You know? Everybody talks about Neil peart & Geddy Lee and how great they are ( And for good reason) BUT, gotta give some love to Alex Lifeson! The Man more than holds his own on this Classic!
In any other band, Alex would be the standout musician, as he is probably among the top 50 greatest guitarists of all time. But when you're sharing a stage with a drummer and bassist that are in most people's top 3 of all time... you tend to take a back seat!
Red Barchetta has been my favorite Rush song since I first heard it in 1980-1981. There are SO many fantastic songs, and several others have sat briefly at the top of my list, but every time I hear Red Barchetta, it's like coming home.
From what I understand, nobody , including Geddy himself, knows for sure what bass was used during the recording of this album. Geddy is pretty sure he used a jazz bass on Tom Sawyer, but he's not 100% certain. I could've been a mixture of jazz bass and Rickenbacker bass depending on the song. I think he mostly used Rickenbacker basses in the 70s because Chris Squire used them in Yes, but I've heard nothing but bad things about them in terms of how easy they are to manage and adjust. Switching to a simpler designed bass like a jazz bass makes sense just for the convenience alone. I know in the 80s he started using Wal basses and steinberger basses.
Yes, Neil a modest genius and no matter how big the band got, so did his overall anxiety for as much as he hated crowds and the like, he was able to turn it off when in front of 10s of thousands of screaming fans!
@@SpaceCattttt - True, but for Neil, he never wanted to be famous; he only wanted to be good. His incredible skills made him famous and in Limelight, he was expressing his desire to maintain his privacy. This was despite the fact that he was one of the greatest drummers AND lyricists the rock world has ever known, in one of the greatest rock bands ever. Part of his greatness came from that humility and need for privacy.
One thing that always amazes me about Rush is how they do all these prog rock crazy time signatures and switching between time signatures, and yet as a casual listener it generally just flows along and makes complete sense
That is the beauty of Neil's drum writing in that, as he said in an interview, when Alex and Geddy presented musical parts in uneven time signatures, Neil would always think about he average listener and try to come up with rhythmic parts that would spread his kick and snare parts into a rhythm that balanced out the phrases as evenly as possible. This kept the song from sounding disjointed and fragmented and gave them better flow. You can really hear it in Limelight - which jumps between 7/8, 3/4, 2/4 and 4/4 time signatures - but does so in such a way where the song never seems out of time or hesitates from part to part. Neil Peart - not only a consumate lyricist but a master a simplifying complex musical scores with multiple time signatures into rhythms you could still tap your foot to. Genius.
YYZ: You ain't heard it until you've seen the ROCK IN RIO concert version, where the audience sings along...to an instrumental, the audience sings along. Gold!
I think you mean the Rush In Rio concert in 2003, right? I was there! One of the most intense experiences of my life! It still makes me thrill just by remembering!
I was just coming here to point him in that direction. Hottest crowd I've ever seen! The whole crowd not only "sings" the melody, but bounces in unison. So fun
Yes, I definitely think the band was feeding off their energy and vice versa...Great show, I have that on DVD along with several other Rush concerts. They really are/were something to see live. I made it to 5 of their shows...3 hours of sheer perfection.
I'm not sure it's be said already but you have to listen to Rush songs 4 times (in no particular order): 1) to hear Neal's part, 2) to hear Geddy's part(s), 3) to hear Alex's part, and 4) the enjoy Neal's lyrics. It's only then that you can sit back a listen to the entire piece and enjoy how the music then compliments and unfolds the entire story through tempo, mood, and melody. Pure and utter genius. Thanks for the videos!
A lot of music but especially bands like Rush, Yes, and Styx I need to listen like 10 times to get past the musical talent and get to the lyrics and what they’re actually saying. Rush and Yes have both on like the 15 listen of a song gotten me to cry because I came to some understanding while listening to them.
I do this with almost every piece of music. In my opinion, this is how you appreciate music to he fullest. I recommend listening to Avenged Sevenfold's last 2 albums and do this. If you love instruments, lyrics, stories, and overall musicality Avenged Sevenfold has it all. They are a bit heavy, but they got very proggy in the last 2 albums. 👌
The "Barchetta" (Italian, literally "little boat") was the Ferrari 166, produced from about 1948 to perhaps 1954. It used a 2.0-litre V12 engine, with 166 being the displacement (in cc, obviously) of each cylinder.
