HomesickAlien

QUOTE (jnoble @ Jul 20 2012, 06:04 PM)Presto by a mile. Yes it sounds thin and dated by comparison but at least it's listenable. The songs are memorable and have proper intro-verse-verse-chorus arrangments. Oh, and MELODYS. Geddys singing on Presto is some of the best he ever recorded. This was years before Neil forgot how to compose lyrics that could be put into a good song and Geddy lost his range and had to resort to yodeling and awkwardly shoehorning in the words. And the whole "wall of distorted overlayered guitars and bass" sound that started and has been getting worse since TFE. That's a bit harsh, but I agree to some extent with what you're saying. I think we're all willing to make allowances for Geddy's diminished vocal range. It's unrealistic to expect him to have the vocal abilities of a 30 year old forever. As for the "wall of sound", that's just Alex trying to make the last three albums sound like his solo album.

QUOTE (LedRush @ Jul 20 2012, 02:39 PM)QUOTE (treeduck @ Jul 20 2012, 02:35 PM) QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Jul 20 2012, 02:33 PM) QUOTE (treeduck @ Jul 20 2012, 02:30 PM) Presto to me is the weakest RUSH album overall with very thin sounding production similar to the follow-up album Roll the Bones that was some one-two punch. However, the public at large loved RTB. It reversed the decline of album sales that began with Signals. I think elsewhere you said that RTB "delivered on the unfinished promises" of Presto.

Presto I like S&A, but I'll take Presto over Snakes any day, even if it does have the stink of Rupert Hine all over it.

QUOTE (New World Kid @ Jul 18 2012, 07:55 PM)QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Jul 18 2012, 04:38 PM) QUOTE (New World Kid @ Jul 18 2012, 01:16 PM) I'm not sure. I voted 8-10 1) Vapor Trails 2) Grace Under Pressure 3) Counterparts 4) Presto 5) Moving Pictures 6) Snakes and Arrows 7) Permanent Waves After this, things start getting indecisive for me: 8) ? Power Windows ? 9) ? Hold Your Fire ? 10)? A Farewell to Kings ? 11)? Clockwork Angels ? 12)? Signals ? 13) ? Test for Echo ? It definitely beats out the following albums: Rush Fly by Night Caress of Steel Hemispheres Roll the Bones So I think it's highest ranking for me would be 8-10, so that's what I voted. Vapor Trails #1 and Hemispheres at the bottom is certainly not something you see every day I've said it a few times, but songs about Greek Gods and dudes getting sucked into Black Holes are just... silly. Vapor Trails is so raw, so real. Such is my opinion, carry on with the thread xD Please give Hemispheres another try. It doesn't deserve to be at the bottom of your list with an embarrassment like RTB.

No way CA is a top ten album. With the exception of the debut album and FBN, it doesn't come close to anything prior to, and including, Presto. It may be better than Counterparts, but that's not saying much because I don't regard that album very highly. It's a very good album, the best in a long time, but not top ten.

QUOTE (LedRush @ Jul 16 2012, 09:51 PM)QUOTE (substancewithoutstyle @ Jul 16 2012, 07:54 PM) QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Jul 16 2012, 07:50 PM)QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Jul 16 2012, 07:46 PM) QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jul 16 2012, 06:44 PM) The first really stinking album, imo. true actually.....the start of a sharp decline... presto was certainly nothing to brag about. Presto is where they started to roll down the hill, but they fell off the cliff with RTB. Interesting, as RTB won back a huge number of fans that were lost because of HYF and Presto. Counterparts lost them all again. It seems incredibly odd that someone could like Counterparts and dislike T4E, which improves on Counterparts in every possible way. Ditto with RTB and Presto. I know I've been poking fun at what are obviously some of your favorite albums. It's just that, at least for me, the string of albums from Presto through T4E marked a considerable decline in Rush's creativity. The number of bad songs far outnumbered the good. While I don't hate Counterparts, it's only marginally better than the others in a quartet of, at best, mediocre albums, save perhaps Presto. However, that's just my opinion and any criticism is just good natured fun. What matters is that you like them. That said, T4E is an improvement on CP?

No! I think that album is back in the vault and never to see the light of day. You're guaranteed to hear Tom Sawyer and Limelight. They're concert staples, and casual fans as well as first timers like yourself expect them to be performed. Whatever they play, you're going to have a great time!

QUOTE (substancewithoutstyle @ Jul 16 2012, 07:54 PM) QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Jul 16 2012, 07:50 PM)QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Jul 16 2012, 07:46 PM) QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jul 16 2012, 06:44 PM) The first really stinking album, imo. true actually.....the start of a sharp decline... presto was certainly nothing to brag about. Presto is where they started to roll down the hill, but they fell off the cliff with RTB. ...and landed on a skeleton with a purple mohawk.

QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Jul 16 2012, 07:50 PM)QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Jul 16 2012, 07:46 PM) QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jul 16 2012, 06:44 PM) The first really stinking album, imo. true actually.....the start of a sharp decline... presto was certainly nothing to brag about. Presto is where they started to roll down the hill, but they fell off the cliff with RTB.

QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Jul 16 2012, 05:44 PM)QUOTE (LedRush @ Jul 16 2012, 04:45 PM) QUOTE (substancewithoutstyle @ Jul 16 2012, 04:35 PM) I never really cared for it. They were trying too hard to sound like the alternative bands that were around at the time. The first time I heard Animate I heard similarities to Evenflow by Pearl Jam. I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but I don't like the results. I can understand why a lot of people like it, because it is sandwiched between RTB and T4E! RTB and T4E another two gems from the 90's. Poorly faceted cubic zirconia!

QUOTE (LedRush @ Jul 16 2012, 04:45 PM)QUOTE (substancewithoutstyle @ Jul 16 2012, 04:35 PM) I never really cared for it. They were trying too hard to sound like the alternative bands that were around at the time. The first time I heard Animate I heard similarities to Evenflow by Pearl Jam. I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but I don't like the results. I can understand why a lot of people like it, because it is sandwiched between RTB and T4E! I love RTB and T4E! Each one improved on the unfinished promise of the previous album. Presto is superior to RTB, even though it marked the beginning of a period of creative decline. CP is a masterpiece compared to T4E, at least some real effort went into it.

I never really cared for it. They were trying too hard to sound like the alternative bands that were around at the time. The first time I heard Animate I heard similarities to Evenflow by Pearl Jam. I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but I don't like the results. I can understand why a lot of people like it, because it is sandwiched between RTB and T4E!

QUOTE (ColdFireYYZ @ Jul 15 2012, 01:04 PM)This guy has way too much time on his hands... Exactly. It sounds like it was written by an academic who was just disgruntled by the direction Rush's music took in the 80's. LSD & Rush? I'm sure they experimented with just about everything back in the day, but I can't picture them as having been regular users. On the other hand, I wish I had the money they must have spent on the bales of pot they must have smoked back in the 70's!

My God, you must have put an awful lot of thought into this! I've been a Rush fan since the early 80's, and at times have driven friends and family crazy with my "Rush talk" , but even I would never concoct something like this rating system. I'm new around here, and I'm honestly not having a go at you, but am I the only one who thinks this is just a bit over the top? That said, if anyone decides to do this, I hope you have fun. I'm almost afraid what I'll discover when I return to this thread tomorrow morning!

QUOTE (Bangster of Goats @ Jul 14 2012, 09:45 AM)QUOTE (substancewithoutstyle @ Jul 14 2012, 09:37 AM) QUOTE (Bangster of Goats @ Jul 14 2012, 09:06 AM)...came out only 4 years after Moving Pictures. For some reason this makes my brain hurt. Does this mean you don't like Power Windows? Some elaboration would be helpful. I am still in the process of collating data, and assembling charts and plotting graphs. I should have a full presentation ready by the end of next week. No, seriously... I love Power Windows! I was just listening to it while I made that initial post. It's just the huge stylistic changes, and studio output, in those four or five short years that hurt my widdle bwain. Stylistically, the shift came with Signals. Keyboards are brought to the forefront, and the guitar sounds become echoing, razor thin and Andy Summers-esque. Hints of this sound can be heard on Vital Signs on MP, but the big shift came with Signals. GUP and Power Windows were a natural evolution of this sound.

QUOTE (Bangster of Goats @ Jul 14 2012, 10:53 AM)The Power Windows album was actually my first "new" Rush album (and my first tour) so it will always have a special place in my heart and mind. I started liking Rush I think in 1982 or so, but I didn't start collecting their albums until Grace Under Pressure came out, which became my first ever Rush album. I then had everything by May 24 1985 -- very coincidentally Caress of Steel was the last one I had to buy and I just happened to buy it that day! (When I first heard the line "everyone would gather on the 24th of May..." I did a doubletake looking at the date on my watch and then chuckled to myself.) And then I had "the new one" to look forward to that would be coming out that fall... I remember taping Big Money off the radio as the album release neared, and playing it over and over... When it came out, everyone was hating the "new" Rush but I loved it! All the 80s stuff, not just PoW, holds a special place for me as a matter of fact, those being my high school years and all. "When/how I discovered Rush" experiences are always fun to read. It was no fun being a Rush fan in high school in the 80's. Kids at my school dropped them like they were contagious when Signals was released. They even bitched because Alex cut his hair!

QUOTE (Bangster of Goats @ Jul 14 2012, 09:45 AM)QUOTE (substancewithoutstyle @ Jul 14 2012, 09:37 AM) QUOTE (Bangster of Goats @ Jul 14 2012, 09:06 AM)...came out only 4 years after Moving Pictures. For some reason this makes my brain hurt. Does this mean you don't like Power Windows? Some elaboration would be helpful. I am still in the process of collating data, and assembling charts and plotting graphs. I should have a full presentation ready by the end of next week. No, seriously... I love Power Windows! I was just listening to it while I made that initial post. It's just the huge stylistic changes, and studio output, in those four or five short years that hurt my widdle bwain. I also love the album, but my only complaint is with The Big Money. That song just hasn't aged well for me, and I find myself skipping it more often as the years pass ---it doesn't help that every time I hear it I think of that lame video for the song! Excellent guitar solo, though. That said, I thought this was going to be one of those "80's Rush sucks" threads. My favorite run of Rush albums is Signals through HYF, but I realize that's probably a minority opinion among Rush fans. I like the New Wave/Hard Rock hybrid sound, with some proggy moments thrown in for good measure. Be prepared to defend the album, as I'm sure there will be a few Power Windows haters!

QUOTE (Bangster of Goats @ Jul 14 2012, 09:06 AM)...came out only 4 years after Moving Pictures. For some reason this makes my brain hurt. Does this mean you don't like Power Windows? Some elaboration would be helpful.

March 20,1986 Power Windows Tour Market Square Arena, Indianapolis My mom gave me hell because I came home stoned, but she did let me skip school the next day! Those days are long since over!