Jump to content

Powderfinger

Members
  • Posts

    765
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Powderfinger

  1. Yes! Hard Nose the Highway is SO underrated. I'm a huge fan of Van the Man. Everything from Astral Weeks through Veedon Fleece is brilliant and essential. For my money, It's Too Late to Stop Now is the single greatest live album of all time. Yes, I mean better than At Fillmore East, Live at Leeds, et al. The versions of "Listen to the Lion," "Saint Dominic's Preview," "Caravan," and "Cyprus Avenue" on It's Too Late to Stop Now leave me speechless. A musician at the absolute height of his extraordinary powers, in complete control of his band, and complete uncontrol of his ancient passion. Truly transcendent music. Truly. It's difficult for me to rank the albums from this classic period. I can make an argument for all of them as the best. But here's how I rank them today: 1) It's Too Late to Stop Now 2) Astral Weeks 3) Moondance 4) Hard Nose the Highway 5) Tupelo Honey 6) Saint Dominic's Preview 7) Veedon Fleece 8) His Band and Street Choir Again, I could make a case for any of these as the best of the bunch. Hope this helps. I envy anyone who is exploring Van for the first time. It can be something of a religious experience! What would you say is the essential releases after this classic period!? For me it becomes a mixed bag, not unlike Neil Young after his classic period. You'll find some incredible music on a par with Van's classic period alongside material I could take or leave. Most every album has at least one or two great songs. The first thing I would track down is The Philosopher's Stone. This is an outstanding album of outtakes that contains some of Van's all-time greatest songs--the original version of "Wonderful Remark," for example. I love Wavelength's title track Into the Music is an excellent album, and most fans agree. Common One is very underrated IMHO. "Wild Honey" is absolutely gorgeous, and "Spirit" is a great cut. No Guru, No Method, No Teacher and Poetic Champion's Compose are both excellent. I'm personally a big fan of Magic Time. Just some musings off the top of my head...
  2. Yes! Hard Nose the Highway is SO underrated. I'm a huge fan of Van the Man. Everything from Astral Weeks through Veedon Fleece is brilliant and essential. For my money, It's Too Late to Stop Now is the single greatest live album of all time. Yes, I mean better than At Fillmore East, Live at Leeds, et al. The versions of "Listen to the Lion," "Saint Dominic's Preview," "Caravan," and "Cyprus Avenue" on It's Too Late to Stop Now leave me speechless. A musician at the absolute height of his extraordinary powers, in complete control of his band, and complete uncontrol of his ancient passion. Truly transcendent music. Truly. It's difficult for me to rank the albums from this classic period. I can make an argument for all of them as the best. But here's how I rank them today: 1) It's Too Late to Stop Now 2) Astral Weeks 3) Moondance 4) Hard Nose the Highway 5) Tupelo Honey 6) Saint Dominic's Preview 7) Veedon Fleece 8) His Band and Street Choir Again, I could make a case for any of these as the best of the bunch. Hope this helps. I envy anyone who is exploring Van for the first time. It can be something of a religious experience!
  3. This is exactly how I felt when I began reading this thread. Thank you for this compelling post. Come on guys! It's Rush. We are on a Rush message board for chrissake. Let's not kick one member of the Holy Trinity as he walks out the door. Neil is imperfect. We are all imperfect. Most of us just don't have to live under the scrutiny of thousands of hardcore fans. He has a right to live life according to his own terms. Neil, Geddy, and Alex gave their lives to Rush. They gave us so much. How many bands compare to Rush's longevity, loyalty, and creativity? Do you even need more than one hand to count them? I love Rush, too. But I'm not going to hold it against them because they can't be Rush forever. Neil was the first one to say he wants to retire. That was probably an agonizing decision. How can he avoid the role of the villain? He's now responsible for taking away something we all love. But it's more complicated than that. It's bigger than Neil. It's the passage of time. Neil navigates it in his own way. Who am I to judge? Rush is Dead, Long Live :rush:
  4. I like Janis Joplin, so much so that I assign a book about her in my upper-division US history course. But I LOVE Stevie Nicks--for my money one of the greatest female vocalists of the classic rock era. Stevie is also a great songwriter, whereas Janis only wrote a handful of songs, and her most memorable songs are not her own. Again, I don't at all mean to slight Janis here; Janis's contributions to blues rock and women's position within the music industry are undeniable. But voting for Stevie is a no-brainer for me.
