![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse3.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan2.jpg)
Pushing it to the edge
Once being in Stockholm, Don Airey spoke to Roppongi Rocks. He revealed that another Deep Purple album is in the plans, and his solo album, tentatively called Push to the Edge, has been finished and is pencilled for release in 2025.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
And now for Don’s cute niece, Ms Olivia Airey, British Sign Language interpreter in Berlin and Girlschool bassist … (she’s the one on the left)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUjsi3bqL40
Would it really be outrageous nepotism if we saw Girlschool opening for DP in the near future? I saw them last in the early 80ies opening for Rush on the Permanent Waves Tour. If truth be told, I preferred their carefree punkish hard rock to the earnestly sophisticated musicianship of the main act back then (yes, liebe Rush fans, live with it!).
Alex Lifeson, for all the silk kimonos and heavy make-up, was never a match for Kelly Johnson’s Les Paul Gold Top raunch and her magnificent blond hairdo somewhere between rock chick and Farrah Fawcett!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe_LRasNay0
Needless to say, with Rush’s typical INCEL crowd preferring to count out weird meters, the girls had a hard time.
And Denise Dufort, the drummeress, endeared herself forever to me by quipping in one interview to the question whether John Bonham had influenced her: “I don’t want to sound like friggin’ John Bonham at all, everybody does that. I want to sound like Ian Paice!”
A girl with immaculate taste.
September 3rd, 2024 at 04:11Yo,
All the best with the solo album Don, it should be quite appealing & inspired listening, especially if its an instrumental effort throughout.
As for the RUSH innuendo, they are an acquired taste, but someone had to push & push the boundaries of Rock…And they did it for near-on 5-decades, without ever repeating themselves. That’s a lot of music & a massive sound for only 3-people to manage. Any doubters about power-trios need to check these guys out, especially any live album, particularly the early bootlegs. Respect.
Peace !
September 3rd, 2024 at 11:05I actually like Rush, but that night they seemed sourpuss’ish (and obsessed with recreating their studio sound) compared to Girlschool’s wild rock’n’roll abandon. The Farewell To Kings / Hemispheres / Permanent Waves / Moving Pictures era was after all the period where Rush’s “We’re really serious about our music!”-credo got a bit out of hand, met lots of derision and began to grate. They regained their self-deprecating wit later on (without letting up in their music).
It was of course a mismatch, Girlschool weren’t the right opener for Rush, they would have done much better with a rowdy AC/DC or Status Quo crowd.
September 3rd, 2024 at 16:22WHERE ARE the usual suspect conspiracy theoreticians here advancing the idea now that conniving Don groomed young Simon all these years to one day replace Steve Morse? 😎 He basically admits to in the interview … that Eastern European tour with Ian Gillan to acquaint him with Simon, it all falls into place now … 🤯
Beware of the villainous keyboard-henchman and his evil machinations !!!(Cue in dark, foreboding organ music here …)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AScWfq3vL3I
September 3rd, 2024 at 17:48“All the best with the solo album Don, it should be quite appealing & inspired listening, especially if its an instrumental effort throughout.”
No like Carl Sentance’s vocals then, Doc Gregster?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Llv01wEFs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayhBz4bM77Y
I’ve seen him twice with the Don Airey Band and once with Nazareth. Granted, he’s no force of nature like Gillan, Coverdale, Hughes, Bonnet, Osbourne or McCafferty (replacing him in Nazareth must be one of the most unthankful jobs on earth), yet he has to sing all their stuff in the Don Airey Band or in his current day job and does so credibly well and without attempting karaoke impressions which I rate him highly for.
September 3rd, 2024 at 19:36Yo,
@5…The threads headline never mentioned his band so I guessed the album-to-come to be a personal anecdote, that many life-long musicians end-up releasing.
I haven’t had a chance to watch the interview as yet, as I generally read through all the blog first, & see if I have to reply to anything. And once that’s over, I’ve usually had enough & leave after further replies, & forget to come back & check-the-missed new stuff. I leave that for tomorrow lol !
Peace !
September 3rd, 2024 at 23:23Regarding the mighty rock band Rush, I did own all of their pre 2000’s records on vinyl & now I do have them on cd plus the 80’s concerts on vhs. However as a three piece they did sort of ‘cheat’ a little live on stage with extras, ie; keyboards, taurus pedals, sequencers, drum loops etc. A mighty band they were but reality has to be taken into account. They wouldn’t have sounded like they did, meaning a three piece & some, without that extra technological help at times. I always thought they did sound a lot better when just a three piece as in a genuine three piece. However they would not have been as progressive & more adventurous with their compositions, so we are better off with the devil we know. And I always said back then that they should have had a quality keyboard player, especially during the mid to later 80’s. Regarding Uwe’s comment about the prime Rush era albums of the late 1970’s & early 1980’s, well enough said there. He isn’t right into bands like Rush or Yes & a few others of that ilk, so I take comments like that with the proverbial grain of salt. Or should that be with a dose of poison? In regards to support bands I do remember the Rory Gallagher support tour, that was a good match up if ever there was one. A little out of Rory’s zone perhaps in regards to venue size & all, but there was a lot of respect there between both bands. Cheers.
