A neighbor's son auditioned for acceptance in a music program with bass as his instrument. He played the bass line from YYZ from memory. At the end of the audition one of the professors on the panel said "Son, we aren't supposed to do this in an audition, but *damn* that was amazing." Needless to say he got in.
I had the good fortune of seeing them on that tour. No matter how awesome you think they look in the video, being there in person was infinitely better! I was literally shaking walking back to the car and I felt like I got hit by a truck.
@@48Ballen - I wholeheartedly agree! Truly awful Nothing but noise. How people confuse this as coming from someone who isn't a hate-filled dweeb is amazing. See how that works?
Rush is untouchable!! I have been a fan since I was 16 & I am 65 now!! Great reaction and your bass playing is awesome. You’re right Ged is a beast. As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t get any better than Ged, Al & Neil. Keep Rushing!! 🤘🎶💜
I used to like the song " Stereo" from Pavement and at some point the lyrics says: ’What about the voice of Geddy Lee How did it get so high?’ I was thinking who the hell is Geddy Lee. I did my own research just out of curiosity and that s how I discovered Rush I was blown away ! I instantly became a big fan. This story happened in 2022, i was 49!
Agreed Lisaharrison1031. I am 64 now and have been a Rush fan since their first album. Musical background in HS, and sang in a few garage bands since, had some fun with it.....Rush blew me away from the start. A lot of my cohorts were put off by Geddy's vocals but they fit! Seen them 6 times through the years and loved it. This RU-vid vid so perfectly illustrates how badass and tight all 3 of them are. RIP Neil, and best wishes Geddy and Alex.
The YYZ Rio Singers and the standing ovation at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction exemplify the depth RUSH penetrated into their fans. Nonverbal Communication at its finest!!!
Glad you chose a live performance. These three guys played like this night after night for 40+ years and killed it every single show, never phoned it in or slacked off. Just an awesome band. RIP Professor Peart.
When I was in my 20s I was a pretty good bassist and could play a lot of Rush songs, but damn, I never could play YYZ at the right speed. My fingers just couldn't move fast enough. Mad respect to any bassist who nails YYZ.
I’ve played 40 years and know a small part in closer to the heart. It’s the only Rush I know. I was doing Maiden, Metallica, Pantera, lol. So I have the speed, three and four fingers sometimes (double thumbing). I live in Neil’s hometown and grew up on Rush, so it’s ingrained in my head but not my hands 😂.
@@PhonePole68 Yeah, Rush basslines are extremely difficult. I remember how frustrated I was when I started first playing bass how I could only play a few of the simpler Beatles, Stones, Who, and Led Zeppelin bass lines. It took a few years to get to the point where I could play some of the easier Rush basslines. Not that there's anything wrong with simple basslines - I stopped playing entirely during my 30s and 40s and developed a repetitive strain injury. I can't use my left pinky and I can't play for too long, so the songs I play now tend to be fairly simple basslines, and I've developed a real love and appreciation for them. I try now to focus on playing in the pocket as much as possible (lol, I'm still not great at that) and trying to lock in with the drummer. Totally different to the "hey, look at me" approach I took in my 20s. But now it's just about having fun and enjoying myself, while back then it was super serious and obsessed with trying to get our band signed and quit our regular jobs, lol. Way less stressful this way.
@@jerejaco just found out my other shoulder is torn. The Who the real me I can do, or roundabout by yes. 13+mins of Rime of the ancient mariner np. Pain is bad at certain points, in some songs. I wanted an upright but that’s out of picture. No motorcycle, bicycle. And the wife complains about my limited positions 😂😂😂
I have tried for years to nail this. I can get the opening bit, and the first part. But can not hit the solos. I see kids (age 7) in RU-vid playing it, and I actually get annoyed. 😂 Same thing with the latter parts of Freewill, I have the first part of the solo, till he really takes off and I can only throw up my hands
before Neil died, he sais in an interview that he was about to start learning to improvise cause as he said he s a compositional drummer. he always wrote exactly what he was gonna play in every song. imagine if he had the time to combine the two,....... R:I:P:
I assume most Rush fans know the backstory, but for anyone who doesn't: YYZ is the location identifier for Pearson International Airport in Toronto. After months-long worldwide tours, the exhausted trio would always rejoice at the sight of their luggage tags displaying YYZ - it meant they were going home! What more inspiration do you need for composing one of the most badass prog-rock instrumentals of all time?
