Tune Tag #35 with Alexander Hellene of A. Hellene Author: Rush, Faith No More, Genesis, King Crimson, Sting, Frank Zappa
A Tune Tag with a decided prog lean? Yes, please! With wicked guitar solo, extended drum passage, and epic story-telling on the side!
Yo, Alexander!
TAG! YOU’RE IT!
Tune Tag welcomes
, creator of A. Hellene Author Substack!He’s an accomplished published author, as well, and his books can be found on Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Alexander-Hellene/author/B07L9DKVPC.
Alexander is a Renaissance man or a dilettante, depending on who you ask. A New York Times-quoted writer (for what it’s worth), Alexander is also a musician and a law school graduate (for what it’s worth), author of the sci-fi/sword-and-planet trilogy The Swordbringer, the urban fantasy A Traitor to Dreams, and several short stories he posts on his Substack.
On the non-fiction front, Dreamers & Misfits: The Definitive Book about Rush Fans, where he got to interview, among other luminaries, Donna Halper, who helped break Rush in the U.S. Other interests include history, poetry, fitness, religion, old video games, sports, and general mischief. He lives in New England with his family.
📅Last week’s Tune Tag:
📣Next week, enjoy the unique Tune Tag stylings of Tales & Rants content creator,
, a self-described crooner and curator!
Alexander’s Song #1 sent to Brad: Rush, “Bravado,” 1991
Alexander’s rationale: This song showcases that, for all of their instrumental prowess and long, conceptual pieces, Rush could write great songs as well. The lyrics here are universal enough to resonate with any listener who feels they have reached for the stars and fallen far short, for every daredevil who rues what they might have lost in pursuing their vision, but also mine a familiar Neil Peart territory as this concept relates to his personal life (see “Presto,” “Mission,” “The Color of Right,” and “Time Stand Still” for other examples).
Lastly, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson has a wonderful knack of writing music that perfectly fit Peart’s lyrics as though they wrote together, which they didn’t. And that guitar solo . . .
Brad’s Song #1 sent to Alexander: Spin 1ne 2wo, “Reelin’ in the Years,” 1993
Alexander’s response: This features, among others, the late, great Rupert Hine (1947-2020) on keyboards, backing vocals, and production. Hine, of course, produced the album from which my song #1 came, Rush’s 1991 Roll the Bones. Hine also produced (with the band) Rush’s 1989 “return to rock,” Presto.
I’ve always liked “Reelin’ In the Years,” being a medium-sized Steely Dan fan, though the verse lyrics to the song always came off to me as “douchey,” for lack of a better word. Still, I like this version! It’s well played, the drums definitely remind me of how Hine mic’d up Rush’s Neil Peart’s kit, and Phil Palmer’s guitar tone is great.
For “medium-sized” (and above) fans, FR&B recently drilled deep into the pre-Dan ‘60s Bard College and staff-songwriting career of Becker and Fagen, here:
Brad’s rationale: Rupert Hine produced the Rush album, Roll the Bones in 1991. He also produced his own group’s Spin 1ne 2wo’s 1993 self-titled album on Columbia (worldwide, but curiously, not in America). The great Paul Carrack is on lead vocals.
Alexander’s song #2: King Crimson, “Elephant Talk,” 1981 (Discipline album)
Brad’s response: Tony Levin! Levin played bass (and Chapman Stick; Tony and Stick shown above) for Spin 1ne 2wo and for King Crimson. Boston native, Levin, was a member of the 1981-1984 and 1994-1996 iterations of King Crimson, and has rejoined the band following the departure of Trey Gunn.
Alexander’s rationale: Sending back a Steely Dan song would be too obvious, so I was thinking about something from one of Donald Fagen’s solo albums; the song “I.G.Y.” came to mind because I really like those lyrics. But Spin 1ne 2wo also featured Tony Levin on bass!
As a fellow New Englander, and fellow bass player, I used this as an excuse to share some King Crimson from my favorite era of theirs, featuring former Zappa and Bowie alum, Adrian Belew, on guitars, along with KC maestro Robert Fripp, and the mighty Bill Bruford on drums!
Brad’s Song #2: Genesis, “Los Endos,” 1976 Lamb tour
Alexander’s response: What a great song by a great band! People forget how fantastic Genesis was back in the day, even after Peter Gabriel left…and, how great a drummer Phil Collins was. And speaking of drummers, who is this I see? Bill Bruford? Nice!
“Los Endos” is an epic instrumental that definitely has a “movie credits” feeling. I love Tony Banks’ keyboard sounds, and Steve Hackett makes the guitar do cool things. I also always appreciated tall guy Mike Rutherford’s bass playing, but here he’s rocking the double-neck 6- and 12-string guitar. I like how the song bounces between the linear main theme and some more spacious, almost Pink Floyd-esque sections, before a smashing ending stomp that would make ‘70s Rush proud!
Brad’s rationale: Genesis, with former King Crimson drummer, Bruford, the first to rescue Phil out from behind the kit, so he could come out front to sing, following Gabriel’s recent exit to go solo. The band would later hire another Zappa alum, Chester Thompson, as their eventual decades-long touring drummer. To see Phil get behind his kit to do occasional drum duets with Thompson during shows was nothing short of breathtaking and exhilarating.
Genesis is proudly featured prominently on FR&B pages:
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