Alex Lifeson

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Founding Member / Contributor
Yeah, I am a die hard fan. With threads about Zepplin, metallica and such. I wanted to bring up who I believe to be the best guitarist of all.

I have done a small C&P of a recent article for some great quotes. I know many of you already know most of this but I just wanted to pay tribute to a guy I have admired for over 30 years.

From Premeierguitar.com;

"Walk softly and carry a big F-sharp suspended. If legendary Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson had a mantra, that might be it. That chord (technically an F#7sus4) is known to his legion of fans as “The Alex Chord,” or “The Hemispheres Chord,” as it is the opening chord to Rush’s 1978 prog-rock opus Hemispheres. It can also be heard ringing out on “Far Cry,” the opening cut on Rush’s nineteenth studio album, 2007’s Snakes and Arrows.

That a single chord can be associated so strongly with one guitar player is testament to Lifeson’s influence on the medium. He is a guitar player’s guitar player. Where Steve Vai may make us say “I wish I could do that,” Alex Lifeson makes us say, “I wish I’d thought of that.”

Snakes and Arrows was Rush’s 27th album to appear in the Billboard Top 200, and it turned into a long, good ride for the band. The album was followed by a marathon tour spanning two years and two continents, a double live album, and the November 2008 release of the three-disc DVD/Blu-Ray, Snakes and Arrows Live, in which Rush puts on a clinic on how to play a rock concert.

As a musician, Alex Lifeson has occasionally been overlooked, in part because he is a guitar player dedicated to serving the song instead of stepping on it. As most guitarists know, that kind of restraint is no easy feat. Of course, serving a Rush song can be like serving a 12-course meal. As the sole guitarist and one third of the world’s most complicated rock band, Alex has served well. About to release their twelfth compilation CD, Retrospective 3, I spoke with Alex Lifeson, and we talked about (what else?) guitars and his notable return to an all-Gibson lineup.

the rest of the article; http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Apr/Interview_Alex_Lifeson.aspx
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Oh yeah, If you have a BluRay player, get Snakes & Arrows on BluRay. The picture and sound quality are unreal.

To see them pound out 30+ year old songs with no mistakes is unblievable. I remember the rumors in the early 80's that Geddy's voice was toast and he had throat Cancer. Well, in 2008 in Holland, he sure managed to belt them out one after another. :sifone:

The new material is fantastic too. :26:
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Eric Clapton is the best I think.:)




Eric Clapton says Roy Clark is the best ever.....:ack2: (He is good though, ever listen to him carry on a conversation with his guitar?)
 
Wow......you guys are right into them.

and they played my high school.

until OSO and here I had no idea they had such a following outside the Toronto area.....
 
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Wow......you guys are right into them.

and they played my high school.

until OSO and here I had no idea they had such a following outside the Toronto area.....

Rush is everywhere! :)
I've seen their last 3 tours, and they're always sold out. They have a following everywhere, I'd suspect.
 
The R30 tour was amazing. The snakes and arrows tour blew it away.

And people wonder why I have every single Rush album,....er disc in my cd case :)

If you haven't already, I highly suggest reading Neil's last three books. Great insight into the life of the band.
 
I've seen them over a dozen times since 1979 and have most of their stuff on vinyl and cd's. I've got to get the blu-ray concert now!!!!
 
I saw them in '75 as the support band for Kiss. Neil had just replaced Rutsey. Killer show but terrible placement for Rush- Kiss was getting huge at the time. They had just released their double-live album. Rush was a bit too intellectual for the crowd. But closing with Working Man- Kiss took a long space between shows to let the crowd cool off.
 
I saw them in '75 as the support band for Kiss. Neil had just replaced Rutsey. Killer show but terrible placement for Rush- Kiss was getting huge at the time. They had just released their double-live album. Rush was a bit too intellectual for the crowd. But closing with Working Man- Kiss took a long space between shows to let the crowd cool off.
Rutsey (RIP) never toured with them. His diabetes prohibited it. Peart toured with the band from day one starting in the summer of '74.

I've seen them numerous times...most recently in Chicago in Sept. '07 and Moline in May '08. Alex has always been underapprciated as a guitarist.

The new DVD is great (S & A). Songs like "Secret Touch" and "One Little Victory" just jump off the screen and out of the speakers.
 
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In terms of the most underappreciated band in the history of rock as far as mainstream radio goes...the answer has GOT to be Rush. I've been a fan since high school...my cousin introduced me to them right when Presto came out (still my favorite of their albums), but I immediately bought their entire backlog...got them on tape still! I've never seen them, and haven't really gotten much of their newer stuff, but I can still say I totally agree that they are one of the best bands to wield intruments of rock (like By-tor and the SnoDog). How can anyone that's a runner NOT love a band that does the song "Marathon?"