DBZ guitars also made a Barchetta model named after the car. I saw a second hand one online recently and, of course, it was red. Even though I've got a number of guitars, I almost bought it just for the name and colour (and because it looked cool!).
Seems that Fiat also made a car called a Barchetta (which I reckon is a nicer looking car than the Ferrari). Although I note that the Fiat Barchetta was introduced in 1995...
i do kind of wonder how the driver managed to drive it. i learned to drive in the 60s on a stick shft with clutch, a hillman minx but am not sure i could have managed a ferrari. likely not. have read of would be thieves trying to steal a stick shift and giving up
All 3 of them were MASTERS of their instruments. God I love Geddy’s bass tone and how technical and creative he is. He’s a main reason I play bass, and own two Geddy Lee Jazz basses! I also own a Jetglo Rickenbacker 4003 for its iconic status as well.
Ged sounded good with a Rick, but the Fender just sounds so much more pleasant to my ear. Rounder and fuller, whereas the Rick sounds too heavy and abrasive in the mids.
Every time I hear: 1) the beginning of Tom Sawyer... 2) all of Red Barchetta, but especially between 13:14 - 13:52... 3) 19:34 to 19:43 of YYZ 4) the main riff of "Limelight"... ...I get chills. Every time. This album is perfect.
The fact that just the first side has 4 of the most iconic songs not just in Rush's discography but in all of rock history speaks of just how good it is
YY-ZED - Canadian!!! When is part 2 going to be released? Camera Eye is an amazing song. I believe the 2nd side will make a better reaction video, as it has much less of "commercial" feeling.
@@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 Same in most countries… & pretty close in most Germanic languages. Americans literally changed the pronunciation purely so that it would rhyme whilst singing the alphabet to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star 🤦♀️
@@wintyrqueen *_"Americans literally changed the pronunciation purely so that it would rhyme whilst singing the alphabet to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star"_* LOL! NO! Surely not? 🧐 I'm familiar with that song, and it's a good way for little kids to learn the alphabet, but I never knew they changed the name of the letter just to rhyme with "V"! {:o:O:}
@@marccolon5458 Those 2 songs were only given as examples of what he used the Jazz bass on. Doesn't mean they were the only ones. The truth is most of the album is Jazz bass except for Red Barchetta and Camera Eye which are the Ric. Also, Geddy has forgotten there's also Jazz bass on the Permanent Waves album too. For that detail you have to refer back to a June 1980 Guitar Player magazine interview in which Geddy clearly states he just picked up his Jazz bass and used it on half of the album. The interview was published well before Moving Pictures was recorded.
@@marccolon5458you can hear his 72 Jazz here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_-kQsVk8K4c.html and see it in the video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZiRuj2_czzw.html. Having been around Rics, that ain't no Ric sound there in my view. However, I don't have the Big Bass Book to disagree. He would know better than anybody :)
I remember buying Exit Stage Left when it first came out and was blown away by Neil's solo on YYZ. Still my favorite YYZ drum solo. Each to their own when it comes to Rush, but Alex's solo on Limelight is one of my favorites, next to the By-Tor and La Villa Strangiato solos.
Neil was the perfect example of an artist that did their art because they had to. It was never about fame or fortune it was about expressing who he was through his complexed rhythms.
A masterpiece. One of the top ten greatest albums in the history of prog-rock. I've seen Rush live. For many moments it was not possible to believe that there were only three musicians playing. fantasticband.
Seeing them live is a truly great experience. I was lucky enough to see 5 shows...3 hours of precision and perfection. Really good visual effects as well.
My dad does *not* like Rush. Doesn’t like Geddy’s voice and thinks all their songs sound the same. Sacrilege, I know. But he was shocked to learn that it was just 3 guys. He still doesn’t like them but he respects that they are insanely talented multi-instrumentalists.
I was lucky enough to see them 14 times. Every time was a mystical moment! I was 11 for Signals. Still too young for GuP. Old enough for PW but I didn’t have the money. Saw them in Springfield Mass (general admission) for Hold Your Fire for my first show. I was ten feet from the stage right in front of Alex. I only missed Clocks and Angles.
