What aspect of Rush won you over?

[waluigithewalrus]

I'm a younger fan, but here it goes.

 

I first heard Rush when I was in 8th grade, when my brother bought Rock Band 2. Sometime in the game, I heard 'The Trees' for the first time. A few days later, I saw Rush's greatest hits album (The Spirit of Radio), and decided to pick it up. I liked everything on it, but wasn't a die-hard fan yet.

 

I got hooked when my brother brought home a copy of 2112 about a year later. I became addicted after that and they officially became my favorite band.

[malm_51]

i first heard Rush when I was 9 so I wasn't so much hooked by them as I was very curious about their lyrics and their kimonos on 2112. By the time I was a young teen, the hard rock guitars and the drums really drew me towards them. Geddy's killer bass made me a die hard fan. Geddy's high pitched vocals never once bothered me.

 

Absolutely...was 11 years old when first heard 'Rush' It was 2112 around Christmas time 76, my sister got the LP. The intro of 'Overture' got me interested...by' Temples of Syrinx' I was hooked!! Loved Geddy's voice, all the instrumentation and production was just fantastic.

Edited December 28, 2012 by malm_51

[CruisingInPrimetime]

I heard Rush on the radio all through my life growing up, but they never piqued my interest. Then one day when I was about 16 (I'm 21 now) I was in my friend's dad's car and Working Man was on the radio. He told me Rush were awesome and I would really like them. I was blown away by Working Man. And equally blown away when I later found out that Working Man was on their first album. HOW? (I thought)

 

So yeah, heard Working Man, went to Walmart the next day and bought "Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits" When I first started listening to them I just liked that they had a really unique sound. It was spacy, colorful, intricate, flavorful.

 

Over time I began more and more to appreciate Geddy's style of playing bass and Alex's style of playing guitar. Geddy Lee is bar-none my favorite bass player. Alex is tied with a couple others. I can't say I like anyone more than Alex, but at times I think David Gilmour and Steve Howe are equally as creative. Neil Peart is objectively the best drummer ever.

 

Rush is the greatest band of all time. But to me, Genesis is hot on their trail. Remember when classic Genesis was new and fresh and mind blowing? I'm in that phase. That phase is long gone with Rush, and in fact, I haven't listened to them in like a year, because before that year I listened to them EXCLUSIVELY for like three years. Take my advice, if you're new to Rush - PACE YOURSELF. I know it's addicting, but just fight the urge. I'm here for anyone who needs help.

[lifeson90]

if you put a gun to my head and ordered me to pick one aspect of the band above all the others id have to go for the crazy sound Al makes with his guitar coupled with the imagination with which he uses it

[JohnM394]

It was simply their superior sound. Specifically the songs Freewill, TSOR, Red Barchetta, Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and YYZ. After hearing those, I was instantly hooked. Have been for nearly 30 years.

[Die Hard Rush Fan]

I was familiar with Rush, but it wasn't until I heard Show Don't Tell that I bought an album. At first, I thought it was okay. Soon it became my favorite and then I became hooked on the entire catalog. Presto is no longer my favorite, but I think it is one hell of a good album and has some great music.

[bathory]

Just liked the sound

[rushgoober]

I heard Rush on the radio all through my life growing up, but they never piqued my interest. Then one day when I was about 16 (I'm 21 now) I was in my friend's dad's car and Working Man was on the radio. He told me Rush were awesome and I would really like them. I was blown away by Working Man. And equally blown away when I later found out that Working Man was on their first album. HOW? (I thought)

 

So yeah, heard Working Man, went to Walmart the next day and bought "Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits" When I first started listening to them I just liked that they had a really unique sound. It was spacy, colorful, intricate, flavorful.

 

Over time I began more and more to appreciate Geddy's style of playing bass and Alex's style of playing guitar. Geddy Lee is bar-none my favorite bass player. Alex is tied with a couple others. I can't say I like anyone more than Alex, but at times I think David Gilmour and Steve Howe are equally as creative. Neil Peart is objectively the best drummer ever.

 

Rush is the greatest band of all time. But to me, Genesis is hot on their trail. Remember when classic Genesis was new and fresh and mind blowing? I'm in that phase. That phase is long gone with Rush, and in fact, I haven't listened to them in like a year, because before that year I listened to them EXCLUSIVELY for like three years. Take my advice, if you're new to Rush - PACE YOURSELF. I know it's addicting, but just fight the urge. I'm here for anyone who needs help.

 

:goodone:

[losingit2k]

Their work Ethics towards performances and their willingness to keep changing!

[Maverick]

Going back to when I first started liking them, I was a huge Yes fan, and I was looking for a group who had songs that were musically and structurally complex, and had lyrics that went beyond the typical pop/rock formula. Rush had all of that, plus they were infinitely heavier, which I also really liked. This was before GUP came out, and I had only heard stuff up through Moving Pictures. I didn't even know that Signals existed until 1986, or something crazy like that.

