Rush: Classic or Dud?

Just watched a screener DVD of the new Sam Dunn documentary on Rush. If this film doesn't make you love Rush, it will make you WANT to love Rush.

In select theaters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk8hbSxY0sE

I haven't LOVED Rush since I was about 18, but I'm definitely up for watching this.

This is playing in theatres here in Canada in a couple weeks. I'll be there.

I heard Eddie Trunk rave about this thing the other day, he says its one of the best docs hes seen. My life will suck until I see this movie, cant wait.

Just bought my ticket for the screening in Rotterdam. So glad I'm able to go after all, I was supposed to go see Mastodon (who cancelled) that very evening. Can't wait, it will be drumming-in-the-dark awesome!

Looks like the doc will be playing in Austin in a couple weeks, gotta get me some tickets!

new album, clockwork angels, out next year; new single, "caravan," out next week
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Rush-Unveils-New-Music-Legendary-Rock-Band-Return-With-New-Single-Caravan-Plus-Additional-1266086.htm

I borrowed a friend's copy of Power Windows a few weeks ago – what a shame these kinds of synths aren't used much anymore.

The synths on M83's Dead Cities album remind me a lot of Grace Under Pressure.

"Power Windows" and "Grace Under Pressure" are my faves. Loved the addition of "Between the Wheels" to the last couple of tours.

I think it's too bad the band is doing the "play the whole album thing" with re: "Moving Pictures." In the Rush catalog, its place in the canon is vastly overestimated. It's not like it's their "Back in Black" or something, and it's def. no better than "Permanent Waves" or "Signals." Bigger "hit," I guess, but they play that one all the time, anyway. Kind of curious what they dust off to fill the rest of the set.

Well, it actually is their biggest hit.

yeah i was PUMPED when they did between the wheels

yeah i'd rather see a lot of albums in their entirety rather than moving pix

hell i'd be pysched for like farewell to kings or something

Or even Presto.

I'm excited to hear all of Moving Pictures just because I've been wanting to see them play The Camera Eye for a long time. Otherwise I could take it or leave it. The played 5 out of 7 tracks off Moving Pictures on their last tour, so they were practically doing the whole album already.

I'm hoping that they will pull out some other obscurities on this tour. That seems to be the direction they've been headed recently. I read one rumor that they'll be playing Jacob's Ladder, which should be pretty cool.

Between The Wheels was definitely a highlight of their last tour. They did a bunch of other really great tracks pulled from the vault as well including Digital Man, Entre Nous, Mission, Circumstances, Ghost of a Chance, Witch Hunt, and Passage To Bangkok. I hope this trend continues with Time Machine.

Yeah, I mean, how many Rush fans only own that one album? How many people in the world only own one Rush album, for that matter? They're sort of an all-in kind of band. It's not like they wouldn't have sold out their tour if they were doing "Presto" or whatever. Like it was said above, it's spending too much time on an album that gets pretty well represented every show, anyway, and this from a band that no longer has opening acts to make room for more songs people want to hear. And having seen Mr. Big open for the group on the "Presto" tour, I'm doubly glad it's been "A Night with Rush"-mode from there on out.

"Ghost of a Chance" very underrated. "Presto" and "Roll the Bones" really marked the band's transition into secular humanist territory, no doubt enhanced by Peart's personal double whammy.

and it's def. no better than "Permanent Waves" or "Signals."

^ you're crazy. Moving Pictures blows both of those out of the water.

I love "Ghost of a Chance"; the change from piledriving verses to mellow, weary chorus (buttressed by remnants of eighties echo) is beautifully executed. Nice piano part too.

Moving Pictures blows both of those out of the water.

I can imagine preferring it, but blowing them out of the water? Nah.

Shit, man your right. I thought I read "Grace under Pressure", not Permanent Waves. I rescind on that one, Waves rules. My bad.

I guess I look at it like this: Rush are pretty much never going to play a show that does not include Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and YYZ. Most tours they also play Red Barchetta. That right there is half of Moving Pictures. Witch Hunt was a highlight of their last tour and I'd love to see them play it again. That leaves The Camera Eye and Vital Signs, both amazing songs that I've always wanted to see live.

That adds up to about 40 minutes worth of music, they'll probably perform for upwards of 3 hours, so there's lots of room for other great stuff.

And having seen Mr. Big open for the group on the "Presto" tour, I'm doubly glad it's been "A Night with Rush"-mode from there on out.

The two times I've seen them (1992 & 1994), the openers were Primus and Candlebox respectively. Now, in 1992, seeing Primus and Rush on the same bill blew my 18 year old brains right out the back of my head. 20 year old me was well aware that Candlebox sucked pretty hard.

Ditching the opening bands was probably one of the smartest things they ever did. Their tours got way better once they did that.

I love Presto and Roll The Bones and Hold Yr Fire with a passion that is inscrutable to me. I think of it as their Police-ish atmospherock period and I am a sucker for the (even more) earnest turn the lyrics take during those. Signals and Grace Under Pressure def fall into a different 80s Rush basket, more of a heavy new wave power synth kind of thing. I need to go to this tour man, I wonder if the NY/NJ dates are already sold out...

geddy makes me squirm
busy pretentious songcraft
but tom sawyer's good

Pretty sure "Tom Sawyer" was the first Rush song I ever heard, but the first Rush tape I ever bought was Hold Your Fire. "Time Stand Still" is an impressively structured pop song (complete with Aimee Mann's contributions). But it was Presto that really cemented me as a raging fan (at least for a brief moment in time). I bought all the albums and listened to them constantly. By the time of Counterparts, I was kind of over it all. Test For Echo is the last one I bought, and I can't even remember a thing about it, except there was a song on there that mentioned "email."

Fun Rush fact: "Test for Echoes" is the only Rush album I've never owned or even heard once. Wikipedia should be updated ASAP to reflect that.

Josh you going to either of the Notherly Island shows? i'm going on the 5th

Hold Your Fire, Presto, and Roll The Bones are kind of a low point for me. Hold Your Fire and Presto both have a bunch of good tunes, and Roll The Bones a few, but the overall sound and production values are just terrible. So jangly and trebly, with like zero low-end or guitar crunch. I much prefer their "return to rock" albums that they've put out since then.

well i think the rap on the song "roll the bones" is THE low point

but i like hold your fire quite a bit actually...time stand still is great...i like new wave 80s/synchronicity-jocking rush

If you're behind, Snakes and Arrows is their best album since Counterparts. To my ears, it's their best album since Signals, but most would not agree because they either have a nostalgic fondness for late 80s Rush, or they won't be able to appreciate Rush produced in a modern way. I think it sounds great, though all those new songs are even better live.

It's been a treat liking that record because obviously they play a lot of it in concert. So when a badass new track like Spindrift starts, and 1500 dudes start heading to the concessions stand to buy another $14 beer, I'm just rocking out and smiling.

i did enjoy the songs off S&A live when i saw them a couple years ago...

the recording from what i heard was too modern metal sounding i thought, but i guess that's rush, they usually try to keep up w/the times

I actually think Snakes and Arrows is their best since Presto. As big a fan as I am, they'd sounded creatively stagnant on record for the longest time, so that album really blindsided me. It still holds up well today.

the song title "workin' them angels" drives me UP A WALL for some reason

Tour dates are here: http://www.rush.com/

Those bastards play every other day. Must be nice :)

they've earned it!

did you read that "roadshow" book where peart did a tour by motorcycle (he would follow the tour vans and make his own route)....i thought it was pretty entertaining.

It's on the back of my toilet right now.

^^^yet another perfect ILM board description

Rob, I'll prolly go to one of them, if I can get in for free, especially now that U2 has been scuttled til '11.

Charter One Pavilion will be a great place to see Rush. I saw Dio with Heaven & Hell last year -- it was small enough that none of the seats were bad. There were fold-out metal chairs and hs-style bleachers, the stage facing the lake. There had just been a storm with 90+mph gusts of wind earlier, and the sky was still swirling with quick moving clouds, and Dio's hair blew dramatically like an 80s video.

I hope they do it like The Cult's Love tour -- after they played the complete album, they did "hits" from Electric and later. With Rush the question is do they stick to one era (Permanent Waves to Power Windows would seem cohesive to me) or not.

Well, considering the album runs less than an hour and a typical Rush set closer to three (including intermission), I hope they just pack the rest with goodness. I mean, Rush has a lot more to draw from than the Cult. I love "Love" but hated that show.

I don't think I can handle 3 hours! I thought the Cult show was great up through Electric. I left not long after they got into their sucky albums.

"did you read that "roadshow" book where peart did a tour by motorcycle (he would follow the tour vans and make his own route)....i thought it was pretty entertaining."

That's a great book. His other ones are pretty good too.

True story:

Daniel Richler's parked
Illegally at Shopper's
Then Geddy Lee hops in!

Whoops, drop the "Lee" from that last line to make it fit haiku form.

New Rush single is out today - Caravan b/w BU2B - and it rocks!

Some crazy instrumentals going on in Caravan, and BU2B is super heavy.

hmmm not really feeling this....

it's like they are just jamming random riffs together, no memorable melodies or songwriting...

these songs remind me of what ppl often say about rush like they are some kinda math rock band, when in reality they always used to write really great songs, great hooks...

why are they trying to be so "heavy", this is arguable "heavier" than they ever were, at the expense of the stuff i actually loved about rush.

Yeah, not feeling the new one. Reminds me a bit of the "Counterparts" comeback, when the band was all, hey, we can be heavy, too! But this seems almost Primus at times in its herky-jerkiness.

Yeah, the vocal melodies seem a bit generic TBH (although maybe not that much worse than many other hard rock/metal bands) but I think the music, especially on "Caravan", is very good. Surprisingly metal for them. Have they been listening to Mastodon or something?

xpost

I did think of Primus too, actually, but not in a bad way.

The new songs are pretty good if you ask me. Very heavy at times, but still willing to toss in some synths every now and then. I think it's very similar to what they did on S&A.