Moving pics...duh...song for song...their strongest effort...opening of 2112 is impressive...the rest, meh....Fly by night is pretty good...
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Always liked Rush since I was, oh, 10 years old (?). Used to hear my older brother listening to them. Anyhow, I was at RMAF this year listening to Rush on the MBL system with a Reel to Reel. I sat in the sweet spot while listening to Tom Sawyer from start to finish. You were not prying me out of that seat for nothing and let me tell you, I have never heard anything like it. The dynamics, imaging and synths were downright incredible :-) |
I love Rush. Listened to them to death about 10 years ago. All rushed out now. Did go to one concert of theirs. None of their new stuff ever grabbed me to much however. They are extremely talented (understatement). But I honestly think they need to ditch Geddy for vocals. His voice is just horrid these days. It's hard to listen to. I really think they could pull off a new renaissance if they got a new singer. |
Cerrot you made the point part of their demise was commercialisation and I repeat the last two albums aren't in the slightest commercial. Personally I think within the Rush canon they are decent and overrated by some fans but they are actually better than most of the material produced post 80's. The big news for you is that I cannot think of a single artist who's output at age 50 plus has bettered their classic era......not one....can you name one? It's a spiteful, petty and ill thought out stance. |
To me, the band is not even close to what they were prior to Permanent Waves. To me, they have done nothing as good as their first few albums in the dozen or so since. 2112 is what I measure them by. Farewll to Kings is another bar I use and, again, to me, all later offerings are very distant to these GREAT works. Ben, your comment "both albums are decent" is not something that was reflective of the band in its earlier days. Their albums were incredible, extraordinary, off the planet. They were never "decent". I have no interest to ever listen to anything "decent' by Rush. If three of the most incredible musicians in the world cannot come up with anything better than "decent", I will keep playing the old stuff. |
Cerrot's post is harsh and actually mainly incorrect. Yes I'd agree CA is overrated I though Snakes was probably just as good but both albums are decent. The main point though is they are not commercial records-elements of Rush's early 80's output had much more of a commercial influence-the new stuff hasn't indeed it's pretty much what the hardcore would want to hear. I didn't like the last tour as much but they are doing very good shows and I have seen a lot of shows since '79. But above all what were the band supposed to do? The stuff that is classic is still there in your collection probably nobody in the rock era has surpassed their earlier output when in their 50's or 60's....some great albums have been made by Dylan, Springsteen et al BUT they have not overshadowed their earlier output. Oh and the washing machines were f&*king brilliant...:-) |
I was at the Madison Sq. Garden show last night. Once again the band performed beyond all expectations. This was my 17th time and left 100% satisfied. Spent pre-show at a favorite spot in Penn. Sta where they play the nights headliner right up until show time. 8th row center with my brother listening to Moving Pictures in its entirety was a special time that I will never forget.... |
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I love "Vapor Trails". Sure it sounds like crap, but there are some pretty awesome tunes on it. To come back like that after a 5-year hiatus, man that was a powerful statement to make. I remember seeing that particular tour at two different venues and they rocked the house on both occasions. The Philly show was amazing, but the cheesesteak sandwiches are vastly overrated. I have all their albums from "A Farewell to Kings" to the present with a few exceptions. While some of their later albums were flat in terms of material, as long as I get one song out of each one I feel fine making the purchase. They deserve my support. The first time I heard them was when a friend recorded the "YYZ" drum solo from the radio. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Then I purchased "Moving Pictures" and it was a wrap-Rush fan for life. |
