analog guy

Like it very much. Yes, it's "light" Rush.... yes it's "jazzy".... It doesn't bug me at all.

Only something that hasn't been played before.

I think the venue is as much involved as anything else. I've seen Rush at Red Rocks twice and I thought they sounded much better there than at Pepsi. Pepsi Center was all cymbals and sub bass and little else. Actually sounded better with my fingers in. I am going to take plugs this time.

Bust the brokers, screw the scalpers, make the promoters feel the way I feel....

Do you still have that Buick? :D No, that wasn't mine, cause I was only 15 and wasn't driving yet. But as a matter fact, I do currently own a Buick, and it's just as shitty. :)

Seeing the reformed Police at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, not because the Police weren't awesome (they were) but because the opening act was Fergie. Seriously.

I was discouraged about the $130 I spent last week (not including the $17 handling and $2.95 for MAIL) but saw something that made me feel a little bit better. Motley Crue wants $230 for the same seat in the same venue three weeks later.

20 bucks for a lawn seat on a huge outdoor theatre in the middle of nowhere, piling into a shitty old Buick with six or seven other people, everybody air drumming to a cassette of Exit Stage Left, entering the venue with no line. The security guard only concerned with finding recording devices and nothing else. Sitting on a blanket under the stars. People sticking lighters in the air for Closer to the Heart because nobody has a phone. SInging along with the opening act's one hit and then giggling at the rest of their, *ahem*, repertoire. The painful 45 minute interlude while the stage changes over. Then, sheer bliss for two hours. Not wanting it to end when it does. I guess that's the one thing that doesn't change. That was 1992... which seems like a really long time ago now, doesn't it.

I'd be totally cool with some classics done instrumental. Hemispheres Prelude would be at the top of the list and very doable since there are only 8 lines of vocals being skipped.

Love Turn the Page. HYF gets a bum rap but I'd take anything from the that record save for the two at the end. Open Secrets or Second Nature would be really fantastic to hear.

Too damn much. But suckers like us always pay it, and keep paying it, so I guess they can justify it. It's never not been worth it, so far.

Sometimes I think they deliberately screw with your head when selling you these things. Managed to get some... pretty sure I've never spent more money though.

Got to reload it 50 times or more. Just be persistent. Even now 40 minutes later there are some that are getting opened up that are slightly better than the ones I ended up with (sec 128) I opted to sit in the side section this time. Last time I moved from the floor to the side during intermission and had a much better experience. I actually thought the sound was better even though I was on an acute angle to the front.

I thought I saw the first Tamas (the MP kit) was being played by a guy actually in a tribute band.... which is pretty cool. That guy pretty much wins when discussing equipment with other Rush tribute acts.... "so where did you get YOUR kit from?"

We know Geddy pops up at Blue Jays games often, but he seems to have an affinity for the Cardinals too. I know he seems to have a mutual friendship with Tony La Russa. Since I'm a Cardinals fan myself, I have no problem getting on board with that.... although I actually don't like La Russa personally very much myself, despite his success. http://www.rushisaband.com/images/201008/1667.f.jpg

Agree with everything I've read here.... I bought the book when I was 15 (1992) and at the absolute zenith of my fandom. As everyone said, the internet wouldn't be in my house for another couple of years, and there was NOTHING about the band anywhere. I remember buying a cassette single of "Ghost of a Chance" just because it had a five minute interview as a B-side. It was the proverbial gold mine when it came out. But as I got older, I realized just how poorly written and egocentric it was from the writer's perspective. I guess I'm not at all surprised what became of the guy, considering. It's a fascinating juxtaposition of amazing nuggets of inside Rush info sandwiched around the puerile nonsense of a guy who won the lottery and wants to remind you of that fact on every page. I'm not sure where my copy is now, but I remember vandalizing it with stupid, silly drawings and cutting some of the photos out for a homemade poster. I haven't seen it in at least 15 years.... my mother probably tossed it when I moved out. And people wonder why Neil is uncomfortable around his fans.

Bond themes for the most part tend to be given to those who are trending hot... Sheena Easton was on top of her game in 1981, but where has she gone since then? Look at some of the others. Duran Duran. A-ha. Go back further and you have people like Carly Simon and Nancy Sinatra. And of course, Shirley Bassey. (GOLLLLLDDD-FINGAHHHHH!). All very much of their time. Adele did the last one. She's already kind of forgotten about, and it hasn't been that long.

I like the song. I think it's a very nice, laid back sort of tune with some really nice guitar work from Lerxst.... dare I say it, it's one of the few on Counterparts I don't skip these days. I'm also a fan of some other Rush "ballads" like Second Nature. I also like Anagram (for Mongo) save for one cringeworthy vocal explosion near the end.... Different Strings is another nice slower Rush song. And of course Losing It is fantastic too. I'm a big fan of all of these slower, softer Rush tunes.... but I can't see a concert audience getting terribly excited about them (although I suspect "Losing It" might get a really strong reaction). Then again, they did put "Faithless" in a recent set, which might be the biggest downer in their entire catalog.

Moving Pics and Signals are the gold standard, IMO. Two different sets of Tamas. I'm a sucker for Neil's old Slingerland #1, which I believe was used on those and also on Counterparts, which is the last really good sounding Rush record IMO. He's got the DWs tuned so tight that the higher toms almost sound like cowbells or something. It's even worse live. To be honest, I really don't care for it.... I don't really understand the current fetish for ring and overtones that seems to be around. I've played DWs and I thought they sounded as good anything else around.... but I never felt like they were worth anything close to the extra 2 grand you pay for them.

I like Superconductor but not Spindrift. I always interpreted Superconductor as a slam on manufactured and manipulated pop artists, which I despise, so I enjoy it on that level.

People don't like Hold Your Fire because it is generally considered to be the "softest" Rush album. It's lighter, more airy, more contemporary. It doesn't "rock". None of these things bother me. I'm kind of a jazz guy, so I actually like the spacey, fusion-y sort of new age feel that it has. Even in the overproduced 80s it doesn't quite have the bombast that Power Windows does. I'm a big fan of the deeper cuts on this album like Turn the Page, Open Secrets and Second Nature. You just have to remember that this is 1987 and it's very much a production of its time. Yes, you could conceivably hear passages from this album on the Weather Channel, but is that really that bad? I like Weather Channel music too.

One of my favorites. I listened to it every day during the summer of 1992 when I saw my first show, and it still reminds me of that summer. Fond memories. Roll the Bones was the newest Rush record out then, and I found Presto to be a musically superior companion album. Even the much maligned songs like Superconductor and Anagram, I find very listenable and enjoyable. Hand Over Fist is a bit strange. The production sounded great at the time, but it sounds pretty dated now, unfortunately. I never liked Neil's piccolo snare phase much.

A diabetic coma changed Hitler

An album very much of its time. Excluding the Rutsey-Peart change from the first album to the second, I'm not sure any single Rush album represented a more dramatic sonic change from the one before it more than this one, when compared to P/G. They went into full, 100% balls-out 80s excess overproduction mode. It's grown on me a lot. Strong melodically, strong lyrically.... I always think the themes are close enough together that it could be considered almost a concept album even though it isn't meant to be one. I have to be in the right mood to listen to this one, but it's a joy to hear it when I'm in that mood.

Subdivisions and The Pass are two of my top five Rush songs well, ever.... so yeah, I was pretty pissed when those got dropped, especially since that tour was my first show. Still haven't heard The Pass live. Got the opposite night set in Denver this year. :boo hiss: