Hemisteers

He produced his Fish out of Water album which IMO sounds amazing.

I also disliked Cygnus X-1 Book I, and now I enjoy it.

Being a Rush fan for 10 years, I finally listened to Grace Under Pressure LOUD a year ago! Then it just happened from there: Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Presto, Etc. Something clicked. I always overlooked all of their albums post-Signals. I think seeing them live helped me see the light, since they played all those Power Windows songs. Now, I see every Rush album has having something great. I am happy that I was able to get over my misconceptions of the later stuff. "The Pass" always kind of made me cringe and now it is one of my faves. It's funny how tastes change!

It's up. But this is a much heavier, murkier album than anything they've ever done. They've made some heavy sounding albums in the past. This is heavy not just in terms of sound, but lyrical content and Geddy's delivery of said lyrics. I don't picture anyone reaching for CA if they are going through a rough patch, so to speak. The emotions deliberately conveyed throughout CA are sadness, fear, anger, and bitterness, but also, at times, excitement, joy and integrity. The energy is there. It is just very minor key. I don't view this as a detriment to the album, but just as my subjective experience when listening to it. The album is very dark. I can't call it truly exciting or fun until Headlong Flight, which is 9 tracks in. The first 8 tracks all have a similar feel to them. There's a little bit of hope in the end with "The Garden", but not much. That being said, I think the production holds back the album a bit. It sounds nothing like Vapor Trails, but has some of the same problems like having too much bass in the very low end. The bass, drums, and guitar mix together in the low end too much and the instruments don't separate as much as I like them to in a good studio recording. So the pluses are the compositions, musical instrumentation, and originality. Every song is memorable. It also translates brilliantly to the live stage. It suffers a bit from mediocre EQ. Also, this album can be a little bit difficult to get through at times due to the bleakness of it all.

Thank you so much for posting this. I am going through losing my grandmother. She is suffering everyday and I just hope I get a chance to say goodbye like you did with your dad. Please take care of yourself and I wish you the best

If Tai Shan is an error then what is Virtuality and Dog Years? The apocalypse?

The acoustic strumming in presto overall is amazing. But I like the dingadingadingading part when Geddy sings "I'm not one to believe in magic". The guitar really makes that song, especially that nifty part!

Why, it's Mr. Gary Lee Weinrib. Of the Gary Weinrib Show? "Let the barmitzvah begin!"

This is such a chill album from Rush. I am surprised that so many fans dislike it but that's life. The Color of Right and Time and Motion are my jams.

^^^ Which one is that? The decending then ascending one in the break?

I am realizing that every single Rush album has something to offer musically. They are all different, and it is what it is (and what ever). When I was younger, I always listened to the first 20 seconds of a song from CP, T4E, RTB, etc and compare it to _______ (movingpicturessignalsfarewelltokingshemispheres) album. I am getting away from that gut reaction of comparing everything to "the greats" and instead just appreciating their other work for what it is. Edit: I also wanted to mention, every Rush album has exceptional guitar, bass, and drum playing. So I think it is easier to get into their middle period stuff if you focus on the actual textures and nuances of the sound. (IE, Geddy's tone, Neil's fills, and Alex's solos/overall sound.

Back in 2000, as a mere middle school student, a great pal and I decided to raid my father's CD shelf. We each had Sony Discman (!!) players and a stack of about 2 dozen CDs. Among them Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell, Pink Floyd, Yes's Fragile, and many others. We went through about half of them when I remember putting Moving Pictures in the player and hearing the synthesizer and drums of Tom Sawyer. I was like dude, I KNOW you've heard this song, and handed him the headphones. We skipped through the songs, taking turns listening on my tiny Sony earbud headphones. The excitement I felt was amazing just sitting here thinking about it. I think discovering that album was a breakthrough for me as a kid. It made me want to learn guitar, which I did later, and I wanted to learn everything about the band. I also found Chronicles by Rush on the shelf and explored even further. We must have been up until 4 in the morning listening to Rush. Sadly that friend of mine is no longer here. But, I will always have that wonderful memory of truly discovering Rush with him that night. Rush is still my favorite band all these years later.

Nice! I think that is a prime approach :) We should also be optimistic. Geddy turns 60 in a week but doesn't look a day over 50. The guys have tons of energy and are taking care of themselves. Neil has discovered a new found optimism as well. The past few years has brought them into a spotlight but only because of their hard work. And the guys seem to be eating it up.

This album I only discovered this year after hearing Dreamline and Where's My Thing at the Mohegan and Prudential shows.I really enjoy the whole theme of fate, chance, and nostalgia on this one. I always overlooked this album when I was younger and less musically mature, but now I really like it.

I usually run into a roadblock when it comes to Geddy's voice. Whatever. I'd rather not try convincing anyone.All I know is that their music speaks to me and many other people. Plus, if everyone in the world liked Rush, we wouldn't be as cool, right?

The solo to The Analog Kid. What an adrenaline rush!

Face Up isn't that bad, even though it could pass for a theme song for a NFL game... That said, Dreamline, Bravado, Roll the Bones, and Where's my Thing are all great for me. The Big Wheel and Heresy, not sure what others think about them but they are quite pleasant to me. Real fun to listen to. There might be a bum track or 2 on this album, but most of them give me that "live Rush" high.

Wow! That encore ripped my face off