Rush: Classic or Dud?

It's a little sad, but not depressing. They still seem like such good people (esp. Alex) and there are fun stories. It's a nice bow tied around the whole thing.

Anyway, is "Presto" the most underrated Rush album? In some ways it's their most "mature," pretty chill and with an emphasis on songwriting over playing (even more so than that era's usual). At the least, "Show Don't Tell" is a really cool opener. They never really played much of this album live in the past decade or so, did they, aside from "The Pass," which is a pretty great song.

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, February 9, 2017 9:07 AM (thirty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah Presto is interesting, def a transitional album out of the late 80s Power Windows/Hold Your Fire era into the 90s work, I like Chain Lightning a lot

I mostly just listen to "Show Don't Tell", "The Pass", and "Superconductor" on Presto, but I really like those songs.

Sentimental favorite for me, because it was the first Rush album I was old enough to anticipate.

It's a nice album, and I like that the bonus live footage on the disc is from that tour.

Anyway, yes, really enjoyed the new doc as well. Would have liked to have seen the short piece that screened before the one-off theater showing but I didn't make it to said showing, so.

It would be super
if everyone remembered
to post in haiku

Haven't seen the doc
But I'm surprised to hear that
Geddy's the sad one

Had to watch Rush vids
During sleep experiment
Thus mental trauma

Neil's feet really hurt
Alex's grandkids come first
But Ged wants to rock.

Presto is a fave
It has lulls but the good songs
Are fucking great songs

Dismissed as mere prog
Presto proved strong melodies
Helped Rush span the years.

Yeah, I do enjoy
“Chain lightning”, “War Path”, “Presto”,
But what is ‘*mere* prog’?

Crits claim prog's all chops
But Rush hooks and melodies
Refute dismissals.

Peart's form looks painful
no wonder tendonitis
should've loosened up

His tendons are fine
It's the rest of him that hurts
(Though tendons are next)

Alex is achy
Peart likes to ride his cycle
But Ged is all good.

Hard to imagine
But when your chops go, what's left
for a band like Rush?

Dropping into say what a good 80s-Rush album Signals is. They went way further into synths and even synth-pop structures later in the decade, but I'm not sure they ever actually made a better "modern rock" version of the Rush sound than on Signals. /thatisall

Signals is awesome. In fact Rush in the '80s were awesome from Permanent Waves up to Power Windows.

Back in the day, I refused to go past Signals. Then I fell off Rush completely for a good 15 years. Then, a couple of years ago I listend to Grace Under Pressure and realized the production was great, and a few of the songs were really good. Still not so sure about it being a good album, or Power Windows for that matter (tho that one is probably more consistent). Listen to Hold Your Fire yesterday, and kind of hated it, and my memories of Presto are not good.

But Signals is (still) class!

It is.

"Analog Kid" is my favourite from Signals.

i love Hold Your Fire fiercely but it's pretty in your face

Tend to prefer A Show of Hands when it comes to HYF material. Also my first Rush album ever! Took a chance and loved it.

I liked one tune pretty well -- Lock & Key -- but probably because it sounded most like old Rush

i love hold your fire, perhaps irrationally

Hmm, I've got to say
I don't like Hold Your Fire much
Find it a bit "soft"

"Analog Kid" is my favourite from Signals.

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, April 7, 2017 7:01 PM (twenty-one minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, it's also my favourite song on the album... such a great riff, and I love those synth chords in the chorus. Excellent guitar solo from Lifeson, and of course the usual phenomenal Peart drumming.

i love both Power Windows and Hold Your Fire - they're kinda the head & heart halves of the same sound. the closing tracks on both of them are particularly incredible imo

The closing track of Signals is the one thing I really don't like about it. Just boring.

I've heard some criticise Terry Brown's production on Signals, but I really don't get what they're complaining about. They should have continued working with him!

part of it is i learned the intro to "Force Ten" from a guitar mag tab and i was really proud of myself

(the bass part)

Man here's a detail I'd missed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_Ten_(song)

"Force Ten" was written in three hours on December 14, 1986, the last day of pre-production for Hold Your Fire.[2][3] With nine songs already written, producer Peter Collins felt it was important to have one more song for the album.[3] Pye Dubois, who previously worked with Rush on their song "Tom Sawyer", had sent Neil Peart some lyrics for the song, and Peart would add more verses to it.

Grace under pressure, as it were.

wow!

They have a history of doing that... 'Natural Science' apparently was one of those "written in the studio at the last minute" things, surprisingly.

'New World Man' on Signals was recorded the same day it was written, and only exists because they needed something roughly four minutes long or thereabouts to add to the album to keep the playing time of both sides equal.

How much more effective these vinyl-era fillers than their CD-era counterparts.

Well, probably 'cos in the CD era bands had to write more of them... and more B-sides too!

But yeah, Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' was initially conceived as album filler, and we all know how that turned out!

They have a history of doing that... 'Natural Science' apparently was one of those "written in the studio at the last minute" things, surprisingly.

That's up there with their best songs imo! I think Kris once compared to Yes meets Afrika Bambaata.

thought this revive was going to be about Geddy playing with Yes at their RRHOF induction ceremony tonight.

http://imgur.com/a/1f3Fw

what do Roy Wood and Joan Baez chat about?

http://imgur.com/a/1f3Fw

give up: http://imgur.com/a/1f3Fw

ha wow! did he actually play? I just read they'd issued a retraction on that, saying he'd only agreed to present w/Alex

feel like a Geddy Lee isolated bass track for Roundabout should be some kind of collector's item for someone/maybe me.

He's the only guy that probably could replace Chris Squire.

it's tonight, and apparently he's playing:

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/04/rock_hall_2017_geddy_lee_of_ru.html

Ha, ELO are getting inducted. Fucking hell, rock on.

@anniezaleski
Backstage press Q to Geddy Lee: Difficult or easy to learn Yes basslines? A: ”At first, difficult. After a while… difficult.” #RockHall2017

My friend went to see this last night – pretty sure he died and went to heaven.

Re. Signals, where's the love for "The Weapon"? Hihat work on that alone is insane.

The drum pattern on 'The Weapon' is mind-boggling, it's always quite something to watch other people try to play it.

i've been not really listening to rush for almost exactly 40 years -- not hating, but not really getting -- so i watched lighted stage to give me an in, maybe unlock them a little

still can't see myself becoming a fan -- none of the songs jumped out as something i'd want to listen to again, and geddy's voice will never be one i love -- but i *really* warmed to him (and his mum also)