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Rush could be a commercial band in the 80's?


Texas King
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It is so interesting why Rush post-Moving Pictures output didn't become commercial and popular among the masses of people, esp.numerous fans of the 80's new wave/synthpop music.

I think Rush albums Signals, P/G, PoW and HYF could sold a lot more than one Platinum in the US, e.g. 4 or 5 Platinums.

I also think that some significant tunes from these albums as Subdivisions, The Analog Kid, Distant Early Warning, The Big Money, Marathon and Time Stand Still could easily crack the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Why this didn't happen? What you think?

I think their 80's synth sound was supposed to attract a huge number of people, who were not Rush fans before that period.

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I don't think it was supposed to attract anyone in particular. I think it was what they felt like playing at the time influenced by the music around them that they were hearing and enjoying.
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There were a lot of bands who did it better ..

 

Speaking for myself, I loved Rush leading up to that period, and I also liked a lot of the wave of new bands coming out at that time ..

 

As much as it is cliché to doubt the taste of the music buying public, Rush just didn't come across as natural, and unless you were already a fan or a musician, Rush became too transparent - the songs just weren't there like with other bands

 

Nothing they did was groundbreaking or innovative .....

Edited by Lucas
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Why didn't grunge types fall in love with T4E and CP? IMO it was because it felt like it was old dudes from the 70s copying aspects of a genre. I think it was the same thing in the 80s. A lot of the nu wave bands were very danceable and rush were not also.
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At the time, RUSH music had the sounds, but not the sound of the 80's. The music was still very quirky underneath it all, and they still had Geddy's vocals and Neil's lyrics, which just don't connect with many, many people.
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At the time, RUSH music had the sounds, but not the sound of the 80's. The music was still very quirky underneath it all, and they still had Geddy's vocals and Neil's lyrics, which just don't connect with many, many people.

 

The lyrics weren't about sex.

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At the time, RUSH music had the sounds, but not the sound of the 80's. The music was still very quirky underneath it all, and they still had Geddy's vocals and Neil's lyrics, which just don't connect with many, many people.

 

The lyrics weren't about sex.

The Weapon?
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I would say a lot of people would have not gotten their lyrics, as they were STILL too puzzling for most mainstream audiences. And even though they condensed their lengths to 5 minutes minimum, most #1 hits were either 3-4 minutes long, or 4 1/2 tops (New World Man has been the ONLY Rush song to make it to #21 on the US Billboard Top 100)
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As someone who grew up watching as much MTV in the 80s as anyone, Rush was played a lot in the early days, so they had a chance. As a kid, none of their stuff ever made a dent with me except the ESL version of Tom Sawyer. I disliked Geddy's voice a lot, and it took me till I was 18 and a few friends forcing them down my throat for me to see the light. I suspect Geddy's voice was a turnoff for other kids my age as well in those early MTV days.
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