Composer Reacts to Rush - La Villa Strangiato (REACTION & ANALYSIS) 

Alex Lifeson is criminally underrated as a guitarist and is often overlooked when it comes to best guitarist of all time. He’s in my top 5 for sure🤘🏼

That bass solo is insanely difficult and impressive!

For a Rush bass solo check out Leave That Thing Alone (Time Machine 2011 tour)

To be fair to Alex on this one the song concept was his, based on a dream he had. Also, after this period he spent most of the 80s in the background doing textural work due to Geddy's newfound synth obsession. So I guess you might say he got what was coming to him 😂

Rush are being covered all over by reactors, no one ever mentioned that they ever get blocked… La Villa Strangiato is in my top 10 songs!

I think this was the album where Rush wanted to prove that they were the most talented rock band in the world at the time, 1978.

The song is about a dream. In the dream he meets a monster. That crazy solo was him meeting the monster.

I think that 7/8 part you caught after the solo, the quiet part that then goes loud, that is the quintessential moment the progressive metal riff was born, the one then used by Fates Warning, Queensryche, Dream Theater, Watchtower. Also seen much more clearly down the line in Rush's Natural Science. Once you hit that song to you will not be able to miss that contribution of Rush to a whole nascent subgenre.

The song was composed with different sections as you said. Rush often approached writing music in somewhat of a classical style. I have listed all of the different sections of the song below and from some of the titles it is obvious when they are revisiting a certain musical theme. You can also look up the time when each section kicks in. One thing that really impresses me about this particular version of the song is that it was recorded live on a closed stage in one single take. This is not a pieced together video of multiple takes. (AN EXERCISE IN SELF-INDULGENCE) Music: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart Instrumental I. Buenas Noches, Mein Froinds! II. To sleep, perchance to dream… III. Strangiato Theme IV. A Lerxst in Wonderland V. Monsters! VI. Danforth and Pape VII. The Waltz of the Shreves VIII. Never turn your back on a Monster! IX. Monsters! (Reprise) X. Strangiato Theme (Reprise) XI. A Farewell to Things

as much as i love this version, i feel you would appreciate the studio version more. Its probably in my opinion the greatest song to exist right next to layla.

With Rush, I've always been fascinated by how Alex's guitar solos are framed by what Geddy's doing on bass and what Neil's doing on drums. It's rarely a pure guitar solo. Also, when Geddy's on keys, he's working the bass pedals below so you never lose the bass, even live.

This song features the guitar because it's a song about Alex's nightmares. If you want to hear Geddy carry a song on Bass listen to New World Man

The "Phaser" sound you're hearing is actually a Boss CE-1 chorus pedal

That intro was done on acoustic (classical?) guitar on the studio version. The electric with the "swells" on this version is pretty amazing.

Glad you got a Rush song through - here's hoping it stays up! :) This song's subtitle is "An exercise in self-indulgence" or similar. I also believe that they wrote it in sections and had to push themselves to be able to play it all the way through. YYZ is a song with bass a little more prominent. Live in Rio is the favored version. I also like Headlong Flight from their final album is also a favorite of mine. This is their early-middle period, and over time they went to more of a synth focus, but then back to a guitar and heavy stage, where they ended up.

I beleive that was their first full instrumental. Other songs had instrumental passages, but that was written as a full standalone instrumental. It remained one of their most popular amongst fans for the remainder of their career. Alex really gives one of his best leads in that one.

This song was based on a nightmare the guitarist, Alex Lifeson, had so it's understandable that it is expressed with heavy guitar usage. There are many of the bands songs that don't showcase the guitar as much. They use the sounds that will produce the desired effects and mood they are trying to convey in their songs. They effectively used the technology they had at the time to produce the complex sounds that could also be used on stage with only three of them. Just three average Canadians goofing around.

The bowed instrument sound is due to usage of a volume peddle creating amplitude swells, picking the note with the volume set low then swelling the volume to create the effect similar to a viola or cello.

Three geniuses at the peak of their creativity and masters of their art. Great reaction 👍

Thank you for Rush Canada! You should check out Triumph, another great Canadian band.

My favorite band this song is a beast!

Thanks for another very thorough reaction. I always appreciate your comments and analysis. For a more interesting Rush song with bass highlighted, you can look at "Leave that thing alone"

There was a reason behind Alex getting the spotlight on this song it's because it was from a nightmare that he had, so the other two just naturally took a backseat on this one. Check out YYZ the live from Rio version is quite good all three of them shine equally

6:33 One of the most unique and elegant expressions of Niels play. Accent patterns, lively but laid back. Well said. 6:50 This Is Rush reaction gold. Look at his face. It’s says… ‘Wait a min. What just happened. Where are we? Something is… is… uhm. 1, 2, 3. Mmm. There’s the upbeat, the down… ah! 7/8. How nice.’. 😂 great when the reactor is a musician and knows things like that.