Now you've got me...I've still got a tape deck in my truck, I'm going to get Presto right now to listen to on my way to the harbor! It's 80 degrees in Chicago today and I'm meeting Magic Medicine for the first run of the year!!!! See yas.
 
In terms of the most underappreciated band in the history of rock as far as mainstream radio goes...the answer has GOT to be Rush. I've been a fan since high school...my cousin introduced me to them right when Presto came out (still my favorite of their albums), but I immediately bought their entire backlog...got them on tape still! I've never seen them, and haven't really gotten much of their newer stuff, but I can still say I totally agree that they are one of the best bands to wield intruments of rock (like By-tor and the SnoDog). How can anyone that's a runner NOT love a band that does the song "Marathon?"

Now you've got me...I've still got a tape deck in my truck, I'm going to get Presto right now to listen to on my way to the harbor! It's 80 degrees in Chicago today and I'm meeting Magic Medicine for the first run of the year!!!! See yas.
Crank up "Show Don't Tell"!!!!
 
Love Rush.
How they have not yet been at least nominated for R&R hall of fame is beyond me. They've been around for 35 yrs, and still going strong.
I've always said Alex is the most under-rated guitar player out there, easy to have happen playing amongst greats like Geddy and Neil.
3 weeks ago I picked up their first two discs for the 3rd time (Had them on vinyl, then bought cassette, and now replacing again with CD).
I had almost forgotten how great some of those songs are.
 
1st saw them in '76. They were backup to Black Oak Arkansaw. Following year they headlined and AC/DC was there backup. Saw them numerous times in the last twenty years but the best was Snakes and Arrows last year because it was my kids first concert.
My youngest boy asked if we would be able to hesr them because our seats were first row balcony. I just handed him the ear plugs I brought at the insistance of my wife.
 
For the Presto tour, I saw them here in Seattle, then a couple weeks later, Drove all day and night to see them again in Costa Mesa California, Then drove all day and night to be back in Seattle for Final exams Monday Morning at the University of Washington.

But I was 25 years old then. :sifone:

For those who don't have one, Get an inexpensive Bluray Player and their BluRay disc. It is unfreakingbelievable how crystal clear the video and sound is.

I Have seen every tour but Signals since 1980 and I have never been able to see just how much is really going on up on stage until this disc.
 
Wow......you guys are right into them.

and they played my high school.

until OSO and here I had no idea they had such a following outside the Toronto area.....

Hey Dougy, did you ever get the chance to see em at the Kee?







For the rest of you, the Kee to Bala.( http://www.thekee.com/ ).the Kee as its known is on old dance hall on one of our mega buck cottage lakes. It 100 odd years old and has hosted some of the biggest names in Canadian music since before anyone outside of Ontario ever heard of them. In the 20's, 30'2, 40's and 50's it was the summer home of Big Band music and 100,s of cottagers would just float in the bay out front and listen to the music because children were not allowed inside.

The all wood interior makes for amazing acoustics and when the place starts rockin, you can actually feel the floors flex under the weight of the crowds.
A true piece of cottaging / boating history and one of the very few that never burned to the ground.
 
I really like rush, they are just that go to band. Cool that people outside of Ontario really like them also. They deserve it!

Went a New Years party one time and there was a kid named Eric Lefson, I started calling him Alex Lifeson and he got so angry. Then a swung from a china cabinet and got kicked out... Oh the highschool days!
 
Yeah, I am a die hard fan. With threads about Zepplin, metallica and such. I wanted to bring up who I believe to be the best guitarist of all.

Maybe you should substitute "best" for favorite. Best is relative...best at what? He's certainly the best guitarist for Rush, but I think he would suck in the Allman Brothers Band. Steve Howe is (was) fantastic, but he would have driven Pink Floyd into the ground if he played for them. It's like Steve Morse playing with Deep Purple...umm...no...sorry...DP is (was) great, and Morse is top notch but it doesn't work. Eric Clapton playing for Return To Forever...umm sorry Charlie.

I've never been able to buy into the "best" guitarist thingy because each is great at what they do, not at what others do...and they all fit uniquely into their own bands. That's what makes a band great, it's how the individuals interact and create with each other that makes a band/drummer, guitarist, et al great and able to stand the test of time.

That being said Lifeson's a cool guitarist and I enjoy his work.
 
Um, I thought I qualified it by saying "I" think he is the best. All of your comments are very true but I am perplexed as to why you might have felt I was making a statement of fact rather than opinion. :confused:

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