Weatherman

All the World's A Stage is EXACTLY as old as I am. Weird. I haven't listened to it since maybe 1993. The earliest stuff is my least favorite era. Change my mind! I'm open to new ideas.

I disagree that Ged had bad moments of singing in the 70s almost as much as I disagree that Alex ever played anything bad. Ged and Alex weren't perfect. Ged admitted that he didn't know what he was doing vocally, in the 70s. They wrote their songs instrumentally, without thinking about the key for the vocals, or if Ged's range could fit it. They were kids, basically. Alex had his "bad" moments too. He had occasional spastic weirdo solos, wherein he ignores many of the basics of solo instrumentation -- pacing, cresendo/decrescendo, tension/release. I always point to Freewill but there are others too. So it's best to admit that they were terrific but not perfect.

His shrieking in the early/mid 70s was the only time his voice bothered me. He tamed it by Permanent Waves. By the 80s he'd learned how to sing very melodically. By HYF he'd really learned how to make a vocal earworm.

You're overthinking it. Some synth era albums were more artistically successful (Signals), while others were less so (PW).

Alex even said himself that the guitar was too much in the background on Signals and the keyboards took over in some spots, which is what he wanted to change for P/G. There are definitely more guitars on P/G than on Signals Yeah, the integration of keys with guitar was purrrrfect on MP and Signals. Then Ged and Alex started seeing things differently. Neil was the only one really pulling his weight on Power Windows, for example. The two frontmen didn't seem to recover a consistent balance until the Rupert Hine era.

This was a different thread somewhere. Subdivisions The Analog Kid The Weapon Red Sector A Afterimage Mystic Rhythms Time Stand Still Open Secrets Lock and Key Turn the Page I like Signals and HYF very much...

From the piece: "They always seemed to do things right. I can’t think of a time they made a wrong move." I can. The "Time Stand Still" video. :facepalm: lol

I'll go first. Two songs. Force Ten I loved it in the 90s, but now... blech. Those keys are soooo trebly. Neil underperforms in the chorus with that basic snare roll. It's probably the only drum part he ever recorded that sounds undercooked. I read that it was the last song they recorded for HYF, and only because they needed ten songs on the album. It feels like an afterthought. Freewill I loved it in the 90s. Not anymore. A few reasons: 1) That 6/4 to 7/4 time change in the verse. That alternating extra seventh note is obnoxious and it's difficult on the ear. 2) The doubling of the guitar and bass on above. There's no dynamism, and it puts even more attention on the freaky time signature. 3) Alex's spastic solo. No structure, pacing, or melody. I grew out of that kind of shredding decades ago. What about you?

It also features a sequencer rather than Geddy playing bass, which is odd for a RUSH song. I love the story about how Neil got the idea for the pattern while biking through W Africa and hearing the drumming of the villages. Ged's sequencer sounds tight, even today. His vocals are on point too. Alex has fun noodling around, playing with the slide. It doesn't sound much like anything else they've ever done. I thought NP's playing was pretty innovative for the time. The "tribal" pattern is a straight up paradiddle. The snare is triggered with his left foot. Perhaps that was inspired by Rick Allen?? Between Neil's experimentation in Scars, Alex's backwards solo in Chain Lightning, and Ged singing both lead and backing vocals thru much of the album... ...I don't think they cared much about recreating Presto live.

It also features a sequencer rather than Geddy playing bass, which is odd for a RUSH song. I love the story about how Neil got the idea for the pattern while biking through W Africa and hearing the drumming of the villages. Ged's sequencer sounds tight, even today. His vocals are on point too. Alex has fun noodling around, playing with the slide. It doesn't sound much like anything else they've ever done.

For a show from 1982... ... I couldn't ask for a better setlist. EDIT: They played the entire MP album (minus Witch Hunt). Amazeballs.

I'm taken aback by Ged's list. He didn't name anything after 1982. They made 10 more albums after Signals, and he doesn't think any of them are superior to, say, Hemispheres, or Fly By Night? Some of those are my very favorites. I'm an artist myself -- a writer -- so I know that we lose perspective on our own work. This is Exhibit AAAA of that tendency.

As the resident Presto defender... ...Imma tell some of you where you can stick it. Yes, it's pop-rock contemporary 90s sound. Yes, it needs more bass. BUT The songwriting was tight as hell and Ged's chest voice was good. They keys were balanced, for once, with Alex's guitar. A few of the songs are not just above average, but excellent. Show Don't Tell (which belongs on MP, if you listen closely), The Pass, Presto, Available Light. Personally, I really enjoy Scars and Hand Over Fist too, but most don't. That is all. (withdraws pointed index finger, steps down off soapbox)

Dreamline is great, and Bravado is incredibly great. There's a reason the boys put those two as tracks 1 and 2.

I realize you're not going far over the line here, but... Dude, this is not the first time you've come off as kind of condescending about other people's taste in Rush. Lighten up maybe? Not everyone agrees with you about everything, and that should be okay. I'm a man of strong opinions. Feel free to skip over my comments if they cause you that much consternation. So is everyone. Doesn't give you the go ahead to tell other people they need their ears checked for liking a solo that you dislike. He doesn’t need to be given the go-ahead to say that. Maybe I took it the wrong way. I've seen him post things that really unusually condescending before, and I guess it influenced how I read that post. There's an old saying in debate circles: "When you start complaining about tone, you've lost." Perhaps you'd like me to break down each solo, musically speaking.

Alex looks great. Ged is showing his age.

I realize you're not going far over the line here, but... Dude, this is not the first time you've come off as kind of condescending about other people's taste in Rush. Lighten up maybe? Not everyone agrees with you about everything, and that should be okay. I'm a man of strong opinions. Feel free to skip over my comments if they cause you that much consternation.

For those of you selected "YYZ" on MP... ...good choice. (Limelight is better, but TBH it's an impossible choice, since the entire album should be on there.) I've always admired how carefully Alex stole from David Gilmour in the presolo, that cascading bit that leads into the spacey bridge. It's verrrrrry similar to a cascading bit that David Gilmour used in Dogs. Here's the song. Listen from 13:55 onwards and see how similar it is to the entrance/bridge in YYZ. The keys too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiaF4kuxJco

For those of you choosing "Kid Gloves" on P/G... ...get your ears checked. "Red Sector A" solo is melodic, harmonic, sexy, and beautifully paced.

For those of you choosing "Chain Lightning" on Presto... ...it's backwards. They ran Alex's normal solo backwards for the mastering. Listen closely and you can tell on the dives/lifts.

The track that saved the band? Yeah...so, I gave it a listen today and the overture still kicks ass as an album opener. No way is 2112 overrated. ETA: Unless you mean the entirety. I rarely listen past presentation. A friend who is no Rush fan wrote me the other day: "I am slightly embarrassed to say that I've been listening to 2112 lately. It's really pretty good." They're still winning new fans. Not as many as Floyd or Zep, but they're out there to be won.

I'm getting a strong 'get off my lawn' vibe here.

I've never fully broken up with U2. We've just gone on hiatus. Tori Amos, on the other hand... I dumped that b**** ten years ago. Sadly, because she was so great at the beginning...

Anyone who puts Test For Echo and Caress of Steel ABOVE Presto is a disturbed individual. Even the band themselves admitted that they were creatively empty by TFE.

The Weapon. I'd always kind of liked it, but had forgotten about it. A few weeks ago, I took a closer listen and wow... what an incredible song. Particularly Neil's drum pattern and Neil's lyric. It's funny - Geddy had his bad moments yowling both in the 70s and in the 00s, and Alex sometimes had forgettable or even bad guitar parts. But Neil ... Neil was NEVER off his game. Never. I'd hate to be a drummer, knowing that the bar was set so damn high.