@@marpsr For those of us who remember life before the internet, we grew up pronouncing his name "pert" like the shampoo. Also, Moog was pronounced like "moon" instead of "mogue". And YYZ was, if you were an American, yy "Zee". We only had album liner notes and magazine articles to go by, and there wasn't an army of pedantic a-holes correcting us every time we spoke.
@@davidjorgensen877 All true. As well, they could hear the repeating Morse Code for YYZ coming from the cockpit as their plane would be on final approach into Pearson. It's that rhythm that inspired the opening. “dash dot dash dash, dash dot dash dash, dash dash dot dot”
The WAL Mk 1 bass .. such a great tone and a great era for rush i think he toured with this bass on power windows hold your fire presto and roll the bones before going back to the fender
Geddy toured with the Wal bass from "Hold Your Fire" to "Roll The Bones". He recorded "Power Windows" with producer Peter Collin's Wal bass but, used his Steinberger for PW tour.
His Wal is my all time favorite sound. Watching/ listening to ASOH just hooked me in for the past 34 years and 19 live shows. Greatest band in both Hemispheres!
IMO nothing beats the pleasantly aggressive tone of his Rick. Must be the shorter scale. Alas Ricks also come with their own probems, including low output, heavy weight and neck fragility. Maybe that's what pushed GL towards the no-nonsense Jazz bass.
Rush were such an astoundingly great band. Absolute professionals, too. I'm hard-pressed to think of another band that worked so hard to provide their fans with the best possible product. I recall an interview with Geddy where the interviewer asked him how he prepared his parts to play live, and his response was something like, "What the hell was I thinking when I wrote this??? Better get out to the woodshed and get practicing."
I make this confession: I have been a passionate Rush fan since 2112 was released in 1976, and I have since played electric bass in a dozen or more rock bands of many styles, and although I am no professional musician, I rock it nonetheless. I will learn to play almost anything, but I don't play Rush songs, because I won't do them justice. I will remember Rush music as those three massively talented masters played it. ❤ Neil, Alex, Geddy ❤
An excellent breakdown of Geddy’s nifty play on that gargantuan instrumental, especially live. What a truly impressive display of his talent. In fact, Geddy is one of the most multi talented musicians in rock. And imo, they’re the greatest trio EVER. I saw them live in ‘ 83 during the Signals tour, but they also performed every song from the Moving Pictures album. Will never forget that. Then again, Rush IS unforgettable !!
And to think that this song lost to The Police's "Behind My Camel" for the best rock instrumental Grammy that year. Not even Sting's mother has heard of "Behind My Camel". What a disgrace. It was all politics.
Sting actually buried the demo tape in the backyard of the studio he hated it so much and Stuart Copeland said the only reason he played on it was because they couldn't get anyone else to.
@@Fred-vy1hm I've never heard any of them talk about that song and the Grammy. I wish someone would ask Stewart if he thinks that song should have won. He was very good friends with Peart, so I wonder if they ever busted each others' balls about it.
Dude, as sick as YYZ is, the thing about Geddy Lee is that he is playing crazy bass lines but then he is also singing across them. For example, Digital Man off Signals: listen to the chorus. It blows my mind how he is able to play that bass line and hold a lyric line that syncopates but holds the vocal notes at the same time. Nobody else can do this. He is just so good.
Wonderful comment. I'm not a musician but I do play the drums recreationally and I always enjoy reading these kinds of comments that give me just a little bit more insight to what's going on.
