NWK's Rush Song Rankings and Reviews

[zepphead]

I had forgotten about this thread!!! Time to waken up now we're getting close to the 'good stuff' lol!

[_hi_water._]

can't wait for the next one

[New World Kid]

Sorry for the wait folks, haven't forgotten about the project here. Just busy with real life stuff. More soon!

[jnoble]

Time & Motion has parts I like and I remember enjoying it when I saw them play it live early in the tour but it sounds disjointed and forced. Like Rush tried too hard to compose a proggy song

[_hi_water._]

Time & Motion has parts I like and I remember enjoying it when I saw them play it live early in the tour but it sounds disjointed and forced. Like Rush tried too hard to compose a proggy song

Test For Echo definitely has prog moments...

Time And Motion, Resist, Limbo...

[goose]

Time & Motion has parts I like and I remember enjoying it when I saw them play it live early in the tour but it sounds disjointed and forced. Like Rush tried too hard to compose a proggy song

Switch that to Cygnus1 or most any track off AFTK

[_hi_water._]

Time & Motion has parts I like and I remember enjoying it when I saw them play it live early in the tour but it sounds disjointed and forced. Like Rush tried too hard to compose a proggy song

Switch that to Cygnus1 or most any track off AFTK

[Mosher]

As someone who will devote hours a day on creative projects for no purpose beyond fulfilling a creative interest, I really enjoy and appreciate the effort you've put into this.

 

From the outset it's clear that your list may as well be randomized rankings for how they compare to what I'd do (probable exceptions at the top to be seen).

 

But that's irrelevant. You have an honest methodology that forces us to look at a song through a similar lens and that makes this much better than a simple list.

 

One of my own self indulgent interests is in fact word play. Anagram is absolutely just a song for Neil to feature that same love of word play. I write alliterative paragraphs for fun, and I create what I call alphabet poems for fun (a 26 word piece where each word starts with a different letter).

 

It might be odd that Neil thought that sufficient to send to others since they're just fun exercises, but I imagine people who love words in the same way really like the lyrics. I love them.

 

But I get the low ranking.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Mosher

[driventotheedge]

Did you already say 'to hell with it' NWK? Hope not.

[New World Kid]

Did you already say 'to hell with it' NWK? Hope not.

 

No, sorry. Just been otherwise creatively engaged. I'll try to get back into this soon.

[New World Kid]

 

Between Sun and Moon

 

Rank: 125 out of 165

Overall Score: 3/10

(relative to the entire Rush catalog)

 

Category scores out of 10:

Historical Significance: 7

Fan Favoritism: 5

Lyrics: 4

Music: 6

Uniqueness: 3

Extra Credit: 9

 

This is a good song, and it’s hard to see it down this far for me. I think if it were just one criteria, my own personal tastes, this would easily make it into the Top 50.

 

When this song briefly made it to the setlist, Rush dedicated the song to the, at the time, recently passed John Entwistle of The Who fame. And I think it’s an apt song to do this for.

 

Everything about Between Sun and Moon on the musical side sounds like a subdued song from The Who. Most particularly, the main riff. But even during the choruses, you have some clean strumming that falls on the half-notes of the measure. While it’s Alex Lifeson playing the song, you can just imagine Pete Townshend’s windmill-esque strumming all over this.

 

As an aside, the guitar tone also sounds slightly ahead of its time. Does anyone else think, compositionally, this song could have sat on a Smash Mouth record and not felt out-of-place? Save for the clearly Neil Part level drumming and Geddy Lee vocals.

 

Speaking of, that same chorus has a drum pattern that fits snugly with Peart’s current jazz-based explorations, while also fitting the hard rock/The Who style. What would it sound like if Keith Moon had to play In The Mood? No, not that In The Mood, the other one. The Jazz standard! I think it’d sound something like this.

 

But all of those comparisons… guitar work that sounds like The Who, composition like Smash Mouth, drumming fit for a Glenn Miller record… it’s just too much imitation and flattery from a group known for a high amount of individualism and creativity.

 

And I think a lot of that has to do with Rush trying to sound so much rawer on Counterparts as a whole. When you’re looking over the shoulders of others, or even less productive, looking backwards at a younger version of yourself, and trying to imitate that feeling, you might miss the mark ever so slightly. Rush knew how to be raw and untempered in 1974, but in 1993, almost 20 years later… well, it was an effort.

 

Much like Time and Motion, I think what this song could use is a slight tweaking upwards on the tempo. Energy isn’t always synonymous with tempo, but when you’re not breaking out any surprises, it’s certainly a direction to look.

 

There’s also a lack of dynamics in the song. It stays in the same place for almost the entire song. The volume stays the same, the tempo stays the same. The rhythm guitar and drums stay firmly planted around 4/4.

 

The break section in the middle is the only exception, but it could have been done better. The part starting, “Some need to pray to the sun at high noon,” is where I’m focusing. Through the entire section, the hi-hat and bass drum continue on. The bass guitar also continues on with eighth notes. Which is a nice call-back to the introduction of the song, but it doesn’t evoke a mood as sufficiently as it could.

 

There’s a keyboard back there, and some good vocals. Why not let them stand on their own?

 

Look back at Circumstances as an example. Through the middle section of that song, there’s a building of dynamics. First with just reverb guitar. Then adding in percussion through melodic bells. Then a synthesizer joins in. There’s no 4-on-the-floor drums and thumping bass guitar to get in the way of the mood.

 

And you don’t have to stick to that formula. In fact, one of the reasons I admire Rush is because they so often abandoned their own formulas. But it’s the fact that it sounds like they wanted to go for a shift in the dynamics, and then tripped over their own feet a little.

 

As a quick add, the singing is fairly even through out. Very polite for Geddy Lee, which also lacks in excitement.

 

Lyrically, I know Pye Dubois has a hand in this one, and I’m unsure of the exact meaning of the lyrics. If I had to guess at a meaning, I’d say, “the Earth sits in a special place in the cosmos in the same way love and lovin’ is, too, unique.” And that’s okay I guess. But there’s nothing mind blowing there.

 

It’s a solid song that barely covers any new ground. And that’s exactly the kind of song that gets hit the worst for categories like “uniqueness” and “musicality”. I do think this song is a bit more than the sum of its parts, and its a great live rocker. That helps contribute to the extra credit score.

 

 

Previous Reviews:

#39 Working Man

#62 Caravan

#88 Time and Motion

#99 Nocturne

#125 Between Sun and Moon

#132 Making Memories

#139 Lessons

#164 Rivendell

#165 Anagram (for Mongo)

Edited September 2, 2020 by New World Kid

[_hi_water._]

hmm.... not one of my faves from Counterparts...

 

the riffs are awesome but has some of the weakest choruses in the Rush catalogue

[Mosher]

hmm.... not one of my faves from Counterparts...

 

the riffs are awesome but has some of the weakest choruses in the Rush catalogue

 

What an interesting club the Rush club is.

 

It's easily my favorite off of Counterparts.

 

No challenge intended and no explanation forthcoming. It's just been consistently interesting to me how so many major fans of Rush nevertheless hold such wildly different opinions. A testament to the band's versatility and variety I expect.

[New World Kid]

hmm.... not one of my faves from Counterparts...

 

the riffs are awesome but has some of the weakest choruses in the Rush catalogue

 

What an interesting club the Rush club is.

 

It's easily my favorite off of Counterparts.

 

No challenge intended and no explanation forthcoming. It's just been consistently interesting to me how so many major fans of Rush nevertheless hold such wildly different opinions. A testament to the band's versatility and variety I expect.

 

Right!

 

The reason I'm so harsh with the rankings is that it's really easy to give your most hated Rush song a B- grade or whatever. I see a lot of lists do that and it's like, "well, okay, but what's the point."

 

So keep in mind that it's score is relative to the entire catalog, in my opinion, and I still love Between Sun and Moon, and have tried to hit the Geddy notes in it (and many other rush songs) on many a highway lol.

[goose]

hmm.... not one of my faves from Counterparts...