2112 was my intro to Rush. Then I bought all their records back from that point: Caress Of Steel; Fly By Night. I didn't get their debut until many decades later (of which I paid $3 for used and cleaned up very nicely sounding killer). I grew up 90 miles south of the Montreal Forum. Where I saw Rush play several times in the mid to late'70's and it all started with 2112. I gave up on Rush after MOVING PICTURES. My favorite Rush album is CARESS OF STEEL. (let's hear it for multi-chapter songs)! RUSH are still one of my all-time favorite rock bands. Their early music remaining vital after-all-these-years... RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage" Great documentary highly recommended. |
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HI Rush fans! I had the chance to see Rush live this past Friday night. It was an awesome show to say the least! These guys have not slowed up at all. They played for close to 2 1/2 hours, no warm up band. All of the greats from years past were played as well as 3 or 4 songs from the new Snakes and Arrows. The new stuff sounds as great as the old stuff. If they come your way don't miss 'em! |
#1 = Hemispheres. I've been a huge fan since '78 when I saw them when I was 13. I saw them at least 6 times through Permanent Waves and then didn't like MP or anything after for at least 15 years.. I finally warmed up to the post PW work in about '93. when I was a guitar player in a Rush tribute band for 6 years and we played pretty much all of it. But to me... Rush IS album side tales of good vs evil and exploration, both lyrically and musically.... The 15 minute epic songs of the 70s and early 80s are the coolest.. |
Well I have to say I am quite supprised at the responses here. I am a huge fan to and although I like all the old stuff I have to say Vapour Trails was absolutly a "Balls to the Wall" album. Sure the production and mix were not the best but we are rating her for music right? Also I love the new Snakes and Arrows. And if we are speaking of sound qualiy, I suggest the hi rez version. Check out my virtual system in another week as I should have my other prints from Rush done to stick on the other wall. |
All you Rush fans should check the next Neil Peart. He is 11 year old Tyler Hudson and there is a youtube video showing his progress from ages 2 to 11. He actually plays "The Trees" at age 5! You can see it here. He is now part of a band called MINDWALK whose three members are ages 11 to 15. They cover Limelight and YYZ and make it look easy. My favorite, though, is their cover of King's X song We Were Born to be Loved. |
Ok, I'm resurrecting an old thread here, but I'm a major Rush fan pretty new to Audiogon, so there it is. Here's my rating scale: 10. Absolute perfection all the way through - a masterpiece. 9. Excellent, not one weak track and nearly perfect. 8. Great album, a must-own. 7. Very good album - well worth owning. 6. Not thier best, but still pretty darn good. 5. I don't listen that often, but it's a good album. 4. It's not bad, some weaker material. 3 - It's alright, I'll listen and enjoy it occasionally, but will often skip some tracks. 2 - There are a couple of good or great tracks, but generally fairly weak. 1 - Barely listenable, for completists only, only one or two even halfway-decent tracks. 0 - Just really bad, no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Here's my order of all the studio Rush albums with ratings: Signals - 10 Moving Pictures - 9.5 Permanent Waves - 9 Snakes & Arrows - 8.5 Hold Your Fire - 8.5 Hemispheres - 8 A Farewell To Kings - 8 Rush - 8 Grace Under Pressure - 8 2112 - 7.5 Fly By Night - 7.5 Power Windows - 7.5 Counterparts - 7.5 Caress of Steel - 6.5 Presto - 4.5 Roll The Bones - 2.5 Test For Echo - 2.5 Vapor Trails - 0.5 |
The quality of their records has declined in recent years, and I'm talking about sound quality, not music quality. They should record to analog tape and digital master and release the record from the analog tape master (as was done in times of old) and release the CD from the digital master for those who don't know anything about dynamics and tonal accuracy. I read recently that Wilco bought up a whole bunch of analog tape from a company that was going out of business... they know it's not the same. A high quality digital master is fine if you're making SACDs or DVDA's, but who's doing that nowadays???? Cheers. |
yet another chime in for caress of steel. Used to be a huge fan. For the 2112 tour we skipped school and lit the first dube at exactly 21 to 12 to get the evening started. It was a great show with angel and Max Webster. Lifeson was a huge influence on my early guitar playing, can still hear some traces. |
Massive fan in my teenage years. Saw them 9 times or so in a 5 year period from '78 to 83 and met the band a few times. I saw the 30th anniversay show last year and you can hear me singing on Exit Stage Left with the rest of the Glasgow Apollo crowd. :-) Fav. album is difficult but probably Moving Pictures. |