Geddyleegenes

Since the question was "most" unlike, I went with the debut.

 

I absolutely love the first album.  To me, on a scale of 1 to 10, (10 being best), the lowest rated song for me is Take A Friend, and I give that a 7.  The album absolutely rocks out.

 

But there are still songs from Fly By Night that would fit in with the songs on the debut.  And even "I Think I'm Going Bald" from Caress is debut-album-ish. 

 

 

Great topic.

 

My favorite off Presto is Scars followed by Superconductor.  Yes, the video for Superconductor is GOD AWFUL.  And I've complained previously about Geddy singing about waving his magic wand around.  Yuck.

 

Presto released at a bad time in my life and that memory has clung to it.  I place it way toward the bottom of the list, just above Snakes and Arrows.

If you don't consider "Before and After" to be a 10/10 song, then you're not listening to it correctly!

 

Actually, to each his own (or his moan).  If you're not crazy about BaA, then that's fine for you.  I honestly place every song on the debut high in rankings.  "Take a Friend" perhaps is lowest, but that still gets at least a 7/10 from me.  And I feel the need to say this here as well, John Rutsey was a damn good drummer.  He pounds them things just fine on that debut album, in my op.

We Rush fans are a bit weird is all.  Probably because Rush was so ignored through-out their first 30 years (or so).  Cream Magazine rarely ran an article and when it did, it was usually mostly negative.  Rolling Stone apparently never heard of them for decades, except for an odd advertisement, such as the A Farewell To Kings ad which I use, over in the corner there to the left.  They never received a request to appear on Saturday Night Live.  Stuff like that.

 

There was that magazine or website (or something) which ran a request for the best "driving" song ever.  Something like 65% of responses were Red Barchetta.  The other 199 songs (whatever they were and how many there actually were) made up the other 45% of answers.  The Editor noted the response and then shit all over Red Barchetta and Rush fans.

 

Now TV shows and Movies have Rush references all over the place.  Like the recent one where the guy is wearing a Hold Your Fire T-shirt.  "Hold Your Fire"?!  Of course, when a Rush song is heard in a Tv show or movie, it's usually Tom Sawyer.

 

 

4 hours ago, Charlotte7598 said:

Wow! I adore Chain Lightning (I find Presto to be an underrated album) and always wished they had played it live at least once, although I'm sure it would have brought up some of the trauma for Neil. How did it sound live??

It sounded great live.  There are just three guys in the band (The Rush Tribute Project) and they are all so incredibly spot on with their playing.  No, they're not Rush.  They're not Geddy or Alex or Neil.  But honestly, they are really close!  Really accomplished musicians, by my unprofessional estimate.  They sold out the theater, Arcada in St. Charles, Illinois.   I don't know where you're at, but definitely check them out if they happen to get near your area.  They also played Countdown, so that was surprising.  They played 3 hours with an intermission.

Charlotte7598, I'm right there with you on The Garden.  Not that I don't like it.  It's just way too sad to listen to.  Was at a Rush Tribute Project show this last Saturday and they played it.  Nailed it to the point that things got so sad.  They also played Chain Lightning, which I thought was fantastic.  I saw that a whole lot in the audience had no idea what song it was.  Chain Lightning is the one in which Neil wrote about "Sun Dogs fire on the horizon" and then "Reflected in another pair of Eyes".  Those eyes were his daughter, Selena's.  Neil wrote about that maybe in the Tour Book or maybe in the Rush Newsletter.  Really heart-wrenching.  And then they played Afterimage.  Honestly...  Tears to my eyes.  The show was labeled A Tribute To Neil Peart.

 

For any who don't know and may wonder, Sun Dogs are a weather phenomenon which occurs when it's a bright sunny day and way, way, way below zero.  Like Canada on a normal winter day.  You can look it up.

 

But yes, 10 years since Clockwork Angels was released.  Most certainly one of their absolute best. The Title song, Anarchist, Wreckers, Carnies and of course the incredible Headlong Flight.  Amazing stuff.

$9500?  I've got that right here...  White suit, right-hand pocket.

