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

[LedRush]

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

 

Agreed. That's yet another reason I want to see more older material, with fewer triggers and keyboards, they can afford to be more spontaneous. Of course, that didn't stop ESL from sounding like a studio album?

[bathory]

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

 

Agreed. That's yet another reason I want to see more older material, with fewer triggers and keyboards, they can afford to be more spontaneous. Of course, that didn't stop ESL from sounding like a studio album?

 

yeah ESL is awesome but the album itself seems like a slightly raw greatest hits album...much prefer the video

 

back then they were totally against the idea of any sort of jamming or extended sections

[Macdom]

For me Rush music is quite serious. For me it lacks some songs made "for shits and giggles" - Zep had Dy'er Mak'er, one of my favourite Polish bands - Luxtorpeda had Komboje etc.

[The Analog Grownup]

For me Rush music is quite serious. For me it lacks some songs made "for shits and giggles" - Zep had Dy'er Mak'er, one of my favourite Polish bands - Luxtorpeda had Komboje etc.

 

I always though Countdown was that

[jnoble]

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.

 

I loved his Fender Jazz sound early on when they went back to a harder sound on Counterparts. It sounded GREAT on that album/tour. Unfortunatly, over the years and tours his sound just seemed to get more and more dirty/distorted and frankly, it sounds mostly shitty live now. And that greenish/blue Fender he got as a gift is one of the ugliest basses ever. Sorry Geddy lol.

 

I've been thinking maybe he needs to go back to using amps on stage again and turn down the gain. Also, it would be really cool if he would go back to using the basses specific for songs of that era. So he plays the Rick for the '70s early '80s material and switched to the Wal for the mid '80s to early '90s stuff. I was disappointed when I heard my favorite instrumental "Where's My Thing" live recently because it just sounded way too distorted and heavy. His poppy Wal worked so good on the original and live for the RTB tour.

 

Also, good point about the editing. Just because you can fit 13 songs on a CD doesn't mean you should if a bunch of them are mediocre or craptastic. (see: the majority of the uninspired uninteresting Snakes album) The fact that they had not two, but THREE instrumentals on that, one of which didn't even fit the feel of the rest of the album, was pure indulgence. I'm not really a fan of Clockwork but at least pretty much all the songs are there to serve the story without filler. (except for Wish, that one could've been left off without affecting anything) And there were two or three songs on Vapor Trails that could've been ditched without losing anything.

 

I don't like Geddy's current voice when he tries to sing high. He strains and cracks terribly.The Moving Pictures songs on the TM tour sounded pretty rough with his range now. Red Barch and Limelight make me cringe in parts.However, he still sounds fine on the mid range-ey songs like Witch Hunt and Vital Signs.

Edited August 17, 2013 by jnoble

[jnoble]

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

 

Agreed. That's yet another reason I want to see more older material, with fewer triggers and keyboards, they can afford to be more spontaneous. Of course, that didn't stop ESL from sounding like a studio album?

 

yeah ESL is awesome but the album itself seems like a slightly raw greatest hits album...much prefer the video

 

back then they were totally against the idea of any sort of jamming or extended sections

 

Someone on here once described ESL as "it sounds like it was recorded with a mic wrapped in a pillow somewhere outside the arena in the parking lot" :eyeroll: I like the songs but it's such a muddy murky bass-heavy sounding mix.

[rushgoober]

For me Rush music is quite serious. For me it lacks some songs made "for shits and giggles" - Zep had Dy'er Mak'er, one of my favourite Polish bands - Luxtorpeda had Komboje etc.

 

I always though Countdown was that

 

 

Whenever Rush HAS tried to inject humor into songs, it usually doesn't work, like as in ITIGB or the RTB rap. I do love Red Lenses, however.

[ZachenFoot]

The lack of synthesizers since Vapor Trails.

 

I get that it was something that needed to be abandoned in the '90s. But after the return in 2002, it surprises me that they never tried to blend more synth into their sound. I thought the perfect blend of the synths with the new was "Caravan." I think we need more of that.

 

I also love Nick R.'s production on S&A but what the hell happened on CA? Sounds terrible.

 

That's really about it...

