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Trademark 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 21 2006
Location: oHIo
Status: Offline
Points: 1009
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 Posted: April 20 2009 at 08:08 |
" People that don't play guitar seem to have this thing were shredders are an evil force or something and are worse than other kind of guitarist."
Not just people who don't play guitar. I've played for 40 years, designed, built and repaired guitars for 20 years and I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. It has nothing to do with playing or not playing, and everything to do with music one enjoys or does not enjoy. Alex is a fine player and one I can almost always find something to enjoy in his work.
Edited by Trademark - April 20 2009 at 08:13
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MrEdifus
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 23 2008
Location: VA USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1263
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Posted: April 20 2009 at 08:58 |
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Alex Lifeson is a great guitarist, but he is overshadowed my many better or more well-known guitarists.
Hell, he's even overshadowed by his own band: Neil Peart the lyricist and drum virtuoso, and Geddy Lee the lead singer, bassist, AND keyboardists.
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: April 21 2009 at 02:10 |
 lucas wrote:
MisterProg2112 wrote:
He simply isn't as good as others. Neither is Slash, Jimmy Page, Randy Roads, etc. they're all looked upon as "gods" in the mainstream music world. Listen to Jason Becker, sure you might say I'm just saying he's a god because of his speed, but his music is very...musical too, it's not just random playing. |
Becker is a "shredder", like many others who signed on Mike Varney's Shrapnel label. He is of course a very talented guitarist (well, was because now he can't move a single finger of his hands) but one cannot expect some excessive originality in his music.
To be excellent at guitar is a thing, to be original is another one. Unfortunately, Mr Becker possesses only one of those two qualities. |
No one is totally original though, no guitarist from the 20/21ist century is. Jason Becker and Marty Friedman practically brought counterpoint and true polyphony to electric guitar playing and truly beginning electric guitar based music that bit closer to a more classical sound when other contemporaries such as Malmsteen were content to use the most simple and almost superficial devices like those same pedal point motifs without bothering to explore the more complex devices that truly make classical music like Becker and Friedman did. Those 2 did quite a lot for the guitar world, whether one wants to accept it or not.
Edited by Petrovsk Mizinski - April 21 2009 at 02:10
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: April 21 2009 at 02:12 |
Trademark wrote:
"People that don't play guitar seem to have this thing were shredders are an evil force or something and are worse than other kind of guitarist."
Not just people who don't play guitar. I've played for 40 years, designed, built and repaired guitars for 20 years and I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. It has nothing to do with playing or not playing, and everything to do with music one enjoys or does not enjoy. Alex is a fine player and one I can almost always find something to enjoy in his work.
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29630
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Posted: April 21 2009 at 18:22 |
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Not that I don't like Alex's playing, but back in the '70's a guitar playing friend of mine described his style as a little sloppy.
Edited by Slartibartfast - April 21 2009 at 18:22
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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himtroy
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 20 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1601
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Posted: April 21 2009 at 20:14 |
I don't really like him. He always seems to do the same thing in his solo's, he has it going, it's goin alright, then he completely loses it and i lose interest. Look at Tom Sawyer for example, it fades out out of nowhere and just dies...what is that?
However, Hemispheres is a nice album, and Viva la Strangiato (or whatever), is awesome, espeically live.
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Drew
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 20 2005
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 12600
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Posted: April 21 2009 at 20:41 |
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progvortex
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 21 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 242
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Posted: April 22 2009 at 19:21 |
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Yeah but I could say that about Flavio Premoli, Michael Giles, Gil Evans, Peter Hammill, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins as a drummer. That was a completely stream-of-consciousness list, but you see my point. It's because Rush is a prog band and prog isn't as accessible to the masses as GNR. Sure, some people might know Limelight and Tom Sawyer, but they don't know anything deeper than that, including all the things that really showcase Alex's talent. Not to mention even if they did hear The Necromacer people aren't after talent, they're after spoon-fed power chords and cool licks.
