Is there "anything" you don't like about Rush music?

[presto123]

The only thing is production. Listen to Moving Pictures and then listen to the last 3 or 4 records. Tell me they haven't taken a few steps back sonically. Rush are far too great a band to be let down again and again in the mixing/mastering process. Isn't it funny how a lot of band's analog recordings sound better than their digital ones? Technology is not always a good thing. Edited August 13, 2013 by presto123

[The Analog Grownup]

Some of their earlier albums have clipping, whereas S&A and CA doesn't so being analog and old isn't a guarantee. I prefer the older sound so I was surprised by this. A lot of bands with budgets high enough, record to analog tape which then gets transferred into Pro Tools :)

[MMCXII]

 

Yeah, I don't like or hate 4 of their albums (although 2 of those had a great song or two). I don't like how Geddy's voice has deteriorated so drastically live in recent years. I really wish they'd have spent a lot more time making new albums in recent years instead of endless touring.

 

Other than that, LOVE 'EM!

 

thanks for not naming that alb- er those albums ;)

[MMCXII]

I guess speaking for myself,as far as VT,S&A,and CA anyway I think Geddy is going a little overboard on the layering of his vocals.Do you know what I mean?

 

I only really thought he was out of control with the layering on VT. Without the solos and keys he felt a need to fill in the sound.

 

If I had to pick anything I guess my biggest issue with them is the safe song writing. They are so far away from what I loved about 2112-MP. They were a lot more creative and adventurous back then. Even with CA, they made it sound like this was going to be a prog album, but its not really any different than any other albums from the 90s or 00's. I was expecting a lot of parts, time changes, complex sections, a couple really long songs, some crazy instrumental work here and there, but there's really none of that.

 

Nick seemed like he really wanted to push them with this album and go back to their roots a bit which I think would have been so refreshing but Geddy wasnt having it. Even with Neil writing a long story, Geddy cant get out of safe song writing mode and said he wanted each song to be able to stand on its own. WHY????? Just go nuts, this could be your last album you ever write, so why have rules that theyve been chained to since maybe Signals.

 

Did we listen to the same Clockwork Angels album?

 

I'm with Trenken on this for the most part but I do think CA is a huge step in that direction compared to S&A

[ShlappinDahBass]

I guess speaking for myself,as far as VT,S&A,and CA anyway I think Geddy is going a little overboard on the layering of his vocals.Do you know what I mean?

 

I only really thought he was out of control with the layering on VT. Without the solos and keys he felt a need to fill in the sound.

 

If I had to pick anything I guess my biggest issue with them is the safe song writing. They are so far away from what I loved about 2112-MP. They were a lot more creative and adventurous back then. Even with CA, they made it sound like this was going to be a prog album, but its not really any different than any other albums from the 90s or 00's. I was expecting a lot of parts, time changes, complex sections, a couple really long songs, some crazy instrumental work here and there, but there's really none of that.

 

Nick seemed like he really wanted to push them with this album and go back to their roots a bit which I think would have been so refreshing but Geddy wasnt having it. Even with Neil writing a long story, Geddy cant get out of safe song writing mode and said he wanted each song to be able to stand on its own. WHY????? Just go nuts, this could be your last album you ever write, so why have rules that theyve been chained to since maybe Signals.

 

Did we listen to the same Clockwork Angels album?

 

I'm with Trenken on this for the most part but I do think CA is a huge step in that direction compared to S&A

 

Being adventurous with their lyrics can be up for debate. But it is a very difficult album to play. For guitar, possible for most. But bass/vocals and drums. It's insane. There are time changes everywhere in this album, too. Clockwork Angels (the song), itself, has about 12-14 different spots where it changes. Talk about crazy instrumentation...try being Geddy and singing to The Anarchist and Headlong Flight. My goodness. When it comes to length, hell, the album is 3 times the length of the only song people pay attention to from 2112. Plus, most of the songs are pretty lengthy, in general. Just a couple minutes shy of hitting Xanadu/Cygnus X-1 time.

