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31 things only Rush fanatics know about their album sleeves


blueschica
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From #5 of the article: That's a bowler hat worn by the "businessman". And that's Apollo, bringing truth, understanding, wit and wisdom fair. Not Dionysus, the nude dancer, who brings music, laughter, joy and tears. Dionysus is the one who wants everyone to throw off their chains of reason, which is the straight-laced Apollo's territory.

 

There are a number of mistakes through-out those 31 things. I knew a lot on that list, but definitely not everything. I can't, for the life of me, understand why the article thinks that tower on the AFTK cover is the CN Tower.

 

Has anyone spotted the portrait of President Calvin Coolidge on the cover of MP? Is he playing poker with the dogs?

 

Nothing mentioned regarding the chunk of metal falling to the sea on the cover of Grace Under Pressure. I recall there was a theory that it was supposed to be a piece of debris from an airplane shot down by Iran or the Lockerbie disaster. These theories were from when the internet was young. Nobody seemed to realize that GUP (and it's cover) was released in 1984, a number of years before those planes came down. Still wonder what that chunk of metal actually represents.

 

Didn't know about Geddy Lee suggesting adding the TVs to the cover of Power Windows. How do we know that TV isn't plugged in? The cord and outlet could be hidden from view behind the TV.

 

Never heard the Dennis Hopper story before. Frankly, I have a lot of trouble believing Hopper would have ever even considered posing for that. (IMO)

 

I've never liked the cover of Snakes and Arrows. Those Trading Post twin arrows near Flagstaff Arizona, are still there, though in disrepair. The remains of the Trading Post and the area of the arrows is a sad mess.

 

I still say there's part of an evil face (the Watchmaker?) on the cover of Clockwork Angels. The central point of the clock hands on the tip of the evil face's nose. Just below that, an evil smile with even a few evil teeth showing. Just the face's right eye present, winking evil-ly. But Syme doesn't say anything about it. So it's just me. But I'll always see it.

 

Oh, and according to Wiki, Dionysus, from the cover of Hemispheres, is portrayed by a dancer from the Toronto Ballet School. But there's no name given.

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Indeed, I just see a comet .. as described in more detail here by Hugh Syme:

https://ultimateclas...r-trails-cover/

 

Thanks for posting this link. Interesting stuff there. Like Syme's explanation of the Vapor Trails cover and the inspiration for it. Looking at the cover now, I can see the black bars as simply being the night sky and the white in between being the night sky lit-up by the comet itself. I do remember, when it was released, that there was thought by some about the cover relating to 9/11. I didn't like that idea and chose to forget it. But I understood then and do now, the idea of that.

 

I liked the follow-up article, Rush's Top 10 Most Underrated Songs. WTF? Geddy Lee thinks "Lakeside Park" is a lousy song?!

Edited by Geddyleegenes
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Has anyone spotted the portrait of President Calvin Coolidge on the cover of MP? Is he playing poker with the dogs?

 

This refers to item 13 from the article:

 

. . . Mario Prudenti (a waiter acquaintance of Dixon’s, carrying the portrait of US President Calvin Coolidge) . . .

 

That was another one which led me to think, "One of us (me or the article's author) is on perception-altering drugs, and I'm pretty sure it ain't me." Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. So much for editorial diligence.

 

The painting to which the author presumably refers is A Friend in Need (1903) by Cassius Coolidge (from his series of paintings featuring dogs playing poker).

 

Oy vey.

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That bottom image really needs rotating anti clockwise 90° for full effect, let's be clear here is an abstract image that nobody has admitted to its precise nature, is kind of meant to get you thinking about it and guess what - rotate so fireball at top and you get an unmistakeable representation of the WTC on 9/11

 

This is the rush album in the direct wake of 9/11, it is near to incredulous that such an abstract image looking so like the towers on 9/11would not be so, the coincidence would be ridiculous.

 

Furthermore the album's very title kind of alludes to the event, perhaps even saying the tracks themselves are vapor trails to 9/11.

 

I personally dont get why some can't see this, that image depicts the towers on 9/11 absolutely no doubt about it. The band and their marketing team etc just couldn't admit it straight up, probably regarded as too sensitive and maybe inappropriate at the time but they took a risk on it as they had to acknowledge the momentousness of the time. This is the rush album produced through 9/11, they needed to emphasize that fact.

