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The Camera Eye


Lorraine
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I assume you are talking about the very beginning with the drums where Neil is playing some snare rolls and accents on snare/ride cymbal? Really not hard for experienced drummers. After the little sequencer intro, the sequencer part is straight 4/4 time. Pretty easy to hear where the 1 is once you develop an internal clock. For beginners, yes I would count, but beginners probably aren't going to be able to play the double stroke rolls and various accents anyway. haha
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What about the different sequencer at around 2:45 or so? It helps some people to count there because of the long spaces between the tom fills. Some nice syncopation going on there. Edited by presto123
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Listen to that tone. The bass growls. For those that notice that Geddy is not in time with the vocals, I would guess it would be due to him playing to the vocal track with reverb added. Kind of annoying to listen to because we all know Ged has a perfect sense of time in the real world. haha

Edited by presto123
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Up tempo! :outtahere:

 

Whoa...you really notice it when the synths kick in.

 

4:26 - 4:36 there's a strange reflection off Neil's tubular bells that make him look like some deranged mechanical Quasimodo

 

It's striking me very funny .. but then again, it's 2:30am, and pretty much anything would

Edited by Lucas
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I'd love to know how he played this on the Moving Pictures / Exit Stage Left tours, since the OB-X synth was off to his left where there's no microphone. There's also the trick of getting those sample/hold (blippity bloopity) parts to fade in and out. This might be doable with a foot pedal on the back though. Certainly this song got easier to play with the new synth/mic arrangements on the Signals tour.

 

There's been way too much water under the bridge since I saw the MP tour (I think they also played it on the Signals tour, but again, that was a long time ago), so I don't remember this specifically, but what would have prevented them from putting a mic by the OB for those tours?

 

Nothing stopping them, but from looking at the photos I wasn't seeing a mic over there. Of course in the photo below, it almost looks like he could use his main mic (possibly swinging it over closer).

 

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On a side note, I think he must be using one of the Oberheim expression pedals to fade the sample/hold effect in and out. When listening to those live clips, he is definitely controlling it dynamically (and it's all coming from the same synth - the sample/hold effect actually makes it hard to hear the chords he's playing in the intro - on the record it's two separate tracks, so both are heard clearly)

Edited by LeChuck
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This is my favorite Rush song and has been since it came out. I have several different versions live and not live spread throughout my music on my phone. I listen to it on several kinds of media. Heck I popped in an 8 track the other day (yes I said 8 track). The funny thing is that I have been listening and singing along to this song and still to this day can not get the words right or the exact timing of the song. My point is that for musicians to play this, holy crap Batman it a hard song. But I think one of the most underrated Rush songs!!
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There is a Signals tour video on YouTube that's got Camera Eye, although it doesn't help if you're trying to watch their playing close up (kind of far audience footage). I believe if you search on 'rush camera eye live 1982' you should find it.

 

I will look through my bootleg videos and see what I have. I have dial-up.

 

I don't know why they didn't include it on Exit...Stage Left.

 

Yea you hear it in the opening montage but it would've been cool to see them actually performing it.

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This is my favorite Rush song and has been since it came out. I have several different versions live and not live spread throughout my music on my phone. I listen to it on several kinds of media. Heck I popped in an 8 track the other day (yes I said 8 track). The funny thing is that I have been listening and singing along to this song and still to this day can not get the words right or the exact timing of the song. My point is that for musicians to play this, holy crap Batman it a hard song. But I think one of the most underrated Rush songs!!

It's a song that may have been overshadowed throughout the years by other songs. When I was watching the video of it from R40 yesterday, it suddenly struck me that it appeared to be, as you have already noted, a very hard song to play.

 

After watching the video of the song, I listened to Moving Pictures and realized what a brilliant album it really was/is. It's not like I didn't like it before, but something about listening to it yesterday hit me in a different way. I love when that happens! You think you know an album, but there is always something new and special to discover about it. No wonder it got them out of debt and continues to this day to sell. It is truly a timeless album.

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From a drummer's perspective...I don't know if I'm an exception or not, but I rarely know where to come in by counting. Sometimes, yes, in some passages. But as far as The Camera Eye is concerned- I think it's really hard to count, especially during the intro to that song, with what the keyboard is doing, before the guitar or the drums come in. But I've listened to it enough times, I know every segment of the intro well enough, that I can just feel the rhythm before it hits.

 

It is very subtle, in that one. But that's the best way I can describe it. It isn't a matter of counting. I can just feel it coming.

That's very much how you learn and play Rush. You simply have to listen over and over and absorb it so it's second nature. Trying to keep count, especially with the crazy time signature changes, is harder than Calculus. The beginning riff of YYZ for example.

 

I was going to cite YYZ as one that I almost never come in on the beat, at the start. I've never even been able to pick out the rhythm that's being played on the triangle!

 

The fact that all three of them have it mastered, and played it live for so many years...it just blows my mind.

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I hope I don't sound like a peckerhead, but The Camera Eye is easy to play on the drums... and, it's one of my favourite Rush songs of all time. I'm glad they made it the length they did... it would not work as a 4 minute song.
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From a drummer's perspective...I don't know if I'm an exception or not, but I rarely know where to come in by counting. Sometimes, yes, in some passages. But as far as The Camera Eye is concerned- I think it's really hard to count, especially during the intro to that song, with what the keyboard is doing, before the guitar or the drums come in. But I've listened to it enough times, I know every segment of the intro well enough, that I can just feel the rhythm before it hits.

