Wahooo! New Rush album May 14th! One Little Victory soundbite Freeze soundbite Earthshine soundbite Nocturne soundbite
After 30 years... they are still a great band. I was very surprised how many fan sites I have found on RUSH's .homepage ... they also have a big forum, called Rush's Interactive Network. I can't wait to hear Vapor Trails... but I also can't wait to hear the upcoming record from my favorite guitar player: JOE SATRIANI's Strange Beautiful Music.
Thanks, HZ, for the soundbite links! Hmmm. They sound rather...clattery and lively! I love Rush, but DAMN, that album cover is hideous.
I agree with Kym. Damn that's one butt ugly cover. Claus, when is that new Satriani album due to be released?
Holy crimestoppers Batman...I mean Holy Zoo, Thanks for the links. I've been waiting for this album for years. Rush is one of the few bands these days that I really get excited about when they have a new release. Inteligent lyrics, precise muiscical craftsmanship - one of the best rythym sections around (Lee/Peart) and one of the best live bands in rock. They never fail to entertain.
This is my first reply/post. Wow, those three look great in that photo! They're the only band that I've kind of stuck with over the years. I've gone through phases, in terms of what I listen to, but Rush has always been a mainstay. I can't wait for Vapor Trails, and the upcoming tour. Definitely gives me a reason to get excited about new music, which is pretty tough these days!
Hey Rush fans, Do any of you like Voivod? They are (were?) a Canadian prog/power trio like Rush. They don't have the chops that Rush has, but their music is very compelling nonetheless. Their guitarist D'Amour has a bit of Robert Fripp in his playing that makes him sound edgier than Lifeson - who, for all his technique, sometimes seems rather unimaginative. Maybe that's why my favorite Rush album is the one with the least amount of guitar on it - Signals.
I gotta agree with poe_man, I just cant get excited about new releases the way I used to. Marillion's "anoraknophobia" is the only new release title Ive added in at least six months. Ive spent some time (and $ of course) diggin around for some old fav's, but the latest just doesn't hold much interest for me. Ill probably pick up the Rush release, cause like yall, Im a big Rush fan, for 30 years now! At close to $20 a pop these days for a CD, I dont take too many chances anymore! (a good argument for napster!) Dob, you cant feel that way about Lifeson's early works with Rush, can you?
I had Nothingface on vinyl, and I have The Outer Limits on CD. I always thought they were interesting, but I never really got into them. I know some King's X fans rave about them. The Pink Floyd covers (Nile Song & Astronomy Domine) were cool. Speaking of which, not to derail this thread, but how would you evaluate this statement? "Voivod is the Pink Floyd of the 90s."
If you're into progressive music and you're not buying new releases, you're really missing out. Here are a few bands and albums you might like -- Dream Theater, King's X (and Ty Tabor solo), Platypus, Jelly Jam, Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, Neal Morse solo, Rudess-Morgenstein project (and Rudess solo), An Evening with John Petrucci & Jordan Rudess, The Flower Kings, John Petrucci solo (forthcoming), Derek Sherinian solo, Liquid Tension Experiment, Bozzio Levin Stevens, Niacin, MullMuzzler, and more. Conveniently enough, many of those artists are on MagnaCarta: http://www.magnacarta.net/
Rush sounds progessively better on higher quality stereo systems. I listened to the above samples on some cheap computer speakers and wasn't impressed, but when I played them through the home system BOY WAS I IMPRESSED. I'm looking forward to this one...
Well, they have done the Floyd covers you mentioned (their Astronomy Domine is the DEFINITIVE version), but I think they're too brittle, metallic, and lacking in sophistication to be compared to Pink Floyd (especially the early thrash metal stuff like War and Pain). Not very psychedelic, either - but they sure do rock!
He's a great guitar player, but I don't think he's ever gotten comfortable with Geddy Lee's move towards a more melodic, sophisticated sound, which started with Signals. For example, "Subdivisions" (my favorite Rush track) eschews the playing/singing pyrotechnics in favor of more subtle synthesizer shadings, and the result is one of their most beautiful songs ("beautiful" being an adjective normally not associated with their music). You're right that his early stuff is best, as that is the style of music that suits him best. He's got chops to burn, but his musical mind has trouble keeping up with Geddy's, and that's why I say he lacks imagination - in comparison to Geddy, at least.
I really enjoyed Lifeson's solo in "Double Agent" off of Counterparts. All fuzzed up and lots of harmonic overtones. I thought it harkened back to the early days. I appreciate Signals more after 20 years, but most of the big Rush fans I know didn't like it at all when it came out. I always felt Geddy Lee was a bass player first, keyboard player when the need arises.
In Accord!, the one point I failed to remember to make was anyone would be hard pressed to play along side Geddy, and be creative! I think Geddy is Magic!
After all the executions at Atlantic Records (Rod Stewart, Tori Amos, Collective Soul et al) did they retain Rush?
It would seem so.. http://www.atlantic-records.com/rush/index.html Here's an interesting article about the effect on the new album of Neil Peart losing his daughter and wife in a short period of time. http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1453265/04042002/rush.jhtml
From what I heard its sounds like Rush is picking up where they left off. And the article from VH1 doesn't make it seem any better when they compared it to Roll the Bones. Don't get me wrong, I'm a die hard Rush fan. But I was hoping for something different. If they wanted to move towards a more modern sound they should have gotten the engineer from Incubus instead of Paul Northfield who engineered Marilyn Manson and Hole. Despite all that I'll probably get the CD and go to their concert.
Paul Northfield has a long history with Rush. I just took a quick look thru my Rush catalog and saw that he was an engineer on 'Grace Under Pressure' which came out in '84. I can't find my vinyl 'Moving Pictures' but think his relationship with the band goes back even further than that. I don't think Rush has ever worked with a producer who was dictatorial. Some bands need someone who can tell them exactly what to do. Some bands need someone who was an objective "extra ear". When has Rush ever worked with a really big name producer? I'd like to see Rush work with Terry Brown again. I'd like to see Yes work with Chris Kimsey (the producer for Fragile) again. I'd like to see... I'd like to see a lot of things which probably aren't going to happen. Funny thing is I'm not sure if I like the first single from Vapor Trails (One Little Victory) because to me it sounds too modern. Rush has been my favorite band for a long time but its been a long time since they've used good judgement for the first single for a new album. The vocals and much of the music for the new single sound very compressed with very little dynamic range to the instrumentation. Maybe its the low quality snippets I've downloaded from the internet that I've heard so far. I agree that until I have the new CD at home and listening to it thru my own system, that should reserve judgement. Considering the personal tradgedies of Neil Peart since the last album I'm just elated that there's going to be a new RUSH album.
