Classical Composer Reacts to Moving Pictures: Rush (Side 2) | The Daily Doug (Episode 465)
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- #rush #rushreaction #movingpictures
In this #masterpiecefriday edition of #thedailydoug, I'm releasing side 2 of my reaction to Moving Pictures by Rush. I recorded the entire album reaction back in May for my Patreon audience. I'm now happy to share it with my RUclips friends. Included in this video is The Camera Eye, Witch Hunt, & Vital Signs. I hope you enjoy!
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Witch Hunt is one of the greatest songs about mob mentality ever, it contains some of Neil’s most powerful lyrics.
I really dig The Camera Eye too, and it's a long tune.
@@metalmike570 That is such a great song! Seeing it performed live was something I thought I would never see!
it's the song that made me the maniac rush fan I am to this day.. live version from gup I highly recommend as the best version ever recorded
@@Yyz1971 I saw time machine tour Six times.. side 2 was always epic
@@execatty Nice! I saw this tour in Atlanta and again in Tampa.
The Camera Eye is my favorite Rush song. Neil's lyrics and Ged & Al's music just paint a vivid picture.
Same
"Leave out the fiction. The fact is this friction can only be worn by persistence. Leave out conditions. Courageous conviction will drag the dream into existence."
This is a motivational speech to every creative person.
It all came together here -- the virtuosity, along with the compositional and arranging skills. Geddy's voice was more developed -- less screechy, but still with extended range. And the production is fantastic. Each instrument sounds killer. No filler. A perfect album.
I have yet to hear a better produced album than Moving Pictures. So coherent and yet each instrument is fully audible all the way through. Just brilliant.
@@magicbrownie1357 you should listen to their later albums then. They are equally produced as well in what you describe
I would politely contend that 'it all came together' one album prior, but I might be biased toward Permanent Waves because "Natural Science" is my favorite Rush song. And one of my favorite songs, well, ever.
Geddy was taking vocal singing lessons leading up to both Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures.
@@cthulhuferrigno6547 maybe it’s me, but MP has a fuller mix. PW sounds “thinner”. Even more so with Hemispheres. The holy grail would be Hemispheres with the sonic depth of MP.
“Losing It” is probably their most beautiful and melancholy song. In my opinion.
Gorgeous song!
Losing it and Available Light are 2 underrated and underappreciated Rush songs !!!
I totally agree, a beautiful song
The Garden in my book. I do love Losing It as well:)
Ohh it really stands out in the Discography, they don't make many tracks like Losing It!
"The Camera Eye" is such a pleasurable listen. They all sound fantastic. "Vital Signs" was a rarity in concert, but when they DID play it live, it would bring the house down...such a great live jam.
Witch Hunt is soooo under rated...I think it is one of their top 10 best songs. The mood, chord progression, lyrics...everthing is fantastic!
You’re absolutely correct don’t get me wrong. I love all the other songs, but witch hunt to me was such a great song I used to sit in the back of my car in the backseat slap in the cassette and just crank it up and smoke a Doobie and listen to that whole album and especially when I got the witch hunt
Soooooo dark! Just an amazing piece of music.
The Police was Rush's favorite band at that time, so you are 100% correct in identifying their inspiration.
Stewart and Neil were great friends, as evidenced on Stewart's channel where Neil appeared regularly.I believe Stewart gave a speech at Neil's funeral.
@Shigawire I was going to comment this but I figured someone had to have mentioned this in here somewhere.
Probably the reason why the record company issued "Vital Signs" as a single in the UK. It drew from the sound of The Police. I'm so glad the band decided to include it on one of their last tours, I really enjoyed that one live. It's one of my favourites
@@hughcdavies He did.
41 years later and I still get goosebumps every time I listen to "The Camera Eye."
Camera eye hits an emotional spot like few other songs...
Me too Scott. Love the music Rush made back then.
The camera eye is the fastest 10 minutes of my life every time I listen to it. If you’ve never seen still kickin’s video to this song, CHECK IT OUT!!!! Along with all of their others. Test for Echo is another favorite.
For me, Moving Pictures was the pinacle of Rush. I began listening when I saw 2112 at a friend's house. He had to go out, so I stayed and listened. When the album was over, I was hooked. From Fly by Night to Power Windows, the ride has been a pleasure and a dream. RIP prof.
I agree. Moving Pictures was one of my first concerts. I think they were peaking musically between MP and Signals. I think Caress of Steel is my favorite overall, tho.
My first Rush concert was Power Windows.
Took my son to Clockwork Angels ❤️
@@allenfacklerAh, Caress of Steel, the bastard child. Not sure why it gets so much flack. Not my favorite album, but I'd put it in my top 10.
There’s not a “bad” rush album. I’m more partial to their later stuff as that’s what I heard first but there are highlights in the 70’s and 80’s track wise.
It's their best album
Gosh, I played the hell out this vinyl back then. Such an epic album and band. Still hard to believe Neil is gone.
Yeah he's gone but look how much he left us!!!
I’m compelled to say it again - “The Camera Eye” is the track that turned me from casual Rush listener into a loyal lifetime fanatic. In my far from humble opinion, one of the best tracks they’ve put on vinyl. And if not, certainly the most cinematic, the most grand, the most likely to be immortalized by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The main riff is to Rush, what the Star Wars suite is to John Williams. Neil’s lyrics are vivid poetic imagery that conjure up a place, a moment, a visceral and palpable experience that at first listen at the age of fourteen, teleported me onto the crosswalk of Broadway and 42nd, and the heart of Trafalgar Square in flawless prophecy despite the fact that I hadn’t yet visited either… physically. Geddy’s growling bass in step with Alex’s guitar wage a battling march that meticulously manifest the sense of that “purposeful stride.” And those very first six notes (seven if you count the note bend on the third) of Alex’s guitar solo…. by far his finest moment. Not another note need be played to elevate me to a high wire walk between two midtown skyscrapers as the wind precariously sways me and I struggle to maintain my balance. This song just moves me in ways no other song, not by Rush or anyone else, can.
Know what you mean
It doesn't seem possible that such an album should even exist, it is so sublime, almost eerily so. Its collection of tracks so superbly recorded all blend in to an isoteric sonic journey from stupendous beginning to sublime end. What a listen. Love Rush
The first Rush album I ever heard was "Moving Pictures." It still hits as hard today as a complete album as it did then. Just a masterclass in production, lyrics, musicianship and art. They didn't try to do too much, and they left enough space for every nuance...and just as Doug indicated, it left you wanting more Neil; more Geddy; and more Alex. That is what a well done album leaves you with, IMO. Exhausted and wanting more.
The only time I saw Rush live was to support this album. Still the best band I have ever seen!!!
I miss having a ton of insights about music theory in your videos, like you did with some Genesis songs that you even had sheet music on screen... With Rush there's so much interesting detail. Like, the intro for Camera eye is all "sus" chords, and while the guitar goes Csus2 Gsus4 Bbsus2 Fsus4, the bass goes C G F Bb, so the Bb chord has a 5th in the bass, and the F chord has a 4th. The verse time goes 4/4 7/4 6/4 6/4. In Vital Signs, those sharp guitar chords sting alternatingly on beats 1 and 3, and 2 and 4 of each measure. Much of Rush's sound goes unnoticed and comes from Alex' guitar tapestry. It's harmonically and rhythmically interesting and we only notice it when it isn't there anymore (isolated bass+drums tracks are good for that).
Edit: typos.
The song "Lunatic Fringe" by the band Red Rider was also being recorded in the studio the night John Lennon was shot.
The breakdown in Vital Signs starting at 3:05 is just unbelievably good. The cyclical synth pattern, the high hat accents rolling into the upbeat, the short bass solo before coming back to the original groove - its just so eerie and funky and cool. A great little instrumental that sometimes gets overlooked. Its also the perfect song to end the album with, as this record was the transition from 70's to 80's.
That was a cool reaction, Doug! I grew up listening this through high school. Neil's 80's lyrics are so powerful "ignorance and prejudice and fear go hand in hand" is so deep. Power Windows and Hold Your Fire have some amazing lyrics as well, Mission is a masterpiece.
Related to the theme of fear, Peter Gabriel has a gorgeous song called Mother of Violence (fear is) the album recording is beautiful with along piano and Robert Fripp playing just one chord a single time in the whole track and there's an amazing live version on RUclips as well.
BTW I'm the guy who sent you the Congreso link a few weeks ago 😉
Not sure if the is mentioned elsewhere in the posts, I didn’t see it. On ‘Vital Signs’ the drums were recorded using a piezoelectric microphone taped to Neil’s chest (so can see this in the official video of the song). This gives us the unique chance to hear what his drums sound like from his perspective, and why they sound so different from the rest of the songs on this incredible album.
I got to see them on the Test For Echo tour at the Meadowlands, NJ(still got the t-shirt). Most memorable moment in my mind still is Neil's drum solo. The overall sound was amazing. Moving Pictures and Rush are an influence in my own music. I love how this band has touched generations. May it continue to do so.
I saw them at Brendan Byrne in The Meadowlands in 1990 for the Presto tour. Absolutely fantastic
One of the greatest albums of all time. Listened to the cassette tape of this on 1 side and Signals on the other that my friend in Junior high have me and it changed my life forever musically. Vital Signs onev of my all time fave songs. Always brings a tear to my eye. Wish that song could go on forever..... Neal home too soon. Matter lyricist for sure "Everybody's got to deviatw from the norm...."
i bought this cassette in 81 and played it till it wouldnt play no more what a awesome group they were
Witch Hunt is one of my favourite RUSH tracks. Camera's Eye is really well mixed and shows just how much their production has improved!! Geddy's voice as he cuts in is perfect with the Bass!!
Honestly a truly fantastic album! I love the cover!!!
Doug, London really isn't like that anymore - it's much more like New York now. The people are more likely to get annoyed about you talking to them, than to be friendly!
So thankful for all you do, Doug 🙏🏻
The Camera Eye is one of the greatest highway driving songs ever done, imo.
Paul Gale
Agreed 👍.. I've had two speeding tickets in my 61 years. (45 yrs driving) The 1st ticket Listening to Sweets Ballroom Blitz 😍
The 2nd one listening listening to vital signs..
😁😁😁😁😁
@@oilrules4302 Ernest, your old like me(64 with more than 2 tickets in my life), and I dare say a long time fan. All of side 2 is great to drive with for sure. If you have a long drive ahead, try Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth. You won't speed but you may get lost because the music takes you places you may not have been before. RIP PROFESSOR PEART
Agreed…BUT…Don’t leave out ‘Red Barchetta’😀
Scars is a great night time drive somg
Rush...the band that made us think while enjoying amazing their talent.
Thanks, Doug. I'm sure we've all been waiting for your Side 2 reaction. To me, their entire sound at the time crystallized down to The Camera Eye. Enjoyed your reaction. Keep up the good work! LL
This will always be my favorite Rush album. I saw Tom Sawyer and Limelight for the first time live in Allentown, PA before Moving Pictures was released and just 6 months later saw the tour in Canada. Five 18 year olds driving from NJ to Ottawa amazing
The half-step interval in "The Camera Eye" wasn't due to Ged's or Alex's inability to do something more 'complex.' It's there because it was the perfect musical way to convey the mood, feeling and intent of Neil's lyrics in that song. Sometimes the simplest choice, compositionally (if that's a word), is the best one for a particular song. Some of the beautiful and/or iconic pieces in the history of classical music aren't particularly complex. When you're painting pictures with words and music, sometimes basic blue or green works better than a more complicated hue that's a mixture of four different colors. And while the chord structure under Alex's guitar solo may not be particularly complex, his blistering solo is far from simple. His choice of notes, phrasing, the chirps, and the way he builds tension and interest to a perfect climax is phenomenal. Not many other guitarists could've written and played such a perfectly appropriate solo IMHO. Lots of guitarists could've played more notes and done gymnastics on the fretboard, but that isn't what great music is about.
