The trick to the guitar intro is that Alex is using around 1/4 note delay/echo post volume pedal in order to continue carrying out the note while he fades the note back out, so you never hear silence while the note is faded. That was a trick he first used in the song By-Tor And The Snowdog on their Fly By Night album much earlier. He used it to a much heavier effect on the live version of By Tor on All The World’s A Stage. Actually, the double neck Rick that Geddy is using here is a four string bass and 12 string guitar. He uses the guitar to play the main melody on the outro following Alex’s solo. Alex just plays the arpeggio cord while Geddy plays the melody in tune with Neil playing the same melody notes on the glockenspiel. These guys were so ahead of their time throughout their career. There has been no other group quite like them, they’re called progressive, but in all reality, Rush is it’s own genre, sort of the same way Queen is there own genre. They’ve also been called the smallest orchestra in the world because of the way they layer they’re instrument sounds more like an orchestra, all playing harmonizing notes and scales, rather than all playing the same key. I never missed an opportunity to see these guys live. I saw them on every tour since Permanent Waves and they were always the best concerts I have ever seen and I saw every legendary band from the 70s, 80s and 90s, but no other group played with the same precision as these guys. You could, tell they were never wasted off their asses while playing, always striving to match the same sound they had in the studio live. Throughout most of his career, Geddy’s vocals sounded exactly the same live as any studio cut. He struggled a bit more in the later years, but could still hit some amazing high notes, even late into his 60s. I really feel sorry for younger fans just discovering them in the last few years who will never have a chance to see them live. You really needed to hear these guys live to realize just how close a band can reproduce their sound in a live environment perfectly.
I agree with that live playing of all there songs,. Rush has always mastered there live shows, way better than there studio versions,. The 1st was All the Worlds Stage 1976, then it went on from there, Rush recorded every live concert that they did from 76 onwards, but some of the jems are secrecy with the band. Exit stage left was there premier concert before Tom Sawyer and Red Barchecta was recorded
They actually played it live before it was recorded for AFTK, I saw them when they came to the UK for the first time and did a short tour in 77 before they went to Wales to record and they played Xanadu then.
@@RushfanUK They also played Subdivisions on the Pictures tour in the UK in November 81 at Ingleston ,i was there and went ''whats this its pretty catchy'' :)
Idk if it was coincidence or RUclips algorithm AI putting this in my feed today but thanks for using my remaster to react to! Definitely come back and check for any other Rush requests you get because I have a ton of Rush remaster projects and i'm working on new ones as we speak! Awesome reaction man, never gets old seeing people react to this song. It's never too late to discover Rush and can be a daunting Task. I have a playlist on my channel called "My best remasters" that has some more highlights like this, the best live performances of certain tracks etc. so it's a good place to start.
@@mightyV444 Haha keen ears my friend, honestly I don't remember how reverb ended up on his voice, possibly because I essentially removed the rear channels (which have most of the excessive ambience on the DVD) and re-added some to the center channel which contains only the vocal tracks to compensate for it.
@@StickHits - Ah! Okay! 😊 By the way, your remastered videos had also been used in several other reaction/analysis videos I've watched more recently! 😀 While not everyone in the comments was happy about this and suggested reacting to the official versions in the future instead, I have no reason to complain myself! 😊👍
I live in Montreal Canada, I'm going on 70, and even I "discovered" them only when Neil Peart [ pronounced PEERT ] died. You can understand how that impacted Canadian media and entered the consciousnesses of even non-fans. I went into instant catch-up mode. One of the greatest joys of my recent decades: imagine discovering such a well of treasures at this late stage in life. Instead of being a fan whose musical knowledge grew with the band, I had the luxury of bringing a lifetime's listening and learning to 40+ years of development of one of music's most influential bands. What a treat! Added in edit: The title is from a poem [ unfinished, I believe ] by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (?)
Hello mate! The song "XANADU' was inspired by an opiate induced dream, and later poem, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem is titled, "Kubla Khan", and it explores one man's quest to find the mythical place called Xanadu, a place where one can acquire eternal life. Thanks for this reaction! 🏆🏆🏆
Your astute technical perspective is fascinating as you are discovering this music. I grew up appreciating and respecting Rush without fully allowing myself to recognize their genius. All the people discovering Rush today are reminding me how lucky we were during the period when they were evolving music. More Rush please🤘🏽🎆
Many 'claim' to be '1st time listeners', may be true, but the astute technical perspective on the so called 1st listen is 'often' the give away of 'otherwise', this guy plays guitar.., I suspect he may be 'more aware' than he claims.
@@dn734 Definitely a first timer here. The only Rush song I was familiar with was YYZ, and that was because of the Guitar Hero video game. I have been playing guitar since 1991 though. I am always 100% clear about whether it’s a first time listen on my channel. I have done several videos on songs I know well, but I always let the audience know upfront. It’s a personal rule I have for myself, because I also loathe when I can tell a reactor is ‘faking it’ 😂 An interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed surrounding my Rush videos is no one can believe that I could get to be a 45 year old musician and somehow have never heard Rush! It’s absolutely because I’m Australian. They just never really made it across the line here. Our music industry is a bit of a joke when it comes to things like Prog I’m afraid.
Geddy's doubleneck is a Rickenbacker 4080/12, 4 string bass and 12 string guitar. Yes, there are 12 tuners on the headstock - 6 on the back of the head and 6 on the sides. The paired strings are wound onto pegs inside slots cut into the face of the head. Well documented in Geddy's Book of Bass p. 386 too. When comparing his bass sound to that of YYZ he used a Fender Jazz bass on that track and on most of the Moving Pictures album it came from.
Some things to know about the members of Rush. Neil was their primary lyricist, and trained himself into being a master composer of the musical structure of their songs. Their live presentations of a piece is almost precisely the same as the studio version, plus or minus the natural acoustics of the venue. The three of them were true friends, with a constant thread of humor amongst themselves, and it stayed that way for their entire careers until Neil's passing. They genuinely enjoyed playing together every night. Alex is such an amazingly clean-playing guitarist, that it goes unnoticed by many, especially when you are trying to keep up with watching everything Geddy is doing, or air-drumming along with Neil. Their songs are positive, uplifting, and interesting, along with being musically masterful. Other than that, what's to like?
I agree completely. I loved your reaction to Xanadu. Please react to "La Villa Strangiato" The official video. The official video was filmed in one take on a closed stage. It is an instrumental master piece and it is another great piece to see the interaction between all three of them. There are later performances too but please react to the official video it was done shortly after the song came out and it is a masterpiece.
That thing you were talking about with the time signatures is because all three of them have a metronomic sense of time, so at any given time, any one of them could be responsible for actually keeping the "beat". There are times when Geddy is keeping the central time on his bass, while both Alex and Neil are doing sort of their own thing along with him, and there are times when Alex is the time keeper and of course Neil is most of the time...but it can often take a while to figure out who is actually keeping time at any given time. ✌✌😁😁
There are a lot of bands that were inspired by Rush including Tool and Dream Theatre. Neil and Danny were friends. This song came out in 1977 by Rush so I am sure it inspired a lot of musicians after. Cheers
There are people in there 40's and 50's in the USA doing first time hearing reaction videos to Rush. What has sustained them is a Hard Core loyal cadre of fans, with the occasional Top 20 popular song once a decade. I was introduced to them by a friend, and it takes time to tune your ear and mind to their music. But once you're there, it's Musical Heroin!!!
This really is the gold standard for a live performance. Very perceptive on the tempo ebb and flow. It is definitely more pronounced in this live version vs. the album, but it is deliberate and so well executed. I would agree Rush is one of the best in rock at making odd meters flow. They makes extensive use but never gimmicky, or just because they can. It’s all about the phrasing. Neil will often make 2-bar patterns or symmetrical patterns to make it feel more even while Alex and Geddy ante clearly in 7. In the song Natural Science, the verse is in an odd meter which builds great tension that’s released when the chorus switches to 4/4. In Red Barchetta, a song about a sports car, they switch to 7 to give a feeling of acceleration without increasing tempo. It’s just brilliant composition. I always love seeing a musician discover these guys. Cheers!