[The Analog Grownup]

For me Rush music is quite serious. For me it lacks some songs made "for shits and giggles" - Zep had Dy'er Mak'er, one of my favourite Polish bands - Luxtorpeda had Komboje etc.

 

I always though Countdown was that

 

 

Whenever Rush HAS tried to inject humor into songs, it usually doesn't work, like as in ITIGB or the RTB rap. I do love Red Lenses, however.

 

I always thought Countdown was kind of a joke since I couldn't take it serious. I can see it gets its fair share of appraisals on this board, so I guess it's me that doesn't get it :). I don't mind the RTB rap actually :P

 

I can't figure out at the moment what ITIGB means?

[tas7]

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.

I agree, I'm a fan of looking at the album charts around the world especially Billboard 200, the UK top 100, and the Australian top 50. This last couple of years all three look exactly the same, totally sterile, no new ideas. Full of all that tween Bieber, Rihanna, Jay Z crap, and bulked up by sterile compilation packages by Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, CCR, Strolling Bones....etc. When you look at these charts in the 70's and 80's there was so much diversity and you could recognize artists by their sound. I joke, surely everyone in the US must have a copy of Journey's Greatest Hits. That's why Rush stand out as Gene Simmons said, "Rush is Rush"

[rushgoober]

For me Rush music is quite serious. For me it lacks some songs made "for shits and giggles" - Zep had Dy'er Mak'er, one of my favourite Polish bands - Luxtorpeda had Komboje etc.

 

I always though Countdown was that

 

 

Whenever Rush HAS tried to inject humor into songs, it usually doesn't work, like as in ITIGB or the RTB rap. I do love Red Lenses, however.

 

I always thought Countdown was kind of a joke since I couldn't take it serious. I can see it gets its fair share of appraisals on this board, so I guess it's me that doesn't get it :). I don't mind the RTB rap actually :P

 

I can't figure out at the moment what ITIGB means?

 

Countdown is an excellent song - a fantastic, dramatic and emotional account of a very cool event.

 

ITIGB = I Think I'm Going Bald = :boo hiss:

[Spindrift82]

Dog Years. That's one of the worst songs ever created.

[Bluefunk]

Dog Years. That's one of the worst songs ever created.

:( I love that track, the lyrics are really clever and the music kicks. Plus, it's the only time you'll ever hear Geddy sing 'Sad son of a bitch'!

[Macdom]

ITIGB = I Think I'm Going Bald, I think it was supposed to make fun of Neil's anxiety about his hair, but it ended up as an unknown, bland song. I like it, but the humor... Come on, this is not funny.

But I like this track anyway.

 

Dog Years. That's one of the worst songs ever created.

:( I love that track, the lyrics are really clever and the music kicks. Plus, it's the only time you'll ever hear Geddy sing 'Sad son of a bitch'!

Agreed!

Edited August 18, 2013 by Macdom

[Disk98]

I'm personally not a fan of Counterparts. The songs just sound…I don't know…uninteresting (other than LTTA, love that one). I suppose it's the fact that Geddy's vocals weren't so ambitious. That's why I like Clockwork Angels, I guess.

 

Take Stick It Out, for example. Is there anything Geddy sings that raises an eyebrow? Or on the whole album, for that matter? I guess Animate is cool, but not my favorite. But if I had to pick a least favorite album, it's CP. (Or T4E, but that was just plain boring. Nothing much to say there.)

[rushfanNlv]

My only gripe is that the guitar tone on the last two albums has been sort of generic - industry standard to my ears. What really attracted my to Rush from the start was how cool Alex's guitar sounded and how different the sound was from what everyone else was doing. Now, the guitar sound is not unique. Just my two cents.

[EagleMoon]

My only gripe is that the guitar tone on the last two albums has been sort of generic - industry standard to my ears. What really attracted my to Rush from the start was how cool Alex's guitar sounded and how different the sound was from what everyone else was doing. Now, the guitar sound is not unique. Just my two cents.