I think the album had the matured playing, composition and lyricism all coming together at a perfect time, also technology bringing a crisp recording and sound
The Camera Eye is one of my favorite Rush tunes. So good.
I can actually feel Hemispheres in parts of this song (Camera Eye) . One of Alex's best guitar solos. Very underrated, unheard, and unseen solo.
1982 one of the most important years personally & musically. My high school graduation year & the first year I performed with my band on a stage. The culmination of my dream since I was 12 years old & since I had seen Neil Peart perform. Later my bands would cover Red Barchetta & Limelight along with RUSH classics like Fly By Night & Working Man.
Thanks, Doug! I love this record in it's entirety!
The Camera Eye is still one my favorite Rush songs.
I don't know if you noticed this, but one of the pictures shown on the album cover is of Joan Of Arc being burned at the stake, a reference to Witch Hunt. As an example of what can happen when prejudice and hatred really get out of hand, I recommend the song Red Sector A from Grace Under Pressure, which was based on the experiences of Geddy's mother as a Holocaust survivor, which IMO includes some of Neil's most powerful lyrics ever.
🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🔥 🔥 🔥
Hey Doug. Love your stuff. Thanks for this vault video. Yes,do GO TO LONDON, but then straight to Cornwall!!
The first time I heard the song it was so amazing to me and it’s still amazing so real, so put you right there
I like the parts where Doug talks over killer riffs from Geddy and Alex.
Yeah I noticed that too, it'd like he totally missed all those hooks and leads too.
He talks over every solo, without fail. I enjoy his insights on the compositions but sometimes he can look over the best playing IMO.
@@Cpayne30 He was good on his other reactions that I've seen. Once in a while this happens to him. ANother good reaction
channel is Lost In Vegas, but sometimes they stop it right at a bridge or a lead break!!
He's too busy listening to chord structures and compositional stuff. I'd love it if he's do a "second listen" series, where he re-visits certain music and just LISTENS, without attempting to talk about keys, time sigs or chord changes.
Not only was this tour the 1st concert I went to, it was also the first time puffing bud. Great times!
this album was the bridge between 70's and 80's rush.probably the favorite album of most rush fans.
Doug ur kool points just went sky high with RUSH
The Camera Eye's lyrics are alliterative in style. The same consonant sound repeated within the lines. "Grim faced and forbidding, their faces closed tight"..."Head first humanity, pause at a light"... "So light, yet endless, From a leaden sky"..."The buildings are lost in their limitless rise"..."My feet catch the pulse and the purposeful stride" just to name a few.
You can hear just how much music and how many musicians RUSH influenced between Permanent Waves and Moving PIctures.
The Camera Eye is such a bad-ass song.
Vital Signs is one of my favorite Rush songs. I also somehow associate the feel of "Witch Hunt/Vital Signs" as album closers with "Girl Gone Bad/House of Pain" that end VH's 1984. They're all dark & odd while melodic and rhythmic.
The focus is SHARP... C to C#. C SHARP. Now does the choice make sense? Love Camera Eye. Incessant but warm in its elevation to the sharp consistently. Thanks for doing this one Doug. I always learn something from you!
Wait wait wait wait wait.... THE WHILRWIND ????!!!!!????? My favorite album of all time. PLEASSSSSEEEE. I need this for that album... PLEAAAASE.
Witch hunt live is awesome, btw. 😉 Love the album reaction.
Definitely an iconic album with the standout tracks given.
😀Doug, you have to visit Britain, specifically London. I lived there for a few years just before the pandemic. An amazing, vibrant city that has an atmosphere that soaks right into your soul. 😀
For Live versions of this album, I would suggest the "Time Machine" CD/DVD. It has the whole album in its entirety with an amazing version of "Witch Hunt". Great musician focused camera footage is a real nice bonus. Neil also did a separate DVD called "Taking Center Stage" where he talks about each song on this tour and each is illustrated with drum camera footage 'Only' of each song.
