![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/gillan8.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/morse3.jpg)
A yodel for 17 strings and 2 sticks
Check out Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Dave LaRue, and Mike Portnoy jamming on a cover of Focus classic Hocus Pocus. This was recorded during the last John Petrucci’s Guitar Universe event, that took place in Las Vegas on August 7-10, 2025.
Thanks to Dreamcatcher Events for the video, and to BraveWords for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Where is the yodelling Steve, come on, a bit of a country hoedown influence could have been called upon there and a missed opportunity indeed …………….Seriously though, both guitarists should have a cleaner sound, too distorted especially Petrucci’s guitar, otherwise not a bad cover for a cover. Portnoy had a little go at some ‘vocal’ and I will give him a point or two for effort. I only know the studio original and a few live versions of half a century ago. Jan Ackermann’s sensational guitar playing and the drumming of Pierre van der Linden, the bass guitarist Cyril Havermans and the ‘vocal’, keyboards, piano accordion, flute and whistling of Thjjs van Leer. A good fun tune it is to mess around with in a band situation. No vocal attempts of course. Hocus Pocus indeed. Cheers.
February 20th, 2026 at 07:56Enjoyable to watch, especially as it is a video and they do have fun. Nice drumming and I am happy they did not turn it into a neverending shredding feast, like most of G3 covers end up to.
On the other hand, it does not give anything new, does it? I do not feel I will revisit it often.
Focus was one of the greatest (mostly) instrumental bands around! Thijs van Leer did play in one piece of Jon’s “Beyond the Notes” if I am not mistaken, so also part of our great Family 🙂
February 20th, 2026 at 11:32Who gave Saruman a guitar?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/aa/Christopher_Lee_as_Saruman_LOTR.jpg/250px-Christopher_Lee_as_Saruman_LOTR.jpg
February 20th, 2026 at 13:02I even thought the original – wait for it, Uwe is in the pricess of committing heresy – was a more or less silly novelty number/spoof, they do nothing to make it sound any more serious …
Who mixed the bass drum sound? Truly horrible.
The less said about this, the better. Dutch bands, it has to be said, have an unfortunate penchant for this sort of stuff …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM10oMQyz-E
February 20th, 2026 at 16:56Blackmore and Ackerman were the two standout ‘rock’ guitarists back at that time. Sensational players indeed. Inspirational in so many ways. Shred kings indeed, neo classical and light years ahead of the pack. Ritchie would have been looking over his shoulder at Ackerman. Cheers.
February 20th, 2026 at 20:01It was always a send up from the Dutch lads and a good one at that. It also stands out alone compared to the rest of the Moving Waves album. To think that it reached number nine on the Billboard top singles charts back then was rather good and humorous too. As I keep banging on about the good old days, the music scene was far richer then than it has ever be since the glorious early 1970’s. It has a certain charm about it and of course Focus were second to none for their musical prowess, as were so many other musicians in the established rock bands back then. This cover version actually sounds rather timid, but then again anyone else covering it probably would too. At least Steve got to play with his guitar ‘idol’, insert a face here showing a slight sense of bewilderment and disbelief. Cheers.
February 21st, 2026 at 02:15I actually remember Ritchie saying appreciative things about Akkerman (let’s get that Dutch spelling right) on an interview in the 70s.
February 21st, 2026 at 06:22Thanks for the ‘typo’ correction Uwe, my Dutch lady friend would have been appalled at that too. I couldn’t imagine Ritchie saying anything negative about Jan, he would have been impressed no doubt. Cheers
February 21st, 2026 at 21:34Akkerman is highly praised among guitarists. BB King had also very nice words to say about him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-eXqsAtIIY
And he did try “dangerous” things, like here with Paco de lucia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vakx58fh4bA
If I want an alternate take of Hocus Pocus, without yodelling, I would take his:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZwMxS1Ozc0
Nonetheless, if one opts for a heavier cover, including yodelling, Helloween had done this:
February 22nd, 2026 at 07:21https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=libSTHaE80A
Not giving much new either, but not bad
The live versions of Hocus Pocus I have seen from the early 70’s were played a little faster, regrettably, as if they couldn’t get it over with as quickly as possible. A bit like Blackmore with Lazy later 70’s into the 80′ version’s in concerts. Hocus Pocus is a parody of sorts anyway, we can see Jan is messing about with it, improvising at times and having a laugh. I have watched the Paco de Lucia clip before Manic, wonderful that is and toankyou . The Lute performance of Akkerman’s I posted here a little while go. It makes me think of Ritchie and his ‘passion’ for Renaissance music, but he wouldn’t have the patience to knuckle down and practice, practice, practice, would he? Especially back in those days and most probably always after. Akkerman became bored with the rock scene and why not. His musical interests ran a little deeper and he hasn’t looked back either, good on him. A side note, I activated the Hornung ‘spell checker’ as everyone can see, Jan’s surname is now correct. It makes me wonder why that wasn’t activated by Uwe at the Kenney (Kenny) Jones comments recently at another thread, he he he. Maybe it was on the blink then or maybe it was because Britain and Ireland are a little further away from Germany than the Netherlands? Or maybe it was because Uwe spent a part of his youth in the USA? As you can see I have been brooding on the recent spelling check and I have been up all night, pondering a payback of sorts. I deliberately let the Kenn(e)y (mistake?) pass a few weeks ago too. Why am I so compassionate, I should be much more brutal and take no prisoners. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyxSvZOby54&t=6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_aG_G01Eqo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvyB2-jdb_E&list=RDAvyB2-jdb_E&start_radio=1
February 22nd, 2026 at 18:51I think it was one of Ritchie’s usual rants about how unjust the business is and how Jan deserved much greater credit as a guitarist, but had of course chosen an uncommercial path with his music.
Ray Fenwick of IGB was a great Akkerman fan too. He invited him on his Forcefield albums.
