Rush!

I've been revisiting songs/albums that I haven't listened to in quite some time. The most notable recent example would be "Scars" off Presto -- forgot how hypnotic Neil is on this one. Also, his amazing fills at the end of "Lock and Key" from HYF.

Haven't posted on here for a few years now. Absolutely devastating news -- still doesn't feel real to me. I'm also a drummer, and Neil is not only my favorite drummer, but the biggest influence in my playing by far. No other words to say really - Rush has been such a huge part of my life. What a sad, sad day. Thank you Neil for all of the inspiration and countless hours I've spent (and will continue to spend) listening to you.

Steve Harvey is just too classic, and hilarious to watch. I originally wasn't a big fan either, but he grew on me. Totally oddball guy.

Definitely one that instantly stood out to me on my initial listen of CA- One of the top tracks from that album for sure.

I was in section 223. Nosebleed seats but they weren't awful. I was on Alex's side. Great show as I had expected, and I was really surprised with the setlist in the first half. I found The Anarchist an odd choice for opening track, but interesting nonetheless. I was really satisfied with the setlist overall, esp for the fact they hit almost every album. For the first set, I would've swapped Animate and Roll the Bones with Cut to the Chase (rare deep cut that's overlooked imo), and Dreamline, respectively. The appearances by Segel and Rudd were awesome as well. Totally wasn't expecting Losing It, what a beautiful yet sad track. Excellent set, the sound was good overall, and I was floored when they started Jacob's Ladder, a personal favorite, as well as Xanadu. Excellent song choices.

Just pre-ordered the $99 version. Looks awesome, can't wait to get it in my hands!

Red Lenses is fun and light-hearted, I've always enjoyed it. The drumming is killer.

Haven't heard the album yet but the title track is glorious. Amazing, catchy melodies, and the middle section is just gorgeous. Going to try & listen to it this weekend.

I think MP is just fine the way it is. Wouldn't add to it, wouldn't cut from it. Witch Hunt has always been one of my favorites. Love the eerie, creeping intro, and the synths are my favorite aspect. The lyrics are sweet as well, I especially enjoy the verse "Quick to judge, quick to anger........". Really rings true for most people I encounter in life. Probably #5 overall in my Rush album rankings.

Two excellent songs. Went with Limelight. The lyrics sort of speak to me a little more, but TAK is also fantastic. The final lyrics in TAK I can really relate to, and Alex's solo absolutely smokes on that song. But Limelight is just one of those songs for me, and I'm sure for a lot of others too. No matter how many times I hear it, it'll never be boring or old to me. Although TAK probably holds that place for me as well.

Another difficult poll... I've always found The Camera Eye to be incredibly underrated. I can see why people are not as into it, because of its repetition. But I think the synths really shine here, the lyrics are quite evocative, and the song itself is just excellent imo. Fantastic Alex solo. One of my favorite underrated Rush tunes. Jacob's Ladder just slightly edges TCE for me. Another terrifically evocative song. The opening is one of the coolest things I've ever heard, and it just keeps building. Love the middle section with the drums coming back in.

This is tough as both of those are in my top 10. However, Hemispheres takes the cake. AFtK is a really strong record, but I was never huge on Cinderella Man or Madrigal. The title track, Xanadu, and Cygnus X-1 are all top-tier tracks however, and of course the classic Closer to the Heart. But Hemispheres is just a monster. An absolute monolith of an album. You've got the insanely memorable and complex title track, catchy The Trees, and probably their best instrumental La Villa. For mid-album tracks, I'd say Circumstances > Cinderella Man. Two excellent albums, but Hemispheres has always been in my top 3.

Very interesting thread idea, and that's a great movie. I'd say I'd give it a shot, as I seem to envy people who've never heard Rush's music before. But at the same time, they've shaped so much of my musical interests and I picked up the drums more seriously as a result of Peart, so I'd have to give it more thought. I think I'd probably end up going for it though.

AtWaS > DS > ESL AtWaS will probably always be my favorite. Rush at their most primal, their heaviest live album. And it sounds like an actual live album. ESL sounds awful with that crowd noise barely audible. It's a shame cause I love the tracklist for ESL but I crave that raw, live sound.

I generally find 35-40 minutes to be a pretty punctual time for most albums, not just for Rush. Granted, plenty of my favorite albums exceed 40 minutes, but I sometimes find that albums longer than that overstay their welcome. For me, it's usually an issue of the songwriting not being as up to par as the first half, or first few songs. Other times, albums just 'feel' really long and occasionally I'll grow bored or maybe become tired after a while. Again, this is not usually the case with Rush, but I can understand why people would feel this way. Same thing with films. I enjoy a lot of films that are a little over 2 hours long, but I wouldn't necessarily want to sit through a film that's 3 hours long or some other ridiculous length, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Whereas a 90-minute film usually gets the story told in an ideal amount of time. It depends on the day as well, it's really just the circumstances and how I might feel at that point in time.