Alex Lifeson - La Villa Strangiato

Yes, those are two of Alex' very best performances.... Check out Greg Howe's take on La Villa too....

I used to love it when Lerxst shredded it up live on the intro LVS 
Shame his sausage fingers aren't up to it now 

Yeah and I am trying to think of all the ones, but can I say I am a big Rush junkie, although I did get 'lost' during the 80's with them. I did see them circa "All the Worlds a Stage" and I have to say, like you, I would relish the chance to catch them again - although 'Live in Rio' does its best.

OK. Thought about it now. There was a band in the 70's called Hookfoot, featuring a certain Caleb Quaye on guitar. I think he and rhythm section eventually went on to form the nucleus of Hall& Oates band in the seventies and early '80's for a time. Anyway, I had a double vinyl album by them that after the first couple of tracks I consigned as a waste of money impulse buy. I went back to it years later and found a track (amongst several other equally good ones) called 'Shoeshine Boy' where the a.m. Mr Quaye fair smokes his axe for about 11.5 minutes.

The moral of this story being, that actually listening, before judging really can pay dividends. Or maybe you're right, and it actually takes maturity as well. Now that you have caused me to ponder this question I see a trip to the cellar room coming to hear it again. Damn and blast.

Probably because he's never been a household name, like Clapton, Page, Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Blackmore etc, outside of Rush fandom.  Also, he was/is much more creative than he is usually given credit for, because his great strength isn't just in solos but in the way his chords and riffs and melodies complement the songs. 

I've been a fan of Rush since I first saw them live in 1978, and regard them as one of the top ten most original and creative rock bands in the world - and a lot of that creativity is down to Alex.

Marty