chris shiflett talks with alex lifeson about limelight solo.

racefaceec90 · July 2023

just saw this and thought some might like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEJuuKELzko

bloodandtears · July 2023

Its great..

mo6020 · July 2023

I really like Chris Shiftlett - seems a lop lad.

JohnPerry · July 2023

Thanks for posting. An hour of pure joy dissecting one of the great melancholy solos ever.

This Shiflett series bodes very well indeed. Decent and very likeable interviewer - and big Al is such infectious fun, as ever.

FAO @gassage who i seem to recall being a big fan of this solo

Svartmetall · July 2023

Alex Lifeson...for my money, overall the most underrated guitarist in rock history.

Alterlifeson · July 2023

Got to be afave Rush solo. The Analog Kid is one of his best too, flashier but the end crescendo is sublime. Those later 80's albums have some excellent Alex playing.

Svartmetall · July 2023

Alterlifeson said:

Got to be afave Rush solo.

So many...the slow solo in the first section of 'The Necromancer'...the solo at 3:04 in '2112', pure melodic perfection...the solos in 'Jacob's Ladder', 'Freewill' and especially 'La Villa Strangiato' on 'Exit: Stage left'...'The Analog Kid'...'Kid Gloves'...'The Garden'...

uksaint7 · July 2023

Great video, thanks for posting

bloodandtears · July 2023

Alterlifeson said:

Got to be afave Rush solo. The Analog Kid is one of his best too, flashier but the end crescendo is sublime. Those later 80's albums have some excellent Alex playing.

The Analog Kid certainly shreds. Personally I love that 80s era of Rush, definitely my preference.

Open Secrets solo reminds me of something Steve Vai would do circa DLR era.

Emotion Detector is masterful too.

racefaceec90 · July 2023

some of my fav alex solos are the analog kid version on different stages album (probably my fav solo ever). the big money and marathon to name but a few.

alex is my favourite guitarist for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwKv67qia1c

bloodandtears · July 2023

Having now watched this video (thanks for sharing @racefaceec90 ) it's worth a watch just for the initial interviewing from a clear fanboy... Alex is so great and humble

JohnPerry · July 2023

Funny this coming out the same week as Andy Summers' Walking On The Moon pedal. I always suspected Al nicked the crucial Limelight sus chord from WotM and he finally admits it!

axisus · July 2023

Svartmetall said:

Alex Lifeson...for my money, overall the most underrated guitarist in rock history.

He was in a strange situation in Rush, in that Geddy and Neil were rightfully seen as complete masters of bass and drums respectively. Alex (no offence intended) was never really at that top table like they were, although a superb guitarist.

I have a problem with Alex though, for me he just soaked his guitar in waaaay to many effects through the second half of their career. I would love to hear some of those albums remixed with a very basic guitar sound like he had in the early days. All the world's a stage - what a kick ass live album!

bloodandtears · July 2023

axisus said:

Svartmetall said:

Alex Lifeson...for my money, overall the most underrated guitarist in rock history.

He was in a strange situation in Rush, in that Geddy and Neil were rightfully seen as complete masters of bass and drums respectively. Alex (no offence intended) was never really at that top table like they were, although a superb guitarist.

I have a problem with Alex though, for me he just soaked his guitar in waaaay to many effects through the second half of their career. I would love to hear some of those albums remixed with a very basic guitar sound like he had in the early days. All the world's a stage - what a kick ass live album!

It wouldn't work, it wouldn't fill the space.. it wouldn't have that chiming brightness that it needs to cut through against the synths.

I love the transparency of his interviews. We all nick stuff get inspired by our musical influences.

Alterlifeson · July 2023

bloodandtears said:

axisus said:

Svartmetall said:

Alex Lifeson...for my money, overall the most underrated guitarist in rock history.

He was in a strange situation in Rush, in that Geddy and Neil were rightfully seen as complete masters of bass and drums respectively. Alex (no offence intended) was never really at that top table like they were, although a superb guitarist.

I have a problem with Alex though, for me he just soaked his guitar in waaaay to many effects through the second half of their career. I would love to hear some of those albums remixed with a very basic guitar sound like he had in the early days. All the world's a stage - what a kick ass live album!

