Rush: Classic or Dud?

I'll check out both Power Windows and Vapour Trails after I've checked out Presto simply based on recommendations here - I've heard a few things about Vapour Trails mastering though, is it really that bad?

its mastered very loud, yes. it's kind of annoying but the songs themselves are very good and don't really suffer from the loss of dynamics that you get from overmastering. it's their most in-your-face record.

In fact, I've decided to leave "Presto" for the time being and went straight to "Power Windows" because it's discographically the next album along from "Grace Under Pressure" - I'm only three tracks in at the moment, so it's a bit too early to say really, but I'm actually surprised by what I've heard so far. The material sounds stronger than that of "Grace Under Pressure", but I don't think I'm too taken with the production. These are songs I can imagine would sound incredible live, though!

Didn't the band properly remix "Vapour Trails," admitting defeat?

"Presto" might be the band's most restrained, most song-oriented album. That and "Roll the Bones," I guess. This period of the band is pretty underrated. My fave is the techno-pop-prog of "Signals," "Grace" and "Power WIndows." And there's no reason at all to feel guilty about "Hold Your Fire." Good songs, great playing. "Power Windows" and "Fire" songs sound great on "A Show of Hands."

To this day, "Test for Echo" is the only Rush album I've literally never heard. No idea why.

Test for Echo is actually the best of the three 90s ones but that's not saying much

though i think "Sound and Motion" is pretty neat

err "Time and Motion"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHSam88u5WM

I've given "Grace Under Pressure" another spin, and now I'm listening again to "Power Windows", and I quite like both. I do think "Power Windows" is the better of the two and I'm finding myself suddenly excited to go further into their discography :)

I'm more attached to Grace Under Pressure, but Power Windows is a great album. "Marathon", especially. I couldn't stand "Mystic Rhythms" when I was 15, but over the course of 25 years it's grown on me quite a lot.

Yeah, 'Marathon' came across to be a definite standout of the record, but I also thought 'Grand Designs' and 'Manhattan Project' were great also. The only one that I found myself feeling a bit 'meh' over was 'Territories'. With "Grace Under Pressure", the only one I heard that I could consider to be a real stinker was 'Red Lenses'... but bear in mind I've only just heard these two albums today after spending years listening to everything up to and including "Signals", they're definitely records I need to spend more time with - but I do like them enough to listen to them more and investigate Rush's discography further!

"Territories" has that awesome spooky coda, though. It's the peak of Peart's arranging skills, that mix of electronic triggers that sound like acoustic drums and acoustic drums produced to sound like electronic drums.

Gotta love Neil Peart, sometimes I listen to his drumming on 'The Weapon' and I just think "how on earth is he doing that?"

I think I read somewhere that the drum part in The Weapon was based on a drum machine part that either Geddy or Alex came up with kind of as a challenge to Neil. They were daring him to play something really unintuitive and mechanistic and took the bait.

*he took the bait

That's awesome. Always been one of my favorites.

King on Peart (2007)

---

Ethan Iverson: Dave, tonight we played Massey Hall. What is "YYZ"?

David King: It is the airport code of Toronto and the "Giant Steps" of rock and roll.

EI: What band played "YYZ"?

DK: Rush.

EI: What were they famous for?

DK: They are a prog-rock power trio that uses iconoclastic playing to create a sound much bigger than three guys. They also made wizard hats sexy.

EI: Who was the drummer of Rush?

DK: Neil Peart was the second and most famous drummer, but on the first record it was John Rutsey.

EI: But Peart is who we mean when we talk about odd-meter mayhem, right?

DK: He was a loud Joe Morello with gongs.

EI: Does Peart have good technique at the drums?

DK: Does the new Pope drink umbilical-cord blood from a satanic chalice?

EI: Yes. Can anyone play faster in seven than Peart?

DK: Probably some obscure doumbek player, but not many in rock. The thing about Neil Peart that appealed to me (and probably a lot of drummers of my generation) is that he was an active force in creating the sound of the band he was in. He wasn't just a timekeeper. Rush represented a certain freedom of ideas for the drum as a lead instrument in rock and roll.

EI: What are the quintessential Peart performances?

DK: This could be controversial, but my favorite period of Rush and Peart is from 1979's Permanent Waves through 1984's Grace Under Pressure. This was a period of Peart's most progressive playing. From the merging of electronic and acoustic drums to the dark themes of the music, this period represented the most complete realization of Peart's concepts. (This is just my opinion, of course. I don't know much of their music after this period.) There is a fill in the song "Natural Science" that is truly some avant-garde shit. It makes no rational sense in the composition. It reminds me of an interpretation of Chinese box drumming or something.

EI: Why do some people hate Rush?

