Xanadu is based on a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge called Kubla Khan. He also wrote Rime of the Ancient Mariner that was turned into a song by Iron Maiden, also outstanding.
@@youtoo2233 Yes...ELP is well know to be one first supergroup in early 70's ..they were huge as Led Zeppelin and Deep purple, they used to play only in stadiums .... had the greatest keyboard player ever, one of the greatest singer England ever produce and one the greatest drummer in the 70's, a lot critics hates them....even among Prog rock fans....but the first 4 ELP albuns are pure masterpieces!
What you noticed around Neil Peart is the equivalent of an orchestral percussion section - temple blocks, a glockenspiel, timbales, wind chimes, triangles, cowbells, bell trees, and tubular bells - all being played (along with a full acoustic drum kit) by one person. This song is really like a short rock symphony - a masterpiece - based on a partially completed poem by Samuel Coleridge Taylor about Xanadu (a real place in Northern China, and a World Heritage site). It tells the story of one searching for immortality; he finds it, only to discover that it is an endless prison, and in the end he seeks the escape of death, having discovered the bittersweet truth that part of what makes life beautiful is that it will one day end. I enoyed your reaction so much it made me want to write my own. Thank you!
Rush fan here. I'm glad you ladies decided to do this one. The drummer is Neil Peart (pronounced P-EAR-T), he was also the lyricist for the band. He was the Greatest Drummer of all time. Sadly, we lost Neil on Jan, 7, 2020 to Brain Cancer. This was the last time he toured with this particular drum kit. All the extra percussion instruments, like the big tubular bells at the back, the glockenspiel hidden amongst all the drums, the chimes, wood blocks, etc., where replaced with a electronic drum pad that could replicate all those sounds, so it made touring easier. The guitarist in the red jacket, is the amazing Alex Lifeson. The guitar he is using is a double necked 12-string over a 6-string. A 12-string has 2 of every string real close to each other. The four pair are octaves of each other and the upper 2 are in unison. And then there is Geddy Lee, singer, keyboardist, and bass guitarist, and on this song, also plays guitar. Geddy's guitar is a double necked 4-string bass guitar on top, and a 12-string guitar on bottom. Rush would not put a song on an album unless they could recreate it live. To do this, Geddy has foot pedals buy the stand alone mic, the emulates keyboards. When he is at the keyboards, underneath he has foot pedals to emulate the bass guitar. These guys were the greatest 3 musicians to every play together!!!
Great video ladies! Rush is one of the all time great bands. The fact that all 3 are virtuosos of their instruments, all come from the same city and were able to keep their egos' in check for over 40 years to remain friends also show the quality of each band member. Will probably never see another band like them. One last thing. Love the three generation format of your videos. You can sure tell you are all related. Keep making these great videos. 👍🙂
RUSH is THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of the fluidity of MASTERING TIME SIGNATURES! I play drums and there are a few things that you need to know about Neil Peart’s ( pronounced PEER-T) character: First he writes the lyrics so he knows in advance what TYPE of song it’s meant to be ie ballad, driver, etc. Second he COMPOSES on the drums… like a carpenter who looks at a set of blueprints before building the object. Neil lays out a SKETCH in his mind of the VOICES of the drumset and builds the song from there. He is also a great LISTENER knowing when NOT to step over Geddy’s singing or Alex’s solos! Finally, he had perfect timing and fluidity of time changes. He said himself that it’s not about COUNTING the time signatures as much as fluid motion to change the tempo without counting: in other words it should FLOW! He hates repeating the same drum patterns in the same song meaning if he plays a fill one way the first time around he will play it differently the second time around. IE. Rolls down the toms the first time around and triplets or quads (all four limbs) the second time around. In short there will NEVER be another like him on planet earth 🌍 🌏 🌎! REST IN PEACE PROFESSOR! With heart felt admiration and sincerity! Gary
Alex's smooth flawless switching from 12 string to 6 string at the 12:35 mark really impressed several reactors experienced w/ guitars. That isn't easy to do.
I'm not just saying this, but Lulu is very insightful. As a musician myself Lulu is picking out things that only people that can feel certain things can pick out. She is young and I can see she has more emotion than she is explaining. Definitely not a knock on you adults,lol...Love the video :-)
Hi! Great stuff! I hope she plays instruments or decides to start! Heck, that would make for great content as well! P.S. there was an unfortunate bit of AUDIO DROPS happening throughout the whole video. That was a shame. 😞 Keep up the good work, Y'all!
Completely agree about Lulu. She has an exuberance for this extremely theatrical piece from the early glory years of RUSH. I have been privileged to see them many times beginning in 1981 and I consider Xanadu to be their magnum opus. You've picked some all-time greats in a very short time of doing your channel. Great work, ladies! I perceive that Lulu has a great deal of creativity inside her and I hope she continues to find ways to connect with that.
I was lucky to see Rush on this tour in very late 81 in the UK as part of my school music group. the Music department organised a trip to go see Rush ,more teachers than pupils went with us .....14 teachers and 12 students(i wonder why? Well the teachers were in their early 20s, and we were not much younger)..And this was the second time i saw them ...The first was at the age of 11 on the Hemispheres tour in 79 and i went to the gig by myself......Different times back then. It is pretty weird how the 3 greatest musicians in their respective field just happened to be in the same band.
The only band Babymetal couldn't overtake in my ranking. Still my No.1. Geddy Lee on vocals, bass guitar (and from after the guitar solo on electric guitar, due to doubleneck bass/guitar), synths and Taurus pedals (you can see in your video at 11:13 that he plays bass, sings AND plays synths with his feet simultaneously!), Alex Lifeson on e-guitars (here a 6-/12-string doubleneck) and pedals too and of course the great Neil Peart, percussion and lyrics writer (called "the Professor", guess why...). The fathers of prog rock as I call them. R.I.P. Neil, you will never be forgotten. Greets from Germany and rock on!
