GeminiRising79 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Way underrated! His paintings are AWESOME!!! Rockstars creating "art" is like pornstars writing childrens' books. No. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Way underrated! His paintings are AWESOME!!! Rockstars creating "art" is like pornstars writing childrens' books. No. But it's all right if it's for charity, right? Surely you can agree to that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Way underrated out in the world. Way overrated on TRF. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Avatar Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 In the 70's/early 80's underrated. Now kinda overrated. dude hasn't played anything worth remembering in a while.I think I understand the spirit of this post. Alex's playing continues to be nuanced and technically interesting, but there isn't necessarily an attention to melody, at least in a sense of making the melody accessible to the audience. The result is what you describe. It's not very memorable. There are moments of course, with an album like Snakes and Arrows being a good example of this phenomenon. I agree. Rush's recent efforts contain moments of rich, soaring, memorable melody, but IMO they happen less frequently than before. I think the decline in melody happened as far back as Presto, but has only gotten worse as time has gone on. I think they rebelled against the "synth years" in a largely unhelpful way, throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I was glad to see a "return of the guitar," but not at the expense of melody. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaVillaSean Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I am not a musician and couldn't tell you the first thing about the technical aspects of playing guitar. Of course the inclination is to proclaim that he is underrated. People alluded to Rolling Stone ranking Alex so low....I think they had him at 98. On the flip side, guitarworld did a readers poll and it ended up ranking Alex at number 3, one slot ahead of Jimi Hendrix....that's a pretty lofty spot to be in. So, who knows. One thing is for sure....Alex has a unique playing style and an even more unique sound. I think he is perfect for the band and that's all that really matters. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefox4000 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) In the 70's/early 80's underrated. Now kinda overrated. dude hasn't played anything worth remembering in a while.I think I understand the spirit of this post. Alex's playing continues to be nuanced and technically interesting, but there isn't necessarily an attention to melody, at least in a sense of making the melody accessible to the audience. The result is what you describe. It's not very memorable. There are moments of course, with an album like Snakes and Arrows being a good example of this phenomenon. I agree. Rush's recent efforts contain moments of rich, soaring, memorable melody, but IMO they happen less frequently than before. I think the decline in melody happened as far back as Presto, but has only gotten worse as time has gone on. I think they rebelled against the "synth years" in a largely unhelpful way, throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I was glad to see a "return of the guitar," but not at the expense of melody. I don't have many nice things to say about CP I hate the material but to me that was the Last album before the melodies started drying up. Some good MELODIES on CP..........but it's still a bad record, lol Mick Edited April 23, 2015 by bluefox4000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 As great of a guitarist as he is, I think it is unrealistic to think anyone could keep that up for four decades. I'm sure he is tired. He was probably getting really worn out by the end of the eighties. They toured almost all the time. Maybe too other things in his life began to take precedence. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefox4000 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) As great of a guitarist as he is, I think it is unrealistic to think anyone could keep that up for four decades. I'm sure he is tired. He was probably getting really worn out by the end of the eighties. They toured almost all the time. Maybe too other things in his life began to take precedence. right. We as fans sometimes forgot..........Rush are JUST People. that's all. and people slow down and age A sad truth. Mick Edited April 23, 2015 by bluefox4000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Maybe too he just stopped trying so hard when they finally "made it." He did what he had to do to help keep Rush on top, but didn't have to excel anymore. I don't know. I'm just throwing thoughts out here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefox4000 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) Maybe too he just stopped trying so hard when they finally "made it." He did what he had to do to help keep Rush on top, but didn't have to excel anymore. I don't know. I'm just throwing thoughts out here. I agree with what you said about that they were SO on top off their game in the 80's that by decade's end the flam had died a little. burn out. Mick Edited April 23, 2015 by bluefox4000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 People also tend to forget that this is their "job". They've earned the right to retire. We should be happy for what we've gotten. They've been around a heck of a lot longer than 99% of other bands. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 People also tend to forget that this is their "job". They've earned the right to retire. We should be happy for what we've gotten. They've been around a heck of a lot longer than 99% of other bands. I guess I kind of want them to want it . . . but you're right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeminiRising79 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Maybe too he just stopped trying so hard when they finally "made it." He did what he had to do to help keep Rush on top, but didn't have to excel anymore. Not to be harsh, but he got complacent and stupid, imo. The post-hiatus stuff is just garbage...unidimensional garbage. He took his hands off the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirteen Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Alex is...well Alex. The guitar chameleon. I think his 'musicality' and taste in what he chooses to play is great (most of the time).And he typically plays to support the song, which imo is the mark of true musicianship. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calirush Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 http://www.blah.de/bilder/blah-postkarte-20.jpg 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khan Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Who does these "ratings" anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stone and a hard place Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Alex is what he is, it's hard to rate a musician. That being said I think that all three members of Rush are in the top ranks in their fields of expertise. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Alex is what he is, it's hard to rate a musician. That being said I think that all three members of Rush are in the top ranks in their fields of expertise. New guy! :hi: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Avatar Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 Alex is what he is, it's hard to rate a musician. That being said I think that all three members of Rush are in the top ranks in their fields of expertise. Welcome aboard!! :hi: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stone and a hard place Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Alex is what he is, it's hard to rate a musician. That being said I think that all three members of Rush are in the top ranks in their fields of expertise. New guy! :hi: :ebert: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stone and a hard place Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Alex is what he is, it's hard to rate a musician. That being said I think that all three members of Rush are in the top ranks in their fields of expertise. Welcome aboard!! :hi: :hi: :yay: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That One Guy Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 This has been discussed to death for such a long time that at this point, Alex is "Rated". Not over or under. He's where he should be, or something. Great guitarist in a great band. Not the global #1 virtuoso player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kooma Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Underrated, but NOT by me..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Dad Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 This has been discussed to death for such a long time that at this point, Alex is "Rated". Not over or under. He's where he should be, or something. Great guitarist in a great band. Not the global #1 virtuoso player. In the guitar god 80's Alex was the guitarist in a band increasingly dominated by keyboards. That didn't help his rankings in the pantheon of guitar heroes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 This has been discussed to death for such a long time that at this point, Alex is "Rated". Not over or under. He's where he should be, or something. Great guitarist in a great band. Not the global #1 virtuoso player. In the guitar god 80's Alex was the guitarist in a band increasingly dominated by keyboards. That didn't help his rankings in the pantheon of guitar heroes. Agreed, Alex was one of the best around in those early days because he, and he alone was carrying the melody. His playing was very riff oriented and way out front in the mix. As keyboards started becoming more prodomenant in their music, Alex admits that he struggled to find his place in the band. Unfortunately for him, that place was very subtle and way back in the mix. Dropping Terry Brown was probably the biggest detriment to Alex's development. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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