Lieutenant Dan

I admit I'm an Eagles fan, and that was f***ing hilarious! :laughing guy:

To preface, I like both bands a lot. I've invested in a lot of albums and videos by both groups. I guess my only issue with both bands is IMO they outlasted their relevance. I would have been happy to see U2 quit after "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and REM after 'Monster' when Berry announced retirement. Sticking around to release stuff not worthy of their legacies only diminishes their accomplishments, to me. For REM, love everything from Murmur to Monster, and I like the shades of every album. My favorite is probably 'Reckoning'....I just really enjoy those tunes. For U2, there are things I like about 'Boy' and 'October', but I love 'War' (super consistent, too). My favorite is 'The Unforgettable Fire', and 'Achtung' and 'Joshua' are super strong too. However, not going to pick one over the other, but I suppose REM was more consistent over their 'relevant career span' that I outlined above than U2 was.

"Hoedown" --ELP Live: Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends For me...first and last word in amazing keyboard solos, and the whole tune is played at light speed in the early 70's when ELP had a belly full of fire! MUST hear the Moog solo that starts around 2:39, but really you need to listen to the whole tune for context. If you've never heard this version before you are in for a treat. Sorry.could not figure out the embedding...

Top 10 in Canada. Peaked at #21 in the American Top 40. Thanks for the specifics, #21 for three weeks ain't bad in the US charts! :)

Great thread. For someone who may not yet really know about progressive stuff, I'd introduce them the same way I was introduced: "New World Man". It's an accessible, great little encapsulation of what Rush is about, IMO. It's short, concise and digestible to an 'untrained' ear, yet it still has the elements that makes Rush...Rush. It has cool lyrics (IMO, opinion anyway), great bass line, tasty but exciting drumming from Neil, and Alex providing texture, and in the pre-chorus, drives the song with his appregios. It's an excellent, brief Rush sampler. From there, it's very easy to start moving into their other stuff. I also would think since this was their only top 10 song that it would likely have done AS much, if not more, to bring in new fans to the band (like it did for me).

I feel the same way, and Townshend is generally revered in the guitar community. How many others have you heard that sound like that? Pete has an amazing voicing on his chords, and the way that he can mute/chop a chord (especially at those volumes) is what helps make him so sonically unique (Won't Get Fooled Again is just littered with examples of this, as is the final part of 'Cry if you Want; from the 'It's Hard' album). It is his rawness of power and a cutting style that shouts his passionate no-bullshit honest approach and love of the music that helps to touch people's hearts. It's that same in-your-face style that some other people won't appreciate, and that's fine too. Pete's one of the colors of the rock guitar rainbow.

That's a great idea. Listening to them the way you are can be a bit of an overload, as they are so eclectic. It actually took me some time as well to come around on these albums, aside from the 'hits', but they are a fun and rewarding band to listen to. Brian May is a bloody genius, and makes remarkable musical choices for solos as well as his rhythm playing. Roger Taylor is an underrated drummer, and is one of the very few that has a recognizable sound and style (my short list for that kind of thing includes Roger, Bonham, Peart, Copeland, and Phil Collins). Freddie's talent and breadth of range is readily apparent, not to mention his charisma and showmanship. He's in my top three best rock vocalists. Finally John Deacon's bass playing was a primary driver in my earliest interest in picking up the bass, and that was cemented after hearing Yes and Rush :) I picked up on the genius of Brian May on the very first song on the very first album I listened to. Sorry to say, he knocked Alex out of first place for me. I remember reading in a Queen biography that Clapton was a huge fan of May. Comparing guitarists is very subjective...however we certainly all have our cats that we prefer by the way their way playing speaks to us. In Alex's case, his style and role in Rush is a bit more textural and supportive with Ged and Neil doing their 'action-packed busy-ness'. However, I'd put forth the solos from 'Limelight' and 'The Camera Eye' right off the top of my head as brilliant stuff, and quite emotive. Of course there's the more noodley side of Alex with stuff like 'Freewill' and 'La Villa'....he can do a lot, but I appreciate how tasty his playing is. Lindsey Buckingham was mentioned by bluefox4000, and I'll second that he's an amazing player and damned underrated. I won't hijack this esteemed Queen thread on an extended Lindsey lovefest, but his bluegrass style of fingerplaying and the speed and precision he can play at (not to mention some fairly great songwriting chops and vocals) makes him pretty formidable. He's no shredder, but there's shredders that can't do what he can, either. To circle back to Brian May...his solos are so lyrical and imaginative, and I swear at times his guitar can sound like a cello (listen to his Brighton Rock solo on Live Killers!). He has an amazing touch and is in Hendrix's neighborhood for understanding how to control touch w/high volume to deliver amazing variables and dynamic sounds. Brian can play at a pretty good clip too. Certainly no Vai or Malmsteen, but the music never requires that kind of speed. Hell he did a great job of playing Steve Howe's flamenco bit on electric immediately following Howe's break on Innuendo. That is not easy! A couple of unsung choices by Brian I'd like to finish this post with...on 'I Want To Break Free' I love his little octaving signature (like a bass would do) for the 'Baby can't you see...God know's I just...' part. Another is on 'The Invisible Man' from 'The Miracle'. I just happen to love how he does the two-chord riff in stereo to pump up the song even more and give that hard dance track a good rock stamp to it. Those are small, more subtle examples of what a great player can do to support a song. When a master does something simple like that, it sounds even better. And that is also what makes Alex's parts sound so special as well.

