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Subject: RUSH Fans Digest of 10/26/90 (#81)
RUSH Fans Digest, Number 81
Friday, 26 October 1990
Today's Topics:
Rush Chronicles's Insert
La Villa and Presto
SUN raster (again)
Lyrics to La Villa Strangiato?????
Red tide.
Freewill...?
New Name For Digest
Tour Dates REMINDER!
Chronicles video
Fan Groups
----------------------------------------------------------
From: djbarans@eos.ncsu.edu
Subject: Rush Chronicles's Insert
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 90 12:58:54 EDT
[ I took the liberty of editing the formatting of this article; none of
the original content was altered. I hope you don't mind, David.
:rush-mgr ]
Rush Chronicles
(taken without permission)
Note: To clear up any possible confusions, the names of albums have
been surrounded by asterisks (*), and songs by underlines (_).
At the end of the 1960s much of rock and roll as we no know it was
still largely uncharted territory. The dominant styles were not yet
institutionalized; in many cases the original practitioners were still
hammering out the final details of what would become standard rock formats.
For Canadian rockers the landscape was even more uncharted. Once past the
Guess Who and Gordon Lightfoot, in fact, you were pretty much on your own.
That's exactly where the young guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist/vocalist
Geddy Lee found themselves as they rehearsed in Toronto basements while the
'60s were fast becoming history.
These two players would eventually go on to form Rush and become the
most accomplished Canadian rockers in history. But the history of Rush is a
success story won against seemingly insurmountable odds.
The young Lifeson and Lee cut their teeth on British blues from
the Yardbirds to Cream and prototype heavy metal from the Who to Led Zeppelin.
"We came from pretty much the same neighborhood," Lee said. "We met
in the eighth grade. Alex used to borrow my amplifier all the time. We
played in coffee shops for chips and gravy. I worked in my mother's hardware
store for a while. Alex worked in a gas station."
"We were playing the English blues - John Mayall, Cream. Alex would
pretend he was Eric clapton, I would pretend I was Jack Bruce, and we'd play
_Spoonful_ for twenty minutes."
Lee and Lifeson formed a power trio and became Canada's first
significant heavy metal band. Rush built up a reputation as one of the
best live bands in the Toronto area, and became a bona fide underground
sensation.
But the record industry simply didn't take the music scene in
Canada seriously back then. Plenty of Canadian musical luminaries were
forced to migrate in order to record - such homegrown talent as Neil Young,
Joni Mitchell, and Robbie Robertson went south of the border in order to be
heard.
Rush, built around Lee's unique vocal style and Lifeson's rhythm-lead
techniques, released a self-produced album, *Rush*, on the independent Moon
Records label. The album is a crudely effective representation of the band's
live sound at the time. _Finding My Way_ shows the band kicking away in
Zeppelinesque mode. The first track on the first album, this is the
recording the band chose to give first impressions, making it the appropriate
opener for *Chronicles*.
_Working Man_ looks forward to what Rush would become, a fast-fretting
power trio carried by Lifeson's lightning-fast guitar leads. The jam-session
format of this seven-minute workout showed just how exciting the band could
be live.
Rush was selling out on the basis of word-of-mouth in record stores,
and sold so well as an import in the midwest that Chicago-based Mercury
Records took notice and signed Rush to a long-term contract. Drummer John
Rutsey left the band at this time to pursue other interests.
The band's next album on Mercury, *Fly By Night*, featured an
embellishment on the Zeppelin-inspired style, but the band's sound was much
better structured due to the addition of drummer Neil Peart, who brought the
precision and ensemble sense of a percussionist schooled in the art-rock
forms of Pink Floyd and King Crimson.
_Fly By Night_ offers a hint of the kind of melodic song structures
that the band would eventually evolve, while _Anthem_ polished the sculpted,
hard rock sound of the first album to a glistening sheen.
On the third album, *Caress of Steel*, songs like _Bastille Day_ and
_Lakeside Park_ showed the band developing more varied and complex song
structures and a penchant for unusual songwriting themes.
Peart exerted a strong influence on Rush, and not just musically.
His science fiction-inspired imagination provided the impetus for a series of
concept albums that added a new twist to the band's identity. Their break-
through album, *2112*, developed an intriguing science fiction tale of a
future hero who leads a revolution through music.
The album also marked a musical evolution for the group, away from
the slabs of sound that dominated the heavy metal approach to the nuanced,
trance music patterns and dramatic stop-time arrangements that would become
a Rush trademark.
