summers to be the best rhythm guitarist of all time. It wasn't Andy's riffing or wailing that illuminated all those memorable Police songs. He was able to elevate rhythm guitar to the heart of the song and eliminate the need for lead guitar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 It took YEARS...but I finally asked Andy himself about his influence on Alex. You will find his answer towards the end of the interview below. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taurus Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 Hmm Well I liked the police and his guitar playing had a lit to do with it, but always felt a certain sameness in their music. Those first 2 albums sounded very unique at the time, but didn't stand up to repeated listening. I never reach for a police album- haven't in decades. Nice interview but all members of the police strike me as pretentious and belief in their own press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Fantastic interview, Rod! Andy really seemed to appreciate how knowledgeable you are of his music and career. Thanks for posting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Didact Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 On 7/28/2024 at 6:09 PM, taurus said: Hmm Well I liked the police and his guitar playing had a lit to do with it, but always felt a certain sameness in their music. Those first 2 albums sounded very unique at the time, but didn't stand up to repeated listening. I never reach for a police album- haven't in decades. Nice interview but all members of the police strike me as pretentious and belief in their own press. Brilliant singles band, but they never managed a truly great album. Too many songs that were either boring or weird on each one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 3 hours ago, Rush Didact said: Brilliant singles band, but they never managed a truly great album. Too many songs that were either boring or weird on each one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 On 7/28/2024 at 9:05 PM, goose said: Fantastic interview, Rod! Andy really seemed to appreciate how knowledgeable you are of his music and career. Thanks for posting. Thanks man! And yeah, he was REALLY cranky in the beginning, but got better as he realized I'm actually a fan. Glad you liked it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 20 hours ago, Rush Didact said: Brilliant singles band, but they never managed a truly great album. Too many songs that were either boring or weird on each one. As much as I disagree with you, I understand why you feel that way. Some of Police's deeper cuts might sound too weird for the casual listener. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZ Working Man Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 Amazingly talented musicians the Police are.. Amazing as the Police too with mammoth success . Its no surprise that Alex and Neil used Andy's and Stewarts influences from time to time .(Digital Man comes to mind here). The only one I never heard talk of is Geddy taking from Sting's bass riffs. Agree that there is sometimes 1-2 maybe 3 tracks on each of their albums that are too odd, weak, deeper cut for the album to considered brilliant which is unfortunate. However the rest of those tracks on each album are completely brilliant Agree that all 3 members are pretentious and perhaps too egotistical and Andy did seem more cranky than usual in this interview (lol). Andy is a masterclass player one of the finest ever , Stewart I think is too, and is my 2nd biggest drum influence next to NP. Sting is excels in so many aspects. The Police remain my 2nd overall fav.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Didact Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 On 7/31/2024 at 6:10 PM, Rod in Toronto said: As much as I disagree with you, I understand why you feel that way. Some of Police's deeper cuts might sound too weird for the casual listener. I can usually deal with weird. Stuff like Mother is kind of grating, but I understand what they were doing. It's the dull, bloated crap like Behind my Camel that really ruins their albums for me and makes me start skipping tracks. There's no excuse for that song, and even less excuse for it to have won a Grammy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Didact Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 On 8/1/2024 at 1:31 AM, YYZ Working Man said: Amazingly talented musicians the Police are.. Amazing as the Police too with mammoth success . Its no surprise that Alex and Neil used Andy's and Stewarts influences from time to time .(Digital Man comes to mind here). The only one I never heard talk of is Geddy taking from Sting's bass riffs. With all due respect to Sting, who is an excellent bassist, Geddy is lightyears beyond him. I doubt there's a whole lot he found interesting and worth adopting in his playing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 On 8/2/2024 at 1:58 PM, Rush Didact said: I can usually deal with weird. Stuff like Mother is kind of grating, but I understand what they were doing. It's the dull, bloated crap like Behind my Camel that really ruins their albums for me and makes me start skipping tracks. There's no excuse for that song, and even less excuse for it to have won a Grammy. Those are both Andy Summers songs. I enjoy them, but I get that a lot of people don't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weatherman Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 On 8/2/2024 at 5:01 PM, Rush Didact said: With all due respect to Sting, who is an excellent bassist, Geddy is lightyears beyond him. I doubt there's a whole lot he found interesting and worth adopting in his playing. I have not heard another bassist quite like Geddy. He reaaaally found his own musical voice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted August 7 Share Posted August 7 Geddy praises Sting and The Police in his autobiography...but he didn't mention the bass lines specifically. Also...Behind My Camel has no place in the Grammys, let alone beating YYZ!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78jazz Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 On 7/28/2024 at 8:38 AM, Rod in Toronto said: It took YEARS...but I finally asked Andy himself about his influence on Alex. You will find his answer towards the end of the interview below. As a Police NERD, I thank you for asking this question. I always wondered about Andy's take on Alex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 19 hours ago, 78jazz said: As a Police NERD, I thank you for asking this question. I always wondered about Andy's take on Alex. My pleasure!!!! Too bad he said he didn't like Rush...oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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