Favorite Ferrari Song ---- RUSH!!

Well, seeing as the lyrics also tell you that they'd passed a law against driving motor cars, and the cops are driving air cars which are so wide they take up two of the regular lanes, I think the intention is that the song takes place in a dystopic future. It's sort of a reflection back to the themes of their 2112 album.

 

It was only a matter of time before someone came in calling BS on the lyrics from a rock and roll song...

 

You HAVE a stereo in your Ferrari?

 

"You HAVE a stereo in your Ferrari?"

+1 Just about the first thing I did when I got my 308 was pull the radio out and put in a factory stereo delete panel. I couldn't hear it (or anything else) while the car is running anyway.

 

Shirley - Do you own a Ferrari
Miss Ferrari - Miss Ferrari

 

I've a great Alpine stereo in my Ferrari and I made sure it worked the day I bought the car 6 years ago. I still have no idea on how to turn the bloody thing on, I honestly have never, ever used it.

 

It's totally useless We've a Blaupunkt stereo, but we've never used it too.

 

Being a bass player, Getty Lee is one of my heros. I gotta agree ..this song always reminded me of a FERRARI ...what other car could he be possibly singing about?.

 

Barchetta, which meant "little boat", was a term used to describe sporting roadsters. The song doesn't specifically indicate a Ferrari, but it certainly fits. The concept is more to create an image of a fifty-year-old sports roadster. I usually think about the song when I'm driving my Signal Red '60 Triumph TR3.

The song was inspired by a piece called "A Nice Morning Drive" by Richard S. Foster.

By the way -- it's Geddy, not Getty. You'll be interested to know that his name is actually Gary (Gary Lee Weinrib.) Geddy comes from his Yiddish-speaking grandmother's pronounciation of Gary.

Yes, I was a big Rush fan in middle and high school. Saw them live on "Grace Under Pressure" ('84), "Power Windows" ('86) and "Presto" ('90 -- in Worcester, MA) tours. I even played Peart-esque drum solos in high school on a set that had a configuration way too similar.


Here's the Foster piece that inspired "Red Barchetta."

"A Nice Morning Drive" by Richard S. Foster
[ Taken from Road and Track -- November 1973, pp.148-150 ]

It was a fine morning in March 1982. The warm weather and clear sky gave promise of an early spring. Buzz had arisen early that morning, impatiently eaten breakfast and .gone to the garage. Opening the door, he saw the sunshine bounce off the gleaming hood of his 15 year-old MGB roadster. After carefully checking the fluid levels, tire pressures and ignition wires, Buzz slid behind the wheel and cranked the engine, which immediately fired to life. He thought happily of the next few hours he would spend with the car, but his happiness was clouded - it was not as easy as it used to be.

A dozen years ago things had begun changing. First there were a few modest safety and emission improvements required on new cars; gradually these became more comprehensive. The governmental requirements reached an adequate level, but they didn't stop; they continued and became more and more stringent. Now there were very few of the older models left, through natural deterioration and . . . other reasons.

The MG was warmed up now and Buzz left the garage, hoping that this early in the morning there would be no trouble. He kept an eye on the instruments as he made his way down into the valley. The valley roads were no longer used very much: the small farms were all owned by doctors and the roads were somewhat narrow for the MSVs (Modern Safety Vehicles).

The safety crusade had been well done at first. The few harebrained schemes were quickly ruled out and a sense of rationality developed. But in the late Seventies, with no major wars, cancer cured and social welfare straightened out. the politicians needed a new cause and once again they turned toward the automobile. The regulations concerning safety became tougher. Cars became larger, heavier, less efficient. They consumed gasoline so voraciously that the United States had had to become a major ally with the Arabian countries. The new cars were hard to stop or maneuver quickly. but they would save your life (usually) in a 5O-mph crash. With 200 million cars on the road, however, few people ever drove that fast anymore.

Buzz zipped quickly to the valley floor, dodging the frequent potholes which had developed from neglect of the seldom-used roads. The engine sounded spot-on and the entire car had a tight, good feeling about it. He negotiated several quick S-curves and reached 6000 in third gear before backing off for the next turn. He didn't worry about the police down here. No, not the cops . . .

