How good is RUSH?

Fly by night is a pretty good release. As for the rest, i'm not really into it...Not a rush fan.

stepcousin wrote:

detuned wrote:

I was so excited to hear them do "Entres Nous", I think that's the first time they've played that song since the Permanent Waves tour.

I'm kind of a Rush enthusiest and I was not aware that they ever even played that track live at all on the '80 tour. Maybe I'll have to find out on one of their umteen million fan sites . I do have a boot where they play "Limelight" and "Tom Sawyer" on that tour before the MP album even came out. The lyrics are different on both tracks and the music to TS is somehwat different too.

It's possible they never played it, I was just taking a blind guess.

Gilbert wrote:

Fly by night is a pretty good release. As for the rest, i'm not really into it...Not a rush fan.

How can someone not like at least something about RUSH? I look at the band as a perfectly symmetrical pie-chart, where duties are delegated almost evenly amongst the three members. When you hear a RUSH recording, from most any era of the band, you will hear a piece of music where room is allotted to the three members fairly equally. There always seems to be the perfect amount of room for Geddy's bass/vox/keys, Alex's guitar and Neil's skins. They never march upon each other's ground, or create a lopsided product, like a Van Halen.

I like the 2112 through Hemispheres version of the band best. But, I'm not too sure about that conclusion when I go and examine the Permanent Waves through Signals era. That's some amazing stuff, son. Finally, there's that gritty, slightly progressive, ballsy Metal approach that the group took at the start and which is exemplified on their debut recording and Flight By Night. Sometimes I get in a mood where I want to listen to the trifecta of Rush's Fly By Night, Judas Priest's Sin After Sin and Rainbow's Rising, all in a row, son. You can be poor, your woman left your sorry ass, and you just get word back from the Doc that you expire at the end of the month. Yet, you hear that trifecta I jus' mention there, kiddo, and you livin' large and in charge. RUSH is alright in my book.

As detuned mentions above, 80's RUSH is heavily influenced by The Police which were still big on the charts at the same time that Rush seems to pay homage to them. I like this version of Rush the least. They become so sterile in their approach during the second half of the 80's. The guitar and bass all but disappears and we get a cold, mechnical synth-saturated sound in their place. I very rarely listen to recordings like Power Windows, Hold Your Fire and Presto. With this last one being, by far, the worst title in the Rush discog.

Thank you for your insightful manifesto Ted Kaczynski

Quote :

That's some amazing stuff, son. Finally, there's
that gritty, slightly progressive, ballsy Metal approach that the group
took at the start and which is exemplified on their debut recording and
Flight By Night. Sometimes I get in a mood where I want to listen to
the trifecta of Rush's Fly By Night, Judas Priest's Sin After Sin and
Rainbow's Rising, all in a row, son. You can be poor, your woman left
your sorry ass, and you just get word back from the Doc that you expire
at the end of the month. Yet, you hear that trifecta I jus' mention
there, kiddo, and you livin' large and in charge. RUSH is alright in my
book.

I find that I like Everything in the 70's and 80's, (Neil Peart's fascination with Ayn Rand as lyric inspiration not withstanding), but they seem to be a bit hit or miss for me in the 90's and 00's.
I can see why the 80's stuff might not appeal to fans of the earlier material as its gets pretty synth heavy,(like alot of 80's popular music), which is understandable since I believe most of that stuff was written on a keyboard to begin with as opposed to the earlier stuff being written on guitar. The 80's material also plays pretty well lyrically to the disaffected loner crowd and still has a pretty good hold on that crowd even today.

Musically, I totally agree with Marc's above comments on how each member is given space to create an equal part of each song. You would also be extremely hard pressed to think of more than a handful of rock bands who are not only as technically gifted from a performance standpoint but also a simple song-craft standpoint.

Also, I think that even after seeing them live probably more than 20 times over the years it would be nice to have seen more than only a few hot girls at one of their concerts but alas, I guess it's forever fated to be only thousands of guys at a Rush show.

What did I say wrong, son? I acknowledged your 80's Police infatuation and gave the boys big ups and whatnot. I don't know how that warrants a lashing by the big merry melodies rooster....But, just for that I'm giving you a LARGE TODD. If you garner more than three LARGE TODDS, you havta sit out a round and you miss a chance at the raffle at the end of the bonus round.

I dislike Rush......but Todd Rundgren's solo stuff is good schitt.

I was joking Marc.

By the way, I like Rundgren & Utopia as well.

So, then you won't mind having a LARGE TODD. Too many though can cause tooth decay and general anxiety disorder in confined spaces. Also, an over-riding desire to consume copious amounts of Meat Loaf is to be found on the list of side effects.

Coming in late on this thread and my previous views on RUSH have been shared on many other threads (ONE of My Top Three Favs.... some would say my Fav!!)

Seen 'em 5 times.


If you don't know where to start, yes start with 'Moving Pictures' then go to '2112' or 'All the Worlds A Stage'.... Then go to 'Signals' or 'Power Windows'.... Finally hit 'Snakes & Arrows' or 'Counter Parts'.....

They are an aquired taste... but I drank deep the first time and keep coming back for more....!

Rush is damn good, that's how good they are, really damn good!

Yep, Rush is good! Saw them live last year on the S&A tour. Really great! They opened up with Limelight, and the light show was cool. Easily one of my favorite bands, with Bob Marley and Pink Floyd.

Can't really pick a favorite, because they're all good. The Fountain Of Lamneth is pure genius.

"Hemispheres" Not there biggest seller but my favorite! When your title track is 18 minutes long you know it will not be a hit on radio, LOL.

LOve RUSH. They have an amazing catologue of works spanning forever and they still churn out a 3 hour set of amazing prog rock to this day.

All The Worlds A Stage has been a favorite for years.

Just learned thanks to that Metal Show, they are featured in the new movie 'I Love You Man'

I saw That Metal Show with Lee and Lifeson. They're such nerds

Love them. Favorites are Fly By Night, 2112, Hemispheres, Caress of Steel, Moving Pictures, Power Windows, and the self-titled one.

martinsane wrote:

LOve RUSH. They have an amazing catologue of works spanning forever and they still churn out a 3 hour set of amazing prog rock to this day.

All The Worlds A Stage has been a favorite for years.

A very fine 3 hour set. Yes'sum. Saw them Summer of 2007, and I likeded that schitt. ming.

Rush is a great band.
Saw them live back in the 80's. They are amazing!!

assault_attack wrote:

"Hemispheres" Not there biggest seller but my favorite! When your title track is 18 minutes long you know it will not be a hit on radio, LOL.

Honestly, I liked 'Hemispheres' even more than '2112' for a time. Both of those albums are classics of the genre.

When I saw'em on their 30th anniversary tour they played Overture/Temples/Grand Finale. Which really is the best way to present that stuff if they're not gonna play the whole thing.

Hemispheres is just such a fantastic disc. Every tune (all 4 of them) are fantastic. The title tune is a real masterpiece of rhythmic changes and times signature changes. I played it to death when I first got it as a teenager.

I'm glad that they continue to pay some homage to that old stuff. Playing 'Circumstances' on the first leg of the Snakes and Arrows tour was WONDERFUL!!

mr.electric39 wrote:

They are an aquired taste... but I drank deep the first time and keep coming back for more....!

even though I had heard Fly, Caress, and 2112 on and off for a few years, it wasnt until I saw them in 1981 (my very first concert) that I went nuts. that summer after I saw them I worked and I earned $3.13 an hour and walked 4 miles in 100 degree weather to buy all of their albums on cassette, 2 at a time with my own money. So you could say I drank deep the first time as well. I was obsessed.

When it comes to music, people always seem to have a thing for their first love (so to speak).

If you don't think rush is awesome listen to this, and then tell me what you think.