That's a great idea. Listening to them the way you are can be a bit of an overload, as they are so eclectic. It actually took me some time as well to come around on these albums, aside from the 'hits', but they are a fun and rewarding band to listen to. Brian May is a bloody genius, and makes remarkable musical choices for solos as well as his rhythm playing. Roger Taylor is an underrated drummer, and is one of the very few that has a recognizable sound and style (my short list for that kind of thing includes Roger, Bonham, Peart, Copeland, and Phil Collins). Freddie's talent and breadth of range is readily apparent, not to mention his charisma and showmanship. He's in my top three best rock vocalists. Finally John Deacon's bass playing was a primary driver in my earliest interest in picking up the bass, and that was cemented after hearing Yes and Rush :)

A Day at the Races is comparatively uneven to me after A Night at the Opera, but if you give it a couple more spins I think you'll derive more enjoyment from it. That one has to grow on you a bit. My favorite albums are (no particular order): Sheer Heart Attack News of the World A Night at the Opera Favorite song from the whole lot might be 'It's Late' from NOTW. Talk about firing on ALL cylinders!

Some great ones mentioned so far; particularly The Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense, Queen: The Days of our Lives, REM TV, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, and Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Aside from those, here's my toppermost list, w/live dvd's first followed by docs: Live DVDs: Depeche Mode: Devotional - simply exceptional performance and very well shot from their "Songs of Faith, Love and Devotion" album tour. The Police: Certifiable - I was knocked out by how well they could still play together and their energy. Sting still sounds amazing. Rick Wakeman, The Legend: Live in 2000 - Solo concert w/lots of hilarious anecdotal stories. Amazing versions of some of his best stuff, along with a couple of classics and covers. Yes: House of Yes (Live from House of Blues) - This is from 1999's Homeworld tour, with Igor on the keys and Billy on rhythm guitar and additional vox. For my money, the best version of Awaken I've heard, and possibly And You And I as well. The rest of the set is incredible as well. This concert got me back into playing bass guitar again in 2000. Yes: Symphonic Live - Again, for my money, the best version of Close to the Edge I've heard (or at least equal to the studio version). Also, my favorite Steve Howe acoustic solo. What a great group performance, and hey, there's a lot of cute 20-something gals in the orchestra too. The whole thing works better than you think. Best documentary not mentioned so far: Yes: Yesyears - Really, it's my gold standard for how to do a great retrospective doc on a band, especially one with so many personnel changes.

This came as a shock this morning.... RIP, Keith. Thank you for so much great music, influencing countless people to play, your crazy on-stage performances, and your sense of humor. Selfishly...I'm saddened that he and Rick Wakeman never did a project together.

