Rush Appreciation Thread

Funny, it took me awhile to get into the album, just as it took me awhile to really get into Rush. I always liked their radio songs for the most part, but I was struggling with getting into full Rush albums. Now, I can't get enough of them!

 

You have a wonderful world to explore ahead of you. Enjoy the ride. As others have said earlier, most of Rush albums take some time to "get it" but once you get there.....

 

Once I get there, hopefully the albums won't be impossible to find on vinyl!

 

The new reissues sound great IMO but I've never heard the originals.

 

I'm more than happy with my reissues. Some of my best sounding vinyl.

 

Spinning Hemispheres right now. Who would have thought a song about a disagreement among trees would be so incredible and timeless?

 

I picked up clockwork angels on vinyl at a record show last weekend. I have not listened to this since it came out. Seriously Rush can do no wrong, this is a great album ! My buddy picked it up and put it down and I did not hesitate !

 

Rush has been and always will be my number 1 band. Been a fan since '79. What draws me to them is their overall talent. As a previous poster stated they are all recognized as one if not the best of their respective instruments. Have not missed a tour since Hemispheres. Their last tour is not their last show(s) I believe. They skipped Pittsburgh, where they first performed live with Neil. And they skipped Cleveland where they got their first radio play. Thank you Donna by the way! I hope they end by playing PIT, CLE, YYZ. I have no "favorite" album. Each one is unique just like the logo for each album. Forever changing and challenging their listeners.

Bob

 

they are unique..but thing I love the most about Rush is the heaviness.

 

It is remarkable in that nearly no other organically-formed band of that era except perhaps Led Zeppelin can claim to have all of their musicians rank among the best at their craft. Sure, there are supergroups and such (some might even argue LZ was one), but these guys just continued to grow and feed off each other.

For years, I never even got the fuss about Lifeson. Then I compared his work in the late 70s to anything in his peer group and realized his use of arpeggios was unprecedented and unparalleled. As I dug deeper, solos that I once thought were sheer improvisation turned out to be so carefully crafted that it was impossible to deny his mastery. To me, Natural Science is the defining song in both of these regards. The guy was just on fire for that whole album (and the two that preceded and followed it). Something for Nothing was just a taste of what he would later accomplish.

 

HEMISPHERES is my favorite of their prog period and "The Trees" despite the Rand bombast is just a clever bit of storytelling in an epic melody and structure. The entire second side is wonderful with some of their best hybrid of synth and guitar and drums and lovely wistful final lines. When I got back into vinyl, I was glad to find my Rush LP's were all first US JAMF pressings, with MP being the most crackled, replaced by the staggering RL Holland audiophile release (this is the one to own). HEMISPHERES sounds superb after all these years with my very simple but effective two speaker/receiver turntable set-up. Outside the music, Neil Peart's smart lyrics fascinated me and inspired my own writing. It's been a blast to revisit the LP's again and the new releases are pretty fantastic, as SIGNALS blows away my US pressing -- which even upon release I thought badly mixed, especially "Subdivisions," with the synth and the guitar fighting it out instead of merging as in MP. Still in my top three Rush.

 

Something happened when Clockwork Angels came about. A switch flipped in my head. I can't listen to Rush anymore. I can't deny the quality and worth of their original albums up to Signals... but I just cant listen to them anymore. I'd rather enjoy the bands, musicians and writings that have inspired and influenced their music and lyrics.

 

Everything through Signals is still in regular rotation...........

 

I find myself playing the bootlegs more often these days but seriously, other than Hold Your Fire and Presto, I still play all the albums.

 

Love me Rush....


Got all 3 sectors boxes, love them.

Picked this up last December 2015:

R40 Live [3 CD/Blu-ray Combo] Rush - R40 Live [3 CD/Blu-ray Combo] - Amazon.com Music »

The Studio Albums 1989-2007 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E9P957Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_NWfsxbQWTJZXY

 

Rush.....

I think I'm going to sit down in few minutes and spin my Presto vinyl and relax....

 

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This is one of my recent favorites. Fly By Night is so underrated as an album.

 

I still need to pick up R40. Loved the tour.

 

The last Rush LP I bought was POWER WINDOWS (GK cut), played maybe three times as I was ear-deep in CD's and their magic (irony)...

 

totally love this surreal feeling collage...kudos.

they were they first rock concert i'd attended at the tender age of 15:
'77 ('78?) maple leaf gardens, toronto, 'a farewell to kings' tour.
nose bleed grays....ears ringing upon walking out...was in love and have remained so since then...what an indelible experience for a teen...
let's face it: one's first rock concertt should be stellar in the rite of passage for being a teen, and they kicked ass that night.
I have seen them some 20x since....to be frank I feel very grateful (blessed even) to have seen their fab chops through out the yrs at different times
...and that damned Peart: he was always a hog for my eyes....couldn't tear myself off of watching him a good 80% of any show.
Am so glad i saw them for the last time during the R40 tour in Vancouver.

I 'get it' why people get so attracted to any artist in the longterm, you know those who've lasted a while and are still productive: it's really all about growing up with them. their music creates emotional snapshots of your life when certain albums or songs came out.
I can remember clearly, for example, the cozy feeling of being in my school library during a cold winter day when listening to Permanent Waves..or air drumming repeatedly to my first purchased Rush album (A Farewell to Kings: heck I still LOVE that title track)...I can smell the vinyl, remember how cool Neil looked...or later, that red Hemisphere album we all bought ...or nother time or when Grace Under Pressure was released when I was in university (heck those memories alone are fab) ... having Rush along for the ride makes all these memories that much more vibrant, and special.

lastly they're proud Canucks...as am I
Thanks, boys, for everything.
You will in the coming yrs be remembered as even greater rock legends than you are right now.... I just know it.

 

and one of my fav Rush tunes to enjoy:
'A farewell to kings',
(though I love equally 'The anarchist' and 'Far Cry', among many others of course)

don't you just LOVE neil's alpha male ass kicking kit back then:
a drum kit on 'roids: the chimes
gong, double bass etc....hell you got a hard on just by looking at it, lol.
it screamed ' F*** king COOL!'