Worst of the Worst: 90s vs 21st Century Rush

[_hi_water._]

:Alex: :Neil: :geddy:

[laughedatbytime]

S&A over CP

 

Though Presto would give S&A a run for its money as the worst Rush album of all time.

[chemistry1973]

I feel like S/A has a couple brilliant songs, in a sea of turds, whereas T4E is just completely mediocre all the way through.

[JohnRogers]

I reject the premise of this question. Next.

[Na na na]

Counterparts

Snakes & Arrows

Counterparts

[invisible airwave]

The worst came out 1-2 months before the 90s began.

[Lorraine]

Vapor Trails, and even that album had one song that made the rest of it worth being released.

[HemiBeers]

Feedback was a 21st Century Album.

 

Oops.

[zepphead]

Vote 1: Test For Echo

 

Vote 2: Snakes and Arrows

 

Vote 3: Test For Echo. Just a consistently dull album.

 

However Presto trumps both of these as the worst of all Rush albums IMO.

[Nova Carmina]

I feel like S/A has a couple brilliant songs, in a sea of turds, whereas T4E is just completely mediocre all the way through.

 

I agree with this, but whereas I remember and can hum the melody of several of those turds ("Which Way This Song Blows," indeed), I have to check the back of the CD to remind myself of about four to five songs on Vapor Trails, and I have no recollection of them at all.

 

T4E is just completely mediocre all the way through.

[78jazz]

I reject the premise of this question. Next.

 

By and large, I am also in this camp. CP is the last Rush album I can listen to all the way through without skipping at least one track.

 

It was a toss-up between SnA and CA for the worst 21st century album. Both of them had excellent moments, but CA has just a few more for me (and I like SnA).

 

Roll the Bones takes the cake on the worst.

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Roll The Bones is the pits. Where Presto miraculously made that tin can production into something enjoyable, RTB manages to not do any of that and try to use it on normal old arena rock numbers. It almost works in the first half but completely farts out in the second. Ghost Of A Chance is the only really redeemable piece of music over there on side two, as far as Rush's standard quality is concerned. The worst of it all, Heresy and Neurotica, are far more offensive to my ears than Tai Shan will ever be, which is to say I don't particularly like listening to them, at least not often, and certainly not outside the context of the album. However I never skip songs when listening to albums (if I want to pick and choose I'll just make myself a playlist), so when I do occasionally revisit RTB I'm reminded that my dislike for those two songs is not hatred, it just feels like hatred compared to how much I love most of Rush's catalogue.

 

Oh, yeah and Snakes isn't great. Faithless is another one of those songs I just don't like. Not for any musical reason, I just really don't gel with Neil's lyrics on this one. Guy was a genius but I don't think he ever showed more clearly that he had a very limited conception of religion, and it pains my ears to hear someone criticize something they really don't know the first thing about. Otherwise Snakes has its moments but it's overlong and the good ideas are spread a bit too thin amongst the average ones. Some good instrumentals on there though. Plus it has Far Cry, that song rules.

 

So for me it's RTB and SnA, and RTB takes the cake. CP took a long time to make sense to me but I'm on good terms with it now. T4E always brings a smile to my face, despite lackluster songwriting in places (honestly even without Neil's double tragedy I think the guys needed a breather before making their next record). VT is heavy as heck plus it has great melodies and even better lyrics. Production is what it is and I don't mind it that much, though I will say you could trim a few songs off of it and it wouldn't be a significant drop or gain in quality. And lastly there's Clockwork Angels. Imo the best thing they did since at least Power Windows, if not even Signals. Really close to being right on par with their best 70s stuff, and certainly the best album they could have made to go out on. The arrangements are magic, the playing is excellent, the melodies are sick, the concept is entertaining, the structure and flow are well planned out, and of course the finale is cathartic. Great great album.

[Texas King]

1) Test for Echo

2) Vapor Trails

3) Test for Echo