Post Unpopular Rush Opinions

[tks95747]

For me Spirit of radio. when i was 9 (same time i was discovering the Beatles BTW) was like the Heavens opening up.

 

It was......people MADE this. later found out in their 20's. how INSANE is that?

 

Mick

 

Agreed. The run of albums from Caress through to MP leave me breathless. That might be my favourite unbroken album streak in music history.

 

Springsteen and Paradise Lost are the rivals for me haha

 

my fav is still Elton from 71 to 75. but Rush is up there.

 

Mick

Husker Du: Zen Arcade-New Day Rising-Flip Your Wig. Three incredible albums in a 15 month span (July 1984-September 1985)

Segue and Mick.... You two, sirs, are gentlemen and scholars... You both nailed my first and second favorite run of albums... 2nd Favorite: Elton 71-75 / Favorite: CoS-MP... My favorite from the Elton 71-75 era being GYBR and from Rush's stellar run... Hemispheres!

[Segue Myles]

For me Spirit of radio. when i was 9 (same time i was discovering the Beatles BTW) was like the Heavens opening up.

 

It was......people MADE this. later found out in their 20's. how INSANE is that?

 

Mick

 

Agreed. The run of albums from Caress through to MP leave me breathless. That might be my favourite unbroken album streak in music history.

 

Springsteen and Paradise Lost are the rivals for me haha

 

my fav is still Elton from 71 to 75. but Rush is up there.

 

Mick

Husker Du: Zen Arcade-New Day Rising-Flip Your Wig. Three incredible albums in a 15 month span (July 1984-September 1985)

Segue and Mick.... You two, sirs, are gentlemen and scholars... You both nailed my first and second favorite run of albums... 2nd Favorite: Elton 71-75 / Favorite: CoS-MP... My favorite from the Elton 71-75 era being GYBR and from Rush's stellar run... Hemispheres!

 

My favourite run of studio albums of the seventies era:

 

Rush: Caress Of Steel straight through to Moving Pictures (6 albums)

 

Bruce Springsteen: Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. all the way through to Nebraska (6 albums)

 

Yes: Yes all the way through to Drama (9 albums (but overall I value most of Rush and Springsteen over these))

 

ABBA: Ring, Ring through to The Visitors (8 albums but as for Yes, not as high as the first two listed)

 

Kansas: Kansas through to Drastic Measures (9 albums)

 

Styx: Styx through to Paradise Theater (10 albums)

 

And lately I've been growing to really enjoy Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Led Zeppelin too.

[tks95747]

Tom Sawyer does nothing for me anymore. I think I was burnt out on the radio playing it even before I became a fan. There was a stretch for a while there when I did enjoy it. But the last four or five times I saw Rush live the song had zero effect on me. I just stood there waiting for it to be finished. Zero f***s given. It's the only hit from them that this happened with.

 

Tom Sawyer is a good bathroom break at shows. Nothing exciting about it anymore

 

I think you guys are on crack. Not the good kind.

 

What can I tell you? If I can see them do the song live and not feel anything then the song obviously does nothing for me. Tom Sawyer is not the song that made me a fan. It was not a deciding factor in me wanting to explore the band further. I know for a lot of fans it was. It's a good song but if they never recorded it Rush would still be my favorite band.

 

i knew Tom Sawyer before i got heavy into Rush. Honestly would never have pegged as THE rush tune. i mean it was always a fine tune but it never pumped me up for the band.

 

that was Spirit of Radio for me.

 

Mick

 

Limelight for me, but all three are excellent.

 

Always amazes me how Freewill gets a little overlooked...

 

dude that solo in Freewill........fire bitch, lol

 

Mick

Mick.... You are so right... When Lerxst is soloing over that 6/8, it sounds almost as if he is not even paying attention to the time signature, but it fits so perfectly...

[MalformedEarthborn]

A 20 minute song about a guy getting laid on his way to finding some fountain is less silly than 20 minute song about a guy finding an ancient guitar and killing himself after he trips balls.

[goose]

A 20 minute song about a guy getting laid on his way to finding some fountain is less silly than 20 minute song about a guy finding an ancient guitar and killing himself after he trips balls.

[CyriK]

Countdown and Ghost Rider are dog-butt

2112 and YYZ are not fun to listen to, put fun to play

Hold Your Fire is a great album, better than 2112

the un-remixed version of Vapor Trails is far better than the remixed

[tks95747]

Countdown and Ghost Rider are dog-butt

2112 and YYZ are not fun to listen to, put fun to play

Hold Your Fire is a great album, better than 2112

the un-remixed version of Vapor Trails is far better than the remixed

After a hard day at work, I needed a good laugh . . .