DK: Because they stole their girlfriends. Seriously, though, I think that any music that doesn't belong to any scene and follows its own path without being concerned with what's cool will naturally turn off a great hunk of the masses. I suppose some people think it's kind of geeky and kind of masturbatory, but I believe it's pretty ballsy to do your own shit without apology.

EI: The Bad Plus is now playing "Tom Sawyer," and you play the Peart drum fill just like on the record.

DK: I play the four-piece kit version. Peart had a 37-piece kit with nine bass-drums when he recorded it, so my version is a little small in comparison. But the intention is strong. I felt you had to pay homage to one of the most recognizable drum solos in recorded history. It's almost like a song in itself. It's like if you covered "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins and didn't do "the fill that brings in the big chorus." You'd get your ass kicked on the street if word got out that you were the doof that thought you could do better. Phil Collins fans are fucking vicious and they will shank you without thinking twice

awesome

Funnily enough, I would agree with him - the span between "Permanent Waves" to "Grace Under Pressure" does feature some of my absolute favourite Peart drumming. Sure, he was much more... 'energetic', for want of a better term on stuff like 'Anthem' from "Fly By Night", but he was far more intricate on those first few '80s albums - while still keeping rock solid time and retaining the energy.

Any true Rush nerd knows that Permanent Waves is from 1980.

Yeah, I love the drumming on Grace Under Pressure. Signals, too. So much more subtlety going on.

Yeah, completely. Like, superficially it can sometimes sound like Peart is playing it straight and then you really listen to what he's doing with the hi-hat or ride cymbal at the same time and it's like "how are you DOING that"?

Feeling pretty disappointed with the Time Machine tour CDs. They are really poorly mixed and Geddy's voice sounds completely shredded. Does not do justice to their recent live shows at all.

now you tell me (my copy's in the post as I type) :(

^ hmm with a bit of effort, I could have made that a haiku

His voice is showing age on this one, definitely, but it's not atrocious. I'm really enjoying the DVD, not surprisingly.

True, but his singing was also much better in the concerts I saw on this tour than on the recording, as was the overall sound mix.

I'm still eagerly anticipating the blu ray release, plus I'd like to get the new Neil Peart dvd that shows the entire Time Machine concert from an all-drums perspective.

Happy Rushgiving everybody!

It's 2-1-12

hell yeah! listening now!

this is one of the best opening sequences to an album ever

Man, they kick so much ass.

New single "Headlong Flight" is coming out 4/19 and the Clockwork Angels album will be out on 5/29!

That's great news! Was chatting just yesterday with Turrican and I was wondering if the new album was actually coming out this year.

I've heard "Headlong Flight." It kicks a whole lot of ass. It sounds very much like their '70s work (no synths) and I have been informed that the radio edit (which I've heard) is about two and a half minutes shorter than the album version (which I haven't heard).

oh cool. i just listened to snakes & arrows seriously for the first time a couple months ago and was pretty impressed, best thing they've done since god presto or something

Have you heard "Caravan" and "BU2B", the tracks from Clockwork Angels that were released last year? For me, those are two of the best tracks that Rush has ever done, which makes me think this new record is going to be very good indeed.

I think so? Were they instrumentals? I loved the instrumentals on the last album, nice to hear them flex their chops a bit

Nope, not instrumentals. I definitely recommend you check them out if you can.

I assume this means another summer tour is imminent? I believe the "Time Machine" tour was the first time the band ever toured behind nothing.

There will be a tour, but not in the summer. I can't really say more than that, 'cause I don't have specific dates yet, but it's gonna be in the fall.

think I'm going to drag my son along to the concert this time around

I might like them more
If their new songs were faster
And Geddy screamed some

Don't know about fast but the "Caravan"/"BU2B" single has to be the heaviest thing they ever did.

Is that the one that sounded like Primus?

Ha, we discussed it earlier on the thread. You did compare it to Primus! I think the Cathedral comparisons were probably closer to the mark tbh.

As always, Ned points out the good stuff (this via his twitter). New Rush! Streaming at Rolling Stone! WTF? Rolling Stone? Whatever, it sounds great.

http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/rush.html

yeah it's pretty heavy!

Old man metal.

ha, according to the amazon product page they are apparently signed to Roadrunner now.

http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Angels-Rush/dp/B007I2BZIE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1334776849&sr=1-1

Two months away from the release date, and it's #18 on the amazon best sellers!

Lyrically, CLOCKWORK ANGELS chronicles a young man's quest across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy as he attempts to follow his dreams. The story features lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.

only Rush would allow me to move past that rmde concept and still be anxious for the music

That concept - in their hands, but few others - actually gets me more excited for the music.