 

It is very subtle, in that one. But that's the best way I can describe it. It isn't a matter of counting. I can just feel it coming.

That's very much how you learn and play Rush. You simply have to listen over and over and absorb it so it's second nature. Trying to keep count, especially with the crazy time signature changes, is harder than Calculus. The beginning riff of YYZ for example.

 

I was going to cite YYZ as one that I almost never come in on the beat, at the start. I've never even been able to pick out the rhythm that's being played on the triangle!

 

The fact that all three of them have it mastered, and played it live for so many years...it just blows my mind.

 

The mini drum solo in By-Tor always throws me for a loop. I can't even air drum to it correctly. :sarcastic:

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I'm watching Tapehead2's video bootleg from MSG during the Time Machine tour. I have to hand it to her. Whatever she does is excellent, and I am so grateful to her for preserving so many shows for Rush fans.

 

Anyway, I notice Neil is wearing headphones.

 

Edit: I'm also thankful to her for keeping the camera on Neil at the beginning of Witch Hunt. :cheers:

Edited by Lorraine
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I'm watching Tapehead2's video bootleg from MSG during the Time Machine tour. I have to hand it to her. Whatever she does is excellent, and I am so grateful to her for preserving so many shows for Rush fans.

 

Anyway, I notice Neil is wearing headphones.

 

Edit: I'm also thankful to her for keeping the camera on Neil at the beginning of Witch Hunt. :cheers:

 

I'm guessing the headphones are so Neil can listen to the click track, to help keep himself in time. He uses it in Red Sector A as well. And he used to during The Weapon. Don't remember what other tracks he uses them on.

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I did rewatch a couple Time Machine clips of this song to see what Geddy's doing. He is indeed playing most of the synth parts by hitting single keys to trigger samples. Kind of a shame, looks like he's waiting for a bus during the intro.
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I'm watching Tapehead2's video bootleg from MSG during the Time Machine tour. I have to hand it to her. Whatever she does is excellent, and I am so grateful to her for preserving so many shows for Rush fans.

 

Anyway, I notice Neil is wearing headphones.

 

Edit: I'm also thankful to her for keeping the camera on Neil at the beginning of Witch Hunt. :cheers:

 

I'm guessing the headphones are so Neil can listen to the click track, to help keep himself in time. He uses it in Red Sector A as well. And he used to during The Weapon. Don't remember what other tracks he uses them on.

He had them on the whole concert. I don't know why. Maybe someone here knows.

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I did rewatch a couple Time Machine clips of this song to see what Geddy's doing. He is indeed playing most of the synth parts by hitting single keys to trigger samples. Kind of a shame, looks like he's waiting for a bus during the intro.

 

I know what you mean. And if you don't know what he's doing, it looks like he's just doing nothing but staring down at his keyboard.

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I'm watching Tapehead2's video bootleg from MSG during the Time Machine tour. I have to hand it to her. Whatever she does is excellent, and I am so grateful to her for preserving so many shows for Rush fans.

 

Anyway, I notice Neil is wearing headphones.

 

Edit: I'm also thankful to her for keeping the camera on Neil at the beginning of Witch Hunt. :cheers:

 

I'm guessing the headphones are so Neil can listen to the click track, to help keep himself in time. He uses it in Red Sector A as well. And he used to during The Weapon. Don't remember what other tracks he uses them on.

He had them on the whole concert. I don't know why. Maybe someone here knows.

 

Were they headphones or just in-ear type plugs? I know the guys use those earbud type things so they can hear everything, in-ear monitors I guess they are called. But then I do recall reading somewhere Neil didn't like those and preferred headphones. I have the TMT dvd and I saw them twice on that tour, and danged if I can remember at the moment him wearing headphones the whole time? Maybe at that one show he used them because of his dislike of the in-ear monitors? Like you said, maybe someone here can shed some light on that for us.

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From a drummer's perspective...I don't know if I'm an exception or not, but I rarely know where to come in by counting. Sometimes, yes, in some passages. But as far as The Camera Eye is concerned- I think it's really hard to count, especially during the intro to that song, with what the keyboard is doing, before the guitar or the drums come in. But I've listened to it enough times, I know every segment of the intro well enough, that I can just feel the rhythm before it hits.

 

It is very subtle, in that one. But that's the best way I can describe it. It isn't a matter of counting. I can just feel it coming.

That's very much how you learn and play Rush. You simply have to listen over and over and absorb it so it's second nature. Trying to keep count, especially with the crazy time signature changes, is harder than Calculus. The beginning riff of YYZ for example.

 

I was going to cite YYZ as one that I almost never come in on the beat, at the start. I've never even been able to pick out the rhythm that's being played on the triangle!

 

The fact that all three of them have it mastered, and played it live for so many years...it just blows my mind.

 

How can you not pick it out? It mimics the the guitar riff when EVERYBODY kicks into that song. It's based on morse code right?

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I love The Camera Eye. In my opinion,the third best song on the album after Limelight and Red Barchetta.

 

These three songs are better than any of the songs from the two previous albums, and ANYTHING they released up until Presto.

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