Pete Bondurant

Let me tell you a little story. My youngest child, a 4-year old boy, got very ill this February. He fell into a coma, remained unconscious for about a month. The doctors could do nothing but wait. Me and my wife were there with him most of the time, hoping he'll be alive the next day. Slowly he started to react a little bit, open his eyes, move his hands and feet... In April he was able to sit and eat, he understood what was said to him and he even talked a little. The doctors said he possibly walks again sometime this year. He had to learn everything all over again. Now? Well, he speaks as any other 4-year old, he can run again, he even rides a bicycle a bit. His memory is back, and most importantly his personality is the same as before the illness. This is not always the case when the problem is in the brain. His eyesight has suffered a bit and he might need glasses, but that's not a big deal. He also will need physiotherapy for some time, but what the heck. He's alive. I've heard afterwards that it's a miracle. There are not many like him in Finland, who have had the disease he survived from - necrotic encephalitis - and they're all dead. Seeing him every day, playing with him, BEING with him (he's right next to me as I write this) makes me really, really happy. (And, by the way, during that month or so when he was lying unconscious I read Neil's "Ghost Rider" at least three times. That book gave me strength and hope.)

Haha, that's like saying "I don't like to drink water anymore, I've drank it too many times". I consider myself a Dead fan and I absolutely love In The Dark. It was my first encounter with The Dead, I have to admit, but I'd probably love it anyway. Good music is good music; I don't give a flying f**k whether some "authority" approves my taste or not. Sorry.

How can someone NOT love Cold Fire?!?! It's a damn good Rush song, great melody, witty lyric and chorus enough to gain massive airplay. It should have been a single. Open Secrets seems to be in a limbo, not many think of it as a favourite and I don't recall they ever played it live. I think it's a wonderful tune. Still I don't need to love anything secretly...

1973 is the best year. I was born then, and so were Quadrophenia, Dark Side Of The Moon, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Houses Of The Holy, Tres Hombres, Goat's Head Soup, Space Ritual, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, Aladdin Sane, Wake Of The Flood...

Welcome! Just don't make Lorraine mad! I very rarely make anyone mad. Except my wife, naturally.

Agree. A mystery to me as well. Actually we played it with my band as teenagers, back in the 80's. Our version sucked, but it was fun to play!

I guess that's up to you to find out.

Thanks everyone! Sort of. In the Bible it rained 40 days and 40 nights, it was called apocalypse. Up here we call that summer. I too like to think I use sarcasm. Usually my humour is drier than James Bond's Martini... Touché, you got me. Depends on the sauce.

"Dinner!"

There's no evidence of heroin use whatsoever. I've read about some rumours going on at the time, but there was never no proof of anything. I think in 1977 or 78 the Youngs might have thought of replacing Bon, mainly because some record company suits said that it would be hard to make it in the States with Bon, but since Highway To Hell went there well, Bon was off the hook.

OK, I will give this a go. It seems some of you take this very seriously, but please, if my opinions are wrong don't shoot me right away. I'm a very strange person overall, this is only one way to prove it. The list is obviously not my final say, it may and will change in time. It's MY opinion, and I can change it if I wish. Today I feel like this. 1. A Farewell To Kings Right now this feels the closest. I like the overall atmosphere, the playing on the album, the songs are superb... Can't find anything bad from it. 2. Moving Pictures What can I say that hasn't been said already? Nothing even a bit less than perfect here. 3. Permanent Waves I keep repeating myself, but here's another album that is simply flawless. 4. 2112 This one has grown on me. There was a time when it would have hardly made the top 10, but repeated listens have helped it all the way up here. 5. Grace Under Pressure A special one for me, because it was my first Rush record, but I'd love it just as much anyway. Stands out somehow, it has certain feel of threat and danger. 6. Signals Not every song here is great, but this was a bold move, and Subdivisions is truly one of Rush masterpieces. 7. Hemispheres AFTK part 2, in a way. Not as good, but for example La Villa Strangiato knocks me down still every time I hear it. 8. Clockwork Angels What other band is capable of this kind of creativity after a 40 year career? Most bands that age keep repeating the old stuff, but Rush wants to create new masterpieces. And that's exactly what they did here. 9. Caress Of Steel Just listened to this yesterday, might be a little lower if I didn't. Bastille Day rocks and the longer compositions stand out as statements of courage. 10. Counterparts This one appeals to the Rocker in me. Animate, one of their best opening songs. Cold Fire, I love that one. Very well produced in my opinion. 11. Fly By Night An early classic. Some ideas are a bit... well, immature, but a great effort anyway for young dudes just learning to play together at the time. 12. Roll The Bones Dreamline, Bravado, Ghost Of A Chance. Those three are killers, and I like the title track also (though rap is absolutely not my cup of tea in general). 13. Hold Your Fire It's damn difficult to rank these mid-80's albums... This has somehow a warmer, more accessible sound than PoW, so this time it's the "winner". 14. Power Windows See above. Perhaps a bit too much a product of its time, the sound annoys me a bit occasionally. Good tunes, though. 15. Rush The best album Led Zeppelin never recorded! I like this a lot, I listen to it often when I'm drunk and sing along. 16. Snakes & Arrows I think this one would be more appreciated, if it was 2-3 songs shorter. The best ones in here are great, though. 17. Vapor Trails A lot better now after the remix. This one rocks like hell as well, but only a few classics in my opinion (One Little Victory, Ghost Rider, perhaps a couple more). 18. Presto The Pass is beautiful, but the overall sound of the album is disappointing. Sounds more like a demo tape than a real album. 19. Test For Echo I hear only a little bit of inspiration here. Also Peart's worst lyrics come from this one. BUT, I must add, that although I think this is Rush's least great studio album, it would be the best album of almost any other band! Feedback Well played versions of good songs, but I don't rate this for obvious reasons. OK. Waiting for the rotten tomatoes.