September 4th, 2024 at 00:37Yo,
All RUSH did through their career was “multitask”, & that was mostly Geddy Lee.
The keyboards / synths came to the forefront for sure, but they were NEVER a solo instrument, & rarely ever played a melody. It was all adding texture, in a very ingenious way imo, where their sound didn’t change per-se, it just got more colourful.
After the monumental & well deserved success of 2112, they knew it was time to move-on in the sound department, & since they had some money rolling-in now, plus musical freedom from the record company, they expanded their instrumentation & used it well, as “A Farewell to Kings ” displays, yet alone the magnum-opus that is “Hemispheres” imo.
Perhaps the album “Hold Your Fire” in the later 1980’s showed-off the most synthesizer work, but what an outstanding album imo…And from here-on, the sound became thinner again into the 1990’s.
Boys & their toys have never been put to better or more successful use imo. An a band like RUSH also displays how they kept-in-touch with the times as best as they could, with Alex’s guitar work far less prominent after the 1970’s, since the guitar-god-decade was in fact over, & they called-it-in on themselves, & became a more focused trio with each member acquiring more thoughtful & difficult roles. Each part played now sounded god-awful by itself on whatever instrument, but when combined together, real magic happened. And this is what Little feat manage also…
DP were always going to struggle when they reformed in the 1980’s, but the music has aged really, really well imo.
Peace !
September 5th, 2024 at 10:21Yes, one of the things I love about “synth-era” Rush was the fact that often, maybe always, even if the synths were dominating ths sound of a certain song, when it came to the guitar solo, it was just the main trio. Often not even with a dubbed rhythm guitar.
September 5th, 2024 at 10:52Yo,
@9…
Very true ! I suggest that RUSH were one-of-the-first “big” bands to take-on using digital technology & computers to process & monitor their sound through the 1990’s ( eg no working amps on stage, only props ), & lots of well-timed digital delays to create a massive spacious sound, but without hearing the repeats / echoes lol. They were good at their craft.
I can’t deny being blown away with their return in the early 2000’s when Neal decided it was time to R&R again…And I think they came back heavier than ever before, with the last 3 x studio albums being a superb way to finish-up. And all the last live albums are quite good too.
DP are pressing on in much the same manner…They keep getting better & better !
Peace !
September 5th, 2024 at 12:54I saw them again in 2011 or so and really liked it then. Their abilities as musicians and their tenacity in ploughing their own furrow are of course beyond any dispute. And they were relaxed, even self-deprecating about their music.
Still not a lot of women in the audience though. It nurtures my hunch that Canada’s declining birth rates originate with them. 🤣
September 5th, 2024 at 16:32Rush were definitely heavier post 2000’s, too much for Ged’s voice I thought. That influence was also there on big Al’s solo album, which I purchased at that time & did not like at all. Rush for me were never a really heavy riffing band, not like they became post 2000’s. I was disappointed in that approach. Maybe Al was making up for lost time & the 1980’s frustration. Lifeson was rather frustrated with his guitar getting to where he wanted it at times. Especially during the synth 1980’s era with the overall bigger picture within the band. The closest he & Geddy came to the proverbial musical differences than ever before or since most likely. He did the positive thing back then in stepping back & re evaluating what he could do & how to go about it. Most positive & thoughtful musicians would do that, thinking of the bigger picture & the ensemble as a whole. Unlike some musicians who may just insist on NOT playing anything at all. Returning to the post 2000’s Rush, I couldn’t get into them like I previously used to. The songs were poorer I thought, although there were one or two decent enough & the odd instrumental. I tried listening to Snakes & Arrows a few weeks ago & it hasn’t lasted the test of time. It is the better of the three post 2000’s albums for me. Vapour Trails was a disaster in many ways. It happens to them all, ideas run low & Father time eventually knocks on their door. I still think of Neil often, bless him. A quite unassuming man. They all are, a special band indeed. I occasionally watch Neil’s drumming dvd were he plays along to all the Test For Echo album songs, wonderful that is. Also all those bits & pieces where he is skiing in the snow & canoeing on that lake & chatting away. RIP.