[LedRush]

I only wish they wouldn't release all those remixes (expect Vapor Trails because that needed it).

 

Vapor Trails is the only remix. The others are just remastered.

[The Analog Grownup]

I only wish they wouldn't release all those remixes (expect Vapor Trails because that needed it).

 

Vapor Trails is the only remix. The others are just remastered.

 

Of course, it was remasters I meant.

[Del_Duio]

I like HYF a lot, but the guitar sound is just too thin and tinny. I like the guitar PARTS, just not the overall sound of them. Great songwriting though!

 

Hmmm, maybe how the 3rd part of The Necromancer sounds just like Baba O' Reilly. RUSH are way too good to have the whole section devoted to The Who here haha.

[Del_Duio]

Being adventurous with their lyrics can be up for debate. But it is a very difficult album to play. For guitar, possible for most. But bass/vocals and drums. It's insane. There are time changes everywhere in this album, too. Clockwork Angels (the song), itself, has about 12-14 different spots where it changes. Talk about crazy instrumentation...try being Geddy and singing to The Anarchist and Headlong Flight. My goodness. When it comes to length, hell, the album is 3 times the length of the only song people pay attention to from 2112. Plus, most of the songs are pretty lengthy, in general. Just a couple minutes shy of hitting Xanadu/Cygnus X-1 time.

 

I'll add that the bassline for BU2B is really creative and hard to play and sing. CA is a big step towards the epic albums of old. Compare it to something like Roll the Bones or Snakes & Arrows. I don't think CA has a lot of really "safe" songs on it. The title track isn't safe at all and it's probably the best song on there.

[Lerxster]

Being adventurous with their lyrics can be up for debate. But it is a very difficult album to play. For guitar, possible for most. But bass/vocals and drums. It's insane. There are time changes everywhere in this album, too. Clockwork Angels (the song), itself, has about 12-14 different spots where it changes. Talk about crazy instrumentation...try being Geddy and singing to The Anarchist and Headlong Flight. My goodness. When it comes to length, hell, the album is 3 times the length of the only song people pay attention to from 2112. Plus, most of the songs are pretty lengthy, in general. Just a couple minutes shy of hitting Xanadu/Cygnus X-1 time.

 

I'll add that the bassline for BU2B is really creative and hard to play and sing. CA is a big step towards the epic albums of old. Compare it to something like Roll the Bones or Snakes & Arrows. I don't think CA has a lot of really "safe" songs on it. The title track isn't safe at all and it's probably the best song on there.

HEY! This is suppose to be a bitchfest. Lay off the complements before you ruin this thread.

[Anguyen92]

I like HYF a lot, but the guitar sound is just too thin and tinny. I like the guitar PARTS, just not the overall sound of them. Great songwriting though!

 

Hmmm, maybe how the 3rd part of The Necromancer sounds just like Baba O' Reilly. RUSH are way too good to have the whole section devoted to The Who here haha.

 

Hmmm, so I wasn't the only one that noticed that then. I actually thought that part was the most exciting part for me.

 

As for the topic, itself, I really did not liked Roll the Bones and Counterparts. That was the moment, I found myself thinking, man, I don't think I'm going to find a song here that I liked, like all the prior albums and that resulted on me ended up not listening to Rush until I found myself listening to Clockwork Angels where that album pretty much solidify me following Rush from here on out.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Anguyen92

[Apollo]

I think the '90s was terrible for Rush, there are a few good songs from that period but the overall good/bad percentage was poor in that timeframe. Recently, I agree with others that I hate Geddy's vocal layering. I really liked CA but hated the parts in the title track and the Anarchist where there was some kind of strange effect to make it sound like he was singing from far away. It resulted in me not able to hardly understand what he was saying and I had to look in the lyric sheet. Terrible idea!

[canadianice]

The only thing is production. Listen to Moving Pictures and then listen to the last 3 or 4 records. Tell me they haven't taken a few steps back sonically. Rush are far too great a band to be let down again and again in the mixing/mastering process. Isn't it funny how a lot of band's analog recordings sound better than their digital ones? Technology is not always a good thing.

