Best Rush Album: Non-Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures edition

The love for mid-80s synth Rush on ILM is one of the great mysteries of our time. I'll never understand it.

The one thing that puts me off those records isn't the synths; all Rush records from Farewall on have tons of synths. It's the overwhelming shittiness of the production, particularly the (acoustic) drum sound.

To me Power Windows represents a peak in the band's musical exuberance. It's like all three of them are going completely nuts constantly throughout the album. Tons of great Lifeson leads, very original drum parts, and plucky bass lines. Add in a sheen of bubbly synth sequences and you have Rush gold.

I also think all the instruments sound good on Power Windows. Can't say the same for Presto and Roll The Bones though...

If you really wanted to get out of the canon, you should have removed 2112 here.

Personally, I'm torn.

I'm going to vote for Presto because it deserves some love.

I might come out and vote for Snakes & Arrows because it's so damned awesome. But 2112-Hemispheres is tough to beat, and the new one is fantastic (if still sinking in).

I contributed to an article last year where I settled on one of the live albums as a favorite, due to song selection. That's not an option here...

Xpost

I guess I have a hard time thinking of 2112 as the best so I left it in, but it may be an easy choice for a lot of folks.

Vote for the worst might have been more interesting.

Was going to vote Grace Under Pressure but then I snapped to my senses and picked Signals.

Grace Under Pressure got my vote.

This poll seems odd to me. It would make sense to me if we had already done a Rush album poll, Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves were runaway favourites, and we then wanted to see what everyone's next-favourite was.

Anyway, to answer the question that was asked, A Farewell to Kings. I really like that post-Zeppelin sound, the hooks from the title track and "Closer to the Heart" get in my head all the time, "Xanadu" flows masterfully, and "Cygnus X-1" has to be the most 'out there' thing they've done.

I have more than a lot of time for A Farewell To Kings, and I listened to it quite a hell of a lot when I first 'personally discovered' it. Probably listened to it a lot more than I did 2112, actually!! I never really warmed to 'Closer To The Heart' to the same degree as I did the title track, 'Xanadu' and 'Cygnus X-1' though. 'Cygnus X-1' is definitely my favourite thing on there.

ha i know this is hemispheres or a farewell to kings but i voted test for echo for nostalgic reasons

I think I'm voting for Grace Under Pressure, although Counterparts and Clockwork Angels are pretty amazing too.

This is exactly how I feel.

voted for A Farewell to Kings

Was gonna vote for Grace but sounds like lots of ppl are voting for darkhorses so I'm voting Hemispheres because that band was operating on a really elite level at that time

A Farewell to Kings would be the easy answer if not for "Cinderella Man." I think the only Rush album that doesn't have some sort of quirky filler on it is the new one.

Is there quirky filler on Hemispheres? And don't say "La Villa Strangiato."

"The Trees" is quirky.

The love for mid-80s synth Rush on ILM is one of the great mysteries of our time. I'll never understand it.

better songs, less high notes, more listenable guitar and synth parts. Easy!

xpost - 80s rush = witness to a classically "70s" band dealing with a new decade well

however, my answer to this poll is farewell to kings or hemispheres

The records after signals sounded so terrible to me at the time and still. my taste in music changed dramatically in 1983 but I also think it has to do with terry brown not doing the producing after that.

But really, what sounds bad on Grace Under Pressure? Is it the Steinberger bass?

Well I don't think the tunes are there either tbh

Voted for Grace Under Pressure but I have a soft spot for Roll the Bones

"Ghost of a Chance"! That song is perfect.

Yeah, that's a great one. Makes me think of Clapton a little, in a good way. Love the solo.

For a band that kind of always did their own thing, they did kind of try to get other bands sounds. They started obviously wanting to be Led Zep, then they really sound like they wanted to be King Crimson and then they really had their own amalgam, but then took a left turn and seemed to want to get in on some of those sounds like The Police (and wear jackets like Miami Vice). That rode on for a while and then all the sudden Alex Lifeson went and said, screw those synths, I want gain on my amp like I'm playing numetal.

"But really, what sounds bad on Grace Under Pressure?"

I think it would have sounded a whole lot better losing all the Simmonds pads on the drums.

I have soft spot for those goofy 80s sounds. Kind of wish Peart would either use the electronic drums on some new songs or stop dragging them around on every tour.

I interviewed Geddy Lee in 2002 I guess

I dig Simmonds drums on more new wave/synth pop music, but they didn't work on Rush and they sound pretty wrong on And Justice for All too (well that and having no audible bass guitar- added together it's like the inverse of dub reggae).

fly by night vs farewell to kings vs power windows

voted power windows

i like pretty much all of these, though the 90s ones are definitely the weakest

Did Metallica really use synth drums? I find that hard to believe

Xpost

Voted "Power Windows," but could have gone "Grace" or "Signals." Love much of everything up to "Hold Your Fire" and "Presto." Don't get the hate for "Hold Your Fire," songs are solid, and the inexplicable claim that Lifeson gets lost is belied by his awesome, awesome playing.

Love Peart's use of synth drums, which most of the time he is using to trigger stuff, anyway (like on "Mystic Rhythms"). I like the idea of this power trio where any of the three members might be playing synths, too, in a sense. Like, Lifeson is playing guitar, but he also has bass pedals. Geddy is playing bass and synth, but he also has synth pedals. Peart has drums which are peppered with triggers, which sometimes play drum sounds and sometimes trigger other stuff, but definitely explain why his kit is a fraction of the size it once was. In fact, the last time I saw the band it was so apparent a lot of the kit is just for the benefit of the fans at this point. He has become so efficient getting around that thing.

I don't know, I saw them in 2011 and I'm pretty sure he hit everything he brought at least once.

Yeah, but he did it for the fans. And a lot of it he saved for the solo.

I like the idea of this power trio where any of the three members might be playing synths, too, in a sense

i was listening to moving pictures the other day because of the yes/rush/dead poll, and it kind of seemed to me like lifeson's guitar was a synth. just a different patch from the synth synth. every once in a while, they flip a switch, and WOOSH. it kind of fit with the sense i got that the rhythmic core of a lot of those songs really ticks along with everyone very carefully arranged around it. not much tugging or pushing or fighting against the other band members. the kind of thing that can make them sound fussy sometimes, but it also seems very Technological.

It's always hard to tell how widespread attitudes were (like maybe this was just the NJ area I grew up in) but 2112 was totally the cool kid's choice, with Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures more respected than loved, and the others considered well outside the canon. Like if you were going to carve an album name onto a schooldesk, it was going to be 2112 (and not just because of the cool cover, though that didn't hurt). I'm thinking of the time period of like 1978-1986.

If I had to put it in terms of Floyd albums, 2112 was Dark Side of The Moon. People who liked Hemispheres and the like were like people who liked Meddle, i.e. not exactly a bad thing, but they might want to tone down the avant-garde stuff. Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures were like The Wall.

I'm still not sure what I'd vote for now.

And though it can't be on this list, I actually think that Exit Stage Left was the definite album for me.

Yeah, I think if Exit Stage Left were on here it would take the poll. Cause Rush is one of those bands that (well, too Rush fans at least) sound exactly like Rush in the studio but SOMEHOW BETTER!! (see also: Tool fans)

I would have voted Rush In Rio had it been an option. The band and crowd together make that one amazing to my ears.

But ... Peart flubs a fill on "Tom Sawyer" on "Exit Stage Left!" I think?

It's always hard to tell how widespread attitudes were (like maybe this was just the NJ area I grew up in) but 2112 was totally the cool kid's choice, with Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures more respected than loved, and the others considered well outside the canon.

Tons of Signals T-shirts in the halls of my junior high and high school.

In the shopping malls ...

This is prompting me to finally listen to all the other live Rush albums that I've been ignoring over the years. Maybe a poll on that is in order as well. I'm having trouble getting past my familiarity bias with Exit Stage Left...

Rush live album poll would be cool. Pretty sure I'd vote for Different Stages.

Backtracking a bit:

My main beef with the electronic drums is that he trots out this big set on every tour but only uses it during the drum solo. I'd like to hear them more in actual songs.

Really tough for me to break the tie between Signals and Grace Under Pressure... The former has higher highs ("Subdivisions", the earth-swallowing riff of "Jacob's Ladder"), but I think the latter is more consistent, more dynamic, and sounds better.

My main beef with the electronic drums is that he trots out this big set on every tour but only uses it during the drum solo. I'd like to hear them more in actual songs.

Sort of my point. The tech has become so good that he's got triggers all over his set. The electronic side of the rotating kit he mostly saves for the drum solo.

Oh snap, "Jacob's Ladder" is on Permanent Waves, duh... Well, that makes it an even easier choice!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Bet I'm the only vote for Snakes & Arrows lol.

I voted for Grace Under Pressure.

i will never not be voting for 2112

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I own PW. I guess I should buy GUP, no?

