Czarcasm

How about Alex's Lead in Turn the Page not to mention Geddy's Bass playing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RnEK6GvM0o I gotta tell ya. I can't stand the sound of that bass. Probably just me, but It sounds like a couple rubber bands stretched out between your fingers and being plucked...... But...but that's why it's so cool! The Wal bass is probably one of the most pronounced sounding instruments in the bands catalogue. In fact I got hooked on these albums for months just because of that totally unique bass sound. It's easy to hear, sounds very distinct to my ear, and the fact that the rest of the song is essentially being supported on what you call "a rubber band" sound it's pretty impressive. The solo is God tier also. No question one of Alex's best solo's from the late 80's.

How about Alex's Lead in Turn the Page not to mention Geddy's Bass playing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RnEK6GvM0o I gotta tell ya. I can't stand the sound of that bass. Probably just me, but It sounds like a couple rubber bands stretched out between your fingers and being plucked...... But...but that's why it's so cool! The Wal bass is probably one of the most pronounced sounding instruments in the bands catalogue. In fact I got hooked on these albums for months just because of that totally unique bass sound. It's easy to hear, sounds very distinct to my ear, and the fact that the rest of the song is essentially being supported on what you call "a rubber band" sound it's pretty impressive.

Look man - I recognize the inherent subjectivity of musical appreciation, but to try to quantify "who's better who's best" by song strengths seems woefully circutious. I mean, can you do the same with "Houses of the Holy" and "ZoSo"? Or with "Joshua Tree" and "How to Dismantle..."? Besides, "Hand Over Fist" is sonically one of the better songs on the album. Those Taurus pedals during the bridge - through a decent stereo set-up - vibrate the foundation. It's also one of Neil's more authentic commentaries on humanity. While I appreciate your interest in Hand Over Fist which is one of my favourites from Presto, saying you can't compare The Joshua Tree to Atomic Bomb is flat out wrong. HtDaAB has maybe 4 great songs but the rest sound like generic mid 2000's alt rock. Throw a different vocalist behind Miracle Drug and it could be pretty much any band as far as I'm concerned. Sorry I just couldn't let that get by me.

I'm tired of bumping this thread, but I'm not against them because they're mainstream. I'm against them because any self respecting Rush fan should be tired of hearing these songs for the billionth time. I can't even listen to PeW properly anymore because I'm so sick of tSoR. It's good, it's a classic, but I think and I KNOW that there are better songs that could be played that haven't had anywhere near the same level of exposure. ANYONE POSTING AFTER THIS REGARDING THE ORIGINAL TOPIC CAN STOP. ALL THE POINTS HAVE BEEN MADE ALREADY THE SUMMARY OF MY OPINIONS ON THE SUBJECT IS IN THIS VERY POST! STOP CIRCLE JERKING OVER THE SAME THREE ALBUMS ANYONE WHO POSTS AFTER THE LINE BELOW HASN'T READ THE ENTIRE THREAD AND CAN CHOKE ON A BAG OF DICKS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Relax. BTW, MMmmmmmmmm, dicks~~ In a bag also... :drool:

I'm tired of bumping this thread, but I'm not against them because they're mainstream. I'm against them because any self respecting Rush fan should be tired of hearing these songs for the billionth time. I can't even listen to PeW properly anymore because I'm so sick of tSoR. It's good, it's a classic, but I think and I KNOW that there are better songs that could be played that haven't had anywhere near the same level of exposure. ANYONE POSTING AFTER THIS REGARDING THE ORIGINAL TOPIC CAN STOP. ALL THE POINTS HAVE BEEN MADE ALREADY THE SUMMARY OF MY OPINIONS ON THE SUBJECT IS IN THIS VERY POST! STOP CIRCLE JERKING OVER THE SAME THREE ALBUMS ANYONE WHO POSTS AFTER THE LINE BELOW HASN'T READ THE ENTIRE THREAD AND CAN CHOKE ON A BAG OF DICKS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

:goodone: This guy gets it.

But you really don't want to hear something new that you might possibly like? I always thought the unconventional solo in alien shore was brilliant, I'd love to hear it in a stadium rock setting. Maybe a bad example for the majority of you guys but it seems like it would be an exciting moment. And I probably misinterpreted your post, but Counterparts does have hits, Animate, Leave that thing Alone and Stick it Out have all appeared on live albums and at least the first two are played quite a lot. I doubt they're radio classics but the band likes them enough to play them repeatedly in concert.