February 23rd, 2026 at 00:55I couldn’t think of any other era of popular music than the late 60’s to the early 70’s where Focus may have had some air play as such. The progressive rock side to it, very explorative like so many acts at that time. Sylvia and Hocus Pocus aside, they wouldn’t have been very well known ‘commercially’ at all. The ‘musical ‘ differences between Akkerman and Thijs van Leer said it all after the 1974 period and the album Hamburger Concerto. Apparently they even toured Australia that year. Akkerman does remind me of Ritchie in those live clips, a bit restless looking and also displaying that devil may care attitude to the playing of Hocus Pocus. Looking rather bored by 1974. Good to hear that about Ray Fenwick getting Jan involved on those albums in the later 80’s as I didn’t know that at all. Apparently the Spencer Davis Group supported Focus on the USA tour of 1974. A link to Cozy there on those Forcefield albums and also Graham Bonnet and Tony Martin too. I might try and track some of that down online and have a listen. Cheers.
https://rayfenwick.com/biography/the-eighties-forcefield/
February 23rd, 2026 at 16:39Jan Akkerman enjoying a Danish beer in a Danish cafe while playing the lute. According to some comments that is Stefan Grossman with Jan. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-mQVjikNkE
February 23rd, 2026 at 17:10well, it was the 1980’s. That Forcefield experiment is best left where I found it. At least I now know what Ray Fenwick was up to at that point in time, along with a myriad of other well known musicians that many of us are very familiar with. Thanks for the information Uwe. Cheers.
February 23rd, 2026 at 22:23An enjoyable jam performance between 2 guitarists who likes and idolizes each other. They’re just having fun, shy it away from being a guitar shredding frenzy. And with Mike Portnoy there, can’t help myself from remembering Flying Colours who I hope will make another album in the future.
Free from the gruelling schedule of Deep Purple tour dates, expect more Steve Morse collaboration like this, including possible future G3 tour. Although I wish he would extend his Triangulation tour to more places
February 24th, 2026 at 02:50It has finally happened, Rush have added a keyboard player and will officially be a touring four piece band. Forty years or so after many of us were calling for it. Better late than never and get ready Europe and Britain for next year’s concerts. I wonder if Denmark will be included so Karin can go to a gig. Yes they are in Denmark April 4th Karin. Sweden, Norway and Finland also by the look of it and many other countries over there and of course Germany just for Uwe Hornung to enjoy his favourite rigid, angular no swing band. Cheers.
https://www.musicradar.com/artists/rush-announce-2027-uk-europe-south-america-live-shows-fifty-something-tour
https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/live-performances/we-cant-wait-to-get-back-to-all-these-cities-we-havent-played-in-so-long-prog-legends-rush-announce-first-european-and-uk-live-dates-for-13-years
February 24th, 2026 at 09:18Will Rush tour Japan and……………………. Australia. They have never toured here (insert images of sad and desperate Rush fans from Australia here). There is always some hope when something like this is announced, here’s hoping this time it will occur. Cheers.
February 24th, 2026 at 10:33@16
Ohhh MacGregor, I would simply love to see Rush, but sadly that day, the 11th of April I have to wash my hair….
Oh wait, it was the 4th of April, well, still washing my hair 🤣
I hope I’m not insulting anyone but if Rush was indeed the last band on the planet earth I can promise you I would be ‘washing my hair’ every single day they would give a concert….
But please come to Denmark, and let’s meet up afterwards for my luxurious coffee 😃
However, MacGregor, these nice gentlemen are very dear to my heart, maybe you have heard about them:
https://youtu.be/4fTTQn_Dxkg?si=n6LF_F8EHXf6XskC
😄
Those guys I would gladly follow around the globe did I have the time and money!
February 24th, 2026 at 13:21Hey, Herr MacGregor, I have never been demeaning about Rush, I saw them live on the Permanent Waves Tour and decades later again (a few years before Neil Peart sadly kicked his last bass drum). They are a one-of-a-kind band/trio, I respect them for their overall contribution, musicianship, stable line-up and longevity.
It‘s just that Alex Lifeson‘s guitar playing, though expertly done, doesn‘t stir any emotions with me, I can‘t get into what he does and believe me I have tried. He expertly augments Rush‘s sound and comes up with creative parts, but nothing he does really grips me.
February 24th, 2026 at 15:40@ 18 – That is a lot of hair washing Karin, he he he. Truth be told if you went to a Rush concert you would probably be the only lady there, according to Uwe at least. All those man bands that he has a penchant for……………..Getting a little serious again, I have noticed comments from other people at the tube saying similar things over the years. I am glad for the fans over in Europe and the UK as Rush are rather popular there, deservedly so. The closest we have come in Australia is Geddy Lee and his family holidaying here about 20 years ago. A least Neil Peart (ex drummer) in all of his world travelling on his pushbike and then motorbike, did say that Australia was one continent he would love to visit. Alas he never did get here from my knowledge of all his journeys, bless him. Cheers.
February 24th, 2026 at 15:57@13
nice one, thanks!
As for Rush… Ah, they are one of the biggest Why’s? for my ears. I mean, why did this guy have to sing in them? Couldn’t they get someone else, almost anyone could do… or maybe go the instrumental path?
This could be such a great band. I love Alex Lifeson’s playing, Neil Peart was a beast, Geddy Lee is pretty good on bass, the music is nicely written and cleverly orchestrated, but… well… I just cannot stand his voice :(.. I know this is a matter of taste, but I still cannot.
February 24th, 2026 at 16:03@ 19 – I remember you stating as much Uwe, just stirring the cauldron again. I do get why some acts are not liked by people, we all have our favourites etc. I don’t love Geddy’s voice and initially he didn’t want to sing, he had no confidence at all in doing that. The early Rush and I cannot listen to the harder rock songs because of his forced falsetto, very irritating as he himself is embarrassed by that all these years later. The softer to medium songs and he is fine vocally to my ears. He sings melodically to the song arrangements good enough for my ears. A bit like Ozzy, a certain timbre to the voice and it works well enough for the songs, well most of them. Big Al is a required taste too as a guitarist. I know a few guitarists who are not into his style at all, they found him irritating for different reasons. And Neil Peart bless him, is a required stylist too, bit hard with his playing at times, very diverse though, which I enjoy. I do sometimes wonder if Neil over thought certain percussive things, that drumming dvd I have where he is explaining and playing everything on each of the songs from the Test for Echo album, is grand from a drummers perspective. However at times I have to skip certain bits as he seems to be too critical of his own playing and arrangements even with the finished product. It gets a little too clinical and pedantic at times and I guess that could be why some Rush fans call him the ‘professor’. Rush are as you correctly say, a one of a kind band. I suppose many bands or certain lineups of other bands are too in that sense. Of some concern with these later day tour dates is Geddy’s voice holding up. I could hear him struggling 15 years ago, so who knows how he is going to go concert after concert this year let alone next year. Hopefully he will be ok and everyone can enjoy their concerts. Cheers.
February 24th, 2026 at 23:33I had heard Budgie
https://youtu.be/54H3EUAzpVg
before I heard my first Rush, so I was unruffled by Geddy‘s raging witch falsetto!
https://youtu.be/3oEQuzHp5I0
Plus, as a Priest fan, you had kinda gotten used to that piercing high-pitched vocal style too.
https://youtu.be/i2IKnAKwqsw
It‘s a bit a young man‘s game, I don‘t mind it if it’s properly done.
Not to forget:
https://youtu.be/9JCUX1mrO4g
But no one can beat him, bit on the unsettling side …
https://youtu.be/zcSlcNfThUA
February 25th, 2026 at 00:17@ 21- that would depend on who ‘someone else’ is Manic. Geddy Lee has a distinctive voice and that is where the vocal melody emanates from, with any singer for that matter within a song. If Rush did get in another singer, they wouldn’t sound anything like they do, so yes that may or may not have worked in another way. Whether any of the current Rush fans would have liked it could be another thing entirely. It also raises a question I have for Karin, that I have often pondered since her banishment of poor ole Geddy into the abyss of ‘never to be heard again singers’. Mind you Karin initially did that to poor ole David Coverdale. Did Karin only listen to a very early era Rush song (1974-76) for about 20 seconds or less and kill the song and then relegate Geddy and therefore Rush to the dust bin. He didn’t sing like that (the forced falsetto screaming style) in their middle to later era music. Anyway, vocalists of any kind in any form of 20th century music, do have their different style and sound when singing in the many different genres. Opera, Rock, Pop, Country, Folk and Blues and other genres I haven’t mentioned. We all have our tastes just like we do in many other pleasures in this life on planet earth. Thanks for the comments, always interesting to look at different aspects to some of our popular or unpopular music. Cheers.
February 25th, 2026 at 05:14@20
So sorry MacGregor 😄 but it’s that voice!
Entre nous: do you really like his voice?
And yes I know they have got a female drummer, but that alone can’t do it for me 😃
Will you do me a favour favour and please explain what it is Rush can do?
February 25th, 2026 at 05:52Maybe I can learn to like them if I’m properly trained 😁
@ 23 – all those other rock singers sound much more natural to my ears Uwe, not as forced as Geddy did sound when he pushed his voice harder in those very early Rush songs. Tiny Tim, bless him for his Vaudeville falsetto, although not in front of rock band of course but a classic entertainer he was. As you said it was a young man’s game back in those days, for all the hard rock singers especially. Look how ridiculously over the top Ian Gillan pushed himself back then, too much at times. They all survived it thankfully and then they mellowed back down into a safer vocal range most of the time, after that devil may care attitude of their early adrenalin charged lives. Cheers.
February 25th, 2026 at 11:51Rush was/is complex music, but not really pushing boundaries. It is how far a conservative hard rock fan can go before having to leave the genre altogether. I think that sums up their general appeal for most of their fans.
And Geddy’s voice has always split people right down the middle, he is not the world’s most expressive singer (I think that is why his voice leaves a lot of women – and men – cold) which might have to do with the fact that he was essentially Neil Peart’s mouthpiece, reciting his lyrics to music, but his singing at the same time shaped the Rush sound as much as his and his band buddies idiosyncratic instrumental prowess did. Rush without Geddy’s both androgynous and asexual voice is kind of pointless.
February 25th, 2026 at 15:35@25
“Maybe I can learn to like them if I’m properly trained 😁”
MacGregor is too smart to fall for that… He’s been around long enough to know that your species is unmanageable and, that at best, it is an exercise in futility to try to train a woman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2rRYFDpYRw
February 26th, 2026 at 04:33@ 27- You are not wrong there Russ, having ‘battled’ with a feisty Dutch lady for 35 years or so out here in Oz, I am well experienced in that aspect. Holland or Denmark or wherever else they may dwell, I can handle them all, he he he. Seriously though, I did throw myself into the Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here album right at the beginning of Karin joining us all here at THS chit chat forum. After her not so good experience with The Wall, I thought I would show some compassion and empathy toward her and go for that album. I think she said she liked the song WYWH, Karin may correct me there and if so, not too bad a little battle ‘won’ there me thinks. David Coverdale was a tougher quest though and Uwe did most of the work there. A victory of sorts for our esteemed and very experienced lawyer. If you yourself feel the need to join in, as you have at times shown that you have the knack for a quest or two of the feminine kind, I will gladly sit back with the popcorn and enjoy the battle. I do think you will fare quite well, as you have shown the way in certain aspects, all things considered. Good luck, you are going to need it…………… Cheers.
February 26th, 2026 at 08:40@27
What!! !! 😄
What is my species exactly? A woman? A Dane? A Viking?
Or maybe a Danish Viking woman 😂
I guess women all over the world are trained on a daily basis to acknowledge the male population’s existence and antics ☺️
February 26th, 2026 at 10:22(Just sayin’….)
My daughter is an avid Rush fan and has been for many years (she’s 22 now). Maybe it has something to do with her playing bass herself.
February 26th, 2026 at 15:52I have secured a couple of tickets for the concert in Royal Arena next year.
Janbl, good for her, Geddy is certainly a remarkable bassist. Not really variable in what he does (stylistically – not technically – he’s within the confines of Rush pretty much a one-trick-pony), but certainly the best bassist imaginable for Rush. I can see how Rush can appeal to a younger musician – just as I can see how someone who, say, likes to hear Marvin Gaye live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s
is left totally unmoved by what the three Canucks do: You can call Neil Peart a brilliant drummer and a heartless mathematician breaking down and dissecting the meters of a song with equal justification.
Neil Peart’s lyrics aren’t dumb, but when Geddy sings them they reveal nothing about the person Geddy is. He quotes them like the poems they are, but sometimes I wish Geddy had sung about a girl at school he had a crush on or how the suffering of his parents – he’s a child of holocaust survivors – impacted on him, something PERSONAL for Chrissakes! But Rush were so busy engineering and constructing their music, there seemed to be little room for transporting personal emotions. Their musical concept was ambitious, but also mechanical and insulated – I think that is what provoked their critics so much.
So I’m in two minds about the band – I appreciate their individual chops and how they doggedly ploughed their own field. I can certainly not imagine them without Geddy’s voice or non-voice. Sure I can enjoy a full album of theirs (but a full day of just hearing Rush? 😑), yet there is also something eternally adolescent/nerdy about them – that inability to communicate their adult emotions. It’s what I hear when Eric Clapton’s Tears In Heaven (overplayed as the song is/was) comes on the radio – if you are a parent, you can immediately relate.
February 26th, 2026 at 17:07@29
“I think she said she liked the song WYWH, Karin may correct me there and if so,”
– MacGregor, I love that song!
“David Coverdale was a tougher quest though and Uwe did most of the work there.”
– oh here I have to correct you! It wasn’t Uwe, nevertheless how persuasive he is, who convinced me about the many talents of DC, it was actually a dear friend who linked some songs to me, and after have listened to him a lot, I could hear his beautiful voice!
This one:
https://youtu.be/PDb55-zN7CY?si=fNr0Y5wx2cPLjeCG
won me over…
“Good luck, you are going to need it” – what! 😄
February 26th, 2026 at 17:21@25 Karin – since MacGregor has recused himself…
Geddy really only shrieked for Rush’s first six albums. After that he toned it down a lot, and apart from a few lines here and there in early 1980s tunes like “Tom Sawyer” and “Distant Early Warning”, was seldom heard to utilise his high-pitched screech at all.
Certainly the band made their reputation on those hard-rocking, proggy 70s releases, which contain Lee’s most ear-splitting vocals, love them or hate them. “Fly By Night”, “Farewell To Kings” and “Hemispheres” are desert island discs for aficionados of that type of music.
But a sizeable contingent of Rush fans prefer the later material, where Geddy is heard singing in a less ear-splitting manner. Any record produced by Peter Collins, in particular, will have tuneful vocals, often with added harmonies.
For a non-fan to hear what Rush can do, maybe their post-“Moving Pictures”-era music would be a good starting point?
Some notable 80s tunes:
“New World Man”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQRShD0xuAk&list=RDsQRShD0xuAk&start_radio=1
“Big Money”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD_46mnh_8o&list=PLsT9douBcx997JlbtshJ_U5rfc5gzThuM
“Time Stand Still”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMSFqXGZ5TQ&list=RDdMSFqXGZ5TQ&start_radio=1
Or, from the 90s, after the band dialed down the synthesizers and went through a somewhat grungey phase:
February 26th, 2026 at 17:35“Stick it Out”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3npbR07z_k&list=PLtO3qLgs5z6YqxvoFcpcyVKLP9SJLJfx3&index=2
“Half the World”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GvCXX4nRb4&list=PLtO3qLgs5z6b7IfkmrdMKWX5WBUDwU6LW&index=3
@ 31- good to hear janbl and I hope your concert is a good one for both of you. Regarding Rush allegedly being a lads band, I did read one guys comment a little while ago about his experiences with a few different ladies in attending various Rush concerts. The only lady that enjoyed it was a budding guitarist. The others he said, well they just rolled their eyes and said things like, ‘I suppose it is a way to spend couple of hours doing something’ ha ha ha. It is the way of things and I have never even thought about that side to concerts. And I don’t ever recall any fellow travellers mentioning it either over my decades of going to concerts. Uwe was probably the first chap that I have come across that has ever highlighted that. Hmmmmmmmmmm, interesting, he he he. Maybe Uwe has been to too many Judas Priest gigs dressed in his work attire. I do enjoy seeing that image in my mind of him doing that, classic. Cheers.
February 26th, 2026 at 18:03Rush were initially playing catch up, heavily influenced by the British and progressive bands and also a few of the hard rock bands. They took some time developing their own style, from 1980 and throughout the 80s’ is my favourite era of the band. They started to get their own progressive take on a few songs in the later 70’s, Xanadu is a classic and Closer To the Heart and The Trees are also rather nice forays into the mystical side of rock music. Also the instrumental La Villa Strangiato from Hemispheres. They did finally drop the lengthy progressive style songs in 1980, thankfully, and then developed a very good take on their own song format. That is when Geddy finally let go of that forced vocal style that was overdone to the max back in the 70’s. Of course we hear a Police influence at times in the 80’s with the reggae and ska type of thing and even The Edge from U2 on guitar did influence big Al then. Not a ground breaking band in that sense, but a seriously good song creating powerhouse rock band. I was fortunate to get introduced to them at their zenith, the glorious 1982/3 era. Then I went back as we sometimes do, purchasing their earlier albums. However as previously stated, that early 1980’s was and still is their coup de grâce to their 70’s experimentation. Like many hard rock singers, Geddy sounds good on the soft and medium songs, a lot like Ozzy does. But when they have to go up that extra notch or two on the register, their voices sound too forced and whiny, for want of a better expression. Same with a few other vocalists in rock music, to many loud and noisy musical instruments have ruined many a good voice. Cheers.
February 26th, 2026 at 21:18@34
Skippy!
Every single link is to Rush! 🤣
Maybe I didn’t make it completely clear, but I don’t mind repeating myself:
Should Rush, do to some catastrophic cosmic doom be the last band on earth, I would still be ‘washing my hair’ on a daily basis instead of attending any of these concerts 😁
Sorry, of course I will listen to the links you send to me, if you on the other hand will entertain yourself to these great guys:
https://youtu.be/-q9kuejj1xA?si=Q-G1trdLUjEfE8WI
(Ohhh boy that band 😍)
And this ensemble:
https://youtu.be/gYQ6MIjoY_k?si=3s881LrrfJnseRbY
That guitarist is really something else, isn’t he?
But of course, the gentlemen who are closest to my beating heart:
https://youtu.be/Rfirxs_NUcE?si=EnRnWrFAj-XqBNPE
I am very much impressed with the vocalist!
Still am:
https://youtu.be/OptLnRRFqek?si=Ndfl9Qmv_z8myS0i
Love his little dirty laugh in the beginning 😄
And then I will reveal something to you that I guess I have said before, and the fact is that I have a certain amount of time every day I can indulge myself into the wonderful world of musica!
And I have a tendency to prefer what sounds lovely 😊
But because you linked those songs to me, I will of course listen to each and everyone of them 😊
Have a joyful, splendid and formidable weekend everybody 🤗😚
February 27th, 2026 at 09:50@ 32- oh dear me, Uwe, you are looking at things a little too clinical my friend. There are plenty of emotional songs conveyed that way with Rush. When you say a singer (Geddy) cannot or does not convey an emotion (his own), because he isn’t telling the story (the lyrics), well that is a strange thing to say, IF you really know their music. We all have our favourite artists that we get right into and if we do, the emotions, the feeling of the story, the melodies and the way it is all delivered is why we get deeply into them, and that is a grand thing. That is why some people hear somethings and others do not, no matter what musical differences they may have. Are you a ‘professor’ Uwe, yes I have often thought that you are too critical at times, too methodical, too mathematical as in the dissection of certain artists. We all can be too critical at times. I just find it strange that you could comment on those sort of things with a certain artist, when you are not right into them, they don’t shake your tree, for want of a better expression. Geddy actually modifies certain lyrics of Neil Peart’s occasionally, to put a spin on it himself or to make it fit in better for the song melody, as any good singer should. And sometimes Neil is writing about situations that other people understand and can relate to in their own way or are even involved in themselves. Forget all that boy meets girls stuff Uwe and the war thing too. There are much more moving things to write and sing about out there. Rush with NO emotion, NO way. Cheers.
February 27th, 2026 at 10:00Now it’s not just Rash (sorry Rush) she likes, she has a wide music taste.
RHCP and Flea for instance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmyjzvQv5bA&list=RDTmyjzvQv5bA&start_radio=1
And a lot of japanese bands, rock and j-pop, like
Kroi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7hSj7x8il4
Eve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eOg5DoYuwU&list=RD2eOg5DoYuwU&start_radio=1
King Gnu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTJsm9msHGU&list=RDjTJsm9msHGU&start_radio=1
Granrodeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jorDdQ4J3bs&list=RDjorDdQ4J3bs&start_radio=1
and much, much more.
Just to say it’s not just Rush.
February 27th, 2026 at 10:49LOL, I guess Skippy will have to resign himself to the realization that Rush are incapable of triggering heightened pheromone production in female listeners (or male ones for that matter). Their music is simply asexual.
Not that a high and at times even screeching falsetto voice can rule out female attraction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkrT9u7ms1c
February 27th, 2026 at 15:44@40
Thanks for the link to Prince!
Way better than the Tom Jones version 😁
https://youtu.be/5uZQFOfMSfY?si=QH1I28S4osXxnvbQ
That song needs some serious falsetto!
February 27th, 2026 at 23:08@37 – Karin how gracious of you. Do let us know if latter-period Rush ends up growing on you!
We are mutual Deep Purple and Thunder fans; also had the first two or three Extreme records back in the day.
February 28th, 2026 at 04:32Hadn’t heard much of their comeback record, though. Thanks for sharing – it sounds good!
@40 – Uwe – funny how Rush has devolved into an only-for-the-guys band. Back in the day, don’t recall the audience at their show being any more exclusively male than the crowd at a concert by BTO or… Deep Purple.
Much as I appreciate a good falsetto, have never been fond of Prince’s. A little shrill at times.
From the R&B zone, a fun one is “Meeting In My Bedroom” by Silk, all five members going up into the vocal stratosphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbkYrR0uHRQ&list=RDwbkYrR0uHRQ&start_radio=1
Too bad the record is compromised by its midi / drum machine backing track.
Maybe you have noticed that, for whatever reason, falsetto often seems to be a forte of the Italians.
Lou Christie always sounded like he was having fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnFU-bMDICE&list=RDGnFU-bMDICE&start_radio=1
Gino Vannelli had a powerful one, which he usually used sparingly for a climactic effect, eg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAbnfzgct7o&list=PLldC__Pt_twrTVCxbzI8DPTRDOWzJ45ZZ&index=6
But sometimes more extensively over the course of a song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVBk9XQoxy0
Or, of course, monster hitmaker Frankie Valli. Love how the Four Seasons often save the highest note or the tastiest lick for the fadeout, Roy Orbison-style:
February 28th, 2026 at 05:32https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYBZqfOZiS4&list=RDkYBZqfOZiS4&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUaovcwxktk&list=RDEUaovcwxktk&index=1
Epic guitar solo on Vannelli’s Brother to Brother.
February 28th, 2026 at 18:45@34
Skippy, I am honoured to move myself into this area, where I never have been before!
1) New World man…. Is this really Rush! I am amazed, I really am!
It’s not nearly Rock’n’Roll enough for me, so I will send a link right back to you with a proper rock band, Georgia Satellites:
https://youtu.be/63c7KL4RTiA?si=F3LhQsyIuA6aP8Gy
2) Big Money – alright then! Is it just me or does this remind a lot of this band:
https://youtu.be/aQdoUUi3iJ8?si=IH9TRxA_oT79ym-x
The voices are pretty similar in my head….
Ok, to be honest, it’s too overproduced, like this band:
https://youtu.be/z9nkzaOPP6g?si=EffgQ8bkrjJuXVd2
And this song is actually one of my favourites with ELO, but compared to Purple, all the charm is produced away and instead some perfect music is delivered. But who needs perfect music? As one of my dearest and nearest once told me: a little dirt has never hurt anyone, and ohh man I agree 😃
Well, back to the Rush-aton…
3) Time stand still – I am confused! It’s nice! And I remember Uwe said something about this band being played for intels (is that the proper spelling Uwe?) but this sounds pretty similar to these guys:
https://youtu.be/znDgBy2mHbc?si=gRyf8JHu25efpnwK
And for my sanity I need a little more rock infused musica:
https://youtu.be/TDGvmM1qAVg?si=eOeG8jBGHdFi-weK
I honestly think Paul Gilbert could have done wonders in Purple if Simon all of a sudden were on a paternity leave 😃
4) Stick it out – a big smile on my face 😃 but ohhh, if that guy could sing I would be a lot more happy!
Sorry, I really don’t wanna hurt anybody’s feelings and we’re all ok that this is just my personal opinion, right? You are on the other hand free to hate the next tune I link to:
https://youtu.be/iHbDSIPqJLI?si=ZwJdHUQMyhTJlzU
But I LOVE them 😍 of course not as much as Purple 😄
5) Half the world – again: love the melody and the instruments but man if the guy would sing like, well, like this one:
https://youtu.be/1ieqHL15yEw?si=YqjNQNAxcgdfoGuN
Ohhh my ❣️ 6:14 – did I have a firstborn, I would have been tempted to give my child to him just for that! (I might add that sarcasm and irony is my mother tongue, of course I would never give Ian my firstborn child! It is just to explain how much his voice paints EXTRAORDINARILY beautiful colours in my head! I wouldn’t even give him Anton, my little spoiled doglet ☺️)
Thank you Skippy 😃 this was fun!
I have to admit that I am a rock chick through and through…. With the exception of these phenomenal characters:
https://youtu.be/ZyBFxjmJPqk?si=qHzij_SFSwGLQ9Ki
And these:
https://youtu.be/bDMCwSP5nf0?si=aDusBBgUieuwJxZo
And the ‘I’m a bilingual illiterate, I can’t read in two languages’ makes me laugh out loud no matter how often I hear Joss Ackland speak the words 😆
I don’t like disco in any form, but the two guys here just won my heart when I was a young girl, and my friend and I couldn’t comprehend how come Neil Tennant could stand so still when he was making such amazing music 😁
If I may add the most beautiful song ever written, and no sadly it isn’t Ian who holds the title here, it is however the Chief, aka Noel Gallagher, and I am in pieces every single time I hear this:
https://youtu.be/XBIyFiGzWZs?si=oNEYPZvEWhEYFIX3
If I’m ever remarried this song will be played for us to dance to ❣️❣️❣️
February 28th, 2026 at 19:49@ 43- Skippy, thanks for the Gino Vannelli track Brother to Brother, some serious playing going on there and a good lengthy tune that is. Drummer Mark Craney spent a fair bit of time with Vannelli. He was briefly in Jethro Tull for one album (A) and the flowing tour, 1981 era. Cheers.
February 28th, 2026 at 21:24A bit of trivia, that 1978 Gino Vannelli band and the drummer, guitarist and bass player are all lefties. I knew Mark Craney was, the other two, Carlos Rios the guitarist I was not aware of at all and Jimmy Haslip the bassist I vaguely remember from somewhere else. But all three in the same band, I don’t recall ever seeing that before. It is a pity the keyboard player ruined it by not joining into the ‘leftie’ club though, typical isn’t it. Not to mention the Sax player either. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjfuDSPde_g&t=3s
February 28th, 2026 at 22:45@45 Karin – what an apt observation, Rodger Hodgson from Supertramp and Geddy Lee from Rush DO have voices that are alike in some ways.
Georgia Satellites, Tears For Fears, ELO, DP, Pet Shop Boys, all cool groups in their own way. The Sweet my fave of all the non-DP ones you linked.
It could be that Oasis have their merits too… But back when they were popular a housemate used to play them to death. As a result of that overexposure, never need to hear them again.
@46 MacGregor – Gino being a percussionist himself always had excellent drummers, and usually let them play a LOT. Another reason to love his first seven LPs. How disappointing when he started using drum machines in the mid-80s.
Mark Craney did a great job, shame he died so young. Saw Gino with Vito Rezza who also knocked it out of the park.
Current drummer Reinhardt Melz kills it in this concert video. “Wild Horses” with its face-melting horn arrangement at 31:25, “Living Inside Myself” at 52:30″, and of course “BTB” at 58:00 are particularly impressive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqa4XgktXoo&list=RDXqa4XgktXoo&start_radio=1
It was also cool how Gino’s 1974-77 records – “Powerful People” through “Pauper In Paradise” – had no guitars. Only voice, keyboards and percussion. A lot more proggy than people give him credit for.
As @44 janb points out, it was no hindrance when he finally did add guitars. “Brother To Brother” may be his best LP of all, among many excellent ones.
March 1st, 2026 at 02:18I’ve seen Gino a couple (or 3) times in Copenhagen, and he always has good musicians with him.
March 1st, 2026 at 12:27And he has a special connection with Denmark. He often plays with the Doky Brothers (Niels Lan and Chris Minh).
@48
Skippy, I blame your housemate: “It could be that Oasis have their merits too… But back when they were popular a housemate used to play them to death.”
On the other hand, I know from personal experience that when a band have been put on the shelves for a bit, they sound excellent again!
So what about taking a listen to this little gem:
https://youtu.be/4THREp9iTEo?si=GJ8-yDqno51sXSzx
And please don’t be alarmed at 0:38 as I was, when I thought it was my new neighbour going mad at me for playing the music a little bit too loud (ok – very loud 🙉) actually it was Noel tuning his guitar and maybe he wanted some attention or maybe it was a tiny flaw, I don’t know, but the rest of the song is cute 😃
Almost as cute as this one:
https://youtu.be/WgBbrzPizoU?si=AXoWEDf0Dr8YJWpu
Yeah! I like the collaboration between Ian and Urock!
And please notice that Ian actually drinks coffee!
If it was possible, but it isn’t, I would like him even more for this 😄
Re Supertramp’s vocalist and Rush’ ditto: do you like the voices? Or is it merely the music you like?
I’m just asking because in my head their voices annoy me big time. Sorry, can’t help it.
However this voice is really good:
March 1st, 2026 at 14:01https://youtu.be/6MnQDlPzUZo?si=RCMvMyi5UlOO7XKm
– even though there are some similarities to the two other singers 😊
@ 48 – a wonderful concert Skippy and thank you for that. I watched it at 3.00am during a bout of insomnia, another thing the internet can be handy for at that time of day. Certainly a gifted writer and band leader is Gino and also not too bad a dancer, he he he. Excellent musicians all round and that drummer Reinhardt Melz is very very good. The closest I have come to a similar band with the brass etc is Steely Dan in 2009. A brilliant concert too, with Keith Carlock on the drums and man wasn’t he something. As we know, any musician playing with these sort of writers and arranger has to be exceptionally good. And as a Big Band dictates, the drummers always have to be a standout, it is the way of that genre and in many ways the drummer is the band leader. A different overall approach in some ways with Gino, he is a little more ‘progressive’ at times to my ears with many of his arrangements than Steely Dan, more dramatic etc. Brass is a fine line with me in ‘rock’ music, a little is enough and when I was younger that is one of the reasons I didn’t enjoy Paice, Ashton and Lord, plus Tony Ashton’s vocals. However as we grow older, sometimes we sort of get use to certain things and a brass ensemble is one that in it’s correct context I can handle much more than I use to be able to. But not all the time as in old school big band jazz etc, that is far too much for my sensitive ears. Cheers
March 1st, 2026 at 20:56@50 – Karin – she only had the first couple of Oasis LPs, so never heard “Shock of the Lightning” before. Catchy tune.
Neither Roger Hodgson’s and Geddy Lee’s voices bother me. Supertramp’s other singer Rick Davies had a lower-pitched voice, which gave ST’s records a nice balance. And hearing Rush for the first time as a little kid, the music and singing didn’t sound all that different from Led Zeppelin. Still hear similarities to this day.
Really enjoy Poly Styrene’s voice as well, which not everyone loves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKaxfc03Fqk&list=RDZKaxfc03Fqk&start_radio=1
It’s the Joe Cocker / Tom Waits / Tony Ashton super-gruff voices that aren’t my cup of tea.
Life would be boring if we all liked the same things!
Maybe you might still enjoy Rush’s instrumentals like “La Villa Strangiato” and “YYZ”.
Struggling to hear a likeness between Barry Ryan’s voice and Supertramp or Rush though.
March 2nd, 2026 at 02:00“Eloise” is a cool song. The Damned did a powerful remake.
Fun to see Dave Vanian in full regalia on a breakfast-time broadcast!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35mGixOOwSI
MacGregor I see your point regarding too much brass and in fact I tend to get tired of the big band sound of Sinatra et al (which I enjoy!) after a while too. Maybe because there is only big band – but no band. On the other hand I found the Purple related releases that have brass on them among my favourite ones: PAL, Play me out, Clear Air Turbulence, White Snake and Northwinds, Live at the Olympia, RAH 99 and then some. The brass section add so much colour here but doesn’t dominate the music.
March 2nd, 2026 at 11:45I was (and am to this day) a great fan of horn rock à la Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago even as a teenager and while listening to DP, Status Quo and Alice Cooper at the same time! It was an Alice Cooper track in fact that set me off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=finr9iOH16k
Silverhead’s Rolling With My Baby was another one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJyjskOt-mM
As was Foghat’s What A Shame
https://youtu.be/txWDPoE-gPs
and of course The Door’s grand Touch Me:
https://youtu.be/U6bRukfcUf0
I think the added dynamics and melodies of a real live horn section are just great. I love stuff like this:
https://youtu.be/NNexeGi8NKg
(In case you’re wondering about the singer: That is David Clayton Thomas’ successor Jerry Fisher singing, it’s kinda a Gillan vs Coverdale thing, they both had undeniable strengths.)
And a song like this is really uplifting to me due to its vast horn and strings arrangement:
https://youtu.be/ABbBTbB3Bxc
It follows that the absence of swing in Rainbow bothered me a whole lot more in 1976/77 than PAL, IGB and Glenn Hughes’ Play Me Out as well as DC’s solo debut suddenly featuring horns. I thought it was a case of collective adulthood and progression with them as musicians, why not?
March 2nd, 2026 at 16:18Roger Hodgson’s voice was a natural one, and not having to force the issue to get over a harder rock sound has a lot to do with it. Both Hodgson and Davies were poles apart and that was wonderful at times in the 70’s Supertramp. And a band with a diversity of singers is much more interesting than just one singer. After a little while I become bored with the same single singer conundrum, Ian Gillan, Ozzy, R J Dio, Geddy, Halford, Dickinson etc etc. And a brass section in certain music at times is fine, just a little is enough. Polystyrene, what name, a classic. I noticed one punter placed this comment at that video clip.
March 2nd, 2026 at 17:33“A lovely girl, with a voice that could punch a hole in a steel plate”: Johnny Rotten.
Come to think of it: Jerry Fisher could have been great for PAL and certainly someone Jon Lord would have appreciated!
March 2nd, 2026 at 18:33@ 54- ‘collective adulthood’ now there is a new one.
March 2nd, 2026 at 20:38Horn sections with Alice Cooper? Now that is a topic which gets way to little airtime these days!
Here’s some magnificent examples, from the early days (’72),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgzoYzZiI7w
an interesting attempt from ’94,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEoB3CgrYRY
and a great tune off an otherwise underwhelming release from 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdBlkpXKQsQ
Now when will we get an eight-piece documentation series on national television shining a light on that forgotten part of mankinds history?