How can one group have the best drummer (no one better), the best bassist (or at least top three) and a top 10 guitarist. Just so much sound out of three people! Thank you for the breakdown. 😀
Saw Rush first time on the Permanent Waves tour in London my home town. Then at Wembley Arena for the Moving Pictures. They played the entirety of 2112 & my favourite instrumental La Villa Strangiato which Alex Lifeson is quoted as saying used to be their most difficult track to play live due to it’s changing timings. Awesome band, for 3 guys, defo the best rock bassist & rock drummer of the modernity. Lifeson is superb also.
Love Rush, this song and your enthusiasm! Saw them live on the Signals, Grace Under Pressure, and Presto tours, amazing each time! I've been a fan of the band and YYZ since 1981, RIP Neil
The vast majority of musicians go to bed each night wishing they could be as good Rush, and wake up to the sad reality that they will never be .0001% as good as Rush. Great breakdown!
I have seen them 9 times live in their hometown! First show I saw was on March 24 1981 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The price on the ticket was $10.50 Canadian dollars. Just looked at the ticket. No words to describe how great these guys are. Been a fan since they started. To think, they played at the high school I went to. (a few years before I got there) One of the best, if not, the best power trio's EVER!
For several years, they played Maple Leaf Gardens every New Years Eve! The show always sold out so quick, they always added a second show the night before, and for 4 or 5 years straight, I went to both! Sadly, I didn't get the chance to see them much in the last few decades, but thank goodness for the internet and youtube, we will always be able to enjoy their live performances for ever, right up to the end and the R40 tour! Master musicians all!!!
i’ve been lucky to experience Rush live from early days to the last tours. More even than their incredible musicianship, composition & performance, it was the great sense i got of the joy & fun they had playing together that i remember most.
Zed rules !!. There is only one country I know where its pronounced Zee. Pilots and ham radio operators (even in the US) mostly say Zed (Zulu) to differentiate from Cee and Dee and Eee etc.
@@Snowdog070 Using the phonetic alphabet isn’t the same thing as just saying the letters. Pilots, ham, police, and military use words in place of just the letter names. You don’t say “ped” or “ed” or “ded” so why say “zed?” B, C, D, E, G, P and Z all have the same sound but you only differentiate one of them?
Last point taken but being an amateur radio operator myself I can say that even US operators mostly say Zed with Zulu being the worldwide phonetic expression for Z sometimes called NATO Phonetics, ie. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie etc. It is what it is. Only one country says Zee.@@rapid13
The intro is the Morse code sequence for the letters YYZ...that's the Toronto Pearson Airport code that the band would hear broadcast in their headphones if they were in the plane's cockpit while approaching Toronto every time they were coming home from a trip. It's a song about the thrill of homecoming.
I had to play intensively many hours a day for a couple of years before i was able to play like Geddy Lee. His style is just so powerful. But after my fingers got use to ripping of bass strings and crushing stones, it was so rewarding to play Rush style of bass lines.
Fantastic video! Great analysis and transcriptions with examples to see/hear. I am currently reading Geddy's book "My Effin' Life" while listening to him read it to me on Audible. It is fascinating, and I have a whole new level of appreciation for Geddy upon learning about his background and early career stories. You're right about YYZ, it IS hard to play! Your video here is superb, nice work!
Heard a reactor say Alex’s solos reminded him of Kirk from Metallica😂😂. Lifeson has this phrasing that matches his humour. He likes things that he can jig with live. His solos are in left field. That’s why no one sounds or plays close to him.
What makes Rush even greater in my eyes is the amount of pain they went through in their personal lives, and still they managed to create something so beautiful!
I was in a restaurant in Toronto this January and Geddy was there. Without being creepy it was cool to watch him interact with his table. Seems like a great guy.