@@squaaaaak3178 Because you can hear some things more clearly along with Geddy's phrasing is better and also I like Alex's guitar solo and a few other things that don't appear in the live version. Just different.
@@squaaaaak3178 - I totally agree with you! The intro sounds rushed in the studio version (Hah! What a pun!), and even worse, the solo synth being played a full octave higher sounds ridiculous (to me) 😅 But you know what they say: "No two pairs of ears hear the same music"! 😉
The first time Alex started using the volume pedal to have his guitar fade in and out was on their 1975 "Fly by Night" album. They had their first multi-part song ("By-Tor and the Snowdog"), and Alex used the volume pedal for atmospheric effects. He improved on it a lot for that song with their live album, and really excelled at it with "Xanadu". This song is LOVED by their fans. There's cool, and then there's "Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee back-to-back with double-neck guitars playing Xanadu" cool.
I went to several RUSH concerts in the UK. The amount of sound produced by three guys was unreal. All the time on stage you could see how much they all respected each other's musical skills. You could see all through the concerts you could see their sense of humour and how much fun they were having. RIP Neil Peart.
I'm not surprised Rush wouldn't be that big in Australia either. I watch a Drummer Reaction channel as well from New Zealand who is basically going through his Rush discovery on his channel. I'm Canadian and this was one of the first bands my parents introduced me to. I was lucky enough to see them once, in Ottawa in 2017. One of the best performances ever.
Check out Rush performing "Spirit of Radio" live in Toronto in 2003 in front of 500,000 fans on a sunny August afternoon. They start out with a short tribute to the Rolling Stones with an instrumental version of "Paint It Black" and the segue into a blistering version of "Spirit of Radio". It's one of the greatest live performances I've ever seen.
For tracks like this, without sequencers or arpeggiators, they didn't need click tracks. They had Neil instead. Peart spent hours learning and practicing his tracks for live. He almost never played a non compositional part. When they did jam out, he had various cues he played to count the guys in (like 4 open hat beats).
Your description of tempo/time is very accurate. If you listen to the studio recording, it's "cleaner", without the occasional lags. I noticed the same thing the first time I saw this live version. It's fascinating how Neil does it and how the others sinc in seamlessly...
I saw Rush in London 1981 on this tour....Trust me they were just as good,absolutely amazing. We were watching three geniuses at the peak of their careers....masters of their instruments and their art. I doubt there will ever be such a talented three piece band again. Your reaction is spot on. You can't rush RUSH!!! They are the masters of crescendo. I can't wait to see your reaction to either 2112 or Hemispheres.
"It always serves the music." You nailed it there. Neil and Geddy worked intensely to make sure that nothing in their compositions, however complex and experimental, didn't belong to the musical objective of the piece. The genius of Rush is that each track is a complete set of thoughts, themes and intentions; a full journey through a story they want to tell. Each is a carefully crafted composition, not just a rock song. In some aspects, Xanadu may well be their most important piece, for its freedom from all constraints commonly imposed upon 'commercial' artists. The musical transitions don't concern themselves with convention, they organically create the mood for you. Since you obviously understand the details, and aren't opposed to longer pieces, you need to check out La Villa Strangiato.
Funny you mentioned Spinal Tap and Stonehenge because i was just watching a live performance of Rush and Geddy Lee had a little miniature Stonehenge on his keyboards. One of the many great things about Rush is that they don't take themselves seriously and are quick to poke fun at themselves.
@@willrobinson9575 Even though it would appear to be a “lip-synced” version straight from AFTK, I have a new favorite version. This one. 3 masters of their crafts. RIP Professor. You will always be missed.🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁💐🛐🕊️😢
Both Geddy & Alex are using pedals via MIDI which synch to the synths as triggers. I've been in a few Rush tribute bands playing bass & keys. At the same time! It ain't easy!! In my 50's now I'm over the challenge! But back then it was fun.
Rush was never really main stream. Most people learned about them through word of mouth. Main stream radio only plays a select few songs and they are few and far between. They earned their fan base buy constantly touring and introduction from generation to generation. Truly a band of the people.
Your commentary to me is fantastic. Your vocabulary and description of the “push and pull” of the meter and the manipulation of the dynamics could help a lot of people I know to really better understand this epic song and epic band. There will never be another band like Rush. Ever.
Kubla Khan By Samuel Taylor Coleridge Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment. 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. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round; And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! A savage place! as holy and enchanted As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted By woman wailing for her demon-lover! And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething, As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing, A mighty fountain momently was forced: Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail, Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail: And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever It flung up momently the sacred river. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion Through wood and dale the sacred river ran, Then reached the caverns measureless to man, And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean; And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far Ancestral voices prophesying war! The shadow of the dome of pleasure Floated midway on the waves; Where was heard the mingled measure From the fountain and the caves. It was a miracle of rare device, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw: It was an Abyssinian maid And on her dulcimer she played, Singing of Mount Abora. Could I revive within me Her symphony and song, To such a deep delight ’twould win me, That with music loud and long, I would build that dome in air, That sunny dome! those caves of ice! And all who heard should see them there, And all should cry, Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Weave a circle round him thrice, And close your eyes with holy dread For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise.
Even the studio version was one run through, as a sound check, then one take. They'd been playing it live for a while, before they got into the studio, in 1977.
Congratulations! You now have a 40 year rabbit hole to go down. It is an epic journey, filled with incomparable musicianship, emotionally striking lyrics, and 3 really good friends who absolutely love making music together since 1974. I've been a fan since 1976. I have been to many of their concerts over the years. What you hear on the album is what they reproduce in concert. It is amazing, every time. 3 hours of amazing music... goosebumps and chills, every time. Enjoy your journey of stank face, wtf moments, and sheer amazement at the genius that is RUSH.
@@PrymalChaos Glad to add you to the Rush Army! Seems to me that anyone who enjoys music finds their way to prog rock at some time. And with Yes and Pink Floyd being the progenitors of the genre, Rush is the distillation of music/lyrics/performance that can reach all colors and all musical abilities. Enjoy the magic that is Rush. I'll be following your journey😀
@@commknightj thanks mate! The channel is highly diverse in genre, so don’t be surprised if you see some random song choices pop up. I’m always spinning 4 or 5 plates so to speak. Just keep an eye out for any videos that speak to you. I’ll certainly do more Rush, it just might take a minute to get the videos out. In the meantime I don’t expect everyone to watch every video, however I do encourage people to take the occasional gamble on something that they may not be in to. I started this channel exclusively doing extreme metalcore stuff. Now I’ve moved through punk, Japanese metal and funk, classical, opera, Instrumental, A Cappella pop, the list goes on, and I have discovered so many new acts I never would have noticed. I have found that enormous amounts of older prog and rock fans have rediscovered music through the Japanese Scene. Bands like Band-Maid, Baby-Metal, Gacharic Spin, Unlucky Morpheus, the list is endless, and these bands are either exclusively, or at least heavily feature female performers, playing material that is mind-blowingly innovative and proficient. The scene over there is on a whole other level. It’s certainly not prog, but if you want an example of the call unit of these musicians check out Gacharic Spin’s song Mindset. It’s pop funk (with a hint of show band flavour in the bridge) but the playing is off the charts.
Subscribed - great breakdown! The awesome thing about music is that regardless of age (and I mean that about both age of the music and the listener) it’s art that you can appreciate for its beauty, depth and emotional movement.
Great reaction! I saw Rush 5 times in the 1980s and you’re right, the amazing thing about their shows was their ability to recreate their amazing music live without smoke and mirrors. Cheers!