Back in 1980, I had just go Live Killers on cassette as my second Queen album (after The Game). My first listen to it was in fact several hours, as my dad set me out front to weeding a rather large area of our rural property. It was an all day affair, on my knees and pulling weeds from the dirt, while my little portable played Live Killers for hours and hours. It sounds like a lousy time, but Queen made it such a rewarding day musically I didn't care. This really elevated my interest in a broader range of their music and showed me what they were like before The Game and the only other songs I'd heard from them on my limited radio; We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions. I went on a race to get their cassettes as I could afford them back then, but again, I had some difficulties tuning to the deep cuts on the albums at that time. So happy to be back in with them again. My favorites are Rush, Yes, Queen, The Police, and Dire Straits amongst many bands that I love musically.

LOL, this thread made me spend money. Though I did want to thank you guys for helping me to want to dig back into their catalogue to find these gems again. I went back on iTunes and re-purchased albums that were either never purchased or long-lost on cassette in the 80's that I didn't necessarily get in to at the time. Jazz A Day at the Races Sheer Heart Attack News of the World I have a new appreciation for all of them, but I have to say that 'News of the World' is just tremendous to me, and 'It's Late' has quickly shot to the top of my favorite Queen songs. Just stunning!!! My collection now is actually only missing Queen, Queen II, IAKOM and The Works (which I used to have but never cottoned to but for a couple of songs).

Correct. I appreciate the talent of Dream Theater...but I do not like them even a little.

I will try to answer based on my wife's perspective. She is very open to music, and loves heavier stuff like Godsmack, NIN, Disturbed, and all the Seattle stuff from the 90's. She also loves Rick Wakeman, a lot of country music, pop from the 80's and 90's, some classical (she played the viola), no jazz. She can appreciate stuff like Led Zep and Jimi Hendrix, but doesn't actively listen to it on her own if I'm not playing it in the car. She also digs a lot of classic rock from the 70's. She does not like progressive stuff. I've tried to expose her to Rush, Yes, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, etc. With Yes, despite her love for Wakeman, she doesn't necessarily dig Jon's singing or the group vocal style, which does have a unique cadence. And she thinks they can be long-winded. However, she WILL listen to them sometimes when I play it in the car (I try to avoid the more challenging tunes when she is in the car). Now...Rush. It's funny with her because she sat and watched "Beyond the Lighted Stage", and has sat through me watching several of Neil's drum videos and she's even half-way paid attention to a couple of concert DVD's. So I would sum up her likes and dislikes of Rush thusly: What she likes about Rush: ---Camaraderie of the band. She totally gets their friendship and appreciates their longevity and loyalty. She also knows all about Neil's deal as i relayed a lot of 'Ghost Rider' to her while I read it. ---Their humor. She admits she would LOVE to have them over for dinner. She agrees that Alex may be The Funniest Man Alive. ---Their IQ. She gets that they are very very smart. ---Their ability and talent. She is completely aware of how good they are, and she appreciates Neil's talent especially. My bringing Rush into the house in 2003 when we got together and turning her 15 year old son onto them (he's a drummer) has helped save his life and got him through high school. Rush is still his favorite band and he's a splendid drummer in a band, playing like a mix of Neil with Bonham's right foot. Funny how I could never quite get him to 'get' Moon, though LOL. ---She very much digs that they do things on their own terms. What she does not like about Rush: ---Yep...Geddy's voice. In particular on the older stuff. She likes New World Man okay. ---Like the Emperor of Austria said in Amadeus: "Too many notes." Like w/Yes, extended pieces don't suit her. But even Rush's shorter stuff is too action-packed for her ear. So, Rush is a band that she kind of likes, and she likes the guys, but she just doesn't care for the music or Ged's voice.

Another great band that I really enjoy! Thank you for this thread. I have about a 45 minute drive home from work, and I work a challenging customer service job that can leave me a bit taxed. What do I listen to MOST days on the way home on my ipod that has six thousand songs on it? The "Love Over Gold" album! I just think "Telegraph Road" in particular is sublime, but the rest of the cuts are really strong. I consider this my favorite Dire Straits work.

I would imagine there was more pressure than usual in the studio having to follow up The Game, and the commercial success of "Another One Bites The Dust". The logical supposition would be (by the label anyway) "Yeah, do more of THAT!" Which, in a fashion they did. It was no secret that Freddie liked dance music, so he may have seized the opportunity and Hot Space happened. Contrary to some people's opinion's though, it's not all a dance album, sort of like how any Queen album is all ever rock. I actually liked Hot Space from the first listen. I think the dance stuff was actually pretty well done, and along w/Fred's vox and Brian's unique tone and brilliant choices, made for some good listening. Again, another part of my perspective is that I wasn't too precious with the classic Queen stuff because I was still a relatively new listener at the time. Open ears with no expectations probably buoyed this album for me more than for more experienced fans. "Staying Power" - That crazy bass drum captivates right from the start, and....horns? Huh...ah, there's Brian! The bass synth stuff was interesting to me as well. Also the song has some nice builds in it. Lyrics didn't matter much, but the song had a good energy. "Dancer"- Really didn't care for the lyric much...but again I did like the music and production here. Mack and his love of cymbal crash sounds that can penetrate your skull, wow. LOL "Back Chat"- Here we go....some really good drum fills/arrangement on this one, especially coming out of a break just before Brian's lead that sounds amazing. And there's bass guitar here! "Body Language"--wow, to this day, just earth shaking bass on the synth bassline. The songs just does a serpentine winding through your mind with it's consistent rhythm and sinewy bass line. "Action This Day" -- Ahh! Snappy little Taylor tune to start moving us into another phase of the album. I really kinda liked the synth break leading to the sax solo too. Brian's chunky-yet-plucky rhythm playing on this tune was a great fit. Musicians that understand a song's needs. "Put Out the Fire"--Rock time! Nice production here to get the point across. While I disagree with the politics of the song (though I like the "A gun never killed nobody...." line, so he could see both sides), I totally dig it anyway and respect Fred's view. Wooo....great solo here too, blistering! The outro was a great idea as well. As someone who has written their own songs, I can attest that a good ending for a song is often the most difficult thing to come up with. "Life Is Real"--Lovely tribute, even the reverb here sounds like that which Lennon liked to use. The vocal harmony build just before the solo is classic Queen power. Why didn't Freddie give himself a bit more credit as a pianist?? "Calling All Girls"--Kind of an odd one, but was kind of mesmerizing with Brian's guitar lurking on those lower tones during the verses. Not a favorite from the album but I never skipped in on a listen either. "Las Palabras De Amor"--I always loved this song, what a great progression it has and nice form. The build and going 'Full Queen' at the last part of the song is a hair-raising moment, and Roger does one of his top fills there (best on the record) and it fits SO perfectly within the music. Beautiful tune with a surprising power. "Cool Cat"--John! I actually liked the style of this one, and Freddie displaying one of the best falsettos in rock. Jesus, what a singer. "Under Pressure"-- Amazing tune we all know and love (forget Vanilla Ice). Amazing lyrics, and how the f**k did Freddie hit that top end note on the big 'Why" moment???? I thought only Roger could go there??? Simply incredible song. IMO, Bowie was fortunate to be part of this, not vice versa. Yeah, maybe HS isn't a masterwork, but I definitely still like it after all this time and still listen to it. Considering the albums they had behind them, and just coming off a Grammy nominated song of the year with AOBTD, I think they did alright here :)

Just want to thank you all for this thread...it made me re-examine A Day at the Races (which I did not previously own except on cassette). I used to blow this tape off in my youth, but checking it out again thirty odd years later because of you guys, I repurchased it yesterday on iTunes. Amazing stuff! You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and 'Coming Soon' is not one of their strongest tracks. But I don't think its terrible or completely unremarkable either. I bought 'The Game' when it came out as a freshman in high school and thought 'Coming Soon' was just kind of a fun stomp, that's all. I rather like the guitar riff. "Need Your Loving Tonight" isn't an epic, either, and I think less of it than 'Coming Soon', but it's still kind of fun it its way, and fits the theme of the album. Your perspective can certainly be informed by your starting point with Queen and whatever standard you hold a 'good' Queen song to. I started in 1980 with 'The Game' and then 'Live Killers', so I could see how starting with them on 'A Night at the Opera' or something could make for a vastly different point of view.

You guys are a tough house, lol. I play a bit of bass, and my son is an excellent drummer...but I've never seen one person who can play guitar, bass, AND drums to that level of proficiency. I'm a little blown away. The vox were VERY solid and in tune, she had a good tone for this music.