The sheer volume of drum heroics that he talked over in the last 30 seconds of Vital Signs is mind boggling, 😂
I love The Camera Eye, it is such a perfect piece! I miss Neil. :(
Vital signs, the album version is SO compressed, both stylistically and "dry mix"... this song becomes MASSIVE when they played it live, basically this was a lot of new textural stuff I think they basically were just "laying it down" without fully figuring out the true "feel" under the song... but when live and it comes out of the bridge they really amp it up in future performances. (I love the mix, but it's SO compressed feeling, (sums up the 80s trying to balance the new synths into the mix with the guitars, something Rush really struggled internally with, but they completely figured it out later live).
Congrats Doug. How about reacting to "Grace Under Pressure"? That album is also pretty good.
The Camera Eye on a future Daily Doug, I can't wait!
Neil's lyrics are always so intelligent, thoughtful, and true.
24:44 one of my favourite drum fills!
When you get the chance, watch the Time Machine Tour video, filmed in Cleveland. They perform the entire album in the second half of the show. It's one of their best concerts, and it's worth noting that they were all pushing sixty.
So glad to hear the rest of the album Doug, thank you! It's still their most completely successful album, though I have a great affection for "Grace Under Pressure."
Maybe the "C...C#" idea in "The Camera Eye" was a nod to PDQ Bach?? 😏
Their live album “Exit Stage Left” Neil does one of the best drum solos of all time in the middle of YYZ! It’s truly a well-constructed solo!
Agree. Pure drums, no gimmicks. And, at a fast pace too.
@@commonman317 gimmicks? LMAO!
@@JimGeigerMusic Yes. No over the top theatrics. No stick twirling. No sampling yet, etc. It was just Neil on a drum set. That's what I meant.
Just a magnificent side of music. Brilliant.
Late 70s-Early 80s is where it's at for me, music-wise. Rush, The Clash, The Police, Pink Floyd, etc....all just nailing it at this time with both innovation and flawless execution.
Thanks!
Many thanks Glenn!
i think neil was fascinated by all things great and small his detail to his writing is soo refreshing
London is an amazing experience. As was my visit to Scotland. The best vacation of my life.
The Camera Eye is not only the longest song on the album, it's the last song Rush did that was more than 10 minutes long.
This album was life changing for me (OK, not on the same level as my marriage or the birth of my kids, but as a musical revelation).
Please come to London. You will love it. And also make a visit to my home town of St. Albans which is a few miles away. You will love it more!
I love Vital Signs, and that outro is my all time favorite.
I think i heard camera eye was one of the hardest for them to play live cuz Geddy doing the bass synth and vocals is tough in this song specifically i think.
Used to play F-Zero on SNES with the B side playing. For this of the generation, you know it fits perfectly
Its easy to believe that they were listening to a lot of The Police at this time. The drums , the guitar in Vital Signs are spot on Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland sound. The bass is a little bit Sting but it's mostly just Geddy
"So, what's that song you're working on?"
Rush - "It's a ten-minute epic juxtaposing New York and London"
"WTF???"
I love 'The Camera Eye'. Alex's doubled guitars sound so lush and and have amazing depth.
As for reggae feel, The Spirit of Radio has reggae interludes, which is the on the prior album, Permanent Waves. I'm sure you've heard this by now. Don't want to check all the previous comments.
Witch Hunt had some of the greatest lines ever. "Those who know what's best for us must rise and save us from ourselves." "Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand."
Every "moral guardian" or demogogue, ever. They say there are strangers who threaten us...
To this day, tyrants play this game, and their populace laps it up. North Korea, Russia, Iran...I could go on, but it's too depressing. They're not quite so strong in the U.S...yet. Just got to keep putting "conservatives" on the Supreme Court, electing demogogues, gutting the education system so people will think they way they "should", banning books, manufacturing outrage against these people or those...we'll get there if nobody wises up.
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure" ....Love that line (Vital Signs)
And yes, all the members of Rush, especially Neil and Alex were hugely influenced by The Police during this era. You can hear it in Vital Signs. And Reggae as well.
Rush was the first band doing melodic metal, metalcore, avant garde metal, etc. but that’s my opinion.