Yes, it's extremely fortunate that Geddy is so talented. An accomplished musician, singer, writer. Otherwise, he might have to dress up in a silly costume and wear goofy make-up so as to distract fans from a lack of talent.

The three "cards" artwork is a bass guitar, a guitar and a set of drumsticks forming an X. I had wondered about that too until I saw a close-up shot in one of the videos. It is a bit blah, just the two sticks on the white background. Maybe an arc of a drumhead with the sticks laying atop it would have been better.

 

The year 1978 is at two locations that I can see. Yes, on the Time Machine device, but also along side the right-side ramp (the one with the Hemispheres "Rush" on it. There are four "squares" standing up and each square has one number on it, 1 - 9 - 7 - 8. There are pictures on those squares too, but I can't figure out what they depict. You would think Geddy and Alex might have suggested that Stern use the year "2112" in those two spots instead of 1978. The thing about 1978 is that it was the year Hemispheres was released.

 

I'm also sort of surprised that they used an image of Tom Sawyer that relates to the actual Mark Twain book, as opposed to the song by Rush. It's the actual Tom Sawyer character on a raft on water. I wonder if Stern would have needed any clearance on the Mark Twain Tom Sawyer image. Hope they don't end up getting sued because they didn't get permission. If it's even needed, of course.

 

The image of Alex, Neil and Geddy on the playfield is even more odd than I at first noticed. One review of the machine noted that the image of Alex is very well drawn. Then the image of Neil is a bit downgraded and finally, the image of Geddy is pretty much cartoony.

 

Another thing pointed out by that reviewer, is that for $11,000.00 for the LE, you would think you'd get something with autographs from Alex and Geddy. Even if it's just on the special paper (or whatever it is) that is going to have the autograph of the guy who designed this particular machine. Along with a few other Stern autographs. Alex and Geddy would only have to be signing 1,000 times each. That really isn't that much.

 

Sounds like I'm doing nothing but complaining. As I wrote in my previous post, I absolutely most definitely hope to buy one of these machines one day. I think it's really awesome that Stern chose to work with Rush/Alex & Geddy on this. And that Alex and Geddy went along with it.

I used to have a Doctor Who pinball. When I sold it, I told myself "No more pinball machines." Well, looks like a chose the wrong decade to quit pinball machines.

 

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! Although I agree with the previous post that Neil doesn't look quite right. I wonder if they can do a touch-up before these go into mass production.

 

I won't be able to Rush out and buy one right away, but someday... someday.

That is shum wild shtuff.

 

Did Neil write all his lyrics like that? This is right in line with the sheets of lyrics on the original record sleeve of the Fly By Night album.

Those are some major Satisfied Customer reviews. Wow.

 

And here I just bought a new couch. Maybe I can trade.

That 3-photo poster that came with the album can be seen on the hallway wall outside the booth in a couple episodes of "WKRP In Cincinnati".

 

43 years old, eh? It still looks so young. I have the album-cover picture-disc, too.

I don't know. I think maybe that dream had you.

 

Hah! Get it? "Did I have a dream? Or did the dream... "

 

It's like a joke.

 

Sort of.

 

Well. Not really, I suppose.

 

Sorry.

WTF? Geddy Lee thinks "Lakeside Park" is a lousy song?!

 

He's not the only one. Neil is on record as saying he hated it too.

 

Neil said he hated "Lakeside Park"? This is one of his autobiographical songs, like "Circumstances", "Fly By Night" and "Ghost Rider". Besides that, "Lakeside Park" is a really beautiful song.

 

I think it would be really interesting to have Alex and Geddy sit down and listen to all the albums, one at a time, and see what kind of thoughts they have on all that music now. I wonder when the last time was that either of them heard any of "The Fountain of Lamneth"!

Indeed, I just see a comet .. as described in more detail here by Hugh Syme:

https://ultimateclas...r-trails-cover/

 

Thanks for posting this link. Interesting stuff there. Like Syme's explanation of the Vapor Trails cover and the inspiration for it. Looking at the cover now, I can see the black bars as simply being the night sky and the white in between being the night sky lit-up by the comet itself. I do remember, when it was released, that there was thought by some about the cover relating to 9/11. I didn't like that idea and chose to forget it. But I understood then and do now, the idea of that.