Or you could just put the other kit on the same riser behind Neil and spin it around, like for his e-kit? Maybe just put a black sheet over it if you want to sustain the 'mystery'. However I also get the whole separate riser thing so things aren't too jumbled, as well as the surprise factor. Have the second riser pre-mic'd and just roll it out with a quick snake plug-in and ready to rock. The cool thing is the 'classic' riser could be really simple,stripped down looking to go along with the kit's vibe.

I discovered Rush when I was a HS sophomore and 'Signals' came out; I heard 'New World Man' on the radio and had to click on 'Do You Want to Know More?' :) NWM is still one of my very favorite songs and a perfect 3 minute capsule of what Rush is all about...a great way to introduce a non-prog fan to the band. So I got Signals and loved it, then worked backwards and loved everything except the first three albums. However, going forward I bought every album (save Power Windows) as it was released, and while there are lesser songs (and Counterparts) here and there, each album has some gems (except Counterparts) that represent a time, place and emotion for me. -Grace Under Pressure.....coming off of Signals and the back catalog, I still liked some of this album at the time of release and DEW is an amazing track. Aside from that, so much of the album I just never cottoned to after many fair listens, especially Red Sector A (sorry Geddy). From my collection, this is my second least listened to album. -Power Windows.....I didn't buy this until years later, but my brother got it on release and he'd crank Mystic Rhythms over and over. Honestly I didn't discover this record until I heard A Show of Hands a couple of years later. This one took a long time to grow on me. -Hold Your Fire....I was in college during this period, and this album is so atmospheric that it froze a lot of moments in time in a good way. Having said that, I never liked Prime Mover (just doesn't go anywhere IMO) and Tai Shan is just not strong. -A Show of Hands.....remarkable. Got the videotape too at the time and just LOVED this live set. Marathon??? Wow. (goes and hijacks brother's Power Windows record) -Presto.......wow, what happened to their sound? While clean, it was really light in the pocket. The funny part is that I liked almost every tune! I also saw them on this tour for the first time so there's that. I also still think Presto is a remarkable song and I was so glad to hear it when I saw them on the Time Machine tour; no one was cheering louder than me :) -Roll the Bones......sounds like sides 3 and 4 of Presto, but with more duds. The Big Wheel, Neurotica, and RTB I do not care for. -Counterparts...think I've made my point earlier.... -Test for Echo.....Virtuality and Resist I do not like, but I like the rest of it. Neil's DVD A Work in Progress also really bolstered my appreciation for this album. -Different Stages.....2112 live and Bravado just leap off this CD as brilliant. Honestly I don't really listen to much else on it. -Vapor Trails.....ahhhh, recorded or mixed too hot!! (thank GOD for the remix...salvation!) BUT, overall I liked a lot of the songs here and the album ends for me at Earthshine. -Feedback.....fun EP, very garage-band vibe and I like their covers of The Seeker and Summertime Blues better than the originals. But honestly I do not listen to the other tracks much at all as those are songs I didn't care for before either. -Snakes and Arrows....this one has some strong cuts, especially the first 'side' (less the Larger Bowl), but very spotty after that. This CD is therefore low in my Rush rotation. -Clockwork Angels.....A very strong album with only a tune here or there that I like LESS than the others (BU2B I do tend to skip, though). Great concept. Production could have been better but that's another thread :)

This is the kind of response that really fuels the thread. Thanks for posting! As to that texting GF....part of the blame goes to the guy for even bringing her in the first place to a show she was not even 'pre-qualified' to see. Conversely, if you drag me to a country show, I won't have fun, but at the minimum I will tolerate it, not text, and not make the person who brought me along and loves the music leave early, either. Just horrid.

Nice choice, RAA. When I first got 2112 back in high school, I of course loved the epic 2112, but the individual songs are very interesting. I LOVE the Mellotron on 'Tears', just lovely. Really a nice arrangement for such a 'bombastic' group, especially back then when they had a belly full of fire. Who knows...perhaps it was another middle finger to the record execs; "Screw you! You want a hard rock single...so here's a f***ing BALLAD with a Mellotron! Suck on this Moody Blues shit!" LOL

La Villa and Freewill Bravado Presto (yep, short but sweet, great feel)

LOL, sounds like serendipity to me!