Rush had come of age, as the tremendously popular followups, the
live *All The World's A Stage* and two more conceptual albums, *A Farewell
to Kings* and *Hemispheres*, proved. *2112*, *Farewell*, and *Hemispheres*
worked together thematically as a post-apocalypse trilogy, and the band's
stage shows revolved around these stories, backed up by the elaborate visuals
on a giant screen behind the stage. The melodic _Closer to the Heart_ became
an emotional high point live, while _The Trees_ and _La Villa Strangiato_
showcased Lifeson's increasingly virtuosic guitar playing.
It wasn't until the 1980 album *Permanent Waves*, though, that Rush
made the most dramatic transformation. Having gone through heavy metal and
art rock, the band emerged as an arena and FM radio-oriented band, spinning
catchy yet thoughtful tunes like _Freewill_ and _The Spirit of Radio_. Lee,
always a stupendous bssist, suddenly took center stage with his extraordinary
synthesizer work.
"It was time to stop the concept stories," Lee said. "What you have
to say ends up being very nebulous, because you're concerned with the big
story. You try to make the story right, you try to evoke the right moods,
and invariably sixteen different people come up to you and tell you sixteen
different things about what you're trying to say. That's fine, but for us it
was time to come out of the fog for a while and put down something concrete."
What they put down was the foundation for one of the most durable
arena rock presentations of th '80s. *Moving Pictures* picked up where
*Permanent Waves* left off and went on to become the band's most influential
album on the strength of such compelling songs as _Tom Sawyer_, _Red
Barchetta_, and _Limelight_. During a break in the band's recording
schedule, Rush released the live album *Exit...Stage Left*, a document of
the increasingly popular Rush tours. The title, taken from the "Huckleberry
Hound" cartoon, revealed a little-known side of the band, its sense of humor.
Over the years, Rush had used bits from the SCTV comedy troupe and the Three
Stooges in their act, and Lee sings on _Take Off_, a track from a comedy
album made by two SCTV characters, Bob and Doug McKenzie.
Unlike many successful bands, once Rush reached the pinnacle they
refused to sit on their laurels but chose to pursue an intensive touring and
recording schedule.
Few bands have managed to mirror the stylistic changes rock has
undergone in the '70s and '80s, but Rush changed its sound album to album,
evolving with the innovation of the time. Though the band's complex sound
defies any one categorization, the influence of technological and stylistic
developments characteristic of the early '80s are evident on _Subdivisions_
and _New World Man_ from *Signals*, and _Red Sector A_ and _Distant Early
Warning_ from *Grace Under Pressure*. "The most exciting aspect of being in
this band is the compositional challenge," Lee explained. "I think the
writing stage is the most rewarding; everything else revolves around that.
I don't think that was true ten years ago; it was playing then. But now I
look at myself as more of a musician in the compositional sense than the
playing sense. That's what makes it worthwhile."
Rush songs have often centered on political and environmental
concerns over the years. *Power Windows* features two of the band's most
compelling treatments of these themes, _The Big Money_ and _Manhattan Project_.
The band's compositional evolution continued on *Hold You
Fire*, which includes the beautiful _Time Stand Still_ and the dynamic _Force
Ten_. the space-age overtones of the album's themes correspond to its
increasingly complex song structures. The band that started out as a heavy
metal contender evolved into a musical presentation closer to the jazz
theories of fusion.
The band sees *Hold Your Fire* as the end of a phase of its
development. "To me *Hold Your Fire* is the arrival record," said Lee. "We
climbed up a hill and now we've gotten to the top and we have to decide where
we go from here." As usual, a live album was the next step as Rush
considered its future. *A Show of Hands*, the band's third live set, was
the perfect summation of where Rush was as the band prepared for its next
phase.
After a creative hiatus, Rush emerged with a new album, *Presto*,
and a fresh attitude. _Show Don't Tell_ charts the new direction,
articulating a healthy skepticism toward authority couched in a direct,
anthemic style that makes the song a rallying cry. Twenty years after the
band's inception, Rush is still finding new modes of expression.
Written by John Swenson
----------------------------------------------------------
From: yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca
Date: 25 Oct 90 13:14 -0500
Subject: La Villa and Presto
>X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (7.0.4 1/31/90)
At the close of yesterday's episode we were left wondering....
1. It was explained that "Villa", as in "La Villa Strangiato"
doesn't mean "city" or "village" in Spanish or Italian, so the
song's title might be best translated as "The Weird House".