I have always loved paying attention to the little detail, in Limelight. Just a simple...hold out that last note of the guitar solo, until the last half of the last chorus kicks in. Lifeson got every last drop to be had, out of that one note. As far as music composition goes... side 2 has a slight edge over side 1... just because of Camera Eye...easily a top 3 Rush song, in my book.
Doug, your analysis of music, regardless of composer or band, is impressive...I like how blown away you are by Rush....In my opinion, the greatest musicians on Earth....What a sound...Your reaction to YYZ at 20:28 says it all
One moment, the gods were bored by all things human, so they fluttered butterly wings to create the happenstance destiny of 3 incredibly gifted musicians to meet and form a band together when they were young and play together for 50 YEARS...to create stunningly tight and ever evolving musical tapestries with deeply insightful lyrics for hundreds of millions or billions of humans to enjoy. No one can say what people will be listening to in 100 or 200 years, however, it is fairly certain, RUSH will still have an audience as Beethoven does now, nearly 200 years after his passing.
Doug, I’m so very proud of you! From your initial reaction to 2112, to where you are currently on your journey to enlightenment! Bravo!! You are officially one of us! Welcome brother. You’ll find that RUSH is so much more than just a rock band! They compose intelligent, symphonic, complex pieces, that just kick ass!! You’ll forever be a fan now.
If you think YYZ should be longer and love Neil’s percussion performances, try the version on the live album Exit… Stage Left. Nearly eight minutes long now with a huge percussion solo in the middle. Neil at his best.
What I always loved about Red Barchetta is that - to me - the music really lends itself to portraying the "plot" of the lyrics. The intro sounds like a lazy Sunday afternoon in the countryside, the driving bridge of the song evokes a sense of excitement of driving with the top down, "wind in your hair" exhilaration, and the return to the end evokes, again, a lazy weekend afternoon of 'dreaming with my uncle by the fireside'. It really is more 'soundtrack' than song, on a certain level, and truly encapsulating the "moving picture."
Red Barchetta is one of my all time faves...I love Geddy's bass after the race...I can actually visualize the car turning into the farm and back into the barn. I love your commentary on the "Rush color of sound" So true. Always so much thought put into every bar of their songs...
Quick question Doug could you please react to Pink Floyd Meddle Album and The Wall Album it is an amazing vocal and instrumental album. Also, can you react to Van Halen Eruption/You Really Got Me or TOOL Schism Thank You
Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures are why we are talking about them and why a whole new generation is discovering them. I first saw them at 13 with my cool uncle in 84. They evolved from the 70s to the 80s seamlessly, with each album from 76-81 being better than the one that preceded it.
I too was 13 in 1984. Alas, I didn't get to see Rush until 1987. Phenomenal band. Rush and Yes are definitely in my top five. I have to cheat a little and make a couple of bands tie for X position. So, my top five is really more like a top seven.
As a much younger lad, Moving Pictures was one of the albums that truly influenced the sort of music that I would go on to listen to. I had never heard bass playing like it, or drumming like it, or how three guys could create a sound that sounded much bigger. And Alex’s guitar work is every bit as good as the basing and drumming of his compatriots.
That's saying something, because 1980 itself wasn't a bad year. Yes even put out a descent album that year. As far as the rest of the 80's went, well, if you can get over everybody using the exact same synthesizers and effects.... I mean Emerson, Lake, and Powell sounded a whole lot like Van Halen and Cindy Lauper.
@@ThatsMrPencilneck2U "Drama" from Yes wasn't just "decent" - I put it as one of their top four studio albums, personally. It was astounding. But yeah, Moving pictures is an absolute classic.
@@patrickmcevoy5080 As much as I love "Machine Messiah," Trevor Horn grates on me. Except for "Into the Lens," none of the other songs on that album do that much for me, even "Tempus Fugit." I would rate it over Tormoto and everything Yes has done, after Drama, but I even like their debut album better, even if Peter Bank's guitar was kind of screechy.