[New World Kid]

New Rush, or as I'd call it, mature Rush, is better than old Rush. The musicianship was top-notch in the 70's, if a bit self-indulgent. But the fantasy/sci-fi/story songs are a bit silly.

 

The Fountain of Lamneth is awful.

 

Vapor Trail, Secret Touch, Earthshine is the best 3-song run in the band's studio catalog.

 

Presto is a top 5 album if you just CRANK IT UP.

 

The weird songs are really cool because you get to hear your favorite musicians in a completely different musical environment. Tai Shan and Red Lenses are the two biggest songs in that group.

 

Jacob's Ladder and The Camera Eye could have been about 4 minutes long; the main riffs repeat for way too long.

 

The band sonically sounded best on Test for Echo. Meaning on the production end of things.

 

Signals is one of the worst-mix/master/production jobs in the catalog, and it was a good move to go separate ways with Terry Brown after it.

 

Grace Under Pressure is actually a guitar-heavy album, and despite the fact it has synths, it shouldn't really be thought of as a "synth" album. Watch some live footage, Alex is killing it on that album. Between the Wheels in particular.

 

Power Windows, not Hold Your Fire, was the most synth-y.

 

Live albums that sound like studio albums aren't worth my time.

 

The last time Rush was being truly creative and expanding themselves was on Vapor Trails. Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels had the band falling back on their 70's and 80's hooks.

 

If I had to pinpoint the last song where Rush was "progressing" their sound, meaning re-inventing and invigorating, it'd be Peaceable Kingdom. In that song they were looking over the shoulder of alt/metal artists of that time period like Korn and System of a Down. It was the last time Rush was chasing the musical times. Which they did for their entire careers until Snakes and Arrows. In the late 70's and early 80's it was The Police, for example. They always used the musical climate as a lens for their sound. Until 2007.

 

I dunno. There's some unpopular opinions I hold.

[tas7]

Subdivisions as the opening track put people off Signals.

[JohnRogers]

Subdivisions as the opening track put people off Signals.

That is crazy talk. People of that opinion need to be cast OUT!

[JohnRogers]

New Rush, or as I'd call it, mature Rush, is better than old Rush. The musicianship was top-notch in the 70's, if a bit self-indulgent. But the fantasy/sci-fi/story songs are a bit silly.

 

The Fountain of Lamneth is awful.

 

Vapor Trail, Secret Touch, Earthshine is the best 3-song run in the band's studio catalog.

 

Presto is a top 5 album if you just CRANK IT UP.

 

The weird songs are really cool because you get to hear your favorite musicians in a completely different musical environment. Tai Shan and Red Lenses are the two biggest songs in that group.

 

Jacob's Ladder and The Camera Eye could have been about 4 minutes long; the main riffs repeat for way too long.

 

The band sonically sounded best on Test for Echo. Meaning on the production end of things.

 

Signals is one of the worst-mix/master/production jobs in the catalog, and it was a good move to go separate ways with Terry Brown after it.

 

Grace Under Pressure is actually a guitar-heavy album, and despite the fact it has synths, it shouldn't really be thought of as a "synth" album. Watch some live footage, Alex is killing it on that album. Between the Wheels in particular.

 

Power Windows, not Hold Your Fire, was the most synth-y.

 

Live albums that sound like studio albums aren't worth my time.

 

The last time Rush was being truly creative and expanding themselves was on Vapor Trails. Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels had the band falling back on their 70's and 80's hooks.

 

If I had to pinpoint the last song where Rush was "progressing" their sound, meaning re-inventing and invigorating, it'd be Peaceable Kingdom. In that song they were looking over the shoulder of alt/metal artists of that time period like Korn and System of a Down. It was the last time Rush was chasing the musical times. Which they did for their entire careers until Snakes and Arrows. In the late 70's and early 80's it was The Police, for example. They always used the musical climate as a lens for their sound. Until 2007.

 

I dunno. There's some unpopular opinions I hold.

There is much crazy talk here.

[JohnRogers]

If I was a strongman authoritarian appointed for life I’d close this thread. I’d have more than a few of you arrested, sent to “re-education camps”.

[goose]

New Rush, or as I'd call it, mature Rush, is better than old Rush. The musicianship was top-notch in the 70's, if a bit self-indulgent. But the fantasy/sci-fi/story songs are a bit silly.

 

The Fountain of Lamneth is awful.

 

Vapor Trail, Secret Touch, Earthshine is the best 3-song run in the band's studio catalog.

 

Presto is a top 5 album if you just CRANK IT UP.

 

The weird songs are really cool because you get to hear your favorite musicians in a completely different musical environment. Tai Shan and Red Lenses are the two biggest songs in that group.