The French for city is "ville" (I forget if the article is
masculine or feminine), and, in keeping with the mixed-language
subtitles for the song's sections (Buenos Nochas, Mein Freunds)
it is easy to "stretch" the song title to read "Weird City". Besides,
this is how Alex Lifeson translated it in "Visions".
I don't think extensive research went into the title,
more likely that a good sounding title was selected. I hate this
kind of "reading too much into a subject". Which segues neatly into...
2. Micheal Rowden postulates that "Presto" might be about the
"Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Superman", and for this I nominate
him for the "Get A Grip on Life" Prize. To me, this theory is
extraordinarily far-fetched; it is ridiculous to try to attach
such a narrow focus on these songs, and to "decode" them in able
to say "it is about" something so specific. Read some recent
interviews with Neil Peart, and he is more likely to say that a song
studies a more vague relationship, e.g., those feelings most teenagers
go through, or the issue of teen suicide. Please don't be insulted
by my nomination; after all, you haven't won yet, and at least you haven't
mentioned the silly "21:12" watches in photos.
[ Please, let's keep things under control ... :rush-mgr ]
Have a cheery weekend!
"...and in her eyes I could have sworn I saw the Northern Lights
but it was the light flashing off the disco's silver ball." - Thomas
--
Kerry Yackoboski <yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca>
The Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Laboratory in the Cellar
U of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
----------------------------------------------------------
From: telxon!teleng!dank@uunet.UU.NET (Dan Kelley)
Subject: SUN raster (again)
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 90 13:58:32 EDT
I'm sorry to have to do this to all of you again but can someone post the
address of where I can get the Rush rasters? I can't seem ot find the info.
I did notice that some people are having problems? Have these been resolved?
Thanks in advance.
Dan...
P.S. I know this is a Rush list but the new Led Zep 4-disc set was released
Tues. and the sound is great! It was digitally re-master by Jimmy
Page and it seems great care was taken when doing so. I don't know
about the rest of you but I have not purchased any Led Zep discs cause
of the poor sound quality but this is a must buy! Enjoy...
--
Dan Kelley <-> ...!uunet!telxon!dank <-> telxon!dank@uunet.uu.net
Telxon Corporation <->
Akron, OH 44313 <-> "Don't have a cow man." - Bart Simpson
(216) 867-3700 x3512 <->
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 90 14:36:30 EDT
From: Dark Elf <VESPOSIT@SBCCVM>
Subject: Lyrics to La Villa Strangiato?????
In the Show of Hands video, Alex Leifson is shown singing or speaking
into the mike during La Villa Strangiato, but this "vocal portion" was deleted
from the video (and a disclaimer was posted on screen too). Any information
as to what Alex was saying (and why it was deleted)would be appreciated.
[ To attempt to save the bandwidth of the numerous replies this would
generate: Alex is generally a silly fellow (the most so of the three).
That night, (as on other occasions) he began to babble into the mic at
that point in the song; something like "La la la la la". If memory serves,
it wasn't even on at the time, as this wasn't expected. When they put
together the video, they decided they liked it, and kept it in. For fun,
they added the "Danger, Radioactive" message. :rush-mgr ]
"The Blacksmith : Cygnus, Bringer of Balance
and the Artist :
Reflected in Their Art, :
To Forge Their Creativity :
Closer to the Heart" :
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 90 21:20:46 -0500
From: Patrick.Quairoli@cyber.widener.edu
Subject: Red tide.
hi guys(and girls. if there are any?) of course i'm happy to hear about the
boyz working on a new album but i'm still caught up in the magic of _presto_.
my question for today is: what is red_tide about? a friend of mind told
me that it is about AIDS. which makes sense... but not through out the whole
song.....
any idea....
pq the_analog_kid
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 90 17:14 CDT
From: B659ZAQ@UTARLG.UTARL.EDU
Subject: Freewill...?
I am a big fan of all of Rush's work and a friend told me that the band
members do not believe in God. I can see that the lyrics of some of their
songs plainly state that they do not recognize the existence of God because
songs like "Freewill" state that events governing one's life are at random
and not ruled by a supreme God. Likewise, the song "High Water" says that
our ancestors all crawled out of the ocean at some point millions of years
ago which directly contradicts the first chapter of Genesis and the creation.
Does anyone have any input on this subject or the religious beliefs of
the band members?