I don't want you to think I'm picking on you, but I have never understood this mind set. With every band there is always a segment of the fan base that thinks that somehow you seem more dedicated if you only like the obscure material, and don't like the more popular material. And when you point out that Moving Pictures sold more copies than Test For Echo for a reason, the "Lady Gaga sells lots of records, is she better than Rush?" straw man comes out. To some degree, "mainstream" songs are mainstream because they're so good that even people who aren't die hard fans of a band sit up and take notice. I'm a huge Black Sabbath fan. I love Volume 4. But there's a reason why rock fans in general own Paranoid, and Black Sabbath fans own Volume 4. Same with Rush. If you're a rock fan you probably own a copy of Moving PIctures. It's that good. A Rush fan owns Counterparts. It has its moments, but it's not a great album. As for Rush's most recent set list, there are plenty of songs from the 1983-1996 era I would have preferred over those that made the set list for the CA tour. And Rush not playing Tom Sawyer would be like Black Sabbath not playing Paranoid. Never going to happen. I completely agree. Moving Pictures is the only Rush album I would say that qualifies as a definitive classic up in the upper echelon of classic rock along with Dark Side of The Moon, LZ IV, etc. It's their only album where every note is in the right place and nothing is off. Anyway back on topic, I reeaaally wonder how many casual fans are going to these concerts. If you know Tom Sawyer and Spirit of Radio, would you really go anyway fully knowing you have 2 hours of unknown material to sit through? I never saw Rush as a band that a causal listener would go to, especially at this point in their career where (normally) a lot of new material is played.

I don't speak for "everybody", but you didn't piss me off....... Same. I start shit sometimes but it's just to shake this place up a little so it's not always such a circlejerk. If I argued with strangers on the internet seriously I would need to get my head examined.

Well, yes, they do. ANY fan would want to hear their best music. Counterparts, for the most part, is forgettable. Oh wow! That would be awesome! Get real, dude...... Wrong again. 'Counterparts' is the 'usual stuff'. As in, uninteresting. Sure, fire up 'Animate Me'...after that...who cares? Yes, I can. What planet do you live on? Chris Well, yes, they do. ANY fan would want to hear their best music. Counterparts, for the most part, is forgettable. Oh wow! That would be awesome! Get real, dude...... Wrong again. 'Counterparts' is the 'usual stuff'. As in, uninteresting. Sure, fire up 'Animate Me'...after that...who cares? Yes, I can. What planet do you live on? Chris Hey, CHRIS. After carefully and thoroughly reading your post I think I can simplify its core message to one sentence. "Stop liking what I don't like!" Honestly,you just sound to me like one of those Rush fans with the mentality that says "old Rush good, new Rush bad!" Do you genuinely believe that Tom Sayer, tSoR and Subdivisions are their best songs? I hate to sound like a hipster but aren't those their most most mainstream songs? I've always found that the most fun part of listening to any band is listening to their entire catalogue and finding lesser known songs you really love. Right now you sound like a fan who likes their radio favourites without much personal taste of his own. If these songs are your favourites you could just buy a greatest hits collection and be set for life. Sounds really f*ckin boring. Hey Czarcasm.... After carefully and thoroughly reading your post I think I can simplify its core message to one sentence. "All the old stuff sucks!" Honestly,you just sound to me like one of those Rush fans with the mentality that says "old Rush bad, new Rush good!" Well, except that your 'new' Rush is over 15 years old... :laughing guy: The fact of the matter is this: Rush doesn't play what I want to hear at their concerts...they play what THEY want to play...are you feeling me? THEY are the ones who, for better or worse, have decided that, above all, they wanted to play the kind of music THEY wanted to play... So...czar.....if you have a problem with them playing the 'popular' songs of their catalogue at their live shows..... Take it up with THEM.... Have fun with it... Imagine...a so called fan telling Rush they are too 'commercial'.... That's a good one..... Chris Yeah I guess you're right. I'm tired of arguing with strangers on the internet and your points are all correct. But in fairness the band has only released 5 studio albums in the past 20 years so it's hard not to call Counterparts more modern than much of their catalogue. If we were seriously talking about "Modern albums" only 1 or two albums would qualify, haha.

