Rush: Classic or Dud?

Adding 'yes' to all the "Time Stands Still" love. Another example of capturing a mindset in song to a T (and lord knows I'm feeling that more with the years).

"The Pass", there's an underrated track. Gorgeous song.

^^^^OTM^^^^OTM^^^^OTM^^^^

t-shirts I saw at the Rush concert last night:

Savatage
Boards of Canada
System of a Down
New York Dolls
Santana
Dead Kennedys

Think of another band where you'd see all those in the crowd??

Rush has fans from all over the spectrum. Yes is another one like that, where you see headbangers and Jackson Browne fans at the same concert.

I caught them at Irvine Meadows about two weeks ago. It was my 3rd Rush show.

These guys are just fucking fantastic.

Though they played some really exciting tracks like "Overture/Temple of the Syrinx" and "Passage to Bangkok", I have to say the highest energy moment of night was the mid-set "Spirit of Radio". I had it stuck in my head for days and days.

Might have to go see them again in Portland soon... which is silly since it's the same set list. But goddamn it--it's RUSH!

The show tonight was simply one of the best concerts I have ever seen. I was fifth row on the floor, dead center, and it was perfect. They were perfect. Lifeson is such a ham. Personal faves were the 80s fare, no surprise..."Subdivisions", "Between the Wheels", "Mission", etc. But the classics slayed, too. "2112 Overture/Syrinx" especially. And the new stuff fit extremely well with the oldies.

And yeah, such a huge variety of people. Great seeing so many kids, either curious teens or little kids taken by their dads.

Wow, I just want you guys to know I have experienced the first album this weekend at long last and had a great fucking time with it. I find if I just relax and accept that it is just a Led Zeppelin knockoff, then I can really enjoy it. I've always ignored their early stuff, which I probably said before on this thread. I only started caring about Rush for a few select tracks on the Permanent Waves album up through Hold Your Fire, then I lost interest. So this is just fantastic fun, this first album of theirs. Thanks ILM!

i recall reading an interview of u2 where they were talking about their zooropa tour or something, one of their biggest tours on the back of a huge bestselling album anyway... and they were all hyped cause they sold out some arena in michigan or somewhere - until they they realized rush had sold out the venue across town, on the same night as their concert, with rush's venue holding like 3 times as many people as u2's stadium, for that night *and the next*, and rush hadn't even dented the top 40 in like 10 years at that point....

so, are they pretty good live then? i honestly never understood their appeal myself.

I see something like a hundred shows a year and anytime I see Rush is a major event. They are that good live.

What was that thread about the drummer?

Finding My Way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mav12Hm8fSs

fuck you guys, I'll take my '80s U2 over Rush any day

oh man -- had Eno produced Power Windows-era Rush...

...then Coldplay would never have existed. (Or not.)

I played Power Windows at the gym this week. Do I get a cookie?

yes!

Saw them in Austin several weeks ago and it was absolutely mind-blowing.

I've seen them many times before, but this was in a much smaller venue than usual and the sound was insanely loud yet crystal clear.

Between The Wheels from Grace Under Pressure was one of many highlights. I still can't believe that they were that good.

"Between the Wheels" sounded so good live, that I wish they'd played more from that album!

A childhood friend introduced me to Rush when Permanent Waves came out. I forgot about 'em until I heard Moving Pictures on headphones and was blown away. I was a fan through Power Windows which at first seemed perfect, but later felt a bit sterile. I sold all their records before college, but I couldn't stay away, and gradually got most of the 2003 reissues. In hindsight, Signals has the most consistent songwriting. Grace Under Pressure is a bit of a dense mess, but was I the only one to think of it when I first heard OK Computer?

I guess the reissues were 1997.

Next door in college,
a kid from Billerica
REALLY LIKED Counterparts

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:7_CEJ6TAwY8PmM:http://www.progreviews.com/reviews/images/Rush-Rush.jpg

Take yourself a friend

the words of the prophets were written on the studio wall

concert hall

Time Stands Still.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e10z-E56PVI

Okay, but srsly, Time Stands Still rules. Amirite?

I spun Passage to Bangkok at my Dj gig tonight.

I've had "Signals" on in the car the last few days, "Countdown" is so good, like Rush doing Gary Numan. Best album they ever did, I think, the only track I don't like is the "Walking on the Moon" knockoff.

Fucking Signals. THAT IS THE SHIT.

Stephen Colbert, Rolling Stone... I want my old uncool unsexy Rush back!

I've been going through a huge Rush phase the last two weeks, mostly spent diving into all the 80s albums I'd ignored before. Signals is most definitely my favorite, but I'm surprised at how much I'm actually enjoying the others I'd never previously even wanted to hear (Power Windows, Grace Under Pressure).

