What aspect of Rush won you over?

[goose]

QUOTE (default236 @ Aug 21 2012, 05:07 PM)

Jacob's Ladder. So. Many. Time. Signature. Changes.

Hard to find a better song to learn how to count to.

 

[losingit2k]

QUOTE (An Enemy Without @ Aug 19 2012, 01:51 PM)

Their music.

Always been their music, their uncomprimizing attitude, their devotion to their Live performanced, then later their personallities and humor just cemented it!

 

I

 

[Tombstone Mountain]

QUOTE (losingit2k @ Aug 21 2012, 09:42 PM)

QUOTE (An Enemy Without @ Aug 19 2012, 01:51 PM) Their music. Always been their music, their uncomprimizing attitude, their devotion to their Live performanced, then later their personallities and humor just cemented it!   I music first for me too...books and videos revealed more that I liked.   good post   +1

[Gnoom]

Not only the music and the talent, but just the sheer versatility of the band as a whole. TSoR got my attention, but I was way more intrigued after hearing the rest of PW...then way more impressed with MP...then way more blown away by the back catalog. Every album was different, and nearly every song within an album had it's own style. It sure helped that the timing was just right...Rush came along right around the time I was first exposed to Album Oriented Rock (79-80), so I was eager to sample anything and everything from the "cool" bands being played on AOR radio. For me, no other band at the time had anything even close to the impact that Rush had.

[SchemingDemon]

Neil's drumming is what got me hooked in the first place, specifically on TSOR. That drum pattern used to be constantly stuck in my head even before I knew it was Rush

[default236]

QUOTE (goose @ Aug 21 2012, 06:50 PM)

QUOTE (default236 @ Aug 21 2012, 05:07 PM) Jacob's Ladder. So. Many. Time. Signature. Changes.  Hard to find a better song to learn how to count to.

[clintonb]

I like the instrumental parts of the music. Before I first heard Rush back in 1981, I was only used to Top 40 music where the instruments serve only to back up the singer. Rush was the first band I heard where the instrumental parts of the song were just as important as the singer. Rush led me to bands like Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer that also have that characteristic.

 

I'm not a lyrics guy (I listen to music for the music) but like a prior poster mentioned, I'm glad Rush doesn't write lyrics like "Lick it Up".

 

In general, I became a fan of Rush and progressive rock in general because I found the music more interesting than run-of-the-mill rock and roll.

 

 

 

[apetersvt]

[librarian]

sin queso

[fonzbear2000]

During my teen years, my dad played A Show Of Hands for me. I was instantly hooked!

[Ardent15]

For me, it's the whole package. Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, lyrics, vocals (yes, even vocals ), musicianship, songwriting, melodic sensibilities, live performances, wacky sense of humor.....

 

 

It's all there!

[gangsterfurious]

Rush was literally an answer to prayers. I've loved music all of my life, not always good music, but music in general and a lot of it. But as I got older my brain started to deteriorate from all of the crap music I was listening to. And then voila! Rush came into my life and saved me from my musical pain.

 

And then I saw Geddy... the man behind the voice.

 

Oh hai.

[Shredder2]

Around April 2008, my dad came home from work one day, and had a nice chat with my neighbor. My neighbor apparently told him that he wouldn't make it to the Rush show, unfortunately, because he had a party to host at his house. My dad had been looking for someone to take his ticket to go for him, so he just asked all three of my brothers (1 younger, 2 older), and they all said "no", except for me. I was 13 around this time. I only had the slightest clue of who the hell Rush are. I only knew, about, two of their songs at the time, so I just told him that I'll go and take my neighbor's seat. Yes, at this time, I was just a "fill-in" who only knew "Tom Sawyer" and "The Spirit of Radio".

 

Now the day of the show has arrived. April 19, 2008, to be exact. When I had took my seat in the Woodlands Pavilion, I only noticed Geddy's keyboard, because that was the only member of Rush I knew! "Amateur bandwagon-er" I proclaimed myself at the time. Then the lights were out. Show time. Alex plays the first notes of "Limelight". At the time, I never knew they did that song! Song by song, they sound more familiar... I noticed how concentrated Neil looked on the drums, too! "Why does he look so serious?", I ask myself.

 

When the show was over, I never listened to Rush again until my freshman year of high school at around late-2009 when I made my first Rush purchase... a CD copy of Signals. Why would I make such a purchase? Something about them had me itching to listen to their music. Album by album, I slowly grew my Rush knowledge and love the underrated albums more than I love the overrated albums. When I first listened to Hemispheres, I now know why Neil looked so concentrated that night... WHAT A F*CKING DRUMMER HE IS! "La Villa Strangiato" works in such a "strangiato" way.

