Best Rush album for someone getting in to them

cheesemonkey · #1 07-09-2008, 12:20 AM

Well I've always known geddy lee as a great bass player just through hearing of him. Though i only really knew the songs Tom Sawyer and YYZ by rush. Anyway two days ago i bought the Snakes and Arrows album on iTunes and have been listening to it non-stop. I am loving rush and they may soon be taking there place as my favorite band and i'm listening to a lot of their music on youtube. Of course i would like to buy more of there albums but don't have really enough money to buy a lot of them... so i was wondering if any rush fans could tell me what they think the best rush album is that i should buy? or the best one for someone getting into rush?

pedalguy1 · #2 07-09-2008, 12:37 AM

I have their spirit of radio album, its a greatest hits compilation and it really covers a lot of thier career. Every song is great.

Waspinators · #3 07-09-2008, 12:38 AM

At the risk of sounding like a Rush noob, your best bet is Moving Pictures. Not a bad song on that album.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #4 07-09-2008, 12:52 AM

To me, "Moving Pictures" is Rush's Magnum Opus and "La Villa Strangiato" (From "Hemispheres") is the best rock instrumental ever. If you want to have a taste of every stage in Rush's career up to "Roll The Bones" (1991), the 2-CD compilation "Chronicles" is the best starting point IMO.

**bassybill** · #5 07-09-2008, 12:58 AM

I would also say Chronicles if you want a compilation, or Moving Pictures if you want to start off with one of the original album releases.

Dave Muscato · #6 07-09-2008, 01:05 AM

Moving Pictures is the one that got me into Rush. It's still one of my favorite albums.

Lon86 · #7 07-09-2008, 01:27 AM

Caress of Steel...

Bob the bassist · #8 07-09-2008, 01:30 AM

Exit, Stage Left. Definitely. Definitely.

Winterpegbass · #9 07-09-2008, 09:28 AM

Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures are "must haves".

bigou · #10 07-09-2008, 09:42 AM

I probably gonna be beat to say that but Grace under pressure is my favorite.

You cannot go wrong with Moving Pictures to.

jomahu · #11 07-09-2008, 09:48 AM

i got into them through "chronicles."
this is also cool: http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Rush/dp/B...618349&sr=1-30

as far as individual albums - depends on what you like. IMO, "moving pictures" is a good start.

WJGreer · #12 07-09-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

To me, "Moving Pictures" is Rush's Magnum Opus...If you want to have a taste of every stage in Rush's career up to "Roll The Bones" (1991), the 2-CD compilation "Chronicles" is the best starting point IMO.

+1. These would be my two recommendations as well.

Don't overlook side 2 of "Moving Pictures" (which I suppose I should say begins with "The Camera Eye" since we don't have sides anymore). It is quite different from side 1, which has some of the eponymous Rush anthems like Tom Sawyer and Limelight, a little experimental, and an interesting clue as to the direction they were about to take for the next ten years, IMO.

jgroh · #13 07-09-2008, 09:57 AM

Rush is by far my favorite band but this question is a little tricky because if you were going to try and convert someone into a Rush fan, their music is pretty progressive and been that way for 30 years. So Moving Pictures is to me their ultimate album, but Power Windows is very good as well, but way different in tone. Same with Hold Your Fire.

Snakes and Arrows is a great album and their last several have been more back to the basics, so if you listened to Fly by Night and then S&A, you could see its the same band. But dont jump from Caress of Steel or Hemispheres to Hold Your Fire without a seat belt.

onlyclave · #14 07-09-2008, 10:04 AM

To me Rush has divided their music up into "stages" and have punctuated each of those periods with a live album.

Rush, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel and 2112 are part of their blues rock/Led Zepplin clone period.

Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures are what I consider the Golden Age of Rush where they were the most prog rock. This is what I usually recommend to people who want to get into them

Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire are the synthesizer driven/less guitar/more pop friendly period. Each record becomes more forgettable.