 

There's nothing in the lyrics of Vapor Trail that points to 9/11 anymore than it points to the tragic events of Neil's life. Also, Rush is under zero obligation to explain the meaning of their work. More than many other bands, I think they've always tended to let the music and the lyrics speak for themselves. The fact that this new article doesn't give any indication of VT's art being about 9/11 makes me doubt the possibility, as well as the fact that those two black bars weren't included on the remix album cover. You're free to interpret things however you like, but without any real evidence, it's just a theory.

 

dude, who cares about the remixed version or this new article, we talkin bout the original release, when it was released, at the time it was released, 9/11 was just too big for the band to ignore, hugh syme produced this abstract image in the heat of the event, the band appreciated it but had to be subliminal to an extent, they couldnt be seen to be capitalising on 9/11 in any way hence no-one admitted to it but f*ck it, you open that image out with the fireball at top and no doubt, no doubt AT ALL, represents the WTC on 9/11

 

You're expressing your opinion as if you know exactly how that transpired, when in reality you have no idea, just like the rest of us.

 

Exactly. I’m not even saying he’s necessarily wrong, but there’s no evidence that he’s right either.

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That bottom image really needs rotating anti clockwise 90° for full effect, let's be clear here is an abstract image that nobody has admitted to its precise nature, is kind of meant to get you thinking about it and guess what - rotate so fireball at top and you get an unmistakeable representation of the WTC on 9/11

 

This is the rush album in the direct wake of 9/11, it is near to incredulous that such an abstract image looking so like the towers on 9/11would not be so, the coincidence would be ridiculous.

 

Furthermore the album's very title kind of alludes to the event, perhaps even saying the tracks themselves are vapor trails to 9/11.

 

I personally dont get why some can't see this, that image depicts the towers on 9/11 absolutely no doubt about it. The band and their marketing team etc just couldn't admit it straight up, probably regarded as too sensitive and maybe inappropriate at the time but they took a risk on it as they had to acknowledge the momentousness of the time. This is the rush album produced through 9/11, they needed to emphasize that fact.

 

There's nothing in the lyrics of Vapor Trail that points to 9/11 anymore than it points to the tragic events of Neil's life. Also, Rush is under zero obligation to explain the meaning of their work. More than many other bands, I think they've always tended to let the music and the lyrics speak for themselves. The fact that this new article doesn't give any indication of VT's art being about 9/11 makes me doubt the possibility, as well as the fact that those two black bars weren't included on the remix album cover. You're free to interpret things however you like, but without any real evidence, it's just a theory.

 

dude, who cares about the remixed version or this new article, we talkin bout the original release, when it was released, at the time it was released, 9/11 was just too big for the band to ignore, hugh syme produced this abstract image in the heat of the event, the band appreciated it but had to be subliminal to an extent, they couldnt be seen to be capitalising on 9/11 in any way hence no-one admitted to it but f*ck it, you open that image out with the fireball at top and no doubt, no doubt AT ALL, represents the WTC on 9/11

 

Then why change the album cover for the remix so that it doesn’t include the black bars? Why change the color of the comet so it doesn’t look like a fireball? If it was always meant to represent 9/11, why change it so that it doesn’t?

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That bottom image really needs rotating anti clockwise 90° for full effect, let's be clear here is an abstract image that nobody has admitted to its precise nature, is kind of meant to get you thinking about it and guess what - rotate so fireball at top and you get an unmistakeable representation of the WTC on 9/11

 

This is the rush album in the direct wake of 9/11, it is near to incredulous that such an abstract image looking so like the towers on 9/11would not be so, the coincidence would be ridiculous.

 

Furthermore the album's very title kind of alludes to the event, perhaps even saying the tracks themselves are vapor trails to 9/11.

 

I personally dont get why some can't see this, that image depicts the towers on 9/11 absolutely no doubt about it. The band and their marketing team etc just couldn't admit it straight up, probably regarded as too sensitive and maybe inappropriate at the time but they took a risk on it as they had to acknowledge the momentousness of the time. This is the rush album produced through 9/11, they needed to emphasize that fact.

 

There's nothing in the lyrics of Vapor Trail that points to 9/11 anymore than it points to the tragic events of Neil's life. Also, Rush is under zero obligation to explain the meaning of their work. More than many other bands, I think they've always tended to let the music and the lyrics speak for themselves. The fact that this new article doesn't give any indication of VT's art being about 9/11 makes me doubt the possibility, as well as the fact that those two black bars weren't included on the remix album cover. You're free to interpret things however you like, but without any real evidence, it's just a theory.

