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I knew you’d like it. Lots of great parts and really put together well. One of Alex’s best solos. The drumming is mind blowing, and the bass lines, well, it’s Geddy. I’ve always liked the lyrics. “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
This is one of my favourite Rush songs. I had the luck to see them live in 2010 when they visited south america, and this was one of the highlights of the show for me. My wife also teases me about that show saying she couldn't believe the ammount of middle age men crying in a show
That breakdown, from 4:15 to 5:30 - that is my favorite minute in Rush's entire catalog. All 3 of them playing their faces off and it fits together perfectly - some kind of magic trick.
Every once and a while Alex becomes a lead guitarist worthy of Eddie and Satriani like in this song. The live video from Exit Stage Left IS INSANE during the solo....all three going at it at 1000 mph and not missing a note! Love your channel and reactions keep up the great work brother! ;-)
I definitely thought this is where Rush would probably grab you the most. Really great album and it's many people's favorite. Just wait until you get to the last song on this album Natural Science!!
I can never keep my attention on one thing during the "everyone solo" in Freewill. My attention jumps from Geddy to Alex to Neil and back again. So much to take in. Love it
The first tour I saw rush was after this album came out. We had to ask our friends older sisters older boyfriend to drive us to Ft. Wayne IN. To see them. Will never forget. Keep up the great work.
So true about hearing more details every time you listen to it. This is one of my favourite Solos from Alex and that middle part 🤯 Looking forward to Jacob's Ladder.
Great review sir! The next song, Jacob's Ladder is a great example of how Rush was becoming greater than the sum of their parts. Geddy amazing as usual, Alex kicking it up a huge notch with some amazing guitar riffs, and Neil putting alot more distance between him and all other drummers.
Musically, lyrically, compositionally, production and performance wise, this, for me anyway, is easily top three any day, in terms of ALL RUSH, period.🤘🖖✌️🎸🥁🎤🎹👌👍🥇🇨🇦🎼🔥
I've always liked any song with a strong beat that I can dance to, and this is one of the best; in fact, I was dancing to it as a warmup for my morning workout, and I didn't care who was watching!! Great reaction as always; see you on Jacob's Ladder! 🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🔥 🔥 🔥
First time I saw this played “live” was watching exit stage left video and couldn’t believe the instrumental part. Seeing Neil’s kit shaking as he’s hitting so hard and seeing what Geddy and Alex are actually playing. The separation of instruments is very clear on the recording but still sounds as one. Great tune. Glad you liked.
Hey Justin, IMO you are in Rush's golden Era. Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures do indeed demo the evolution of Rush. And, you now know why many of us Rush Chronics pushed back against the comparison between Alex and Jimmy Page. Alex's playing evolved dramatically. You are spot on re: Rush's ability to compress their songs into amazing but concise tunes and this demo.s the maturation of this amazing band. Please read the lyrics, they are phenomenal! Happy voyage, it will be an amazing one over these two albums!
On this one, Alex does a lot more than play chords and provide ambiance 🙂 I've actually played this on guitar with a bass player and drummer, and man that solo is a workout.
Alex said that was his favorite solo because it’s so chaotic and all over the place. He said he walked into a session where Neil & Geddy were going on an all out jam with each other and joined in just trying to figure out how to keep up. Three virtuosos all soloing at the same time! It’s almost impossible to listen to because you can change instruments at any point and be amazed.
While "Spirit of Radio" was the clear odds-on favorite to be a hit off this album, "Freewill" became the surprise number two since it was never released as a single but got loads of radio attention. I remember all the hard rock radio stations just going ape shit over it. This is the first Rush song I learned to play on bass, and it's still probably the coolest bass part of any Rush song. And DAT TONE! That entire middle instrumental break is insanely awesome (plus all those time signature changes are amazingly transparent.) I know a lot of young guitar players who were thrown by Alex's solo... it's pretty unconventional for 1980. They'd usually just shred their way through it and not even try to tackle the wacky pitch-bending bits. And lastly, Neil's lyrics were pitch perfect for where my head was at as a teenager. What a great fucking song.
