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[Music] Rush

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by htwnbandit, Apr 8, 2014.

  1. htwnbandit

    htwnbandit Member

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    Just an open discussion on one of the greatest bands of all time, R U S H (sounds cooler when you spell it that way). If you are a fan, which if you're not it's because you haven't listened to them, list your general thoughts on their music. Favorite tracks? Albums? Era? Underrated songs? Been to any shows? Have any of their stuff? Where/when did you first hear them/what song? Here's my thoughts.

    First started getting into them last year around summer, got hooked ever since. I've since aquired their their discography from their debut to Power Windows. Anything after I just well didn't really like it all that much. Thoughts on each album:

    Rush (1973): Great album, definitely not the Rush they would become in subsequent albums. More of a hard rock/heavy metal type of deal than progressive, which there pretty much was none. Neil Peart had't joined yet, so the lyrics for the most part are all about having a good time (except "Working Man", working isn't fun.) Lee and Lifeson still handle the music, which even then was top notch. Not too many people go back this far, but they should. They won't regret it. Also, "Before and "After" is SO underrated. Definition of a hidden gem. So is "What You're Doing". 8.3/10

    Fly By Night (1974): Also a great album. With Neil Peart now in the band the lyrics begin to get more fantasy-like and the music begins to evolve to what it would become in later albums with the very progressive "By-Tor and the Snow Dog". It has the classics "Anthem" and "Fly By Night", which are great songs. "In the End", "Making Memories" and "Beneath, Between and Behind" are also great lesser-known tunes. 8.5/10

    Caress of Steel (1975): This album nearly killed Rush. Not a bad album but it did so poorly in terms of sales their subsequent tour nearly put them in debt with the lack of attendance. Not quite on the level of their first two albums either, with "Necromancer" being a 12-minute bore in my opinion. In its defense "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" are great tunes, and I really did enjoy the 19 minute epic "Fountain of Lamenth" that predates "2112", and wish they would revisit it in their shows, at least in a couple of parts.

    2112 (1976): Rush's breakthrough album and considered one of their masterpieces. Side 1 has the 21-minute epic title track, and side two has the more radio-friendly tracks. My guess is with the failure of Caress of Steel the record company wanted Rush to be more radio friendly, and this album compromised with them by having 1 progressive side and 1 radio side. "Passage to Bangkok" is the perennial favorite on this record, and "Tears" is the hidden gem on here, in my opinion.

    A Farewell to Kings (1977): Picking up from the success of the last album, the album features the progressive classic "Xanadu" and fan favorite "Closer to the Heart". The title track is one of my personal favorites, and one Rush NEEDS to bring back since dropping it in 1979. "Madrigal" and "Cinderella Man" are two neat low-profile songs and the last song "Cygnus X-1: The Voyage" closes out the album and bridges it to the next album, which opens with Part 2.

    Hemispheres (1978): Only four songs on this record, but all excellent tunes. The continuation of the "Cygnus X-1" saga continues with the title track "Cygnus X-1: Hemispheres" which is an excellent tune lasting 18 minutes, one of the last to go above the 10-minute mark. "The Trees" and "Circumstances" are both excellent songs and closes out with "La Villa Strangiato", a neat instrumental which obviously borrows from the Looney Tunes Acme Theme. For the record, I ALWAYS play AFTK and this back-to-back.

    Permanent Waves (1980): Released on January 1, it fittingly opened up the new decade with "The Spirit of Radio", a great tune that boasts the lyrics "Begin the day with a friendly voice..." It overall moved Rush to a more Radio-friendly sound as the opener suggests. This is the record that got me into Rush in the first place. "Freewill" has to be my favorite here, with "Entre Nous" and "Different Strings" being the underrated songs found on this album. Also, the cover was shot in Galveston. How freaking cool is that?

    Moving Pictures (1981): Released the following year, it continues with the mainstream appeal Rush had evolved to and features perhaps their most well known song "Tom Sawyer". My favorite tunes have to be "Red Barchetta" and "Limelight", as well as "The Camera Eye", the last song to go over 10 minutes to date. It also has the great instrumetal "YYZ". Every song on here is great, and is indeed my favorite Rush record.

    Signals (1982): Another great Rush record, it has the perennial Rush favorite "Subdivisions". "The Analog Kid" is a personal favorite, and "Countdown" features radio transmissions from the Houston Space Center which is always neat if you're from here.

    Grace Under Pressure (1984): Probably the last truly great Rush record in my opinion. It started the whole "synthrock" movement but still is in essence a hard rock album. I think Rush's total shift to synth-pop in "Power Windows" is what turned me off. Enough of that though. "Red Sector A" and "Distant Early Warning" are the two classics on this album, and "Afterimage" is an underrated tune as well.

    They also put out two live albums which I'll talk about briefly.

    All the World's a Stage (1976): Great live album, has songs from their debut till 2112. Highly recommended.