Despite the extent of the safety program. it was essentially a good idea. But unforeseen complications had arisen. People became accustomed to cars which went undamaged in lO-mph collisions. They gave even less thought than before to the possibility of being injured in a crash. As a result, they tended to worry less about clearances and rights-of-way, so that the accident rate went up a steady six percent every year. But the damages and injuries actually decreased, so the government was happy, the insurance industry was happy and most of the car owners were happy. Most of the car owners-the owners of the non-MSV cars were kept busy dodging the less careful MSV drivers, and the result of this mismatch left very few of the older cars in existence. If they weren't crushed between two 6000-pound sleds on the highway they were quietly priced into the junkyard by the insurance peddlers. And worst of all, they became targets . . .

Buzz was well into his act now, speeding through the twisting valley roads with all the skill he could muster, to the extent that he had forgotten his earlier worries. Where the road was unbroken he would power around the turns in well controlled oversteer, and where the sections were potholed he saw them as devious chicanes to be mastered. He left the ground briefly going over one of the old wooden bridges and later ascertained that the MG would still hit 110 on the long stretch between the old Hanlin and Grove farms. He was just beginning to wind down when he saw it, there in his mirror, a late-model MSV with hand-painted designs covering most of its body (one of the few modifications allowed on post-1980 cars). Buzz hoped it was a tourist or a wayward driver who got lost looking for a gas station. But now the MSV driver had spotted the MG, and with a whoosh of a well muffled, well cleansed exhaust he started the chase . . .

It hadn't taken long for the less responsible element among drivers to discover that their new MSVs could inflict great damage on an older car and go unscathed themselves. As a result some drivers would go looking for the older cars in secluded areas, bounce them off the road or into a bridge abutment, and then speed off undamaged, relieved of whatever frustrations cause this kind of behavior. Police seldom patrolled these out-of-the-way places, their attentions being required more urgently elsewhere, and so it became a great sport for some drivers.

Buzz wasn't too worried yet. This had happened a few times before, and unless the MSV driver was an exceptionally good one, the MG could be called upon to elude the other driver without too much difficulty. Yet something bothered him about this gaudy MSV in his mirror, but what was it? Planning carefully, Buzz let the other driver catch up to within a dozen yards or so, and then suddenly shot off down a road to the right. The MSV driver stood on his brakes, skidding 400 feet down the road, made a lumbering U-turn and set off once again after the roadster. The MG had gained a quarter mile in this manner and Buzz was thankful for the radial tires and front and rear anti-roll bars he had put on the car a few years back. He was flying along the twisting road, downshifting, cornering, accelerating and all the while planning his route ahead. He was confident that if he couldn't outrun the MSV then he could at least hold it off for another hour or more, at which time the MSV would be quite low on gas. But what was it that kept bothering him about the other car?

They reached a straight section of the road and Buzz opened it up all the way and held it. The MSV was quite a way back but not so far that Buzz couldn't distinguish the tall antenna standing up from the back bumper. Antenna! Not police, but perhaps a Citizen's Band radio in the MSV? He quaked slightly and hoped it was not. The straight stretch was coming to an end now and Buzz put off braking to the last fraction of a second and then sped through a 75-mph right-hander, gaining ten more yards on the MSV. But less than a quarter mile ahead another huge MSV was slowly pulling across the road and to a stop. It was a CB set. The other driver had a cohort in the chase. Now Buzz was in trouble. He stayed on the gas until within a few hundred feet when he banked hard and feinted passing to the left. The MSV crawled in that direction and Buzz slipped by on the right. bouncing heavily over a stone on the shoulder. The two MSVs set off in hot pursuit, almost colliding in the process. Buzz turned right at the first crossroad and then made a quick left, hoping to be out of sight of his pursuers, and in fact he traveled several minutes before spotting one of them on the main road parallel to his lane. At the same time the other appeared in the mirror from around the last comer. By now they were beginning to climb the hills on the far side of the valley and Buzz pressed on for all he was worth, praying that the straining engine would stand up. He lost track of one MSV when the main road turned away, but could see the other one behind him on occasion. Climbing the old Monument Road, Buzz hoped to have time to get over the top and down the old dirt road to the right, which would be too narrow for his pursuers. Climbing, straining, the water temperature rising, using the entire road, flailing the shift lever back and forth from 3rd to 4th, not touching the brakes but scrubbing off the necessary speed in the corners, reaching the peak of the mountain where the lane to the old fire tower went off to the left . . . but coming up the other side of the hill was the second MSV he had lost track of! No time to get to his dirt road. He made a panicked turn left onto the fire tower road but spun on some loose gravel and struck a tree a glancing blow with his right fender. He came to a stop on the opposite side of the road. the engine stalled. Hurriedly he pushed the starter while the overheated engine slowly came back into life. He engaged 1st gear and sped off up the road, just as the first MSV turned the corner. Dazed though he was, Buzz had the advantage of a very narrow road lined on both sides with trees, and he made the most of it. The road twisted constantly and he stayed in 2nd with the engine between 5000 and 5500. The crash hadn't seemed to hurt anything and he was pulling away from the MSV. But to where? It hit him suddenly that the road dead-ended at the fire tower, no place to go but back . . .