  5. This was difficult for me. I initially thought I'd vote for Peter Gabriel--a no-brainer. But I like A Trick of the Tail, Wind & Wuthering, and portions of And The There Were Three and Duke more than most anything in Gabriel's discography, with a few important exceptions. But after Duke it's Peter Gabriel all the way.
  6. Love = Rush Hate = Red Hot Chili Peppers Underrated = Black Crowes Overrated = Cream Secret = Journey Guilty Pleasure = Some of Phil Collins's solo material Most Favorite = Black Crowes
  7. Glad to see Blue J helped introduce some of you to the Black Crowes--a most misunderstood, but deeply rewarding band. My all-time favorite group. I got a lot of help with Yes here. I was already interested, and had always liked the radio hits. But fellow TRF members helped me really explore Yes. And Close to the Edge became a top-five, truly life-changing album for me. I think TRF members helped me with King Crimson, too.
  8. Yeah but we would see it different than he would being on the inside and creating it. He has memories about them that we don't. Artists never look at their own creations like outsiders do. This is what I was thinking. I remember watching this when it first aired. I doubt Geddy would say Rush is objectively better than Signals. I would guess nostalgia for the excitement of the time--making your first record!--influenced his thinking. It does look different from the inside for reasons we cannot understand as fans. But hey, what do I know? Full disclosure: Signals is my favorite Rush album. Perhaps I just can't bear to believe that Geddy rates it so low.
  9. Yes, Chamberlain was outstanding at his peak. Matt Cameron comes to mind, too. His work with Soundgarden was awesome.
  10. I haven't been connecting with Hemispheres as much lately. I've been focusing more on Permanent Waves and A Farewell to Kings. But most of the time Hemispheres battles with Signals for favorite album status. I discovered Rush albums out of sequence. I listened to Book II extensively before I had ever heard any of 2112 beyond whatever is included on Chronicles. So when I arrived at 2112 I immediately thought, "Meh, this isn't as good as Cygnus Book II." It hurt my appreciation for 2112, which has grown on me, but will always live in Hemispheres's shadow. And I agree with everyone who cited Alex's playing and tone. His best years tonally. (Although, his tone on The Necromancer is especially dope if you like that sort of guitar sound.) Lost in all the debates about the introduction of keyboards is the degree to which Alex's guitar itself started to sound like a keyboard. It isn't just that his guitar went AWOL with Signals--his guitar sound also dramatically changed. He surrendered that warm and fuzzy Gibson>Marshall sound.
  11. 1) Chemistry. Three virtuosic musicians who encourage each others' idiosyncratic inclinations. 2) Unique lyrics. Only Rush offered what Rush offered when it came to storytelling, iconography, and an alternative to songs about chasing women. 3) Longevity. They kept going and stayed together whereas so many others did not.
  12. ...how? It's literally one of their top three most synth filled albums, and the only one of those top three where the guitar really gets blocked out by the sytnth parts regularly. This is just my humble opinion. When I listen to Signals I still hear the Broone Era. The album is certainly a harbinger of what is to come. Yet the snyth still compliments the traditional instruments. Then comes GUP where to this day the snyth sounds almost jarring, seemingly overwhelming the strings and drums. Then The Snyth Era has begun for me. I actually agree with this. I consider the synth era P/G through Hold Your Fire. Certainly Signals is synthy, but I too hear it as a Terry Brown production first. I mean, Moving Pictures, which I've been listening to frequently over the past few days, has quite a bit of synth. I do not hear a jarring transition between Moving Pictures and Signals. But I do hear a jarring transition between Signals and P/G. Vital Signs flows pretty seamlessly into Subdivisions if you play those records consecutively.