 

Well, there you have it! And the fact that it's even Rush is what aspect won me over!

[Snyder80]

My dad raised my on Rush.

 

What I've always personally loved about them is their lyricism, their honesty and their musical integrity. They did it their own way and made the music they loved. And I don't give a damn what anyone says you can literally feel that when you listen to them. It's electrifying.

[Timekeeper65]

In my case, i think it happened in '82. It was in the small city of Tønder, in the southernmost part of Denmark.

 

At that time there was no such thing as the internet. So you got your information from Radio, TV and what you were told, or had read. And at that time there was no such band as Rush playing on the local airwaves, or being heard on TV. And i had no friends that listened to anything like that. I was the one in my class most prone to the harder varieties of rock. Apart from mainstream pop, the most distinguishable music i grew up with was that one of the girls in my class was a fan of Billy Joel, and one of the guys had a thing for Pink Floyd. Today i like both these artists - especially Pink Floyd, but at the time they were both a bit rich for my taste. And from my parents i got Danish and German Schlager-music ( pop), american country music and ABBA. So there was nothing in my immediate surroundings, that set me on the path to enlightenment.

 

In '82 i was 17, had just finished the 10´th grade, and had started on another school in the city of Tønder. A friend and i were taking a walk down walking street, looking at the shops - and the girls that were also out walking. At some point there was a group of people coming toward us. At the time i guessed they were brits or americans. That day i was waring either a Status Quo or a Kiss T-shirt, as that was some of the music i was listening to, at the time. As we were passing said group of people, one of them pointed to my T-shirt and said to me "If you want to listen to some real rock you should listen to Rush". I looked down at my T-shirt and back at him and said something like "Thanks - I will". However at the same time thinking "what a moron". "What the hell does he know". "I have never heard of them - Rush - hmmm". "If they were any good I would have heard them on the radio".

A couple of days later i was at the library. I went into the music department, to listen to some music. I got to think of what that guy had said some days earlier "If you want to listen to some real rock you should listen to Rush". I was going to look them up, and see what all the hubbub was about. I didn´t expect the library to actually have any albums by them. Some small local english or american band ( sorry about that one Rush ). What were the odds. They actually had five albums there - What????? I picked an album. It was called Permanent Waves. Well at least there was a pretty girl on the cover. I went to the counter and asked them to put it on. I sat down, put on the headphones, and the music began.

"WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP - THAT MUSIC WAS REALLY REALLY HORRIBLE !!!!!". "That high pitched voice". "And they can´t even keep a steady rythm all through the song". I listened to the entire album. I couldn´t really figure out if the music was sort of OK at times, or if that limey, my friend and i met, had absolutely no taste in music. When the album was through i left. That music was not really my thing.

Some days later i caught myself humming some lyrics i couldn´t quite remember "I will chooose - freewill". and some time later "Science like natuure - must also be tamed". DAMMIT' DAMMIT' DAMMIT' !!!! That was from that crappy album from that weird band.

I went to the library again - listened to Permanent Waves once more. It was actually quite a bit better than just "OK at times". That high pitched voice was actually quite cool. And the not being able to keep a steady rythm. That was me being wrong. They actually change the rythm in the middle of a song. To me that was simply - unheard of. I picked out another album - A farewell to Kings - strange title i thought. When Xanadu came on i was caught - hook, line and sinker. More like bordering on total ecstasy.

 

And the rest as they say - is history.

[CygnusGal]

In my case, i think it happened in '82. It was in the small city of Tønder, in the southernmost part of Denmark.

 

At that time there was no such thing as the internet. So you got your information from Radio, TV and what you were told, or had read. And at that time there was no such band as Rush playing on the local airwaves, or being heard on TV. And i had no friends that listened to anything like that. I was the one in my class most prone to the harder varieties of rock. Apart from mainstream pop, the most distinguishable music i grew up with was that one of the girls in my class was a fan of Billy Joel, and one of the guys had a thing for Pink Floyd. Today i like both these artists - especially Pink Floyd, but at the time they were both a bit rich for my taste. And from my parents i got Danish and German Schlager-music ( pop), american country music and ABBA. So there was nothing in my immediate surroundings, that set me on the path to enlightenment.

