Search - Victor :: Victor

Suprising, difficult and decidedly NOT Rush....

Kriselda Jarnsaxa | Kansas | 10/18/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll admit upfront that I am rather pre-disposed to like most anything Lifeson does - though not to the extent that I think he can do no wrong (see below). Still, its harder for him to disappointment me than many other musicians. That said, "Victor" is one of my favourite albums - though it's definately NOT what I had expected an Alex Lifeson solo project would sound like.



The album is, without a doubt, an experiment. Much has been said about the lyrics of some of the songs, especially "Don't Care", which, lyrically, *is* a very harsh and very crude song, and musically, is a harder-edged, more metal-like song than just about anything we've ever heard Lifeson do with Rush. When I first heard it, I found it almost shocking and very off-putting, but as I listened to the album more, it struck me more as almost a challenge to the listener - as if by leading off the album with this track Lifeson was trying to shatter any expectations one might have of what a Lifeson solo project should be like, so that you could then listen to the rest of the album without those pre-conceived notions and prejudices. Once I got past my initial reaction to it, it quickly became one of my favourites.



One thing that should be noted is that several of the songs on the album are clearly attempts by Lifeson to write from the viewpoint of someone *other* than himself. For example, "Start Today", sung by Lisa Dalbello, is written from a woman's point of view, and "The Big Dance" is from the point of view of a young gigolo. It gives the album the feeling that Lifeson was, in a sense, trying to get outside of his own head. This same sense exists in the music, also.



To make discussing the music a bit easier, I tend to think of it as having 3 different 'types' of songs - the two Instrumentals, the three "Weird Songs" and the rest of the songs which are pretty much balls-out rockers.



The Rockers and Instrumentals are, by far, my favourites. They feature some of the prog-rock tendencies you'd expect from a member of Rush, but, by-and-large, are much, much louder. They also seem to draw influences from heavy metal, grunge, hard alternative and those "hard to classify" bands such as Tool and Primus (the latter being understandable as Primus bassist Les Claypool provides the bass lines here, too.) And while Lifeson's lack of fondness for keyboards in Rush is well-known (something that came about mainly because for much of the late 80's and early 90's, keyboard threatened to overwhelm the guitar on Rush's albums), he obviously isn't entirely averse to them as there are some very tasty keyboards sprinkled throughout the album.



The Rockers are great fun, and Edwin, former vocalist for "I Mother Earth", is a perfect match for the mood, intensity and power of these songs. Likewise, the Instrumentals offer a great showcase for Lifeson's fretwork and have a real spark to them that makes them great for repeated listening. All of these tracks are filled with energy (though in some cases, its a very dark energy), and hold up well to repeated listens. "I Am the Spirit", "Mr. X" and "The Big Dance" are all standouts.



The "Weird Ones" are, by far, the MOST experimental of the album, and don't seem to succeed as well as the other tracks. Two of them, "At the End" and "Victor" are voiced by Lifeson himself, though neither is sung - they're both performed in a soft, spoken style (though Edwin does provide some moving, sung vocals at the end of "At the End"). This spoken style works best in "At the End", which is a very sad piece about an elderly widower who can't find any reason to keep living. Lifeson's soft, gentle voice allows the tragic nature of the situation to settle in more deeply than a stronger voice would. The song starts with some very atmospheric programming (done by Lifeson's son, Adrian Zivojinovich), and as it progresses, Lifeson brings in some building guitar lines that really emphasise the mood of the song. Of the three "Weird Ones" "At the End" is, by far, the best.



"Victor" is similar in style to "At the End", but is far less successful in its execution. The words for this track are taken from the W.H. Auden poem of the same name, and are about a man who falls in love and marries the woman of his dreams, only to discover that she had betrayed him and winds up killing her. The music for the song, however, doesn't quite manage to convey the sense of menace that it seems to be trying to create, and Lifeson's whispered vocals are a bit too light and too high-pitched for a song this dark.



Lastly, there's "Shut Up Shutting Up" which is an example of Lifeson's odd sense of humour. It's features some INCREDIBLE guitar work, but it's buried behind Lifeson's wife and her friend discussing their frustrations with their husbands. While some of the observations are funny the first time or two, the song does not stand up to repeated listenings. Its one time I wish I could find a way to remove the vocal layer, as it would make for a great instrumental track.



All-in-all, though, the album consistantly ranks among my favourites, and I haven't yet quit hoping for a follow-up someday."

Unique solo debut by Lifeson.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 03/23/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you were expecting a Rush sound on Alex Lifeson's solo album, you'll be sorely disappointed-- I know I was shocked when I first spun this CD nearly ten years ago now-- a loud, aggressive, angry sound emerges-- Lifeson's melodic playing was pushed aside for a muscular stance, and Edwin's vocal, a wailed, angry beast, countered Lifeson's guitar.



Now mind you, the entire record isn't quite like that, but my eyes popped out of my head. Still, having had time to evaluate the record for a long while since then, its not a bad attempt at a solo record, but ultimately its success is limited. Still, credit to Lifeson for choosing to pursue a direction well outside of the expectations of Rush's guitarist.



The main band on this album consists of Lifeson on guitars, bass, and synths, guitarist Bill Bell, drummer Blake Manning, and vocalist Edwin (of I Mother Earth). Together, this ensemble produces five songs (although Lisa Dalballo sings one of them) and further joins Lifeson and his son, Adrian Zivojinovich (programming) on two further tracks. The songs featuring the band are generally straightahead rock, with a decidingly alternative bent. Many of these songs sound quite a bit like material from "Counterparts" or "Test For Echo", but with a heavier bent and more guitar drive. Edwin's voice is night-and-day from Geddy Lee, which furthers the distinction (Dalballo sounds quite a bit like a young Lee at times, however). The material is reasonably successful, "Promise" is both the most straightforward of the songs and the most successful, with a great driving backbeat and killer riffing courtesy of Lifeson. "Sending a Warning" is also a great song, Edwin seems particularly vested in this one, the energy behind his vocal is stunning. The rest of the material is harder edged-- almost as if Rush had never abandoned their metal sound but sort of met the Melvins halfway instead. Its ok, but not spectacular.



Beyond this material, the two songs from Lifeson's son are a bit more interesting-- essentially Lifeson uses some programmed rhythms and synth sounds his son assembled and overdubbed his band. "At the End" is really interesting, a story of a man lost after his love's death, spoken by Lifeson and featuring some stunning, layered harmonies at the end.



Similar in tone to "At the End" is Lifeson's "Victor"-- setting Auden's poem to music, its another largely electronica piece with Lifeson doing a spoken word narration, he really captures the feel of the poem wonderfully, and this may be the most successful piece on the album.



There's also a pair of decent instrumentals that showcase Lifeson's guitar playing and feature rhythm section Peter Cardinali on bass and drummer Blake Manning, the second of these two, "Shut Up Shuttin' Up", features a bizarre spoken rambling by Lifeson's wife and her friend about habits their men have. As bizarre as it sounds (and as obnoxious as the guitar playing references are), the song is spectacular and Lifeson pulls all the stops on the guitar. One last piece is an instrumental duet between Lifeson and Bell ("Strip and Go Naked") that kind of plods and never really gets anywhere.



Overall, the album is decent, if not entirely satisfying. It has enough good stuff on it to make it worth tracking down, especially for a Rush fan."

An Accomplished Album of Hard Prog-Rock

D.A.Knight | Ontario, Canada | 09/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although this CD is the solo album by Alex Lifeson of Rush, it is nothing like that band's efforts. There is an even harder edged sound on Victor than Rush's Counterparts album, but like that album, the common theme is one of relationships."Start Today," with Lisa Dalbello, and "I Am The Spirit," with Edwin, formerly of I Mother Earth, have somewhat positive views of relationships, while the rest are fairly angry, or sombre. This leaves all interpretations of the album as a whole, with the listener. A concept album for a break-up or a mid-life crisis, if you will.Mrs. Lifeson handles the vocals on "Shut Up Shutting Up," as well as the lyrics it seems. The title track, puts the poem of the same name by W.H. Auden to atypically eerie music. "Strip And Go Naked," is my favourite instrumental from the album, with a hint of Celtic-influence, in a wash of keyboards, and some shredding guitar work.Not as deep as Peart, but a lot less pretentious for it. And certainly not so typically left-wing as some Toronto artistes!"