wilb1972

QUOTE QUOTE (wilb1972 @ May 18 2012, 12:21 PM) Far Cry Limelight New World Man Vapor Trail YYZ Presto Digital Man BU2B Freewill The Analog Kid Clockwork Angels The Trees Subdivisions Caravan Carnies The Wreckers Headlong Flight Wish Them Well The Garden Losing It Leave That Thing Alone drum solo 2112 (overture/temples of syrinx/grand finale) The Spirit of Radio Tom Sawyer La Villa Strangiato I would see that show.

QUOTE Bootleg Albums (Live in St. Louis- is that the title?) Yep!!

Hearts and minds united again between my wife and me yesterday as we knocked out Grace under Pressure -- my wife agreed with my assessment that Grace was indeed a refocusing of the band's new direction; the guitars and synths are more balanced than on Signals. However, I find Signals to be the better album -- there is more life and energy on Signals. Grace's production is generic and flat. Plus, the songs on Signals are superior. I love The Enemy Within, Distant Early Warning, The Body Electric... But they don't surpass most of the songs on Signals. Part of this is due to the fact that Peter Henderson did nothing to further Rush's sonic developments on Grace, and I think it speaks to his weakness as a Rush producer when we listened to the GuP live CD. All of the Grace songs came alive! Energetic performances outshine the studio versions every time. Then my wife told me that she felt Grace was a better album than Signals, and she didn't have a problem with the production -- the very fact that the guitars were more balanced with the synths was a deciding factor over Signals. So there you go! :-) We did agree that the band had never sounded better than they did on the Grace live CD. On fire! (I love that concert and watch it regularly when I get in a Rush mood but it was nice to just listen - it helped me to forget the fashion-victim atrocities on display that night in 1984!) Then it was on to Power Windows. Man, what a sonic advancement this was! The Rush angularity was still there, but was channeled through the Trevor Horn inspired layering of synths punctuated by bursts of guitar. Al was finding new places to layer his guitar (he had to really cause those synths are all over the place) and they created one of the most satisfying albums of the period. It's alive and is bright, upbeat and still holds up well considering its "one of those 80's albums". Electronic percussion abounds. Miles above Grace. My wife doesn't agree. She feels that of all the synth era albums, Grace is the closest to where the band were after MP. So there you go again! :-) This was followed by what could the sequel to PoW, Hold Your Fire. A little less angular, more rounded, softer, a little more in the middle, I can see this as the nader of the Rush catalogue. However, the playing and composition on display reveals yet another surge forward in the band's maturity. Still "progressive" in the truest sense of the word, moving forward, with nice tunes such as Time Stand Still, Force Ten (my wife and I feel this is the best track on the album), Turn the Page and Mission. I would add Second Nature and Prime Mover to that list of faves. She liked Open Secrets. We both wrinkled our noses and frowned at the misguided Tai-Shan and filler blandness of High Water. This band was still surging forward, yep and to prove that point, they released a live album, A Show of Hands, which showcased those synth years over their past, with only one pre-synth era track from the 80's, Witch Hunt, and only one track from the 70's, Closer to the Heart. No Tom Sawyer, no Spirit of Radio, no Working Man. And since the band had gone on hiatus after Hold Your Fire to consider their futures, my wife and I used that as a stopping point for the weekend. My assessment? It almost looked at the time as if Rush had reached the end of the developemental road, and if they had split up then, I think it would have seemed the logical step. I think they really weren't sure what to do really. "Where do we go from here?" We plan to resume our listening Tuesday night with Presto.

QUOTE The Larger Bowel Some interesting set list ideas. I think we can count on about 50% classic material (Tom Sawyer et al), 30% "deep cuts" or songs that haven't been played in awhile, and 20% CA stuff.

... My wife and I finished off All the World's a Stage last night and moved into A Farewell to Kings. After the raw power of the former, the latter comes at you with a regal subtlety in contrast: the band was definitely coming right out of the shoot with new sounds. It was as if they purposely started the album in such a way as to throw off the beer-guzzling "Working Man" fist -pumpers with some finer, more elegant wine-sipping musical templates. The title track features classical guitar, new percussive tinklings and what is that? Synths? But Rush still can rock, but in a cleaner, leaner way -- the energy is focused towards a more progressive mind-set; the energy is coming from a different place emotionally. It's deeper. I forgot just how much I love Alex's guitar solos on every single one of these songs. The tonality, and the way they sound as if he is playing with a new unique focus -- he was carving out the Lerxst sound, and mixes technical chops with pure abandon - his solos in Cinderella Man and Cygnus are particularly noteworthy. Then we took a detour to the Hammersmith Odeon and found the band still was a raw powerhouse of frenzied energized hard rock. Back to that black hole we left before and bam, we are in Hemispheres. This album does sound like a sequel to AFtK - but I noticed the production is slightly better - Terry Brown was learning as well. The synths lay back in the mix more here - they don't shout, hey look at me! Instead they color the songs with a blanket of prog Moog tastiness. Its still about the guitars! Al was coming into his own here, and was inventing what I call his lead/rhythm style. All around these guys are top notch now. Ten years of playing, starting in the clubs and in bars, and then 4 years with Neil on board were culminating in the tightest sounding rock band on the planet. Ged's vocals were still high, but not as screamy. And La Villa can still move me. My wife loves Circumstances. So that's it for now ....

