Lucas Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I think it has been mentioned a lot here, and I have experienced it too - but for the most part, when people say that they don't like Rush, it is because of Geddy's voice .. Now, over the years, that has sort of changed - Geddy is a lot more palatable for those who didn;t like his earlier style/range .. The band changed - Alex's sound and approach changed, the songs, attitude and entire vibe of the band changed, Terry Brown left ( and this is not emphasized enough IMHO ) and overall, they became more and more middle of the road and accessible .. The 1980s were great for new bands, but for bands that had success in the 1970s, the transition was, at times, awkward and forced .... You had bands with guys in their 30s attempting to reinvent themselves and abandon everything that influenced them when they were growing up and growing up togther Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZumbi Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 This is a good post, as I think there are a number of reasons for the change in Geddy's voice . . At this point - between Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, and probably even before - Rush was making a concerted effort to move in a different direction - towards a more accessible, more grounded band .. The natural human response to certain pitches and timbres will illicit innate responses and evoke different visuals and images in the listener's imagination ... The swirling synth at the very beginning of 2112, or the otherworldly sounds in the intro to Cygnus X1 are somewhat odd to what we hear everyday - these sections set the listener up for something mysterious, something we don't have familiar grasp on .. Geddy's voice was so perfect for this era because it fit that otherworldly, intangible vibe .... When Rush made the conscious effort to abandon this, Geddy's voice was the first thing that needed to change ( ... much to my dismay, as it was Geddy's voice that drew me in in the first place ) In this clip from 1980 - the Permanent Waves tour - you can clearly hear that he still has the range .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rws3NVE7iqo Needless to say, they lost me soon after this . . Wow! That is a amazing video! :o Do you know if it exist anymore from that concert/tour in same (or better) quality? Zumbi, I would love to think that the entire show was recorded, but unfortunately, this was filmed by the local television news, who probably didn't film everything But you never know aw, thats a shame... its really good quality! Much better then the Exit... Stage Left video! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZumbi Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I think it has been mentioned a lot here, and I have experienced it too - but for the most part, when people say that they don't like Rush, it is because of Geddy's voice .. Now, over the years, that has sort of changed - Geddy is a lot more palatable for those who didn;t like his earlier style/range .. I remember this was the same for me. My dad tried to convince me to like Rush with Moving Pictures but I had really big problems with Geddys voice. And then I saw Rush live on Time Machine Tour, and after that I was crazy about Rush! Now thou, I even love Rush early stuff, and Geddy´s voice was great! I don´t understand how I could be so stupid.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J2112YYZ Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I think Geddy stopped singing really high when he realized it would be best for his voice in the long run to do so. Also, as stated already, the songs didn't require him to anymore. I would say by the GUP tour he was done with singing at his highest. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 From what I remember, they recorded the music for Hemispheres and as usual were going to do the vocals afterwards...unfortunately, Geddy hadn't realised that due to the chordal arrangements it was going to be a complete bitch to sing and take a massive toll on his voice....after touring the album for a short while he realised that his throat was going to be destroyed keeping up that register, so he made a conscious decision to change his singing style...it took a little while to find the correct tonality and technique to suit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I think when he was on his way home after recording "Take Off" for Bob and Doug Mckenzie, he said to himself "that's it. I'm not going to sing that high and awesome anymore. Maybe since I've quit smoking my lungs will pink up again, but I really need to take care of myself. Maybe I'll give it another shot when I'm in my 60s." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy muse Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) I'm really enjoying all the comments & info here. So awesome that someone took the time to chronicle all the details & song changes. Awesome job on that. Now I know why everyone wants earlier bootleg video. Thanks for posting that you tube link. I watched it several times & saved it into my Rush faves Edited October 4, 2015 by gypsy muse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy muse Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I think when he was on his way home after recording "Take Off" for Bob and Doug Mckenzie, he said to himself "that's it. I'm not going to sing that high and awesome anymore. Maybe since I've quit smoking my lungs will pink up again, but I really need to take care of myself. Maybe I'll give it another shot when I'm in my 60s." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbobby10 Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 His whole career he tried to sing high during concerts, i honestly believe once vapor trails came out and they did Rush in Rio was the last of him trying to hit the high notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Barchetta Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Hate my post, or like my detailed observations? Neither. Too convoluted and you need some paragraph breaks.Damn, Eagle Moon! What do you REALLY think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Barchetta Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 This is a good post, as I think there are a number of reasons for the change in Geddy's voice . . At this point - between Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, and probably even before - Rush was making a concerted effort to move in a different direction - towards a more accessible, more grounded band .. The natural human response to certain pitches and timbres will illicit innate responses and evoke different visuals and images in the listener's imagination ... The swirling synth at the very beginning of 2112, or the otherworldly sounds in the intro to Cygnus X1 are somewhat odd to what we hear everyday - these sections set the listener up for something mysterious, something we don't have familiar grasp on .. Geddy's voice was so perfect for this era because it fit that otherworldly, intangible vibe .... When Rush made the conscious effort to abandon this, Geddy's voice was the first thing that needed to change ( ... much to my dismay, as it was Geddy's voice that drew me in in the first place ) In this clip from 1980 - the Permanent Waves tour - you can clearly hear that he still has the range .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rws3NVE7iqo Needless to say, they lost me soon after this . .There is no room for such logical, well-reasoned posts here! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Barchetta Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I saw them live for the first time on the Power Windows Tour and his voice was still kicking, as it was the next several tours. I think he lost his pipes somewhere during the long layoff between Test for Echo and Vapor Trails. What's even sadder is hearing the best singing voice in rock history deteriorate between Journey's "Raised on Radio" and "Trial by Fire." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Hate my post, or like my detailed observations? Neither. Too convoluted and you need some paragraph breaks.Damn, Eagle Moon! What do you REALLY think? Pretty basic composition instruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relayer2112 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I've noticed a difference with his voice between live material from the PW and Moving Pictures tours. I believe that he could still hit the notes, but he realized that he just couldn't sing that way night after night anymore. It's possible that he noticed that his vocal recovery time was getting longer and decided that he'd tone it down a bit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMCXII Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 all the "high" jokes are used up if I wasn't such a stoner I'd be on top of this shit damn lol .ok carry on.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue J Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I'm pretty sure he stopped singing high at the end of the L.A. Show, on August 1st of this year. It's anybody's guess as to whether he's completely done singing high or not, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your_Lion Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Do you mean "high" as in :smoke: ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhawk2112 Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Perhaps this is best measured by Freewill, the high part after the solos. Signals tour, all was well, solos begin around 13:40: Dropped from the setlist for a while, didn't return until the Presto tour, but, alas, on that tour as well at the RTB tour, they went into Distant Early Warning out of the solos, so he didn't sing the high part. Not played on the Counterparts tour. Returns to the T4E tour, the final rehearsal the night before the tour opener (which is a delightful listen in its own right, since he was saving his voice a TON of the entire recording is instrumental, soundboard!) he didn't bother to sing it, just played through it. Around 1:40:40 Opening night T4E tour. Solos begin around the 16 minute mark here, he sings the high part and, um, yeah. https://www.youtube....h?v=ozvutM9M3hQ Vapor Trails tour, (not linking to anything from Rush In Rio, that terrible sound, ugh) a good sample would be the smoking version of the song from the SARS concert: Not played on Feedback/R30. S&A Live, he sounds pretty good during the high part: Time Machine, even with the vocal issues he was having that night, pretty strong, IMO: Of course, that was the last tour that Freewill was in the setlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 When he started singing low. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DistantEarlySignals Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Perhaps this is best measured by Freewill, the high part after the solos. This is how I like to gauge it as well. I think this is even more solid than the S&A album- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 He stopped singing high in general around Moving Pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verena Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I think it was during Signals. Album and tour.But I appreciate Geddy's voice since 1974 until Rush's last tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eel Yddeg Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 Listening to more bootlegs, he started to lose that high wail around 1978, during the Hemispheres Tour, and it completely vanished around Signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 They started recording their albums with lower vocals as time went on so it would make more sense that he would sing lower live. I'm sure the older stuff was consciously cut a bit to preserve his voice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verena Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 I'm pretty sure he stopped singing high at the end of the L.A. Show, on August 1st of this year. It's anybody's guess as to whether he's completely done singing high or not, though. Sadly. But a well-deserved rest. :sigh: Do you mean "high" as in :smoke: ? His passages to Bangkok... When he started singing low. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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