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Can we once again label Rush as a "Prog" band?


The Owl

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The Prog bone of Rush seemed to have died in the 80's when the Synth came and pushed out the 20 minuted epics and progressive dynamics of the band.... and the 90's brought about a more traditional rock type of music in Rush.....

 

 

That is not to say that the music from the 80's and 90's were bad, far from it... but it could be hardly labeled as "Progressive Rock".... then came "Snakes and Arrows"

 

S&A like it or not is as different from the 90's Rush as the the 90's Rush was different from the 80's Rush.... We had a sudo-concept album with S&A, more dynamic musical arrangement in the vein of progressive rock than Rush has displayed in almost 30 years since..... I would not say S&A was a prog rock album, but it was by far the most progressive piece of music since 1981....

 

 

And now we have many reports on the album "Clockwork angels" Not only has it been noted that this album is going to be a Concept Album (a first for Rush, they have had conceptual songs, but never a full concept album), that will also include a "multi part epic" that will be the title track of the record.....and with all this new I would not be surprised if CA winds up being a double album..

 

With the first two tracks I would not as far as what I've heard call either BU2B or Caravan "progressive tracks" but now with the news that these songs are only pieces of a "grand design"(see what I did there wink.gif ) They now as stand alone tracks are out of context with the rest of the album... and the full nature of the tracks withing the scheme of CA is yet to be understood....

 

Starting even a bit with the Vapor Trails album, Rush is steadily moving back into the niche of Progressive music........ How CA sounds will give us a solid answer, but for now I ask you...... are we at the point now where we can once again consider Rush a Progressive band?

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there are elements of prog in Rush, but they would be the first to say that they have never been a progressive rock band.
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If the rest of the album is as heavy as the new songs, Prog-Metal is what i would call them. We just have to wait and hear what the rest of the album sounds like . I will say this, if the sound of the 2 new songs is any indication of what the rest of the album is going to sound like, a few people on TRF will Not be very happy biggrin.gif
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QUOTE (circumstantial tree @ Oct 13 2010, 10:09 AM)
there are elements of prog in Rush, but they would be the first to say that they have never been a progressive rock band.

I don't disagree with that totally..

 

 

I'm talking about what defines progressive music in the truest sense..

 

"Thematic (often delightfully pretentious) Lyrics" - something that has always been with Rush, even in the synth, and contemporary Rush years

 

"Constant Time Signature Changes" - Something Rush has gravitated back towards in recent years...

 

"Vast Instrumentation with vast dynamics" - If there is a mellotron on CA, I will soil myself!

 

"Non Typical Song Structure" No "Verse- Chorus-Verse- Chorus- Bridge- Chorus- Finish" structure.... I am hoping for some Extended solos, great stylistic shifts within the same song....etc

 

"Long multi Part Songs" - We will have one of these on CA, and it lends itself to the point above"

 

 

Rush demonstrated these qualities in the 70's fully, and while my definition of Prog should not be considered any kind of standard, these descriptors are some of things associated with progressive music... But I do agree that even during the 80's and 90's Rush never abandoned all of these qualities and there have always been progressive elements within the band.... but only that...elements... during the 70's even if Rush didn't call themselves prog, the certainly displayed enough if not all the elements to be considered a prog band.... I only hope they are back in that direction for Clockwork Angles.

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I think a good part of the reason for Rush's gravitation back towards the Progressive spectrum is that Nick R. is pushing them that way....... Nick is in a way very much like Terry Brown, and seems to have that same yearning for Progressive music like Broon did back in the 70's
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QUOTE (metaldad @ Oct 13 2010, 10:12 AM)
If the rest of the album is as heavy as the new songs, Prog-Metal is what i would call them. We just have to wait and hear what the rest of the album sounds like . I will say this, if the sound of the 2 new songs is any indication of what the rest of the album is going to sound like, a few people on TRF will Not be very happy biggrin.gif

i guess i'm one of the few. biggrin.gif

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It's Rush man...thats all I ever say to people.

 

It's Rush.