-Mark
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 90 11:06 EST
From: From the Depths Of KHAZAD-D\M Comes A Message <SMM0264@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
Subject: New Name For Digest
I've been quietly sitting here and watching the ongoing debate
about a new name.
I've got a suggestion. Our glourious :rush-manager could pick
out a list of names he likes best, post them, and the on with the most votes
gets the nod. Good idea?
-Sean
[ Such a good idea, in fact, that it's exactly what I did in Digest # 73
(posted Thurs., Oct. 18). I posted a list and gave the address where to
send votes. The voting period is pretty much over, and we will hopefully
have a name as of Monday.
I will note that I attempted to send out mail again at the beginning of
this week (Tues), but I'm not sure it made it off Syrinx... :-(
:rush-mgr ]
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 90 02:26:22 PDT
From: jlang%sdcc13@ucsd.edu (~ Rush Fanatic ~)
Subject: Tour Dates REMINDER!
Greetings fellow Rush fans everywhere! (No, I'm not a salesman.)
If you've recently joined us or just have been lazy, this is a
reminder that I'm still collecting tour dates info for a compilation
list to be distributed on the 1st anniversary of the Rush Digest
(as yet unnamed - how goes the voting results??).
So if you're out there with old tour shirts, old books, Rolling
Stones magazine, pamphlets..etc..even bootlegs! with tour dates
on them, please send them my way to:
jlang@ucsd.edu
or
jlang@sdcc13.ucsd.edu
This list is basically a gathering of all known tour dates that I have
and those that other people send me so go dig up your old concert stubs
and mail me those dates along with WHERE they played.
Thanks to everyone that contributed so far!! (I even got dates in
Hawaii !! thanks to a reader..)
[ Also, let me jump on the wagon here to add one thing: Jimmy would like
all the original members still out there to send him mail. You know who
you are; when the list was a list of mail id's sent around to the group,
and you mailed your posts to the group yourself. This was before Syrinx
came into the picture; before the list was a reflector. Drop him a line
with some 'fond rememberances', if you think of any... :rush-mgr ]
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Chronicles video
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 90 08:41:34 EDT
From: David Arnold <davida@umd5.UMD.EDU>
Well, I checked with one of our local large-scale video stores (Erols,
for those in the area), and found out some interesting bits of news
about the Chronicles video.
They said they will NOT be carrying it to either rent OR sell! It's not
even on the individual stores computers. If you want to get it from them,
you have to special order it, and it would take about 3 weeks to get in!
The only good point is that the price is only $19.95, or something like
that. (As compared to the $69.99 price they quoted me for Rocky Horror!)
So, I figure I'll check out some of the other chains around the area;
Tower Records, Kemp Mill, etc. There's got to be a better way!
David Arnold Keywords: Rush, Neville Brothers, Squeeze, Crack the Sky,
Peter Gabriel, ELP, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd,
Inet: davida@umd5.umd.edu Talking Heads, Arc Of Ones (RIP), Stones, BOC,
UUCP: uunet!umd5.umd.edu!davida King Crimson, Police, Grass Roots, Hollies
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 90 09:23 EST
From: V068J6JK@ubvmsc.cc.buffalo.edu
Subject: Fan Groups
Hello again. I posted a message yesterday asking about the fan groups list.
Either by chance, or thanks to our wonderful list manager, the list was posted
[ It was posted because of previous requests - I had little to do with it.
I think it will also re-surface here periodically, if I'm not mistaken.
:rush-mgr ]
yesterday also. The reason for this post is my shock at the absence of lists
for some other great Canadian bands. I am not familiar enough with the
school's computer to start a list myself, but would anyone out there be
interested in say a Triumph(I know they broke up, but I'm still a fan) or Kim
Mitchell/Max Webster group?
Well, enough of that non-Rush stuff! I read yesterday about the $19.95 price
for the Chronicles video! I'm very excited. Since the typical price for a
new video is 25 or 30 bucks, and being that I am the typical poor college
student, I thought I'd have to wait a while to get it. But at 20 bucks, I can
get it as soon as a store in the area has it.
I also have a question. Do any of the bass players out there know where I can
get any Rush books with the bass parts in Tab? I have one(Rush Bass Superstars
Series) and I periodically ask at the local music store if they know of any,
but they don't seem to know much. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Well thats all for now
Mike
*******************************************************************************
"Don't feed the people, but we feed the machines.
Can't really feel what international means."
Rush "Territories"
*******************************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------
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