RUSH IS: Geddy Lee - Bass guitars, Oberheim polyphonic; OB-X; Mini-Moog; and Taurus pedal Synthesizers, vocals Alex Lifeson - Six and twelve string electric and acoustic guitars, Taurus Pedals Neil Peart - Drums kit, timbales, gong bass drums, orchestra bells, glockenspiel, wind chimes, bell tree, tubular bells, crotales, cowbells, plywood, tympani, and Gong!
Three geniuses from Toronto, Canada at work and they make it look so easy!! One of their masterpieces for certain.. Geddy and Alex have been best friends since they were 13 and played music together since they were 16. They are still best friends today. Neil joined the band in 1974 and in some indurring way even in passing years he was still considered the "new" guy. Their original drummer John Rutsy had health issues and couldn't tour. Neil was also more on the same page as them musically as well. Other Songs Working man live in Cleveland YYZ live in Rio Natural Science from the Molson Amphitheatre Toronto Digital Man from the Snakes and Arrows tour Secret Touch from the Snakes and Arrows tour Caravan from the Time Machine Tour La Villa Strangiato official music video Enjoyed your reaction very much! Cheers 🇨🇦
Great reaction. Rush is always great live. I love how Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson goof around on stage while they are playing some of the most complicated music you will hear. It shows how they have been best friends since middle school. Of course the new guy in the back is the genius who writes the lyrics and creates the unique time signatures and drum patterns. Whitch Hunt is one of my favorites you should check out next.
I saw them in 81 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on this tour and I was only 15. Front row Center so I could actually touch the dry ice fog coming off the stage. Amazing show as are the four times I saw them afterwards up to the R40 tour. Rush has a huge catalog so keep going.. it's all good. Primus is a band that was heavily influenced by Rush and I saw them in 2022 doing this song with the same double-neck guitars that you saw in this video. Donated by Rush to Primus. Primus is way different but I suggest you jump down that rabbit hole as well. Have fun with both bands. Keep up the great work.👍🖖💓🎶🍻🇨🇦
My favorite band. Three incredible musicians in their own right and yet the sum is greater than the parts. RIP, Neil Peart, "The Professor" - drummer, percussionist, and lyricist. He wrote many books as well.
Probably the best display of their talent is the 9+ minute instrumental "La Villa Strangiato" on the album Hemispheres released in 1978. The official video shot just after they finished the album was recorded in one take, was recently verified by singer Geddy Lee at a stop on the book tour for his just released autobiography 'My effin' Life'. One of the most difficult to play instrumental.
You 3 have just watched one of the greatest songs done live by 3 magical musicians, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and the "Professor" Neil Peart, Rush! 40,000,000+ records sold, 2083 Live Concerts (most sold out), 175 songs 41 years as a band, 20 studio albums, 8 live albums, 3 musicians, 1 BAND. As a Rush geek since 1976, I saw them several times including this tour when they recorded and filmed the concerts in 1981. Yes, it was awesome. Check out their early albums (1974-1981), their mid years albums (1981-2000). You will get an earful of their growth and maturity as Rush!
I’m happy to see how young people can get into this music. Back in the 1980s, most young people couldn’t get into Rush, especially on these longer,more epic songs. So many young people back then would listen to pop, top 40 and disco and would actually say things like, Rush sucks! That’s when I understood their ignorance, they never gave the music a chance. I am a guitarists, so I hung out with other musicians in high school and we would be the only folks into Rush. I can remember thinking that they were just so far ahead of their time, that one day in the future, people will discover this band again and suddenly realize how incredibly awesome they were. Every musician I knew were really into Rush, even back then. We could hear something that the mainstream just couldn’t. I’m happy to see that time is coming around and that there are young people who give this music a chance. If you give it a chance and listen to it multiple times, you can start to pick out things you didn’t hear the first time. That’s because Rush has so much going on. Al three of those guys are tops on their instrument and after even years of listening to their catalog, you can still find things you never noticed before.
This song was on the "Farewell to Kings" album in 1977. (I had it on 8-track tape back in the day). Neil Pert based the lyrics on the poem Kubla Khan, written in 1797.
Many things happen here. First & foremost there’s just 3 goofy guys up there playing. Crazy. Neil is such a great technical drummer, very precise in his plane. He learned how to swing on the drums later in life but he’s ridiculously good here. Alex & Geddy are being there goofy talented selves. So good.
As a high school kid who bought the album “A Farewell to Kings” hoping it would please me since I had been introduced to them with their first live recording the year before, I was amazed at this composition. It was one of the greatest things I had ever heard. Then I flipped the album over, and when Cygnus X-1 was finished with the ghostly six note arpeggio by Alex, my jaw was on the floor.
Rush tend to have a cinematic flare to many of their songs, and by that I mean their music is intended to convey certain or specific imagery and I think that can be hard to convey but is absolutely felt. Just one of many things that made them so special.
There is another song Xanadu by E.L.O. and Olivia Newton John that is from a movie. Maybe that's the one Kathy was thinking of. I was around Lulu's age when this video used to play and I was always intrigued by Neil's drum kit which he walked around in playing different chimes and bells and things. Good stuff. I don't know if it's just me, but the last few videos of yours I've watched the sound cuts in and out. Only when you guys are talking, the music comes in fine. Anyway, great reaction.
If you want to see how impressive Neil Peart (The Professor) can be as a percussionist, check out his drum solo in Frankfurt, Germany! Put on your seat belts!!!
In my opinion, the solo from A Show of Hands, YYZ is a better solo. (Abridged for time constraints, but a better solo.) As a drummer myself for the past 41 years, I think it's Neil's definitive solo on an official Rush live released recording, followed closely by Exit...Stage Left.