It was Rush's mantra and unique selling point even in the 70's and 80's to reproduce their complicated studio sound live as perfectly as humanly possible. Funnily you call it a lost art a lot of their detractors at the time criticised such a clinical approach but of course the fans wanted to hear those perfect sometimes 20 minute epics performed as per their studio listening experience. Rush were pretty unique and pushed the limits of what a 3 piece band could do live. Their formula meant they enjoyed over a 40 year career and only became remotely famous when some of their fans started to get into positions to expose their talent in the media e.g. "Love ya man" Hollywood film etc.
This song is simply a symphonic masterpiece, and the performance is simply a jaw dropping display of talent rarely captured on media. Yet it appears to be 3 guys just a having fun doing what they love (and that's exactly what it is). BTW, I saw this tour in Jackon MS in the summer after graduation from HS (1981).
I’ve been blown away by them since 1976! Seeing people discover Rush for the 1st time is great but watching musicians discover them is better. Great reaction. Cheers from Canuckland 🇨🇦
I would say that Rush had five different eras. 1. Glam/Hard Rock. 2. Fantasy-Prog (Caves and Castles. Swords and Sorcerers, etc) 3. Contemporary Rock. (starting with Permanent Waves) 4. Then morphing into their own take on "The New Music", forging rock into new wave. 5. Art Rock (Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Presto) After that, they just tried to remain relevant without copying themselves. They experimented with grunge and punk and orchestral arrangements and so on.. To their immense credit, I would say that their final album, Clockwork Angels is very much one of their greatest works. It is the one album they allowed themselves to be influenced by their past work without it being a piecemeal patchwork of redundancy. A true masterpiece. They went out on top.
In the 1970s and 1980s, it was perfectly common for bands to put on live shows where the music was number one! And nobody used backing tracks (with the exception of Queen.) But bands like Yes, Genesis, ELO, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd (they hired additional musicians to play on stage,) Kansas and of course, Queen. Of course, Queen and Pink Floyd put on huge stage shows, but if you look at the concert movie of Led Zeppelin, "The Song Remains the Same," you'll notice that they play on a tiny stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Other bands like Led Zeppelin, Styx, Montrose, Ted Nugent, The Band and the Grateful Dead all entertained many thousands of concertgoers simply with their music.
Hello there...enjoying your "discovery" of Rush. You're in for an unbelievable ride, to me the best musicians and lyricists ever....their unmatched music and deep revealing lyrics changed my life...if you do get deep into their lyrics, you'll dig what I'm trying to express. I suggest checking Natural Science, Witch Hunt, Vital Signs, Red Barchetta, 2112, ...their whole discography is so full of unmatched music that it'll leave you asking for more. Welcome to Rush Nation....
Your comment at 27:24 is spot on. I agree with you 100%. You are very intelligent, and you seem to know many technical music aspects that go way over my head. I just listen to the music. That's about as smart as I get. But at least I've had at this point 50 years of listening to Rush and got to see them about 20 times. I'm not bragging because some people I have met have seen them over 100 times, and my 20 times seem very very small and not at all enough. Best wishes.
BTW, the guitar Geddy is playing is a 4 string bass on top and a 12 string guitar on the bottom. If you pause the video at 4:20 (give or take a second or two) where Geddy is facing away from the camera you can see the back of the headstock on Geddy's Rickenbacker double neck. If you look carefully at the lower neck you can see another set of tuners facing toward the back of the headstock, virtually invisible from the front of the instrument.
This was the first Rush song I ever heard on a late night rock show of the radio back in the very early 80’s, and it blew me away. Yeah, there were other famous rock bands been played also, but none caught me with that WOW factor like hearing Rush for the first time. Went out and bought the album ‘A Farewell to Kings’ as soon as I could at the weekend, and loved ‘em ever since!
"Are they playing to a click track?", pah! Neil Peart *was* the 'click track'! 😄😉 Very sadly, he passed away three years ago, and Rush had played their last live show already in 2015, at which time they were celebrating their 40th anniversary. And great reaction/analysis, mate! 😀👍 Greetings from NZ! 😊 ...oh, by the way: That's actually another *12* -string guitar on Geddy's double-neck! He's playing it from the beginning of Alex' solo till the end of the song; The camera operators forgot to switch to Geddy when he's playing on his 12-string, though 🙄😄
You are so correct, they played by feel and watching them perform live in the arena let you know that. Three musical geniuses who were absolutely best friends and played like it. When Neil lost his family, the other two did not play again until he was ready. It was three of them together 'til the end of time, and that connection was obvious and appreciate by the loyal fan base. I took an ex-girlfriend to a show and she instantly fell in love with them. She talked about how "together" they were as musicians, but she also commented on their obvious friendship. That drew her to them. She wanted to go to any show they played locally. One day she called me up to tell me a documentary was playing on TV, and how much she loved it.
I am 64, I found Rush with 2112, in 1978. 2112 song is long and shows each band member at their best! They influence virtually every Rock band! Peace I would give a lot to hear one more concert, love these guys!
The great thing about him using that technique of plucking the string with the volume off then bringing up the note is that he wasn't doing it for 'gimmicks' sake but took advantage of that soft progression from note to note that couldn't have been done otherwise to convey that element of 'space', 'enchantment' and 'wonder'.
When I read you describing that, it made me think about how much it's like a synthesizer. There is a controller on a synth that determines the 'attack' of a sound. A short attack makes the sound come in fast and loud, while a slow attack will start with nothing but slowly sweel in volume over time. I know rush loved a bit of synth, so maybe that was the thinking behind the technique. Very cool though. Extremely expressive.
Thanks Don. I have a fair amount of experience in different aspects of music, but I’m no Rick Beato. Take everything I say with a grain of salt! 😅 glad you enjoyed the reaction!
Check Rush R30 opening sequence. It's a medley of all their intro songs from their 1st 5or6 albums and it's called the best intro ever. Where they just come out of one song straight into the other then go into spirit of radio. It's an awesome jam session. And freewill is an awesome song musically and lyrically.
Nice reaction. I do hear Sweet Child of Mine now that you mention it. These same 3 guys were together from 1974 through 2015, when they retired. Neil passed away in 2020.
Neil Peart passed away January of 2020. It's fantastic that you tube is bringing in a new generation of fans. Unfortunately they've missed the opportunity to see them in person. They've brought together new fans from all musical backgrounds
Alex is using a Morley Volume /Wah. Geddy's double nexk Rickenbacker 4080 has a 12 string neck on the bottom neck. It's in his Big Beautiful Book of Bass. It started as a 6 string Natural Glo no paint 4080. It was pretty bit up so Geddy sent it to Rickenbacker and was restoredbyLarry Davis who converted it to 12 stringand painted it the Rickenbacker"Jetglo" finish. On this performance Geddy is playing the original Mini Moog. Not sure if the second set of key's below are from the original Oberheim 8 voice. He used to have an Oberheim eight voice that he used live through th Moving Pictures tour but is suffered some damage during the tour and had to be retired. R40 in 2015 was the last tour Rush did. 35 Shows in the U.S. Oh and both Geddy and ALex play Moog Taurus bass pedals. YOu can kind of see Geddy's right leg moving. This Rickenbacker 4080 Geddy is playing now resides at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa. I think Alex recently sold this Gibson EDS-1275 last year at auction along with the white Gibson ES-355 that sold for $384,000 dollars. Yeah I looked real close. The lower deck of keys is from the Original Oberheim 8 voice and when you look at the let uppermost corner of the whole set up on the left is the white colored Oberheim SEM module- which has ocillators filters and other synth bits. I think not long after he had an Oberheim OB-Xa. Then a modern Oberheim 8. Then the Rolands 2 or 3 different ones. A Juno and or a Jupiter 8 which both are high dollar collector prices now. He had so many that he used through the years after this tour. Ya know it kept getting better as knew stuff came out.