Joe Walsh agrees with you.

[presto123]

Some of their earlier albums have clipping, whereas S&A and CA doesn't so being analog and old isn't a guarantee. I prefer the older sound so I was surprised by this. A lot of bands with budgets high enough, record to analog tape which then gets transferred into Pro Tools :)

 

Name me one "older" analog album that is not a remaster or re-issue that has clipping? Plus, just because something is not clipping doesn't mean it can't sound a lot better.

Edited August 13, 2013 by presto123

[JARG]

"Rush music" is a broad category. If we're talking about "Rush music" of the last 10 years or so, there's quite a bit about it I don't like. Sonic mush, generally uninspiring songs.

[Retrospective]

All the "whoa, whoa" on The Larger Bowl.

The repeating lyrics on The Larger Bowl.

 

And the repeating lyrics on The Larger Bowl.

 

Actually the whole song and the album it came on.

 

:laughing guy:

[patjnev]

I'm not happy with the synthesizer in exile . I think they did amazing things while using them and I COMPLETELY understand why they changed. Also I really HATE the Nick Ratandskinit produced RUSH. I know RUSH would never do it but I would love to see another Terry Brown produced release . It is very important for a band to stay relevant and picking Nick as a producer did help propel them to a hall of fame induction ( finally) but not at the cost of totally alienating me . I really don't listen to anything they did past Counterparts anymore. It's been tough trying to find something to listen too since 2000. Jazz,Classical,Country......I must of bought a 100 cds trying to find a new funk to attach too . I have found out that anything produced past the mid 90's is usually shit and makes me want to vomit technicolor. It's like the Mass extinction of music . Really effing sad......really effin sad.

[RushBoingo]

Let's see, I don't like how they are not adored by all, and I am not crazy about they keep getting older either. I guess I am not big on The Body Electric either, but that is extreme nitpicking there.

[The Analog Grownup]

Some of their earlier albums have clipping, whereas S&A and CA doesn't so being analog and old isn't a guarantee. I prefer the older sound so I was surprised by this. A lot of bands with budgets high enough, record to analog tape which then gets transferred into Pro Tools :)

 

Name me one "older" analog album that is not a remaster or re-issue that has clipping? Plus, just because something is not clipping doesn't mean it can't sound a lot better.

 

Okay albums shouldn't be in plural I'll admit that. I was pretty sure there were clipping on at least two albums pre Vapor Trails. However, War Paint on Presto has clipping.

 

And yes music can sound better even when it's not clipping, but it's a sign of production which could be better.

[Bangster of Goats]

Yeah, for me, the usual complaint about the chorus o' Geddys, and the sonic mush of T4E...

 

I wish Ged would mix it up a little bit in the bass department, whip out the Ricks more often or even the Wals. He's had that same old Fender Jazz sound for quite some time now.

 

And it seems like they've let their internal editors get a little lax since Hold Your Fire. I remember Neil mentioning during that time (the HYF tour book I believe) that they wanted to take advantage of the longer playing times of CDs. There have been songs since then that could have been left off or used a little more work, heh.

[vinciedaltrey]

I always hated how Caress of Steel is so disliked and underrated...personally, it's my favourite Rush album.

[Rushman14]

Superconductor, superconductor, and superconductor.

 

and Anagram.

[JARG]

I always hated how Caress of Steel is so disliked and underrated...personally, it's my favourite Rush album.

 

It was at the bottom of my list for a lot of years, but then started moving up around the time that p/g came out...now it's probably in my top 5 or so.

[losingit2k]

The lack of it on Radio! :codger:

[earth2112shine]

I wish they were more spontaneous live.. I appreciate the precise approach they have, but it would be cool to hear them mix it up a bit and just go for it

 

Need a bit more more of things like Geddy's Bass solo at the end of Where's my thing !! :dweez: