Rush vs. Rush

[fcleff]

I remember when Hold Your Fire came out in 1987. I bought it the day that it was released and really liked it (still do). A lot of my friends, however, said, "Man, I like the old Rush. Their new stuff just doesn't really do it for me." It seems like you hear that every time they release a new album.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have a deep respect for Rush. Not only is Geddy a huge influence on my playing but how they interact as a band is a big influence on me as well.

Counterparts was the last Rush album I purchased and I have since lost it in the schuffle of too many moves. What have they done since then and how do you feel about the "new" Rush and the "old" Rush? Has Rush pioneered any new territory of late? I remember reading about 'Vapor Trails' and how Alex Lifeson really poured some new blood into the band on that one. What are your thoughts on 'Rush Through the Ages"?

[HooBass]

Man, folks are going to vary widely on this. Here are my two cents.

If Rush puts out a Polka album I'm going to check it out. I'm really into their continuous reinvention every few years, and their seemingly fearlessness to try new things. The musicianship has always been there (sometimes very overtly, like they intend to drive a screw in your ear, and sometimes more subtly, which I've grown to like as I've grown older).

For me, the old Rush (defined as Farewell to Kings through Moving Pictures) is the bee’s knees. And especially Moving Pictures never fails to excite me as I listen to it, and now it's been twenty-six years. Lyrics, musical arrangement, musicianship, the emotion being imparted by the music; great stuff to me. I like some elements of everything they've done ever since, but they've never tapped my nervous system quite like that album.

And I 100% respect those who have had a different experience. Indeed I'm consistently amazed to find folks whose favorite Rush is my least, but it's all cool!

HooBass

[fcleff]

I kind of view the old Rush the way you do: Farewell to Kings - Moving Pictures. The funny thing is that Hold Your Fire is now 20 years old and I still hear people refer to it as 'new Rush'. I wonder why Signals seems to be the dividing line between old and new?

[Modulrob]

Uh oh, I'm gonna come off as old-skool here. I was 14 when I had 3rd row center seats for the Signals tour I didn't buy that album when it came out though, I already considered Moving Pictures "New Rush" (I did buy that one though, have always loved it). "Old Rush" to me is the first 3: Rush, Fly By Night, and Caress of Steel (well, add on 2112 for good measure ). I wore grooves into those albums back in the day...

[Baryonyx]

1986-1991 was the prime era imo.

Hold Your Fire is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard!

[Jkfielder]

Originally Posted by Modulrob

Uh oh, I'm gonna come off as old-skool here. I was 14 when I had 3rd row center seats for the Signals tour I didn't buy that album when it came out though, I already considered Moving Pictures "New Rush" (I did buy that one though, have always loved it). "Old Rush" to me is the first 3: Rush, Fly By Night, and Caress of Steel (well, add on 2112 for good measure ). I wore grooves into those albums back in the day...

yeah when i read old rush i automatically thought those ones and theres some classic stuff on there i really love the bassline for "bangkok express" especially during the solo :P

i always thought of new rush as roll the bones and every album that follows it some stand out tracks for me were "roll the bones" and "leave that thing alone" :P

so i dont know there some awesome new rush stuff and some awesome old stuff :P

[fcleff]

Yeah, I have to agree that 2112 is just classic. And then you have By-Tor and the Snow Dog which really opened the portal to the epic side of the band. I surely consider all of that old Rush.

What about the newer Rush? Like I said, Counterparts was the last album that I really listened to. What are the thoughts on everything after that?




Edit: By the way, Permanent Waves is one of my all-time favorites. You just can't beat 'Natural Science'.

[canadian bass]

Well I like all of Rush's music but I will say that Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold your Fire was the best years of Rush for me I know I am in the minority but thats what moved me the most. I did not really care for Presto that much I like 3 songs I really dislike the song Super Conductor. From Roll the Bones onward it has all been good and of the last 4 Studio Albums I would rate them as follows.
1. Counter Parts
2. Vapour Trails
3. Roll The Bones
4. Test For Echo

I have heard alot about poor mixing on Vapor Trails but that aside the songs IMO are really good Some of my Favorits off Vapor trails are Ghost Rider, Peaceable Kingdom, Earthshine and after reading Neils book Ghost Rider one gets the sense there was alot of a healing process put into this album and as result to me it seems like onw of the most personal albums Rush has every recorded which is great.