You earned my like!! Since I got nailed by the Delta virus in 2021 I think I played my Bass twice. Kinda got a spark but it's bed time. Great Job Andrew! May have to check out your channel! Peace 🕊️☮️♾️😎
Just to tidy up your intro, Alex is a licensed pilot and was inspired when listening to the Morse code identifier for the Toronto nav radio. Morse code for YYZ is (dash dot dash dash, dash do dash dash, dash dash dot dot. Thus the 10/8 time required to imitate it.
Pretty much all their instrumentals are great and have excellent bass lines. Leave That Thing Alone, The Main Monkey Business, Malignant Narcissism etc.
That Birmingham, UK concert 1989 "A Show of Hands" was a VHS tape. When I was a kid, I watched it so much that I wore out 3 tapes and I always had to buy a new one. That is one legendary concert. Still remains my all time favorite live performance. It's magical.
Great review - and unlike most music reviewers on Youtbube that do the ridiculous “oooh ahhh wow” commentary but couldn’t play or sing a note of it, I greatly appreciate the fact that you understand and explain the music theory - and can also play Geddy Lee’s amazing bass lines! Well done, sir. I’m a guitar player, but have shared this with my son, who’s a pretty decent bass player and I know will appreciate your analysis and playing skills. Just one final comment… while your review is mainly focused on Geddy with kudos to Alex, I can’t let this comment go without recognizing the incredible percussion of the late, great Neil Peart - aka “the Professor”. These three Canadian boys made incredible music that will continue to be appreciated internationally for decades to come. 🇨🇦
Had to play this at a backyard party way back long ago. Other guys were MONSTER musicians and I kinda suck on bass. Pulled it off with a pick and a LOT of ghost notes. People just kinda fill in the ghost notes with their imagination when they know the song so well. Had a few people tell me afterward how great it was. I laughed my ass off knowing that I only really played about 1 in 3 notes of the actual song.
Two things, you mentioned Dirk's hair, he called that his Racoon Hair phase. The second and more important, glad that you picked this particular video. I've always loved the Wal Bass years. I've been playing bass for over 38 years now and have YET to lay my hands on one, much less see one in person, aside from the concerts of course. I love the tone to them, and was somewhat successful in getting my Ric to come close, never did with my Fender Jazz. But the Wal's have such a distinctive sound, much like the Ric's, which I suppose why Geddy went for it back then. Well done on the breakdown! Thanks.
Don't forget it was nominated for a grammy for best rock instrumental but lost to Behind My Camel by The Police, a mellow and almost-ambient piece that was pretty much just Andy. Musically compared to YYZ, "Behind my Camel" is really minor league but these things were popularity contests.
Yup. 3 brothers by choice. Can’t imagine losing your best friend and coworker at the same time. The dinner they had was an amazing snippet into the relationship they had. Don’t think there was a band that had the same level of closeness.
Being a big Rush fan I have to agree with your assessment on how freaking good they all are as musicians. Your breakdown is awesome and very educational.
The Morse code for YYZ was actually first heard during a Training flight with Alex a student pilot and his flight instructor with Geddy and Neil in the back seats... when Alex and his instructor tuned in the Identifier Neil heard the code and told Ged that would make a great rhythm. THis is how it was told by Geddy in an interview.
This is the most informative, fascinating, and coherent breakdown or reaction video I've ever seen. You know your subject backward and forward, and you have a high level of speaking energy that projects enthusiasm gives excellent clarity and immediacy to your exposition. Now I goota go see more of your channel!
@@BassFreedom I love your enthusiasm for this song and Geddy's playing. I see from the comments that this was some people's introduction to Rush. Thank you for that. The world must hear these three virtuosos.
The amazing thing about Rush is that the three of them went out on stage live and did this shit in front of thousands of fans and NEVER screwed it up. If it was different than the record, it was because they decided to do it that way just for us.
Great video! I share that admiration for Rush and many other proggers! BTW there is a song with wonderful bass lines (almost taking the lead) called Northern Lights by Renaissance. A very playful bass sound in I Hear Your Voice by Jadis, at some parts doubled by the electric guitar. And some wonderful bass work can also be heard in the bridge section on Dark Ages by my all-time favourite band Jethro Tull.