If you go back and watch live performances of this song pay attention to the crowd during the solo section. Everyone would raise their arms over their heads with flat hands and bow down repeatedly to them in homage to their musicianship as if they were deities.
This comment especially represents La Villa Strangiato but represents ALL THINGS: RUSH!!! Actually this sounds like a presentation that Alex, Geddy, and Neil decided to play as a group for their PHD IN MUSICOLOGY! Afterwards their independent professors would all say in unison: THREE KINGS 👑👑👑OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK!!!
For me, the change from Hemispheres to Permanent Waves is like the development of Genesis from Selling England by the Pound to A Trick of the Tail - they keep the musicality and creative composition, but they don't try to pack so many ideas into a single song. One approach is not necessarily better than the other - in fact I probably lean more towards the "kitchen sink" approach - but there's no doubting which is an easier sell commercially! As you say, a fantastic one-two punch to open the album.
Crazy proggy song.... still has a great melody and a hooky chorus, though. Rush were great at that. And they were the absolute masters of transition. In high school, these were the lyrics that you showed to your English teacher. That album cover is a shot from Galveston, Tx after a hurricane (but not, as rumor has it the great storm of 1900; a later one). Hugh Syme did that artwork (as he did for most all Rush album covers). They same guy that played keys on different strings.
Yeah man, these first 2 "radio hits" are hard to beat, along with Tom Sawyer. I regret that I only followed Rush casually, until recently. But this album I've had for many years.
Just love this song!! I’m adding “Entre Nous” to the list of the songs I think you’ll like the best. I think you’ll say “Jacobs Ladder” is just “good”! We’ll see! Be well and God bless.. from Texas!!
@@lindapryor3747 I do too… I’m just trying to predict what he’s going to like… LOL! I was right about him not liking Cinderella Man and liking Madrigal, so I thought I’d see if I was right again! Be well, my friend!
Like Spirit of Radio, Freewill, was also a mainstream radio hit and a concert staple. SOR was played on every tour since its release and Freewill was played on every other tour or so. Last played live on Time Machine Tour in 2010. While I'm slightly tired of hearing SOR, I never get tired of hearing Freewill and think the solo is one of Alex's best. The high note Geddy hits at the end is probably the last time he hit a note that high on a recording. Interestingly these first two songs were concert staples and the rest of the songs on PW were rarely played live (in the case of Different Strings - never played live). It's too bad since this is my top 3 Rush albums.
Alex definitely does some of his best playing in that instrumental section. From angst--laden discordant notes to shredding to his own blend of chords and lead that screams out in existential crisis, he does an amazing job (all while Geddy and Neil add in their own epic performances). I don't connect with this song emotionally as much as most fans though because the lyrics feel a bit preachy to me (though Neil does have some thought--provoking gems in there) and I think I'd like them to be a bit more subtle. But my issues are minor and there's so many cool things in that song that those nitpicks I have don't count much.
Not preachy to me. The exact message we need right now considering "Christian" Fascists are currently OK with destroying democracy and truth in order to impose their fake beliefs on the rest of America. I have never had a problem with people worshiping as they choose, but it crosses a dangerous line when those same fanatics try to take over Government to FORCE their beliefs on everybody else. People that don't believe in God or the Bible have opinions just as valid as those who do. Peart writes extensively in his recent books about the rise of Christian racism and fascism and the hate/cruelty that goes along with these so-called "Christians".
@@carlgibbons5777 Hey, full bleeding heart liberal here, so I agree that all this Christian fascist stuff is crap. I'm actually a practicing Catholic (and gay too. Met my partner at a gay pot-luck social hosted by the local Catholic parish, which blows people's minds), so I do have my own beliefs.... but they're MINE and I have no business pushing them off on anyone. I said the song sounded preachy to me because it kind of does. I went a bit further by explaining that I'd prefer something less "in your face" and with a bit more subtlety or nuance. Just my own feelings though. And keep in mind I never said I disagree with the message. :)
Justin out of all the reaction people that are doing these videos your actually the only one to figure out that geddy lee is the lead. alex is always following him except for his solos which are the best. The best part about alexs guitar solo that he switches back from lead to rhythm twice hes the best. enjoy your reactions
In some ways these songs are actually more complex and challenging than the songs on Hemispheres. I really like Hemispheres, but I mean look at all the time signatures they employ on this song alone. The solo instrumental section was pure fusion. This album is probably my favorite of theirs and depending on my mood I sometimes prefer it over Moving Pictures just because the first side of that one has been so overplayed. Look at how long it took them to reach this level of song writing matched with such advanced technique. It wouldn’t happen that way today. It used to be that bands were more nurtured and given a little more time to develop in the 1970s which became more and more rare as time went on, although Rush came very close to not making it at all during this very same time period and that really would of been a shame of course.
I think in a way this was a "breakout" album, commercially at least. Most of their earlier albums were more like benchmarks. This one is more concise and accessible.
I was waiting for your reaction to Spirit of Radio to suggest this but I missed it. It's time for you to take a break from your chronological reviews for a brief moment atnd react to Rush live, "Greatist. Intro Ever". You couldn't be better primed for it right noe. I meant to say now but I think you noe what I mean. 😜
Best song in the universe? James Webb update pending! There's a great Rush Lyric video channel worth checking...Neil's words on a black screen...your mind will create all the visuals needed 😁 great album 👍🤟🤟🤟
Great reaction but Man are you listening to this on an old potato? It sounds bitty as hell! If you want I’ll send you lossless flacs of the Rush albums so you can listen in high quality !
$UPER THANK$!!!
Thanks for watching my videos! Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel!! I appreciate it!
Check the Description for Amazon Affiliate Links to VINYL/DVDs/Books and other cool products related to this video! Check the description for a link to Camilla's TH-cam channel!
You have to be hooked by now. When you are done with all the albums, you too will agree that they are the GOATs in the rock category.
I knew you’d like it. Lots of great parts and really put together well. One of Alex’s best solos. The drumming is mind blowing, and the bass lines, well, it’s Geddy. I’ve always liked the lyrics. “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
Yep Yep...anyone with a heartbeat should sweat through that lead break...Pure Greatness.
Not to mention what they do coming out of it...Joy!
Lots of intricacies in that popular one. Even Alex! lol
This is one of my favourite Rush songs. I had the luck to see them live in 2010 when they visited south america, and this was one of the highlights of the show for me. My wife also teases me about that show saying she couldn't believe the ammount of middle age men crying in a show
My favorite Rush tune off of my favorite album
That breakdown, from 4:15 to 5:30 - that is my favorite minute in Rush's entire catalog. All 3 of them playing their faces off and it fits together perfectly - some kind of magic trick.
Freewill rocks. :) Love the transition at 3:20 too, but for me towards the end when Geddy kicks the vocals up a notch is amazing.
"Each of us a CELL! Of awareness, imperfect and incompleeeeete..." That vocal moment reliably gives me goosebumps every time, for decades.
Another great song on a classic RUSH album.
best instrumental part ever made
Agree...sublime 👌 if you like...see what you think of instrumental track 'Onset' Live by Band-Maid...nice bass solo. Great drummer too.
Every once and a while Alex becomes a lead guitarist worthy of Eddie and Satriani like in this song. The live video from Exit Stage Left IS INSANE during the solo....all three going at it at 1000 mph and not missing a note! Love your channel and reactions keep up the great work brother! ;-)
Totally agree. Most reviewers should check out the L.P. version, then REACT to the live.
RUSH IS DEAD! LONG LIVE RUSH!!!