[Salicete]

Originally Posted by HooBass

Man, folks are going to vary widely on this. Here are my two cents.

If Rush puts out a Polka album I'm going to check it out.

And especially Moving Pictures never fails to excite me as I listen to it, and now it's been twenty-six years. Lyrics, musical arrangement, musicianship, the emotion being imparted by the music; great stuff to me. I like some elements of everything they've done ever since, but they've never tapped my nervous system quite like that album.

HooBass

I could not have said it any better, especially the part about the music exciting the listener. The Moving Pictures album really does impart a feeling of excitement in me, even after thousands of plays. Power Windows is about the same for me too.

Counterparts was ok, and though I did not dislike Vapor Trails it does not make me want to run over and turn up the stereo when its playing.

Over the years I have bought Rush LPs, Tapes, CDs and MP3s, over and over, and seen them live at least 12 times, and will likely continue to do so, but Moving Pictures is the one I play most often. I guess that means I like "Middle Rush" better than the old or new.

[Jkfielder]

Originally Posted by canadian bass

Well I like all of Rush's music but I will say that Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold your Fire was the best years of Rush for me I know I am in the minority but thats what moved me the most. I did not really care for Presto that much I like 3 songs I really dislike the song Super Conductor. From Roll the Bones onward it has all been good and of the last 4 Studio Albums I would rate them as follows.
1. Counter Parts
2. Vapour Trails
3. Roll The Bones
4. Test For Echo

I have heard alot about poor mixing on Vapor Trails but that aside the songs IMO are really good Some of my Favorits off Vapor trails are Ghost Rider, Peaceable Kingdom, Earthshine and after reading Neils book Ghost Rider one gets the sense there was alot of a healing process put into this album and as result to me it seems like onw of the most personal albums Rush has every recorded which is great.

my favourite riff off vapour trails is definently nocturne and kick ass lyrics to match

[fcleff]

It's funny to have this thread going because it reminds me of just how many albums they have produced. In today's day and age (and even yesterday's) they have a staying power that is just not met by many, if any, other bands.

I can find something good on any one of their albums. I had completely forgotten about Grace Under Pressure when I started this thread. Now I remember some of the songs on that record that were just really well composed.

[Baryonyx]

Well, I do think that their post 1991 output is great, not as great as 1986-1991, but it is certainly worth having. Test For Echo is great, perhaps an overlooked classic, you have to give it a little time to grow but when you crack it, it will open up with some brilliant songs.

Vapor Trails is one that got everyone talking. The band sound so energetic and play every song on that record like they know it could be their last. Things were marred by the compression issues but it cannot be denied that Rush have not sounded so cohesive and direct since Roll The Bones. It is an album where some tracks are better than others, though there are no "bad" tracks and the best songs stand as fine as anything Rush ever did.

"How it is" often hits me as one of the most stunning pieces of music I have ever heard, and the is worth the price of the album alone.

[Dave Siff]

The mid-80s/early 90s stuff, from "Power Windows" through "Roll The Bones", took me a while to warm up to. Obviously, the style was different, and I longed for the old "power trio" sound. I'm glad they've returned to that, but I've come to see the stuff in between for what it was: a highly creative band, evolving and taking chances. And certainly, there is some great material on those albums.
The coolest thing for me as a Rush fan has been that every time I see them live, they're better than the last time. As important as music.. and rock music, more specifically.. and the bass guitar, even more specifically.. are to me, I will always hold Rush in the highest esteem. They're a treasure and a living legend, and still around for us all to enjoy. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

[matrok]

I have a lot of respect for Rush, spent may hours in front of the turntable copping those early licks. But they lost me with Signals. I did like Distant Early Warning and Red Sector A, but nothing else really since then has moved me. Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres are the high points for me.

I saw them on the washer and dryer tour and was blown away which renewed my interest in digging back into their old stuff.

