I'm on a Rush rush today.

[PeterG]

Working my way through their albums, all my Rush LPs are on vinyl. I'm now up to Caress of Steel. Love it!

A couple of things occur to me though, I've always been amazed at how they managed to create such a great and big hard rock sound and at times progressive sound as just a trio, and that they managed to stay a trio for so long.

I mean, I know there were loads of overdubs on albums to allow 3 people to play so many instruments (for example on Hemispheres), but how did they achieve this live? I'm assuming they brought in extra hands.

[Progatron]

No, no extra hands. They do use triggers though, and Alex occasionally plays some keys. Geddy used to bust out the double-neck when the song called for it (the ending of "Xanadu" for example). During the 80s period, when things were really technically demanding, they did consider bringing on a fourth live member but it was decided that that would have changed the dynamic and they just stuck it out with the three of them. Things did get a little too much for a while there around the HYF tour, when Geddy was pushed to the limit with all those keys, pedals, vocals, bass and triggers.

Speaking of RUSH:

http://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2014...d-Alex-Lifeson

[PeterG]

LOL! Just listened to The Trees again, brilliant song...but man, WTF were they on when they wrote the lyrics for it?

[Facelift]

Working my way through their albums, all my Rush LPs are on vinyl. I'm now up to Caress of Steel. Love it!

A couple of things occur to me though, I've always been amazed at how they managed to create such a great and big hard rock sound and at times progressive sound as just a trio, and that they managed to stay a trio for so long.

I mean, I know there were loads of overdubs on albums to allow 3 people to play so many instruments (for example on Hemispheres), but how did they achieve this live? I'm assuming they brought in extra hands.

The answer to your question is that live Rush isn't all that "live." There are LOTS of programmed effects going on.

[PeterG]

Thanks guys, okay I see. Then it's pretty much the same as latter day Cardiacs "live", all keyboards, percussion (other than drums), and all effects were programmed.

[devoidzer0]

The answer to your question is that live Rush isn't all that "live." There are LOTS of programmed effects going on.

Or as Brian Mitchell said before a high school English class in 1994 when we were debating who was the better live band - Rush or Phish, "Rush is a computer." I came out on the losing end of that one.

[SteveSly]

Thanks guys, okay I see. Then it's pretty much the same as latter day Cardiacs "live", all keyboards, percussion (other than drums), and all effects were programmed.

No, that is not really accurate either. Geddy (and sometimes Alex) have always played keyboards live on stage. As others have mentioned there are also some that are recorded, but more background stuff for the most part. I don't think Rush use any pre-programmed percussion as Peart always has one of the biggest drum / percussion kits on the planet. He does use electronic drums / percussion as part of his kit however.

Although Rush does use some recorded stuff I would say it is still 90% live. The 3 of them play their asses off and can fill up the sound amazingly well.

If you have never seen them live (I am assuming by your comments that you haven't?), I would highly recommend catching them. They still put on one hell of a show and never fail to give you your monies worth.

[DGuitarist]

I play all of Hemispheres. I don't think anything was overdubbed. There is a very quick cut from "Buenas Nochas, Mein Froinds!" > "To Sleep, Perchance To Dream," in the beginning of La Villa Strangiato where Alex switches from classical guitar to his ES-355. And it's impossible to strum that final chord AND begin fading in with the arpeggio the way the album does, and keep that time signature. That's why there's the break where it fades in, on Exit: Stage Left.

Maybe some of the sound effects in "Cygnus: Bringer Of Balance" were recorded, I never saw that tour.
Queen never played the ridiculously overdubbed operatic section of Bohemian Rhapsody live either, because they didn't have hundreds of people onstage to really capture it.
And I do mean hundreds.

But with Taurus pedals, synths, and great musicians - it all can be played by just three juggling people.

[Servo]

A lot of sequencers today for sure..timed perfectly with a click track to the light show and projections etc.

If you really want a history lesson, check out this show from the Hemisphere's Tour. This in my opinion is a band approaching their peak, This is an awesome setlist, and this show is my favorite Rush live show...It's better than any of the official releases...tons of energy (IMHO of course)

You can hear Geddy playing the double neck rhythm guitar and some bass pedals to keep the low end underneath Alex's solo in A Passage to Bangkok

if you havent heard this before....enjoy!

[PeterG]

If you have never seen them live (I am assuming by your comments that you haven't?), I would highly recommend catching them. They still put on one hell of a show and never fail to give you your monies worth.

You assume correct sir. Sadly, it's one of the big names missing from my "seen them live" list.

[Progatron]

Seen 'em nine times since Presto and they're always absolutely fantastic. Skipped the last two or three tours though, as I've gotten older I can't be bothered with the high ticket prices for a band I've seen so many times. They are a must-see though.

[PeterG]

Went out for a few hours, but now back home and spinning the wax again. Now on side 2 of A Farewell to Kings.
Listened to Hemispheres before I went out, so not really following chronological order.

Kings their best "prog" LP, perhaps? What thinks ye?

[DGuitarist]

HEMISPHERES. From a writing, playing, and (ahem) almost-killing-the-band-in-the-process viewpoint. There's no comparison in their catalogue.

I'll get together with any drummer/bassist who's out there - and within one shot, we'll nail "La Villa Strangiato." I know it exact, throughout.

[SteveSly]

Seen 'em nine times since Presto and they're always absolutely fantastic. Skipped the last two or three tours though, as I've gotten older I can't be bothered with the high ticket prices for a band I've seen so many times. They are a must-see though.

I thought the "Clockwork Angels" tour might have been the best yet. I saw it twice. Although I realize tickets to Rush shows are high, I never feel ripped off after seeing them. The productions that they haul around have to cost a ton of money along with labor and overhead.

[SteveSly]

Went out for a few hours, but now back home and spinning the wax again. Now on side 2 of A Farewell to Kings.
Listened to Hemispheres before I went out, so not really following chronological order.

Kings their best "prog" LP, perhaps? What thinks ye?

I would probably go with "Hemispheres" as their best "prog" album, but "Kings" is a great one too.

[Progatron]

I thought the "Clockwork Angels" tour might have been the best yet. I saw it twice. Although I realize tickets to Rush shows are high, I never feel ripped off after seeing them. The productions that they haul around have to cost a ton of money along with labor and overhead.

Oh, I've never felt ripped off from a Rush show. They've always blown me away. I just don't bother as much these days with the large-scale shows, mostly because I've seen so many, including so many Rush ones. And let's face it - they could tone down the inside joke stage props to streamline the budget a bit. Ovens and rotisserie chickens, etc... cute, once.

Anyway, yeah, that Clockwork Angels tour looked pretty amazing, and I'm a huge fan of the 80s material that they resurrected (I'm a rare Rush fan who loves the whole catalogue, but my fav live album is A Show Of Hands). I'm also a huge fan of the C(MF)A album, so I really was torn with that tour. I should have gone.

[arise_shine]

Yeah, always the same three guys playing live. With several caveats:
On the CWMFA tour, they had a string section backing them up on some songs.
All three members do a *lot* of sample/sequence-triggering live. Keyboard parts, guitar parts, vocal parts, sound effects, etc. Sometimes it's just a little flourish (the orchestra hits in "Roll the Bones"), but sometimes it's an entire part (the "rap" in the same song).
I've heard that they do some stuff "in the mix" live, too. Like someone working the board EQ'ing the bass differently for a specific fill or solo or whatever.

But yeah, like others have said, seeing them live, it doesn't detract (much) from the experience. Mostly it's three guys rocking out and making a hell of a lot of sound.

[progeezer's ghost]

As a lifelong Rush fan, and I can say that of very few bands I listen to these days, I jumped at the chance to buy two Rush box sets (one spanning the majority of the 70s and early 80s albums, the other '89-'07) at my local Best Buy for about $43 total. I own a couple of songs from Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire (on the 2cd/1dvd Chronicles) but by no means would consider myself a completist, as much as I love Rush. My main regret is not seeing them when they came to Milwaukee a year ago. Hopefully I'll get another chance.

I, like Progatron, dig their entire catalogue (some albums more than others).
If I had to pick a favorite I'd go with the much-maligned Snakes and Arrows. YMMV (different strokes...)

[Garden Dreamer]

It's only in the second half of their long career that their studio albums became so layered with instruments that they had to start triggering a lot of things like rhythm guitars, keyboard parts and backing vocals on stage. In their early days they prided themselves on writing complex stuff and playing all of it live.

I saw the Hemispheres tour and while there were a good deal of sustained keyboard tones in the music by then, it was all done with Taurus pedals that Geddy and Alex played with their feet on stage. Individual keyboard melodies were played by Geddy on a stand-up rig but they were writing the music in such a way that these parts were usually played solo or over acoustic guitar parts, never during a part where Geddy also had to play the bass.

Even when the early songs had Alex soloing where there's still a rhythm guitar playing in the studio version (Fly By Night for example), they didn't feel the need to duplicate that on stage and Alex just soloed over Geddy's bass line. And I liked that aspect of the music, the spaciousness that was created making the song slightly different live. But they've gotten away from that and now feel the need to include every little coloring from the albums on stage (and the albums have had increasingly more layerings and colorings in the second half of their career), to the point where you have Alex pretending to be singing backup vocals while a triggered sample is playing "Geddy choirs." I wish they would strip the sound down just a bit live; its okay with me if they would omit some of these sounds from the studio albums to give the tunes a slightly different flavor live.

[adap2it]

Just seen on a Toronto newscast that a park will be named after Geddy & Alex...

[DGuitarist]

^ "Dirk - A - Lerxst!"

[SteveSly]

I, like Progatron, dig their entire catalogue (some albums more than others).
If I had to pick a favorite I'd go with the much-maligned Snakes and Arrows. YMMV (different strokes...)

I also dig the whole catalogue. There are some albums I like better than others, but none that I dislike entirely.

[Gravedigger]

Pete (Garden Dreamer) pretty much nailed it, imo. I know that at least up through Moving Pictures (and maybe an album or two after),
RUSH wrote the songs with live performance in mind. That's why you don't hear busy basslines while there are keyboards playing,
or really massive wall-of-guitar overdubs.

They still put on a great live show, and the only sound/visual distraction for me is hearing a lot of backing vocals,
especially when Alex isn't even on a mic.

[iguana]

RUSH blows minds for a living.

[PeterG]

Yea, for me, it's almost a dead heat between Hemispheres & Farewell to Kings for best "prog" album, I really can't separate them, but I think Hemispheres might just have inched ahead at the finishing line But I'd still have them as joint first

1. Hemispheres
A Farewell to Kings
3. Moving Pictures