Getty plays center stage often, and is totally amazing, I don’t think you’ve heard enough of their music to judge, Getty and Neil are the focus so often Alex isn’t noticed as much, He deserves every solo the man got to play, so underrated as a guitar player and one of my all time favorites!!!👌👍✌️😁

Love Rush, love this track, which has always been their magnum opus from an instrumental/technical perspective. Amazing that three people could make such full, complex music. Definitely three virtuosos at their absolute peak. 25:33 I think you meant Nightwish rather than Dream Theater. In DT every member of the band does contribute to the songwriting. DT were immensely influenced by Rush, of course.

This is subtitled, in the liner notes, as "an exercise in self-indulgence." I think you can see why.

Love you count, most commentors miss some transitions because they are so smooth, but they are not professionals like you! Love your review, more Rush please!

Their masterpiece. Perfection.

I've always felt like Neil Peart's drumming here feels like being a skateboarder cruising down the LA boardwalk at sunset. It moves but its cool.

La Villa Strangiato The Best Instramental ever

That piece was probably more of a showcase for Alex that it was for Geddy. "YYZ" might actually be a bit better song for this situation. Although it's nice here to see how Geddy also contributed on keys (and pedals.) BTW, if you want a song that REALLY features the bass I'd recommend the Yessongs version of "The Fish". 😉

Bass song that will blow your mind is Joe Frazier by the Bill Bruford band from bassist Jeff Berlin on the Gradially growing tornade album from the 1970s

Truly Rush won’t block. It’s the political point of media

You should check out the exit stage left version if you really wanna hear Geddy stand out in the bass line.

Surprised you get Rush videos blocked. Only Losing It from their signals album seems to get blocked for most due to Ben Mink who is on violin on the song and his labels flag it. But others seem to be fine with other reactors so maybe try some more.

Timing changes are amazing!!!!!

alex lifeson is so under apreciated. i feel the reason he doesnt get the recognition is because there are so many well recognized lead guitarists in the rock umbrella and pretty few widley known drummers and bass players in comparison, i feel like geddy and neil both being hailed as all time greats in the same band somewhat overshadowed alex's legacy to the non rush head.

Another great Rush song that has excellent bass is YYZ. Basically, a song made around bass and drums.

This Instrumental was written by the guitarist ( Alex Lifeson ) so what you are seeing is his freedom of expression and musical interpretation of a dream he had. The studio version shows the different sections of the song and each with it's own heading/name. Cheers, appreciate your technical breakdown.

Interesting coments as the 'Bass being the glue' because well, remember this is an *instrumental* song on a band that often does has vocals, which are all performed by Lee. So if you consider that he was the bass player, keyboard player and singer on the band and quite often, all 3 on the exact same song and on a live setting, you can see why maybe even on instrumental songs the band was not in the habit of having Geddy Lee Bass moments as just a byproduct of the way they usually compose as a trio band.

If you want to hear some sick Bass check out driven, Geddy really goes off

RUSH Army approves this reaction.

Leave That Thing Alone....Time Machine Tour 2011....now that's a Rush instrumental you have to react to if you want bass work by Geddy Lee. The bass solo in the end will make you smile I guarantee.

Actually La Villa was Alex's concept and was used to showcase his (underrated) skills are as a guitarist as most Rush fans would say that Alex is very much a team player when it comes to playing lead so this is atypical but wow that orgasmic guitar solo in the middle and on the studio version the opening is flamenco classical guitar style so you lost that in this live version unfortunately. Very hard to play this as a group in such a seamless manner as many musicians will attest to and stretches the ability of most guitarists and drummers.

Should have done the studio version

Great video! This is the first video of yours I've seen. If you're looking to focus on the bass, I think this is the wrong song. :) YYZ, Digital Man, Open Secrets and several others are better for a bass focus because the bass is more active in those songs. Anyway, thanks for posting!

This song was written to showcase Alex If you really listen to Rush, Geddy gets plenty of exposure. Eventually in later years he eclipses Alex. Really all talents are eventually showcased through out. Just masterful. Regarding the volume swells that is usually done through pedal with Alex not on the pickups. His arpeggios are just so smooth and beautiful.

Try Rush's YYZ if you want to see some great Geddy Lee bass playing. There's a great live video from Brazil.

The Bass player for Rush is considered one of the most technical Bass players ever , He just is not doing it here , You really need to look more into Rush

Geddy and Neil garnered so much attention, rightfully of course, that Alex tended to get maybe a little overlooked but he's really one of the best guitarist of his time.

Bass week! I hope you are doing something from Chris Squire’s 1975 “Fish Out Of Water.” The bass is the lead instrument for the entire album. One of the most beautiful albums of the whole prog genre. Try “Silently Falling” or “Lucky Seven.”

