Rush R40 Tour!

I do recall mentioning some big Rush news in my last post, and here is the larger of two events I had in mind:
Rush is touring!

After a year’s vacation they’re back on the road, but this could be the last time that ever happens. The press release announcing the tour also contained this statement:

“After 40 years together and 20 gold and platinum studio albums–Rush is ready to celebrate with the most loyal fans in the world by embarking on their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude.”

Most likely the last major tour!? And I’m just starting to love them? Where’s the fairness in that?
But the good news is that the opportunity is here now for those interested. Some pre-sale tickets have been available already, but most normal seats are still available and will go on sale very soon.
Details from the most recent Rush newsletter:

Pre-sales for select shows tomorrow [January 30th, 2015]:

PRE-SALE begins Friday, Jan 30 @ 10am local time and ends Monday, Feb 2 @ 5pm local time.

Lincoln, St. Louis, Austin, New Orleans, Tampa, Greensboro, Columbus, Detroit, Toronto (2 shows), Montreal, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Irvine Meadows and Los Angeles.

[…]

On-sale to the public:

The following shows will be going on public on-sale starting tomorrow, Friday Jan 30 at 10am local time for the following shows:

New York City, Newark, Tulsa, St. Paul, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Bristow, Buffalo, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver and San Jose.

Any other dates on the tour not mentioned above will be selling later. The normal tickets in Tampa, for example, will be on sale in about a week.

Extra Fun Stuff:

Neil Peart’s Drums for the tour:

The front of Neil’s R40 Kit.

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage

Being the music fan that I am, about a month ago when I started a free trial of Netflix I set out in search of all the music documentaries I could find. Having had Rush, and this very film, indirectly mentioned to me earlier I thought I’d check it out, and I’m glad I did!

Relatively recent picture of Rush.

The Review:

I began the movie with no background knowledge of the band and ended it able to name the members, many albums, and a few notable songs. That should be a good indication of how informative the film was. It spanned the lives of all three members, starting from their earliest musical interests to their touring life at the time of filming. Interviews with the band carry the narrative, and comments from famous fans, mostly other musicians, add to the chronology. The band’s entire history is covered in under two hours, from formation to the addition of Neil Peart to major headlining tours, all the important details seem to be fit in. The viewer gets to see Rush evolve from the blues-based rock band that couldn’t get a record deal to the progressive rock band they gained popularity as. The true musicianship of these three guys from Canada is so wonderfully displayed with live shows and music video footage dispersed throughout. And just as their great musical abilities shine through, their great personalities are evident in the interviews, and watching, you just have to love the band.

Bottom Line:

I’d recommend this documentary to any fan of great music, and anyone reading this should definitely check it out!

10 Rocks/10 Rolls

Etc.

And it seems I have stumbled upon Rush at the perfect time. Lots of news at the moment and that’s what I will discuss next time!

Let It Be Vinyl (Mono!)

With this post, I’m going to start regular “Vinyl Posts” about interesting records in my collection! I was looking at some of my Beatles records recently and noticed something very interesting about my copy of Let It Be.

So here it is:

It’s not in the best condition, I think I got it for a dollar or two, and has a few skips throughout. Despite that I could still listen through it so not completely horrible.

It’s an original Brazilian release from 1970 on Apple, which is interesting on it’s own, but that makes it possible for it to be in mono…

Mono! Yes I said Let It Be in mono! But weren’t all Beatles records after The Beatles only available in stereo? Yes! Which is why I find this cool. Although there was no official mono mix and it’s just a fold-down of the stereo mix, it’s still pretty cool in my opinion. Brazil was the only country to release LIB in mono as everyone else realized stereo was the format to be listening to at that time.

Another interesting thing is this stamp on the back label:

It says:
DO DISCO
Jose de Barros No 329

There’s a little cut off before it. But that’s most of what it says. The strange thing is that the cut off part looks as if it’s under the black of the label, as if it’s part of the label design, not stamped on top.
I looked up the name but found nothing, it was probably just a club and a DJ, but still interesting in my opinion!

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I hope you enjoyed that! My next vinyl post will be up soon, about my two copies of Introducing… The Beatles on Vee-Jay Records!

Three Reasons To Love The Police

1. The Lyrics

Sting was as amazing a lyricist as he was a bassist and singer. In my opinion, really amazing! The lyrics he wrote for The Police were well-articulated, thought-provoking, meaningful lyrics. He could tell a story with his lyrics, and the music behind it helped create a mood and atmosphere that pulled you into that story. A perfect example of this would be Synchronicity II, the end of which shows another stroke of genius Sting had: adding an extra line to the last verse creating more tension before the final chilling lyrics of the song where we are left to imagine what makes that shadow. The Loch Ness monster?

He could write inspiring love songs like Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic and Roxanne, about unrequited love and a man who’s fallen for a prostitute, and great political commentaries such as Invisible Sun. Sting could convey emotions with is words, and was very, very good at it.

2. The Influences

You could accurately describe The Police by naming many genres. The fact that they could take so many different musical influences and successfully turn them into their own, unique sound shows that they were three talented musicians. An overall punk rock band, using reggae rhythms, with a large jazz influence on both the guitarist (Andy Summers) and drummer (Stewart Copeland) worked out in an unexpected way. This fusion of genres mixed with each member’s skill on their respective instrument allowed them to create amazing music and a sound you can’t find with another band!

3. Instrumental Coordination

One of the biggest reasons the music of The Police sounded like it did was that there were only three members; a power trio of guitar, drums, and both bass and vocals by Sting. They all knew what they needed to play, and left the right amount of open space for the other instruments.

Sting’s distinct voice and great bass-lines (Ex. Driven To Tears), Andy Summers’ inventive riffs (Ex. Message In A Bottle), and Stewart Copeland’s steady yet interesting beats (Ex. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic) made The Police one of the greatest bands of all time.

If you’re not familiar with them, you should definitely become familiar. 

A Hard Day’s Night (2014 Release)

The Criterion re-release of The Beatles’ first film A Hard Day’s Night is here for the movie’s 50th Anniversary! It was shown in theaters beginning July 4th, and stayed there for a few weeks in some instances, giving fans a chance to see the film as if it just premiered, and others not familiar with The Fab Four to see it for the first time.

Most hardcore Beatles fans have been eagerly awaiting to get their hands on the DVD or three-disc DVD/Blu-Ray deluxe set since they heard rumors of it being made, and now they can… and probably have!

This re-release is significant as the video was completely remastered from old tapes for a “4K digital restoration, approved by director Richard Lester,” and the audio was remixed by Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin.

I was able to pick up the single-disc DVD, and can attest to the fact that it looks and sounds great! The movie is so entertaining as it is, that the clarity of the audio and video allow you to become completely immersed in the fast paced one-liners and great musical performances. The brilliance that the movie was shot with really shines through in this quality too! The innovative shots and filming techniques used are a big part of what makes the movie so enjoyable.

The film shows that The Beatles were relatively good actors and showcases their sense of humor. I’d recommend buying this film to anyone, and if you are a Beatles fan, this new release is a must have!

Introducing Rock And Roll Music

With this post, the blog is officially open!

Here I will be discussing all the wonderful music I enjoy. Sharing news, reviews, opinions on all of them, and anything I find musically interesting!

My two favorite bands are The Beatles and The Police, in that order. Other favorites of mine are the many incarnations of Eric Clapton (especially Cream), solo McCartney including Wings, and Jimi Hendrix!

Those bands and other miscellaneous rock bands/songs/events/ideas will be discussed here.

Be ready to Rock And Roll!