I saw them in concert, and they were the three loudest musicians on the planet. I'm not a mosh pit type person, but you can't help but head slam to this.
I think you’re one of only a few that pronounces “Peart” correctly. I think it’s supposed to be like “peer-t.” But maybe I heard him pronounce it during an interview once. As a side note Rush’s “Moving Pictures” was the first concert I ever went to, at the-then Seattle Coliseum in Seattle I think. Great show. It was 43 years ago but they played most of the songs off that album. (Another somewhat sad side note: Neal was supposedly friends of the French’s, the family that lost their daughter Kristin to the serial-killing tag-team partners Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. I think Peart lived in St. Catharines or maybe Port Dalhousie, if that’s the right city name. But I’ve read probably five books alone just on that case.)
Peart references that connection in the song Nobody’s Hero: … I didn’t know the girl, but I knew her family All their lives were shattered in a nightmare of brutality They try to carry on, try to bear the agony Try to hold some faith in the goodness of humanity As the years went by, we drifted apart When I heard that she was gone I felt a shadow cross my heart…
The Theory break down is good for us, but I am sure that Geddy and Alex were not thinking like that. As strange and counterintuitive as it sounds, RUSH write and play by Feel. This song was built by Geddy and Neil in a Jam that Alex was flying Remote Control airplanes for, he came in later and added his Guitar parts which probably happened over the next week or so as they refined it to a 3 min song. He was into Allan Holdsworth at that time and that is the inspiration for the Lead Lines (Chorus) and Lead. Geddy is a Monster Bassist's with a very heavy hand, Beating the Bass while still keeping control. And even in the KeyBoard days there are more singable Bass lines on one album that most bands entire catalogue.
Took my wife to her first and only chance at seeing Rush in 2005, I'd been a fan since 75 while listening to them out of a jukebox on the Flight line (Khorat Air Base) in SouthEast Asia. Tom Sawyer with the jungle all around, and at night is sureal! Took her about 6 to 7 beats before she was hooked, with almost 2 hours of constant grinning. They were in Dallas during Neil's last couple of years but Ticketmaster's scalping scheme was running wild and we couldn't go. Miss them!!
Thank you for pronouncing Peart's name correctly. Even Hawkins pronounced it wrong during the induction WAY after Peart told us all how to pronounce it in "Jason Segel & Paul Rudd Meet Rush"
Big Rush fan here in the upper Midwest. Geddy Lee could have easily been the most popular musician in Minnesota for quite a few years. Huge Rush fan base there. Every time I see Geddy I still recall those days in the eighties.
Know how you feel. I'm so glad that I heard them the first time in '76, but I also feel ripped off that they never toured our great country. RIP Neil Peart.
Been a big fan since 1978 and I remember Molly Meldrum mentioned the album Moving Pictures on Countdown in 1981 and talked of a possible tour which sadly never happened.
I was 16 when this album came out. After I bought it, and heard this song I was dumbfounded as to how 3 guys could possibly produce such a huge sound. Needless to say, I was the best air drummer on the block (Tom sawyer)... lol...... Cheers to RUSH. One of the greatest bands of all time!!! Thanks for being in our lives
@@primusdude87 thhhaaaaaaannnnnnnkkkk you! God damn, I hear so many bassists talk about how they don't like that Era because, 'Geddy played synthesizers instead of his bass!' Like... what planet are these people living on? That Era easily had some of his most ferocious bass work. Especially Power Windows!
I don't see anyone answering your question, but Geddy is playing a Wal bass (and Alex is playing a Signature guitar, and Neil is playing Ludwig drums). This was a time when they all were playing "off brand" equipment for a while.
I have been practicing this song for the past 2 weeks since I met a guitarist to actually play this with, good to have this and for the intro, learning the morse code for Y and Z actually helped a lot, would recommend
