starscreamsrevenge

15 hours ago, Holdyourfireal said:

 

I talked to him two weeks ago.

Thanks for the reply. 

That's not the response we're after though unfortunately!  

Oh well, let's hope that Christmas scenario pans out...

40 minutes ago, Lurkst said:

Happy birthday Grace!

 

Thanks for that cool gif!!! 

I listened to "Grace" in full earlier. SO great 

In MY personal opinion (we're all entitled to them) this is the last album I enjoy from beginning to end. 

Don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of songs from every album I enjoy after this point, it's just there's always a few songs on each album that don't gell with me for whatever reason.

It's a shame Peter Henderson wasn't given a 2nd album to oversee a project from start to end - it's well documented he was virtually parachuted in to purely record the album, so couldn't really offer his opinions/advice on the material. It could have been interesting 

 See post below 

On a general note - Happy 40th Grace Under Pressure!!! 

I'll be cranking this one up later!!! 

On 4/11/2024 at 2:54 AM, Holdyourfireal said:

I sent a message to someone at Anthem about this and this was their reply: "I can tell you its certainly on my list of hopeful "to do"."

 

Doesn't sound like anything has been done regarding GUP.

 

Thoughts?

Hi,

Thanks for passing this along. How recently did you message your friend for this info out of interest? 

Just thinking out loud about what's just been revealed...I suppose if they were aiming for a Christmas release and they started work on it literally within the next couple of weeks, it might just be ready in time...but I admit it doesn't look good. 

That's a shame isn't it?  

What's everyone else's thoughts?

13 minutes ago, capoetc said:

 

Even with the dearth of a live show, I would have bought the Signals anniversary set if it had been released in a CD or CD/DVD/BluRay package -- I realize the value of LPs, but I simply don't collect them or use them.  

 

I think a Signals CDS/DVD/BluRay set packaged with a Signals tour shirt reprint would have sold a bunch more units ... a missed opportunity.  

 

I have already bought every Rush release, most in multiple formats (8-track, cassete, CD, remasters, etc), so one more would have been easy to justify.  

Exactly, they should have released it on CD to cater for different people's listening habits. 

That's why I jumped when they released the 2015 remaster as a standalone CD in Japan. It's probably one of my favourite remasters to be honest 

45 minutes ago, snowdog2112 said:

I want as much live stuff as I can get too, but the constant portrayal of them choosing not to give us live stuff on the Signals box set or to claim they're "at fault" or "to blame" is just weird to me. There was some live stuff with every single previous box set so there's no reason to think they wouldn't have included it if it existed and there has never even been a hint of anything multitrack recorded or filmed on the Signals tour. It was on my mind as soon as the MP box set was out, that if they continued the Signals one would be bare because there's no live stuff to speak of. It would have been a (very pleasant) shock to me if there was any. Hell, even the Wandering the Face of the Earth book identifies tons of specific shows that were recorded or filmed, but nothing noted at all on the Signals tour. The only way anyone could use the words blame or fault would be to say they should have known in 1982 that they'd be making 40th anniversary box sets.

Thanks for the reply.

This is where there's gaps in my knowledge, I haven't got the "Wandering the face of the Earth" book, so this is the first time there's a source out there saying that there actually is no live recordings from the Signals tour. Thanks for the info! 

I just think it's an indicament of the music industry that if some accountant says "this last boxset hasn't sold, it's not worth carrying on with these" that it's a shame we possibly won't get any more remasters, that's the disappointing thing to me.

HOWEVER, we're running before we can walk here!!! Let's see what the 12th brings and take things from there 

I think there's a couple of scenarios we're going to have to be patient about to see if there indeed will be a "Grace" 40th set: 

1 - There's going to be a press release on April 12th (the 40th anniversary of the album) for a release in June or something.

2 - An October announcement for a Christmas release .

I think if we get to October without hearing anything, regrettably I think the series will be done :( 

It's a shame if that happens, and it'll be due to lack of sales from the Signals 40th. They only had theirselves to blame with a lack of live content so that we'd all buy it...it's a vicious circle unfortunately :(

1 hour ago, grep said:

This would most definitely not suck.

Indeed  

Even if it is just the 7 songs from the Signals album they performed from some date, it would make up for it.