March 2nd, 2026 at 21:07Tillythemax, did your no good dad really let you listen to Alice Cooper too?! 😱
What a boundless dereliction of parental duties, sigh …
Seriously, an exquisite music taste, young man, I must say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxHh0Xcf7cw
Alice at nearly the peak of his alcoholism and cocaine addiction in the late 70s. He was not looking good. But it got even worse, early 80s I saw him at the Cobo Hall in Detroit (with the Joe Perry Project opening) and he looked like death …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdU-cqco_pQ
I really thought he was going to die on stage. A miracle that he pulled through, good survival genes for a kid whose parents had to move from Detroit to Phoenix, Az, because his lungs couldn’t take the Motorcity pollution!
People say that Auntie Alice can’t sing, but that is not true, he uses his rather limited voice very effectively and with great discipline. It has also aged well – a lot better than the pipes of many of his contemporaries.
Did you know this, Tilly? It features horns too (plus dancing girls with pheasant feathers on their butts thus enhancing the biblical experience)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnxwP8vLRg
March 3rd, 2026 at 05:25@59
Like with Black Sabbath, the music collection of my old man turned me on to Alice Cooper, despite my Dad not beeing too much of a fan himself. I found a compilation album of Alice’s 70s hits. To my next birthday or something he got me Welcome to My Nightmare. That was the start of my die-hard appreciation for the man. (Alice of course. My dad I have been appreciating already.)
Yes, I knew the clips you sent me there, thanx! I always tought that Alice was the most scary in the early eighties, unfortunately you can’t really tell how much of it was voluntarily. And even in those blackout years he recorded some great music. I’m not too much of a fan of Flush the Fashion, but Dada for instance made it on to the second spot of my personal Cooper-album-ranking.
March 3rd, 2026 at 12:32Yes, DADA is an unsung gem.
I actually like that more recent Detroit one too and the new one with the old Alice Cooper Group is of course wonderful – it has the old humor and garage attitude.
March 3rd, 2026 at 15:18@52
Skippy:
“And hearing Rush for the first time as a little kid, the music and singing didn’t sound all that different from Led Zeppelin.”
– so sorry, but this made me laugh 😆
Don’t get me wrong, I semi-like some of Led Zep’s songs, but oh man you’re right regarding the voices!
“Poly Styrene’s voice“ – ok you maybe know about the colour thingy in my mind? Well, that voice is about to give me migraines, a condition I never suffer from! But OHHH!
I really want to link immediately to a much more soothing voice, are you ready?
https://youtu.be/IKFM6mQqRn8?si=EvviKTZ-Y3juqdpn
Woah! He sounds so laid back, like he just has poured himself a nice beer and thought of this nice song! And sang it to his lady love ☺️
“It’s the Joe Cocker / Tom Waits / Tony Ashton super-gruff voices that aren’t my cup of tea.”
– really? Oh ok, well that’s why there are so many different bands and singers, to please us all!
I like this gruffy:
https://youtu.be/daCLwmNe6E8?si=xROxB-02ABBPNzNB
“Struggling to hear a likeness between Barry Ryan’s voice and Supertramp or Rush though.”
– I know! That is just in my head there is a similarity 😊 (colour wise…)
What do you think of this guy:
https://youtu.be/472UNEvvjyQ?si=8oPLSZOyn_OGKXKz
I almost fell down of my sofa when I heard him singing this, never heard it before with him! But somehow his almost lazy voice suits the tempo of the tune 😊
But of course, the band above all bands, this song is my spring-time song, I can almost hear birds chirping and snowdrops blooming when I listen to this! And woah, Ian’s voice is unbelievable beautiful 🤩
March 3rd, 2026 at 19:01https://youtu.be/uIaXva9akfs?si=NWBFFG8jUKYN00tl
@52
Skippy, I wrote a short(-ish) answer to you, but it must have ended in the void of SoMe….
But to make it even shorter:
You write: “Struggling to hear a likeness between Barry Ryan’s voice and Supertramp or Rush though.”
– I know, it is just in my head I can hear some resemblance but Barry Ryan makes a lot more beautiful colours than the two other…😊
Poly Styrene, well, what can I say? I have never suffered from migraines, but I would easily do should I listen to her 😱
Sorry….
This little tune by Oasis:
https://youtu.be/I15k5TVORzQ?is=mm4mJD2d3fCWs1_O
Is from the same album ‘Dig out your soul’ as ‘Shock of the lighting’ 😊
March 4th, 2026 at 08:31Noel’s voice is a lot weaker compared to ‘our kid’, but it has its moments 😊
Erhhhhhh, maybe I live in a different musical cosmos, however I have never heard any resemblance what so ever between Percy and Geddy…………………….Cheers.
March 4th, 2026 at 10:47@62 Karin – Tom Petty is one of those guys whose music is hard to dislike. Some of it is very enjoyable, especially his early more power pop-sounding stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc1qSf6PM4w
A lot of his later, more rootsy material is also entertaining in its own way. Though the Heartbreakers never sounded the same after awesome drummer Stan Lynch left.
March 4th, 2026 at 16:10@65
Skippy, thanks for the link 🙏🏼
He was an American phenomenon. Read about his beginning, I like his somewhat lazy voice 😊
Did you know he wanted this tune being played at his funeral:
March 6th, 2026 at 10:38https://youtu.be/Kw8vBDk880k
Rush were originally heavy rock with a high voice, but that is where all comparisons to Led Zep must stop. Zep‘s music was much more visceral, rootsy and, dare I say, sexy.
Back in the 70s, any new heavy outfit with falsetto vocals that dared raise its head was automatically tagged as a Led Zep rip-off: Budgie, Rush, Aerosmith, Detective, Bob Welch’s Paris, even Judas Priest. The assertion got boring and trite after a while, it was intellectually lazy. As Lester Bangs once observed: “It is not true that all heavy bands sound alike, they only do so to an unaccustomed ear.“
March 6th, 2026 at 22:06Regarding the tabloid rock music journos, most of them, not all mind, there were some good journalists back then. Anyway how does this sound, “cheap, dumb as dog shit, lazy and deliberate attention seeking crass journalism”. There you go Uwe, I don’t mind saying it how it was and still is with many tabloid journos. Cheers
March 7th, 2026 at 07:02