This live song is from the album Exit...Stage Left. The video you watched came out in 1982. The synth Geddy was using is the Oberheim OB-X with a set of Taurus pedals. Used them forever! He can sing, play bass and synth with his feet at the same time. Neil was the GOAT drummer/poet/lyricist. If you want to see his full glory, check out the drum solo video of him in Frankfurt. You will be amazed! Alex is an absolute genius with his guitars. One guy that makes it sound like three! The three of them sound like there are 10 people playing, but they do it all themselves! Had the honor and privilege to work a show on the "Power Windows" tour. These guys are as humble as your best friend and the nicest you will ever meet in rock-n-roll. They paid their dues, learned the ropes and became the worlds best players! Sorry they never made to Australia, you missed a very special evening! They also were known for some of the best lighting shows around. They kept this all the way through to the R40 tour. The god behind the lights was Howard Ungerleider. Another authentically nice person! Glad you have started down the Rush rabbit hole. Start at the beginning and go to the last album, feel the way the band changed, grew and always got better! Their albums production value was always top notch. Have been a fan since 1980 and listen to them everyday! Rush on!
Australia....and Rush...... Back in 2016 I was on an Australia visit -- Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Port Lincoln to do the great white shark excursion, Cairns.... One afternoon, just walking around Cairns with absolutely no direction, totally aimlessly, I saw a little record store tucked into the hallway of a mall and went in. Imagine my surprise when the first thing I saw, up on the wall behind the counter, was the big Rush poster from 1977, playing Xanadu. 🙂
If I close my eyes I would swear that Alex Lifeson is actually playing a cello instead of an electric guitar during parts of the intro. Just incredible musicianship.
I believe if Jimi was still alive, Alex would be somewhere in the top 3 of his favorite guitarists. His rhythm playing, leads, fills and such a broad tone range just put him in rare company.
Great reaction. Love that you noticed influences from Rush that ultimately inspired Spinal Tap. In later gigs, Geddy actually has a mini Stonehenge model sitting on top of his keyboard in tribute to that exact gag from "This is Spinal Tap".
A friend of ours who was a record promoter here in Toronto in the 70s was told to check out this up- and- coming band. After hearing them he said , "they'll never make it, especially with that singer". That band was Rush. Boy, was he sorry.
I just looked up to see if Slash was a fan of RUSH and yes he was. he went to their RRHOF induction. and said they should have been in the RRHIF sooner than they were.
Xanadu is a song about an unfinished poem. It is from the 1977 album-- A Farewell to Kings. You need to take the RUSH album journey! Check out a much older RUSH perform Working Man from Live in Cleveland!
Those synthesisers are a polyfonic Oberheim and a Minimoog build into one set plus Moog Taurus pedal synthesiser. Alex Lifeson also uses Taurus bass pedals.
Review Rush Working Man live in Cleveland. Enjoy the ride. Rush Is Timeless. Seen Rush a few times and have followed them for the last 40 years as a teenager. RIP Neil Peart. 🙏
You kind of hit on the spirit of Rush in your comment about developing the themes and going against the pressure to make a song that's 2:30. After a fairly unsuccessful record, the band's record label threatened them, telling them they needed to make more commercial and shorter songs. The bands response in 1976 was the 2112 album, in which the ENTIRE first side was a single track! They decided that the music was more important than anything else, even their record deal. They made the music they wanted to make and for them, telling a story through a song was important. For songs like La Villa Strangiato or Xanadu, the stories demanded pushing the boundaries and putting out 11 minute plus songs. The courage in that is part of what made Rush one of the greatest bands of all time. Side note: I've heard many people say that Geddy's Rickenbacker is a 4-strong and 12-string, though it looks like 6 to me... I've also heard that some drummers play to metronomes and metronomes play to Neal Peart.
It was inspired by "A Vision in a Dream", a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Peart was a massive reader and based lyrics on his readings. Ayn Rand was also an influencer of Peart's lyrics.
Geddy and Alex recently said in an interview that they wrote songs that they could play with just the 3 of them live hence their live shows were very true to their records. BTW, they stopped touring in 2015 and Neil passed away in 2020. Also, Alex and Geddy recently played at Taylor Hawkins' memorial show and the drummer from Tool did play on at least one song. Otherwise Rush is not active.
Just watched your XANADU reaction video. XANADU was on their 1977 album A FAREWELL TO KINGS, while the video was from 1981. Predates Sweet Child by at least eight years.
@@azcrim Thanks for the context! So I suppose it’s well within the bounds of Slash taking some influence from it. I believe I read that he wrote Sweet Child based on an exercise that he used to use to warm up. Maybe that exercise was based on that Rush lick. 😃 Either that or he just straight up ripped it off, ahem! I mean paid homage to it.
For other live tracks; YYZ Live In Roi, Working Man Live In Cleveland (this their Time Machine tour 2011) Leave That Thing Alone from the same concert, La Villa Strangiato Live 1978 (though it is recorded live but not in concert). Having done 19 album over 40 years, there is a lot more.
![FIRST TIME HEARING Rush ~ Xanadu ~ Exit Stage Left [1981] REACTION](/img/1.gif)
The trick to the guitar intro is that Alex is using around 1/4 note delay/echo post volume pedal in order to continue carrying out the note while he fades the note back out, so you never hear silence while the note is faded.
That was a trick he first used in the song By-Tor And The Snowdog on their Fly By Night album much earlier. He used it to a much heavier effect on the live version of By Tor on All The World’s A Stage.
Actually, the double neck Rick that Geddy is using here is a four string bass and 12 string guitar. He uses the guitar to play the main melody on the outro following Alex’s solo. Alex just plays the arpeggio cord while Geddy plays the melody in tune with Neil playing the same melody notes on the glockenspiel.
These guys were so ahead of their time throughout their career. There has been no other group quite like them, they’re called progressive, but in all reality, Rush is it’s own genre, sort of the same way Queen is there own genre. They’ve also been called the smallest orchestra in the world because of the way they layer they’re instrument sounds more like an orchestra, all playing harmonizing notes and scales, rather than all playing the same key.
I never missed an opportunity to see these guys live. I saw them on every tour since Permanent Waves and they were always the best concerts I have ever seen and I saw every legendary band from the 70s, 80s and 90s, but no other group played with the same precision as these guys. You could, tell they were never wasted off their asses while playing, always striving to match the same sound they had in the studio live.
Throughout most of his career, Geddy’s vocals sounded exactly the same live as any studio cut. He struggled a bit more in the later years, but could still hit some amazing high notes, even late into his 60s. I really feel sorry for younger fans just discovering them in the last few years who will never have a chance to see them live. You really needed to hear these guys live to realize just how close a band can reproduce their sound in a live environment perfectly.
well said bro, truly one of a kind, genius, discipline, talent, everything..
I agree with that live playing of all there songs,. Rush has always mastered there live shows, way better than there studio versions,. The 1st was All the Worlds Stage 1976, then it went on from there, Rush recorded every live concert that they did from 76 onwards, but some of the jems are secrecy with the band. Exit stage left was there premier concert before Tom Sawyer and Red Barchecta was recorded
The greatest 3 piece rock band in history, no debate, over.
And also much greater than many bands with _more_ than 3 members! 😁👍
The greatest rock band in history. Period.
Rush put out a wall of virtuoso sound!
FACTS…
Unfortunately, there is still debate because there are a lot of stupid people in the world.
This song was written around 1976. Originally released on their 1977 album A Farewell to Kings.
They actually played it live before it was recorded for AFTK, I saw them when they came to the UK for the first time and did a short tour in 77 before they went to Wales to record and they played Xanadu then.