 

In '82 i was 17, had just finished the 10´th grade, and had started on another school in the city of Tønder. A friend and i were taking a walk down walking street, looking at the shops - and the girls that were also out walking. At some point there was a group of people coming toward us. At the time i guessed they were brits or americans. That day i was waring either a Status Quo or a Kiss T-shirt, as that was some of the music i was listening to, at the time. As we were passing said group of people, one of them pointed to my T-shirt and said to me "If you want to listen to some real rock you should listen to Rush". I looked down at my T-shirt and back at him and said something like "Thanks - I will". However at the same time thinking "what a moron". "What the hell does he know". "I have never heard of them - Rush - hmmm". "If they were any good I would have heard them on the radio".

A couple of days later i was at the library. I went into the music department, to listen to some music. I got to think of what that guy had said some days earlier "If you want to listen to some real rock you should listen to Rush". I was going to look them up, and see what all the hubbub was about. I didn´t expect the library to actually have any albums by them. Some small local english or american band ( sorry about that one Rush ). What were the odds. They actually had five albums there - What????? I picked an album. It was called Permanent Waves. Well at least there was a pretty girl on the cover. I went to the counter and asked them to put it on. I sat down, put on the headphones, and the music began.

"WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP - THAT MUSIC WAS REALLY REALLY HORRIBLE !!!!!". "That high pitched voice". "And they can´t even keep a steady rythm all through the song". I listened to the entire album. I couldn´t really figure out if the music was sort of OK at times, or if that limey, my friend and i met, had absolutely no taste in music. When the album was through i left. That music was not really my thing.

Some days later i caught myself humming some lyrics i couldn´t quite remember "I will chooose - freewill". and some time later "Science like natuure - must also be tamed". DAMMIT' DAMMIT' DAMMIT' !!!! That was from that crappy album from that weird band.

I went to the library again - listened to Permanent Waves once more. It was actually quite a bit better than just "OK at times". That high pitched voice was actually quite cool. And the not being able to keep a steady rythm. That was me being wrong. They actually change the rythm in the middle of a song. To me that was simply - unheard of. I picked out another album - A farewell to Kings - strange title i thought. When Xanadu came on i was caught - hook, line and sinker. More like bordering on total ecstasy.

 

And the rest as they say - is history.

That is an awesome story, thanks for sharing! And welcome to TRF!

:)

[driventotheedge]

In my case, i think it happened in '82. It was in the small city of Tønder, in the southernmost part of Denmark.

 

At that time there was no such thing as the internet. So you got your information from Radio, TV and what you were told, or had read. And at that time there was no such band as Rush playing on the local airwaves, or being heard on TV. And i had no friends that listened to anything like that. I was the one in my class most prone to the harder varieties of rock. Apart from mainstream pop, the most distinguishable music i grew up with was that one of the girls in my class was a fan of Billy Joel, and one of the guys had a thing for Pink Floyd. Today i like both these artists - especially Pink Floyd, but at the time they were both a bit rich for my taste. And from my parents i got Danish and German Schlager-music ( pop), american country music and ABBA. So there was nothing in my immediate surroundings, that set me on the path to enlightenment.

 

In '82 i was 17, had just finished the 10´th grade, and had started on another school in the city of Tønder. A friend and i were taking a walk down walking street, looking at the shops - and the girls that were also out walking. At some point there was a group of people coming toward us. At the time i guessed they were brits or americans. That day i was waring either a Status Quo or a Kiss T-shirt, as that was some of the music i was listening to, at the time. As we were passing said group of people, one of them pointed to my T-shirt and said to me "If you want to listen to some real rock you should listen to Rush". I looked down at my T-shirt and back at him and said something like "Thanks - I will". However at the same time thinking "what a moron". "What the hell does he know". "I have never heard of them - Rush - hmmm". "If they were any good I would have heard them on the radio".

A couple of days later i was at the library. I went into the music department, to listen to some music. I got to think of what that guy had said some days earlier "If you want to listen to some real rock you should listen to Rush". I was going to look them up, and see what all the hubbub was about. I didn´t expect the library to actually have any albums by them. Some small local english or american band ( sorry about that one Rush ). What were the odds. They actually had five albums there - What????? I picked an album. It was called Permanent Waves. Well at least there was a pretty girl on the cover. I went to the counter and asked them to put it on. I sat down, put on the headphones, and the music began.

"WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP - THAT MUSIC WAS REALLY REALLY HORRIBLE !!!!!". "That high pitched voice". "And they can´t even keep a steady rythm all through the song". I listened to the entire album. I couldn´t really figure out if the music was sort of OK at times, or if that limey, my friend and i met, had absolutely no taste in music. When the album was through i left. That music was not really my thing.