Presto, Roll the Bones, Counterparts, Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, Snakes and Arrows would be the Renaissance Period. I think at this point in their career they were more interested in making records for fans and touring with 30 years of back catalog to pull material from. Notice that more than half of the songs on these records have never been played live.

If I was going to tell someone 4 Rush records to buy for their collection, I'd go with Fly By Night, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Snakes and Arrows, not necessarily because I think SaA is a good record, simply because it is the most recent one. Counterparts is their best record since Moving Pictures IMO.

jgroh · #15 07-09-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onlyclave

To me Rush has divided their music up into "stages" and have punctuated each of those periods with a live album.

Rush, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel and 2112 are part of their blues rock/Led Zepplin clone period.

Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures are what I consider the Golden Age of Rush where they were the most prog rock. This is what I usually recommend to people who want to get into them

Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire are the synthesizer driven/less guitar/more pop friendly period. Each record becomes more forgettable.

Presto, Roll the Bones, Counterparts, Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, Snakes and Arrows would be the Renaissance Period. I think at this point in their career they were more interested in making records for fans and touring with 30 years of back catalog to pull material from. Notice that more than half of the songs on these records have never been played live.

If I was going to tell someone 4 Rush records to buy for their collection, I'd go with Fly By Night, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Snakes and Arrows, not necessarily because I think SaA is a good record, simply because it is the most recent one. Counterparts is their best record since Moving Pictures IMO.

I agree with most of what you say here. They really have divided it up like you say, but I would say everything up to Presto was pretty damn strong, even HYF, PW or Grace Under Pressure. For me, beginning with Presto, is where things start getting a little forgettable. Sure I like most of the music on their CDs since then but Presto seems to be where "filler material" starts to come into play. There are some great songs on each album, but alot of filler too.

Snakes and Arrows, IMO, has the least filler in the last 10-15 years. Again, IMO.

WJGreer · #16 07-09-2008, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgroh

...dont jump from Caress of Steel or Hemispheres to Hold Your Fire without a seat belt.

LOL. +1.

Although, to your subsequent point, I thought the songwriting on Presto and Counterparts was very good, but the lyrics became really message-y and a bit cheesy after that, and including Roll The Bones (which I think came before Counterparts).

For instance I was always unable to get through "Viruality" on "Test For Echo" - that's the one with "Net boy, net girl, put your message in a modem...". Ick.

I think that musically, Rush is doing stuff right now that is as cool as they have ever done. Lyrically, I'm not liking most of it at all. Sorry Neil.

flipper_gv · #17 07-09-2008, 10:19 AM

2112

/thread

WJGreer · #18 07-09-2008, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipper_gv

2112

/thread

IMO, 2112 is the seminal progressive rock concept album of the '70s. But, primarily because of what they did on Moving Pictures, it is not the seminal Rush album. Again, IMO.

jgroh · #19 07-09-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WJGreer

LOL. +1.

Although, to your subsequent point, I thought the songwriting on "Presto" and "Counterparts" was very good, but the lyrics became really message-y and a bit cheesy after that, and including Roll The Bones.

For instance I was always unable to get through "Viruality" on "Test For Echo" - that's the one with "Net boy, net girl, put your message in a modem...". Ick.

I think that musically, Rush is doing stuff right now that is as cool as they have ever done. Lyrically, I'm not liking most of it at all. Sorry Neil.

Yeah I agree with the "trying to cram words that probably shouldnt be sung" into their songs beginning on TFE (IMO). Then again, we havent tried to write 150 or so songs over 30 years so I guess its probably not easy to do new things. And, I dont like Virtuality either, Test for echo I liked actually as well as the much maligned Dog Years (just not the chorus melody).

All in all, cant go wrong with most of their albums as YMMV.

Bassenstien · #20 07-09-2008, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipper_gv

2112

/thread

+1 IMO