Happy birthday Alex Lifeson
- Thread starter Lerxst
- Start date
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VoidTerraFirma
Live to wine
That kid can play.
Denverdave
Resident Ragamuffin
Alex is one of the reasons I took up guitar. Still amazes me each time I listen to Rush - which has been a lot lately. Tons of unique riffs and is one of the very best ever at layering guitar parts in the studio recordings. He just seems to know the right parts to play and when not to play. No one else sounds like him, no one else plays like him. And his tone on Clockwork Angels was so massive.
Dogsinplastic
avuncular to no one
I love how he usually takes the solo as an opportunity to add to the musical statement being made and not just rehash the melodic sequence or play the expected stuff. When he does follow the melody more, it makes it more unique and special. Win-win for me. Counterparts was what finally locked me into being a huge Rush fan and it's still me favorite album, but their evolution is a joy to listen to.
Coralkong
Alien
What really impresses me about Alex Lifeson is how his sound has progressed/transformed over the years.
He started with a really sleazy sound (a la Jimmy Page) on the very early albums. The band was extremely guitar driven.
It became crisp by the Permanent Waves album. Not nearly as sleazy or distorted.
By Power Windows, he was playing Signature strat guitars, and his sound had become much more "background" and synths had come into play. Very crisp, though.
On Counterparts, he was back, using PRS guitars to a very crisp, but dual humbucker setup again. Probably my favorite Lifeson guitar period.
And then back to ClockWork Angels, where he got really heavy again (though much crisper this time around).
He started with a really sleazy sound (a la Jimmy Page) on the very early albums. The band was extremely guitar driven.
It became crisp by the Permanent Waves album. Not nearly as sleazy or distorted.
By Power Windows, he was playing Signature strat guitars, and his sound had become much more "background" and synths had come into play. Very crisp, though.
On Counterparts, he was back, using PRS guitars to a very crisp, but dual humbucker setup again. Probably my favorite Lifeson guitar period.
And then back to ClockWork Angels, where he got really heavy again (though much crisper this time around).
DFB
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Ain't that the truth.
nuke_diver
Riding Solo
I've always loved his use of open strings in his chords
surfsteve
Pendejo
Flamencologys favourite Canadian prog-hard rock band
I still wish Alex would go back to a more stripped down sound, his tone is way too processed for my tastes. And I understand he needs some of that to do the '80s/'90s stuff, but still...
Please stop before you say Victor. I should relisten to that, but .....well......How can anyone not like Rush?
Oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX !!!!!!!!!!1111111
*Cues Caress of Steel*
I'm a big fan. If there ever was a guitar player that fits the mantra of 'play for the song' he might be it. Not a flashy player, but a guy that lays down some bad ass stuff to make the keyboard solo better. He covers a lot of real estate to make the prog power trio work. I don't care if others don't like his work. I do, and that is all that matters to me. We all have different tastes, and that is cool.
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dmn23
Duller than cardboard
There is truly no one that sounds like him and to me that's an achievement in itself. It's a rare, rare thing to instantly know who you're listening to even if you don't recognize the song. Add mad skills, unusual melodic sense, and a great sense of humor and it's hard to fault the guy for anything.
When I was first getting into guitar, Moving Pictures was new and pretty popular. I remember being astounded by how much Lifeson's solos were different from other popular rock music at the time. He led me to really embrace solos that were less flash and more melodic ambiance. I think his playing really influenced me. Some of his note choices led me to more outside jazz solos when I got to college...which are things I might never have learned to appreciate without his whack choices. I also learned to play in 7/8 from him, and garnered a great appreciation of how time signatures can impact the feel of a song. Sure, I could have learned that stuff from anyone, but Rush was my first exposure.
Coralkong
Alien
Coralkong
Alien
No shit on that one, either.
I remember hearing Limelight come on the radio for the first time. I think I had a Def Leppard poster on the wall as a matter of fact, and an 8-track stereo in my room with a FM radio on it and 2 cheap-ass "13 year old Christmas Present" speakers hooked to it......
And then it started. And it changed me.
I actually remember listening to it, and thinking....that drummer sucks, it kind of just sounds "sloppy". And I started to listen closer and thought "Who does this guy think he is, Robert Plant? He sucks!"
And this guitar,,,,,what the fuck is this guy doing?
He's soloing over empty air? No one does that. I'm not sure you're allowed to do that.
And then I started air drumming along, and I couldn't do it.
I started trying to follow what was going on, and I couldn't do it.
But they could.
And I was hooked.
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