Some days later i caught myself humming some lyrics i couldn´t quite remember "I will chooose - freewill". and some time later "Science like natuure - must also be tamed". DAMMIT' DAMMIT' DAMMIT' !!!! That was from that crappy album from that weird band.

I went to the library again - listened to Permanent Waves once more. It was actually quite a bit better than just "OK at times". That high pitched voice was actually quite cool. And the not being able to keep a steady rythm. That was me being wrong. They actually change the rythm in the middle of a song. To me that was simply - unheard of. I picked out another album - A farewell to Kings - strange title i thought. When Xanadu came on i was caught - hook, line and sinker. More like bordering on total ecstasy.

 

And the rest as they say - is history.

That is an awesome story, thanks for sharing! And welcome to TRF!

:)

 

Yeah I'll throw in my "awesome story" comment as well. Thanks for sharing it.

[Kris2112]

As a charter member of the John Rutsey fan club, it was his persona that drew me to the band

[GeddyRulz]

Before Rush, I really only listened to a handful of Top Forty songs and artists. Subconsciously, I thought “Heavy Metal” was as evil as the press made it out to be. One of the first things I liked about Rush after seeing “Tom Sawyer” on MTV was how cooly detached and “bad boy” I thought they were. Ironically, I soon learned that they WEREN’T bad boys, just the opposite – they were good role models and devoted family men – and THAT became something I liked about them! So I first liked them for being bad boys and then quickly liked them for being good guys!

 

Of course, the music and lyrics were REALLY what I liked most. These guys were all hyper-talented on their instruments, the lyrics were deep, and the arrangements were so complex! Nothing like the Top Forty shit I used to listen to. I like to say that while watching MTV that night a sound came out of the television speaker and bit me on the ass, and I haven’t been the same since.

[ucsteve667]

When I was 12, they barely had any airplay to speak of...maybe The Spirit Of Radio, but not enough yet to get my attention. My sister dated a drummer, and he gave my Dad the cassette of Hemisphere. Which he didnt like and it was laying around in the basement. I found it, and my world changed forever. Blown away by the lyrics, and depth of musicianship like nothing I had heard at that time. YES, ELP, and others came after that awakening...

[MMCXII]

the drums on Moving pictures!! I was 10, the album was just released and my big brother played the shit out of it!

[micgtr71]

One of the things that really got my attention was the melodic nature of the bass lines. New World Man was the first tune I heard followed by Tom Sawyer and the Permanent Waves album. TSOR was the moment that made it clear for me. I was 11 and that melodic run was amazing. I begged for a bass and finally bought myself one a few years later.

[Mystic Slipperman]

Side 1 of Moving Pictures started it all. I was 10 in 1981 and someone brought the cassette to school. I was pretty stunned.

 

My immersion into Rush was really gradual though... a song here, a song there... followed each of their releases throughout the 1980s as they came out, but didn't get to see them live until 1988. Great show.

 

The final two power punches were hearing side 1 of Hemispheres for the first time in summer 1989, and seeing Xanadu live in 1990. At that point, I was a lifer---no question about it.

[rushgoober]

I first heard them on the radio in 1981 (I was 12) when they used to play all the song from side one of Moving Pictures regularly. I loved all of it immediately - the vocals, the lyrics, the complex arrangements, the melodicism of the songs and their instrumental skill.

 

I was really getting into hard rock and heavy metal at the time, but even when I was seeing heavy metal bands regularly in the early and mid 80's, I knew Rush were special, and it was because of their instrumental prowess, complexity and lyrics. Some of those bands I was really into back then I listen to occasionally, but Rush is the only band I still listen to all the time. Their innate quality simply stood head and shoulders above the crowd.

Edited December 26, 2012 by rushgoober

[Jaminbenb]

Originally, I was exposed to the drum solo on ATWAS..thankfully, the person that exposed me to that let the entire track play, and the complexity of the music drew me in...I was going through a "growth" period music wise...at that point, (1976) I was listening to different things that i was exposed to, and looking to get out off some of the more "classic" stuff that I was listening to at that point (Beatles, Beach Boys, etc. nothing really hard) I got into Queen that summer since they were really playing the crap out of Bohemian Rhapsody at that point on the radio, and after stealing my brothers album, got my mother to get me some of their older stuff... By the end of the summer, I was looking for more stuff...and my friend Mike gave me the "hey, you're a drummer right? You HAVE to hear this guy!" And played it for me... I had my mother get the old "Columbia House" catalog out and we found it....once the album arrived, I think I wore it out within a few weeks, I bought into the sound so much! It sent me in a new direction musically, and I loved it!