  13. Subdivisions The Analog Kid Manhattan Project Marathon Mission
  14. Just for my clarity, you came on a message forum in 2017 to put to bed something some unnamed source said in the 1970s? How do people have this much free time? What am I doing wrong in my life?
  15. I've actually never heard all of Presto, Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, and Snakes and Arrows. That's how much I struggle to get into them. Among what I have heard, I love The Pass (top ten Rush song for me), like Far Cry, and will listen to Workin' Them Angels and Armor and Sword. I cannot tolerate the rest. I liked Counterparts when it came out, but now I find it unlistenable, too. I liked portions of Clockwork Angels when it came out, but that was mostly because that was their next release after I became a mega fan again after a 25 year absence. I can no longer endure it, save for The Wreckers and Headlong Flight. I'm kind of fond of Roll the Bones, for some reason. I hope I make up for these callous opinions by affirming that each album from A Farewell to Kings through Signals ranks among my favorite albums of all time. :D
  16. Losing It, I think. Does Mission qualify as a ballad? Entre Nous? Because I love those two songs as well. Rush's ballads are rock tunes for most groups. I'm also that rare breed of Rush fan who loves Madrigal. Is The Pass a ballad?
  17. This is a cool idea. And it works, as TSOR can shoulder the set opener status. And set one therefore ends with even more crowd energy than Subdivisions provides, and that is saying a lot.
  18. So epic. Just one after the other. Face melting. Epic.
  19. I would love to see one more show too but I was watching a drumming display last night, Mike Mangini was there and man they really pound the shit out of those drums. It really is a physical activity that they're doing up there. Was discussing this with my wife the other night. What Neil does is highly athletic. He functions as an athlete when Rush tours. That is hard to sustain at his age. He wants to go out on top, still playing songs like Natural Science and Cygnus X-1 before they slip away. Dignity and Grace Under the Pressure of time.
  20. But I like The Foos and Green Day. :( Exactly. Exactly, my friend. What do you mean by that? That this stuff is all subjective, lol.
  21. I think Far Cry is (was) looked at as a modern day concert staple...almost like Dreamline. For me it was a concert highlight. I'm biased toward it as I love the song. Between The Wheels was a cult status deep cut that they just kept including. Surprised me also. Agreed. I too like Far Cry. I really do. But at the very least, with the R40 tour, knowing it was probably going to be their last tour, come on, switch that out for something else. Same goes for Between the Wheels, which I not only like, but love--a top 20 Rush song for me. It was a real headscratcher at the R40 show I attended. Regardless of Neil's mixed signals, I went into that show believing it would be the last time I would ever see them live. So when they went into Between the Wheels I was very surprised.
  22. I'm surprised Roll the Bones, Red Sector A, Far Cry, Force Ten, and maybe Bravado were played so frequently. I understand they are feature tracks from their respective albums, but still. Especially Far Cry. I am watching the Time Machine DVD as we speak, and Far Cry just came on. And, while I don't mind it, I can't believe how hard Rush has tried to make Far Cry happen. And as much I love Between the Wheels, I'm surprised it became a virtual staple. Songs I'm surprised they didn't play more often: Fly By Night, Farewell to Kings, Cinderella Man, New World Man, Jacob's Ladder, Show Don't Tell. I'm also surprised that in all their tours since Vapor Trails--including three retrospective tours (R30, Time Machine, R40)--they didn't play the Fear Trilogy. I'm surprised Limelight was only an occasional rotation on Clockwork Angels and then not played on R40. Overall, I would say Rush kept things very interesting for fans. A big part of why I love them.
×
×
  • Create New...