 

the riffs are awesome but has some of the weakest choruses in the Rush catalogue

 

What an interesting club the Rush club is.

 

It's easily my favorite off of Counterparts.

 

No challenge intended and no explanation forthcoming. It's just been consistently interesting to me how so many major fans of Rush nevertheless hold such wildly different opinions. A testament to the band's versatility and variety I expect.

I love it. It has a great groove and the appreciate the song's sentiment and the fact that it's more on the poetic side lyrically.

[driventotheedge]

From the Working Man review:

........ though I’ve always said Bonham is a fairly pedestrian drummer when you strip away the glamor and prestige........

It's sacrilege to Zep fans to say this but I agree. Peart and Moon any day of the week. In fact, I'm not sure Moonie gets the credit he deserves. Maybe cuz he died young.

Thanks for continuing the reviews.

Edited September 3, 2020 by driventotheedge

[New World Kid]

 

Dog Years

 

 

Rank: 153 out of 165

Overall Score: 1/10

(relative to the entire Rush catalog)

 

Category scores out of 10:

Historical Significance: 1

Fan Favoritism: 1

Lyrics: 2

Music: 7

Uniqueness: 8

Extra Credit: 3

 

You know what: Dammit, I like this song.

 

From a lyrics stand-point, I agree, for Rush, it’s very tongue in cheek. Bordering on cringe. Certainly when Geddy belts “for every sad son of a bitch” it comes across like a twelve year old that just found out that’s what you can call a female dog. The little immature giggle at being able to say the word in technicality that he never could previously.

 

But once you listen to this song enough, as one might, the lyrics stop being so aggressively kitsch, and you too can settle into a less advanced headspace. Yes, most Rush songs will deal with philosophy, politics, the human condition… but can’t we just slow down and appreciate something goofy?

 

Can’t Rush fans just have a little fun?

 

Maybe that’s why the song is so adamant in it’s…. Dog Years-ness. The play is the thing, and maybe the existence of the song is the message of the song? Don’t take it so seriously. Make some time to go outside and play.

 

Alright, so very generous interpretation of the lyrics aside… yeah, they’re objectively not great. I think candle on the icing on the cake here is the interlude. “I’d rather be a tortoise from Galapagos, or a span of geological time.” You’d rather be a turtle, or an abstract concept of time measured out in an arbitrary length of time dependent on geological change?

 

You’d rather just be really old. Got it.

 

Alright, these lyrics aren’t great. At best, they’re fun. At worst, they’re just stupid. But honestly, I’ve made my peace with that.

 

No no, where this song gets high marks is the music. My oh my, this is one of the hardest rocking, smoothest, punchiest songs they’ve ever done.

 

That opening riff is major league, big boy heavy. Punctuated with an incredibly aggressive ride+snare combination on that & of the beat from Neil. (I know drum things). Is Rush flirting with ska there? Well, they’ll need to go faster. So no. But it sure is unique.

 

The heaviness backs off just enough to give Geddy room to sing after the opening. And Geddy, never mind the words, is actually doing a great job vocally here. This is the voice of a singer who has been working on his craft for decades, and has found his home. He can punch it up an active to get a point across, he can sustain a note with perfect clarity and crispness, he has inflection in the way he says things, rather than desperation to hit notes… heck, he can harmonize with that back up singer Gary Weinrib remarkably well!

 

Sometimes there’s a debate around when Geddy Lee sounded his best. The answer is on his solo album. But considering the proximity of Test for Echo to My Favorite Headache, I don’t think this is far off at all.

 

Neil is all over the hi-hat in the verses, by the way. In a good way. A very good way. He should have a talk with the lyric writer so that his work can be featured on better songs.

 

About all this song is missing, formulaically, is a ripping guitar solo. Now that would have been a treat. But this heavy duty number is what we’ll have to settle for.

 

Part of me wonders if the success of this song, on the music side of things, is because Rush weren’t too in-their-own-head about things. Obviously the lyrics were what they were, why not just throw whatever you want into here. Just a rough and raw rip for some fun and a good time. Have fun, and intellect be damned.

