It has been said that the first side of the Rush album 'Moving Pictures' is the finest slab of rock music ever recorded. Comprising the incomparable selection of Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ and Limelight it is hard to disagree.
I am currently listening to the live rendition that features on the 'Live in Cleveland' recording from 2011 (30th anniversary of the studio version) and indeed it stands proud and strong still.
However, it is not my own obsession with the band and their work that compels me to write this. On May 12th, 2011 Rush did visit Dublin for the first (and realistically last) time. This tour, the Time Machine Tour, was to feature the Moving Pictures album in its entirety. For the geographically disadvantaged Irish fans this was something of a momentous occasion - the band did not disappoint and the crowd response was overwhelmingly positive. I was in the privileged position of having seen the band more than once before so the reaction of my fellow concertgoers was of particular interest. None more so than my great friend Trevor Mooney who would not have proclaimed to be a fan at all. But he was in attendance and some short time into the second set (somewhere between Red Barchetta and YYZ at a guess) he sent me a text message (that I did not see until after the show) that read 'ROCK! ROCK! ROCK!'
Here was a celebration of a great live Rush performance being experienced for the very first time: I was pleasantly envious and quietly chuffed that this connection was being made.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Swansong
Here it is. The final album release from The Room of Rock in Wicklow. Whether I have saved the 'best for last' will never truly be known, but this collection is nigh on impossible to categorise. I'm sure I don't know what a pigeon-hole is but Progressive Rock will suffice for me. I'm confident I have paid homage to all of my favourite players and nodded to all of my major influences.
Though it is designed to be heard in one sitting I imagine most people won't be able to get their head around the mess or maybe even past the first 10 minutes - not that it's overtly madcap or technical or even original - but because unless one is Frank Zappa, eclecticism doesn't sit well in mainstream entertainment.
Though it is designed to be heard in one sitting I imagine most people won't be able to get their head around the mess or maybe even past the first 10 minutes - not that it's overtly madcap or technical or even original - but because unless one is Frank Zappa, eclecticism doesn't sit well in mainstream entertainment.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
My First Memories Volume 6 - Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree - Opeth...
Opeth - Porcupine Tree...
This is a kinda 2-for-1 deal as I see it. I discovered both bands around the same time, via the same initial source and there are some obvious connections between the bands beyond the purely musical. As such either band could occupy the number 5 slot. At the time of writing, I'd say Opeth just edge it for me...but there you go: that's the beauty of these lists!
Going back to 2005, many contributors to the Rush forum T-N-M-S.com had been championing PT as the true front runners in the Prog race for a couple of years. At that time, Rush had recently (Autumn 2004) made a long awaited and triumphant return to British shores with their R30 extravaganza. I was adamant that no band would be able to get anywhere near Canada's finest, but still I was curious. What was so good about this oddly named band that had Rush fans so fired up?
My first actual listening came late one Friday night in the rehearsal studios I frequented when I was part of the Dublin band, One More Outnumbered. Not unnaturally we would fraternise with the other bands that shared the space - trading beers and new music. Typically, the room next door was home to some very extreme metal: where the likes of Pantera and Machinehead were considered lightweight. Excellent bands...but lightweight! However on this particular night I heard an acoustic guitar riff (in 5/4) that made me want to sit up and listen more closely. Turns out this was a song called 'The Sound of Musak' by PT.
Now I knew what all the Rush fans were talking about with such heightened enthusiasm. This was definitely something I wanted to explore further. Thankfully, a very nice man called Dave Lack (fellow English Gent, Fellow Rush fan) offered to put together a CD sampler - these used to be called mixtapes, I think! - for my initiation. This was littered with PT standards such as 'Blackest Eyes', 'Trains', 'Russia on Ice', 'Lazarus' and 'Arriving Somewhere but not Here' and compounded my thoughts that this was a band to be reckoned with.
Right now, PT is on a break of indeterminate length (shame) but be assured I will be right there with them again when 'the time is now again'.
Opeth - Porcupine Tree...
This is a kinda 2-for-1 deal as I see it. I discovered both bands around the same time, via the same initial source and there are some obvious connections between the bands beyond the purely musical. As such either band could occupy the number 5 slot. At the time of writing, I'd say Opeth just edge it for me...but there you go: that's the beauty of these lists!
Going back to 2005, many contributors to the Rush forum T-N-M-S.com had been championing PT as the true front runners in the Prog race for a couple of years. At that time, Rush had recently (Autumn 2004) made a long awaited and triumphant return to British shores with their R30 extravaganza. I was adamant that no band would be able to get anywhere near Canada's finest, but still I was curious. What was so good about this oddly named band that had Rush fans so fired up?
My first actual listening came late one Friday night in the rehearsal studios I frequented when I was part of the Dublin band, One More Outnumbered. Not unnaturally we would fraternise with the other bands that shared the space - trading beers and new music. Typically, the room next door was home to some very extreme metal: where the likes of Pantera and Machinehead were considered lightweight. Excellent bands...but lightweight! However on this particular night I heard an acoustic guitar riff (in 5/4) that made me want to sit up and listen more closely. Turns out this was a song called 'The Sound of Musak' by PT.
Now I knew what all the Rush fans were talking about with such heightened enthusiasm. This was definitely something I wanted to explore further. Thankfully, a very nice man called Dave Lack (fellow English Gent, Fellow Rush fan) offered to put together a CD sampler - these used to be called mixtapes, I think! - for my initiation. This was littered with PT standards such as 'Blackest Eyes', 'Trains', 'Russia on Ice', 'Lazarus' and 'Arriving Somewhere but not Here' and compounded my thoughts that this was a band to be reckoned with.
Right now, PT is on a break of indeterminate length (shame) but be assured I will be right there with them again when 'the time is now again'.
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