I was recording my Rush CD collection to my hard drive and in the process I saw in Window’s Media Player that John Michael Talbot has partial composer credit on the song Closer to the Heart.
2112 was a life-changing moment for me. Intelligent hard rock came to life. Although they aren’t my favorite band of all time, no other band has been as consistently pleasing for me, from By-Tor The Snow Dog to Red Barchetta to Analog Kid, there’s something for everyone.
I saw them last October in Atlanta after having missed the chance to see them when I was in high school 17 years ago. They did “The Temple of Syrinx” AND “By-Tor and the Snow Dog”! Alas, they did not sing “Closer to the Heart” or “The Trees.” They taped the concert in Rio, and it will be coming out on a 2-disc DVD set next month!
Wow – Jeff Miller is OLD! The 2112 tour – that was what? 1976?
Moving Pictures got me started on guitar and bass (and air drums, but having wrenched my neck once during a Rush tune, I rarely do that anymore).
Some friends and I saw them in Saint Louis during the Grace Under Pressure tour (1985?); one of my friends was shocked to see only three guys come out on stage. As we listened to the Moving Pictures 8-track (yes, 8-track) while cruising around in his old T-Bird, he thought there were a few more guys making all that sound.
Now I remember seeing the JMT credit; back then I had no idea who he was. Are there any stories about his collaboration on the tune?
Wait a minute – Jim Cork was in high school only 17 years ago? I graduated 19 years ago. Sigh.
Having heard, learned, and played (during my “liturgical guitarist” years – another story altogether) most of the tunes on JMT’s “Empty Canvas” cd which is all instrumental (classical guitar, cello, recorder, flute, etc), I can see a JMT influence on Closer To The Heart, particularly the introduction. It’s definitely his style.
From another closet Rush head going way back to the mid 70s… but they kind of lost me an album or two after Hemispheres.
Rush also got me interested in really playing guitar. What guitar player hasn’t played the opening riff to Fly by Night? But it’s like that with Rush. I can play the opening riff to many of the songs – The Trees, 2112, and I can nail the opener fret-tapping riff to Spirit of Radio – but I’ve never learned to play anything by them all the way through. A testament to the complexity of their music, or to my crappy abilities? Probably the latter.
I also play guitar and know many snippets of Rush songs, but not all the way through. And in my case it is definately in the area of crappy playing, but I do enjoy trying to play.
9 comments
2112 was a life-changing moment for me. Intelligent hard rock came to life. Although they aren’t my favorite band of all time, no other band has been as consistently pleasing for me, from By-Tor The Snow Dog to Red Barchetta to Analog Kid, there’s something for everyone.
I saw Rush do 2112 in concert when that record first came out. It was an excellent performance.
I saw them last October in Atlanta after having missed the chance to see them when I was in high school 17 years ago. They did “The Temple of Syrinx” AND “By-Tor and the Snow Dog”! Alas, they did not sing “Closer to the Heart” or “The Trees.” They taped the concert in Rio, and it will be coming out on a 2-disc DVD set next month!
Wow – Jeff Miller is OLD! The 2112 tour – that was what? 1976?
Moving Pictures got me started on guitar and bass (and air drums, but having wrenched my neck once during a Rush tune, I rarely do that anymore).
Some friends and I saw them in Saint Louis during the Grace Under Pressure tour (1985?); one of my friends was shocked to see only three guys come out on stage. As we listened to the Moving Pictures 8-track (yes, 8-track) while cruising around in his old T-Bird, he thought there were a few more guys making all that sound.
Now I remember seeing the JMT credit; back then I had no idea who he was. Are there any stories about his collaboration on the tune?
Wait a minute – Jim Cork was in high school only 17 years ago? I graduated 19 years ago. Sigh.
Having heard, learned, and played (during my “liturgical guitarist” years – another story altogether) most of the tunes on JMT’s “Empty Canvas” cd which is all instrumental (classical guitar, cello, recorder, flute, etc), I can see a JMT influence on Closer To The Heart, particularly the introduction. It’s definitely his style.
From another closet Rush head going way back to the mid 70s… but they kind of lost me an album or two after Hemispheres.
Rush also got me interested in really playing guitar. What guitar player hasn’t played the opening riff to Fly by Night? But it’s like that with Rush. I can play the opening riff to many of the songs – The Trees, 2112, and I can nail the opener fret-tapping riff to Spirit of Radio – but I’ve never learned to play anything by them all the way through. A testament to the complexity of their music, or to my crappy abilities? Probably the latter.
Barrister,
I also play guitar and know many snippets of Rush songs, but not all the way through. And in my case it is definately in the area of crappy playing, but I do enjoy trying to play.
Gee, a guitar playin’ maniac, too? If you smoke ceegars and drink single malt scotch, I might have to marry you.
Oops, that’s right. We’re Catholics, not Episcopalians.
More news on the DVD front… looks like the 3-hour concert will also be shown in theatres.