Should've voted for Roll the Bones

i don't remember what i voted for -- probably 'farewell to kings'? -- but presto deserved better imo

Wow! Grace took it! That surprises me, even though it was my pick... Do love me some Presto, though

Kinda bummed nobody voted for Counterparts. I think that's the best of their '90s albums.

grace, that's just goofy

"Grace" is great. Easily the band's darkest album.

surprising answer! for a long time i thought Grace was the weakest record of their 80s run, but i haven't listened to it in ages, will maybe have to re-evaluate it now. i feel like side A is good but side B is just okay - "the body electric" and "kid gloves" are kind of just late-period-Rush-by-numbers.

The fact that ILM voted for Grace Under Pressure is not surprising considering it's love for by far the weakest Rush era. I should be shocked but I'm not. It's almost cool around here to like synth-driven pop, gated drum wimpiness.

I voted 2112.

"Distant Early Warning" is definitely one of their better singles, but I never got into the rest of the record. Voted Hemispheres.

You guys really need to go listen to "Red Sector A" again. Like Josh said, Grace is the band's darkest album, lyrically, by a long stretch, and the music matches that darkness.

My fave deep cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I06T6M6R0Cc

Band is so tight here. I didn't have the heart to post the official video.

Really liked the R30 "Red Sector A:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txQ-J0x4SZY

Something nice about live clips of these songs is they work well as a response to those convinced there is no Alex. Like Andy Summers, he's shading and accenting all over the place.

yeah didn't he top a guitar player list for best shading and accenting in the late 70s too? oh no wait

I think the lack of too much weedle-weedle is actually what (among other thigns) sets him and the band apart from Berklee type flash like Dream Theatre.

I'm not into shading and accenting. Give me By-Tor and the Snow Dog or Working Man any day.

I never really thought of Grace as a great album, even compared to Signals. Despite the dated Cold War concerns, I like "Distant Early Warning" and "Red Sector A" but I think "Subdivisions" is a much more classic single for this period. As mentioned above, some of the tracks just feel a little generic to me. "Losing It" is beautiful imo; nothing on Grace comes close.

I don't have an issue with the 'shading and accenting' approach in itself though. They had already done many good albums with a more classic approach. It was probably more brave and challenging for Lifeson to try something new and to do it so well.

It was probably more brave and challenging for Lifeson to try something new and to do it so well.

^he hated it

He totally hated it! But I think it helped the band survive the '80s, in the long-run, and was good for him as a player. Adapt and evolve, etc.

I think Lifeson's guitar work is way more prominent on Grace Under Pressure than just providing shading and accenting.

He totally hated it!

Ha, I didn't know that he hated it at the time, although I knew he was happy to move back to a harder rock style in the 00s! I really thought he was a fan of Summers and the Edge. Is there an interview where he comments on this? Was it just a commercial move then? Was Geddy listening to a lot of new wave and bullying him??

he was exceptionally great at crafting that style for a guy that "hated it"

he said something in the documentary that he felt the did get too far into synths at at point and wanted to do more guitar stuff but i didn't interpret that as he "hated" that period of the band at all.....and they continue to do some of their most synth material live to this day

I think it is an extreme exaggeration to say that he hated the music he made for many years.

It's almost cool around here to like synth-driven pop, gated drum wimpiness.

― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill)

nothing "almost" about it. but i think the word you're looking for is "awesomeness".

still, grace is a weird, challopsy, even half-lousy winner here. "the enemy within", for instance, is p terrible. signals would have made a lot more sense.

Cant speak for Lifeson: I will say one thing though: I fucking HATED it. It blows.

I think you have to put your balls in escrow to actually sit through any Rush offering from the 80's after Moving Pictures.

i put my balls in an adjustable rate IRA

And based on your posts on this thread they have shrunk about as badly as most investment vehicles have lately.

i'm talking to my CPA to see if i can roll them over

sick investment vehicle shrinkage burn

I agree, it was pretty good. Thanks.

He totally hated it! But I think it helped the band survive the '80s, in the long-run, and was good for him as a player. Adapt and evolve, etc.

Wasn't it more that they recorded all the keys before the guitars went down, and he wasn't left any sonic space to do anything other than textural stuff?

Oh, that's interesting. I didn't know that much about their compositional process. I think I just kind of assumed that they jammed everything out and figured it out together.

Yeah, as the band moved into synths and especially sequencing, often the songs and synths had to be worked out so far in advance that there wasn't always a lot of room for Alex. That said, I love the guitar on their '80s stuff, since it sure as hell isn't all shading. In fact, I think some of his best guitar solos are on "Power Windows" and "Hold Your Fire." The balance he strikes between Summers-y stuff and cool leads (which Summers rarely got to do, despite being one of the most technically masterful guitarists of the past 40 years) is impressive.

Like the "Big Money" solo.

The guitar around the three minute mark of this track is pretty cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RnEK6GvM0o

I guess Lifeson is a big fan of Alan Holdsworth.