I definitely thought this is where Rush would probably grab you the most. Really great album and it's many people's favorite. Just wait until you get to the last song on this album Natural Science!!
Great song.
You nailed it. This is Rush. Three monster musicians at the height of their game packed into five minutes and change. Not a single wasted second.
I can never keep my attention on one thing during the "everyone solo" in Freewill. My attention jumps from Geddy to Alex to Neil and back again. So much to take in. Love it
I"f you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice"
In 4:14 each one begins his own solo...
Best band ever!
Just one of many favorite Rush tunes. Freewill has it all...as you said, compacted into one great rush song.
Amazing song the drum fill in the middle part crazy. Unbelievable!
Great tune, even better reaction, well sorta!
Thanks again for the memories, so appreciated!
The first tour I saw rush was after this album came out. We had to ask our friends older sisters older boyfriend to drive us to Ft. Wayne IN. To see them. Will never forget. Keep up the great work.
Love this song so much thanks fir listening and sharing. Jacob's ladder is an amazing powerful piece of music. One of my favorites.
I have heard this song 1000 times at least and the solo breakdown section gets me every time, this is a top 20 Rush song for sure.
So true about hearing more details every time you listen to it. This is one of my favourite Solos from Alex and that middle part 🤯
Looking forward to Jacob's Ladder.
We agree for once! It is a great song, sick middle part.
the solo section is dope. that bass tone wow
Magical jam. The way Alex grounds the solo with power chords so that each of them can solo for a phrase and then repeats it is just majestic.
My favorite Alex Lifeson solo! Brilliant song.
Great review sir! The next song, Jacob's Ladder is a great example of how Rush was becoming greater than the sum of their parts. Geddy amazing as usual, Alex kicking it up a huge notch with some amazing guitar riffs, and Neil putting alot more distance between him and all other drummers.
Still a favorite 40 plus years later. Down the road you should do some of your favorites live.
In 1980 this album was out anthem. We were 17 yrs old and enjoying life to Rush.
Musically, lyrically, compositionally, production and performance wise, this, for me anyway, is easily top three any day, in terms of ALL RUSH, period.🤘🖖✌️🎸🥁🎤🎹👌👍🥇🇨🇦🎼🔥
I've always liked any song with a strong beat that I can dance to, and this is one of the best; in fact, I was dancing to it as a warmup for my morning workout, and I didn't care who was watching!! Great reaction as always; see you on Jacob's Ladder!
🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🔥 🔥 🔥
Can’t wait for you to get to the tracks you haven’t heard yet. staying tuned!
What a track. Must see live version is from Time Machine tour Cleveland 2011. Neil's and Geddys faces after Alex's solo is priceless 👍👍
First time I saw this played “live” was watching exit stage left video and couldn’t believe the instrumental part. Seeing Neil’s kit shaking as he’s hitting so hard and seeing what Geddy and Alex are actually playing. The separation of instruments is very clear on the recording but still sounds as one. Great tune. Glad you liked.
Welcome to the Eighties RUSH! The next few albums are transition master pieces!
Permanent waves all the way to Power Windows are masterpieces in my book!
Masterpiece.
Hey Justin, IMO you are in Rush's golden Era. Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures do indeed demo the evolution of Rush. And, you now know why many of us Rush Chronics pushed back against the comparison between Alex and Jimmy Page. Alex's playing evolved dramatically. You are spot on re: Rush's ability to compress their songs into amazing but concise tunes and this demo.s the maturation of this amazing band. Please read the lyrics, they are phenomenal! Happy voyage, it will be an amazing one over these two albums!
On this one, Alex does a lot more than play chords and provide ambiance 🙂 I've actually played this on guitar with a bass player and drummer, and man that solo is a workout.
I have a feeling you will really like Different Strings on side 2
Alex said that was his favorite solo because it’s so chaotic and all over the place. He said he walked into a session where Neil & Geddy were going on an all out jam with each other and joined in just trying to figure out how to keep up.
Three virtuosos all soloing at the same time!