Been a fan of AC/DC for over 30 years now. I have all their albums, dvd's, boxed sets, books about the band and so on. I cherish the Bon era especially, and if I had to pick just one album from the catalogue to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be Powerage. Great set of songs, the playing and singing is top notch plus the production is just perfect for the band. Not too raw, not too clean.

I spent the longest day of the year in Northern Norway, way up north from the Arctic circle. The sun was up all night.

Skynyrd is one of my all time fav bands. I do like the Allmans too, Hatchet and Blackfoot and such, but Skynyrd has that "something" in them. My long time dream came true in 2009, when I got to see them live in Finland, not far from my hometown. The gig was superb, Molly Hatchet was supporting and back at the hotel bar I got to meet Dave Hlubek. He was very friendly and funny, we talked for half an hour or so and he told me stories of their youth back in Jacksonville. When he and Gary Rossington were selling hot dogs on the streets to get money to buy guitar strings and so on... There is always a place in my heart for good ol' down-to-earth southern rock!

Rush Led Zeppelin The Beatles The Rolling Stones Pink Floyd AC/DC The Who Jimi Hendrix Experience Grateful Dead Lynyrd Skynyrd Hawkwind ZZ Top King Crimson Jethro Tull Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Motörhead plus 4 Finnish bands you have probably never heard of.

Underrated by whom? The fans? The critics? The record-buying audience? Well, whatever. I think Roll The Bones isn't half as bad as many seem to think. It's not one of their best either, I know, but it's also not a pile of steaming stuff.

Five more weeks left of my summer holiday. Teachers in Finland are criminally underpaid, but a 10-11 week holiday heals the wounds a little bit.

Turbo Lover - Judas Priest

Hello, and thanks for accepting me here. I thought it would be appropriate to introduce myself officially. I'm a 41-year old man from Finland (pardon for my possible bad English, as it is not my native tongue), living with my wife and four kids (aged 12, 10, 8 and 4). The oldest daughter of mine lives already on her own, she's 21. I work as a school teacher, and whenever I have free time I read a lot, listen to music (and sometimes play myself) and spend time with my family, doing whatever it is families do. My first favourite bands were probably AC/DC, Motörhead, Whitesnake and such as a kid in the early eighties. Then, in 1984, I saw a video on tv, where three guys played a hypnotic song that had something special in it. Strange rhythms, a funny singing voice... The announcer said the band was called Rush and the song The Enemy Within. Next day I went to the local record store, bought Grace Under Pressure (as a cassette tape, I didn't have a record player back then) and that was the beginning of a love story. Nowadays, besides Rush, I listen mostly to stuff from the 60's and 70's, for example Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, The Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Grateful Dead... Very few "new" artists have caught my attention ("new" meaning someone from my generation or younger!) Musically I think I was born 15 or 20 years too late... Would have loved to see Hendrix and Zeppelin and The Who at their prime playing live - and also Rush in the 70's. Damn. Wish I had a time machine. Looking forward to spending nice moments around this forum. At least there is a lot to read here, lot of catching up to do. Perhaps I have something to say as well, occasionally... I wish you all nice everything, and success in whatever it is you're doing now or in the future!

Thank you. Well, I do love them all in a way, aren't they all parts of a bigger picture? Some have their faults and disabilities, but so do we and nobody's perfect and and... I wouldn't want any Rush album to be deleted off the face of the earth, there is room for all of them! Thanks, merci, vielen dank, tack, gracias, kiitos!

I will do this when the time is right. As a newcomer, I will probably introduce myself officially first, so this will have to wait. Still, I think ranking your favourite band's albums is like ranking your children. I love them all, naturally for the different reasons, but anyway. And Rush albums as well.

More age than sex nowadays.