Red Barchetta

[Mr. Not]

Is a masterpiece.

 

That is all.

[theanalogmiddleagedman]

That is funny. I just was blasting this on my iPod today and thinking the exact same thing.

[OneLittleVictory]

Is a masterpiece.

 

That is all.

That is funny. I just was blasting this on my iPod today and thinking the exact same thing.

 

 

SAME!!! :o :D

[Cyclonus X-1]

Only the third-best song on the album... yet still one of the best songs ever.

 

Moving Pictures is pretty strong.

[ShlappinDahBass]

Really? I thought every person who's ever heard it hates it.

[goose]

This song has such emotional range, it really is well-crafted.

[tas7]

Listen out for the hup/yup from Geddy after'Another joins the chase'

[TheBluePhoenix]

It’s only my favorite song from my favorite album from my favorite band. I recently (and finally) learned RB on bass and I have a new appreciation for the song. It’s so much fun to play and surprisingly not that difficult. There aren’t any fast runs or anything to makes you think “what the hell Geddy?” The difficulty comes from just remembering everything.

[Slack jaw gaze]

The guitar solo and drum fill are my favorite few seconds of music ever. The only section of music that gives me goose bumps 30 years after hearing it for the first time.

 

#1 on my all-time list. I've heard criticisms about the lyrics, but the music was written to fit the lyrics. Without the lyrics the music doesn't exist.

[theanalogmiddleagedman]

How could anyone criticize the lyrics? They paint an incredible picture of a neat story. I can visualize everything happening with each word.

[Chicken hawk]

I love the song...when i ride my bicycle i always sing it to myself. Wind in my hair...shifting and drifting...... :D

[losingit2k]

A Perfectly Written Minor Materpiece! Edited September 25, 2013 by losingit2k

[Unobtrusive Companion]

Hands down my favourite Rush song. An absolute masterpiece, even more so than the rest of the back catalogue :P

[Bastille Dave]

back in the spring of '81 I had heard Red Barchetta a couple of times but wasn't even close to being blown away by it. That is until I saw Rush in concert that summer and that's when I 'got it'. Could not stop playing it after that experience.

[Ancient Ways]

It's perfect. I really love everything about it. The sound and tones are perfect. The track has so many great parts but there is still "air" in it so you can really hear what is happening.

[Tony R]

In terms of the music fitting the story of the lyrics it is perfect. I'd say it was a masterpiece but I'm unable to be objective about this gem.

 

[DBJetsman]

Easily my favorite Rush song. The guitar's sound is so powerful and the solo tops all. The song has that Yes story-telling, visualizing factor in it that's hard to resist.

[hammerofthor]

And the fact that it preceded by Tom Sawyer and followed by YYZ and Limelight makes it even more mind boggling.

[RushCanuck]

I only became a Rush fan a few years ago. (better late than never, right?) The first time I heard some of Red Barchetta was as bumper music on Coast to Coast AM. I sang the part I heard to my son (who wisely loved Rush before me). He played me the whole song, and I've loved it ever since.

[coventry]

A few years ago I was in a townie bar in a Maryland city, listening to a fairly decent cover band go through the standard range of bar covers. After their set break they came back and I prepared for more of the usual bar standards.

 

And then the first guitar harmonics resonated from the amps. What? No way. It can't be.

 

It was. There was the bass, the ride cymbal staccatos, and then the bass drum and bass increasing the tempo until those familiar chords and arpeggios rang out.

 

Their cover was impeccable - right down to the double hi-hat accent in one of the last drum breaks; their playing was flawless. They had practiced this tune. But what was incredible was, about a third of the way through the tune - right around the "tires spitting gravel" part - how the entire bar grew silent and focused on the tune. The entire bar - pool players, casual listeners, bar flies, couples in intimate corners , even the bartenders - more or less was caught up in this tune in a way that no bar is ever caught up in a cover song. It was magic to watch the crowd drawn to something that, for many of them, was at best a barely recognized tune.

 

The applause at the end wasn't thunderous or overwhelming, but it was sustained and more legit than for most covers. They knew they had heard something somewhat rare and well-done. It was the only Rush tune the band played, the only really progressive, non-standard cover they did, but it certainly counted.

 

A pretty memorable testament to the power of "Red Barchetta" even thirty years after its release.

[Freeze-Frame]

I agree that this song has to go down as a historical masterpiece. My favorite part of this songs rhythmically is the introductory and concluding bass lines. It's basically the only parts I know how to play for this song. The lyrics are definitely my favorite thing. The words are so clear and you can easily picture the portrayed story within your head.

 

I think I should just write a short story about this song and post it on the internet even though writing is probably my least favorite thing to do.

[puffyshirt]

One of my very favourite songs. And the R30 version of RB is my favourite Rush live recording ever. Everything about that performance was pitch perfect.

[goose]

A few years ago I was in a townie bar in a Maryland city, listening to a fairly decent cover band go through the standard range of bar covers. After their set break they came back and I prepared for more of the usual bar standards.

 

And then the first guitar harmonics resonated from the amps. What? No way. It can't be.

 

It was. There was the bass, the ride cymbal staccatos, and then the bass drum and bass increasing the tempo until those familiar chords and arpeggios rang out.

 

Their cover was impeccable - right down to the double hi-hat accent in one of the last drum breaks; their playing was flawless. They had practiced this tune. But what was incredible was, about a third of the way through the tune - right around the "tires spitting gravel" part - how the entire bar grew silent and focused on the tune. The entire bar - pool players, casual listeners, bar flies, couples in intimate corners , even the bartenders - more or less was caught up in this tune in a way that no bar is ever caught up in a cover song. It was magic to watch the crowd drawn to something that, for many of them, was at best a barely recognized tune.

 

The applause at the end wasn't thunderous or overwhelming, but it was sustained and more legit than for most covers. They knew they had heard something somewhat rare and well-done. It was the only Rush tune the band played, the only really progressive, non-standard cover they did, but it certainly counted.

 

A pretty memorable testament to the power of "Red Barchetta" even thirty years after its release.

Great story!

[goose]

I agree that this song has to go down as a historical masterpiece. My favorite part of this songs rhythmically is the introductory and concluding bass lines. It's basically the only parts I know how to play for this song. The lyrics are definitely my favorite thing. The words are so clear and you can easily picture the portrayed story within your head.

 

I think I should just write a short story about this song and post it on the internet even though writing is probably my least favorite thing to do.

here's the original story that inspired the song... http://www.2112.net/xanadu/articles/a_nice_morning_drive.htm

[hughes&kettner]

You should try hearing it from the 5.1 blu ray on a denon/Polk 5.1 system....amazing.