Chronicles. My step daughters are into music (12 and 8 yrs old) and are constantly amazing my wife and me with their interest in classic rock. They know we like Rush, listen to them, watch the DVDs... But the songs that they remember are the "hits", and not because we tell them they are -- there is a reason those songs are "hits". The songs those girls know and sing along to whenever we have the iPod going or a DVD of one of their shows on are: Tom Sawyer; Closer to the Heart; Fly by Night; Stick it Out; The Trees ... So I say start there.

QUOTE WHAT... is your name? WHAT... is your quest? WHAT... is your favorite color?

Far Cry Limelight New World Man Vapor Trail YYZ Presto Digital Man BU2B Freewill The Analog Kid Clockwork Angels The Trees Subdivisions Caravan Carnies The Wreckers Headlong Flight Wish Them Well The Garden Losing It Leave That Thing Alone drum solo 2112 (overture/temples of syrinx/grand finale) The Spirit of Radio Tom Sawyer La Villa Strangiato

The fervour for Rush was very nearly demonstrated in tragic fashion in Detroit in January. A month previously - December 3 to be exact - 11 fans had been killed in Riverfront Stadium in Cinncinnati when the crowd rushed the gates at a Who concert. Rush nearly had their own Cincinnati when tickets for their February 17 show went on sale at the massive Cobo Hall in Detroit on Saturday, January 12. There were between 1,000 and 1,500 kids waiting in line to buy tickets when the box office was opened at 8.30 a.m. - an hour and a half earlier than the planned time. The box office manager had opened early because of the crowd, some of whom - according to local police - had been waiting all night in near freezing temperatures. With eight police on duty the crowds rushed the doors, smashed the glass in six of them and tore another two literally off their hinges. Another dozen cops were called and restored order with the judicious use of nightsticks - the lengthier American version of the humble truncheon. To get people to move back they hit them on the legs with their clubs. Through some sort of minor miracle no-one was seriously injured although several reported being trampled to the ground. Eventually all 20,029 tickets for the gig were sold out. At about the same time Rush had made it clear in the American press that they were concerned to a very great extent with the question of safety of their audiences at concerts. Rush specified in their contracts that there would be no "festival seating" - which is an American promoters' euphemism for taking out the seats and squeezing as many people as possible into a gig without regard for safety. Said Geddy Lee: "It's really ignorant. It's treating kids like cattle, which they're not. It's something we've fought for a long time but nobody listens to you. They need a horrible tragedy like this (The Who Cincinnati incident) before they'll go 'Oh yeah, maybe you're right'. "We've complained on a lot of our past shows. Can't we please have reserved seating all the time, but unfortunately no-one really paid attention until this incident happened." Lee concluded 'You never hear of riots in reserved seating. That's really what it boils down to." Neil Peart echoed Geddy's feelings. "I'm very happy we have a clause in our contract that allows for no festival seating. I tried to go for it during the last tour because over the past few years I have been watching people go through so much suffering at the front of the stage people being pulled out of the audience bv their feet and people just being pushed back and forth. It's terrible to watch." Despite their reserved seating only contract rider, Rush still managed to pull in some incredibly vast crowds on their American tour the biggest they'd ever attracted and proof positive that they were a massive band. -- http://sites.google.com/site/rocknoutclaus/rush

QUOTE The Who-Cincinnati....that's why Yep, and yep to all the posts on here about the Cincinnati tragedy. I have the Who documentary that came out a few years ago and you can tell they are still affected by it by the sensitive treatment of it in the documentary. QUOTE If everyone sits, everyone can see Not true! Some times -- as in my case last year at a Steely Dan concert -- I, being 5'11", was stuck sitting behind a guy who was broad shouldered and had to be all of 6'5", and I was fuming to my wife because not only was the guy huge but he insisted on sitting as erect and wide as he could, as if he was trying to block my view. I could not see the stage at all. Thankfully, the seats next to us never were taken and we moved over. But I would have had to stand had we not been able to do that. I mean, you are a giant, why would you want a seat so close (6th row)? Move to the back Andre! It was like wearing a giant hat in a movie theater... Almost ruined my night.

2112 - Its amazing the improvement from the previous album to this one, both musically and sonically. The conceptual aspect of the story is more focused as well. Its more "up" and doesn't feel labored. The music serves the story well and it sounds as if the guys were learning to evoke the right emotions musically now, whereas on CoS it didn't feel "right". The rest of the album is cool and interesting. Tears is a nice change of pace. Something for Nothing is inspiring and is a nice summation of the band up to that point and for the album. All the World's a Stage - Nice, rousing performances. Ged's voice is all over the place but the "imperfections" are overshadowed by the sheer power and energy of the playing and honesty in the delivery of the vocals. A young band still trying to perfect its live sound. It sounds like a band who could be defined as hard rock with a penchant for fantasy, not that different from Zeppelin but far more angular and becoming increasingly less blues-based. Hints of things to come... My wife and I grew tired last night and had to take a break after In the End (one ... two ... buckle my shoe... THUMP!) so I guess points get taken off for that. We plan to finish that tonight. After that, its AFtK and the bonus disc of Different Stages from the Hammersmith show -- after all, this is about listening chronologically right?

My wife and I got an early jump on the albums last night - we listened to the first four. Here are some of our random thoughts: Rush - Solid debut, even if it is a little generic by Rush standards. I have always loved Before and After. My wife digs Here Again. I've always felt Rutsey has been wronged because he is compared to Neil. But for mid 70s straight-ahead rock, Rutsey is solid. But then you listen to that young band on the debut, and then follow it up with ... Fly by Night - man, there is a pop and snappiness that makes even the "leftovers" from the first album (Best I Can, In the End) sound fresh and attractive, thanks to "the new guy". I have a fondness for the In the End. Love the intro. My wife likes Making Memories, the title track, and Best I Can. Anthem is my far and away favorite. Caress of Steel - not my favorite Rush album by miles, but interesting nonetheless. I like Bastille Day and The Necromancer. The Fountain of Lamneth seems well-intentioned but dark and misguided. And Ged is right -- might've been a little too many "funny aromas" floating around in those days... My wife enjoys Lakeside Park and even finds good things in The Necromancer musically. The humor in I Think I'm Going Bald falls flat. More soon ....

Before and After In the End Bastille Day Tears Xanadu La Villa Strangiato Jacob's Ladder Tom Sawyer The Analog Kid The Enemy Within Grand Designs Turn the Page The Pass Where's My Thing? Cut to the Chase Driven Vapor Trail Far Cry

QUOTE That might deserve "style points" for listening to multiple records in a row with out lengthy pauses in between! And by the pool, with a few drinks! Although we find sitting on the deck with some drinks is just as relaxing.

Sounds fun! I think I can do this as well ... Sounds like a fun project this weekend, as my wife and I are planning on staying around the house this weekend, lounging around the pool ... We both love Rush so this could be an interesting opportunity. She knows most of their songs, but rarely do we sit and listen in order.

QUOTE VT was with me during a very hard period of my life, so I will always love it, no matter what. It's raw, it's violent, it's barbaric, it's unrefined. So there. Same here - VT arrived in my life during a dark period for me as well. And knowing that album was borne out of a dark period for Neil and the band, well, I guess it definitely hit me a certain way. I think that despite its technical flaws it is still a good solid album. Anytime one of the songs from this album pops up in the iPod, it grabs me. Incidentally, its also one of my wife's favorite albums.

QUOTE More importantly, what is being said at the very beginning of the song? Isn't it "men about oars"?

To Ged: Would you sign my guitar? To Neil: Can you sign this CD? To Al: Can you sign my wife?

Yes - I have been awaiting the return of this one, along with Superconductor, for ages. I really dig both. Along with inflatable, killer bunnies!

I voted for the title track but actually I'm just as curious to hear the "new" Caravan and BU2B as well.

QUOTE Would be a great song to play during sex.....HEADLONG FLIGHT No, that's Marathon!

QUOTE they seem something like a subtitle for "Clockwork Angels" and "Headlong Flight", as these two songs have some sort of connection between them. Hm, well I guess that's because its a concept album. QUOTE As we look at the album cover, the first thing that pops up are the symbols that are arranged in a circular pattern Did the reviewer notice they formed a clock at all?

Makes me drive fast too! Listen to it on the drive home after work lately.

I just did a lot of copying and pasting!