[Thunder Bay Rush]

2112 "kind of" did it for me... and then Xanadu "really did it" for me.

 

Then, Hemispheres "double-dog did it" for me... am I making any sense here?

[BradenLifeson]

Geddy's voice and Alex's guitar grabbed me and never let go! :rush:

[GeddyLeeFender]

Neils drumming at first was what hooked me, then I began playing bass and realized that Geddy too was an insanely amazing player. Since then, Rush has been the soundtrack to my life and I adore every song by them except for Dog Years

[bobo32]

14 years old which was 28 way too quick years ago. i saw my first rush concert. my jaw has remained dropped in awe ever since.

there is no one aspect they are just ultimately Perfection.

[Lorraine]

Their personalities. They're real, and not a trio of phonies caught in the trappings of their fame.

 

I would not have given them a second look if they were just, as we used to call rock stars in the seventies, "glitter people".

[Tombstone Mountain]

What really impressed me initially was the way they dressed...it was just so cool!!! How can you not like the fashion statement?

[rushgoober]

Their personalities. They're real, and not a trio of phonies caught in the trappings of their fame.

 

I would not have given them a second look if they were just, as we used to call rock stars in the seventies, "glitter people".

 

So the music didn't play a role?

 

If they were just "glitter people" in terms of their personalities and still played exactly the same music, would you have then not liked them?

 

Sorry, not trying to be a pain, just genuinely curious. I like their personalities and that they're real and not caught in the trappings of their fame, but that would mean nothing to me if the music didn't connect.

[Lorraine]

Their personalities. They're real, and not a trio of phonies caught in the trappings of their fame.

 

I would not have given them a second look if they were just, as we used to call rock stars in the seventies, "glitter people".

 

So the music didn't play a role?

 

If they were just "glitter people" in terms of their personalities and still played exactly the same music, would you have then not liked them?

 

Sorry, not trying to be a pain, just genuinely curious. I like their personalities and that they're real and not caught in the trappings of their fame, but that would mean nothing to me if the music didn't connect.

 

Yes, the music plays a role. I am sorry I wasn't more clear. I wouldn't have taken as much of an interest in them had the men behind the music been other than who they are. Rush being who they are individually and collectively make their music all the more special and meaningful.

 

At least to me.

[presto123]

Easy. It's the goosebump factor. I think Rush gave me a higher goosebump factor due to the high pitched vocals, sublime guitar solos, and aggressive drums than any other rock band I had heard. Especially when you haven't heard the radio songs a million times. The goosebumps are still there with songs like Spirit Of Radio and Freewill but not to the degree of the early years just because I've heard them so much. I knew some radio songs but it wasn't until somebody gave me Exit Stage Left that I became hooked. How can a band sound this precise live I thought. Add to the fact that I was already starting to get interested in drums by cutting off broom handles and playing on the side of the bunk beds and it was all over. Even at a young age I could tell that Neil's rhythm's were very complex but also very precise. Something about his style I could identify with because only after about two years of self taught playing I could play tons of Rush songs and get them pretty darn close. Still blows me away that it came easier than it should have in the beginning. Started playing in 1984 and that was my first concert so GUP remains to this day one of my favs.

[absolution97]

I was in this great music store in March with my friend and our German exchange students, and on the big screen in the main room, Snakes & Arrows Live was being shown. I remember thinking to myself "this sounds brilliant". However, it was only until July when I started listening to them. From then on, it was sheer confidence that drove me to listen to all of their material, and eventually I found Counterparts - that was the turning point.

[bluesbreaker]

I started on Rush just like everyone else: Tom Sawyer.

That was in 2010 I think. Then I slowly moved to the other songs from Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures.

Then last year I began listening to their late 70's stuff. My jaw drop when I heard & watched Xanadu from Exit Stage Left.

[RushCanuck]

My son asked me to watch Rush in Rio. (he's a smart kid). After that, I was hooked. It was the complexity of their music.

[Tombstone Mountain]

Mr. Lee's delicious tone. Neil's drumwork. I've come to appreciate Alex much more when I learned to play guitar.

[eshine]

Easy. It's the goosebump factor.

 

YES!

[eshine]

Rush had always been on my radar as a kid - my older brothers and cousins were fanatics when Exit Stage Left came out but I was still only 11.

 

Four years later I heard Red Sector A and from that moment on I was hooked. As presto123 mentioned, it was the "goosebump factor".

 

For me it has always been about the "hooks" and the melodies that Geddy brings to the table. As much as I love and appreciate the mastery of their musicianship - it's the melody and feel of the songs that has held me captive for all these years.

 

I also just loved how entirely unique they were (and still are)

 

As a young guy I definately felt "different" and Rush were a band that was entirely weird, totally unique and realy spoke to me on a personal level.