Great reaction!!! The three of you are just so innocent and honest with your reactions. Rush is absolutely the best 3-piece band ever (quite frankly top five best band ever). Pure musicianship and artistry in each of them and their instruments along with the pure chemistry between them. Welcome aboard the Rush Train!!! I would suggest the songs below to add to your Rush journey and reactions. All of these are absolutely fire!!! Especially the ones LIVE in their later years...more polished on the instruments. - Working Man... Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (original studio version was in 1974)...The pure sight and performance of three men in their upper 50's take control of the stage and perform and play like they were in their 20's. - La Villa Strangiato - Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (Instrumental - custom "carnival" intro) - original was 1978. Pure musicianship!!! WOW!!!!! - YYZ…live from Rio in 2002…original was 1981 - Best Intro Ever - Live version (R30 tour 2004) - various riffs from their 1970's songs leading into full version of The Spirit of Radio - original was 1980 - Closer to the Heart (Live 1998 Different Stages) - original was 1977 - Limelight...studio version - original was 1981. - The Garden (Clockwork Angels tour live) - original was 2012 - Subdivisions...studio version or live version - original was 1982 - Freewill... Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour - original was 1980 - Fly by Night - original was 1975 - Leave that Thing Alone - Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (Instrumental) - original was 1993 - Malignant Narcissism and Drum Solo - Live 2008 Snakes and Arrows Tour - original was 2007 - Also...Neil Peart's Drum Solo Live from Frankfurt 2004. He was The Professor...a pure musician and percussionist...not just a "drummer". Be ready to be amazed by not just his hand coordination...but most of all his foot coordination...basically his feet being completely individual in timing from his hands during segments of this performance. He was the master of this technique.
Love the daughters reaction lol. I have seen Rush 9 times the first time in 74 at my high school. Neil the drummer was the best in the world and he wrote almost all the lyrics for Rush, Geddy is a top 5 bassist all day long and Alex is the most underrated guitarist . Such big sound from so few. I've heard 5 man bands that don't sound so rich. Enjoy and check out yyz in rio , Trees and la villa stangetto
RUSH, one of Canada's Greatest Exports, a Toronto rock band that evolved and went on to master Progressive Rock!!! Some lucky people even got to see them perform in local High Schools back in their early days. I got to see them live for the first time at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens back in the late 70's... Great Musicians!!! I loved Lulu's reaction, she knows something good when she hears it!!! lol
I know Rush very very well but don’t know these special Ladies! Here’s a comment u may hear about RUSH “Rush may not be ur favourite band, but they’re your favourite bands favourite band!’ Talent overload! Glad u guys got to appreciate the greatness! Thx for sharing!❤
I missed that show ! I was getting back from Mexico in 1981 ! My parents found me an appartent in Montreal so when i came back, i had a place to start living finding a job and making money ! I was 25 years old. Always wanted to see Rush, and i finally saw them at the bell center in around 2006 ! lol. This show here was at the Forum of Montreal ! Glad you like this band from Toronto area ( GTA ). Greater Toronto area ! lol ! have a great day ! 😎
🇨🇦 Another band with only three members, that can create ALL that sound, and are Canadian ! The drummer is Neil Peart and if you look for it, there is a video of him doing a drum solo in Frankfurt Germany !
Neil Peart-your favorite drummers favorite drummer! 3 master musicians. 3 great friends. True legends. You need to see the Rock and Roll Hall of fame speeches!
Kudos for reacting to the BEST version of this song! Not only that, but getting the StickHits enhanced version. They do incredible work on some of the older videos.
Xanadu is Neil's (the drummer) interpretation of an unfinished poem by Samuel Coleridge (literally during a "pipe-dream") called Kublai Khan. A cautionary tale to *be careful what you wish for....* My very first concert was Rush, on this particular tour - and it was AWE-inspiring!!! One of my all-time favorite songs! Lulu - you blew me away, knowing this work! Keep listening to these guys - the lessons they'll teach you will last a LIFETIME! (now go read the poem, then read Neil's lyrics..... (Rest In Peace, Neil 😢)
For the life of me……. I don’t know how one guy can play bass or keyboard, pedals and sing all at the same time? His brain works in mysterious ways……truly!
Hello from Canada, friends🙋🏻♂️ I’m so incredibly happy that you three decided to do this song. I’ve been watching other reaction videos with my wife, and we have found your reactions to be the most honest, and insightful. We are sorry for not knowing the young ladies name in the middle, but you have a real ear for instruments and musicianship. Especially during arrangements like this complex Rush song. Thank you all for putting out great reactions to great music. We look forward with great anticipation for what you do next. Much love and respect!
Love your reactions. Grandma so proud of her era , mom thinking, how will this effect my daughter and how did I miss this. Daughter's just rockin out with no cares.. 💌🤟
Rush will always a love them or hate them kind of band.... there was very seldom someone who was casually okay with them usually the music really awoke something in you and it was a spark and you were a fan for life or you just weren't feeling it... I will say that one of the things that sometimes gets overlooked is that this performance is 40 years old, as in what you are hearing is three men playing all the instruments in real time with no backing tracks no augmentation no manipulation after the fact..... no Studio trickery..... this is the sound of three musicians at the peak of their performance just killing it. It is pretty humbling end all the more impressive
Did you three ladies enjoy the song. I saw Lulu getting into it, Kathy and Donna taking it in. You guys are great for giving this a go, and a big thankyou from me. cheers.
it was obvious right from the start that Lulu gets Rush,.. and she's a very fine chair dancer,.. there is so much going on in that video, it took me many times hearing it to fully appreciate how epic this song is,.. you three girls are adorable
Neil Peart used so many different kinds of percussion in his set, he was extremely talented RIP our good friend 😊 Good reaction dear family of 3 generations, it's always great to see the true reactions from folks that have never seen this masterpiece, thank you for sharing 😊
3 Masters creating a soundscape that transports you. Don't Rush through this one. Let it carry you along. Thanks for the reaction and for choosing the Stick Hits version. The quality is Amazing.
Xanadu: - refers to Kublai Khans' summer residence SHANGDU - is mentioned in a 1797 poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Rush song 1977 - Movie with Olivia Newton-John (basically a musical with great songs by ELO and a lousy/unimportant story) ... and there is a title song by ONJ
They played Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada almost every New Year's Eve saw them with Max Webster in the early 80s but have seen them in concert 4 times always a great show.
Great reaction. I was fortunate to see Rush 6 or 7 times from the mid 70's through the 90's (including this tour). Every show was great. Incredible musicians. The one thing that you don't catch on the video is the fact that they are also playing keyboards with their feet. Wow! Try the original video for "Spirit of Radio" or "Working Man" (live).
RUSH: MASTERS OF TIME SIGNATURES: They don't sit down and say "Let's write in (x) time signature." They just write what they feel. Jacob's Ladder alternates between 5/4, 6/4 and 7/4, then 6/8 and 7/8. Limelight is 7/4 not 7/8. The middle of La Villa (A Lerxst in Wonderland) is in 7/8. Kid Gloves is in 5/4 for the intro and verses and 4/4 for choruses. The Trees starts in 3/4, moves into 4/4 and the solo section is 5/4.
one of the fun facts about this song is that Geddy is singing, playing the bass, playing the pedals, playing keyboards and during Alexis's solo playing the six string
I just read Geddy Lee’s book about his life. It is brilliant. A chapter is devoted to his family members killed by the nazis and those family members who survived 6 years in concentration camps which included his mom and dad. It is a great read with pictures from his early days and describes the trajectory of Rush from a high school band to one of the most successful rock bands ever.
His parents actually met in a ghetto, both survived Auschwitz together, were sent to different camps (he was in Dachau and she was in Bergen-Belsen), then got married in a Displaced Person’s camp after the war. They immigrated to Canada and the rest is history. Geddy’s father died when he was young and his mother died just a couple years ago. Their story alone would be a great book or movie. Rush’s song “Red Sector A” is about, or at least inspired by, Geddy’s mother’s experiences in the camps.
NEIL PEART’S 10 RULES FOR SUCCESS: 1: EARN YOUR AUDIENCE 2: BE RESTLESS 3: GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE 4: LEARN FROM OTHERS 5: CREATE WHAT YOU LIKE 6: INFECT PEOPLE WITH YOUR FIRE 7: DON’T READ REVIEWS 8: CREATE FOR YOUR IDEAL AUDIENCE 9: FIND YOUR INSPIRATION 10: NEVER STOP EXPERIMENTING
This folks is real rock n roll, this is what the younger generation should be listening to. Yeah I’m old , been seeing Rush yearly since 1975 , but there isn’t better music than 70’s rock! N. Peart is called the “ Professor “ , the reason is obvious, he also writes most of the lyrics for the band. May God rest his soul 🙏✝️.
Was it just me or was their mic volume going up & down while they were talking? The music video came out great, thanks for watching it. It brightens me up watching people enjoy RUSH for the first time. My brother got me hooked on them back in Aug 76 when he had me listen to 2112. RIP Neil you are greatly missed.
Arguably the greatest 3 piece band ever. As far as Neil drum playing, you can see his drum solo from Germany. See YYZ, an instrumental concertvideo, drive the crowd in Rio completely Wild. Or you can try Freewill, 2112, Subdivisions, Far Cry, or Circumstances my favorite Rush song. Keep on your journey and path to great music.
![Rush ~ Xanadu ~ Exit Stage Left [1981] The Wolf HunterZ Reactions](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P2FLmpcb1Lw/mqdefault.jpg)
Another blow to the 'WOMEN DON'T LIKE RUSH' myth! Good job ladies!
The greatest live performance by any band ever!
This song, Phil Collins "In the Air of the Night," and Kashmir live in 1979 by Led Zeppelin are the 3 best live performances ever I think
I may have to just agree with ya on that!
My first concert. 1981
Agreed 💯
Definitely.
Xanadu is based on a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge called Kubla Khan. He also wrote Rime of the Ancient Mariner that was turned into a song by Iron Maiden, also outstanding.
You ladies just learned the difference between a drummer and a percussionist keep up the great work
Thanks
Have they seen Frank Zappa's 'Inca Roads' live 1974 yet?
easily the greatest 3 piece band in history, no debate, over.
Some people like other trios more like ZZ top, the Police, Triumph, etc
Emerson, Lake & Palmer was the greatest trio ever.
@@MarcusVinicius-we2pg you mean that group that sings Lucky Man ?
@@youtoo2233 Yes...ELP is well know to be one first supergroup in early 70's ..they were huge as Led Zeppelin and Deep purple, they used to play only in stadiums .... had the greatest keyboard player ever, one of the greatest singer England ever produce and one the greatest drummer in the 70's, a lot critics hates them....even among Prog rock fans....but the first 4 ELP albuns are pure masterpieces!
@@MarcusVinicius-we2pg I only know them for that one soft song but I'll check out more, thanks
What you noticed around Neil Peart is the equivalent of an orchestral percussion section - temple blocks, a glockenspiel, timbales, wind chimes, triangles, cowbells, bell trees, and tubular bells - all being played (along with a full acoustic drum kit) by one person. This song is really like a short rock symphony - a masterpiece - based on a partially completed poem by Samuel Coleridge Taylor about Xanadu (a real place in Northern China, and a World Heritage site). It tells the story of one searching for immortality; he finds it, only to discover that it is an endless prison, and in the end he seeks the escape of death, having discovered the bittersweet truth that part of what makes life beautiful is that it will one day end. I enoyed your reaction so much it made me want to write my own. Thank you!
3 people making all that music! INCREDIBLE! I was fortunate enough to see them 3 times in concert
The kid digs Rush the most. Awesome.
Most talented group ive ever seen. Gotta appreciate playing guitars and keyboard pedals with your feet at the same time
Rush fan here. I'm glad you ladies decided to do this one. The drummer is Neil Peart (pronounced P-EAR-T), he was also the lyricist for the band. He was the Greatest Drummer of all time. Sadly, we lost Neil on Jan, 7, 2020 to Brain Cancer. This was the last time he toured with this particular drum kit. All the extra percussion instruments, like the big tubular bells at the back, the glockenspiel hidden amongst all the drums, the chimes, wood blocks, etc., where replaced with a electronic drum pad that could replicate all those sounds, so it made touring easier. The guitarist in the red jacket, is the amazing Alex Lifeson. The guitar he is using is a double necked 12-string over a 6-string. A 12-string has 2 of every string real close to each other. The four pair are octaves of each other and the upper 2 are in unison. And then there is Geddy Lee, singer, keyboardist, and bass guitarist, and on this song, also plays guitar. Geddy's guitar is a double necked 4-string bass guitar on top, and a 12-string guitar on bottom. Rush would not put a song on an album unless they could recreate it live. To do this, Geddy has foot pedals buy the stand alone mic, the emulates keyboards. When he is at the keyboards, underneath he has foot pedals to emulate the bass guitar. These guys were the greatest 3 musicians to every play together!!!
Lulu has a gift within her, just busting to get out!! Go girl .
Great video ladies!
Rush is one of the all time great bands.
The fact that all 3 are virtuosos of their instruments, all come from the same city and were able to keep their egos' in check for over 40 years to remain friends also show the quality of each band member. Will probably never see another band like them.
One last thing. Love the three generation format of your videos. You can sure tell you are all related. Keep making these great videos. 👍🙂
Thanks
Not quite the same city: Neil is from St Catharine's. It's a smaller city between Toronto and Niagara Falls
RUSH is THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of the fluidity of MASTERING TIME SIGNATURES! I play drums and there are a few things that you need to know about Neil Peart’s ( pronounced PEER-T) character: First he writes the lyrics so he knows in advance what TYPE of song it’s meant to be ie ballad, driver, etc. Second he COMPOSES on the drums… like a carpenter who looks at a set of blueprints before building the object. Neil lays out a SKETCH in his mind of the VOICES of the drumset and builds the song from there. He is also a great LISTENER knowing when NOT to step over Geddy’s singing or Alex’s solos! Finally, he had perfect timing and fluidity of time changes. He said himself that it’s not about COUNTING the time signatures as much as fluid motion to change the tempo without counting: in other words it should FLOW! He hates repeating the same drum patterns in the same song meaning if he plays a fill one way the first time around he will play it differently the second time around. IE. Rolls down the toms the first time around and triplets or quads (all four limbs) the second time around. In short there will NEVER be another like him on planet earth 🌍 🌏 🌎! REST IN PEACE PROFESSOR!
With heart felt admiration and sincerity!
Gary
Alex's smooth flawless switching from 12 string to 6 string at the 12:35 mark really impressed several reactors experienced w/ guitars. That isn't easy to do.
And at 16:25, Geddy takes the time to fine-tune his keyboard TWICE just so he can play a single note, it kills me every time :D
That switch at 6:30 was pretty smooth, too.
I'm not just saying this, but Lulu is very insightful. As a musician myself Lulu is picking out things that only people that can feel certain things can pick out. She is young and I can see she has more emotion than she is explaining. Definitely not a knock on you adults,lol...Love the video :-)
Thank you
Hi! Great stuff! I hope she plays instruments or decides to start! Heck, that would make for great content as well!
P.S. there was an unfortunate bit of AUDIO DROPS happening throughout the whole video. That was a shame. 😞 Keep up the good work, Y'all!
Completely agree about Lulu. She has an exuberance for this extremely theatrical piece from the early glory years of RUSH. I have been privileged to see them many times beginning in 1981 and I consider Xanadu to be their magnum opus. You've picked some all-time greats in a very short time of doing your channel. Great work, ladies!
I perceive that Lulu has a great deal of creativity inside her and I hope she continues to find ways to connect with that.
I was lucky to see Rush on this tour in very late 81 in the UK as part of my school music group. the Music department organised a trip to go see Rush ,more teachers than pupils went with us .....14 teachers and 12 students(i wonder why? Well the teachers were in their early 20s, and we were not much younger)..And this was the second time i saw them ...The first was at the age of 11 on the Hemispheres tour in 79 and i went to the gig by myself......Different times back then.
It is pretty weird how the 3 greatest musicians in their respective field just happened to be in the same band.
The only band Babymetal couldn't overtake in my ranking. Still my No.1. Geddy Lee on vocals, bass guitar (and from after the guitar solo on electric guitar, due to doubleneck bass/guitar), synths and Taurus pedals (you can see in your video at 11:13 that he plays bass, sings AND plays synths with his feet simultaneously!), Alex Lifeson on e-guitars (here a 6-/12-string doubleneck) and pedals too and of course the great Neil Peart, percussion and lyrics writer (called "the Professor", guess why...). The fathers of prog rock as I call them. R.I.P. Neil, you will never be forgotten. Greets from Germany and rock on!
RUSH IS:
Geddy Lee - Bass guitars, Oberheim polyphonic; OB-X; Mini-Moog; and Taurus pedal Synthesizers, vocals
Alex Lifeson - Six and twelve string electric and acoustic guitars, Taurus Pedals
Neil Peart - Drums kit, timbales, gong bass drums, orchestra bells, glockenspiel, wind chimes, bell tree, tubular bells, crotales, cowbells, plywood, tympani, and Gong!
Virtuosos, one and all. N. Peart- R.I.P.
Three geniuses from Toronto, Canada at work and they make it look so easy!!
One of their masterpieces for certain..
Geddy and Alex have been best friends since they were 13 and played music together since they were 16. They are still best friends today. Neil joined the band in 1974 and in some indurring way even in passing years he was still considered the "new" guy. Their original drummer John Rutsy had health issues and couldn't tour. Neil was also more on the same page as them musically as well.
Other Songs
Working man live in Cleveland
YYZ live in Rio
Natural Science from the Molson Amphitheatre Toronto
Digital Man from the Snakes and Arrows tour
Secret Touch from the Snakes and Arrows tour
Caravan from the Time Machine Tour
La Villa Strangiato official music video
Enjoyed your reaction very much!
Cheers 🇨🇦
The reason why Nana is smiling so much, is because she remembers the glorious 70's!
Great reaction. Rush is always great live. I love how Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson goof around on stage while they are playing some of the most complicated music you will hear. It shows how they have been best friends since middle school. Of course the new guy in the back is the genius who writes the lyrics and creates the unique time signatures and drum patterns. Whitch Hunt is one of my favorites you should check out next.
Added!
"The new guy" ;)
@@KathyLuluandDonnaand pay special attention to the lyrics
The Garden, live from 2015 tour. They went thru many changes in 30 years! Love your reactions!
Thanks
I was 18; when I was at this concert. It was life changing. A musical epiphany.
I saw them in 81 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on this tour and I was only 15. Front row Center so I could actually touch the dry ice fog coming off the stage. Amazing show as are the four times I saw them afterwards up to the R40 tour. Rush has a huge catalog so keep going.. it's all good. Primus is a band that was heavily influenced by Rush and I saw them in 2022 doing this song with the same double-neck guitars that you saw in this video. Donated by Rush to Primus. Primus is way different but I suggest you jump down that rabbit hole as well. Have fun with both bands. Keep up the great work.👍🖖💓🎶🍻🇨🇦
My favorite band. Three incredible musicians in their own right and yet the sum is greater than the parts. RIP, Neil Peart, "The Professor" - drummer, percussionist, and lyricist. He wrote many books as well.
I saw RUSH for the first time 23 days after this was recorded in Montreal … on Sunday April 19, 1981 - Easter Night - in New Orleans
Probably the best display of their talent is the 9+ minute instrumental "La Villa Strangiato" on the album Hemispheres released in 1978. The official video shot just after they finished the album was recorded in one take, was recently verified by singer Geddy Lee at a stop on the book tour for his just released autobiography 'My effin' Life'. One of the most difficult to play instrumental.
+1
At 62 and a long time Rush nerd, warms my heart to see the youngling here driving the review...
You 3 have just watched one of the greatest songs done live by 3 magical musicians, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and the "Professor" Neil Peart, Rush! 40,000,000+ records sold, 2083 Live Concerts (most sold out), 175 songs 41 years as a band, 20 studio albums, 8 live albums, 3 musicians, 1 BAND. As a Rush geek since 1976, I saw them several times including this tour when they recorded and filmed the concerts in 1981. Yes, it was awesome. Check out their early albums (1974-1981), their mid years albums (1981-2000). You will get an earful of their growth and maturity as Rush!
I’m happy to see how young people can get into this music. Back in the 1980s, most young people couldn’t get into Rush, especially on these longer,more epic songs. So many young people back then would listen to pop, top 40 and disco and would actually say things like, Rush sucks! That’s when I understood their ignorance, they never gave the music a chance.
I am a guitarists, so I hung out with other musicians in high school and we would be the only folks into Rush. I can remember thinking that they were just so far ahead of their time, that one day in the future, people will discover this band again and suddenly realize how incredibly awesome they were. Every musician I knew were really into Rush, even back then. We could hear something that the mainstream just couldn’t.
I’m happy to see that time is coming around and that there are young people who give this music a chance. If you give it a chance and listen to it multiple times, you can start to pick out things you didn’t hear the first time. That’s because Rush has so much going on. Al three of those guys are tops on their instrument and after even years of listening to their catalog, you can still find things you never noticed before.
This song was on the "Farewell to Kings" album in 1977. (I had it on 8-track tape back in the day). Neil Pert based the lyrics on the poem Kubla Khan, written in 1797.
Many things happen here. First & foremost there’s just 3 goofy guys up there playing. Crazy. Neil is such a great technical drummer, very precise in his plane. He learned how to swing on the drums later in life but he’s ridiculously good here. Alex & Geddy are being there goofy talented selves. So good.
As a high school kid who bought the album “A Farewell to Kings” hoping it would please me since I had been introduced to them with their first live recording the year before, I was amazed at this composition. It was one of the greatest things I had ever heard. Then I flipped the album over, and when Cygnus X-1 was finished with the ghostly six note arpeggio by Alex, my jaw was on the floor.
Know how you felt bought it soon as it came out
I saw them on that tour and have a picture of them doing Zanadu with the double necks. My favourite band since I was about 14yrs old.
I have been listening to RUSH since 1978 and at the age of 15 Exit Stage Left was my first concert.
Peak performance (“Exit Stage Left” concert) of one of their greatest songs
Rush tend to have a cinematic flare to many of their songs, and by that I mean their music is intended to convey certain or specific imagery and I think that can be hard to convey but is absolutely felt. Just one of many things that made them so special.
"Flair" . flare is what you put on the road after a truck accident.
There is another song Xanadu by E.L.O. and Olivia Newton John that is from a movie. Maybe that's the one Kathy was thinking of. I was around Lulu's age when this video used to play and I was always intrigued by Neil's drum kit which he walked around in playing different chimes and bells and things. Good stuff. I don't know if it's just me, but the last few videos of yours I've watched the sound cuts in and out. Only when you guys are talking, the music comes in fine. Anyway, great reaction.
If you want to see how impressive Neil Peart (The Professor) can be as a percussionist, check out his drum solo in Frankfurt, Germany! Put on your seat belts!!!
In my opinion, the solo from A Show of Hands, YYZ is a better solo. (Abridged for time constraints, but a better solo.) As a drummer myself for the past 41 years, I think it's Neil's definitive solo on an official Rush live released recording, followed closely by Exit...Stage Left.
Great reaction!!! The three of you are just so innocent and honest with your reactions. Rush is absolutely the best 3-piece band ever (quite frankly top five best band ever). Pure musicianship and artistry in each of them and their instruments along with the pure chemistry between them.
Welcome aboard the Rush Train!!!
I would suggest the songs below to add to your Rush journey and reactions. All of these are absolutely fire!!! Especially the ones LIVE in their later years...more polished on the instruments.