Pretty much anything is better than Roll The Bones. I agree completely though, it's more like background music than one you have to take in completely devoid of distractions.

I respectfully disagree. Limbo is an instrumental you need to listen to numerous times to appreciate and headphones really help. The playing sounds simple at first, like a wall of chords that Alex throws at you. Once you listen more closely however, it's very accomplished playing with an angular, rough sound to it. The absence of lyrics let this quality shine as Virtuality and Dog Years musical heaviness are are made void due to their lyrical content. The bass comes through clearly in my opinion and the interspersed keyboard notes are tasteful and help to redirect he soloing. How anyone could like Where's my Thing more than Limbo is beyond me. The production on WmT? are as wimpy as they come and the playing is nowhere near that on Test for Echo. The sound effects and the "Mash good!" line are pretty cool in my opinion and add to the humour the band occasionally tries to bring to their music. When coupled with the music I find it to be a real "F*ck Yeah!! moment. As for Totem, it falls into the same trap as virtuality; great music and playing but the lyrics are so simple and stupid that the entire song gets pulled down, The musical changes are pleasing and Alex's solo is a genuinely beatiful moment. If Neil hadn't been learning with Freddie Grueber (Sp?) at the time he might've had more time to work on the lyrics. Unfortunate, really

Well, yes, they do. ANY fan would want to hear their best music. Counterparts, for the most part, is forgettable. Oh wow! That would be awesome! Get real, dude...... Wrong again. 'Counterparts' is the 'usual stuff'. As in, uninteresting. Sure, fire up 'Animate Me'...after that...who cares? Yes, I can. What planet do you live on? Chris Well, yes, they do. ANY fan would want to hear their best music. Counterparts, for the most part, is forgettable. Oh wow! That would be awesome! Get real, dude...... Wrong again. 'Counterparts' is the 'usual stuff'. As in, uninteresting. Sure, fire up 'Animate Me'...after that...who cares? Yes, I can. What planet do you live on? Chris Hey, CHRIS. After carefully and thoroughly reading your post I think I can simplify its core message to one sentence. "Stop liking what I don't like!" Honestly,you just sound to me like one of those Rush fans with the mentality that says "old Rush good, new Rush bad!" Do you genuinely believe that Tom Sayer, tSoR and Subdivisions are their best songs? I hate to sound like a hipster but aren't those their most most mainstream songs? I've always found that the most fun part of listening to any band is listening to their entire catalogue and finding lesser known songs you really love. Right now you sound like a fan who likes their radio favourites without much personal taste of his own. If these songs are your favourites you could just buy a greatest hits collection and be set for life. Sounds really f*ckin boring.

I suppose that's a fair comparison. I agree pretty much, I guess I just like the atmosphere and production of TfE more than Presto.

wallah ˈwɒlə/ noun INDIANinformal 1. a person concerned or involved with a specified thing or business. "a rickshaw-wallah" Did you mean to say "Voila"? Because wallah means pretty much nothing in English.

I just wanted to reiterate that it does NOT peak at driven. Smoke some of da ganja and listen to the solo break on Totem really loud. Or listen to the intricacies of Limbo on headphones. The acoustic solo on half the world is very pleasing also. I seriously think this album gets a bad rap for no reason. It's no a very cohesive album I find and works better on a song by song basis, but it has some genuinely beautiful moments if you approach it openly and really listen to what every band member is doing.

Presto has a few hidden gems. The songwriting is good and the melodic hooks are stronger than on several other albums. "Presto", "Scars", and "The Pass" in particular are some of Rush's better melodic compositions from that period. While I will agree with you on Scars, which is my favourite song from that album, I've always found the pass to be a little melodramatic and it doesn't go anywhere does it? It's just that same "DUN- DUN, DUN-DUN-- DING... tick tick DUN-DUN, DUN, DUN-- DING only for around 4 minutes. Presto is nice but the opening sounds very cheesy to me and hearing Geddy sing "If I could wave my magic wand~~" and "I'm not one to believe in magic" Make me cringe a little everytime. Lets just say that I wouldn't play presto for company if they wanted to know what my favourite band was.

If you're in lousy mood, I find that Half the World, Colour of Right, Totem, Resist, Limbo and Carve Away the Stone provide soothing and relaxing tunes to unwind by. I think of it like Rush's chicken noodle soup album. The songs are unoffensive, positive mainly and provide a comfy inviting atmosphere. However it combines this with a hard rock edge and manages to be a relaxing album to me while also being one of their best outings as a genuine power trio. It does this while not sounding sappy and pop-y like Presto does. To me, the two are incomparable. The song writing (not lyrics) on presto is worse. I will always stand by that. This could just be me however.

Why would I want to hear Making Memories or Lessons? Fly by night hasn't been played for years due to the octave Geddy has to sing it in. Seriously, it would sound like garbage if it was attempted nowadays. Face it, it's a young mans tune which I can't see them playing anymore. I want more VT, TfE, CP and SnA! Secret Touch Main Monkey Business Time and motion Limbo Earthshine Between Sun and Moon Leave that Thing Alone And on the one in a billion chance: (won't ever happen) Alien Shore Cut to the Chase Good News first Nocturne Freeze Totem

Turn in your RUSH card. :tsk: Holy Sh*t your post got three likes! Does that imply that three people not only agree with you, but also like Presto? Jesus Christ I think I'm gonna be sick.

Turn in your RUSH card. :tsk: That's the second time I've been told that in this thread. And no, I won't. Presto is unquestionably their worst effort to date second to only maybe Roll the Bones. It's produced as if the band was playing down the hall instead of in the studio. It's quiet, thin and weak sounding. It's more dated than Hold your Fire due to it's lame attempts to reintroduce the guitar in that cringe worthy late 80's style. The songs sound campy to the point of self parody. The songs Rush deems the best from that album? The Pass, presto and Show don't Tell are the only songs to make it onto greatest hits albums and they still sound like soft rocks abortions. I like to pretend that Rush took a 6 year hiatus between HYF and Counterparts, just because Counterparts is so much infinitely better than the two albums that came before it. But seriously. Don't tell me to turn in my Rush card for not liking their OBJECTIVELY weakest album. There's being a fan and then there's blind fanboy-ism. You clearly fall into the latter.

Could I just say how awesome it would have been to hear Witchhunt live with a full string section in place of the traditional synthesizer part? Can you imagine? The righteous rise With Burning eyes of hated and ill will Imagine that part/s but with strings? It would be unbelievable.

All very good points, man. I never listen to Snakes and Arrows so I was unaware of the Armor and Sword line. Sorry for being a jerk earlier, I'm having a stressful time in my work week right now. Glad to hear you play the bass and that you love Rush! The world always needs more Rush fans.

Watch the music video. There's a reason they called the song that. There's literally nothing in the song to make you question your beliefs. You watched the video, sooooo...? Ugh all I think off when I hear Geddy slap this freless bass is ATHEISM! This song is ruined for me forever! All I'm seeing here is that you don't like a song because it inadvertently makes you question your faith. As I said earlier, maybe you should be examining yourself instead of Rush if AN INSTRUMENTAL can shake your spirituality to the core like this.

I would completely get rid of Snakes & Arrows, but some songs are way too good to get rid of like Far Cry and Bravest Face. I know it's the band's opinions, but I don't feel really comfertable listening to lyrics that go against what I believe. I would be contradicting myself, kinda. I just won't listen to songs like: Tom Saywer Roll The Bones Sweet Miracle The Stars Looked Down Armor and Sword The Way the Wind Blows Faithless Malignant Narcissism BU2B Much of these songs I haven't really cared to listen to in the first place, and there are many more songs that are much better than these. But I'm happy to be listening to Rush once again. My life really is much better with them. Fall Out Boy is awesome. WTF are you talking about? >Won't listen to Tom Sawyer >Won't listen to Sweet Miracle >Won't listen to MalNar Tom sawyer isn't even religiously themed, is it? And the mention of "walking with angels" in Sweet miracle is enough to turn you off listening to it? WOW how can a reasonable person claim these three songs bash religi-- Oh wait you like Fallout Boy, my mistake you must be 13. Your opinion has been: [ ] Acknowledged [X] Discarded EDIT: Hahaha I was only joking and it turns out you're actually 16. My sides. I don't think Rush is the problem here, buddy. Anyway, go get high, have sex and deny Christ.