Love Vital Signs. The one song on this LP that never gets any love, for the most part.
This song was recorded when John Lennon was shot in NYC. The lyrics to me are about those 2 connections time events and reactions of those cities. It was relevant to the time. A camera eye focus on a tragic event.
Camera eye, great driving music!
Vital Signs has always been the underrated song of the album. Always overlooked, but i think it's better than Witch Hunt and a fantastic closer. Also a precursor to the new sound they would have on the album to follow.
C, G, F and Bb. Is the beginning chords.
I don't know if you have found and reviewed the live version of the song YYZ where Neil transitioned in to a drum solo yet. The only one that I know of is off the live album "Exit stage left". I think it was released after "Moving pictures" . If you have not done this yet then I suggest you use that one. I'm posting this 1 year after this episode was posted.😎
I wonder if it would have been appropriate for Lifeson to have used NYLon strings for Camera Eye --- at least for the intro and/or outro.
When ever Doug's training compells him to anticipate the big drum fill on the turn, he learns a little lesson about how good rock drummers like to do the opposite of the expected and cliché.
Doug, I love your reactions, dude, I do; but homie you talked and analyzed that half step interval on "The Camera Eye", all over that sublime solo. It's like my fav piece and I was curious what you would say about it and I'm a frickin' cry-baby. Ha ha ha. But seriously... dude. Peace.
07:10 Hence the name "Moving Pictures"
@29:20
Neil would solo during YYZ at least though the Grace Under Pressure tour dates. Also look for YYZ live in Rio. The audience adds lyrics there. ❤
Everybody got to EVALATE from the norm!
Vital Signs was a great blend between Moving Pictures and Signals. A glimpse of what was about to come IMO.
Subdivisions please. 80's to the core. Probably my fave offering . Saw that tour and its embedded in my mind.
To see a trained classical composer listen to and appreciate one of my all-time favorite band's albums is really gratifying. R.I.P. Neil Peart.
The Police were already popular by the time 'Moving Pictures' was released. So it's likely that Rush heard them, perhaps even did some shows with them? I know Geddy and Alex have spoken highly of Yes and Jefferson Airplane, so they were always interested in other bands, taking certain ideas, and spinning them in a unique way.
Awesome! Really hope you'll do the "Signals" album and maybe others....
The camera eye my fav
I would love to see a reaction to a song that has never been reacted to on RUclips : The band is Archive and the song is Again (16 minutes), very curious to get your analyse on this. It has the Pink Floyd vibe with a little bit of electro / trip-hop but a lot of atmospheric sounds
Vital Signs was one of the rare tracks by The Fabulous Men (aka Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart) that actually appeared on a Rush album. There are allegedly more gems by The Fabulous Men in the archives. I hope Geddy and Alex release them some day.
I don't get it.
@@metalmike570 - Geddy talked about it in an interview. I don't recall who was interviewing him. It was relatively recent though. The past few years. The video is here on RUclips. In essence, The Fabulous Men are Rush in a different mindset.
@@DavidLazarus I guess they're The Fab 3 then!
@@DavidLazarus Neil also mentioned The Fabulous Men in one of his last interviews... iirc I think both were George Strombolopolous interviews but I may be wrong. But Ged said if it didn't go on an album, they pitched it. I hope not.
@@johnandrews3568 - I could be wrong wrong, but I think Geddy was referring to songs composed with the Rush mentality. I think The Fabulous Men recordings still exist.
It's so cool that you mention about *Duke* by Genesis, as that 1980 album directly influenced Side 2 of Rush's 1981 masterpiece *Moving Pictures,* their greatest album ever. *(2112* is a close 2nd, so don't shoot me.) Then Genesis' *ABACAB* came-out in 1981 and that directly influenced 1982's *Signals.* Rush were actually very upfront about their influence from Genesis beginning in 1981.
To me, the album explores the inner calmness that one must maintain within the swirl of chaos surrounding them. Neil Peart was evidently studying Buddhism prior to and during the writing of the lyrics for the album, as it's all about finding your Center and staying there, while at the same time striving for making your own way in this life. Neil sure did in his.