Fingers crossed we'll find out soon 

Before we all get excited, I have no info, I just wanted to ask a  couple of questions! :) 

We're getting closer to the 40th Anniversary of the release date of Grace (April 12th). Has anyone heard any info on when we might get an official confirmation of a set coming out?

We're only going by hunches that they should release a set! 

An idea that's come to my mind recently: They're probably well aware of the backlash that was caused with having no live material from the Signals tour on that boxset, so does anyone else think they might release an ep with the hyperthetical Grace set of Signals songs performed from some date on the Signals tour to try and make up for it? 

Probably not, but it's good to dream!! :) :)

On 6/18/2023 at 4:18 AM, ytserush said:

I hope all of the 2015 masters see a CD release. Even the live albums.

Let's hope so! 

I think using the "40th Anniversary" of an album's release has been deliberate. We're only 6 years now from Presto having that anniversary, so I think they're probably planning for everything up until Test For Echo.

Whether they get there will unfortunately depend on sales as everything does unfortunately, so if we want to see them released we've got to buy them :)

On 6/13/2023 at 11:52 PM, Rush Didact said:

In a nutshell: good, but not great.

 

I did a shootout between the three vinyl versions of RTB a while back: the original West German pressing, the Brazilian pressing, and the 2015 Magee pressing.

 

The Brazilian (unsurprisingly) was the worst.  Atrociously noisy vinyl to begin with, and it was very clearly mastered directly from the CD.  It sounds like someone just hooked a CD player up to a cutting lathe and let 'er rip.  It's thin, harsh, and grating, just like the original CD master was.

 

The other two, though... it's kind of a toss-up.  It comes down to what you prefer to listen to.  The West German has a more forward sound with a more aggressive midrange (a more stereotypically "rock" sound), while the Magee is more laid back, with mids that are a little recessed.  It sounds crisp, with a somewhat cleaner overall presentation.  The Magee has unquestionably the best quality vinyl, it's dead silent.

 

None of them really make me happy, though.  My preferred version is my own re-EQ'ed version of Kevin Gray's master that he did for Audio Fidelity.  I cut about 2 dB out of the upper mids (3 - 6 kHz) and gave it a gentle boost to the low end, adding about 0.5 dB to the sub bass and bass (40 - 150 Hz) and a full decibel to the bass "cloud" (150 - 500 Hz).  The vocals sound much more natural that way, it gives Ged's voice some body and power, and it brings out a lot of subtle synth and guitar parts that get buried under the screaming midrange it has in its original form.

 

If you ask me, no one has ever mastered RTB properly.  It's actually a really good sounding album if you cut back on those harsh upper mids.

 

As for Presto, it's more or less the same deal as RTB.  The American and West German pressings sound virtually identical, with more mids than the Magee.  Again, my preferred version is my own re-EQ'ed digital copy.

Just catching up on the thread after some time away. 

Thanks for the info about how Magee's master sounds on vinyl. If the conversion to CD sounds as good for this as the other 40th Anniversary masters on CD, they both should be worth getting (when we get to that point!) 

On 6/18/2023 at 4:13 AM, ytserush said:

 

 

Planned on getting the Japanese CD but now I'm not so sure. From what I've been reading the 2015 Magee master was messed with on this release and it runs slightly faster. I'm mystified why this was done if that's true. So I'm hesitant at this moment.

Hi,

Sorry for the delay on this, every time I think I'm set-up to receive notifications for the forum, it let's me down with not informing me of replies!!  Better late than never I suppose!

Signals is one of my favourite albums, so I'd know instinctively if the album was sped up slightly. To my ears, there's no speed change.

Even if there is a slight increase for arguments sake, what you're gaining from this new Magee remaster far outweighs any negatives or trepidations you might have in my honest opinion. 

I A/B'd the Magee master to Bob Ludwig's '97 master, and it was night and day in my opinion. Everything just seems more "laid back" and flat in Bob Ludwig's master when you're comparing them. Magee's master is definitely worth your money  It is still available on CDJapan fortunately! 

Hopefully Rush will be releasing all of Sean Magee's vinyl remasters on CD every time a 40th Anniversary of an album comes up. 

For anyone who has them, how does Sean's remasters for Presto and Roll The Bones sound out of interest? 