A big part of why that is my fav Rush album. The title track is so underrated as well
@@RushfanUK They also played Subdivisions on the Pictures tour in the UK in November 81 at Ingleston ,i was there and went ''whats this its pretty catchy'' :)
Idk if it was coincidence or RUclips algorithm AI putting this in my feed today but thanks for using my remaster to react to! Definitely come back and check for any other Rush requests you get because I have a ton of Rush remaster projects and i'm working on new ones as we speak! Awesome reaction man, never gets old seeing people react to this song.
It's never too late to discover Rush and can be a daunting Task. I have a playlist on my channel called "My best remasters" that has some more highlights like this, the best live performances of certain tracks etc. so it's a good place to start.
Ah! I did wonder why Neil's voice suddenly had reverb on it, too! I didn't remember it sounding like that on my DVD! 😄😉
@@mightyV444 Haha keen ears my friend, honestly I don't remember how reverb ended up on his voice, possibly because I essentially removed the rear channels (which have most of the excessive ambience on the DVD) and re-added some to the center channel which contains only the vocal tracks to compensate for it.
@@StickHits - Ah! Okay! 😊 By the way, your remastered videos had also been used in several other reaction/analysis videos I've watched more recently! 😀 While not everyone in the comments was happy about this and suggested reacting to the official versions in the future instead, I have no reason to complain myself! 😊👍
Awesome! You are providing a great service!
I live in Montreal Canada, I'm going on 70, and even I "discovered" them only when Neil Peart [ pronounced PEERT ] died. You can understand how that impacted Canadian media and entered the consciousnesses of even non-fans. I went into instant catch-up mode.
One of the greatest joys of my recent decades: imagine discovering such a well of treasures at this late stage in life. Instead of being a fan whose musical knowledge grew with the band, I had the luxury of bringing a lifetime's listening and learning to 40+ years of development of one of music's most influential bands. What a treat!
Added in edit: The title is from a poem [ unfinished, I believe ] by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (?)
I only wish I could listen to Rush
for the first time! Been listening
to them since 1976…
This is why I love these reaction channels. Watching the amazememt of others like I had the first time
Awesome buddy, keep it going! And edited in… Coleridge did write it, as well as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
You speak truth and wisdom, kind Sir...
Isn't it remarkable how many people default to assuming it's pronounced 'Pert'....
Hello mate! The song "XANADU' was inspired by an opiate induced dream, and later poem, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem is titled, "Kubla Khan", and it explores one man's quest to find the mythical place called Xanadu, a place where one can acquire eternal life. Thanks for this reaction! 🏆🏆🏆
Then he ends up miserable, “waiting for the world to end, weary as the night, praying for the light, prison of the lost Xanadu.”
@@JohnBrooking4 Yes, he is trapped in the cave.
opiate induced dream..so so relevative!!!!
each puoof of the pipe induces another vision and new vision of whats to come..
milk of paradise..what do u think that is? wouldnt that inspire dark feelings of addiction?
Your astute technical perspective is fascinating as you are discovering this music. I grew up appreciating and respecting Rush without fully allowing myself to recognize their genius. All the people discovering Rush today are reminding me how lucky we were during the period when they were evolving music.
More Rush please🤘🏽🎆
Well said. I'm sure the professor agrees.
Many 'claim' to be '1st time listeners', may be true, but the astute technical perspective on the so called 1st listen is 'often' the give away of 'otherwise', this guy plays guitar.., I suspect he may be 'more aware' than he claims.
Why does RUclips send me replies that aren't even replies to my own comments??? Effn stop it RUclips!!!!!
i concur.
@@dn734 Definitely a first timer here. The only Rush song I was familiar with was YYZ, and that was because of the Guitar Hero video game. I have been playing guitar since 1991 though.
I am always 100% clear about whether it’s a first time listen on my channel. I have done several videos on songs I know well, but I always let the audience know upfront. It’s a personal rule I have for myself, because I also loathe when I can tell a reactor is ‘faking it’ 😂
An interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed surrounding my Rush videos is no one can believe that I could get to be a 45 year old musician and somehow have never heard Rush! It’s absolutely because I’m Australian. They just never really made it across the line here. Our music industry is a bit of a joke when it comes to things like Prog I’m afraid.
Geddy's doubleneck is a Rickenbacker 4080/12, 4 string bass and 12 string guitar. Yes, there are 12 tuners on the headstock - 6 on the back of the head and 6 on the sides. The paired strings are wound onto pegs inside slots cut into the face of the head. Well documented in Geddy's Book of Bass p. 386 too. When comparing his bass sound to that of YYZ he used a Fender Jazz bass on that track and on most of the Moving Pictures album it came from.
Some things to know about the members of Rush. Neil was their primary lyricist, and trained himself into being a master composer of the musical structure of their songs. Their live presentations of a piece is almost precisely the same as the studio version, plus or minus the natural acoustics of the venue. The three of them were true friends, with a constant thread of humor amongst themselves, and it stayed that way for their entire careers until Neil's passing. They genuinely enjoyed playing together every night. Alex is such an amazingly clean-playing guitarist, that it goes unnoticed by many, especially when you are trying to keep up with watching everything Geddy is doing, or air-drumming along with Neil. Their songs are positive, uplifting, and interesting, along with being musically masterful. Other than that, what's to like?
Thanks Tim! That's really interesting that Neil wrote the lyrics!
a recomendation la villa stragiato possibly the greatest instrumental ever Great reaction to Xanadu
I agree completely. I loved your reaction to Xanadu. Please react to "La Villa Strangiato" The official video. The official video was filmed in one take on a closed stage. It is an instrumental master piece and it is another great piece to see the interaction between all three of them. There are later performances too but please react to the official video it was done shortly after the song came out and it is a masterpiece.
That thing you were talking about with the time signatures is because all three of them have a metronomic sense of time, so at any given time, any one of them could be responsible for actually keeping the "beat". There are times when Geddy is keeping the central time on his bass, while both Alex and Neil are doing sort of their own thing along with him, and there are times when Alex is the time keeper and of course Neil is most of the time...but it can often take a while to figure out who is actually keeping time at any given time. ✌✌😁😁
Very true and accurate. Well written!! Thanks so much for explaining this fact!
“Xanadu” is performed in 4/4 and 7/8 time signatures. “Xanadu” was released in 1977 on Rush's 5th studio album Farewell to Kings
Rush was the greatest live band ever. Incredible reproduction of their studio material.
There are a lot of bands that were inspired by Rush including Tool and Dream Theatre. Neil and Danny were friends. This song came out in 1977 by Rush so I am sure it inspired a lot of musicians after.
Cheers
There are people in there 40's and 50's in the USA doing first time hearing reaction videos to Rush. What has sustained them is a Hard Core loyal cadre of fans, with the occasional Top 20 popular song once a decade. I was introduced to them by a friend, and it takes time to tune your ear and mind to their music. But once you're there, it's Musical Heroin!!!
This really is the gold standard for a live performance. Very perceptive on the tempo ebb and flow. It is definitely more pronounced in this live version vs. the album, but it is deliberate and so well executed. I would agree Rush is one of the best in rock at making odd meters flow. They makes extensive use but never gimmicky, or just because they can. It’s all about the phrasing. Neil will often make 2-bar patterns or symmetrical patterns to make it feel more even while Alex and Geddy ante clearly in 7. In the song Natural Science, the verse is in an odd meter which builds great tension that’s released when the chorus switches to 4/4. In Red Barchetta, a song about a sports car, they switch to 7 to give a feeling of acceleration without increasing tempo. It’s just brilliant composition. I always love seeing a musician discover these guys. Cheers!
This version is far superior to the studio version, and I don't know why anyone thinks differently.
@@squaaaaak3178 Because you can hear some things more clearly along with Geddy's phrasing is better and also I like Alex's guitar solo and a few other things that don't appear in the live version. Just different.
