NAO

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Jun 21 2012, 10:11 PM)Do you really think a Canadian is going to give 2 sh!ts about some American underground movement? You do realize that Rush is a progressive band in the true meaning of the word? And that they are Canadian, which to Republicans are categorized as Socialists. I don't know whether to laugh or be concerned. Just FYI, the Occupy Movement was conceived in Canada and initiated by Canadians. The staff of the Vancouver based magazine Adbusters came up with the original concept for "Occupy", and spread the idea with social media. Further, Occupy protests have been staged in at least 82 countries. It is hardly either "American" or "underground". http://www.adbusters.org/

How is it that Freewill, recorded in 1980, sounds so much better - in terms of crispness, clarity, and distinctiveness of each instrument - than BU2B, which was recorded 30 years later? Shouldn't technology have moved us forward along those lines? Or is (what I perceive as) "muddiness" just the way things are supposed to sound in the 21st century?

I LOVE the debut album. It's always been on of my favorites. I HATED the keyboard era in the 80's, and I didn't even buy HYF when it came out, but now it' my favorite keyboard era album. TFE is - by far - my favorite 90's era album. I am delighted to the point of giddiness by Neil's anti-religion lyrics.

I will confess to the most blasphemous heresy a so-called RUSH fan can have: I don't really like any of the albums after Moving Pictures that much. There, I said it. Also I don't believe in god, and I deny the holy spirit. I'm going to hell for sure. As for the post-MP albums, it's not for lack of trying - repeated listens, trying to keep an open mind, trying to hear the music on it's own terms, etc. Granted, I have learned to appreciate most of the post-MP output, but here is the thing...I didn't have to "try" to appreciate the debut thru MP. That stuff just grabbed me and blew me away. So nowadays I can appreciate every post-MP album in some way (except GUP, which I can't stand to this day) - but my appreciation is always in the context of "this stuff is just not in the same league as the 74-81 stuff". I can't pin down what it is, but something changed after MP. Despite all the changes (toning down keyboards, turning up guitar, bringing on Nick), nothing grabs me the way the early stuff did. Possibly the missing factor is Terry Brown. Who knows? That's my big "unpopular opinion". I have some others too, but I'll leave them for another post (provided I'm not banned from here forever for "the unpardonable sin" of not liking the post-MP stuff).

QUOTE (Mystic Slipperman @ Sep 3 2010, 06:33 PM)Hey, isn't that Yes's new single? "Don't Hump The Whale"??? Right. "Don't Hump the Whale" sounds great live on the Yes Shows CD. It's my favorite after "Tales from Topographic Oceans". BTW, in the documentary, Ged makes it sound like they just tried the silk robes thing out of the blue, but many other art/prog bands from that era sported similar garb. I just got the deluxe CD/DVD of Chris Squire's "Fish Out of Water", and he's wearing a flowing white silk robe with gold trim on the videos. To the OP: Rush humped the whale in the early 80s, after MP, not the 90s. And they have been normalizing since 93 CP, but it really took hold with VT, SnA, and Caravan/BU2B.

QUOTE (Jomboni @ Aug 30 2010, 08:16 PM)1. It's my favorite Alex record. I love the minimalist approach he took, his tone, his solos, everything. I'm glad he didn't stick with this style for too long. He doesn't really play like this on any other album, and it really shows his versatility. 2. I like the cold/sterile production because it works well with the themes of the majority of the songs. 3. Red Lenses sucks (sorry, I had to put one bad thing in here) It's not my favorite Rush album, but it's probably my most played (does that even make sense???) It makes sense. RUSH is one of my favorites, but it ranks below many others like Hemispheres/AFTK, PM/MP, and 2112. However my iTunes play counter shows that I play RUSH and FBN more than just about anything else! I think it's because: 1.) I really, really like RUSH and FBN, and 2.) I'm 'saving' my super-favorites like Hemispheres for special occasions so I don't wear out the numinosity of those masterpieces.

