Timbale Posted January 12 Posted January 12 (edited) We all know Rush videos in general were pretty crappy…but over the years I have also found some of the choices for which songs got vids and which didn’t rather…perplexing. So, I thought it would be perhaps a fun thread to go through the albums that started to have videos attached to them and do a list where you can remove one that got made and add another. (I know those first few are barely in the category of “videos”, but you can include them if you’d like). It’s not really about the quality of them, but perhaps thinking about it from the perspective of being Ray Daniels and trying to promote your little weird Canadian band. :) I’ll start. A Farewell To Kings - I don’t think there are a lot of alternative options on this one. With a proper budget and a media infrastructure that existed for narrative videos (which wasn’t really a thing in 1977), Cygnus X-1 could be a very cool little short film. But that’s a retrospective opinion. I do think swapping the title track for a video of Madrigal would probably be a good choice, marketing-wise, although I much prefer the former song as a song. Hemispheres - Well, they made vids of the three songs that clock in at under 23 minutes, so there’s not much to say about this one. Permanent Waves - If I ever got to ask Geddy, Alex or Ray Daniels a single question, I think it might just be “why the hell did you not make any videos from this album?!” It is totally baffling to me. I feel like there must be a reason, scheduling or otherwise. In any case, obviously The Spirit Of Radio is the clear choice. I also would have gone with Entre Nous. Moving Pictures - Well, this is maybe where the game starts, because we’re into albums where they were making videos to be shown on MTV and video shows. Clearly they made the choices that were the most sensible, although if they had gotten into narrative story telling at this point, perhaps Red Barchetta could have replaced Vital Signs? Not really the point of this thread, but I wished they had made a better video for Vital Signs, because I think it would have piqued more people’s interest in the band, because the song is so good and so forward thinking. Signals - Subdivisions is an obvious choice (and also maybe their best video), but Countdown seems random, even though I get that the space shuttle thing was big in the culture at the time. There are a few good choices I think…but it seems so clear to me that you replace it with New World Man. Short, catchy, has that Police-like vibe — I imagine it would have gotten a ton of rotation at the time. Grace Under Pressure - Pretty good choices on this one, I guess — Enemy Within seems a bit random — but I think I would replace Afterimage with a video for Between The Wheels. For years I never even knew there was a vid for Afterimage — I don’t think I ever saw it on TV at the time. Between The Wheels is still really dark, but at least has a sort of uplifting chorus, where as Afterimage is I think harder to get into on one listen. Power Windows - Curious that as the MTV age really took hold, Rush backed off of videos. 4 vids for GUP plus the live version of Red Sector A, and then the next album in 1985…just 2. So strange. I think both the videos from Power Windows are pretty good (in relative Rush terms), despite the fact that Big Money is maybe my least fave track from the record. I think in the age of narrative videos that PW came into being during, Middletown Dreams would have been a great choice, and I would replace Mystic Rhythms with it, even though I think it’s the superior video of the two they made. Hold Your Fire - Again, 2 videos from an album made in 1987 that has 10 songs on it? So weird to me. I think Time Stand Still (despite how god awful it is) was the obvious choice…but Lock And Key? That is bafflingly random to me…like a dart board decision. I would replace it in an instant with Prime Mover. I think Force Ten would also be a good choice, and perhaps a more “classic” one, given its spot in set lists over the years…but Prime Mover, with its uplifting chorus and catchy, building climax seems tailor made for the MTV video world. Lock and Key?! Presto - Writing this, I had forgotten they made 3 videos for this album. I think I blocked Superconductor out, haha. The Pass is a great choice, and again, maybe tied with Subdivisions as their best or most effective video. Show Don’t Tell is kinda whatever to me - never loved the song, and a performance video at this stage just seems a bit cheap. I am surprised that they didn’t make a video for the title track…but I would replace Superconductor (in a heartbeat) with Available Light. If I were their Ray Daniels, I would even maybe suggest a song edit to tighten the song up a bit…but I think a moody, cool video for that song in 1989 would probably make more people check out Presto than Show Don’t Tell…and certainly than Superconductor. Roll The Bones - Ok, maybe we are entering the era where videos don’t matter as much any more? I don’t really know, but it is again strange to me that they made ONE for this album. I guess the title track was the obvious choice…but Bravado would have been mine. If I got to add another one, it would likely be Dreamline…although, despite the fact that it’s a song that seems to fall very low on most fans’ lists, I think You Bet Your Life could have worked quite well, too. Counterparts - This is another album where they made a video for my least favourite song, but that’s subjective. Despite not liking the song, I think as performance videos go, Stick It Out works well and is definitely in the visual zeitgeist of the moment. I think I would replace Nobody’s Hero with Everyday Glory…another one of those songs that I think would have made more“regular” people want to check out the album. Test For Echo - This is one of my least favourite albums, so it’s hard for me to have much of an opinion. I’m a bit surprised they didn’t make a video of the title track, particularly given that it is talking in part about video and images. A bit of a no-brainer. I would replace Driven with it, even though personally I like that song more than the insipid Half The World, haha. Vapor Trails, S&A, Clockwork Angels - Ok, I guess this is the no more videos/official lyric videos only time, so the game kinda falls apart. For me, I would have made a video for Ceiling Unlimited or the title track for VT, a vid for Far Cry from S&A and I guess one for The Garden from CA. They clearly didn’t see any point, but I think those songs could have worked well… Please list yours, or argue with mine! Edited January 12 by Timbale
Bahamas Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Off the top... Time Stand Still was so oddly simple and weird, the players rotating around the room in an odd way and it looked so cheap yet it was shown often. But the song has prevailed and cemented itself over many others. Driven - not sure, but guessing it was one of the most expensive and artfully created videos ( I love it) and yet the song itself has not been a popular repeat. I have read that there was a lot of work that went into their videos, experts in the field, research, digital advancement and graphic exploration, but on whole Rush will probably never be recognised as pioneers in the field of music videos. I think I read Neil writing about the trend and how important it was to keep up with the industry standard, but every band has their motives, obviously. They may be more recognised for album cover art and tour books, additional artwork and such. Videos? The arena is crowded with music videos and Rush videos are probably near the bottom percentile? I would love to see an Owen short film with the last album as a sound track. There is some youtube stuff I saw a while ago of other artists recreating Rush song videos. Amazing creativity!
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