@@squaaaaak3178 - I totally agree with you! The intro sounds rushed in the studio version (Hah! What a pun!), and even worse, the solo synth being played a full octave higher sounds ridiculous (to me) 😅 But you know what they say: "No two pairs of ears hear the same music"! 😉
The first time Alex started using the volume pedal to have his guitar fade in and out was on their 1975 "Fly by Night" album. They had their first multi-part song ("By-Tor and the Snowdog"), and Alex used the volume pedal for atmospheric effects. He improved on it a lot for that song with their live album, and really excelled at it with "Xanadu". This song is LOVED by their fans. There's cool, and then there's "Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee back-to-back with double-neck guitars playing Xanadu" cool.
Always Kool 😎
Amen.
I went to several RUSH concerts in the UK. The amount of sound produced by three guys was unreal. All the time on stage you could see how much they all respected each other's musical skills. You could see all through the concerts you could see their sense of humour and how much fun they were having. RIP Neil Peart.
Glad you got a chance to hear this one. Rush is my favorite band and Xanadu is my favorite song from them. Cool that you enjoyed it.
I'm not surprised Rush wouldn't be that big in Australia either. I watch a Drummer Reaction channel as well from New Zealand who is basically going through his Rush discovery on his channel. I'm Canadian and this was one of the first bands my parents introduced me to. I was lucky enough to see them once, in Ottawa in 2017. One of the best performances ever.
Every sound you hear is played or triggered from the stage by 3 masters. Amazing. Welcome to the show
His brain will explode🤘🤘!
Check out Rush performing "Spirit of Radio" live in Toronto in 2003 in front of 500,000 fans on a sunny August afternoon. They start out with a short tribute to the Rolling Stones with an instrumental version of "Paint It Black" and the segue into a blistering version of "Spirit of Radio". It's one of the greatest live performances I've ever seen.
Xanadu is based on a unfinished poem by English poet Samuel Taylor Cooleridge, it's a location, lost to history.
For tracks like this, without sequencers or arpeggiators, they didn't need click tracks. They had Neil instead. Peart spent hours learning and practicing his tracks for live. He almost never played a non compositional part. When they did jam out, he had various cues he played to count the guys in (like 4 open hat beats).
Well written!! Thanks for making that point ... it's just so true!
Your description of tempo/time is very accurate. If you listen to the studio recording, it's "cleaner", without the occasional lags. I noticed the same thing the first time I saw this live version. It's fascinating how Neil does it and how the others sinc in seamlessly...
I saw Rush in London 1981 on this tour....Trust me they were just as good,absolutely amazing. We were watching three geniuses at the peak of their careers....masters of their instruments and their art. I doubt there will ever be such a talented three piece band again. Your reaction is spot on. You can't rush RUSH!!! They are the masters of crescendo. I can't wait to see your reaction to either 2112 or Hemispheres.
"It always serves the music." You nailed it there. Neil and Geddy worked intensely to make sure that nothing in their compositions, however complex and experimental, didn't belong to the musical objective of the piece. The genius of Rush is that each track is a complete set of thoughts, themes and intentions; a full journey through a story they want to tell. Each is a carefully crafted composition, not just a rock song. In some aspects, Xanadu may well be their most important piece, for its freedom from all constraints commonly imposed upon 'commercial' artists. The musical transitions don't concern themselves with convention, they organically create the mood for you. Since you obviously understand the details, and aren't opposed to longer pieces, you need to check out La Villa Strangiato.
I'm always amazed how these guys are so good that they can joke and jostle on stage while playing one of the most complex pieces of music written.
Funny you mentioned Spinal Tap and Stonehenge because i was just watching a live performance of Rush and Geddy Lee had a little miniature Stonehenge on his keyboards. One of the many great things about Rush is that they don't take themselves seriously and are quick to poke fun at themselves.
I've watched this so many times, and it's still epic every time.
Pretty well sums up everything I might have to say about it. E P I C
🤴🤴🤴🇨🇦
This is my favorite version ruclips.net/video/SEuOoMprDqg/видео.html
@@willrobinson9575 Even though it would appear to be a “lip-synced” version straight from AFTK, I have a new favorite version. This one. 3 masters of their crafts. RIP Professor. You will always be missed.🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁💐🛐🕊️😢
Both Geddy & Alex are using pedals via MIDI which synch to the synths as triggers. I've been in a few Rush tribute bands playing bass & keys. At the same time! It ain't easy!! In my 50's now I'm over the challenge! But back then it was fun.
Rush was never really main stream. Most people learned about them through word of mouth. Main stream radio only plays a select few songs and they are few and far between. They earned their fan base buy constantly touring and introduction from generation to generation. Truly a band of the people.
Your commentary to me is fantastic. Your vocabulary and description of the “push and pull” of the meter and the manipulation of the dynamics could help a lot of people I know to really better understand this epic song and epic band. There will never be another band like Rush. Ever.
RUSH Army is present and prepared for duty.
You are witnessing the professor of the drums NEIL PEART!!!
Kubla Khan
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.
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.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:
And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;
And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ’twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
Came here to say exactly this. Song was inspired by the poem Kubla Kahn
Even the studio version was one run through, as a sound check, then one take. They'd been playing it live for a while, before they got into the studio, in 1977.
Congratulations!
You now have a 40 year rabbit hole to go down. It is an epic journey, filled with incomparable musicianship, emotionally striking lyrics, and 3 really good friends who absolutely love making music together since 1974.
I've been a fan since 1976. I have been to many of their concerts over the years. What you hear on the album is what they reproduce in concert. It is amazing, every time. 3 hours of amazing music... goosebumps and chills, every time.
Enjoy your journey of stank face, wtf moments, and sheer amazement at the genius that is RUSH.
Thanks! Glad to be here, even if it did take far too long for me to find my way!
@@PrymalChaos Glad to add you to the Rush Army!
Seems to me that anyone who enjoys music finds their way to prog rock at some time. And with Yes and Pink Floyd being the progenitors of the genre, Rush is the distillation of music/lyrics/performance that can reach all colors and all musical abilities.
Enjoy the magic that is Rush. I'll be following your journey😀
@@commknightj thanks mate! The channel is highly diverse in genre, so don’t be surprised if you see some random song choices pop up. I’m always spinning 4 or 5 plates so to speak. Just keep an eye out for any videos that speak to you. I’ll certainly do more Rush, it just might take a minute to get the videos out. In the meantime I don’t expect everyone to watch every video, however I do encourage people to take the occasional gamble on something that they may not be in to. I started this channel exclusively doing extreme metalcore stuff. Now I’ve moved through punk, Japanese metal and funk, classical, opera, Instrumental, A Cappella pop, the list goes on, and I have discovered so many new acts I never would have noticed.
I have found that enormous amounts of older prog and rock fans have rediscovered music through the Japanese Scene. Bands like Band-Maid, Baby-Metal, Gacharic Spin, Unlucky Morpheus, the list is endless, and these bands are either exclusively, or at least heavily feature female performers, playing material that is mind-blowingly innovative and proficient. The scene over there is on a whole other level.
It’s certainly not prog, but if you want an example of the call unit of these musicians check out Gacharic Spin’s song Mindset. It’s pop funk (with a hint of show band flavour in the bridge) but the playing is off the charts.
Great reaction and the best analysis I've seen in a Rush song or video. You're definitely a pro and know what you're talking about. Make more please.
Subscribed - great breakdown! The awesome thing about music is that regardless of age (and I mean that about both age of the music and the listener) it’s art that you can appreciate for its beauty, depth and emotional movement.
Great reaction! I saw Rush 5 times in the 1980s and you’re right, the amazing thing about their shows was their ability to recreate their amazing music live without smoke and mirrors. Cheers!