Fly by Night! 2112! Hemispheres!

I took my family to EPCOT recently and got a swell t-shirt that says "The 21st Century started in October, 1982" (when EPCOT opened). Signals is totally a trip back to that time and that future-centric state of mind.

As we entered the park, we were greeted by the music of the Beach Boys playing over the PA. Not bad, but "Countdown" would have been far more appropriate, especially since it was released right around the time of EPCOT's opening and describes events that Rush witnessed right down the road from the Disney parks. Hell, I'll even bet Rush went to EPCOT after seeing the Space Shuttle launch!

i think that series of albums from the 80's (signals through power windows, I guess add moving pictures in there too) is their best era. really much after that I can't stand anything they did; and the earlier stuff gets overly histrionic vocally though I think most of it is good.

Yeah, I totally see Rush as Epcot music. You can almost hear The Nightfly's "I.G.Y." playing too.

"i think that series of albums from the 80's (signals through power windows, I guess add moving pictures in there too) is their best era."

This seems to be the majority opinion on ILM, though I'll never be able to understand it.

Hell, I'll even bet Rush went to EPCOT after seeing the Space Shuttle launch!

Quoting from the Signals tour book

VIII COUNTDOWN
Cape Kennedy, Florida, April,1982

We were there! It wasn't easy, but we made it! We had a long-standing invitation to the first launch, and always swore that we would be there no matter what. Little did we know!

On April 9th we flew into Orlando on a day off, checked into a hotel, and slept until about four A.M., when we had to leave for our rendezvous at the Air Force Base near the Cape. There we met our liaison man, who conducted us safely into the "V.I.P." zone (Red Sector A) in the pre-dawn hours. We stood around, listening to the announcements, as the sun rose higher and hotter in the sky. We were due to play that night in Dallas, so we couldn't wait much longer. Finally they announced that the launch would be scrubbed for that day. The computers weren't speaking!

Well, we ran for the car, and our daring driver sped off, around the traffic jams, down the median of the highway, and got us to the airport barely in time.

The next night we had a show in San Antonio, after which we drove off immediately, clambered into a hired jet, and flew straight back to Florida. This time the launch took place on schedule, and it was SOMETHING!! (More about that in the song.) Again we raced backed to the plane, and flew off once more, back to Fort Worth where we had a show that night. Fortunately the day after that was a day off, so we had a chance to catch up on all that sleep!

I remember thinking to myself as we flew back to Fort Worth after a couple days without sleep: "We've got to write a song about this!" It was an incredible thing to witness, truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can only hope that the song comes even close to capturing the excitement and awe that we felt that morning.

So no trip to EPCOT, huh, bummer...

does ANYONE not like 'tom sawyer'?? i mean ANYONE.

no? i thought so.

I used to hate Tom Sawyer. Doesn't bother me now, though.

I'm often mystified by certain arguments against Rush:

A lot of people go for the Geddy Lee screeches too much argument, which is odd since he started singing in a fairly normal tone of voice somewhere back in the late 70s.

The other is the idea that they are too show-offy and technical. Again, a weird argument since their music is far less busy than much of prog-rock. There's lots of intense musicianship, but they never loose track of the actual song.

I also get irritated by the folks that say that Rush is Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and some guy that no one cares about or has heard of. Alex Lifeson easily holds his own in Rush, and for me often outshines the other two.

Thoughts? Do these arguments hold any merit? Do arguments like these come from a place of deep insecurity? Or should I just ignore the haters?

From first to last...the peak is never past...

Rush was, is and e'er shall be..... godlike.

No TV for years
Guest spot on Colbert Report
Throw to ad mid-song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swk_XqBPs2Y

(BTW, Rush was def. on VH1 Classic in the past few years. Did they just mean "network TV" or something? But then, why would Comedy Central count?)

i think that series of albums from the 80's (signals through power windows, I guess add moving pictures in there too) is their best era.

i'd start and end two albums earlier, hemispheres to signals. any peak era that doesn't include permanent waves is not a peak era.

or, in haiku...

the best rush era,
for me, starts with hemispheres
and ends with signals

For me it's 2112 through Moving Pictures

the first LP through Permanent Waves...

heh, I never knew that "Geddy" was not his real name, but rather his grandmother's pronunciation of his given name (Gary)...thanks, Wiki!

Rush plays the Rock Band version of "Tom Sawyer" backstage at Colbert
http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2008/07/rush-plays-rock.html

There's a really good feature on Rush in the Rolling Stone issue with the giant Obama head on the cover.