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Life is like a beanstalk... isn't it?
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progrules
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 14 2007
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 958
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Posted: April 25 2009 at 01:17 |
someone_else wrote:
Alex Lifeson is a great guitar player indeed, Not my favourite, but definitely in my top 5.
But I don't think that any guitar player or anybody else with extraordinary skills should be worshipped or even looked upon as a god or half-god. |
But then you have to know where I'm coming from. I have played the guitar myself in my younger days so I know how hard it is (well ok, I'm simply without any talent you know) and then when you hear a guy like Alex play .... Nowadays I'm just playing the air guitar !  oops sorry, I meant  .
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A day without prog is a wasted day
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Avantgardehead
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 29 2006
Location: Dublin, OH, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1170
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Posted: April 25 2009 at 05:07 |
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His riffs were decent enough back in Rush's prime. Never cared for his solos, though...
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http://www.last.fm/user/Avantgardian
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A B Negative
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 02 2006
Location: Methil Republic
Status: Offline
Points: 1594
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Posted: May 05 2009 at 15:42 |
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He is worshipped as a god by me and my friends every May 24th, as are Geddy and Neil.
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"The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar.... Now, that's my idea of a good time."
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SgtPepper67
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 17 2007
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 530
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Posted: May 05 2009 at 20:22 |
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He's became one of my favourite guitarris. I don't know why so many people don't appreciate his playing, probably one of the most underrated guitarrists out there.
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In the end the love you take is equal to the love you made...
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 02:23 |
SgtPepper67 wrote:
He's became one of my favourite guitarris. I don't know why so many people don't appreciate his playing, probably one of the most underrated guitarrists out there.
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Looks like someone didn't read the rest of the thread before posting.
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someone_else
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: May 02 2008
Location: Going Bananas
Status: Offline
Points: 24302
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 03:12 |
progrules wrote:
But then you have to know where I'm coming from. I have played the guitar myself in my younger days so I know how hard it is (well ok, I'm simply without any talent you know) and then when you hear a guy like Alex play .... Nowadays I'm just playing the air guitar ! oops sorry, I meant . |
Then I guess we come from the same country  . I used to play guitar in my younger days too. Back in '81 I dreamed about how to play Xanadu and it actually worked out quite well (but this was an exceptional situation because I used to play my own songs). La Villa Strangiato has always been, and will always be, beyond my skills, which have fallen into decline after I became a family man.
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AlanOB
Forum Groupie
Joined: February 29 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 40
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:40 |
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He's a god to me!
One of the select group of guitarists with an immediately identifiable signature sound.
Love how playful and relaxed he is on stage aswell. A man who loves playing music.
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thanos_2112
Forum Newbie
Joined: September 11 2008
Location: greece
Status: Offline
Points: 15
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:49 |
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because he isn't a shredder!
unfortunately most people think that only the solos matter.the fast solos...
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www.myspace.com/quadratheband
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:54 |
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^That has nothing to do with anything. Most shredders have absolutely no recognition beyond other guitarists.
David Gilmour isn't a shredder is and widely revered on this site, far more so than Lifeson.
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thanos_2112
Forum Newbie
Joined: September 11 2008
Location: greece
Status: Offline
Points: 15
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:57 |
Petrovsk Mizinski wrote:
^That has nothing to do with anything. Most shredders have absolutely no recognition beyond other guitarists.
David Gilmour isn't a shredder is and widely revered on this site, far more so than Lifeson.
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you have a point there!i agree that on this site hes is considered as a very good guitarist but at least in my country almost nobody recognizes him as a good player....
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www.myspace.com/quadratheband
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:59 |
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^So you agree it has nothing to do with him not being a shredder then?
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cobb2
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 25 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 415
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Posted: May 06 2009 at 07:23 |
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Alex has created a unique sound and that sound is Rush (no matter how highly regarded the other two may be)
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Alex Lifeson...why is he not looked upon as a god?