Still he pushed on and at the top of the hill drove quickly to the far end of the clearing, turned the MG around and waited. The first MSV came flying into the clearing and aimed itself at the sitting MG. Buzz grabbed reverse gear, backed up slightly to feint, stopped, and then backed up at full speed. The MSV, expecting the MG to change direction, veered the wrong way and slid to a stop up against a tree. Buzz was off again, down the fire tower road, and the undamaged MSV set off in pursuit. Buzz's predicament was unenviable. He was going full tilt down the twisting blacktop with a solid MSV coming up at him. and an equally solid MSV coming down after him. On he went, however, braking hard before each turn and then accelerating back up to 45 in between. Coming down to a particularly tight turn, he saw the MSV coming around it from the other direction and stood on the brakes. The sudden extreme pressure in the brake lines was too much for the rear brake line which had been twisted somewhat in his spin, and it broke, robbing Buzz of his brakes. In sheer desperation he pulled the handbrake as tightly as it would go and rammed the gear lever into 1st, popping the clutch as he did so. The back end locked solid and broke away, spinning him off the side of the road and miraculously into some bushes, which brought the car to a halt. As he was collecting his senses, Buzz saw the two MSVs, unable to stop in time, ram each other head on at over 40 mph.

It was a long time before Buzz had the MG rebuilt to its original pristine condition of before the chase. It was an even longer time before he went back into the valley for a drive. Now it was only in the very early hours of the day when most people were still sleeping off the effects of the good life. And when he saw in the papers that the government would soon be requiring cars to be capable of withstanding 75-mph head on collisions, he stopped driving the MG altogether.

 

---> La Passione - Shirley Bassey and Chris Rea

 

That's really weird. Same here. I had a very similar drumset as well...I bought it from the same sales rep in Ft. Wayne that sold Peart his own drumset. I can't remember the name of the store. Saw them on the Signals tour and played a few solos for pep rallies in HS, too, based pretty much on the "Exit Stage Left" solo. ***kin brilliant drummer, probably the best ever in rock. Could mimic his drumming note for note, but it was hard. I could never get Cygnus X1 correct, though...that song was always a challenge. I still think "Hemispheres" was their best record.

RMX

RMX

 

OOOPPPS!

"Geddy" LOL

 

Thanks for digging that up!

Ok, as an MGB owner, now I'm calling BS

 

Well in my opinion the best music comes from the engine but Bochelli and a Ferrari motor do make great music together.

Also think Pink Floyd's Wish you were here might be great song for Ferrari motoring....perferrbaly played in a convertible.....

 

A pre-1975 MGB should have a very tight feeling and handle quite well. Remember, in the story, the car was completely restored. MGBs, being a unibody car, was quite tight -- especially compared to a Triumph TR with a X-braced frame.

The only seemingly impossible statement was the speeds the car hit in the story. An MGB can hit indicated speeds of above 100mph, but actual triple-digit speeds require extremely long, straight, flat (or downhill) roads...and overdrive helps. With a 1.8L engine producing 60-95hp (depending on year) and never weighing under 2000 pounds, the car had anemic acceleration and top-end performance compared to other British sports cars with more displacement.