 

So it’s fun at best. After you listen to it enough to surpass the massive cringe factor. But even with Dog Years colored glasses (I don't know what color the lenses are, but the frames are clearly tortoise shell), there’s nothing here that pushes the boundaries of Rush, of a genre, of their playing… it’s unique in just how heavy it is in the canon, but it’s still a steady 4/4, with some dynamics problems and comfortable steadiness. Nothing ventured, so nothing gained really.

 

It's positive moments are enjoyable, but forgettable. It's negative moments are unforgivable.

 

Except for being able to belt out the word bitch. Maybe that’s a career highlight after a few decades?

 

So this comes in at 153... and I seriously expect riots whenever this random order brings me to number 154. So uh... stay tuned, in a few months, you'll probably hate me even more!

 

 

Previous Reviews:

#39 Working Man

#62 Caravan

#88 Time and Motion

#99 Nocturne

#125 Between Sun and Moon

#132 Making Memories

#139 Lessons

#153 Dog Years

#164 Rivendell

#165 Anagram (for Mongo)

Edited September 3, 2020 by New World Kid

[_hi_water._]

oh, of course this damn song is somewhere close to the bottom of the barrel

[driventotheedge]

Lyrics not as cringe worthy as Virtuality. At least there's tongue in cheek on this song.

[_hi_water._]

Lyrics not as cringe worthy as Virtuality. At least there's tongue in cheek on this song.

Half the world is

Half the world was

x100

[New World Kid]

 

Neurotica

 

Rank: 136 out of 165

Overall Score: 2/10

(relative to the entire Rush catalog)

 

Category scores out of 10:

 

Historical Significance: 4

Fan Favoritism: 4

Lyrics: 4

Music: 6

Uniqueness: 6

Extra Credit: 7

 

 

One of the most frustrating songs in the Rush discography.

 

Neurotica starts brilliantly. A anacrusis of spooky synthesizer is interrupted by a drop-kick into a moody-as-hell verse. Subtle guitar chords, off-beat drums that are actually much trickier to play than you’d think, and a subdued, maybe brooding, Geddy Lee almost speaks the opening verse.

 

Those first 32 seconds are really something. I’m not sure Rush has ever played with that exact tonal style before.

 

There’s so much space in that opening verse, and it’s there for good reason. I’m certainly not in the camp that “synths are bad”, and this synth is bone-chilling, yet subtle.

 

But as with all good things, those opening 30 seconds come to an end. And then we’re greeted with some of the most generic, mid-tempo, Rush-in-the-90’s stuff ever. It’s hard not to call the 2nd verse style in this song filler. The part starting “life is a diamond we turn into dust” is where I’m focusing right now. The riff Alex Lifeson is playing sounds very much like either a left-over, or precursor, to the stuff on his solo album, Victor. But it’s slow, predictable. Hummable, jangly, but not adding anything.

 

Then we hit the chorus. We double time, lose every sense of mood we had, and enter, musically, a very, very generic chorus. With some very humdrum Neil Peart wordplay that's better done on tracks like Animate.

 

We head back into the 1st verse style, and that moody synth comes back. But now Alex is over-playing it, and Neil adds in a snare int he back half. We lose that pensive mood. If the opening verse has tension from the openness, the agoraphobia of it all - then the second time around on that first verse style, the band covers up the unknown areas in a detrimental way.

 

Back to the generic 2nd verse, then back to the humdrum Chorus. One of the things that is criticized about this song, is the Geddy Lee moaning in the choruses. But I actually don’t mind it so much. It’s the only different thing going on. The only signature to the song. And with a different treatment, it could have fit a very spooky mood.

 

And I do think the band was going for a spooky vibe on this one. Sometimes I wonder how much influence the album covers have on me. Test for Echo always feels chilled, Vapor Trails hot, Hold Your Fire simple. But no, on Neurotica’s second verses, there’s a synthisizer that sounds like its straight out of phantom of the opera back there.

