I actually recommend going back and checking out the studio version. It is nearly identical, except that the opening is on a classical guitar. As that is the main difference, I don't think a reaction video is necessary. EDIT: I see people saying Spanish and not classical guitar. They are probably correct.
You should react to the Album Version. The original studio version. for one thing it has the intro with Alex playing the Classical Guitar like you do so the reaction would have been what we expected. Please do all first listens to all music the original studio cuts. they are more clear and played the way they were written
@@GummyBearWA i like all rush, from the first to last… with my only let down being snakes and arrows. I like the necromancer and time stand still. But for me there is something special about the long songs. Xanadu off exit might be their finest performance, hemispheres their most ambitious, 2112 their most epic. They are masterpieces of composition.
The opening guitar solo on the album is a Spanish guitar. That's why they recommended La Villa Strangiato. This version is amazing too, but it's not why people were recommending this song. But I think you opened a door you can't close. Rush fans won't let you go now. We are a spirited bunch that loves our Rush dearly.
On their live album “Exit Stage Left”, Alex plays a classical piece he named “Broon’s Bane” right before the opening to their song “The Trees”. I think that Broon’s Bane shows Alex’s classical flair. It’s even played on a classical nylon or gut string guitar. It’s a pretty good little piece that’s only a couple of minutes long. I haven’t heard it in years, but k remember learning it on my nylon string guitar many years ago. I need to check and see if I can still remember er how to play it. You’re right though, he needs to listen to the studio album to hear the original gut string guitar into, which has a bit of a Spanish flamenco style.
My take on this tune is that it's fantastic, but I think it's not THE tune to highlight Leifson's guitar prowess. This tune has some great riffs, but they are repetitive. Once you hear the run or riff, you've heard it. It'll come back. Not much to listen to for a classical guitarist, imo.
@@Roddy1965 Agreed. For me, solos where Alex bends notes out of tune are my favorites. For Example: "The Garden" and "Between the Wheels". But everyone's different. For some, if a solo isn't blazing fast it doesn't count.
Agree I don't know why the studio version which is much more complex and atmospheric gets over looked. I love this live don't get me wrong but it's not as full as the acoustic version
Discovering Rush is like discovering chocolate. The initial reaction is "Wow how come I never had some of this?" then you can't get enough. La Villa Strangiato is from the album Hemispheres, the first album I bought with my own money. I was a teenager, a paperboy in the late 70's. More than 40 years later and having listened to this song probably thousands of times, it still gives me an "eargasm" when I hear it. In my book this is the best instrumental prog rock song ever composed. From the same album, you should check The Trees, an other must from Rush and this one will give you a singing Geddy.
Well Mr Classical man ,I love this band more than my family,and noticed I have a very large family, but I also noticed your face and your head movements,but to here your feedback is right on the deal is your very very good I love classical and just music all music nowadays there are so many different genres.god bless, from Corpus Christi Texas ✌️
I miss this band so much, what intricate, intelligent music played by 3 of the most humble men to grace the stage. We were blessed to have them and all their recorded music.
I think you probably got a lot of recommendations for this because the studio version has Spanish guitar intro. Unfortunately they never did that live. You might want to check it out on your own time. A couple other recommendations with classical intros WITH vocals are The Trees, and A Farewell to Kings. Other songs you might like are: The Spirit of Radio Freewill Xanadu Subdivisions Natural Science I could go on, but that's a good place to start. They have 19 studio albums, so the well is pretty deep.
@@kippsguitar6539 he should also check the (unfortunately brief) Broon’s Bane that comes right before The Trees (which also has a Spanish guitar intro)! Be well my friend!
Whenever I watch this video, I can't help but think 'this was '81', and these guys only got better with age. Lots of material to go through, my friend! Enjoy the ride!
Love YYZ too, but I think the following track by Persefone has topped my favourite instrumentals of all time - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q_LtFlqBtuU.html&ab_channel=RockPlaylist - interested in your reactions
You'll find Rush fans are incredibly loyal, knowledgeable and love welcoming new fans into the 'family'. Glad you're enjoying your introduction to our favorite group. 🎸🥁🎸
@@IusedtohaveausernameIliked Certainly looks nice from the outside. Unfortunately I'm not a true believer but a mere casual appreciator of (mostly) Lifeson's early work.