It was Rush's mantra and unique selling point even in the 70's and 80's to reproduce their complicated studio sound live as perfectly as humanly possible. Funnily you call it a lost art a lot of their detractors at the time criticised such a clinical approach but of course the fans wanted to hear those perfect sometimes 20 minute epics performed as per their studio listening experience. Rush were pretty unique and pushed the limits of what a 3 piece band could do live. Their formula meant they enjoyed over a 40 year career and only became remotely famous when some of their fans started to get into positions to expose their talent in the media e.g. "Love ya man" Hollywood film etc.
Dude! You dropped The Dark Chrystal AND Spinal Tap!!!......fucking awesome. Welcome to Rush!!!
I'm glad you are finally able to listen after all these years. Rest in peace Neil Peart
A loss that was so hard to believe.. 😒
This song is simply a symphonic masterpiece, and the performance is simply a jaw dropping display of talent rarely captured on media. Yet it appears to be 3 guys just a having fun doing what they love (and that's exactly what it is). BTW, I saw this tour in Jackon MS in the summer after graduation from HS (1981).
You really need to check out La Villa Strangiato by Rush it's amazing and you're going to love it
To me, Rush is to MUSICIANSHIP, what the BEATLES are to SINGING! Rush was ALWAYS ALL IN!!
I'm Indonesian but Rush so big in 80's especially for big cities high school band (Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya).
I’ve been blown away by them since 1976! Seeing people discover Rush for the 1st time is great but watching musicians discover them is better. Great reaction. Cheers from Canuckland 🇨🇦
FWIW, studio version of this was released in 1977. The movie (and Olivia Newton John/ELO version) came out in 1980.
My favorite band. The best live show I ever have or ever will see. Master musicians. If they couldn't play it live, they didn't record it.
I would say that Rush had five different eras. 1. Glam/Hard Rock.
2. Fantasy-Prog (Caves and Castles. Swords and Sorcerers, etc)
3. Contemporary Rock. (starting with Permanent Waves)
4. Then morphing into their own take on "The New Music", forging rock into new wave.
5. Art Rock (Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Presto)
After that, they just tried to remain relevant without copying themselves. They experimented with grunge and punk and orchestral arrangements and so on.. To their immense credit, I would say that their final album, Clockwork Angels is very much one of their greatest works. It is the one album they allowed themselves to be influenced by their past work without it being a piecemeal patchwork of redundancy. A true masterpiece. They went out on top.
In the 1970s and 1980s, it was perfectly common for bands to put on live shows where the music was number one! And nobody used backing tracks (with the exception of Queen.) But bands like Yes, Genesis, ELO, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd (they hired additional musicians to play on stage,) Kansas and of course, Queen. Of course, Queen and Pink Floyd put on huge stage shows, but if you look at the concert movie of Led Zeppelin, "The Song Remains the Same," you'll notice that they play on a tiny stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Other bands like Led Zeppelin, Styx, Montrose, Ted Nugent, The Band and the Grateful Dead all entertained many thousands of concertgoers simply with their music.
Hello there...enjoying your "discovery" of Rush. You're in for an unbelievable ride, to me the best musicians and lyricists ever....their unmatched music and deep revealing lyrics changed my life...if you do get deep into their lyrics, you'll dig what I'm trying to express.
I suggest checking Natural Science, Witch Hunt, Vital Signs, Red Barchetta, 2112, ...their whole discography is so full of unmatched music that it'll leave you asking for more. Welcome to Rush Nation....
Your comment at 27:24 is spot on. I agree with you 100%. You are very intelligent, and you seem to know many technical music aspects that go way over my head. I just listen to the music. That's about as smart as I get. But at least I've had at this point 50 years of listening to Rush and got to see them about 20 times. I'm not bragging because some people I have met have seen them over 100 times, and my 20 times seem very very small and not at all enough. Best wishes.
BTW, the guitar Geddy is playing is a 4 string bass on top and a 12 string guitar on the bottom.
If you pause the video at 4:20 (give or take a second or two) where Geddy is facing away from the camera you can see the back of the headstock on Geddy's Rickenbacker double neck. If you look carefully at the lower neck you can see another set of tuners facing toward the back of the headstock, virtually invisible from the front of the instrument.
Excellent break-down and analysis! Made my day!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was the first Rush song I ever heard on a late night rock show of the radio back in the very early 80’s, and it blew me away. Yeah, there were other famous rock bands been played also, but none caught me with that WOW factor like hearing Rush for the first time. Went out and bought the album ‘A Farewell to Kings’ as soon as I could at the weekend, and loved ‘em ever since!
Never too late, bro! I discovered Rush 42 years ago. I saw this tour in 1981. Dubuque, Iowa. USA
"Are they playing to a click track?", pah! Neil Peart *was* the 'click track'! 😄😉 Very sadly, he passed away three years ago, and Rush had played their last live show already in 2015, at which time they were celebrating their 40th anniversary. And great reaction/analysis, mate! 😀👍 Greetings from NZ! 😊 ...oh, by the way: That's actually another *12* -string guitar on Geddy's double-neck! He's playing it from the beginning of Alex' solo till the end of the song; The camera operators forgot to switch to Geddy when he's playing on his 12-string, though 🙄😄
Xanadu comes from the poem Kubla Khan by Sam Taylor Coleridge. The song is based on that poem. The song came out before the movie.
You are so correct, they played by feel and watching them perform live in the arena let you know that. Three musical geniuses who were absolutely best friends and played like it. When Neil lost his family, the other two did not play again until he was ready. It was three of them together 'til the end of time, and that connection was obvious and appreciate by the loyal fan base. I took an ex-girlfriend to a show and she instantly fell in love with them. She talked about how "together" they were as musicians, but she also commented on their obvious friendship. That drew her to them. She wanted to go to any show they played locally. One day she called me up to tell me a documentary was playing on TV, and how much she loved it.
Geddy's synths are an Oberheim 8-voice merged with a Minimoog. He also used Moog Taurus pedals.
I am 64, I found Rush with 2112, in 1978. 2112 song is long and shows each band member at their best! They influence virtually every Rock band! Peace I would give a lot to hear one more concert, love these guys!
The great thing about him using that technique of plucking the string with the volume off then bringing up the note is that he wasn't doing it for 'gimmicks' sake but took advantage of that soft progression from note to note that couldn't have been done otherwise to convey that element of 'space', 'enchantment' and 'wonder'.
When I read you describing that, it made me think about how much it's like a synthesizer. There is a controller on a synth that determines the 'attack' of a sound. A short attack makes the sound come in fast and loud, while a slow attack will start with nothing but slowly sweel in volume over time.
I know rush loved a bit of synth, so maybe that was the thinking behind the technique.
Very cool though. Extremely expressive.
Xanadu the movie came out in 1980. Rush released their song on A Farewell to Kings in 1977. I don't think this was a coincidence.
By far my favorite song of all time! And this performance is just mind blowing. They are working so hard.
Awesome review....nice to see a review with somebody knowledgeable....good job
Thanks Don. I have a fair amount of experience in different aspects of music, but I’m no Rick Beato. Take everything I say with a grain of salt! 😅 glad you enjoyed the reaction!
The brilliance of the way they seamlessly change time signatures is the beauty of the three greatest musicians of all time
I never thought of the Spinal Tap connection, but I can absolutely see it!!
Check Rush R30 opening sequence. It's a medley of all their intro songs from their 1st 5or6 albums and it's called the best intro ever. Where they just come out of one song straight into the other then go into spirit of radio. It's an awesome jam session. And freewill is an awesome song musically and lyrically.
Nice reaction. I do hear Sweet Child of Mine now that you mention it.
These same 3 guys were together from 1974 through 2015, when they retired.
Neil passed away in 2020.
Neil Peart passed away January of 2020. It's fantastic that you tube is bringing in a new generation of fans. Unfortunately they've missed the opportunity to see them in person. They've brought together new fans from all musical backgrounds
Alex is using a Morley Volume /Wah. Geddy's double nexk Rickenbacker 4080 has a 12 string neck on the bottom neck. It's in his Big Beautiful Book of Bass. It started as a 6 string Natural Glo no paint 4080. It was pretty bit up so Geddy sent it to Rickenbacker and was restoredbyLarry Davis who converted it to 12 stringand painted it the Rickenbacker"Jetglo" finish. On this performance Geddy is playing the original Mini Moog. Not sure if the second set of key's below are from the original Oberheim 8 voice. He used to have an Oberheim eight voice that he used live through th Moving Pictures tour but is suffered some damage during the tour and had to be retired. R40 in 2015 was the last tour Rush did. 35 Shows in the U.S. Oh and both Geddy and ALex play Moog Taurus bass pedals. YOu can kind of see Geddy's right leg moving. This Rickenbacker 4080 Geddy is playing now resides at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa. I think Alex recently sold this Gibson EDS-1275 last year at auction along with the white Gibson ES-355 that sold for $384,000 dollars. Yeah I looked real close. The lower deck of keys is from the Original Oberheim 8 voice and when you look at the let uppermost corner of the whole set up on the left is the white colored Oberheim SEM module- which has ocillators filters and other synth bits. I think not long after he had an Oberheim OB-Xa. Then a modern Oberheim 8. Then the Rolands 2 or 3 different ones. A Juno and or a Jupiter 8 which both are high dollar collector prices now. He had so many that he used through the years after this tour. Ya know it kept getting better as knew stuff came out.
Neil has passed but they are still remembered and never forgotten
This live song is from the album Exit...Stage Left. The video you watched came out in 1982. The synth Geddy was using is the Oberheim OB-X with a set of Taurus pedals. Used them forever! He can sing, play bass and synth with his feet at the same time. Neil was the GOAT drummer/poet/lyricist. If you want to see his full glory, check out the drum solo video of him in Frankfurt. You will be amazed! Alex is an absolute genius with his guitars. One guy that makes it sound like three! The three of them sound like there are 10 people playing, but they do it all themselves! Had the honor and privilege to work a show on the "Power Windows" tour. These guys are as humble as your best friend and the nicest you will ever meet in rock-n-roll. They paid their dues, learned the ropes and became the worlds best players! Sorry they never made to Australia, you missed a very special evening! They also were known for some of the best lighting shows around. They kept this all the way through to the R40 tour. The god behind the lights was Howard Ungerleider. Another authentically nice person! Glad you have started down the Rush rabbit hole. Start at the beginning and go to the last album, feel the way the band changed, grew and always got better! Their albums production value was always top notch. Have been a fan since 1980 and listen to them everyday! Rush on!
Tubular bells by a rock band, unheard of! I loved it in the '80s and appreciate it more now
Right on. Thanks for sharing.
Australia....and Rush......
Back in 2016 I was on an Australia visit -- Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Port Lincoln to do the great white shark excursion, Cairns.... One afternoon, just walking around Cairns with absolutely no direction, totally aimlessly, I saw a little record store tucked into the hallway of a mall and went in.
Imagine my surprise when the first thing I saw, up on the wall behind the counter, was the big Rush poster from 1977, playing Xanadu. 🙂
If I close my eyes I would swear that Alex Lifeson is actually playing a cello instead of an electric guitar during parts of the intro. Just incredible musicianship.
Yeah, I just reacted to Pink Floyd ‘Echoes’ these Prog dudes could make anything sound like anything!!
I believe if Jimi was still alive, Alex would be somewhere in the top 3 of his favorite guitarists. His rhythm playing, leads, fills and such a broad tone range just put him in rare company.
Great reaction. Love that you noticed influences from Rush that ultimately inspired Spinal Tap. In later gigs, Geddy actually has a mini Stonehenge model sitting on top of his keyboard in tribute to that exact gag from "This is Spinal Tap".
I'm a genZ from Montreal and a buddy of mine was on the GA floor for that show and I remember he paid 17,50$ for his ticket.
Whoa! But to be there for that experience…
A friend of ours who was a record promoter here in Toronto in the 70s was told to check out this up- and- coming band. After hearing them he said , "they'll never make it, especially with that singer". That band was Rush. Boy, was he sorry.
I just looked up to see if Slash was a fan of RUSH and yes he was. he went to their RRHOF induction. and said they should have been in the RRHIF sooner than they were.
RUSH : Commits to the song!
23:55 lol everybody notices!
Xanadu is a song about an unfinished poem. It is from the 1977 album-- A Farewell to Kings. You need to take the RUSH album journey! Check out a much older RUSH perform Working Man from Live in Cleveland!
I've always thought Spinal Tap was spoofing Rush with Stonehenge.
@@bronwynthorn4494 yeah that sounds about right. 🤣
Those synthesisers are a polyfonic Oberheim and a Minimoog build into one set plus Moog Taurus pedal synthesiser. Alex Lifeson also uses Taurus bass pedals.
The song was written & studio released in 1976. Slash was still learning a C chord in 1976.
Review Rush Working Man live in Cleveland. Enjoy the ride.
Rush Is Timeless.
Seen Rush a few times and have followed them for the last 40 years as a teenager. RIP Neil Peart. 🙏
Watched many reviews of this song and you are the first to comment and explain what is happening with the time signatures, love it, great review.
Ged's synth rig around then was based around an Oberheim OB-X, a MiniMoog, and Moog Taurus pedals. Alex is also playing Taurus pedals.
You kind of hit on the spirit of Rush in your comment about developing the themes and going against the pressure to make a song that's 2:30. After a fairly unsuccessful record, the band's record label threatened them, telling them they needed to make more commercial and shorter songs. The bands response in 1976 was the 2112 album, in which the ENTIRE first side was a single track! They decided that the music was more important than anything else, even their record deal. They made the music they wanted to make and for them, telling a story through a song was important. For songs like La Villa Strangiato or Xanadu, the stories demanded pushing the boundaries and putting out 11 minute plus songs. The courage in that is part of what made Rush one of the greatest bands of all time.
Side note: I've heard many people say that Geddy's Rickenbacker is a 4-strong and 12-string, though it looks like 6 to me... I've also heard that some drummers play to metronomes and metronomes play to Neal Peart.
Geddy's bass has a 12-string. The ONJ song and movie have nothing to do with this
Xanadu was on A Farewell to Kings, released in 1977. The movie Xanadu came out in 1980.
Just getting the timeline straight.
It was inspired by "A Vision in a Dream", a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Peart was a massive reader and based lyrics on his readings. Ayn Rand was also an influencer of Peart's lyrics.
Geddy and Alex recently said in an interview that they wrote songs that they could play with just the 3 of them live hence their live shows were very true to their records.
BTW, they stopped touring in 2015 and Neil passed away in 2020.
Also, Alex and Geddy recently played at Taylor Hawkins' memorial show and the drummer from Tool did play on at least one song. Otherwise Rush is not active.
Just watched your XANADU reaction video. XANADU was on their 1977 album A FAREWELL TO KINGS, while the video was from 1981. Predates Sweet Child by at least eight years.
@@azcrim Thanks for the context! So I suppose it’s well within the bounds of Slash taking some influence from it. I believe I read that he wrote Sweet Child based on an exercise that he used to use to warm up. Maybe that exercise was based on that Rush lick. 😃 Either that or he just straight up ripped it off, ahem! I mean paid homage to it.
I'm leaning toward an exercise. Joe Walsh has said that Life in the fast lane came out of a warm up exercise that he had been doing.
Concert was '81. Song was was released September '77.
For other live tracks; YYZ Live In Roi, Working Man Live In Cleveland (this their Time Machine tour 2011) Leave That Thing Alone from the same concert, La Villa Strangiato Live 1978 (though it is recorded live but not in concert). Having done 19 album over 40 years, there is a lot more.