QUOTE (Xanadu93 @ Aug 29 2010, 09:20 PM)Alex's awesome guitar tone (courtesy of the Hentor Sportscasters), Neil's percussion experimentation and lyrics, and Geddy's vocals, basswork, and keyboard usage. It's my fourth-favorite Rush record. Wow! Alex's guitar tone is what I most dislike about P/G. I think that's why I like Signals more than P/G. I liked the guitar tone on Hemispheres or 2112 or RUSH. As performed on All the World's a Stage. I like crunching, grinding guitar not ringing, jangling guitar. Just taste, I guess.

QUOTE (WIDE-ANGLE WATCHER @ Aug 29 2010, 09:10 PM)I love Grace....and total change from Signals....but so good to me It was 19...freaking...84... A great time, and a great album!!! I know the OP's question was "Does anyone else dislike p/g?" And there will be some haters.....Not me. Between The Wheels...Rocks Distant Early Warning....Nothing sounded like it at the time...Ever Red Sector A....Intense storyline...Great live. Afterimage....Different....touching.....RUSH The Enemy Within....Great tune. Etc. Etc. I really enjoy cranking Grace Under Pressure. It's too bad the OP dislikes it enough to make a post about. There is probably more RUSH dislike posts to come. Bring it on. Well, I hardly consider myself a 'hater'. Glad you like P/G. I did'nt like the times, musically. I thought everything was crap, except Rush. When they jumped on the mainstream post-punk bandwagon...things seemed bleak. Just out of curiousity, how much play does your copy of RUSH get? As another poster said of P/G, "it may not be their best, but I love it". I think I've listened to RUSH and Hemispheres more often than anything else, with PermW and MP trading places as my two favorites.

QUOTE (g under p @ Aug 29 2010, 07:49 PM)This IS my #1 album by far period. It might not be the best BUT it's the one album I will always come back to and listen intently. It was my first concert, first album I bought even though on initial listenings I wasn't that enthused about the songs but after seeing them live I was hooked on the album. Red Sector A was the song that got my attention and the rest slowly followed one by one...Afterimage..awesome and so on I can listen to this album from beginning to end. I was jamming to it today as I did some late summer shopping. I can't put the record down. Peace I wonder how many people who really like P/G and the post-Signals stuff came on board AFTER Signals? It was very hard for people who had really liked Rush before 1982 and were more hard/progressive rock fans to appreciate a completely different sound. Especially a sound that we associated with "music we don't like'. To me, every album from RUSH to MP sounded like Rush, but from Signals forward they sounded like a different band. Two of my favorites - both in 1981 and now - are RUSH and MP. Although radically different, they had a quality of similarity of essence. I can listen to RUSH through MP, and it seems like a gradual, logical progression. Then Signals seemed like an abrupt, radical change. For me, VT kind of reminds me of RUSH. And Caravan/BU2B sound & feel like the next logical step after MP.

QUOTE (analog guy @ Aug 29 2010, 07:30 PM)I have never cared for P/G a great deal, although it is far from my least favorite Rush record. And what is interesting about that is Signals is actually my favorite album. People often lump the two of them together because they seem to share many common sonic elements, but for whatever reason, Signals completely works for me while P/G does not. Signals and P/G are not really similar. I think Signals stands alone and there is nothing like it. Same for P/G. Power Windows and HYF; Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures; everything else, IMHO can be grouped. QUOTE (analog guy @ Aug 29 2010, 07:30 PM)I do not care for the production on P/G all that much. Part of that could be that Peter Henderson was a bit of a late choice and maybe not necessarily the right choice. Either Peter Henderson was a bad choice, or Terry Brown was a fantastic choice, or both. QUOTE (analog guy @ Aug 29 2010, 07:30 PM) I feel the drum sound is inferior to Signals, and there is a lot of sibilance on the vocals. I'm also not a fan of the Simmons drums, which I find dated and cheesy. I think songs like Red Sector A and Red Lenses might have worked better without them. I also feel that some of the emotion in Geddy's voice on certain songs sounds contrived and perhaps over-emphasized. I understand it was an emotional album to make, but I don't feel it.. Yes to all.