Rush, the soundtrack to my life. 💖 I read many years ago that Alex, the guitarist, had and dream one night and told Neil (the drummer) about it. While later Neil came back to Alex and had written La Villa Strangiato based on Alex's dream. Must have been a hell of a dream. Glad you are enjoying RUSH.
@@idonoywantthisaccount7675 Yeah, I thought Neil primarily wrote the lyrics. And I thought this particular piece was written by Alex based on his dream. But I've never read up on the history of this tune.
love your reaction. It was completely genuine, and the way you started rocking and smiling to the music clearly indicated your appreciation. From a Canadian and a Rush fan from the beginning, Stay Safe and Vigilant
What a masterpiece! Few bands have pushed the limits of creative and technical experimentation as successfully as Rush. Truly they deserve their place on the Mt. Rushmore of great and influential bands.
One reason why I appreciate reaction videos like yours is validation for a band that I am more than passionate about. You know music in a way this relatively untrained person does not. Your perspective is appreciated. I am an avid Rush fan I have been there from the beginning. I live within two kilometers where Geddy and Alex went to high school. One day they were playing in high schools, the government lowered the drinking age to 19, and the next day they were playing in bars. And I was there in those bars. Yes, I could tell wild stories, but they were young and wild. What is notable is that they never stopped developing and growing. Neil even attended Buddy Rich's school for drummers even though he was an established rock star. They walked a road of their own making, not accepting the path to commercial success but creating music to their tastes. That led to not being fully recognized by the great majority of the rock industry for decades, but in that time they did it the hard way, constantly touring and attracting fans live, and in concert.
Rush fans are the most loyal of all fans. I have seen hundreds of videos of rush and reactions. They show their overwhelming support. I love it. Rush is my favorite rock band BTW. ❤
Thanks for doing this - Yes, there are a lot of loyal Rush fans for a lot of reasons. The quality of the music as well as the members, and even the fans, is very high. I've been a fan since Moving Pictures came out (the album with Tom Sawyer, Limelight, etc.) and had to work backwards through 2112, Hemispheres and the rest. I got to see them 3 times, late '80's, mid '90's and 2004. The live experience is (was) incredible. I'm glad there are some decent videos to show everyone how good they were. Early Genesis and Yes are two other progressive groups you might like, if this worked for you.
When I was in high school in the 80s, I had several acquaintances that were serious drummers, that played in metal cover bands and they could play difficult songs by Metallica, Megadeth or Slayer, but when talking about their chops, the question that inevitably came up was "But can you play La Villa Strangiato" and the answer was always "No I cannot.".
They have several more instrumentals, all of them very different. For a treat, check out a solo Alex has on the "Snake and Arrows" studio album called "Hope". It's a short piece he does on an acoustic 12-string that is quite beautiful. I never tire of hearing it.
The look on your face while watching this was precious. Alex Lifeson is the most underrated guitarist of all time in my humble opinion. I had the pleasure of seeing Rush 53 times including the final show at the Forum in LA. Got to meet Alex that night after waiting by his limo until 3:30am....He was such a great guy, and talked to about 6 of us waiting for him about 15-20 minutes signing autographs and answering questions.... Never a dull moment at a Rush Show. Geddy's voice.... People love it or hate it.... I personally love it.... And Neil, honestly what can be said besides he's one of the best drummers of all time.... Loved this, and I will subscribe and watch more from you.... Thank you for that beautiful smile through this entire video.... I'll be back!
Really, now? Underrated by whom, exactly? The untold number of guitar players he’s influenced? The fans that consistently name him one of the best? The critics that consistently name him one of the best? His peers that consistently name his as one of the best? The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? No one thinks Alex Lifeson, let alone every other band or musician described as such on RU-vid, is underrated. “Underrated” is the most overused adjective on RU-vid when it comes to bands and musicians.
At the beginning of the song you can hear two synth sounds. One you can see is from Geddy Lee playing the keys, but the other is from Alex using foot pedals as he plays his guitar. You can’t see his feet but if you watch closely at his body language you can see him shifting his position slightly as he plays the foot pedals.
It is not hard to quantify why Rush has enjoyed such a long run of popularity amongst their fans, if not so much by the popular music media. They always pushed themselves to play beyond their abilities, and they have all admitted as much with this song. But their music takes you, the listener, on a journey of new experiences, of new sounds, of new emotions. You have a magical mix of talent and creativity poring out of every song, it is simply beautiful to see and hear. You take 3 great friends, all masters of their instruments, with arguably a top 10 guitarist, a top 5 bassist and truly the worlds greatest drummer, and it would be impossible for their music to not be some of the most iconic and expressive you may ever hear. It is always fun to watch someone come across it for the first time. Love seeing your reaction, if it was a bit muted. If you want to hear something that showcases both music and voice, try "Xanadu", as I think you will like that a lot.
alex is also using his feet to play synth in the beginning. both Alex and Geddy use foot triggers to make them a three piece orchestra, AMAZING!! Thank you for your reactions to Rush. you won't be disappointed😁
Thank you for letting the song run through and then commenting on it. So many reaction videos interrupt the song again and again. It is great to watch you groove with them. It would be interesting to hear what classical-type techniques Alex is using on the guitar.
Everybody’s head moves exactly the same way at the beginning of this song. It’s what music is designed to do. God bless you Rush, God bless you Neil. You made a difference.
I figured you might like this for the compositional aspects as well as the Spanish influence in the guitar part, which is why I was one of those that suggested it. The look on your face throughout the song was priceless. :)
🤗 Thank you so much for doing La Villa!😄 Thought we would make it easy for you?🤗 No way! 🤭 I think we grabbed your interest! No denying that smile on your face! 😍 You have no idea how much it pleases fans that you WANT to hear Geddy Lee sing! 🤔 I think you're adventurous enough to tackle '2112', 'Xanadu' or even 'Bi-tor and The Snow Dog'. 🤗 Imagine waiting until the next Album to complete a story. That's exactly what Rush did. Sent a Spaceship thru a Black hole (Cygnus: Book 1) and then what happens to the ship is in Hemispheres (Book 2). 😍 We had cool Bands back then! 😁🐰
What’s clear from watching all these first reactions of Rush songs, is that Rush fans love the music, but they ALSO love to share Rush. It’s fun to share with your kids, but this is the closest they probably ever get to sharing it with a stranger. Also it’s probably a great way to get THOUSANDS of views on a video. Glad there’s another fan of the music on the planet!
I love Geddy's quote on LVS "That was a song where I would have to say our ideas exceeded our ability to play them, we wanted to record as one ten-minute piece. But we were also becoming perfectionists at that point and just didn't like the long pieces we were doing. They started to lose energy, so we finally compromised, and I think we recorded that song in three pieces, and then we glued them together. And then they had to figure out how to play it live ...
I can only concur with what I heard. This is definitely a reaction that does not pretend to be an analysis. Did I get anything from the video to take away with me? No. I've listened to Rush with first time listeners before. This time it happened to be in a video. Nothing has changed.
Don't be surprised about anything Rush related. The fans obsession with the guys reflects what they gave us over the years. As some have said 'the biggest band you've never heard of'. Also nice to see a reaction that is guitar focussed.
Oh, so many to recommend......here's 2 that don't get reacted to often, but are typical great RUSH: "Time Stand Still", and "Ghost of A Chance". And btw, you talked about how great the drummer is.....we're assuming you know who he is. If not, arguably the greatest rock drummer to ever sit behind the kit, Neil Peart (pronounced Peer-tuh). RIP, Professor.
Rush is so great and there's no BS with that band. We used to buy the ticket for the tenth row..sit back and watch them play. As the show went on, Rush seemed to get better and better. Superb playmanship. You have opened la caja de Pandora con Rush.
This rendition is their official music video. Rush, just doin' their thing, in an empty soundstage, probably downtown Toronto.. Exactly what they offered their fans every night.
As Grib said Rush community would have preferred you to have listened to the studio version with its flamenco style start (Alex was originally taught in that Spanish style), and is 1 of the most modest and underrated rock guitarists of all time, this was his show piece to try and shine through alongside one of the best bass and drum/percussionists in the world and he got an honourable mention by you which is a shame and a bit underwhelming. this is a song you could listen to every day for the rest of your life and it never gets boring a bit like classical music
This piece was based on some nightmares Alex Lifeson the guitarist had. I would suggest the next song to react to is Xanadu from Exit Stage Left. Another masterpiece from them and yes there is singing in it. LOL A lot of progressive rock is broken up into movements just like classical music. Cheers
