Rush’s Alex Lifeson names his five favourite albums of all time: “It doesn’t slap you, it caresses you”
Rush were a band with a gallery of influences as eclectic as the Natural History Museum. Just look at ‘The Spirit of Radio’; elements of about nine different genres are clobbered into the same four-minute song, not to mention the wavering music odditorium that is ‘2112’. In the studio, every band member brought along their own lunch, and together, they would make a buffet out of it, so to speak.
Alex Lifeson’s unmistakable sound is the very product of such eclectic influences. The guitarist seems to mix core blues tenets that the likes of John Mayall and Peter Green made soar in a rock ‘n’ roll fashion with a hefty glug of progressive Steve Hackett-like wizardry.
This level of innovation isn’t easy to come by in music, and that is mostly because it is exceedingly difficult to pull off. While many acts try to incorporate a smorgasbord of influences, Rush easily pulled off the task and never looked incoherent.
However, there are a few guitarists who have dabbled in complex, genre-less arrangements, one of them being Jeff Beck. Thus, it is perhaps no surprise to see Lifeson list his solo record Blow by Blow among his five essential albums in a Guitar Tricks Insider feature back in 2018. As he once said of his hero: “Jeff Beck has a tone like no one else, maybe because he doesn’t play with a pick very much.”
Continuing: “He also has a very strong left hand and can move the strings almost effortlessly. He’s still cranking it out today, but he doesn’t put out albums as often as I’d like; he works only when he feels like it.”
Following news of Beck’s death in 2023, Lifeson was at the front of the queue to pay tribute to one of his greatest heroes. The Rush guitarist wrote on Instagram: “There have been many brilliant guitarists over the past century but every million years or so, a genius comes along whose singular command of the instrument is so nuanced, natural and novel. Jeff Beck’s playing made me smile and made me cry and made me try to be a better player and most of all, made me and countless others seek the ultimate expression of who we are as players. Thank you, Jeff.”
However, Beck isn’t the only guitar virtuoso to make the list. Speaking about his idol Jimi Hendrix, Lifeson once said of his Bob Dylan cover ‘All Along The Watchtower’: “This is one of the most beautiful songs and arrangements ever recorded. Hendrix took a Bob Dylan folk song and turned it into a symphony. The acoustic guitar on this song [played by Dave Mason] has such beautiful compression.”
Adding: “It doesn’t slap you; it caresses you. This song grabs your heart and sails away with it; it sounds unlike anything anyone has ever done. That was the magic of Hendrix: even if you copied what he recorded and tried to play like him, it could never be the same.”
For Lifeson, Hendrix sits in a league of his own because of the evolution he oversaw of the instrument, which will likely never be seen again. Even more than 50 years on from his passing, the late American remains the first person most of upon being asked to name a guitarist, a feat that speaks volumes about his legacy.
Hendrix might be unrivalled, but he isn’t the only singular guitarist making the list. Steve Hackett is also largely inimitable with his wild style, and Lifeson is quick to recognise his innovation. “Steve Hackett is so articulate and melodic, precise and flowing,” he told Guitar magazine.
Adding: “I think our Caress of Steel period is when I was most influenced by him. There’s even a solo on that album which is almost a steal from his style of playing. It’s one of my favourites, called ‘No One at the Bridge’.”
While there are many differences in all of the five albums selected by Lifeson, they’ve each individually played a significant role in his life. Furthermore, he delicately blended these influences to create a new hybrid style with Rush, which made the Canadian prog-rock icons stand out in a crowded field.
Alex Lifeson’s five favourite albums:
- Electric Ladyland – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
- Blow by Blow – Jeff Beck
- Discipline – King Crimson
- Sounds [sic] Good To Me – Bill Bruford
- Voyage of the Acolyte – Steve Hackett
