Jump to content

Rank the eras of Rush, from best to worst


LedRush
 Share

Recommended Posts

There are always differences of opinions on which albums go in which era, but for the sake of argument, I'm using these.

 

Early - R-CoS

Prog - 2112-Hemisphers

Stadium - PeW-Signals

Synth - GuP- HYF

Return to guitar ("Return") - Presto - T4E

Current - VT-CA

Edited by LedRush
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Prog

Early

Stadium

Return to Guitar

Current

Synth

 

I think the output for PeW-Signals is better than R-CoS, but I don't like Signals very much, and CoS is my favorite album, so Early just edged out Stadium for me. Current almost beat out Return for me, but in the end, S&A offset the horror of Counterparts, and while I really like VT (and love CA), Presto, RTB and T4E have a lot more songs on them that I listen to regularly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You forgot to put Grace Under Pressure in one of them :P I'll assume it's supposed to go into synth.

 

Stadium

Prog

Current

Synth

Return To Guitar

Early

 

This isn't very reflective of how I rank my albums, because I rank AFTK and Hold Your Fire pretty low, but rank Counterparts and Grace Under Pressure very high. Hemispheres-Grace Under Pressure is probably their best five album run for me, and I love half of 2112 and dislike the rest, so I put Stadium and Prog at the top.

 

Then I put current because I greatly enjoy CA and Snakes, and VT's alright. Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows are excellent, but Hold Your Fire is not so great...and I'd also almost put Presto in with the synth as it fit the musical style of HYF more than it fit the later stuff.

 

While I love Counterparts and half of Test For Echo, they're outnumbered by the collection of godawful songs on Presto and Roll The Bones. Sad but true.

 

Then the early albums...there's like 4 or 5 songs total that I can say I like...By-Tor, Fountain, In The End, Anthem, and then Working Man's okay but not aging well with repeated listens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Synth/Stadium (80s Rush)

Prog

Current

Early

Return to Guitar

 

Combining 2 eras to make one kinda makes the decisions much different, no? Putting PeW (recorded in the 70s) with HYF also seems a bit perverse, to me.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Synth/Stadium

Prog

Return to Guitar

Early

Current

 

Placement of return to guitar was hard......but i like it more then early. and early has better production then current.....so that's my reasoning.

 

Mick

 

Are the Synth/Stadium eras tied, or are they an anti-competitive super era?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Th

Synth/Stadium

Prog

Return to Guitar

Early

Current

 

Placement of return to guitar was hard......but i like it more then early. and early has better production then current.....so that's my reasoning.

 

Mick

 

Are the Synth/Stadium eras tied, or are they an anti-competitive super era?

 

They're tied. I love the 80's as a whole........rush's best most interesting decade, IMO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Stadium - PeW-Signals: Rush at their "pinnacle"

 

2. Prog - 2112-Hemispheres: classic musicianship. especially AFTK

 

3. Synth - GuP- HYF: 2 and 3 are very close, if this included Signals it would be #2.

 

4. Return to guitar ("Return") - Presto - T4E: Presto is one of my favorite albums and I really enjoy this period for what it is. Some great catchy songs that "breathe" (unlike #5)

 

5. Current - VT-CA: Some very strong material but way too much of a heavy compressed sound (i think this is the weakest period as far as Alex's guitar sound), and this period makes me realize how much the synths were such an important part of what drew me to Rush initially (strings just don't cut it).

 

6. Early - R-CoS: Rush is good for what is, FBN is good, COS could have been a masterpiece - as it is it's great but isn't enought to keep this period from ranking last.

Edited by savagegrace26
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are always differences of opinions on which albums go in which era, but for the sake of argument, I'm using these.

 

4) Early - R-CoS

1) Prog - 2112-Hemisphers

2) Stadium - PeW-Signals

3) Synth - GuP- HYF

5) Return to guitar ("Return") - Presto - T4E

6) Current - VT-CA

My rankings.......
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stadium

Prog

Early

Synth

Return to Guitar

Current

 

Note - I still like the current stuff, just not as much as old stuff. Defintely creates a peak with PeW, Moving Pictures and Signals

 

Timeline X axis, greatness Y Axis, it looks like this

 

 

Stadium

 

Prog

 

Early

 

Synth

 

Return to Guitars

 

Current

Edited by tx_rush
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Prog

Stadium

Early

Synth

Current

Return

 

Even though I put Current lower on the list, it's still pretty good imo. It's just not as great as Prog-Synth.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty simple for me

 

76-87 is my golden age love affair.

 

Rush at their absolute peak and creative brilliance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is tough...

 

Stadium (MP, Signals, plus the "Big 3" from PeW is unassailable)

Synth (Only 2 misses total on these 3 albums: Afterimage and Tai Shan)

Current (VT rocks, CA their best since at least Cp and possibly all the way back to Signals. S&A hurt by Spindrift and Good News First, but VT and CA's strength carries it up here)

Prog (really picking nits between the top 4 eras... not really into Hemi (the epic) and Madrigal is a snore)

Return (Schizoid... Presto and Cp very good, RTB and T4E listenable but not a lot of wow)

Early (CoS by far their worst, FBN dragged by In The End and Rivendell)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

80's: Regardless of changes in style, the "era" of the 1980's was Rush at their most creative and most experimental which ended up equating to a band that was so multi-dimensional and unique that very few people could even give them a genre label. From The Spirit of Radio to The Big Money to Lock and Key, the band was explosive and unpredictably exciting. The different flavors and styles of music they delved into and rocketed out of with great achievement can't be compared to any other band that has ever existed.

 

Neils Arrival - 1979: Before Neil they were bland, period. Regardless of how many people might disagree the band we know and love today would never have existed without the arrival of the quiet, lanky drummer who moonlighted as a tractor parts salesman. The lyrics he brought to the table paved the way for the kind of music they wanted to write. Could Xanadu have been written if they were singing about sex or beer? Hemispheres was clearly the peak of this time period and is a landmark album for muscianship. Circumstances was definitely the proto-type song of the type of music they were starting to lean towards with a more concise feel.

 

VT-Present: Solid material for the most part but that explosive musicianship seemed to take a back seat when compared to the rest of their catalog.

 

90s: The band was at their best in the beginning of this decade with Roll the Bones, and struggled a lot in an industry that was searching for it's indentity in the rock community. I hate to admit it but even Rush was tugged this way and that by the grunge movement. Bravado and Animate, however, remain two of their finest offerings...ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) Stadium - PeW-Signals

Three of my four favorite Rush albums.

 

2) Early - R-CoS

CoS is my favorite, FBN is great, the debut is fun.

 

3) Return to guitar ("Return") - Presto - T4E

Really like the "grungy" stuff. Not so much the Rupert stuff.

 

4) Synth - GuP- HYF

GUP is great, the other two have great moments.

 

5) Current - VT-CA

VT drags this group down as much as CA pulls it up.

 

6) Prog - 2112-Hemispheres

I'd rather just listen to Close to the Edge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...