 

I would agree with you. His guitar sound has gotten very thin. When he was using the 355 exclusively that guitar had balls. I was listening to some older stuff today and there's a hugeness about the guitar tone on the older albums that is lacking now. I kind of wonder if it was a conscious decision to thin up his tone to fit sonically in with the keyboards. Whatever it is, I wish he would go back to a heavier guitar sound. And not distorted wise but bigger. It's funny, but Alex used to have the heavier guitar tone and Geddy with his Ric had a thinner bass tone. Now it's reversed. In some ways, Geddy has become lead bassist while Alex plays rhythm.

Edited August 20, 2013 by EagleMoon

[ILSnwdog]

Other than an occasional lame song, no, not really.

[bathory]

My only gripe is that the guitar tone on the last two albums has been sort of generic - industry standard to my ears. What really attracted my to Rush from the start was how cool Alex's guitar sounded and how different the sound was from what everyone else was doing. Now, the guitar sound is not unique. Just my two cents.

 

I would agree with you. His guitar sound has gotten very thin. When he was using the 355 exclusively that guitar had balls. I was listening to some older stuff today and there's a hugeness about the guitar tone on the older albums that is lacking now. I kind of wonder if it was a conscious decision to thin up his tone to fit sonically in with the keyboards. Whatever it is, I wish he would go back to a heavier guitar sound. And not distorted wise but bigger. It's funny, but Alex used to have the heavier guitar tone and Geddy with his Ric had a thinner bass tone. Now it's reversed. In some ways, Geddy has become lead bassist while Alex plays rhythm.

yeah I'm not sure why that is. alex still rocks but he doesn't have that alex lifeson style that the old songs had anymore

[Pale Facsimile]

I don't have many Rush complaints...they've given me so much amazing music, and 8 stunning live shows.

 

1. For all the flak that it gets, I think S&A is a great album...it just needs a little trimming. I think if they omitted Good News FIrst and We Hold On, and made Armor & Sword about half of its actual length, it would be a much tighter album. I love the other songs and above all the themes of the album. Far Cry, WTA, and TWtWB are amazing, in my opinion (again, the subject matter of WTA, TWtWB, and Faithless ring very true to me). Monkey Biz and MalNar really groove, and Hope is sweet.

 

2. I think Presto and RTB should have been one album, with these songs:

 

Dreamline

Presto

Show Don't Tell

The Pass

Bravado

Roll the Bones

Scars

Where's My Thing

Ghost of a Chance

random song #10 to make it a nice, even number (these 9 are the only ones I usually listen to, so I honestly don't care which one is #10)

 

3. Wall of Geddys in VT and S&A (but who DOESN'T complain about that, hehe)

[bathory]

personally I think the only reason S&A gets so much shit is cause that's when neil's lack of faith became most apparent

[ILSnwdog]

personally I think the only reason S&A gets so much shit is cause that's when neil's lack of faith became most apparent

Neil's lack of faith has been well documented since the 70s big guy.

 

I find it a mystery that S&A gets any shit, because it's a very strong effort, and is the stepping stone to Clockwork Angels. The momentum that the guys had from S&A is what made CA possible. :finbar:

[circumstantial tree]

Snakes and Arrows has a negative vibe to it to me which is why I can't get into it. Vapor Trails had a positive vibe to it which is why I like that one. Somehow, Clockwork Angels isn't about lyrics to me, oddly enough. I don't care about the story within the concept, but the music is hellacious!

[Xanadoood]

personally I think the only reason S&A gets so much shit is cause that's when neil's lack of faith became most apparent

Neil's lack of faith has been well documented since the 70s big guy.

 

I find it a mystery that S&A gets any shit, because it's a very strong effort, and is the stepping stone to Clockwork Angels. The momentum that the guys had from S&A is what made CA possible. :finbar:

 

It's a mature album. The songwriting just seems different on it, like they took a folksy approach. It works IMO.

[lifeson90]

Shouldnt really complain too much as we all fortunate this great band still going but, my only complaint about rush music is there doesnt seem to be enough these days... meaning, although the guys have separate lives with families etc and obviously like to do things their own way, i personally kinda wish we were getting new material every 3yrs or so.

 

I know its being selfish and greedy.. just an album every 5yrs can be a bit like torture, i aint satisfied with tours i need more new rush :)

Edited August 20, 2013 by lifeson90