Been enjoying Envy of None which I never thought i wqould judging by the early song releases so thought I would give Victor another spin which I hadn't listedned to for ages and have say now enjoying this much more than I remember..
Was in Tower Records in London in 96 when I came across this.. the cover looked like Alex Lifeson but nothing on the CD to make a definite ID... just Victor..
Anyway a nice departure from Rush with this album.. quite dark themes, dark lyrics and guitar right in your face from the off... some wonderful solos in some of the tracks Shut Up Shuttin' Up, Strip and Go Naked.
Plenty of synthy stuff going on particularly with the title track and At The end and big Al doing some talking/singing kinda stuff....
A wonderful melange of tracks on this album..its def. worth checking out
Enjoyed it apart from that dreadful talking track.
not a fan
The interesting thing about Victor for me is that the production and arrangements are more interesting and accomplished than any Rush album had been since Hold Your Fire, or possibly ever. It's really beautifully done. The compositions are very strong, too. I was working in the City and I phoned up the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street on the release day, to see if they had it. They did so I hopped on the Central Line to go and pick it up.
Gorgeous record and by a long way the best album Alex had been involved in for years. I don't think he ever did anything quite so strong again frankly. Maybe Clockwork Angels runs it close.
I walked in to a charity shop a few years ago to look at the CDs and there is was right in front of me "Victor" a whole £1. Makes a change from the boyzone albums, cliffs greatest shits, club hits from 00, CrapOasis and The Times Beethoven's classics.
Very good album indeed.
Some of Alex's very finest guitar work is on this album; simple as that.
That scooped, sustained note around the start of the solo on Start Today is absolutely spine-tingling for me every single time; how do you make one note so astoundingly perfect?! Its gob-smacking.
Some truly corking songs and instrumentals on this, ending on a real zinger with I Am The Spirit, which contains another utterly sublime guitar solo.
The tracks with the spoken vocals I'd agree aren't half as strong as the others, with the exception of Shut Up Shuttin' Up - this is a blast, and elevated by yet more brilliant, tasty, beautifully constructed lead playing.
Terrific stuff.
On a positive note, it does sound a world away from VT/SnA, which makes me truly wonder who actually wrote those album songs in the end