@@ThatsMrPencilneck2U We'll agree to disagree on that. For myself, I really enjoy Horn's vocals. And the writing was miles ahead of many of their other albums. For me, "Tempus Fugit" and "Does it Really Happen" are both in their top 10 - quite an accomplishment. But the biggest thing on that album for me was Downes' keyboards. While obviously not the virtuoso that Wakeman was, his sounds were vastly better. "Going for the One" succeeded despite Wakeman's grating, turgid soundscape (only his straight piano really sounded good to me), and "Tormato" was simply ground down under the awful, tinny, overly-ornamented keys. So Downes was a huge step up. So, overall, my personal playlist includes a LOT more "Drama" than "Relayer", "TFTO", "Yes", "Time and a Word", "90125", or obviously "Tormato". Or any of their later stuff, as we agree. I listen to it a lot, to tell the truth, and it really holds up for me.
For some reason William Shatner singing “Red Barchetta” in the same style he did “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” just popped into my head 😂 Suddenly! Ahead of me Across the Mountainside! A Gleaming Alloy Air car Shoots! Toward me Two. Lanes. Wide!
Rush is interesting because they didnt start off unique at all. They sounded like Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie and others, then they started sounding more like Yes. It took them some time to find their own voice. It really is a mix of neils smart lyics, geddys unusual voice and making somewhat complex music easy to digest and very melodical. Great band that will always be missed.
Yes it's snowing and I stay about an hour from Morin heights and now the studio was no more all the musicien who records there receive a message to put some money in a gofund to help the studio to stay there but there where a problem with the mayor of the place ...he wanted to put some loft there with help of a big corporate ...so its was destroyed to put a building of loft so for them the history of the place was not enought important. I send a message to rush and the did what they can but its goes in a hole. It's was one of the best studio ever in nature .....so this is the story
This is one of those perfect album sides. Hard to beat Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ, and Limelight. I think this whole album is classic along with 8 or so of their other albums. They had at least 7 classic albums in a row from 2112 through Grace under Pressure. Counterparts and Fly by Night are the other classics for me. All the other ones, except maybe Hold your Fire are great also.
This channel is so cool. I've listened to this amazing album dozens if not hundreds of times, but I never actually noticed that the synthie part in "Tom Sawyer" was in a symmetrical 7/8. It's so cool to learn new stuff about an album that you know (or believe you know) so well. Just showcases how awesome this record is, because the best ones are those of course which reveal new things to the listener though having heard it countless times.
Well-weathered leather, hot metal and oil, the scent of country air Sunlight on chrome, the blur of the landscape, every nerve aware - Neil's brilliant lyrics from "Red Barchetta"
Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves was Rush at their best! Every song on both albums are all strong and easy to listen to. And there are hidden gems within both albums like The Camera Eye, Vital Signs, Entre Nous and Natural Science
6:20 - How can you NOT air drum along with Neil? LOL Doug, you are having WAY too much fun with this. :) I saw Rush on the Moving Pictures tour. Geddy is such a ridiculously talented musician (no disrespect meant to Alex or Neil) that at one point he was playing his bass with only his left hand because his right hand was busy playing keyboards. On top of that, he was simultaneously playing his foot pedals. As if his brain wasn't busy enough, he was also singing at the same time. How does a person do that?
It's shocking that you never heard this album before, as it was a staple of our high school in the 80s...and just an all time classic...they were so in the zone for this album...
In Red Barchetta, it is so amazing how they ramp up the feeling of movement and action as the second and third verses kick in. Masters of tempo and dynamics! One of my personal Rush faves!
Listening to Neil's philosophic lyrics and backbone(RIP😔) along with the truckload of sonic emotion expressed through Alex and Geddy is immeasurable with regard to it's psychological value these gentlemen offer in perpetuity to us all. With respect I know Geddy has no qualms with being mentioned last...as the closer, eh. Saw them in '81, Hershey, PA. Much Gratitude Doug.
Neil didn’t feel that he deserved all the adoration go figure the greatest drummer and lyricists of all time was so down to earth and always thought he could do better
In YYZ, yes it is indeed the Morse code for the call signal for Pearson. The music is talking about the things that happen at airports. Hustle and bustle, happy reunions and sad farewells, exotic travel, etc. Listen again and you will hear all those elements. I'm so glad I got to see these guys live (after being a fan for 40+ years). RIP, Professor.