 

Jacob's Ladder and The Camera Eye could have been about 4 minutes long; the main riffs repeat for way too long.

 

The band sonically sounded best on Test for Echo. Meaning on the production end of things.

 

Signals is one of the worst-mix/master/production jobs in the catalog, and it was a good move to go separate ways with Terry Brown after it.

 

Grace Under Pressure is actually a guitar-heavy album, and despite the fact it has synths, it shouldn't really be thought of as a "synth" album. Watch some live footage, Alex is killing it on that album. Between the Wheels in particular.

 

Power Windows, not Hold Your Fire, was the most synth-y.

 

Live albums that sound like studio albums aren't worth my time.

 

The last time Rush was being truly creative and expanding themselves was on Vapor Trails. Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels had the band falling back on their 70's and 80's hooks.

 

If I had to pinpoint the last song where Rush was "progressing" their sound, meaning re-inventing and invigorating, it'd be Peaceable Kingdom. In that song they were looking over the shoulder of alt/metal artists of that time period like Korn and System of a Down. It was the last time Rush was chasing the musical times. Which they did for their entire careers until Snakes and Arrows. In the late 70's and early 80's it was The Police, for example. They always used the musical climate as a lens for their sound. Until 2007.

 

I dunno. There's some unpopular opinions I hold.

There is much crazy talk here.

I agree with much, if not most of it.

[goose]

If I was a strongman authoritarian appointed for life I’d close this thread. I’d have more than a few of you arrested, sent to “re-education camps”.

LISTEN!!!!!!!!!

[Segue Myles]

Signals is so bad it's the reason I postponed my marathon...

[MalformedEarthborn]

I like the minimalism of the Hold Your Fire cover but it's pretty boring.

This might actually be a popular one but the juggler photo should have been the front cover.

[MalformedEarthborn]

Signals is so bad it's the reason I postponed my marathon...

 

Bottom 5 Rush album for me

[jnoble]

The juggle guy was actually intended to be the cover photo but it was relegated to the inside at the last minute for whatever reason

[Segue Myles]

The juggle guy was actually intended to be the cover photo but it was relegated to the inside at the last minute for whatever reason

 

Big shame.

[Rick N. Backer]

I like the minimalism of the Hold Your Fire cover but it's pretty boring.

This might actually be a popular one but the juggler photo should have been the front cover.

 

Actually the front cover should have just had the words "Please Put This In the Garbage," on it.

[yyz305]

Signals is so bad it's the reason I postponed my marathon...

 

Hope you can get back to it soon - when you can stomach Signals

 

Bottom 5 Rush album for me

Easily for me also

[Digital Dad]

Signals is so bad it's the reason I postponed my marathon...

 

Bottom 5 Rush album for me

 

You are both fools.

[Digital Dad]

I like the minimalism of the Hold Your Fire cover but it's pretty boring.

This might actually be a popular one but the juggler photo should have been the front cover.

 

Actually the front cover should have just had the words "Please Put This In the Garbage," on it.

 

I like HYF but I laughed me arse off.

[goose]

The juggle guy was actually intended to be the cover photo but it was relegated to the inside at the last minute for whatever reason

More history on the HYF cover art...

 

http://news.cygnus-x...um-artwork.html

 

In the late 1980's, photographer Glen Wexler often collaborated with long-ime Rush album artist Hugh Syme. One of those projects was the photo shoot of the now infamous 'fire juggler' image that is the primary interior artwork for Rush's 1987 album...

 

In hindsight, both Hugh and I regretted using that image in the inside of package. It was a little too “clever” using the three red balls for the cover, and leaving the more epic and memorable image for the inside of the packaging. While it might not look like it, the cover with the red balls is photography, as well. I had my set guys physically sculpt the RUSH text into a 4’ x 8’ surface that was then painted a high gloss red by an auto body shop. The printer combined the red billiard balls during the pre-press. I still have the set piece in my garage. I thought it would make a cool door.

 

An interesting note:

 

In the original version [of the fireball juggler shot], we also flew in the boy who modeled for Hugh’s painting for the “Power Window” cover. He was seen looking out of the apartment window, but it was decided that he didn’t really enhance the shot...there was so much going on. Earlier Rush covers are referenced in the image, and “Power Windows” was covered by the period TV sets in the room.

Edited November 20, 2018 by goose

[J2112YYZ]

Subdivisions as the opening track put people off Signals.

 

Absolutely.

 

The fact that song was one of their most well known and best received songs in their live set was all an illusion. Futher proof is that the album went platinum and how crazy everyone went when they opened their show with it on the CA tour.

 

Yeah, that's exactly the reaction a song that puts people off would get.