These are the two I'm most looking forward to hearing when we get to that point - only another 6 and 8 years to go ha ha!!! :) :) 

Don't know if this is going to work, but for anyone curious about how the SHM-CD looks for the Signals remaster from Japan, here are a few photos I took yesterday :) 

Front Case with OBI

https://flic.kr/p/2oGPfjP

Back Case with OBI

https://flic.kr/p/2oGRbHk

Back Cover showing 2015 remastering credit

https://flic.kr/p/2oGLc85

Full Booklet

https://flic.kr/p/2oGPY9y

Close-up Booklet showing 2015 remastering credit

https://flic.kr/p/2oGLc8f

CD Tray

https://flic.kr/p/2oGLc7Z

Interesting that they've virtually done a straight copy of the '97 Remasters case, even down to the three coloured hands tray!!! :) :)

For anyone on the fence about getting this on import, it's MOST DEFINITELY worth it. Sean has dome another FANTASTIC job with the sound quality of this :) :) :) 

There's nuances I'm hearing for the first time on all of the songs, the layers seem much more defined and jump out at you more, honourable mentions for the Electric Violin work on "Loosing It", and the helicopter and rocket sounds on "Countdown". 

It definitely beats paying $230 to listen to it!!! 

Roll on the Grace Under Pressure remaster for next year! 

Did you order via Amazon UK? They're still showing temporarily unavailable.

 

I imagine if a Signals 40th is in the pipeline it will be next year, which would tie in with the anniversary of the New World Tour anyway.

 

Also keeps things evenly spaced for a GUP 40th in 2024 and Power Windows in 2025.

Hi,

Yes Amazon UK. I double checked my order today and it does now say April 29th typically! I only checked it literally on Friday and it said then it was coming April 15th. Oh well :)

I suppose that release schedule makes sense. It's just technically these last two releases haven't been released on the 40th anniversary, but what can you do?! :)

Rush - Tom Sawyer (Live in YYZ 1981 / Audio)

 

BRILLIANT stuff!!! :) :)

If it's sounding THIS good on Youtube...I can't wait to crank this one up on Friday!!!

P.S. I'm from the UK too, Amazon are still saying it'll be with me Friday.

P.P.S. Without derailing the thread too much, has anyone heard any rumblings of a Signals 40th boxset?

When do we reckon it would be released, in time for Christmas (so it's actually released in the 40th year), or 2023 to stop market fatigue?

 

Regarding the Hammersmith Odeon London recording which is on both the 40th AFTK and Different Stages disc 3 ----> in my view the the audio fidelity on Different Stages disc 3 is just so much better sounding.

 

You're joking, right? DS disc 3 was blasted all to hell - the EQ (on the drums in particular but the mix as a whole) was atrocious and it was absolutely hammered with a compressor that sucked all the life out of it. They tried very, very hard to make it sound like it was recorded in 1996, not 1977. Terry's mix blows it out of the water, there's absolutely no comparing the two.

I agree that the Different Stages mix sounds better to my ears. There's no right or wrong answers here, we just have different tastes :)

It's probably having this mix as the only source of the concert for 20+ years!!

In Terry's mix, the crowd is WAY too quiet if you compare the two mixes. On Different Stages, it feels like you're standing in the middle of the audience, so it makes the concert more exciting as I'm feeding off the crowd's energy! :) The sound effects for "By Tor", again on Terry's they are VERY quiet in the mix.

I think if we'd never heard the Different Stages mix, we'd obviously be none the wiser and Terry's mix would be truly FANTASTIC (as band wise it is!!) but "it is what it is" as they say :)

Does anyone know the ins and outs of the 2 mixes out of interest? I'm assuming Terry is mixing the gigs from his era with the band because he owns the copyright to the recordings, being as he originally recorded them?

If so, how come that didn't apply for Different Stages? Wouldn't it have been easier for the Kings 40th to have released the full Different Stages mix, rather than pay Terry to re-mix it??

I'm just curious!! :)

Questions sent! Here's how I phrased all the suggestions I received, with a few of my own questions added:

 

1) Tell me about your formation years, and how did you get to become a producer. What drove you in this career path? Did you ever intend to write and play your own songs?

 

2) What are your memories of working on Jimi Hendrix’ Axis: Bold as Love?

 

3) When you worked with Rush, was all the material they brought in usually completed or did you have to help them expand or contract some songs? What was the song they brought that you changed the most?

 

4) It’s no secret that Neil, along with the other members, could be somewhat stubborn when it came to altering his already conceived drum parts. What was it like sharing your thoughts about those kind of band issues in the studio?

 

5) When Rush’s “A Farewell to Kings” was being recorded, what was the feeling like, recording in England, free from the pressure of the record company, since 2112 gave some semblance of artistic freedom?

 

6) Was there ever any discussion at any point after Rush’s “Signals”, about you possibly working again with the band?

 

7) Have you listened to all of Rush’s post-“Signals” material? What's your favorite album from their career after Signals?

 

8) How difficult was it for Rush to transition from recording bed tracks "off the floor" as a band, to tracking individual performances? Whose idea was it? Do you feel that what was gained by such an approach overcame any losses?

 

9) What qualities about Rush made you want to keep working with them after the first album? What did you see or hear in them that made you interested?

 

10) I would love to know your thoughts about developing artists over a period of several albums as Rush were allowed to back in the 70s before they started really having major success. How do you view your role as producer in terms of having played a part in Rush’s development?

 

11) Having worked with Lawrence Gowan way back before he became well known, what are your thoughts about Gowan's work with Styx?

 

12) Can you share some details of producing Cutting Crew's album, The Broadcast? The production was excellent as was the songwriting!

 

 

13) Do you see that sort of a relationship among band/producer/label as something that can ever come back in today’s music environment? Or is there some other way that the industry can foster artist development that doesn’t seem to be happening so much anymore?

 

 

14) Tell me about working with IQ on their “Are You Sitting Comfortably?” album. Did they contact you because of your work with Rush? How did the sessions go? Did you enjoy the experience and final product?

 

15) Voivod’s “Angel Rat” is a curious entry in the list of albums you produced. There was a lot of controversy among the band’s fan base when it was released, but through the years its reputation has been somehow redeemed. Was it a difficult album to work on?

 

16) Next month is the 25th anniversary of Fates Warning’s “A Pleasant Shade of Grey”, so it seems like a nice time to ask you about that masterpiece. What can you tell me about that album – it’s a very dense collection of songs, full of ambition on the band’s part!

 

17) Do you have any interest to work with Ray Alder or even Jim Matheos again, specifically to write vocal lines? Many fans really love the work you did with Ray on the Fates Warning albums (Parallels, A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Disconnected).

 

18) Speaking of another famous prog band, apparently the relationship between you and Dream Theater did not end well. Would you like to shed some light into that, and maybe tell us your side of the story? You worked with them on “Metropolis Part II: Scenes From a Memory”, one of the highlights of their career!

 

19) Metal / hard rock bands like Lizzy Borden and Fifth Angel speak wonders about working with you. How does your approach to production change, depending on the style of band you’re working with?

 

20) What singers and bands would he like to work with (or hypothetically, would have liked to have worked with), including some bands who may not be active anymore or even from the past?

 

21) Who are some producers or engineers that you particularly admire?

 

22) Who are some specific songwriters you particularly admire? Both from the past or more recent.

 

23) With all of the technology available, how come many albums recorded in the 80’s have a superior sound to an album recorded in the 2020’s?

 

24) You have worked with so many stellar artists, Jimi Hendrix up to present day bands, the stories should be put down somewhere for history. Would you consider writing a book at some point?

 

25) Your last production credit is 2021’s “Unfolded Like Staircase”, from Discipline. What are you working on at the moment?

He replied!!!!!!

 

I'll post the link here once it's published.

Some GREAT questions here, looking forward to reading them when you've got chance.

I'm SO jealous you got to meet Terry in person in 2019!!! It must have been special :) :)

Was he asked to produce any RUSH albums after he did Signals?

 

Will there be a 40th Anniversary Edition of Signals?

 

Both great questions, but any albums after Signals is a burning question for me!

I'll go one further and ask:

"Did you ever ask the guys/Ray if you could produce another album after Signals?"

I interviewed Terry in a similar fashion to you (written answers via email) for a University assignment I was doing about 10 years ago. You'll get some GREAT answers that's for sure! :)

Terry was originally going to come over TO MY HOUSE to do the interview (he was obviously in England at the time) but unfortunately schedules changed at the last minute, so we had to do written answers :( :(

I thought about asking him these questions then, but I didn't know how he'd take the questions (especially if we had done the interview in person).

It was a shame, but it would have been nerve wacking IN THE LEAST to be literally feet away from my main production inspiration!! Oh well, what might have been...

Good luck with the interview, and please keep us updated :)

Anyway, back to the other people with slightly more measured responses..

I agree that Rush has a uniqueness to their own, and don't get me wrong I do enjoy other eras (Peter Collins' production style is probably on a par with Terry, maybe more so with his use of the stereo field). It is just this album I'm finding hard to swallow.

Hopefully when I see them at the NEC next Sunday the songs will 'speak' to me more. I suppose we'll see.

My view about Terry isn't nessecerily about Terry's production style (although sonically it makes stuff from 40 years ago impressive) but more from the fact that he helped the guys structurally with their songs.

Don't forget, all of Terry's albums has him credited for arrangement duties too. (I don't think no-one else did that, did they?)

Peter Collins would also be great to have back in the chair as such.

GET A LIFE, CA is a GREAT album!!!!!!

I think that is uncalled for, I am of course only expressing my opinion

Ok, here's my verdict on Clockwork Angels (and I've a feeling some of you may not like it). I've had these feelings for 12 months so here goes:

SONIC ISSUES

Sonically it is a REAL letdown, everything is mashed and compressed to the hilt and I have to FORCE myself to listen to the album. I NEVER get past about track four, and I skip the albums songs constantly to hear the majority of the album.

In this whole 12 months I just CANNOT listen to this the whole way through. The vinyl version is slightly better soundwise, but it seems when Geddy's vocals come in, it mushes everything else up.

I suppose this is what you get if your producer records during the morning and mixes through the afternoon. I CAN"T believe a professional producer would do that to a product. I'm undertaking a production course and one of the basic 'rules' if you like is all about ear fatigue. A fine example of how NOT to do it is on this album.

SONG ISSUES

Ok, when the single of Caravan/BU2B came out I was excited!! Rush were back and sounding better than ever (even the sonics sounded great). I had VERY high hopes for this album and couldn't wait for it to come out.

I think the biggest thing which hurt this album was the guys doing the Time Machine Tour for two years and THEN finishing the album. To me, the rest of the songs are very predictable and are too much of the same style of song. The great thing with early Rush (such as Farewell, Permanent Waves etc) there is a variety of styles on the album which gives the listener something different to appreciate (such as 'Cinderella Man' , 'Entre Nous', 'Different Strings' etc etc) when coupled with the heavier numbers gives an overall cohersion to the album in my opinion. I think if the guys had finished the album before going out on tour, I think the end result would have been very different.

The lyrics also are kind of treading on the same path we've had time and again since the 80s, Neil's views and insecurities. Now I have nothing but respect for Neil coming to terms with all the tragedy he's faced over the years and I suppose you can appreciate him going down this route lyrically for a couple of albums, but why for a couple of songs can't he change the subject matter? His sci-fi lyrics are wonderful.

WHERE TO GO NOW

I know Rush have had a long and varied career and experimented with a lot of different styles, but lets face it, when we think of Rush, do we REALLY think of songs like Marathon or Presto to describe the band, or do we talk about 2112 and Farewell to Kings? From 2112 - Signals (though I have a REAL issue with side 2 of Moving Pictures) the band were on FIRE production wise and song content. These songs have endured for nearly 40 years, there must be a reason for this.

I would LOVE for the guys to bury the hatchet with Terry Brown and use Terry's guidance to shape the album we've been waiting for since 1982. Something major obviously occured in the studio during Signals, but lets face it, they're both not getting any younger. Terry was the fourth member of Rush in my opinion, so for him to return to what would probably be the bands final album would bring the process full circle.

Its not like Terry's been idle either, he's still working in the industry, the most recent of which is a band called 'Blurred Vision'. He's also produced 'Fates Warning' and 'Silent Running' over the years, even producing "I Just Died In Your Arms" for 'Cutting Crew' in 1986.

What does everyone think? These thoughts are obviously MY opinion so lets not get into silly arguments over whose right or wrong (no-one is - we've all got our 'Freewill')

Hi,

First time on this forum, hope we have some good discussions.

Could anyone please tell me what concert the following recordings are from please:

http://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2011/04/26...ities-from-MitA

(Final Track in the list!)

I've been after a complete Permanent Waves show for ages, ever since I heard the AMAZING St Louis show. Now if there's a show to be released officially, that is it.

Anyway, I digress a bit, but if this show is complete (I'm assuming its one show) and anyone has it, I'd love a copy of it if possible.

Thanks a lot