Red Barchetta was inspired by the futuristic short story A Nice Morning Drive, written by Richard Foster and published in the November 1973 issue of Road & Track magazine. The story describes a similar future in which increasingly stringent safety regulations have forced cars to evolve into massive Modern Safety Vehicles (MSVs), capable of withstanding a 50-mile-per-hour (80 km/h) impact without injury to the driver.
Hi…Canadian dude here… It’s YY Zed! 😝. And the crotales and opening riff are the Morse code letters for YYZ, Toronto International Airport. Alex had just gotten his private pilots license, and the trio noticed the beacon code, and because it was ‘home’ it struck (no pun intended) a chord with the group.
YYZ is Rush's nod to their Canadian identity. YYZ are the call letters to Toronto Pearson international airport. They also used Morse code for the beat to communicate YYZ. Best band ever to come from my home country of Canada. Their music will live forever.
I was fortunate enough to be backstage for 2 Rush concerts (Roll the Bones and Counterparts tours) in my younger musician days. 1. Their crew are truly the best and have worked with them forever, 2. Neil is nowhere to be found. I did spend some quality time with Geddy and Alex even prior to the "Meet and Greet" being a bass player of some accord in Seattle, and they were tremendous and funny. I tried extremely hard to not "fanboy" out on them and kept the conversation as far from music and how amazing they are as possible. Geddy was wearing one orange and one purple Chuck Taylor, its amazing how much we talked about the joys of proper footwear.
Johnny Reznik of Goo Goo dolls had a a great explanation for why he always uses weird tunings. "We're a three piece and we needed to cover a lot of sonic space, but we're not Rush". Heard that in an interview the other day and loved it. Rush were masters of making themselves sound like 10 people.
Neil would leave the stage, jump on his motorcycle and ride for about 100 - 150 miles with his roadie and then they'd load the bikes onto the truck and Neil would get on the bus and ride the rest of the way to the next gig. He lived a pretty interesting life on the road. Riding his motorcycle hiding in plain sight. Great way for a famous musician to travel. RIP Neil!
I can't wait to hear your reaction to side 2. For me, side 1 fantastically closes an era and side 2 opens the new era of the next Signals album. Moving pictures is a pivotal album and one of the greatest album of all time.
Doug, you are an absolute musician. At 20:26 there is a downward cascading pull-off break by Alex during YYZ and I can see it in your head movements and your eye movement that you are imagining the written tablature and are following along with the notes! Amazing. And when the synths kick in, you just look at the camera and smile. I Love this channel!
Doug, why not Sons Of Apollo? Song - New World Today. You'll not regret or your money back. Derek Sherinian, Bumblefoot, Portnoy, Soto and Billy Sheehan there is no mistake. I believe it.worths the shot.
I watched an interview with the guys, Limelight was written specifically about Neil, the guilded cage is his percussion set up. He is a very introverted man, and the limelight made him uncomfortable. On tours many times his Harley was trailered with them, he would at times make the tour bus stop and he would get out and ride to the next destination to be alone in his head, he said it calmed him prior to getting on stage.
This is a futuristic song about a farmer who keeps a Red Barchetta in his barn even after motors are outlawed (Before the Motor Law). The kid comes, takes the car for ride and ends up being chased by Gleaming Alloy Air car (Police is assumed). He outruns and ditches the law and returns to the barn, hides the car and goes to dream with his uncle by the fireside. During the Moving Pictures Tour, Rush used a video to bring the story to life.
Red Barchetta is a “futuristic” tale where automobiles are outlawed and if you drove one you were a criminal and the Motor Law came after you. (Funny how current powers want to eliminate gas powered cars). The Red Barchetta was a nickname for a Ferrari but has nothing to do with any timeline. Ironically this song came out after a Canadian B movie Firebird 2001 AD with Darren McGavin (A Christmas Story) about a future where cars are banned and an uncle preserves an old Firebird in his old farm barn for a grandson to enjoy, while the local authorities are out to apprehend the elegal motorists that hide out in the hills(called burners). I’m sure this became the inspiration for Red Barchetta
My absolute favorite band ever. Ever ever ever. From the beginning right through Clockwork Angels. I have three dogs. One whose name is Princess Geddy Lee one whose name is Nuno, and the other is Ringo. That gives you an idea of three of my favorite bands. My favorite quote ever is “He knows changes aren’t permanent, but change is.” The way that Geddy and Alex put Neil’s thoughts to music will never ever be seen again I think a lot of people never realized how bluesy Alex could get with his guitar playing My favorite Rush song ever is still The Camera Eye, which is referenced in Limelight.
Speaking of the air car, you have to go back the earlier lyric where he says of his uncle's farm, "He says it used to be a farm before the "Motor Law." When he starts up the car, he says he commits his weekly crime. Clearly, gasoline-powered cars have been made illegal and his uncle, against the law and society at large, has escaped the city to a farm where he maintains an old gasoline car for his young nephew to drive as a reminder of "a better vanished time". As fro YYZ live, if you get a hold of a copy of Exit Stage Left, their live album supporting this studio release, YYUZ does include a 3 minute drum solo in the middle that just knocks your socks off.
Doug, please don't be that guy. Please don't be that youtube reactor that tries to sell to their audience that they haven't heard said song before. Why do people do this? Every song on side one of this album has been played extensively on every rock and classic rock station across our country. There's no way you haven't heard Limelight before or have only heard Tom Sawyer on a limited basis. Its ok for you to have a reaction to songs you are already familiar with. Just own it. Otherwise, nice work. I enjoy your channel.
Loved this reaction! I was a young teenager when this album was released. My dad was a classical musician who hated rock, until I introduced him to the likes of Rush and Kansas. He finally sat down, listened to it with me and we would discuss composition and musicianship from a classical perspective. He grudgingly had to admit he'd been wrong and that those bands were, in fact, extraordinary.
One thing I'll add is how good the contemporary remasters sound. I'm listening on crappy laptop speakers and the sound blows away what I grew up listening to (cassette and the original CD master).
I had seen the boys for farewell to kings, hemispheres, and permanent waves by this time. As usual, photos and videos are taken while getting the album cover art. While the boys were playing, the large video screen behind them was showing the image of the moving pictures cover. Then it went to the video. Your mind is used to seeing a fixed image, then it starts to go into motion. So cool.
red barCHetta... like it sounds the CH.. as in cheese or cherry... not a "K" sound.. he sings it in the song.. unfortunately you were talking when he says it..
Anyone else notice how each fill that completes the last four bars of the last chorus of Tom Sawyer are all triplets starting with the triplet snare/crash hits, followed by the descending triplet tom fill, going into the intense floor tom triplets and then completing with the full band's triplets.
Moving Pictures side one is probably in the top 10 of all time of albums with no weak songs on it! All singles, all hit's. It stacks up to some of the all time legendary greats!
I love all of Rush's albums... but there's just something about this one that's incredible. Every song is amazing. The musicianship, vocals, songwriting... just amazing. They were certainly firing on all cylinders during Moving Pictures!
Back then it was standard for bands to release a new album every year, you would write, compose, and practice new songs on tour, then record as soon as the tour was finished. Rinse and repeat.
I’ve always said that Red Barchetta has more story telling and cinematic content than most Hollywood movies. Neil’s imagery within his lyrics is just remarkable!!! And that song will always be one of my favorites to play on guitar!!! Alex is my hero!!! And Red Barchetta is a blast to play!!!!
This album changed everything for me. It turned me from a kid who listened to pop radio to a young teen who bought classic rock and Prog albums, read music magazines religiously and attended concerts before I had a license or could stay out past curfew.
Doug, Neil's cascading tom descent is one I always air drum when I hear Tom Sawyer. It's up there with the In The Air Tonight drum break for me. I love me some prog!
The Barchetta is a Ferrari that was red with a v12 and it was the first car to leave the Maranello factory in 1947. It was designed to be race car.And it won in its second outing at the Grand Prix in Rome. And Doug is so right by saying Neil does all the right things at the right time. He was the professor! Nobody will ever come close to matching Neil. He wasn’t just a drummer, he was a masterful percussionist. Every time I listen to a rush song I hear something from Neil I didn’t hear before. Absolute drum God!
Rush is the most transcendent of all rock bands, their music and lyrics takes you to the best versions of yourself and the wonders of life. Soulful, introspective, authentic and heartfelt but not sentimental, superficial or pretentious like so many other bands.
