WorkingAllTheTime

As I read all these set list posts and song suggestions, I can't help but feel bad for Alex, Geddy, and Neil. From various interviews, it seems they do take collective fan opinions in to consideration when building their set lists, but man we are such a demanding, ecclectic lot! It's a bit like trying to get everyone at work to agree on a place for lunch... or herding cats... or herding cats while trying to decide on lunch...

 

Anyway, that said, how cool is it that we even get to debate the topic? It's obvious they are going out again and that is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

 

From my little corner of the world, I suspect this tour - given the 40th, 41st... 41th?! angle - will feel a bit like R30. No, I am not suggesting another Feedback EP (but that would be fun, yes?), but I am suggesting I would not be surprised if they threw in another medley of early work to satisfy those of us a little longer in tooth. Likewise, given they seemed to embrace the 80s synth era with their deep track selections the last round, I would not be surprised if they give a nod to the 1990s and play a little more Counterparts and T4E.

 

Perhaps just as interesting to debate... any ideas on who will make a cameo appearance in the pre and post show videos?

Oh, no. Let the "Geddy can't hit the high notes anymore, therefore Rush sucks" trolling begin. I would love to hear this one live, even at a lower register, but methinks it won't happen unless it is an R30-like medley.

I saw them play this on the Snakes and Arrows Tour and it was pretty great. I agree with Sheldon, the song is one of those rare goodies in one of their worst albums but I'm inclined to say no since there's so many better candidates.

 

Agreed. I saw two different legs of that tour. The first leg, it was not part of the set (at leat at the show I saw - I think that had a bit of a set rotation). The second leg (Dallas), it was. I rather enjoyed it.

This should be the encore for their farewell tour:

 

Losing It

The Garden

In the End

 

Goodness, I would love to hear Losing It in a live show (the only one from Signals they have never played live, if I remember correctly). I think I read they toyed with trying to do it recently (I would imagine the Clockwork Angels tour as the use of the strings would have helped it along), but the arrangement was just too much.

We Hold On

 

Not necessarily my favourite on this list, but definitely the one I'd most like to hear on the next tour.

 

Agreed. Alex' guitar work on that is not stellar, but has a distinct and fun groove. It would play very well live.

Um, yeah... the Trinity has a warped sense of humor.... but I don't think even that warped. Don't get me wrong. I don't absolutely hate Tai Shan as much as the average fan (it has a nice melody and warm, fuzzy message that resonates with anyone who has traveled to other parts of the world), but it is definitely not something the band is proud of... especially since it so different than the rest of that album. But, hey, go big or go home... maybe the guys could do a Tai Shan/Superconductor/Tears medley?

It is ironic. I used to hate majority of the 80's content when I started listening to them, and thought the two worst albums were HYF and Presto, but now I love that stuff. The thing is the keyboard stuff is hard to adapt to. But, HYF and GUP had some killer guitar parts on them. So did signals, but the guitar wasn't dominant enough of a sound. Which of course digital man and analog kid make up for it in a way, but still. Regardless, I still love Countdown and Losing It which are both very heavy with synth. GUP, I like the first side, and between the wheels. Other than that, it is meh. Okay, I guess. PoW had some good guitar on it, from Marathon, but the rest is keyboard everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I like pretty much all of the album, just needed more guitar as usual. This doesn't mean I forgot how much they needed bass over keyboard.

 

I remember literally yanking the Presto cassette (yeah, I am that old) out of my car stereo while driving, thinking "what the hell is this crap?", and tossing it in the back seat. Now, granted, I think "Superconductor" was the song playing at that moment, so I had some level of justification at the time... but as I got older, and wiser, and (gasp) more mature, I began to appreciate the Presto album. I would not consider it one of my favorites, but there are songs on it that I hold dear. Time and perspective have a funny way of changing how we view the world. I also used to think dry, red wine was vulgar... now I only touch cabs. Presto is a cab.... "Superconductor", though, is still a bottle that turned into vinegar. :)

It is actually one of my favorites on the album. Great melody. Neil actually calls it out as something he thought the fans should enjoy in the T4E tour book.

 

Why didn't they bring it on tour then...? Would've been a good live track.

 

Great question. I would be willing to bet they were struggling with what to include due to set list restrictions. I believe that was the first of the "Evening with Rush" format (no openers) because they had reached a point where the catalog and their fan expectations were so great they had to expand their set to include some demanded work. T4E, for example, was the tour in which they played 2112 in its entirety and a full length Natural Science, so that chewed up some time. When you throw in the requisite Subdivisions, Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, etc., it only leaves a limited number of songs from the album left. If I remember correctly, they played Driven, Half the World, Resist, and Test for Echo. There probably wasn't room for a fifth. Test for Echo was the title track on a radio release. Half the World was getting a little bit of video play, so I get why those songs were part of the tour. Still, I would have gladly ditched Driven or Resist for The Color of Right. Not that I hate those two songs... just would have preferred the other.

Absolutely love this song. Best one on S&A (which I also like very much). Loved it at first listen when my dad bought the album. Really glad I got to see it live on the tour.

 

I like Geddy's chordal bass lines throughout the song, and when paired with Alex's acoustic guitar, it sounds even better.

 

 

Exactly. The bass lines always draw my attention.

It is actually one of my favorites on the album. Great melody. Neil actually calls it out as something he thought the fans should enjoy in the T4E tour book.

In general, fans never really appreciate when something changes. In high school, I remember Iron Maiden diehards freaking out when Seventh Son came out. The album had clear, distinct prog elements including keyboards and a concept format (gee, that sounded a little familiar to this Rush fan) and it was not "metal". In college, I remember Metallica diehards freaking out over the black album and the band's moving away from complex arrangements to something more accessible to the average fan and it was not "Metallica". The same goes for the Rush synth era. Over time, though, most people get over it and accept that musicians are still artists and will go through phases and adjustments. I simply look at Rush as a band that has some distinct catalog eras. I appreciate different elements of each era, but reject none of them.

The band and their inner circle have always been somewhat cryptic about it. I get why that gives some people reason to pause and wonder if there was something more. My sense, though, is the quiet, cryptic nature of their discussing it has less to do with anything malevolent, sinister, or secret, but more the fact the band knows it was a difficult and sad subject. It was something that was not pleasant, but was still probably necessary (similar to the later decision to stop using Terry Brown as producer), and speaking of it in any other fashion would be a bit cruel and disrespectful. Remember, we are talking about Alex and Geddy. At their core, these guys are polite, thoughtful, and reserved.

 

As others have mentioned in the thread, the general story is a mixture of "artistic differences" and "health concerns". The first being Rutsey was more interested in a straight forward rock style, while Alex and Ged were listening to and being influenced by early prog. The second being his situation with diabetes and the party lifestyle. Given that Rutsey never seemed to argue the point(s), it seems reasonable to believe the truth is somewhere along the spectrum between those two ideas.

The synth era gets dogged by fans and non-fans alike, but there is much to appreciate in those albums. Signals, as it is the album that started my fandom, should probably be my choice, but I find the synth era album that makes it most in to my play list is p/g. Regardless, I have been pleased the band has inserted some "deep track" pieces from the synth era in to recent tours. You can always tell who the casual or new fans are at a show by their reactions to "Between the Wheels" or "Territories"!