And a note on drum solos -- I usually did a combination of YYZ/Exit Stage Left and Working Man/All the World's a Stage solos. I still have my cowbell tree. I should also give Bohnam a nod, since my senior year in high school I used a 360-degree set (with four bass drums) and looped the microphone on the rear set through a phaser, so I was able to work in a little Moby Dick. (I actually played the whole Moby Dick song with a couple of guys for the battle of the bands my junior year.)

 

I am also a huge Rush fan. I have seen them on every tour since Grace Under Pressure and even met Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson (also not his real name) backstage at the Palace at Auburn Hills in Michigan on the Presto tour. They are playing here in Phoenix in July and I have 3rd row seats.

If you've ever watched the video they show backstage when they play this song live, they show a red convertible going across the screen. I don't recall the exact make of the car by an older MG/Jag/Austin Healey are possbile. I'll have to watch some of my concert DVDs and see what it appears to be.

 

Many sources claim the song's title derived from the 166MM Barchetta.

 

Rush absolutely kicks ass. I love bands that have a unique sound -unlike many of the ****ty commercialized bands your hear on the radio now who are totally forgettable. 80's bands like Led Zep, Journey, AC/DC, Van Halen, Scorpions, the Police, Tom Petty, Duran Duran, English Beat, Depeche Mode have some timeless driving tunes. Earlier bands like the Doors, the Animals, Stones, Jimi Hendrix Experience, CSNY are still great for road trippin'.

Although, I will never forget when 'Frampton Comes Alive' was released. But one of my all-time favorite car references was Joe Walsh's:
"My Maserati does one eighty five, I lost my license, now I don't drive".

Great thread, PS: I know that I missed some killer bands above

 

Admit, I've not read the thread. But in this humble pilote's view there is but one. It's in the CD player all the time and when I park at showings I got the #%%^&** thing on replay . . . the theme from Top Gun:

Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins!

Crank it up, the foot gets heavy, and fly low! ZOOM, ZOOM!

 

Have you heard the B-52's "Devil In My Car"? Great music...kickass lyrics. Here's some of the words:

We're really tearin' tar.
We're goin' 90 miles an hour.
Ho! He's drivin' me crazy.
He's drivin' me to Hell now.

He's pointing his pitchfork at me.
He's in the front seat of my car!
He's taking over!
Oo, he ripped my upholstry.
He's at the wheel,
HELP! The devil's in my car.
HELP! He's drivin' too far.

I can't lock the door,
I can't put on my safety belt.
There's nothing for me to do but yell HELP!
Devil's in my car!

He's got his cloven hoof on the clutch.
Oh! Ow! I'm sitting on his tail.Oh-Ohh, I don't wanna go to Hell.

Freeway to Hell.
We're burning up the road.
Freeway to Hell. (Right through the tollbooth)
We're burning up the road.
Freeway to Hell. (Right through the guardrail)
We're burning up the road.
Freeway to Hell. (Across the median)
We're burning up the road.
Freeway to Hell. (Would you slow down?)
We're burning up the road.

I've got the devil juice in my CARburater!
I've got the devil in my cigarette lighter.
I don't need no battery (I got the devil in my car).

 

..... MMmmm I too am a big RUSH fan... even based in the uk (where they only tour occasionaly i have seen them about 8 times... and twice more this Autumn when they are back again....)
Neil used barchetta because it sounded more romantic than speedster or roadster, and it fitted in with the rest of the lyrics better...
As for ownership, Neil owned a Daytona in the late 70's but didnt get on terribly well with it as, 'after long periods of slumber whilst (he was) touring, it would never start and was dredfully unreliable and not particulary a good family car'
I believe it was traded for a Merc SL...
His current 'squeeze' is a Red BMW Z8 4.0.....

as for the other members of the band, i understand that Alex had a breif flirtation with a 308 at some point but airplanes took over as his thrill seeking requirements.. and Geddy, well aparently he likes old obscure european stuff.. but nothing too expensive.. but drives a non descript american car in normal life..

Favorite car song... Definatly Red Barchetta.... favorite driving song?.. well probably split between I Feel Free by Cream or Then by the Charletans... hunt them out put them on the CD and drive.... you'll soon see what i mean...

 

For me, Sammy Hagar's "I can't drive 55" has become meaningful since I read about his Ferraris and other regularly driven cars in his collection in the latest issue of Auto Aficionado.

 

+1