[Peter McFerrin]

I sold off all of my Rush albums except Chronicles years ago, so I probably shouldn't care about this thread, but I figured I'd chime in.

Anyhow, I believe that an "old Rush vs. new Rush" debate is pointless, because Rush is that most paradoxical of creatures: the prog-rock singles band. There isn't a single Rush album, even the much-beloved Moving Pictures, that is consistently great from stem to stern, but they hit on the occasional moment of absolute genius. With the exception (perhaps) of Presto, every one of their albums, from any era, has at least one "OH MY GOD THIS KICKS SO MUCH ASS" track, and occasionally as many as three. The rest of the tracks, however, range from merely passable to truly wretched, for a variety of reasons: unmemorable, hookless melodies; bland riffs; soul-searingly awful lyrics; or some combination thereof. (I except Presto from this rubric because it is truly awful from start to finish.)

Take Signals, one of the more divisive albums in the group's discography but probably my favorite when I was a big Rush fan. I haven't listened to that particular disc in years, but "The Analog Kid"--its snakes-and-ladders riff, anyway--will never leave my skull. (Too bad it's not on Chronicles.) I seem to recall "Digital Man" having a kickass guitar solo, but I might be wrong. "New World Man," which one hears occasionally on classic rock radio, is awful lyrically but has a really great verse melody. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is unmemorable; "Subdivisions" gets played into the ground on classic rock radio, but it has nothing resembling a hook or a riff--and don't get me started on those lyrics. I barely remember anything about the rest of the album.

I could run through the same routine for every Rush studio album except Vapor Trails, which came out after I lost interest in the group.

[Baryonyx]

Hmm, I think you're perhaps being a little harsh on Presto there. It had some bangers on it!

[Dave Siff]

Originally Posted by Peter McFerrin

Take Signals, one of the more divisive albums in the group's discography but probably my favorite when I was a big Rush fan. I haven't listened to that particular disc in years, but "The Analog Kid"--its snakes-and-ladders riff, anyway--will never leave my skull. (Too bad it's not on Chronicles.) I seem to recall "Digital Man" having a kickass guitar solo, but I might be wrong. "New World Man," which one hears occasionally on classic rock radio, is awful lyrically but has a really great verse melody. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is unmemorable; "Subdivisions" gets played into the ground on classic rock radio, but it has nothing resembling a hook or a riff--and don't get me started on those lyrics. I barely remember anything about the rest of the album.

"Digital Man" has some of my favorite Geddy Lee playing ever. Go back and listen to "Countdown". Geddy's grinding tone in the instrumental parts between the verses and chrouses is it.

[Matt Till]

I made the official "80s Rush sucks" thread a while back. I was nearly lynched.

[keb]

I love all Rush.

All their periods have their pluses and minuses.

I love the instrumentation of the '70s (all that classic gear!), but the Randroid and sci-fi lyrics don't do much for me these days. (And Neil Peart will essentially agree with that point! Hey, it was the '70s... Peart was quite young and impressionable then. )

Early '80s, fantastic. Not much wrong there except for poor Alex being buried on the Signals album.

Mid-'80s, excellent songwriting and playing, but it sounds a little dated to me with the slick production and all those piles of samplers flying around.

1989's Presto and 1991's Roll The Bones. I've always thought of those two albums like a transitional mini-era. Getting more guitar back into the mix, but there's still a bit of '80s sheen leftover. I love Presto. One of my favorite albums. Roll The Bones, I don't like as much. The "rap" section in the title track has aged badly.

'93 and onwards: Love it. Counterparts, Test For Echo, Vapor Trails, Feedback. Rawer, more aggressive. This period ties with the early-'80s period as my favorite.

I have to add in that I think Vapor Trails is possibly one of the best things they've ever done. That album hits you like a sledgehammer on many levels. It's a shame about the mixing/mastering (still waiting on that remaster!), but the songs on there are among the best Rush has ever written, IMO. "Earthshine" is a classic; that one gives me goosebumps and I gotta crank that one up every time I hear it.

[pdusen]

I find something to like in every Rush album I hear. My favorites are somewhat more varied, but I absolutely loved Vapor Trails. I'm eagerly awaiting their next album.