- Working Man... Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (original studio version was in 1974)...The pure sight and performance of three men in their upper 50's take control of the stage and perform and play like they were in their 20's.
- La Villa Strangiato - Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (Instrumental - custom "carnival" intro) - original was 1978. Pure musicianship!!! WOW!!!!!
- YYZ…live from Rio in 2002…original was 1981
- Best Intro Ever - Live version (R30 tour 2004) - various riffs from their 1970's songs leading into full version of The Spirit of Radio - original was 1980
- Closer to the Heart (Live 1998 Different Stages) - original was 1977
- Limelight...studio version - original was 1981.
- The Garden (Clockwork Angels tour live) - original was 2012 - Subdivisions...studio version or live version - original was 1982
- Freewill... Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour - original was 1980
- Fly by Night - original was 1975
- Leave that Thing Alone - Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (Instrumental) - original was 1993
- Malignant Narcissism and Drum Solo - Live 2008 Snakes and Arrows Tour - original was 2007
- Also...Neil Peart's Drum Solo Live from Frankfurt 2004. He was The Professor...a pure musician and percussionist...not just a "drummer". Be ready to be amazed by not just his hand coordination...but most of all his foot coordination...basically his feet being completely individual in timing from his hands during segments of this performance. He was the master of this technique.
Thank you
Love the daughters reaction lol. I have seen Rush 9 times the first time in 74 at my high school. Neil the drummer was the best in the world and he wrote almost all the lyrics for Rush, Geddy is a top 5 bassist all day long and Alex is the most underrated guitarist . Such big sound from so few. I've heard 5 man bands that don't sound so rich. Enjoy and check out yyz in rio , Trees and la villa stangetto
RUSH, one of Canada's Greatest Exports, a Toronto rock band that evolved and went on to master Progressive Rock!!!
Some lucky people even got to see them perform in local High Schools back in their early days. I got to see them live for the first time at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens back in the late 70's... Great Musicians!!!
I loved Lulu's reaction, she knows something good when she hears it!!! lol
Thank you
I know Rush very very well but don’t know these special Ladies! Here’s a comment u may hear about RUSH “Rush may not be ur favourite band, but they’re your favourite bands favourite band!’ Talent overload! Glad u guys got to appreciate the greatness! Thx for sharing!❤
Yup, you got it. I get all googled eyed too, when listen to Rush. Best reaction.
3...3!!! Young ladies listening to Rush...my eyes have just been opened 😃 Merry Christmas to all the South.Cheers from Australia.
Happy holidays!
I missed that show ! I was getting back from Mexico in 1981 ! My parents found me an appartent in Montreal so when i came back, i had a place to start living finding a job and making money ! I was 25 years old. Always wanted to see Rush, and i finally saw them at the bell center in around 2006 ! lol. This show here was at the Forum of Montreal ! Glad you like this band from Toronto area ( GTA ). Greater Toronto area ! lol ! have a great day ! 😎
🇨🇦 Another band with only three members, that can create ALL that sound, and are Canadian !
The drummer is Neil Peart and if you look for it, there is a video of him doing a drum solo in Frankfurt Germany !
Olivia Newton John made a movie about an ice skating rink in the late 70s/early 80s called Xanadu
Neil Peart-your favorite drummers favorite drummer! 3 master musicians. 3 great friends. True legends. You need to see the Rock and Roll Hall of fame speeches!
You are going get flooded by RUSH fans!!! I recommend listening with the lyrics on. Thank you.
“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.“
Thanks for letting me sit and listen with y'all!
Any time!
Perfection from 3 of the greatest musicians ever in the greatest band ever.
Kudos for reacting to the BEST version of this song! Not only that, but getting the StickHits enhanced version. They do incredible work on some of the older videos.
So glad this was recommended to you. Still one of my favorite perfomances
They recorded the studio version on the album in 1 take. Then they come and play it live. Have loved seeing it for so many years.
Xanadu is Neil's (the drummer) interpretation of an unfinished poem by Samuel Coleridge (literally during a "pipe-dream") called Kublai Khan.
A cautionary tale to *be careful what you wish for....* My very first concert was Rush, on this particular tour - and it was AWE-inspiring!!!
One of my all-time favorite songs! Lulu - you blew me away, knowing this work! Keep listening to these guys - the lessons they'll teach you will last a LIFETIME! (now go read the poem, then read Neil's lyrics.....
(Rest In Peace, Neil 😢)
"Let's go ahead and finish it off!" 😆
You've barely begun!
One of the greater performances on record for one of the greatest three-person bands. RIP Professor.
For the life of me……. I don’t know how one guy can play bass or keyboard, pedals and sing all at the same time? His brain works in mysterious ways……truly!
Hello from Canada, friends🙋🏻♂️
I’m so incredibly happy that you three decided to do this song. I’ve been watching other reaction videos with my wife, and we have found your reactions to be the most honest, and insightful. We are sorry for not knowing the young ladies name in the middle, but you have a real ear for instruments and musicianship. Especially during arrangements like this complex Rush song. Thank you all for putting out great reactions to great music. We look forward with great anticipation for what you do next. Much love and respect!
Xanadu was a movie from the 80's starring Olivia Newton-John who also sang the title song "Xanadu".
Love your reactions. Grandma so proud of her era , mom thinking, how will this effect my daughter and how did I miss this. Daughter's just rockin out with no cares.. 💌🤟
Thank you
Rush will always a love them or hate them kind of band.... there was very seldom someone who was casually okay with them usually the music really awoke something in you and it was a spark and you were a fan for life or you just weren't feeling it... I will say that one of the things that sometimes gets overlooked is that this performance is 40 years old, as in what you are hearing is three men playing all the instruments in real time with no backing tracks no augmentation no manipulation after the fact..... no Studio trickery..... this is the sound of three musicians at the peak of their performance just killing it. It is pretty humbling end all the more impressive
Did you three ladies enjoy the song. I saw Lulu getting into it, Kathy and Donna taking it in. You guys are great for giving this a go, and a big thankyou from me. cheers.