 

dude, who cares about the remixed version or this new article, we talkin bout the original release, when it was released, at the time it was released, 9/11 was just too big for the band to ignore, hugh syme produced this abstract image in the heat of the event, the band appreciated it but had to be subliminal to an extent, they couldnt be seen to be capitalising on 9/11 in any way hence no-one admitted to it but f*ck it, you open that image out with the fireball at top and no doubt, no doubt AT ALL, represents the WTC on 9/11

 

Then why change the album cover for the remix so that it doesn’t include the black bars? Why change the color of the comet so it doesn’t look like a fireball? If it was always meant to represent 9/11, why change it so that it doesn’t?

 

 

I've thought about that.

 

Again, only my interpretation here.

 

The new cover represents more optimism and a step away from the darkness. Moving on with life, and perhaps at the same time - looking back and saying 'this is how it should have been'.

Edited by grep
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Has anyone spotted the portrait of President Calvin Coolidge on the cover of MP? Is he playing poker with the dogs?

 

This refers to item 13 from the article:

 

. . . Mario Prudenti (a waiter acquaintance of Dixon’s, carrying the portrait of US President Calvin Coolidge) . . .

 

That was another one which led me to think, "One of us (me or the article's author) is on perception-altering drugs, and I'm pretty sure it ain't me." Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. So much for editorial diligence.

 

The painting to which the author presumably refers is A Friend in Need (1903) by Cassius Coolidge (from his series of paintings featuring dogs playing poker).

 

Oy vey.

the Press. Lol
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That bottom image really needs rotating anti clockwise 90° for full effect, let's be clear here is an abstract image that nobody has admitted to its precise nature, is kind of meant to get you thinking about it and guess what - rotate so fireball at top and you get an unmistakeable representation of the WTC on 9/11

 

This is the rush album in the direct wake of 9/11, it is near to incredulous that such an abstract image looking so like the towers on 9/11would not be so, the coincidence would be ridiculous.

 

Furthermore the album's very title kind of alludes to the event, perhaps even saying the tracks themselves are vapor trails to 9/11.

 

I personally dont get why some can't see this, that image depicts the towers on 9/11 absolutely no doubt about it. The band and their marketing team etc just couldn't admit it straight up, probably regarded as too sensitive and maybe inappropriate at the time but they took a risk on it as they had to acknowledge the momentousness of the time. This is the rush album produced through 9/11, they needed to emphasize that fact.

 

Interesting interpretation. I'd shy away from terms like "unmistakable" and "no doubt about it" given that, as you correctly identified early on, "here is an abstract image".

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WTF? Geddy Lee thinks "Lakeside Park" is a lousy song?!

 

He's not the only one. Neil is on record as saying he hated it too.

 

Neil said he hated "Lakeside Park"? This is one of his autobiographical songs, like "Circumstances", "Fly By Night" and "Ghost Rider". Besides that, "Lakeside Park" is a really beautiful song.

 

I think it would be really interesting to have Alex and Geddy sit down and listen to all the albums, one at a time, and see what kind of thoughts they have on all that music now. I wonder when the last time was that either of them heard any of "The Fountain of Lamneth"!

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That bottom image really needs rotating anti clockwise 90° for full effect, let's be clear here is an abstract image that nobody has admitted to its precise nature, is kind of meant to get you thinking about it and guess what - rotate so fireball at top and you get an unmistakeable representation of the WTC on 9/11

 

This is the rush album in the direct wake of 9/11, it is near to incredulous that such an abstract image looking so like the towers on 9/11would not be so, the coincidence would be ridiculous.

 

Furthermore the album's very title kind of alludes to the event, perhaps even saying the tracks themselves are vapor trails to 9/11.

 

I personally dont get why some can't see this, that image depicts the towers on 9/11 absolutely no doubt about it. The band and their marketing team etc just couldn't admit it straight up, probably regarded as too sensitive and maybe inappropriate at the time but they took a risk on it as they had to acknowledge the momentousness of the time. This is the rush album produced through 9/11, they needed to emphasize that fact.

 

There's nothing in the lyrics of Vapor Trail that points to 9/11 anymore than it points to the tragic events of Neil's life. Also, Rush is under zero obligation to explain the meaning of their work. More than many other bands, I think they've always tended to let the music and the lyrics speak for themselves. The fact that this new article doesn't give any indication of VT's art being about 9/11 makes me doubt the possibility, as well as the fact that those two black bars weren't included on the remix album cover. You're free to interpret things however you like, but without any real evidence, it's just a theory.

 

Well, it's open to interpretation. Like anything else. I see what I see in the art. Other's don't. So be it.

 

I will also mention that Peaceable Kingdom was going to be an instrumental. But Neil wrote the words after seeing the events of 9/11. So there's that.

 

That's the only connection that I ever saw.

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