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QUOTE (RodrigoAltaf @ Oct 13 2010, 10:27 AM)
Why do we need to "label" music in the first place?

goodpost.gif

 

I prefer to think of music as simply "music I like" & "music I don't like"...what appeals to my taste and what doesn't. That's it. That applies to Rush as well...'cause there are a few Rush tunes here and there that I think absolutely blow.

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QUOTE (friendlyvoice @ Oct 13 2010, 11:29 AM)
QUOTE (RodrigoAltaf @ Oct 13 2010, 10:27 AM)
Why do we need to "label" music in the first place?

goodpost.gif

 

I prefer to think of music as simply "music I like" & "music I don't like"...what appeals to my taste and what doesn't. That's it. That applies to Rush as well...'cause there are a few Rush tunes here and there that I think absolutely blow.

goodpost.gif too.

 

Even if it was ok to label music, Rush is so unique that I wouldn't be able to fit them in any kind of category. They're surfed the waves of prog in the 70's, dabbled with New Wave and reggae in the 80's, fell in love with synths for a few albums, then got back to a grunge-esque approach of raw and raucous guitars. Now they seem to be once again using all their influences since the beginning, and they're still hard to define. All I know is when I hear a Rush song, I instantly know it's them. Not only because I know all their songs, but mostly because ONLY RUSH SOUNDS LIKE RUSH.

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QUOTE (circumstantial tree @ Oct 13 2010, 08:09 AM)
there are elements of prog in Rush, but they would be the first to say that they have never been a progressive rock band.

From 1975-1981 they were to me very, very clearly a progressive rock band. Since then, not so much, and really I haven't seen any recent evidence in their last albums and songs to convince me that they've really gone back to prog much at all. Malignant Narcissism and The Main Monkey Business hint at it pretty well, but overall, no.gif .

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QUOTE
"grand design (see what I did there  wink.gif  )

 

laugh.gif

 

Don't break your arm patting your clever little self on the back!

 

laugh.gif

 

The music is as heavy as its ever been. The arrangement and complexity of Caravan alone lands it in Progressive territory. Is it hard rock or heavy metal? I might say its more rock than metal, but that can be debated.

 

Whatever it is, I'm glad they're doing it still!!!

 

1022.gif 1022.gif 1022.gif

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I am afraid of what people are talking about with regard to this upcoming "epic" of sorts. I think that the Rush epic rightfully ended with Hemispheres in that they wrote what would be the perfect epic. Permanent Waves would not have been as good a follow-up if it contained an epic. (I know, a lot of you consider NS to be an epic-I don't...to me it's a great 9 minute song) I don't want to see a hodge-podge of songs stuffed together as a theme and call it an epic. Rush is doing well at what they are doing now-please don't go back. Yes tried that a bunch of years ago and it was a senseless pile of drivel. 20 minutes for 20 minutes sake. No more prog. As for the label, I think they are a great Rush band...the best Rush band in fact, or rather IMO.
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how bout heavy progressive metal art rock which can be downgraded depending on the song. tongue.gif please go back and put yourself in a mindset from years and years ago and repeat. biggrin.gif take whatever lyrics you get from neil and white out 1/2 of it because you're jamming too many words into the song. thanks ged! this is music not a book recital. biggrin.gif
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QUOTE (GeddysMullet @ Oct 13 2010, 10:20 AM)
I'd say that Rush is a band that has made progress yes.gif laugh.gif

When I first read this, I was.... rofl3.gif

 

Then, I thought about it seriously. And, yeah, it's true. They have always moved forward. It's what keeps them going today.

 

The "prog" label....I dunno. Gene Simmons (and others here) said it best. What kind of band is RUSH? It's RUSH.

 

I agree. They are really their own unique category.

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Personally, I've always thought that Rush is a Prog band. But, like some other Prog bands, they have progressed (good one Geddy'sMullet). They can now tell an epic story in a more concise manner. Same complexity, less time.

 

Of course, those who say that Rush is a genre unto itself are correct, too. They have no analogue, kid (pun damage = 10points) laugh.gif

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has there ever been a band that is 100% prog all the time? king crimson, maybe. this is why I hate labels...

 

it's RUSH man, you either get it or you don't! tongue.gif

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