It wouldn't work, it wouldn't fill the space.. it wouldn't have that chiming brightness that it needs to cut through against the synths.

I love the transparency of his interviews. We all nick stuff get inspired by our musical influences.

You can sort of hear the best of both when they played these songs live in the later years. This is a huge tone and sounds great, but nothing like the original. Another top Alex solo too from 3:27

axisus · July 2023

bloodandtears said:

axisus said:

Svartmetall said:

Alex Lifeson...for my money, overall the most underrated guitarist in rock history.

He was in a strange situation in Rush, in that Geddy and Neil were rightfully seen as complete masters of bass and drums respectively. Alex (no offence intended) was never really at that top table like they were, although a superb guitarist.

I have a problem with Alex though, for me he just soaked his guitar in waaaay to many effects through the second half of their career. I would love to hear some of those albums remixed with a very basic guitar sound like he had in the early days. All the world's a stage - what a kick ass live album!

It wouldn't work, it wouldn't fill the space.. it wouldn't have that chiming brightness that it needs to cut through against the synths.

I disagree, you remix the whole songs accordingly.

rsvmark · July 2023

Watched it this morning. Not a fan particularly of AL but enjoyed it all the same. Series bodes well and Shifty always comes across as a big music fan. Interesting that he hasn’t created his own channel on yt

bloodandtears · July 2023

axisus said:

bloodandtears said:

axisus said:

Svartmetall said:

Alex Lifeson...for my money, overall the most underrated guitarist in rock history.

He was in a strange situation in Rush, in that Geddy and Neil were rightfully seen as complete masters of bass and drums respectively. Alex (no offence intended) was never really at that top table like they were, although a superb guitarist.

I have a problem with Alex though, for me he just soaked his guitar in waaaay to many effects through the second half of their career. I would love to hear some of those albums remixed with a very basic guitar sound like he had in the early days. All the world's a stage - what a kick ass live album!

It wouldn't work, it wouldn't fill the space.. it wouldn't have that chiming brightness that it needs to cut through against the synths.

I disagree, you remix the whole songs accordingly.

wouldn't have that 80s sound though..

On the latter tours he was using AXE FX and a Wet n Dry set up.. I suspect that was the way to make it sound less in your face but still get the big sound with reverb and delays??

Gassage · July 2023

bloodandtears said:

axisus said:

bloodandtears said:

axisus said:

Svartmetall said:

Alex Lifeson...for my money, overall the most underrated guitarist in rock history.

He was in a strange situation in Rush, in that Geddy and Neil were rightfully seen as complete masters of bass and drums respectively. Alex (no offence intended) was never really at that top table like they were, although a superb guitarist.

I have a problem with Alex though, for me he just soaked his guitar in waaaay to many effects through the second half of their career. I would love to hear some of those albums remixed with a very basic guitar sound like he had in the early days. All the world's a stage - what a kick ass live album!

It wouldn't work, it wouldn't fill the space.. it wouldn't have that chiming brightness that it needs to cut through against the synths.

I disagree, you remix the whole songs accordingly.

wouldn't have that 80s sound though..

On the latter tours he was using AXE FX and a Wet n Dry set up.. I suspect that was the way to make it sound less in your face but still get the big sound with reverb and delays??

Not quite. He was still using the G Force for the delays and the TC1210 for Chorus.
All phasers from the Axe, and loads of back up.

The Tay Hawk he used a FM9 into his sig amp.

Gassage · July 2023

This is one of Alex's finest solos. He also admitted it was his Gilmour tribute having seen him shortly before the solo was recorded.

Re him as a guitarist, it's as much about his chordal work and fills as anything - he's an absolute master.

BahHumbug · July 2023

I haven’t got all the way through the vid yet, but I have so far learnt that AL and I have something in common…….

Q: What’s your goto guitar shop lick?
A: Nothing really, just a bit of this (random, mainly pentatonic noodling, followed by an E major chord).

Yay!

Admittedly his noodling is a bit better than mine……..
Although I think I’m better at the E major

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chris shiflett talks with alex lifeson about limelight solo.

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