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Xanadu (Rush Song)
"Xanadu" is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush from their 1977 album ''A Farewell to Kings''. It is approximately eleven minutes long, beginning with a five-minute-long instrumental section before transitioning to a narrative written by Neil Peart, which in turn was inspired by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem ''Kubla Khan''. Lyrics In Peart's lyrics, the narrator describes searching for a place called "Xanadu" that will grant him immortality. After succeeding in this quest, a thousand years pass, and the narrator is left "waiting for the world to end", describing himself as "a mad immortal man". The song is based on the poem ''Kubla Khan'' written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Although the song does not explicitly state where "Xanadu" is, references to ''Kubla Khan'' imply that it is a mythical place based on Shangdu, the historical summer capital of the Mongol Empire. Music "Xanadu" is the first Rush song in which synthesizers play an integral part. Unlike the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rush (band)
Rush was a Canadian rock music, rock band formed in Toronto in 1968 that consisted primarily of Geddy Lee (vocals, bass, keyboards), Alex Lifeson (guitars) and Neil Peart (drums, percussion). The band's original line-up consisted of Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bassist and vocalist Jeff Jones (bassist), Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through a few line-up changes before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their Rush (Rush album), self-titled debut album; this line-up remained unchanged for the remainder of the band's career. Rush first achieved moderate success with their second album, ''Fly by Night (album), Fly by Night'' (1975). The commercial failure of their next album ''Caress of Steel'', released seven months after ''Fly by Night'', resulted in the band nearly getting dropped from their then-record label Mercury Records. Rus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caress Of Steel
''Caress of Steel'' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was recorded immediately after the band concluded touring in support of their previous album, '' Fly By Night'', and marked a development in the group's sound, moving from the blues-based hard rock style of their debut towards progressive rock. ''Caress of Steel'' is considered Rush's first progressive rock album. Songs such as "The Necromancer" furthered Rush's advancement into narrative-driven, fantasy-based compositions, while "The Fountain of Lamneth" was their first prog-rock "epic". Other tracks like "Bastille Day" and " Lakeside Park" became staples of the band's live setlists. Though the band members were initially proud of their work on ''Caress of Steel'', the album proved to be a commercial and critical low point for Rush as the album's darker sound and fantastical compositions failed to find an audience and confused some of the band's peer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roll The Bones Tour
The Roll the Bones Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their fourteenth studio album ''Roll the Bones''. Background The tour kicked off October 25, 1991 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario and culminated on June 28, 1992 at the World Music Theater in Tinley Park, Illinois, estimated to have performed to more than 960,000 fans. Guitarist Eric Johnson was the initial opening act in the autumn of 1991, following the band losing a Grammy nomination for " Where's My Thing?" to Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover". American rock band Primus were the opening act for Rush later on this tour when Johnson canceled his last two weeks on the first leg as an opening act, as well as Vinnie Moore and Mr. Big. Opening for the band's hometown show in Toronto, Ontario on December 16 was The Tragically Hip, which was set up as a benefit for United Way, alongside the Daily Bread Food Bank - in which the audience had donated fifty thousand pounds of food. The band included ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R40 Live Tour
The R40 Live Tour was the final concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush (band), Rush that commemorated the 40th anniversary of drummer Neil Peart joining the band in July 1974. The title hearkens back to Rush's 2004 R30: 30th Anniversary Tour that celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band. The tour grossed US$37.8 million, with 442,337 tickets sold at 35 concerts. Although the tour was shorter than many of Rush’s preceding tours, it was very successful in terms of average concert attendance and gross, which was 12,638 and US$1,080,000 respectively. The tour also saw more sellouts than any other Rush tour in recent memory. With 26 out of the 33 reported shows being sellouts, and the remaining 7 still over 90% capacity, the band felt a taste of their success from their prime years again. While their setlist was intended to represent their discography in reverse order, no songs from the EP ''Feedback (EP), Feedback'' (2004) or the albums ''Test for Echo'' (1996), ''Presto (albu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace Under Pressure (Rush Album)
''Grace Under Pressure'' is the tenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released April 12, 1984, on Anthem Records. After touring for the band's previous album, ''Signals'' (1982), came to an end in mid-1983, Rush started work on a follow-up in August. The band had decided not to work with longtime producer Terry Brown, who had collaborated with Rush since 1974. The new material accentuated the group's change in direction towards a synthesizer-oriented sound like its previous album. After some difficulty finding a suitable producer who could commit, the album was recorded with Peter Henderson. ''Grace Under Pressure'' reached number 4 in Canada, number 5 in the UK, and number 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200. It was certified platinum in the U.S. for selling one million copies. Background and recording In July 1983, Rush ended their 1982–1983 tour of North America and the UK in support of their previous album, ''Signals'' (1982). The group reconvened in m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wind Chimes
Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells, or other objects that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are suspended along with some type of weight or surface which the tubes or rods can strike when they or another wind-catching surface are blown by the natural movement of air outside. They are usually hung outside of a building or residence as a visual and aural garden ornament. Since the percussion instruments are struck according to the random effects of the wind blowing the chimes, wind chimes have been considered an example of chance-based music. The tubes or rods may sound either indistinct pitches, or fairly distinct pitches. Wind chimes that sound fairly distinct pitches can, through the chance movement of air, create simple songs or broken chords. __TOC__ History Ancient Rome Ancient Roman wind chimes, usually made of bronze, were called '' tintinnabula'' and were hung in gardens, courtyards, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glockenspiel is played by striking the bars with Percussion mallet, mallets, often made of a hard material such as metal or plastic. Its clear, high-pitched tone is often heard in Orchestra, orchestras, Concert band, wind ensembles, Marching band, marching bands, and in popular music. Terminology In German, a carillon is also called a , and in French, the glockenspiel is sometimes called a . It may also be called a () in French, although this term may sometimes be specifically reserved for the keyboard glockenspiel. In Italian, the term () is used. The glockenspiel is sometimes erroneously referred to as a xylophone. (The xylophone has wooden bars, unlike the glockenspiel which has metal bars.) The Pixiphone, a type of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell Tree
A bell tree, also known as tree bellsBeck, John. ''Encyclopedia of Percussion.'' Taylor and Francis, 1995. or Chinese bell tree (often confused with the mark tree), is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bowls. The bowls, placed on a vertical rod, are arranged roughly in order of pitch. The number of bowls can vary between approximately 14 and 28. An effective glissando is produced by sliding a triangle beater, a glockenspiel mallet, or a xylophone mallet down the length of the tree. The bells are usually pitched to microtonal intervals and do not represent any formal scale. When a glissando is played, the inexactness of the order of the bowls' pitch is unnoticeable, merely creating a fuller sound. The bell tree is often used to accentuate the start or end of passages of music with a "bright", "shimmer" effect, adding complexity. Chick Corea and his group Return To Forever occasionally used the bell tree (i.e. album '' Hymn of the Seventh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tubular Bells
Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the Percussion instrument, percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillons, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within an ensemble. Each bell (instrument), bell is a metal tube, in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Its standard range is C4–F5, though many professional instruments reach G5. Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are smaller and usually less expensive instruments. Studio chimes are similar in appearance to tubular bells, but each bell has a smaller diameter than the corresponding bell on tubular bells. Tubular bells are sometimes struck on the top edge of the tube with a rawhide (textile), rawhide- or plastic-headed hammer. Often, a sustain pedal will be attached to allow extended ringing of the bells. They can also be bowed at the bottom of the tube to produce a very loud, very high-pitche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temple Blocks
Temple blocks are a type of percussion instrument consisting of a set of woodblocks. It is descended from the muyu or wooden bell, an instrument originating from eastern Asia, where it is commonly used in religious ceremonies. Description It is a carved hollow wooden instrument with a large slit. In its traditional form, the muyu, the shape is somewhat bulbous like a bell, but modern instruments are often rectangular in shape. They are generally played in sets of four or more to give a variety of pitches, in which they are also known as "tone blocks". In Western music, they can be traced back to early jazz drummers where they were used as exotic instruments before being later adopted into widespread orchestral use. An updated version of the instrument made by Latin Percussion, known as "granite blocks", is made out of plastic rather than wood. The sound of temple blocks is similar to that of normal woodblocks, although temple blocks have a darker, more "hollow" timbre. In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manual (music)
The word "manual" is used instead of the word "keyboard" when referring to any hand-operated keyboard on a keyboard instrument that has a Pedal keyboard, pedalboard (a keyboard on which notes are played with the feet), such as an organ; or when referring to one of the keyboards on an instrument that has more than one hand-operated keyboard, such as a two- or three-manual harpsichord. (On instruments that have neither a pedalboard nor more than one hand-operated keyboard, the word "manual" is ''not'' a synonym for "keyboard".) Music written to be played only on the manuals (and not using the pedals) can be designated by the word manualiter (first attested in 1511, but particularly common in the 17th and 18th centuries). Overview Organs and synthesizers can, and usually do, have more than one manual; most home instruments have two manuals, while most larger organs have two or three. Elaborate pipe organs and theater organs can have four or more manuals. The manuals are set into th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedal Keyboard
A pedalboard (also called a pedal keyboard, pedal clavier, or, with electronic instruments, a bass pedalboard) is a musical keyboard, keyboard played with the feet that is usually used to produce the low-pitched bass line of a piece of music. A pedalboard has long, narrow lever-style keys laid out in the same semitone scalar pattern as a Musical keyboard, manual keyboard, with longer keys for C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, and shorter, raised keys for C, D, F, G and A. Training in pedal technique is part of standard organ pedagogy in church music and art music. Pedalboards are found at the base of the organ console, console of most pipe organs, pedal pianos, theatre organs, and electronic organs. Standalone pedalboards such as the 1970s-era Moog Taurus bass pedals are occasionally used in progressive rock and fusion jazz, fusion music. In the 21st century, MIDI pedalboard controllers are used with synthesizers, Clonewheel organ, electronic Hammond-style organs, and with digital pipe org ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