 

I liked the follow-up article, Rush's Top 10 Most Underrated Songs. WTF? Geddy Lee thinks "Lakeside Park" is a lousy song?!

From #5 of the article: That's a bowler hat worn by the "businessman". And that's Apollo, bringing truth, understanding, wit and wisdom fair. Not Dionysus, the nude dancer, who brings music, laughter, joy and tears. Dionysus is the one who wants everyone to throw off their chains of reason, which is the straight-laced Apollo's territory.

 

There are a number of mistakes through-out those 31 things. I knew a lot on that list, but definitely not everything. I can't, for the life of me, understand why the article thinks that tower on the AFTK cover is the CN Tower.

 

Has anyone spotted the portrait of President Calvin Coolidge on the cover of MP? Is he playing poker with the dogs?

 

Nothing mentioned regarding the chunk of metal falling to the sea on the cover of Grace Under Pressure. I recall there was a theory that it was supposed to be a piece of debris from an airplane shot down by Iran or the Lockerbie disaster. These theories were from when the internet was young. Nobody seemed to realize that GUP (and it's cover) was released in 1984, a number of years before those planes came down. Still wonder what that chunk of metal actually represents.

 

Didn't know about Geddy Lee suggesting adding the TVs to the cover of Power Windows. How do we know that TV isn't plugged in? The cord and outlet could be hidden from view behind the TV.

 

Never heard the Dennis Hopper story before. Frankly, I have a lot of trouble believing Hopper would have ever even considered posing for that. (IMO)

 

I've never liked the cover of Snakes and Arrows. Those Trading Post twin arrows near Flagstaff Arizona, are still there, though in disrepair. The remains of the Trading Post and the area of the arrows is a sad mess.

 

I still say there's part of an evil face (the Watchmaker?) on the cover of Clockwork Angels. The central point of the clock hands on the tip of the evil face's nose. Just below that, an evil smile with even a few evil teeth showing. Just the face's right eye present, winking evil-ly. But Syme doesn't say anything about it. So it's just me. But I'll always see it.

 

Oh, and according to Wiki, Dionysus, from the cover of Hemispheres, is portrayed by a dancer from the Toronto Ballet School. But there's no name given.

Got a message from Henderson today. They've got some new Rush stuff. A Moving Pictures 40th Anniversary ale and what they call a "chalice" glass. That's sold as a set of two. And you can get the ale with the glasses.

- - - - - -

 

In honour of the 40th anniversary of Rush's eighth studio album, Moving Pictures, Henderson Brewing and Rush have teamed up once again. This time, for a very special limited edition ale.

 

A Belgian Dark, strong ale with Riesling Must, this ale pours a gorgeous deep, ruby colour with a fine, tan head.

 

The taste is complex, with notes of dark fruit pudding, toffee, dates, cherries, honey, bread crusts and a slight booziness.

 

Perfect for aging, this 14% limited edition ale makes a great holiday gift. AVAILABLE ONLY IN CANADA.

Thanks for posting this. This was fantastic. The Ghost Rider did draw a tear, and Neil with his drums was just too cool. It is so amazing to me what these bands can do with these patterns. Phenomenal.

In his lyrics, Neil does say he has faith. He "clings to hope" and he does "believe in love". And "that's faith enough for" him.

 

I relate to this. What I hear in those lyrics is that Neil did not believe in religion or the church. But he does believe in love and in doing so, along with having hope, he believes that "there is more".

 

We all know that evil hides in many who preach and that includes in some churches. Look at the scandals of Catholic Priests and children. Look at the Taliban. The Taliban declares themselves "religious" and following their God, yet the Taliban has completed and utterly twisted the words of their God to suit their own horrific ideals. Even here in the US, many evangelists have twisted the words of their God to suit their own ideals. Some of those evangelists had hoped that the previous President of the USA would have started World War III so as to rid the world of who they consider "wrong" and then control the remaining populations.

 

I didn't mean to make this post "religious". I just wanted to say that I do like the song "Faithless" along with "Workin' Them Angels". I, like Neil Peart, do have faith, but not the sort that has so corrupted some in this world. I don't believe in a vengeful God that many do and would want me to. I don't believe in that corrupted "faith".

 

Now, regarding "A Passage To Bangkok"...

I was surprised that at the recent Primus "Tribute To Kings" concert in Chicago, the lead singer, who said he's been a fan since the Hemispheres tour when he was 14, pronounced it as "Pert" when speaking about Neil.

But weren't the international versions still censored for the behalf of Coca-Cola? Originally, Hugh Syme put a Coca-Cola billboard on the cover, but the Coca-Cola company said "no" because the billboard was too close to the lovely girl's panties.

 

And the Chicago Daily Tribune Company no longer objects to the "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline, and it has appeared on the cover of the newest LP pressings. I have one, I'm in Illinois, home state of the Chicago Tribune.

I suppose I should say that there are SPOILERS ahead, so if you're planning on seeing the Primus Tribute to Kings, you might not want to read some of this stuff I'm about to write.

 

 

 

Saw the concert at the Chicago Theater on the 21st of September. Really enjoyed the entire night. The Sword opened for Primus. No, had never heard of them. Their first song and a couple more further into their performance reminded me of early Black Sabbath. Pretty good stuff.

 

I had not been familiar with Primus or their own material at all. I had previously listened to one song of theirs which ended up in their 35 minute (or so!) encore Tuesday night. I did enjoy their songs. Their videos though were downright disturbing! (No, that's not a bad thing.) The plastic-like cowboys were strange enough, but the bass-playing pig with the circus performers behind him were incredibly weird!

 

One thing though, I would have liked it if, like Rush on stage, there had been some cameras on the guys and shots of them put up on the screen now and then. The videos kept repeating, forward and reversing. I also would have liked it if once in a while the guys on stage were lit up themselves. I watched the entire concert and honestly have to say I never saw what any of them look like because they were kept in the dark the entire concert.

 

The Tribute itself was just simply fantastic. Truly, fantastic. I was surprised at how much they stuck to the music as recorded and played by Rush. No, the singer is nothing like Geddy and certainly didn't have to try to be like him. He handled every song just great. Well, maybe he was off a little bit on Madrigal, but nothing terrible. He's a really good singer.

 

Most surprising of all to me, was that Primus invested in actual videos for the Rush songs. The video for Xanadu was great. I had actually seen the film footage used for Cinderella Man previously on YouTube. The footage from the 1920s that is. Someone has gone through a lot of trouble to repair and correct the speed of those films. Also colorized them to make them more life-like. Really cool.

 

Absolutely amazing was the video made for Cygnus X-1. WOW! Now THAT was a little bit of too much, eh?! Really incredible stuff.

 

Went to the concert with my best friend from High School who introduced me to Rush 41 years ago. I really owe him. What a Dude!

...so even if a song like Tai Shan is not very "Rushlike", I still think it's a worthy addition, and frankly more interesting than anything on Test For Echo or Snakes And Arrows.

 

I feel like I'm in the minority in that the stinker on the record for me is Turn The Page. I find it cloying and robotic and soulless.

 

Well, you certainly can't be chided for not having an opinion!

 

I'm not going to try to change your opinion, just respond with my own. I can't comprehend how you could find Tai Shan more interesting than anything on Test or Snakes. I myself consider Tai Shan to be my absolute least favorite Rush song, therefore I find every song on Test and Snakes much more interesting. Geddy Lee considers Tai Shan "an error". Alex Lifeson has said that Tai Shan is one of the worst songs the band ever recorded. It was a very personal song for Neil Peart and musically, Geddy and Alex couldn't give the lyrics what they needed.

 

Turn The Page is my second favorite on HYF. "Soulless"? There is absolutely no such thing whatsoever when it comes to any Rush song.

 

But again, just my opinion and I can respect yours.

 

Most if not all of your fair critiques are discussed in the blog here!

 

Thank you for that info, collectionzz. Now I understand the birds. Cool.