It’s almost impossible to listen to because you can change instruments at any point and be amazed.
One of my faves JP!
While "Spirit of Radio" was the clear odds-on favorite to be a hit off this album, "Freewill" became the surprise number two since it was never released as a single but got loads of radio attention. I remember all the hard rock radio stations just going ape shit over it. This is the first Rush song I learned to play on bass, and it's still probably the coolest bass part of any Rush song. And DAT TONE! That entire middle instrumental break is insanely awesome (plus all those time signature changes are amazingly transparent.) I know a lot of young guitar players who were thrown by Alex's solo... it's pretty unconventional for 1980. They'd usually just shred their way through it and not even try to tackle the wacky pitch-bending bits. And lastly, Neil's lyrics were pitch perfect for where my head was at as a teenager. What a great fucking song.
If you go back and watch live performances of this song pay attention to the crowd during the solo section. Everyone would raise their arms over their heads with flat hands and bow down repeatedly to them in homage to their musicianship as if they were deities.
This is a banger!!!
This comment especially represents La Villa Strangiato but represents ALL THINGS: RUSH!!! Actually this sounds like a presentation that Alex, Geddy, and Neil decided to play as a group for their PHD IN MUSICOLOGY! Afterwards their independent professors would all say in unison: THREE KINGS 👑👑👑OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK!!!
Great reaction , jacob’s ladder is really fun , it’s well partitioned and easy on the ear’s , you will like it .
The best live version is from Exit Stage Left.
Almost every song on ESL is better than original IMO. Spirit of Radio and Tom Sawyer are the only ones that aren't but only by a fraction.
For me, the change from Hemispheres to Permanent Waves is like the development of Genesis from Selling England by the Pound to A Trick of the Tail - they keep the musicality and creative composition, but they don't try to pack so many ideas into a single song. One approach is not necessarily better than the other - in fact I probably lean more towards the "kitchen sink" approach - but there's no doubting which is an easier sell commercially!
As you say, a fantastic one-two punch to open the album.
I think the last time Geddy could flawlessly hit them high notes @5:27 was their rush in rio tour 🤣(count down to Test for echo album 🤣🕐)
No he could still easily hit highs for more years to come but chose not to
textbook classic RUSH
Crazy proggy song.... still has a great melody and a hooky chorus, though. Rush were great at that. And they were the absolute masters of transition.
In high school, these were the lyrics that you showed to your English teacher.
That album cover is a shot from Galveston, Tx after a hurricane (but not, as rumor has it the great storm of 1900; a later one). Hugh Syme did that artwork (as he did for most all Rush album covers). They same guy that played keys on different strings.
Yeah man, these first 2 "radio hits" are hard to beat, along with Tom Sawyer. I regret that I only followed Rush casually, until recently. But this album I've had for many years.
Just love this song!! I’m adding “Entre Nous” to the list of the songs I think you’ll like the best. I think you’ll say “Jacobs Ladder” is just “good”! We’ll see! Be well and God bless.. from Texas!!
Great little song, Entre Nous 👌
Entre Nous is one their best. The lyrics have so much meaning.
I love Jacobs Ladder.
@@joemichaud1455 they really do!
@@lindapryor3747 I do too… I’m just trying to predict what he’s going to like… LOL! I was right about him not liking Cinderella Man and liking Madrigal, so I thought I’d see if I was right again! Be well, my friend!
Please Sir. May I have another?
Love that song. Hope you have time for a little analysis on the songs you have not heard.
See you tomorrow.
Like Spirit of Radio, Freewill, was also a mainstream radio hit and a concert staple. SOR was played on every tour since its release and Freewill was played on every other tour or so. Last played live on Time Machine Tour in 2010. While I'm slightly tired of hearing SOR, I never get tired of hearing Freewill and think the solo is one of Alex's best. The high note Geddy hits at the end is probably the last time he hit a note that high on a recording. Interestingly these first two songs were concert staples and the rest of the songs on PW were rarely played live (in the case of Different Strings - never played live). It's too bad since this is my top 3 Rush albums.
