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Topic ClosedAlex Lifeson...why is he not looked upon as a god?

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johnobvious View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 08:25
I now believe him and the other two to be gods after what I saw last night.  I was in the music store where my daughter was having her piano recital.  They were looking for sheet music afterward and I saw a little display with odds and ends.  A Rolling Stones puzzle caught my eye but then I saw it.  A deck of Rush playing cards.  Each card had a different picture of the boys.  You know you have made it when you have your own playing cards.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 08:31
Love Rush...that's no surprise. But Alex, I just don't see him as a guitar god. He writes some great stuff, but it is due to Ged and Neil that Rush's music is as good as it is.

Alex, though, is one of the funniest musicians I have ever heard.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 11:35
If you prick him does he not bleed?
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 14:12
A good guitarist sure, but not a god. I find his solos a bit w**ky and sloppy (with the exception of La villa Strangiato, which is pristine). He is a very tasteful rhythm man though. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 14:23
I don't think any musicians is god and i don't believe in god, bu i know what people say when they can't describe a great experience listening to music. It's not the technique and skills of musician that impress me but the great inspiration showed by some musicians in the way they created theirs songs. Is that a natural gift or someting develop over the years? Who knows
Music is the refuge of souls ulcerated by happiness.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 20:12
I remain unimpressed by him.  He writes some nice riffs though
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 21:06
He's not THAT bad. A god? No. An excellent songwriter and guitarist? yes

Check out my YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2009 at 21:14
Something I like about Lifeson is that he is able to play stuff that sounds more complicated than it is to play, if you know what I mean. Deceptively simple, I guess you could say. He is able to play a entire range of styles and notes without all the mumbo-jumbo too many shredders these days use.

Maybe it's just me who recognizes this about him, but I found myself quite shocked at how straightforward his playing style actually is, if you watch him play live, yet the intricacy he can still pull off is phenominal.




Edited by p0mt3 - July 17 2009 at 21:16
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esky View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2009 at 13:26
Lifeson is primarily a very talented strummer with well-placed chops thrown in here and there to accent his style. He's no Andy Latimer.Embarrassed
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2009 at 13:57
when i think 'god' i think of someone that tops the genre, OR does something very innovative and DIFFERENT
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2009 at 14:00

I think he is very talented and definetly should be looked upon as a masterful musician, but this whole notion of a god is a little ridiculous, not because its him, its just a little odd to hold any musician in that high of a regard.

I would say he is under-rated though, both in the mainstream and in prog. He has a very unique and distinct style. I'd say he's just as good as petrucci or may, just in a different way.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2009 at 14:12
Lifeson is a excellent guitarist, i would never call any musician god like though. He is up their with Hackett, Fripp, Howe and Di Meola. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2009 at 17:55
I resurected this thread from death to talk about Rush having their own playing cards, not about Alex's guitar playing.  CARDS, people.  NASCAR driversDead have their own cards, not prog bands.  You should be telling me what a fool I am for not buying them for $5.95.  They only had one deck in stock if you can believe it.  And no other band was carried, prog or not.  Only Rush.

Your own cards.  That's how you become a god.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2009 at 18:22
Lifeson???


he is no god... but I find it refreshing that is isn't considered one.  Geddy and Peart get worship enough as it is. 

they are great musicians... but are merely great musicians in a world (not to mention a genre) full of them. but their strength is as a team.  There are far better individual guitars, bassists, and yes.. even drummers.  What makes them so great, sets them apart,  are how they work together for as long as they have.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2009 at 20:56
Originally posted by johnobvious johnobvious wrote:

I resurected this thread from death to talk about Rush having their own playing cards, not about Alex's guitar playing.  CARDS, people.  NASCAR driversDead have their own cards, not prog bands.  You should be telling me what a fool I am for not buying them for $5.95.  They only had one deck in stock if you can believe it.  And no other band was carried, prog or not.  Only Rush.

Your own cards.  That's how you become a god.


LOL


You mean bubblegum cards make you a god....LOL




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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2009 at 04:17
He play too cleanly and less originality, I think... Compare him with Steve Hackett! See why I don't like him a little... 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2009 at 11:31
Woah - slow down a bit. Lifeson's in a different league of guitarists than Fripp, Hackett, and Howe (don't know much about DiMeola). He's much more in the vein of a rock guitarist than prog guitarist, and the comparison falls flat because of it.Geek
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2009 at 11:54
Originally posted by esky esky wrote:

Woah - slow down a bit. Lifeson's in a different league of guitarists than Fripp, Hackett, and Howe (don't know much about DiMeola). He's much more in the vein of a rock guitarist than prog guitarist, and the comparison falls flat because of it.Geek

He did start out as a Jimmy Page fan. Over the years with Rush, he listened to more Hackett, thus you get the heavy Prog years. Over time he just developed into his own player. When I heard his solo in PT's Anesthetize, it said, "that's classic Lifeson". 
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Lodij van der Graaf View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2009 at 14:55
Originally posted by esky esky wrote:

Woah - slow down a bit. Lifeson's in a different league of guitarists than Fripp, Hackett, and Howe (don't know much about DiMeola). He's much more in the vein of a rock guitarist than prog guitarist, and the comparison falls flat because of it.Geek


Alex Lifeson too is nowhere on most of Top Rock Guitarist listings. (note: I ain't a listing-maniac, I hate it really. But it could be placed on esky's argument, I think)
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2009 at 08:10
I agree with most here. Lifeson is great, but not godlike or anything. I like his late 70s playing best, especially on the Hemispheres album. Just listen to the first five minutes of the title track, the depth and breadth of is sound, in combination with great riffs. Some say he deteriorated after this, but I'd say his 80s playing is just as great, just in a different way. Not many riffs to speak of. Instead he's more like a soundscape guy. His echoed, clean playing accents the otherwise synth-dominated music brilliantly ("The Weapon" from the Signals album is a great example). In this period I'd say he's fully comparable to, say, Andy Summers. A high point is his solo in "Red Sector A". So simple, yet beautiful!
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