Irenicus

I feel you man. The 9th really is one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. And several times it made me cry too. I also saw it live 2 times. Who knows what he would have written if he had lived for another 10 years? You can only imagine. But be sure to check out more of his music, don't limit yourself to just the popular pieces or "hits" because there's so much greatness in his works and a lot of it isn't very well known. If you like solo piano music, definitely check out the piano sonatas like Appassionata, Waldstein, Hammerklavier, No. 32 etc. If you like strings, check out the String Quartets, especially the late ones like Op. 131. And all the symphonies are great, definitely listen to the 3rd "Eroica" and the 7th.

I wasn't a fan yet back when it came out. But to me it's a great album except for the horrible production job, but I can look past that, especially with the remixed version. I still consider it the best album since Power Windows or maybe Grace Under Pressure. Easily blows away Clockwork Angels. But they could have shortened the album somewhat, removed a few songs. That's a general problem these days, artists just put too many songs on their albums, simply to fill up the CD capacity.

True also, but then again if I could afford an 800mm lens, why would I go for much less? Especially considering you need as much as possible for small birds. Edit: The picture actually looks like it was cropped quite a bit.

It's also possible he could be refering to a telezoom with 500mm at the long end, like for example the Nikon 200-500 f/5.6. And he could have an APS-C body instead (like the D500) for more reach, which afaik many wildlife shooters use. That combination would "only" cost about 3000$.

Grace Under Pressure.

Which exactly was the original Hugh Syme cover? The one on the first booklet page with the snake and arrow through its head? Or the two hands holding the snake and arrow? If it's the former, I'm glad they didn't use it because it looks way too cheap and corny for a Rush album cover. Not that I'm a fan of the actual cover, but it's still better than that.

http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/tourinfo.php

Is that a joke? Compared to Rush the Maiden tunes are pretty simple stuff, Neil could play most of them in his sleep. And even the more difficult songs are nothing compared to what Neil did in Rush. Don't get me wrong, Nicko is a very good drummer, but he isn't even among the best metal drummers, let alone the best rock drummers. And I'm saying that as an Iron Maiden fan.

I think Frankfurt is just the exception for some reason. Probably because there generally seem to be more hard rock/heavy metal fans in the south. I still remember that in Oberhausen 2007 parts of the venue were covered up with curtains. It didn't sell out at all.

I weep for greyfriar. :( Well, if we're counting people online, then there are some for sure. But obviously it's much easier to meet such people online than in real life. Still even in certain message boards only relatively few people know the band.

They definitely did not break through in Germany, not even close. I don't know a single person who has even heard of the band. Not even a friend of mine who listens to Saga (another canadian prog rock band) had heard of them before I told him. And those 2 concerts I attended (2007 and 2011) didn't even sell out. Sure the fans are somewhere, but good luck finding them. I think Rush only really had a breakthrough in North America, UK and I guess Brazil. And in my opinion the lack of touring outside of North America is the main reason for not becoming well-known pretty much anywhere else.

Second best 70s album after Hemispheres.

So you're saying, just because a band wrote some ballads, that means they can't be a metal band? That makes sense. Metallica wrote some quite soft ballads (Nothing Else Matters, Unforgiven 2, Mama Said), guess they aren't metal after all... Seriously, Black Sabbath is the definition of metal. They wrote the book. It was still in its rough, embryotic form, but very clearly metal in retrospect, if you're familiar with the genre. You can hear Sabbath's riffs in so many bands that came afterwards, it's not even funny. They even spawned a whole subgenre called doom metal, which consists of many bands that pretty much just copied their (early) sound.

I'm pretty sure I couldn't come up with someone less fitting as a drummer for Rush than Dave Lombardo. Tom Araya on vocals then? Lol.

Very well put.

Just buy the blu-rays and digitalize them via computer, where is the problem? Some people... At least with blu-rays you have something in your hands. With digital files you can easily lose them and gone is your money.

No, that's not how it works. Artists are only even allowed to tour or release new albums based on how an album has sold. Nothing has changed about that. No record company is gonna risk paying lots of money for a tour when the supported album hasn't even sold well, so that the tour may flop as well. That would be bad business. At least this applies to bands on record labels, of course it may be like you said with independent artists.

For the time being basically not, yeah. But if too many people do this and not enough people pay for the music, then bands will not be able to record new albums or go touring anymore, because there won't be money to support that. So if you want your favourite bands to continue to release albums and play concerts, then buy the music. It's especially crucial to do so for smaller acts. Funny how it's even necessary to explain this...

I'd say that's more debatable than a Rush / Kansas rivalry... Indeed. A big four without King Crimson is ridiculous.

Your point being? I'm pretty sure I never claimed it to be a very long time, just that I certainly don't fit into that "teens just getting into Rush" category.

Sorry to prove you wrong with your stereotyping, but I'm almost 30 and listen to Rush since 2007.

And considering ballads: I very much like Entre Nous, Different Strings, Losing It and to a lesser degree Madrigal, The Pass, Bravado, Resist and The Garden. But Tears is just too cheesy and clichéd... though I guess ok as an early (second) attempt. So it's not just because it's a ballad, at least not for me.

3 stars. Really only average material there more or less, nothing outstanding in any way. If it hadn't been for the title track, I'm sure this album wouldn't have been such a success at all. It seems like Rush had spent all their creativity and inspiration on the title track and then thought "Hey, we can't release an album with just one track, so let's quickly come up with some bonus stuff." That's how it feels like to me.

Probably the best Rush-related joke I've ever heard.

Clearly the 70s. As great as Moving Pictures is, it simply cannot beat the incredible lineup that's Caress of Steel, 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres and Permanent Waves. And the synth albums just aren't quite on the same level to me. Certainly not HYF.