Rush: Classic or Dud?

I think there was a definite drop in quality from Hold Your Fire through Roll The Bones, and for a lot of people the shorthand for that is "synths".

To me, it really wasn't about the synths, but rather bad 80s production values and a move from Prog Rock to catchy Pop. I think they went a little too far in the pop direction and it didn't really work for them because it didn't play to their core strengths.

Right now, I wouldn't mind if the brought back some of the bubbly synths, so long as they still have the massive guitar, bass, and drums.

I don't notice a songwriting decline so much as an exhaustion of their always silly themes, which dovetailed with, yeah, the trendy production.

The Big Money is quite possibly the most 80s sounding song of the entire 80s.

is it bad that i can recite the 'rap' on roll the bones from memory?

I can too!

Actually, if anything "Presto" featured some of their best "songs," in the formal sense - as in, I can imagine a dude with a guitar singing a lot of them. I mean, "The Pass" is lovely. But the thin production really did let the material down, though of course, the band as ever recognized this and bounced back. There's a great bit in the doc where that one "Caveman" producer explained how he refused to let Alex use a lot of his effects, but for all the apparent conflict, Alex knew it was best to go along with the plan.

For the record, Rush hasn't been terribly "prog" since the late '70s, or very early '80s at the latest. In fact, I've always been impressed by the band's economy, which sounds nuts given the amount of playing they squeeze into each song, but the arrangements are so tight it never seems indulgent.

Defend the Indefensible: Rap in the Middle of "Roll the Bones" (Rush)

I enjoy the excessiveness and exuberance of it. It's really over-the-top in every way. I don't mind when they indulge in 80s sounds but take it to the nth degree.

I get more put off by later records like Roll The Bones, where they really pare everything down. The songwriting is catchy, but unadventurous. Many of the songs lack all the exciting instrumental hooks and floureshes that are Rush's trademark. And where are the epic guitar solos?

The Big Money indulges in all that great stuff and more, and I love it for that.

various xposts...

I can recite that rap too. It's still awful.

Fax the facts from Nome to Rome boy

it's a parallax, you dig?
it's a rig
the small get big

^^the realest shit peart ever wrote

i think roll the bones may be the weakest rush album but 'dreamline' is a pretty underrated song imo

Ghost of a Chance and Bravado are pretty great too. There are live recordings of all of these songs that are vast improvements on the originals though.

Another attribute of the band seen in that doc is its ability to recognize transitional periods for what they are. Like, they're not mistakes it they help the group get where it's going.

I adore "Ghost of a Chance" – the way the chorus dangles in the air, with those huge block synth chords in the background.

ghost of a chance might be the closest rush ever got to a love song, and yet it's still a meta-love song

I dig the songs on Chronicles a lot but I've never been able to get into the albums---prob. could if I really worked at it but haven't ever felt the need. But I would love to hear a comp of Rush songs that are in the neighborhood of "Time Stands Still", or at least just get a few names of their songs, if any, in this neighborhood.

pretty much the whole Hold Your Fire album is big pretty synth-rock songs like that. Power Windows also has the same production/arrangement style, though its songs are less sentimental

hmm also "chain lightning" from presto and maybe the aforementioned "ghost of a chance"

I remember Peart saying somewhere how he gets choked up every time he plays "The Pass" live. Love that song.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_B_Rx5hXIEJ0/RsC1YGAYSjI/AAAAAAAAAB0/0hSg2THqZqY/s400/jackrelax!.PNG

Some loosely sentimental power-ballads a la "Time Stand Still:"

"Losing It"
"Marathon"
"Emotion Detector"
"Grand Designs"
"Mission"
"The Pass"
"Ghost of a Chance"
"Ghost Rider"
"The Larger Bowl"

"The Larger Bowl"

I thought they were drug free.

Ha. They do joke in the movie that they must have been pretty high when they wrote their '70s prog epics.

Just noticed one of the deleted scenes on the DVD is about the rap part in "Roll the Bones." Geddy Lee claims it was just a joke, a couple fans express their displeasure, and even Les Claypool pops up to say "it was a bit hard to take, even for me."

i for real get goosebumps from "mission" tho i recognize how cheezy it is...

Not exactly 80s synthy, but I'd also recommend "Entre Nous" and "Different Strings" as great Rush sentimental power ballads.

I had a quote from "The Pass" in my high school senior yearbook.

Also in the movie (see the movie!) Billy Corgan says young withdrawn Billy Corgan once sat his mom down to play her "Entre Nous" to try to teach her how music connected with him. He also says at one point he knew how to play the first side of "2112" from start to finish.

Some loosely sentimental power-ballads a la "Time Stand Still:"

...no "Closer to the Heart"?

"Rush goes pop!" impromptu POX

New World Man
Big Money
Manhattan Project (if you ignore Geddy, this is basically a Siouxsie song)
Time Stand Still
The Pass
War Paint
Dreamline
Ghost Of A Chance
Nobody's Hero
Earthshine

New World Man

I remember hearing this as some sort of theme for a bio of an athlete on Wide World of Sports or something in 1986. I suppose it works as that!

Manhattan Project (if you ignore Geddy, this is basically a Siouxsie song)

The middle section -- so expensive for 1985! -- is awesome.

One week to see the Time Machine show. Very excited

Pretty much every track on Power Windows has an epic and beautiful middle section.

One week to see the Time Machine show. Very excited

― Shin Oliva Suzuki, Wednesday, September 29, 2010 5:27 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

Saw it recently in VA. I won't spoil it for you, but I'll say this much: Rush should have their own weekly sketch-comedy show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4cFMVfnCE&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwpGXfHmY-A&feature=related

That second one is a gem and a half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRuVCW0JQQ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_AsnTHJ52s

That tobogganing safety video is hilarious.

People should really be talking more about the new single Caravan. It's so awesome.

Also look at this: Rush gets major love from Brendon Small and Guitar Hero et al:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/09/29/warriors.of.rock.nerds/index.html?cid=mkt_face_tech&t=128579038698872

Hah, Geddy's "scream" while tobogganing (sp?) is totally musical. What a pro.

"We need someone to talk to
and someone to sweep the floors"

^rush otm

2nd leg of Time Machine tour just announced and tickets going on sale tomorrow! Pretty sure I'll be seeing them in Austin and Seattle. I highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in Rush, it's an amazing show.

Woot!

Kinda cool:

As a tribute to the U.S. city that first played their music on the radio, the Cleveland performance at The Quicken Loans Arena on April 15, 2011 will be filmed for full-length release, making it the first full-length live performance filming of Rush on US soil.

omg ne ohio is totally gonna flip out -- i have never lived an area more densely packed with rush fans than northeast ohio

I'm amazed that they haven't filmed a US show in all these years.

Yeah, but their live releases are outnumbering their studio albums by a 4-1 margin over the last few years. Seriously, dudes, maybe come up with a concept record where the concept isn't something like "the first live Rush album since Thursday!"