stgaz

I'm glad they replaced Mick Pointer with Ian Moseley - it might have been tough on poor old Mick, but it really helped the band.

I love Marillion. I listened to Script last week - I think Chelsea Monday has the better solo, but I reckon his solo on Easter is my favourite. I also love both eras of the band. I was lucky enough to see them in London on the Marbles tour, and along with Rush they were a 'bucket list' band for me. Clutching At Straws remains their best album - have you heard the "Early Stages" version of The Last Straw? When the lady backing singer just completely loses it at the end - so good.

Yep - Rush, Marilion and Kings X made up the vast majority of my playlist back then too. Plus Queensryche! Really enjoyed Kings Xs most recent album too.

Well done on playing those albums - I couldn't get anywhere near that these days. Keep looking for other musos. I've been really lucky to hook up with various bands over the years that share my taste and who are good guys. I've been playing in a classic hits cover band for the last few years, and while I don't necessarily love a lot of the songs, just getting the Pearls and Paistes out, having a play and a few beers - just magic. I'm sure there's a 'weekend warrior' band out there who could use a guy of your undoubted talents! You may need to leave the gong and tubular bells at home though!

I reckon I'd go with this: Rush Marillion Todd Snider Deep Purple Manic Street Preachers Journey Sunnyboys (Aussie legends) Celibate Rifles (ditto) Genesis Ryan Adams Doesn't seem to change that much these days, which probably means I'm a boring old fart. But there you go ...

Watched it with my two boys and absolutely loved it.

You okay man? I love me some Dokken too, but that sounds a bit deep.

:dweez: Welcome to TRF, mate! Thanks! It's nice to be here. It's my Rush year, so I'm immersing in all I can in the lead up to 1 August!

Agreed on Unmasked being underrated. I framed my LP cover and it is hagning on the kitchen wall. There are a couple of duds, but overall it is excellent. Naked City is one of Gene's finest moments. And Ace's two tracks? Very cool.

One advantage of Rush not being at all popular here is that I have NEVER heard them on the radio. So Tom Sawyer still rocks as far as I'm concerned, and I will be actively looking forward to it on August 1!

I just got this shirt - do I dare wear it to The Forum??

Love Ace too. That's a great story about the guitar guy. A band from Melbourne, The Radio Sun, recently released an EP called Spaceman. The song is a tribute to Ace, basically calling for his return to Kiss. (It also has a song about my favorite Aussie Rules team, so bit of a winner all round).

My God! I'm under the influence! I have seen ever MK of Journey. I THINK JOURNEY IS CRAP NOW! Arnel is Junk. Steve Perry killed the band. I saw the band with Steve Augeri. JUNK The only Journey albums worth owning are the FIRS THREE LPS! NO STEVE PERRY! They are masterpieces! "Infinity" is great but after that forget it! NO WONDER STEVE SMITH LEFT! "Frontiers" is AWFUL AOR!!! Neal is a self absorbed egomaniac. Personally I think Dave Meniketti is a much better guitar player and he can sing! Schon can't do shit except play the same guitar riff over and over again. Neal is like Carlos Santana. Both from the Bay Area. Both play the same fuckking guitar solo in every song. OVER AND OVER AND OVER! Sorry if you think am filled with hate this late but man I've seen it all. Journey is so overrated. I saw that Arnel guy and I walked out. He is so weak. An Internet find. An Internet waste. Nothing touches the first three albums. Hey Neal used to play in Santana. Duh! Two of the most overrated guitar players in the world. Same solo. Same riff. Same long boring extended notes. I'm just a Bay Area Brat. I respect all of your opinions overseas. Love this band. I can only love the first four albums. I loved "Escape" when I was a kid but I grew out if it quickly. Also the fukking San Francisco Giants used "Don't Stop Believing" in 2012. Made me sick. Steve Perry sang to it live at AT&T Park. UGH! Anyway I'm just a "Spaceman." I will always "Look Into The Future!" Dunbar is a great drummer. Mate! We disagree! Let me save the situation by agreeing that Aynsley is indeed awesome. His playing on the first record, especially the way he builds the guitar solo in 'Of A Lifetime' was one of my greatest learning moments as a drummer. He pulled the same trick in Whitesnake's 'Still Of The Night' on 1987. He toured Oz with Eric Burdon and I saw a 'live in the studio' session on TV and he was just sublime. Still love Journey though ...

Simple Minds were anything but a one hit wonder down here. I wasn't a huge fan, but I did get and love Sparkle In the Rain. On the weekend I just ordered the 5cd set of theirs!

And Armel was just fine with me.

Journey got NO radio play in Australia. I absolutely love them. They toured Oz for the first time a couple of years ago in a co-headliner with Deep Purple (!) and I thoroughly enjoyed it - even traveled interstate to see them again. Finally seeing those songs played live after all those years - I confess that I lost it a bit!

Satriani stepped in when Richie 'stepped out', but he wasn't there long. I saw Purple on the Abandon tour in 99 (?) and beforehand me and my mate were playing 'hard rock supergroups' - you know, putting together imaginary supergroups - and neither of us even considered Morse, but afterwards the first thing we both said was 'I want Morse in my band!' I've seen Purple three more times since then and he was a towering figure each time. 'Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming' - what a track.

Hey! You are a new guy here and you are a drummer too! AWESOME! Welcome to the Rush Forum! Glad that you get my sense of humor. I actually love Winger. Reb Beach, Kip Winger and Rod! WOW! I can't wait to visit your country someday! I love Olivia Newton John, AC/DC, Men At Work, INXS and AIRBOURNE! Cheers!! Earl Hey man, come on down! Not too much in the way of prog and rock going on down here though! Airbourne are way bigger O/S than here. If you have a minute, check out Scary Mother, one of our very best heavy bands who sadly got nowhere. 'Who Are You' was a classic. Also Horsehead, 'Oil And Water'. Reb Beach was so outstanding, and Kip is quite the muso as well. FWIW, my top 5 drummers would be: Phil Collins Ian Paice Pick Withers Jeff Porcaro Neil Peart I'm coming to your part of the word to Rush at The Forum. Can't wait! Holy shit man! Thanks! I love your list. I'm embarrassed to tell you that Pick Withers does not register? WTF? Tell me about him! I too will be at The Forum! I can't wait!!! Let's meet up for a beer! I will check out those other bands! It's frigging endless! Cheers my new friend! Pick Withers played on the first four Dire Straits records. Very tasty. His drums sounded brilliant and his cymbal work is perfect. Rush fan since 1984 and I've never seen them - needless to say, I'm looking forward to a great night out! Holy Shit! I am a music freak and I had no idea he was the drummer on the first four Dire Straits albums! I LOVE HIM! STG! I am serious when I type this. "Love Over Gold" is one of the greatest album ever made on the earth! CHEERS! Damn straight! And Pick is one of the reasons. Private Investigations would have to one of the most 'interesting' songs to ever make the top 5. I love Steve Morse in Purple too. He really gave them a huge lift when he joined.

Hey! You are a new guy here and you are a drummer too! AWESOME! Welcome to the Rush Forum! Glad that you get my sense of humor. I actually love Winger. Reb Beach, Kip Winger and Rod! WOW! I can't wait to visit your country someday! I love Olivia Newton John, AC/DC, Men At Work, INXS and AIRBOURNE! Cheers!! Earl Hey man, come on down! Not too much in the way of prog and rock going on down here though! Airbourne are way bigger O/S than here. If you have a minute, check out Scary Mother, one of our very best heavy bands who sadly got nowhere. 'Who Are You' was a classic. Also Horsehead, 'Oil And Water'. Reb Beach was so outstanding, and Kip is quite the muso as well. FWIW, my top 5 drummers would be: Phil Collins Ian Paice Pick Withers Jeff Porcaro Neil Peart I'm coming to your part of the word to Rush at The Forum. Can't wait! Holy shit man! Thanks! I love your list. I'm embarrassed to tell you that Pick Withers does not register? WTF? Tell me about him! I too will be at The Forum! I can't wait!!! Let's meet up for a beer! I will check out those other bands! It's frigging endless! Cheers my new friend! Pick Withers played on the first four Dire Straits records. Very tasty. His drums sounded brilliant and his cymbal work is perfect. Rush fan since 1984 and I've never seen them - needless to say, I'm looking forward to a great night out!

Hey! You are a new guy here and you are a drummer too! AWESOME! Welcome to the Rush Forum! Glad that you get my sense of humor. I actually love Winger. Reb Beach, Kip Winger and Rod! WOW! I can't wait to visit your country someday! I love Olivia Newton John, AC/DC, Men At Work, INXS and AIRBOURNE! Cheers!! Earl Hey man, come on down! Not too much in the way of prog and rock going on down here though! Airbourne are way bigger O/S than here. If you have a minute, check out Scary Mother, one of our very best heavy bands who sadly got nowhere. 'Who Are You' was a classic. Also Horsehead, 'Oil And Water'. Reb Beach was so outstanding, and Kip is quite the muso as well. FWIW, my top 5 drummers would be: Phil Collins Ian Paice Pick Withers Jeff Porcaro Neil Peart I'm coming to your part of the word to Rush at The Forum. Can't wait!

I love the Dregs, Steve and Rod too. Rod is in my top 5 as well. Listen to how beautifully he plays during the solo in The Introduction. So musical. I have seen the Steve Morse band once and they were great - they had Van Romaine on drums. Had to wait until Winger a few years ago to see Rod. They were (to me) surprisingly good - excellent actually.

Absolutely agree about the end of the song. Sounds like he's just getting started and then the fade! Noooo..!! Bring it back!

And that's a fair enough point. Perhaps we can all agree that we need Cygnus - The Bringer Of Balance. Now that would make the trip wothwhile!

No, it's not just you. I see him the same way, and it is most definitely puts you off. Like what you wrote! :cheers: Very definitely true. The only thing I would disagree with is the implication that there AREN'T songs on S&A that aren't written from a POV of smug infallibility. Unless you count the instrumentals, they ALL are. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Peart-basher. I have one of those autographed 30th Anniversary prints taking a prized spot on the music room wall, alongside the postcard he sent me in the 80s (oh, how I danced like a maniac when THAT arrived in the post!) I guess we all get more overtly opinionated as we get older. He certainly has! But if you don't share the same opinion you're in trouble. Conform or be cast out indeed! I'm not sure I quite understand that. He's expressing his opinion but how do you get in trouble if you don't like it? All you have to do is not listen to it. I've always liked that Neil is so opinionated about his world and religious views. For the most part it's all very positive and self-empowering. Mmm ... I guess what I was trying to express was that, when they sing something like 'Glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity ... yeah', then I'm shouting along with them, completely engaged and loving it. When they sing a song like The Way the Wind Blows, I'm far less engaged (which to me is being 'in trouble' because this is my favourite band!) because I can't help but feel under attack. I just found it hard to divorce that album in particular from the religious debates of the time which were so unsatisfying and loaded with personal attacks and name-calling. I still very much like the album, I just didn't feel particularly welcome to the party. Or something like that - it's too early in the morning for this!

Triumph fan here too. That recent best-of that packaged a DVD of videos is a good start. There was a mini-doco on the live DVD from the Sport Of Kings tour that has some unintentionally hilarious Spinal Tap moments. Being an AOR fan, I enjoyed Kings, but Allied Forces is awesome.