The Edge vs Lerxst

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LastEdgeOnEarth

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Let's face it, of the great veteran bands, who still gross big on tour, and are respected and worshipped guitar heroes(we can automatically leave Keith Richards of ths conversation), you're basically down to 2 men....

Dave "The Edge" Evans

and

Alex "Lerxst" Lifeson.

So who's better, Edge or Lifeson?

Playing wise, the advantage goes to Lifeson. His solo skills far outmatch Edge's.

Technical wise, it's close. Each is a sound innovator. The sonic's they have played with in their careers are both mind-boggling.

Showmanship...both are pretty focused on their work in concert, but I'd have to say Lifeson. He prances around a bit more and goofs off quite a bit with Peart and Geddy.

I'm still torn though. U2 is my fave band. Edge gives me chills. But Lifeson just blows me away more often than not. I guess I'm torn between my heart(Edge) and my brain(Lifeson).

I'd love to hear more comparisons, categories, or other players you have in mind....have at it...
 
edges contributions are and always will be more recognisable, popular and adored than that other dude. Thats a fact!

So certain are you?

Popular and adored, probably the edge goes to The Edge.

But again, for those that put their brain first, you might see Lifeson go down as the better guitarist.

As far as recognizable.... I have friends all the time mistake The Cure and Coldplay for The Edge all the time.
But when the sweet guitar of "Spirit of Radio" or "Limelight" comes on, their is NEVER any mistake. You know it's Lifeson.
 
Edge was actually an influence on Lifeson in the 80's, as was Andy summers.

Lifeson is an incredible guitarist, and has contributed many great sonic colors of his own. The negativity here comes from people dissing Rush as a band. I guarentee you if anyone heard Lifeson without knowing who he was playing by himself they'd enjoy it.
Especially Edge fans.

But I learned a long time ago not to talk about the technical side of music with U2 fans; they usually have no clue.
 
Edge was actually an influence on Lifeson in the 80's, as was Andy summers.

Lifeson is an incredible guitarist, and has contributed many great sonic colors of his own. The negativity here comes from people dissing Rush as a band. I guarentee you if anyone heard Lifeson without knowing who he was playing by himself they'd enjoy it.
Especially Edge fans.

But I learned a long time ago not to talk about the technical side of music with U2 fans; they usually have no clue.

Man you said it well.
 
So certain are you?

Popular and adored, probably the edge goes to The Edge.

By quite some distance, considering u2 have shifted about 4 times as many records!

But again, for those that put their brain first, you might see Lifeson go down as the better guitarist.

Better in what sense? Edge has the ability to put feeling into a song. Something I cant say about Rush's tunes Edge has been an innovator

As far as recognizable.... I have friends all the time mistake The Cure and Coldplay for The Edge all the time.
But when the sweet guitar of "Spirit of Radio" or "Limelight" comes on, their is NEVER any mistake. You know it's Lifeson.

Funnily enuff, I went to listen to Rush on youtube, and the song was "limelight" and it sounded like any number of guitarists i have hear over my near 40 yrs. Not one thing stood out as being original
:up::up::up:
 
Funnily enuff, I went to listen to Rush on youtube, and the song was "limelight" and it sounded like any number of guitarists i have hear over my near 40 yrs. Not one thing stood out as being original

Weak, gman. Lifeson's sound is A THOUSAND TIMES more distinctive than The Edge's. Maybe not so much on "limelight"(though it is to me- unmistakenbly), but c'mon....Lifeson's riffs are timeless and always recognizable.

Sound innovator has to go to Lifeson, I've concluded. He uses way more guitars and sound processors than The Edge, and could give him a week long clinic in tonality. I hear sounds similar to Edge all over the radio because he's not as hard to mimic. People try to copy Lifeson, but can't even come CLOSE!
 
I have NEVER heard of Lifeson before. I have never in my life heard him mentioned as an innovator (apart from by yourself). I cant say i have ever seen him in any guitar magazine for being innovative, yet Edge appears as regular as anyone does. Of he was as important and talented as you say, I am certain i would be aware of him.
I can accept There are certainly better guitarists than Edge out there, they are ten a penny tho....but more important or relevant or pioneering?? Not so plentiful!
 
I have NEVER heard of Lifeson before. I have never in my life heard him mentioned as an innovator (apart from by yourself). I cant say i have ever seen him in any guitar magazine for being innovative, yet Edge appears as regular as anyone does. Of he was as important and talented as you say, I am certain i would be aware of him.
I can accept There are certainly better guitarists than Edge out there, they are ten a penny tho....but more important or relevant or pioneering?? Not so plentiful!

How many guitar mags have you read? Just the ones Edge is in? Must be, because you obviously missed the hundreds Lifeson has been featured in.

Your unaware because you only listen to albums like "Boy" and "Achtung Baby".

Once you said, "I have NEVER heard of Lifeson" I lost ALL interest in talking anymore with you. Goodbye. And go HEAR of him. You need it.
 
OK folks...i got the measure of LastEdgeOnEarth. You HAVE to agree with him/her/ or they throw their toys out of the pram and get a wee bit aggitated

Ok...on behalf of the whole world....your right....ok?....He is the most important thing to happen to guitar since Leo Fender.......and Gilmour, Hendrix, Page, anyone you care to mention are pish compared to whatshisface...............feel better?
 
OK folks...i got the measure of LastEdgeOnEarth. You HAVE to agree with him/her/ or they throw their toys out of the pram and get a wee bit aggitated

Ok...on behalf of the whole world....your right....ok?....He is the most important thing to happen to guitar since Leo Fender.......and Gilmour, Hendrix, Page, anyone you care to mention are pish compared to whatshisface...............feel better?

Agreed with you mate. There's no use argueing. This guy just seemed to have started the topic to stroke his own ego. Pity that we don't all agreed with him right away.
 
I didn't even know who this guy was until you mentioned Peart.

Why do people insist that Rush is ever worth listening to?


I didn't even know who he was then. :reject: :lol:

I have heard of Rush, and I have heard some of their songs. Never did much for me though. Each to his/her own. :shrug:
 
According to who? YOU?

Doesn't matter. This thread ain't about Rush or U2.

It's about who's the better guitar player...Edge or Lifeson?

If you don't have anyting to add to that topic, BUZZ OFF!

Rush are technically great players, so as far as the technical side, yes he's a better guitarist, but beyond the technical Edge wins by miles.

Rush was once a great band but now it's just Rush by numbers they haven't had any relevance with anyone except their base in a long time.
 
I've never heard a Rush song.

All I've ever heard about Rush was negative. I think I'll pass.

I'm not going to make a statement like, "I've never heard this guy, but Edge MUST be better!" because that would just be ignorant.
 
BTW, "your" music stinks.

Funny thing is, I didn't even bother to listen. I know it because you just said Rush has been insignicant since '91, while in fact their last 2 albums have been some of their best work to date.

Who's close-minded now?

This doesn't even make sense. You start with personal attacks and then go on to say you didn't even bother to listen because I think one band has lost it's relevance.

Calm down, personal attacks because someone doesn't agree one of your favorite bands is relevant anymore is just childish...
 
Weak, gman. Lifeson's sound is A THOUSAND TIMES more distinctive than The Edge's. Maybe not so much on "limelight"(though it is to me- unmistakenbly), but c'mon....Lifeson's riffs are timeless and always recognizable.

Sound innovator has to go to Lifeson, I've concluded. He uses way more guitars and sound processors than The Edge, and could give him a week long clinic in tonality. I hear sounds similar to Edge all over the radio because he's not as hard to mimic. People try to copy Lifeson, but can't even come CLOSE!

I listen to Rush sometimes, and I"m pretty familiar with them. But c'mon...more recognizable than the Edge? And that last sentence, "people try to copy Lifeson, but can't even come CLOSE!" ........if anything, Edge is the harder guitar player to mimic....it's harder to get his sound, and once you do, it's harder to play like the Edge...I think Lifeson can definitely outsolo the Edge as he is a more technical player and "shreds" more than the Edge, but Edge is the far more significant guitar player. This basically comes down to a technical vs. emotional preference. Personally, I'd take Edge anyday. Lifeson gets boring, and to be honest he doesn't really stand out that much at all compared to the Edge. Songs like "Spirit of the Radio"....sure, most people are going to know that's Lifeson the second the song starts...but I could say this for countless U2 songs. Lifeson has his moments of magic, but Edge gives me chills like no other guitar player in the world, past and present. I say Edge. :shrug:
 
:lock: :lock: :lock:

Without objective debate, and the immediate descension into name-calling within this thread, it's worth nothing apart from either being locked or spammed by those who know how to do it well until it gets locked.

(for the record, I have no idea who Rush or Lifeson are, but I oftentimes prefer players like, say, Summers or Knopfler over the Edge for certain guitar-related abilities)
 
I listened to quite a bit of Rush back in the day, but it's really not my thing these days. But I always respected Alex Lifeson's contribution to that group. He's definitely another thinking man's guitarist - as is the Edge.

And because both are more intellectual than the typical Guitar Hero, a biggest, uh, pick contest between the two seems pretty pointless.
 
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