 

After the second chorus, we come to another highlight, and no coincidence, it captures the mood of the opening. This comes in around 2:47. There’s some held-out chords over top of another mysterious synthesizer. This instrumental section lasts about 15 seconds. And it’s beautiful. Give me a song with the tone of the first 30 seconds, and these 15 seconds, and this would be one of the most underrated gems in the catalog. But no, after those 15 seconds, we go to a bridge section, “Snap - hide in your shell, let the world go to hell.” And again, the band in the background is just coasting through the song.

 

Where’s the spooky synths! Where’s the moodiness! C’mon, give me some Pink Floyd, some Porcupine Tree, some… thing!

 

We get a fairly average Alex Lifeson guitar solo (average meaning technically impressive, but nothing that stands out among Alex Lifeson solos), and then we get dumped into that walking-paced chorus again.

 

This is frustrating. The band stumbled on some great moods, sounds, themes, textures, tones… and then abandoned them for the majority of the song.

 

It’s okay to be atmospheric guys. You don’t have to always be a powerful power trio. And considering this isn’t even powerful, you’re not even striving for that here.

 

But the listener will be okay if you don’t outline every track with a bass/snare groove and safe guitar riff.

 

 

Previous Reviews:

#39 Working Man

#62 Caravan

#88 Time and Motion

#99 Nocturne

#125 Between Sun and Moon

#132 Making Memories

#136 Neurotica

#139 Lessons

#153 Dog Years

#164 Rivendell

#165 Anagram (for Mongo)

Edited September 4, 2020 by New World Kid

[JohnRogers]

Great job on these reviews. Two for two so far, in terms of being well-written and loaded with detail. I appreciate the effort.

I actually want to do the same thing, but Imma let this guy go first

I have a list but I wouldn't want to embarrass myself by writing such thorough takes on all their songs.

 

Well I don't feel embarrassed doing it. It's a fun little writing project I figure :)

I really like your approach. It's cool that a song's ranking isn't based solely on whether you like it, just its merit within the canon.

 

Do you think I should keep going bottom-up, or to switch it up and not be so negative at the beginning, and keep it a bit unpredictable, should I randomize the review order?

I think randomizing could be a good idea. Maybe keep the top ten or top twenty to the end.

 

I like this idea best so far I think. It keeps it fresh every time. Right now I think everyone's going to start coming around to find Tai Shan and Dog Years soon. Like, it's expected? But if I randomize it, then you don't know what you'll get. A prize every time!

 

And then save the bests for last to end on high note after high note.

Ah, Tai Shan is shit, not The Shit but just crap. Dog Years is top 20 material.

[_hi_water._]

aside from the chorus, Neurotica is one of my favorite songs musically on RTB

[driventotheedge]

Agree totally with "most generic, mid-tempo, Rush-in-the-90’s stuff ever."

Always found the song bland.

Edited September 4, 2020 by driventotheedge

[staunchally]

 

Working Man

 

Rank: 39

Overall Score: 8/10

(relative to the entire Rush catalog)

 

Category scores out of 10:

 

Historical Significance: 10

Fan Favoritism: 10

Lyrics: 7

Music: 7

Uniqueness: 7

Extra Credit: 8

 

 

The riff that launched a career.

 

To this point, Rush has been a somewhat unnoticed up-and-comer to the music scene. You can reference any number of documentaries on the subject, but it was hard for a Canadian band to (pardon the pun) find their way. But the right song in the right ears at the right time can change the course of history. Blue collar town Cleveland loved the song, and the popularity propelled Rush onwards, a trajectory that landed them in the previously dismissive Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from the very same city.

 

Geddy Lee once referenced the song as his favorite to play live, so that’s got to count for something. And live versions certainly have an energy, particularly through the middle section.

 

The song itself is a heavier-than-average take on Led Zeppelin. Which is basically how you could define the first three albums of Rush’s career, if you’re lazy.

 

Interestingly, once the vocals come in, they’re actually some of the most subdued on the debut album. I’m not about to say that Geddy isn’t young, brash, and high-pitched here. But compared to the raspy wailing on Finding My Way and Here Again in particular, Working Man’s vocals don’t quite hit that edge that Geddy is capable of in 1974. Even obvious opportunities of emphasis are forgone, perhaps a sign of wisdom slightly beyond his years.

 

In particular, I seemed to remember the line, “it seems to me I could live my life/ a lot better than I think I am” having a huge uptick on the staff on the word life. Perhaps that’s later Geddy adding color live I’m remembering.

 

And it’s good that this song remains, for Rush in this time period, subdued vocally. A song sympathizing with the plight of the working class in the 70’s would have been at odds with the shrill and over-the-top delivery style of other songs on this record. It’s not a lifestyle for the excitable or bright-eyed, it wears you down. And the vocals wisely attempt to portray this in comparison to surrounding songs.

 

While we're at it, the opening riff itself calls to the blue collar worker of the time period. Through Lifeson's guitar, you can practically feel the factory grime and sweat dripping onto an oily, unfeeling, unrelenting metal mechanism. It's dirty, it's claustrophobic, it's plodding. It's. Heavy.

 

But you’re all here to talk about the instrumental section I imagine.

 

Well, it doesn’t fail to impress. But as I said in my previous review today, Caravan, "Most bands writing records over the past 50 years will use an instrumental section to play a slightly-different-take on the verse with a fairly impressive and polite guitar solo on top,” and Working Man does this for the most part. Though there is the 70’s equivalent of a bass-and-drum breakdown midway through before more Alex Lifeson shredding.

 

And it is shredding. Perhaps the most unrestrained and uncomposed Alex Lifeson would ever be in their entire career. There’s a meandering lack of focus to this solo that makes it both great and uncharacteristic. There’s a vault edition of the song with a different guitar solo, nearly just as brilliant. And you get the feeling that if you sat Lifeson down for 15 takes, he could have melted your face in 15 different way.

 

This song best demonstrates that Lifeson can hang with the big boys. If you’re trying to find an edge in the 1970’s metal scene, you’ve got to have the chops. Rush shows they have them on this extended track.

 

There’s a lot of groove from Geddy Lee, but honestly we’ll find him capable of much more in the future.

 

Actually, I think the second most prominent band member on the track is drummer John Rutsey. He’s as solid as Bonham here, though I’ve always said Bonham is a fairly pedestrian drummer when you strip away the glamor and prestige. And in moments when you want the drums to cut through and shine, Rutsey delivers. The syncopated bass drum thumps not only keep time, but give this song more groove than an average drummer could provide.

 

For seven minutes long, there’s not a terrible lot to say about this song. It is the quintessential classic rocker. Without it, Rush likely never makes it as mainstream as they did. It’s a fan favorite and concert staple throughout their career, and it’s hard to dislike no matter what background you come from.

 

In a lot of ways, not only did this immediately give Rush an audience… but this song also bought Rush a lot. A lot of patience, a lot of freedom, a lot of respect.

 

For the casual fan, a band immediately coming out with the album Fly By Night or Caress of Steel may have seemed unfocused, goofy, and too uncool. For record companies, experiments like By-Tor and the Snow Dog would be harder to tolerate without a true radio hit in their back pocket. To the devout fans, it gave them something to turn around on the harshest critics and point to as an affirmation of rock.

 

Working Man is the herald that brings to the wider world a new challenger. These boys can play: pay attention.

 

 

Previous Reviews:

#39 Working Man

#62 Caravan

#88 Time and Motion

#99 Nocturne

#132 Making Memories

#139 Lessons

#164 Rivendell

#165 Anagram (for Mongo)

 

"Bonham is a fairly pedestrian drummer when you strip away the glamor and prestige".

 

Great reviews. I really like the criteria you've chosen and your take on things.

I'm not a huge Bonham fan. I like him just fine, but you can say things like this about almost anybody.

 

"Eddie Van Halen isn't that great if you take away the flash. Ditto Vai et. al.

 

I don't hear "pedestrian" in Bonham. Nor do I hear "glamor and prestige".

I hear a highly creative powerhouse.