Slim

I prefer Hemispheres. MP is a great record, polished, assured, nice songs and all that. But Hemispheres is just phenomenal.

One day in January 1977, or possibly February that year, I went round to visit my friend Arthur 'Dicko' Dixon. I was 16 years old. His mum showed me up to his bedroom where he and another of my friends were listening to a new record. He had one of the two LPs that comprised this double album on his mono record player, parked on his bedroom carpet, where the lavish triplefold coverwas also laid out. It was, of course, All The World's A Stage. Arthur had become interested in Rush after a Metro Radio DJ by the name of John Coulson had played a few tracks from it following its release a few months earlier. A few copies made their way over here on import. My biggest musical interest at this time was David Bowie. I wasn't a fan of hard or progressive rock back then, though I'd been fond, a couple of years earlier, of my brother's copy of The Yes Album. I also had a compilation by Kraut-rockers Can that I liked very much; I'd spent £2.00 on that on an impulse one Saturday in 1976 purely because I liked the cover. But I was intrigued by this 'Rush' record. My curiosity was piqued by the Starman logo on the cover, and the spread of photos on the album sleeve. I don't know what the first tune that I heard was, as I entered the room - but I remember the Lakeside Park "not too far from here, as a matter of fact" introduction not long afterwards, so it could have been Something For Nothing. Younger readers may find this hard to imagine, but it was not uncommon to stack LP records on the spindle of a record player so that the second side would flip down onto the turntable after the first side had completed playing. Import copies of All The World's A Stage have sides 1 and 2 on different disks, just for this purpose. For some reason I had the impression that I was listening to a recording of an outdoor concert. Not sure why. But those old mono record players were rather lo-fi. A few days later I borrowed Arthur's copy of the first Rush live album, and copied it to a C90 cassette, which I still have. I became a bit obsessed with it. A couple of months later the first UK tour was announced and I shelled out the £2.50 or whatever it was on a ticket to see them one gobsmacking June night at Newcastle City Hall. Four weeks after that, on my 17th birthday, I treated myself to Fly By Night, Caress of Steel and 2112 at the record counter in Boots. A few months later I did buy a legitimate copy of All The World's A Stage, but by this time it had had a UK release, all the import ones had gone and it didn't have the triplefold cover. Since then I've bought US and Canadian copies with the full original packaging, so I feel I've more than made up for my music pirating indiscretion as a teen. I'd love to know what particular day in early 1977 I was first exposed to Rush, but I don't and I never will. So I shall celebrate my own, personal R40 now.

Condemned, with your face like a sun-damaged hammock.

You wouldn't let it lie.

I like the Hogarth version of Marillion, not the Fish version.

I like some of their stuff. They went off quite quickly after Rio and I can't stand Hungry Like The Wolf, New Moon on Monday or any of that nonsense. But after their popularity had waned they did some terrific stuff, like this:

I did, in 2004 / 2005. Met her at a pre-gig meet in England; she'd come over from Finland. I already knew her from a Rush site we contributed to. Lovely girl, not in touch with her now sadly.

Alex seems to have a much more articulate style and a cleverer technique; May has a distinctive tone but other than that I can't hear anything special. Ordinary player IMO, though there's nothing wrong with that. Anyway Alex all day long, for me.

I really liked them about 30 years ago. No Rest was very popular on the Student Union jukebox.

And I did. Just read the last chapter. It does look like he intends Rush to be done with now, but doesn't actually rule anything out either.

Tempted to buy the Kindle version, but £13? I suppose I will fork out for it.

Interesting one about the number of photon torpedoes. To my mind, a photon torpedo is a sizzling ball of energy, not a tangible thing that's stored somewhere. It should just depend on the energy available to the emitter. I do recall that in one of the movies, McCoy and Spock open one up to work on it, and it looks something like a plastic suitcase. That strongly disappointed me.

I like to think that they have indeed retired Rush. If not now, then when? But bands never seem to retire. Thirty or forty years ago I'd have been astonished and dismayed if I could have glimpsed into a crystal ball and seen the Stones, Sabbath, Rush, Queen and the rest, still gigging and recording into their 60s and beyond. Whether it's the attention from the fans and media or the shedloads of cash to be had, or both, I don't know. But I won't be at all surprised if there's another Rush tour in a year or two.

This is one I've not seen before. :) Stockholm, I think? Nice to see if so; would be 3 days before my first Rush gig.

This is the only photo I've ever seen of Geddy in which his face looks in proportion

Thanks for asking. One in 1977, two in 1978, four in 1979, two in 1980, one in 1981, two (I think, or possibly one) in 1983, one in 1988, one in 1992, one in 2004, one in 2007, one in 2011, two in 2013. All in the UK, at least one on every British tour.

Ah, Budgie. I have three of their albums and particularly like these tunes: Don't Go Away Parents Breadfan Melt The Ice Away In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand Sorry, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with 10.

Oh yes and from Finding My Way, "Who's still alive? I'm coming out to get you" and "I've been on parole, and life's killing me yeah" Actually having just listened to the ATWAS version again, it still sounds more like that than the supposed actual lyrics.

My first Rush record was All The World's A Stage, about 40 years ago (gah) and without access to the Internet or lyric sheets, I couldn't really make out what the words being sung were a lot of the time. From Something For Nothing I remember hearing a line "you won't get wise, with the sweetest of inurii", despite having no idea what inurii might be. Also "Wonders in the Wirral" from Anthem of course. Oh yes and when I got my hands on a copy of Fly By Night, I remember hearing "I'll just give it a try, with my guitar strapped me-by" in Best I Can.

I believe Purple have been inducted now. I'd like to personally kick the pasty-faced philistine spotty ginger t**t in the video very hard in the gonads, perhaps repeatedly, for his disrespect to Aretha Franklin, but I agree that she has almost nothing to do with Rock, or indeed Roll.

OK, so we agree that he wrote vulgar songs.

I don't agree with your second point at all, here. I am a Zappa fan. I used to listen to my brother's copy of Hot Rats before I could afford to buy albums of my own, and I've bought about 15 of his albums in the last 35 years or so. His lyrics were undoubtedly deliberately vulgar, and while I'm not sure I'd say that Frank was weird, his music certainly was. He liked it that way. He saw it as an alternative, a sort of antidote even, to the prevailing popular music of the time. That's not really why I liked his stuff, though. He was just so utterly inventive, original and clever. Anyway - here's a short piece of music that is studiously weird, with wilfully vulgar lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h8JbG7HSNw

Happy birthday! Hope you're having a good one.

For me All The World's A Stage is the only indispensable live Rush record.

Interesting idea. I haven't read the whole thread so I may be repeating points already made, but - Neil clearly takes himself seriously as a writer, and I think he just grew out of those fantasy stories (like ByTor), then the allegorical material (like The Trees and Hemispheres). I like most of his stuff and those early lyrics do have a certain charm and magic. But I think his later work is better, more interesting.