Yup! Those smiles say it all!
Nothing like a RUSH 2112 8 track to make you smile
Seeing teenagers loving this gives me hope that the future is bright after all.
it was obvious right from the start that Lulu gets Rush,.. and she's a very fine chair dancer,.. there is so much going on in that video, it took me many times hearing it to fully appreciate how epic this song is,.. you three girls are adorable
Thanks
Neil Peart used so many different kinds of percussion in his set, he was extremely talented RIP our good friend 😊 Good reaction dear family of 3 generations, it's always great to see the true reactions from folks that have never seen this masterpiece, thank you for sharing 😊
Thank you for watching
3 Masters creating a soundscape that transports you. Don't Rush through this one. Let it carry you along.
Thanks for the reaction and for choosing the Stick Hits version. The quality is Amazing.
That's Neil Peart girls, a one of a kind drummer and lyricist "( better known as the professor of drumming)" Neil your spirit lives on forever.
Xanadu:
- refers to Kublai Khans' summer residence SHANGDU
- is mentioned in a 1797 poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Rush song 1977
- Movie with Olivia Newton-John (basically a musical with great songs by ELO and a lousy/unimportant story) ... and there is a title song by ONJ
Quite simply three geniuses at the peak of their creativity and masters of their art 🎸
It's amazing that there are only three musicians playing this live. Great Reaction!
Thanks!
Saw them live 3 times and they were phenomenal.
They played Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada almost every New Year's Eve saw them with Max Webster in the early 80s but have seen them in concert 4 times always a great show.
It's so lovely to see more Female Rush fans rock on Ladies ✌️💞
Great reaction. I was fortunate to see Rush 6 or 7 times from the mid 70's through the 90's (including this tour). Every show was great. Incredible musicians. The one thing that you don't catch on the video is the fact that they are also playing keyboards with their feet. Wow! Try the original video for "Spirit of Radio" or "Working Man" (live).
RUSH: MASTERS OF TIME SIGNATURES:
They don't sit down and say "Let's write in (x) time signature." They just write what they feel.
Jacob's Ladder alternates between 5/4, 6/4 and 7/4, then 6/8 and 7/8.
Limelight is 7/4 not 7/8.
The middle of La Villa (A Lerxst in Wonderland) is in 7/8.
Kid Gloves is in 5/4 for the intro and verses and 4/4 for choruses.
The Trees starts in 3/4, moves into 4/4 and the solo section is 5/4.
one of the fun facts about this song is that Geddy is singing, playing the bass, playing the pedals, playing keyboards and during Alexis's solo playing the six
string
12 string.
La Villa Strangiato is my favorite Rush song and is in my top 5 of all songs! That one is fully instrumental.
Olivia Newton John had a song Xanadu-1980
Hey Ladies, this is one of RUSH's best live performances ever, only saw RUSH once in the late 80s, in Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada!
And y’all didn’t know that Geddy the bass player played guitar 🎸 at the end and keyboards sings 4 different things in one song 🎧
The Three of you are great, but Lulu's exuberance reminds me of when I was 13, in 1978, and I was as excited as her😊
A jump forward to their last song on their last album ever. The Garden. The perfect swan song. Emotional for long-time Rush fans.
The look on ya’lls faces is priceless like what the heck did we get ourselves into, until it kicked in.
I just read Geddy Lee’s book about his life. It is brilliant. A chapter is devoted to his family members killed by the nazis and those family members who survived 6 years in concentration camps which included his mom and dad. It is a great read with pictures from his early days and describes the trajectory of Rush from a high school band to one of the most successful rock bands ever.
His parents actually met in a ghetto, both survived Auschwitz together, were sent to different camps (he was in Dachau and she was in Bergen-Belsen), then got married in a Displaced Person’s camp after the war. They immigrated to Canada and the rest is history. Geddy’s father died when he was young and his mother died just a couple years ago.
Their story alone would be a great book or movie.
Rush’s song “Red Sector A” is about, or at least inspired by, Geddy’s mother’s experiences in the camps.
NEIL PEART’S 10 RULES FOR SUCCESS:
1: EARN YOUR AUDIENCE
2: BE RESTLESS
3: GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
4: LEARN FROM OTHERS 5: CREATE WHAT YOU LIKE
6: INFECT PEOPLE WITH YOUR FIRE
7: DON’T READ REVIEWS 8: CREATE FOR YOUR IDEAL AUDIENCE
9: FIND YOUR INSPIRATION
10: NEVER STOP EXPERIMENTING
40 plus years later, and I will never get tired of this song. Just for reference, they were only about 24 when they wrote it.
This folks is real rock n roll, this is what the younger generation should be listening to. Yeah I’m old , been seeing Rush yearly since 1975 , but there isn’t better music than 70’s rock! N. Peart is called the “ Professor “ , the reason is obvious, he also writes most of the lyrics for the band. May God rest his soul 🙏✝️.
best band ever.
Amazing band. 👍
Check out the poem Xanadu by Coleridge; that's what Neil used as inspiration for this song.
Was it just me or was their mic volume going up & down while they were talking? The music video came out great, thanks for watching it. It brightens me up watching people enjoy RUSH for the first time. My brother got me hooked on them back in Aug 76 when he had me listen to 2112. RIP Neil you are greatly missed.
I love your Rush reactions! The band is a true Canadian gem, you guys should definitely check out the song La Villa Strangiato
Arguably the greatest 3 piece band ever.
As far as Neil drum playing, you can see his drum solo from Germany.
See YYZ, an instrumental concertvideo, drive the crowd in Rio completely Wild.
Or you can try Freewill, 2112, Subdivisions, Far Cry, or Circumstances my favorite Rush song.
Keep on your journey and path to great music.
If you can hit it with a stick it was part of Neil’s kit!🥁🤘🎸
Cool to see you girls progressing in the wright way
By Tor & The Snowdog live from the 1976 all the world's a stage album. Epic as this but even heavier.