Weatherman

Confession time: I am a major Rush fan, and yet I have never heard Exit Stage Left. I've heard a piece here and there, of course, but never all the way through. I'm no stranger to their live recordings. I grew up listening to ASOH (had the VHS tape too) , and later Different Stages became a favorite (as I enjoy 80s and 90s Rush most). As an adult in the 2000s/2010s there's been a galaxy of live recordings to listen to. I love all of it, mostly. So I'm saving ESL for later in life. We're not getting any new material, and I want some vintage Rush recordings to enjoy when I'm old. That is all. (bows)

You all know Billy Corgan is a fan, and in this new interview he admits that Cherub Rock was a ripoff of By-Tor and the Snow Dog. It starts at 6:40.

Me too. Saw them twice on that tour - I still remember how good Geddy sounded, as a singer, at that time. They seemed larger than life.

My older cousin has a M.F.A. in classical piano performance and has cut several albums and built a career in music. I grew up idolizing his musical skill and my earliest memories include attending his piano recitals. He taught me keys for about a year when I was seven. Anyways, when I turned 15, his career was in full swing, and for my birthday he gave me three CDs. "You're ready for the best music now," he said. "So here, these are for you." I looked at them in my hands. "Number one is the best jazz ever made - Oscar Peterson, The Trio." "Number two is the best classical ever made - Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto." "Number three is the best rock ever made - Moving Pictures by Rush." I was off to the races. I bought Presto and 2112 in the next month. All three remain my favorite overall Rush albums. I still listen to Peterson and the Rach 2 as well. He was right about all of them.

"Mark Moore" spelled backwards is "E. Room Kram", which was Geddy's fake hotel name for years. I think I've cracked it.

Time Stand Still. This is the only answer and there will be no questions. Thank you.

I hope it's as good as Bono's memoir. I'm halfway thru that one; he's an excellent writer. Geddy is equally smart so I'm hopeful.

It looks like a bad sci-fi book cover from 1983.

Funny takes here! I'll do top/bottom 3: TOP: 1. Roll the Bones -- I like the shading, and the water along the bottom 2. Moving Pictures -- a great visual pun 3. Vapor Trails -- the cover is far and away the best thing about the album, beautiful abstract expressionism BOTTOM: 1. Hemispheres -- Naked guy on a brain? Wasn't one naked guy enough? It's completely hideous 2. Signals -- It doesn't say a damn thing to me about anything, certainly not the concept of signals. Total misfire. I said what I said. 3./4. SnA/CA -- the final two albums had covers that were just too busy and muddled, much like the music

This is why GuP sounded so bad to me, in the 90s, when grunge ruled the airwaves. My ears were accustomed to heavy Seattle-style recording, with that sludgy bottom end, and huge walls of midrange guitars. When I stopped listening to that type of music, GuP grew a little better.

Based on his family, I think Ged is going to be alive for three more decades. He's got time to start to a new band!

I was just talking with a friend last month about how Marc Maron always rubbed me wrong. Bad vibes from him.

Great responses so far, thanks. I voted S&A -- the constant mid-tempo, the acoustic guitars, the lack of melody, the nondiscernable changes in the arrangements. I honestly can't think of much else like it in their catalog. Debut is a close second, but it still has vocal melodies, guitar solos, a variety of tempos, and pretty standard arrangements. Much like many other albums.

We can all agree on what constitutes the prog era, the AOR success era, the synth era. But I'm curious about your opinions re: the oddballs. You know: the albums that seem like one-offs, that aren't connected to any other albums by trend, technology, sound, or arrangements. Which album sounds the most different from everything else in the Rush catalog? I've narrowed it down to a few finalists. Comment below!

I can't believe nobody made A Farewell To Queens joke.

For such a great band, they had real trouble mixing. I can't think of any other band who had so many albums screwed up by bad mixes.

Let's hope it overdoses next year and joins the 27 Club.

Agreed. I think Lock and Key is the catchiest song in their entire catalog. If only they could rerecord the album with different synth sounds, bassier bass, and two fewer songs.

I feel like he gets written off by the general public who always associated him with his 70s banshee wail. The first Rush I ever heard was Presto, which is Geddy singing in excellent low chest voice because Rupert Hine was holding a gun to his head. "Bring it another octave down, Ged. That's it, just like that, nice and easy." LOL

It's also the beginning of his best vocal era. Alex's guitar drove the songs during the prog era, but Geddy's voice, bass, and feet drove the songs during the HYF-Presto-RTB-Counterparts era.

I'm really sorry he's gone, but at the same time none of us would've ever seen him perform again. I cannot envision anybody drumming at age 70 the way he did.

I went many years without listening to Rush. When I came back to the fold, it was most of Signals that stood out. Especially "The Weapon", with that amazing guitar solo from space, but other tunes too. (I'd never forgotten about Subdivisions.) I love love love the sound of this record. I know Alex argued about the mix, but I think the integration of keys with guitar is superb. And Neil's patterns are unrivaled -- he plays better here than he does on MP,.

No, I think they're going to leave his legacy entirely to the fans.

I think this tribute concert was a testament to how much people in the industry love and respect Dave Grohl. Musicians die all the time. Most of them aren't lucky enough to know a man who can organize top seasoned professionals to come and play for him (and with him) in the deceased person's honor. Also: I just learned that Grohl's mother died two weeks ago. Damn.

Whatever you're smoking, I want some. Alex's guitar sounded good but not great.