    Exit Stage Left (1981): Has songs up to Moving Pictures. Great showing, but it's missing "Limelight"!! Would've also loved to see live versions of "A Farewell to Kings" (which was dropped two years prior, shouldn't have though) and "Camera Eye" (which might've been to long anyway). No excuse for "Limelight" though, one of their biggest hits!!!

    I didn't expect to make a freaking blog/review type of thing but hey, those are my thoughts. Great band. Would like to see them live even though Geddy's voice just hasn't aged nearly as well as their music.
     
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  2. 111chase111

    111chase111 Contributing Member

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    You will find mixed reactions on Clutch Fans about Rush (but even the people that don't like them generally give them props for musicianship and being able to survive in the rock business without being cookie cutter).

    FYI, Alex Lifeson said that there may be a 41st anniversary tour in the works next year....
     
  3. Raven

    Raven Member

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    Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals was their peak, and Grace (my last Rush album) was a huge disappointment.

    I will come back later with a list of my 10 favorite Rush songs, because I know you guys are dying to know. :grin:

    And I think the biggest reason it was all downhill after Signals was they fired their longtime record producer. That resulted in ten years of synth rock which no one liked, and after that a "dark grunge type" period which reeked of desperation, after that they took an extended break, and then their current comeback/nostalgia phase.

    But I'd say the majority of their fans today would be perfectly happy listening to anything before Power Windows and not much else. Perhaps their synth rock period picked up newer younger fans, but I wonder how many of them stuck around? Probably most die hard fans are pre 85, I bet.
     
  4. Raven

    Raven Member

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    Here's my list:

    bastille bay - as close to punk as rush ever got
    a farewell to kings - minstrel rock, all the bands did it
    closer to the heart - first serious attempt at pop
    the trees - clever rant against the affirmative action
    spirit of the radio - second serious attempt at pop
    entre nous - great lyrics, fans love it, they never play it
    tom sawyer - biggest hit, don't be a joiner is the msg
    the camera eye - their last (and best) prog epic
    the analog kid - rush did many songs about angst, this is their best
    digital man - rush felt "a police sound" would help sell, i don't know about that, but it's a great song, arguably their last great song
     
  5. Torn n Frayed

    Torn n Frayed Member

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    The Trees>Xanadu>Jacobs Ladder>Natural Science>Camera Eye>2112>Farewell to Kings>By-Tor and the Snow Dog>Diadcts and Narpets>I Think I'm Going Bald.


    Best Rush Set-List. Ever.
     
  6. No Worries

    No Worries Contributing Member

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    First album for me was All the World's a Stage.

    Rush's peak was between 2112 and Signals.

    Rush's best album by far was Moving Pictures. I remember being completely blow away on the first listen.

    Next favorite albums are Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres.
     
  7. K mf G

    K mf G Contributing Member

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    i had a friend pass away a couple of years ago, and his favorite band was rush,
    i started listening to them about that time, i havent listened to enough of their music to critique but when working man comes on i feel it jams pretty good
     
  8. deadlybulb

    deadlybulb Contributing Member

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    To any Rush fans that were disappointed by Vapor Trails:

    If you haven't yet heard the Vapor Trails Remix, do yourself a favor and give this version a chance. Amazing album.

    I haven't gotten into Rush's later efforts until recently. I hadn't even heard the original mix for the album, so I'll just pretend that the remix is the only version. Based on what I've read, it's a huge improvement.

    Thanks for the head's up on the new tour. I will be attending. Clockwork Angels tour blew me away.
     
  9. Rashmon

    Rashmon Contributing Member

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    2112 for me with The Temples of Syrinx as my favorite song. High School class of '77 and we rocked 2112 while cruising the Sonic.
     
  10. Surfguy

    Surfguy Contributing Member

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    No comment on the nostalgia Rush fan thread other than I'm sorry none or most of you don't seem to appreciate or like any of their more recent works post-2000. You like old Rush but don't care for new Rush...which is fine. But, you really haven't kept up and to say they are a "great band" while only looking at their early history is not exactly a true statement. You would have to average all their works together and maybe, for you, the sum of all the parts only comes out to an "average band that produced great work way back when while maybe acknowledging they still have great musicianship (even if you don't like their newer music)". I think the proper term may be for some of you that they were a great band that lost you somewhere along the way. You will maybe go see the band live in concert to hear mainly hits while balking at the new stuff. There's nothing wrong with that. Rush fans have always been in different categories. It's just you don't fit the mold of a current Rush fan versus a nostalgia Rush fan. Given my love for the band, I kind of take some offense in that because you are basically saying all the new stuff sucks and isn't good enough for your Rush listening pleasure like the old stuff. Therefore, to state any preferences for newer material would be in vain in a thread like this. So, please, continue praising the earlier works while not acknowledging the second two-thirds of the bands works. lol. This is still a working band and they only go on because they enjoy making new music. And, if the new music they make has fans, then all the better. I'm not here to say a current Rush fan is better than a nostalgia Rush fan. I'm just saying a true Rush fan has evolved with the band and their music. Rush's musicianship has been a constantly evolving state and I appreciate the fans who have evolved with them along the way that the band hasn't lost more than the nostalgia fans that don't act like entire eras of music don't exist because they don't like any of it.
     
  11. Roc Paint

    Roc Paint Contributing Member

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    On my 10th birthday my mom took me to K-Mart to get anything I wanted with my 20.00, so I ended up with 2 vinyl records.

    1. "Back In Black"
    2. "Moving Pictures"

    Good Times...I remember plugging in my headphones and jamming out for hours.
     
  12. Torn n Frayed

    Torn n Frayed Member

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    QFT. I love the new stuff too, just thought a set full of longer stuff would be amazing to see since I was too young to catch those songs back in the day. The thing with this band is…they've always been a reflection of what is going on in music at the time, from early Prog to mid period no wave/Permanent Waves/to 90's grunge with Counterparts. Don't sleep on newer Rush!
     
  13. CrazyDave

    CrazyDave Contributing Member

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    Hard to pick a favorite, too many great moments on all the albums to definitively rank them, but Caress of Steel is one of my favorite albums of all time, and really like the Cygnus stuff spanning AFTK and Hemispheres.

    First heard them in junior high listening to a friend's brother's hemispheres album. We made fun of him since there was a naked dude on the cover, and promptly felt stupid once we realized how awesome it was. Been hooked ever since.
     
  14. Raven

    Raven Member

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    Name one post 85 Rush song that cracks their top 15? It's not insulting to say they peaked around Moving Pictures. Most bands and artist release their best work in their first ten years. Great band, glad they are hanging in there, but I'm glad I saw them live in 82 before half their set list was filed with bland synth rock like Mystic Rhythms, or corporate schlock like Time Stands Still, a song which came from a band who condemned that very type of song a few years earlier with Spirit of the Radio. Endless compromises, indeed.
     
  15. Surfguy

    Surfguy Contributing Member

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    The great thing about being a Rush fan is I don't have to care what you like any more than you have to care what I like because there is a lot of material to choose from. That's why it's not even worth debating the merits of the music. The only reason I would care is if we were in the same car trying to decide what we collectively wanted to listen to...and I'm sure we would land on something from on or before 1983 in most cases because there would always be at least one person in the car who couldn't go past "Moving Pictures". The heavy keyboard era was my least favorite era as well because it got in the way of the guitar. But, the post-2000 era...the guitar came back into the forefront while the keyboards took a back seat. Alex made up for it by layering some organic guitar parts. As far as "Clockwork Angels", it was a very busy sounding album (which could be construed by a casual listener as noise) given they had strings on a lot of songs and it was probably the most conceptualized album they've had since "2112". I do prefer the simpler sound of a three piece with not too much layering and heavy on the rock guitar parts in the forefront. In that sense, that does harp back to the older era, such as Moving Pictures. The keyboards should always serve as a background sound at a lower level imo...never in the forefront. In that sense, Alex let Geddy take over for too long with the keyboards which created the whole keyboard era. But, I can still appreciate the overall progression and evolution to where they are now. I have always been blinded by the guitar parts from Alex because, as a guitarist myself who only picked up the guitar because of Alex, that is what I fixate on, try to learn, etc. . But, when I want to wind down from a long day at work and want to rock out, I will throw on a song like "YYZ", "Freewill", "Spirit of Radio", "Tom Sawyer", and the like to play along with on my own guitar. I can also do the same with a newer song or even a song from the keyboard era...but inevitably I gravitate back to older material. But, I have an appreciation and respect for all the albums that got them where they are today. And, I think it is well-earned and deserved. I don't feel I have to cut it off at any certain year. I want to hear what they will produce next. I don't only want to hear old stuff that has been played ad nauseum.
     
  16. Raven

    Raven Member

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    Have you heard this "old stuff"?

    <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/d-4vsLucYzM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

    :)
     
  17. Torn n Frayed

    Torn n Frayed Member

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    I could never heard Closer to the Heart again and be totally ok with it, played out song is played out!
     
  18. htwnbandit

    htwnbandit Member

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    Lots of bands that I liked lost me along the way, unfortunately. Iron Maiden lost me after Fear of the Dark. Motley Crue lost me after Vince Neil left the first time in 1992. Guns n' Roses lost me after Slash and the other boys left and it was just Axl Rose. I could go on and on about band eras that I loved that unfortunately shifted away from the sound that I had become a fan of.
     
  19. basso

    basso Contributing Member
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    Tree-mendous post, thank you. Rush is one of those bands i somehow missed, didn't discover them soon enough, or came to them too late (like The Who), and never got it, other than The Trees, which remains a fave. i have friends, contemporaries, who think they're the greatest band ever.

    they might be right.

    one of the great things about the inter-tubes is we can go back in time, and discover what we missed.

    also, there's a lot of Rush available in hi res audio:

    http://www.hdtracks.com/music/artist/view/id/4000/
     
  20. Surfguy

    Surfguy Contributing Member

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    Those bands lost me along the way because they and I didn't age well together. ;)
     

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