Love your channel. Love Rush. FYI- your audio quality of the music gets muffled when you talk.
Alex definitely does some of his best playing in that instrumental section. From angst--laden discordant notes to shredding to his own blend of chords and lead that screams out in existential crisis, he does an amazing job (all while Geddy and Neil add in their own epic performances). I don't connect with this song emotionally as much as most fans though because the lyrics feel a bit preachy to me (though Neil does have some thought--provoking gems in there) and I think I'd like them to be a bit more subtle. But my issues are minor and there's so many cool things in that song that those nitpicks I have don't count much.
Not preachy to me. The exact message we need right now considering "Christian" Fascists are currently OK with destroying democracy and truth in order to impose their fake beliefs on the rest of America. I have never had a problem with people worshiping as they choose, but it crosses a dangerous line when those same fanatics try to take over Government to FORCE their beliefs on everybody else. People that don't believe in God or the Bible have opinions just as valid as those who do. Peart writes extensively in his recent books about the rise of Christian racism and fascism and the hate/cruelty that goes along with these so-called "Christians".
@@carlgibbons5777 Hey, full bleeding heart liberal here, so I agree that all this Christian fascist stuff is crap. I'm actually a practicing Catholic (and gay too. Met my partner at a gay pot-luck social hosted by the local Catholic parish, which blows people's minds), so I do have my own beliefs.... but they're MINE and I have no business pushing them off on anyone. I said the song sounded preachy to me because it kind of does. I went a bit further by explaining that I'd prefer something less "in your face" and with a bit more subtlety or nuance. Just my own feelings though. And keep in mind I never said I disagree with the message. :)
Jacobs ladder is not the kind of song you forget!
Justin out of all the reaction people that are doing these videos your actually the only one to figure out that geddy lee is the lead. alex is always following him except for his solos which are the best. The best part about alexs guitar solo that he switches back from lead to rhythm twice hes the best. enjoy your reactions
In my top 5 😁😄
In some ways these songs are actually more complex and challenging than the songs on Hemispheres. I really like Hemispheres, but I mean look at all the time signatures they employ on this song alone. The solo instrumental section was pure fusion. This album is probably my favorite of theirs and depending on my mood I sometimes prefer it over Moving Pictures just because the first side of that one has been so overplayed.
Look at how long it took them to reach this level of song writing matched with such advanced technique. It wouldn’t happen that way today. It used to be that bands were more nurtured and given a little more time to develop in the 1970s which became more and more rare as time went on, although Rush came very close to not making it at all during this very same time period and that really would of been a shame of course.
If I could sum up this song in one word it would be, tight.
It's still hard to believe this is from 1980, and not like 1975! Lol!
The production and style sounds much more early 80's than mid 70's though
I think in a way this was a "breakout" album, commercially at least. Most of their earlier albums were more like benchmarks. This one is more concise and accessible.
This rush is more accessible and mainstream
I was waiting for your reaction to Spirit of Radio to suggest this but I missed it. It's time for you to take a break from your chronological reviews for a brief moment atnd react to Rush live, "Greatist. Intro Ever". You couldn't be better primed for it right noe. I meant to say now but I think you noe what I mean. 😜
How many years I spent pursuing that D chord sound at 02:39...
Best song in the universe? James Webb update pending! There's a great Rush Lyric video channel worth checking...Neil's words on a black screen...your mind will create all the visuals needed 😁 great album 👍🤟🤟🤟
All you gotta do Is listen to It again... and again... and again... You get the picture, right?
❤ ❤... ❤
But nowadays, of course, there's many a 'determinist' biologist will happily explain that there's no such thing as freewill.
Great reaction but Man are you listening to this on an old potato? It sounds bitty as hell! If you want I’ll send you lossless flacs of the Rush albums so you can listen in high quality !