If you are looking for some more Rush songs that *feature* the bass, check out "The Analog Kid" and "Digital Man". Also check out the 2011 live version of "Leave That Thing Alone".

BTW - I'm really surprised you have been getting Rush videos blocked. I've been watching RU-vidrs react to Rush songs for over 3 years now, and I didn't think that was a problem with them.

Jaco Pastorius?!? - Listen to Weather Report's Teen Town. That really features Jaco's bass chops. BTW thanks for reviewing La Villa Strangiato by Rush! :)

Just on the bass, for groove and technical ability, it's Stanley Clarke. For the groove for example try the track 'Find Out'. For technical ability. Schooldays, and Life is just a game. That's Stanley. But for Geddy, the bass is very prominent in a lot of their music. But mostly on their 70's work.

if you want Geddy bass watch any live version of Leave that thing alone...its a Geddy solo 7 min long...brilliant

This song is homage to the Power House jazz song of a cartoon. Keep in mind they play both synths simultaneously using their feet and drummer plays clochenspiel etc and you dont notice. This is live and they play all you hear. Theres no ”reverse pedal”, just volume pedal and hands. Rush is 3 piece band, no democracy.

This song is more about Alex's guitar playing than Geddy's bass playing (although he's awesome here). For a Rush song more about Geddy's bass, maybe listen to "YYZ"?

Although there are very few "bad" Rush tracks, there are others that are more bass-heavy you could have chosen. It's not your fault, it's just the era Rush fans seem to get hung up on without exploring more options. Big Money, Turn the Page, Animate, and Driven, would be more bass-centric tracks than a lot of their earlier ones.

In fairness, thiz track was inspired by the guitarists' dream(s). So it's really kinda' his song. In a lot of Rush's music, Alex is relatively subservient compared to typical rock bands. So i personally love that Alex gets to have one that's his own. Your commentary about the democratic process in their writing is spot on. They would love that you notice taht fact, because that is exactly how they describe their process. Very well critiqued! It is a shame you have been blocked before. There must be a solution somewhere, because i see a lot of RU-vidrs doing a lot of Rush reviews. I hope you find a solution, because you are the best reveiwer, and they are my favorite band.

Other great band from Ontario Canada is Motion Device.

Add in the GOAT of His time, . Drummer Neal (the metronome) Peart!

Legato picking? Reverse pedal? Been playing guitar nearly 50 years, and teaching for half of thst and never heard of those terms, isn't RU-vid amazing? We learn new stuff every day!

In the "Monsters!" section of the song, the band plays an adaptation of the famous "Powerhouse" by the Raymond Scott Quintet ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YfDqR4fqIWE.html

I guess that you look for studio version and make another react. And Geddy play bass-pedals and chime-pedals at same time he sings. That´s song was composed over by Alexe´s dream, so it´s a his dream. So instrummentual...

@5:25 - no, a volume pedal.

Yeah, dude. It's a nice melody.

I would say " A unified a-singularity"

The greatest rock band of all time

I'm hoping you will hit Victor Wooten. He is top 5 all time. Arguably #1.

Geddy is play bass pedals as he plays keyboards

Not sure what you mean by down pedal, but it is a volume pedal.

Alex is using a volume pedal at the start of the song it's one of his favorite pedals he uses it quite a bit especially at the start of the song Xanadu.✌🎸🎵

You need to listen to freewill if you haven't already.

the studio version has a flamingo guitar intro

“A band called RUSH.. “

Watch The Best intro song. You'll enjoy

I'm always so disappointed when I see people are checking out the live version and not the studio version! IMO when it comes to music reactions, studio should always be the first choice unless a specific live version is requested.

Try Natural Science, Studio version just to start ,

For bass week you picked an instrumental that somewhat uncharacteristically puts Alex’s guitar somewhat more in the foreground. Bad luck. Lots of other killer Rush tracks where Geddy’s bass work amazes and delights. The comment about instrumentation serving the composition is exactly it. Not just shredding for shredding’s sake, etc., which I find infantile in a lot of music. And appreciated the lack of it in Rush.

Your missing out Rush has an extremely deep Rabbit hole ,

Where did you get blocked? Almost nobody else who covers Rush gets blocked.

It is so weird hearing Neil being referred to as "the drummer", not that he isn't of course, it is just extremely rare. There is an argument that you are not breaking down a piece with 10-30 musicians for a MIT classroom so one could pay some respect to three individuals by using their names, Geddy, Alex & Neil. I'm thinking you don't like Rush and are scared to just own it, they get blocked? Yeah ok👍, so your the one and only reaction channel that gets Rush videos blocked? Also weird, perhaps you pissed off the label idk or more like a reason to not have to do Rush songs...

Dude all they want to do is play music that sounded need to them know needs overanalyze or even analyze this