September 6th, 2024 at 04:49Yo,
@12…
Alex Lifeson remains a riff-meister, & an all-out guitar-hero & imaginative musician. In fact, the band as a whole surpasses many that receive more praise imo.
I do not understand this statement from you, it’s absolute bollox to say the least…
qt.”Rush for me were never a really heavy riffing band, not like they became post 2000’s”…
The whole of the 1970’s catalogue is full-to-the-brim of heavy riffs that anyone from from that era would have loved to have written.
Are you sure you know what you’re talking about ??? You’re not making any sense at all my friend…Have you been smoking something & not sharing with us ?
Give Anthem or Bastille Day a spin ( to name a few ) to jog-your-memory lol !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBKgWVQgTeE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT1gmKUoqbY
Peace !
September 7th, 2024 at 11:07@ 13 – no I haven’t been ‘smoking anything & not sharing it’, he he he, unless there is a new app out there that enables everyone to do that online. Seriously I thought this would provoke a response of sorts. Yes, Alex Lifeson riffs big time & always has. But the post 2000’s sound & emphasis on the heavy riffing was too much for Ged’s vocal. It is evident in the live concerts big time. Mind you Ged’s bass rig is very loud also. All I heard was Ged struggling to be heard & Peart’s drums buried in the mix. I have heard a few other Rush fans say similar. The way it is presented at times, all over everything else. When Geddy’s voice was naturally weakening, the guitar riffs become more dominant, so to speak. They never sounded like that pre 2000’s, especially pre 1990’s. Counterparts is a heavier album as is Test For Echo. A guy who I briefly worked with in 2008 went to a Counterparts tour gig in the USA. A mind blowing gig as we could imagine, but too loud he said. Ridiculously over the top & he said Al’s guitar was the culprit. He enjoyed the concert, but wished the overall sound had been a little more balanced. The good thing about the older Rush is that Lifeson’s riffing was not too over the top, it fitted in with the overall sound. Hence my comment post re post 2000’s, was big Al making up for lost time etc. Cheers.
September 7th, 2024 at 23:35Yo,
@14…
I’m not into tennis really, but worth noting is that RUSH went pretty-much full-digital in the live arena through the 1990’s. This means that Geddy’s rig was a chicken-rotissary stage-prop…And whatever Alex had up on stage as an amp, was only a stage-prop too…All sounds were pre-programmed / patched via pedal-boards, & then amplified digitally via the sound-guy & his lap-top computer.
You can identify the change, by the whole band wearing ear-pieces for the stage sound mix, so that a carefully balanced front-of-house mix is possible. All this for both the band’s & audiences enjoyment. DP do similar things today, but the boys like their amps & so use them on stage, & as such, are likely used as main sound processors using mikes, but played at moderate volume levels as stage monitors only. This means they don’t interfere with the FOH sound or mix.
Who knows whether your work-mate was pulling your leg or not, but a carefully crafted & fine-tuned sound for everyone is why the band RUSH stopped using amps. Perhaps a bad night occurred, or he was unluckily in a bad spot.
For sure Geddy’s voice was all but “gone” by the last tour, & ailing through the “Clockwork Angels Tour”, but live CD’s & DVD’s reveal concise & clear annunciation, without being overpowered by Alex. Geddy was at times difficult to understand when singing, but lyric sheets always helped that one out lol !
For myself, & with all the music I have of RUSH, I can’t back up your claim, especially since it was made by an unknown person, which surprises me, as it’s not really your own experienced determination. I suggest listening to the 2010+ live CD’s, as they’re pretty-much the FOH mixes, & they sound sublime, & reveal everything in a clear, crystalline way, exactly like the way the band, & audience heard them.
1970’s RUSH was pure, raw, melodic, progressive, guitar driven heavy metal period. 2000’s RUSH was a return to that ball-park imo. Clockwork Angels is likely their finest studio moment, & a great way to sign-off a career.
Peace !
September 8th, 2024 at 11:21We used to joke about how much would we pay to travel overseas to witness a Ruch concert, in the later 1980’s era it was. As we knew they would never tour here like other international bands did, so yes unfortunately it was someone else’s experience that I was personally hearing & only in a brief conversation. A manager around that time at the resort I worked at, was originally from Toronto & he said he went to a gig back in the 1980’s sometime. However he didn’t really talk about that concert & I didn’t ask him how it was. It is no different to reading a review I guess & we only ever read those out of curiosity or frustration at not being able to experience it personally, hence the joking between friends about travelling overseas etc. The Toronto guy did lend to me Neil Peart’s Ghost Rider book. I started to read it up to about page 90 or so but it was too emotional & personal a read for me to continue with. A tragedy in epic proportions for Neil. Cheers.
September 9th, 2024 at 00:26