First Time Hearing Rush - Xanadu - How Did I Miss This One?? 

The greatest 3 piece rock band in history, no debate, over.

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.

This song was written around 1976. Originally released on their 1977 album A Farewell to Kings.

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! 🏆🏆🏆

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 (?)

Idk if it was coincidence or RU-vid 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.

I’ve seen this performance hundreds of times on video, and a bunch of times live and I still just sit here watching with my mouth hanging open. The most incredible live band ever

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🤘🏽🎆

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?

Rush was the greatest live band ever. Incredible reproduction of their studio material.

Xanadu is based on a unfinished poem by English poet Samuel Taylor Cooleridge, it's a location, lost to history.

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.

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. ✌✌😁😁

a recomendation la villa stragiato possibly the greatest instrumental ever Great reaction to Xanadu

“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

Every sound you hear is played or triggered from the stage by 3 masters. Amazing. Welcome to the show

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.

To me, Rush is to MUSICIANSHIP, what the BEATLES are to SINGING! Rush was ALWAYS ALL IN!!

"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.

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

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.

It's cool to know that Rush can still impress people today. Back then it was beyond impressive, they were legends, though mainly among people who cared more about music than image. They were the band that everyone in school band liked or at least respected the most. You could put Yes in that conversation too, but Yes's best music wasn't as cool or current by 1980, it seemed too hippie. 90125 was cool, but Rush had a string of eight very strong albums from 1976-1985. During that time they were *the* musicians' band.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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).

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.

I've watched this so many times, and it's still epic every time.

I'm glad you are finally able to listen after all these years. Rest in peace 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’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 🇨🇦

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!!!

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.

"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 🙄😄

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...

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.

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.

FWIW, studio version of this was released in 1977. The movie (and Olivia Newton John/ELO version) came out in 1980.

Dude! You dropped The Dark Chrystal AND Spinal Tap!!!......fucking awesome. Welcome to Rush!!!

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.

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.

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.

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

Indeed...If you "missed this one" You definitely missed Fountain of Lamneth... Better late than never.

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.

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. 🙏

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.

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).

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.

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!

You are witnessing the professor of the drums NEIL PEART!!!

I never thought of the Spinal Tap connection, but I can absolutely see it!!

Neil has passed but they are still remembered and never forgotten

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!

Rush influenced so many.

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.

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.

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....

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.

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.

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.

By far my favorite song of all time! And this performance is just mind blowing. They are working so hard.

I'm Indonesian but Rush so big in 80's especially for big cities high school band (Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya).

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.

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.

Greatest rock band of all time. Forget ZEP, Floyd,Sabbath,Purple and everyone else no other band had the talent these 3 Canadian gods had.Sure other bands were bigger but for sheer body of work over 40 years no one comes close.

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.

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. 🙂

I should add that in the verses, the bassist is playing a moog pedal synth doing the high parts and the guitarist is also playing pedal synth with his feet doing the bass parts. Both, while completely owning their primary instruments, the bass player singing, goofing around, having a great time playing with one another. There was no one like em’!

Its the same in New Zealand, they are even less known there, according to the drummer that does similar videos from there. Great video! This is 1977 my friend!!! Live is 1981. Slash liked Rush even was upset they got into the Hall of Fame and they weren't in there at that point. Check out Quadrophenia, some albums and music were so complex they were super hard to perform way back when - this would be an example, but Rush were so dedicated to performing their best they did it!

RUSH is THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of the fluidity of MASTERING TIME SIGNATURES! I play drums and there are a few things that you need to know about Neil Peart’s ( pronounced PEER-T) character: First he writes the lyrics so he knows in advance what TYPE of song it’s meant to be ie ballad, driver, etc. Second he COMPOSES on the drums… like a carpenter who looks at a set of blueprints before building the object. Neil lays out a SKETCH in his mind of the VOICES of the drumset and builds the song from there. He is also a great LISTENER knowing when NOT to step over Geddy’s singing or Alex’s solos! Finally, he had perfect timing and fluidity of time changes. He said himself that it’s not about COUNTING the time signatures as much as fluid motion to change the tempo without counting: in other words it should FLOW! He hates repeating the same drum patterns in the same song meaning if he plays a fill one way the first time around he will play it differently the second time around. IE. Rolls down the toms the first time around and triplets or quads (all four limbs) the second time around. In short there will NEVER be another like him on planet earth 🌍 🌏 🌎! REST IN PEACE PROFESSOR! With heart felt admiration and sincerity! Gary

Xanadu from rush 1977. Olivia Newton John and ELO 1981

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!

@23:20 Great ear and great call man!

"Xanadu" was released on "A Farewell to Kings" released in September 1977. I went to my first concert in Toronto in the summer of 1978 and it was Rush with opening act Max Webster. A couple of things also: 1. Neil Peart (the drummer) wrote most of Rush's lyrics including this song. 2. Neil Peart unfortunately passed away on January 7, 2020 and he can never be replaced 3. I don't think I'm out of line in saying that there is a chance that Dan Carey (and Tool) would not exist in their current form without Neil Peart and Rush's influence. I think Dan Carey would back up that statement if what I've heard is true. 4. And lastly, you reacted to Rush' "YYZ" but didn't choose their live version in Rio. I think it would knock you out if you checked it out (even privately). Note: listen to what the crowd does to an instrumental song. RU-vid link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1eSlvoO3Vw8.html

Excellent break-down and analysis! Made my day!

I was so lucky to see this tour Live in 1981 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Eddie Van Halen was asked how it feels to be the greatest guitar player; He said ask Alex Lifeson!!

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.

Great reaction! I am not sure of Rushs influence on Spinal Tap, but I definitely know that Geddy kept a miniature Stonehenge on his keyboard for a few tours... I always assumed it was just showing homage to Spinal Tap. Lol.

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.

There's a ton of famous bands that got there inspiration from RUSH

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.

Probably the best commentary on a Rush video I've seen so far. You nailed it 👍

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.

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'.

Xanadu was on A Farewell to Kings, released in 1977. The movie Xanadu came out in 1980. Just getting the timeline straight.

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.

These guys remind me of listening to a Ferrari go thru the gears. Utter perfection . Nobody can replicate that sound or Musicanship. RIP Professor. You Sir we’re truly an original.

Geddy's synths are an Oberheim 8-voice merged with a Minimoog. He also used Moog Taurus pedals.

Rush Xanadu 1976 Spinal Tap 1984. The tail wagging the dog that set the tone for so many bands.

You asked what synth Geddy was using; it's an Oberheim OBX with FAT-ASSSSSSSSS bass that sounds like Odin's farts - it's glorious. You mentioned getting one's money's worth; I saw this very tour in Mobile, AL in 1981 for ...(drum roll please) ... $15.00 hard-earned high school job American bucks, man. I'd have paid twice that even then, trust it. Oh, wait, I just remembered, a friend bought the ticket for me because I drove and paid for gas. What was that, 41 years ago? Sheeesh.

OK I saw (here in London Ontario Canada) all of the RUSH concerts from 1975 to 1980,and i have lots of B&W Negatives of each concert as I brought a 35mm Camera in. Xanadu started as a segway into Working Man, usually the last or second last song of the set. It just expanded from there into the song you see here. By 1976 the song was complete, in its full glory, but the tubular bells, wooden blocks (at the start) and long form chimes were missing. Neil only had a small wind chime set, and Alex had the Brown-ish EDS-1275 then. Usually run through JTM 45/100 Marshall amps (three each side ~ 6 in total) and very limited pedalboard setup as most guitar pedals did not exist then. The early MOOG SYNTHS were really not that great, but this set here was the basic same types that are featured on the Edgar Winter Song "Frankenstein" ~ You should check that song out to get a flavour of 1975. Also check out early BAD COMPANY, David Bowie "Space Oddity" and of course the song "Tubular Bells" from the EXORCIST Soundtrack. RUSH, would trade off with KISS, RORY Gallaher, APRIL WINE and others. To see first Gallaher, then RUSH then KISS in the same concert was sheer tone heaven. My ears would ring for days! I was 17 in 1975, and in the early 1980's I ended up doing ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY for 11 years starting in 1979.

Awesome review....nice to see a review with somebody knowledgeable....good job

Never too late, bro! I discovered Rush 42 years ago. I saw this tour in 1981. Dubuque, Iowa. USA

Yeah - I'm an Aussie and long term Rush fanatic..... I now live overseas and refuse to return to live in OZ until I can break my fast on HoneyDew at MACCAS 🤣 Back in the 70's we read music mags like NME and learned of Rush etc - and once my older brother managed to grab the Dbl Live LP All The World's a Stage - I was hooked till now. I finally managed to fly over from Queensland to California to see Rush live on the Time Machine Tour at Mountain View in 2010 ..... I can now die a happy man ! RIP Neil 😢

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.

Related to your comments on spectacle etc. Xanadu was released in 1977. Rush's last tour was in 2015. R40 tour was North America only. Started out with all their modern kit and stage paraphernalia for their newer tracks. And this was stripped back by roadies as their playlist went back in time. And here's Xanadu stripped back to 70/80s staging: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4BA8T1Bt3Ms.html

You should check out Toehider at some point. As the singer said in an interview, "if you like every toehider song, I haven't done my job right."