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Rush, at their peak in the 70s?

#23
Not the world's biggest fan of a lot of their actual music, though there are tracks here and there throughout their career I dig.

I AM what you'd call a huge admirer of them. Their musicianship, the length they go for their fans...

Saw them on the Power Windows tour. I was into punk at the time for the most part but got free tix. They put on a phenomenal show, had a sense of humor about themselves I was not expecting, and the opening act (Gary Moore maybe?) cancelled, so they played an extra hour to make up for it. They didn't have to do that, and I thought it showed pure class and devotion to their audience.

My all-time fave Rush track is "Vital Signs" and I run counter to most die-hard fans in that I enjoy a good deal of their synth-heavy 80s output, like the Signals album.

A lot of their earlier, proggier, epic-er work I feel could get pretentious to the point of silliness (lyrically, at least) and that that sort of thing was done better by some other bands.

Still, a stellar creative arc overall, great staying power, again--astonishing musicianship and they seem like a nice bunch of dudes.

I recommend Peart's road diary book from 12-15 years back. It's heartbreaking and exciting all at once.
 
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#28
I'm a sucker for the 80s stuff. So to me the high point for them was Power Windows. After that they kind of lost me. Almost every single track is golden. Sure, over produced and very polished but I love it.

I think Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows are my two favorite albums.

I love the 70s stuff as well but I always go back to 80s stuff first if I'm listening casually.
 
#29
Bassdude15 said:
Now dont get me wrong, I absolutely think they still are an incredible band (despite not being able o find tickets any of the 3 times they came to town); nor do I confess to be one of those 'hard-core' Rush fan who owns all their records and knows each one inside and out. But is it just me, or do A Farewell to Kings and Hemisphere''s have a certain extra "wow"-factor that many of their later and more famous albums are missing?
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I sort of agree. Those a probably their best albums. Problem with Rush is that their 80's stuff was pretty bad IMO and other Rush fans tend to agree.
Come to think of it most 70's bands kinda sucked in the 80's. Rush, Queen, Rainbow, Sabbath (cept the Dio stuff), Yes (although I love Drama), and even The Who couldn't quite fit in with the 80's sound.
 
#30
Wow. How do you break down a 40+ year career in a paragraph or three? You can't. But we can pay homage to our inadequately honoured idols from the north. Have I payed enough attention to them over the years? No, absolutely not. My musical tastes and Rush parted ways somewhere in the mid '80's. And this is from someone who wore out the 2112 album and saw them a half dozen times in their so-called halcyon peak. I still question if I outgrew them or vice-versa. In either case, we sought divergent musical paths. My admiration for them came from afar. My love for the band was only recently rekindled upon viewing their documentary, "Beyond the Lighted Stage". It was like catching up with a long lost friend (I'm sure Mr. Peart wouldn't mind/ care, sorry Neil). I was amazed, but not surprised by their diverse catalog of tunes over the ensuing years. I was incredibly proud of what they'd accomplished and overcome. I felt more than a tinge of guilt for not being able to hang in. C'est la vie.

Did Rush peak in the '70's? No. We just grew apart like high school friends. Unlike many of their contemporaries, fortunately, Rush has survived intact. Thank the musical gods for that.
 
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#31
I spent a few minutes here..........Jeez, I saw them a bunch of times - I was quite the fanboy at the time, my main bass was a Black '73 4001.

Rush Concert Tour Dates - courtesy of Cygnus-X1.Net: A Tribute to Rush

I saw them....

5/25/75 they opened for KISS Caress of Steel
10/28/76 w/Tommy Bolin 2112
9/17/77 w/UFO/Max Webster Farewell to Kings
11/7/78 w/Pat Travers Hemispheres
8/18/80 Permanent Waves
6/18/81 Moving Pictures
 
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#33
Odinbass said:
If you're in the mood for synth heavy material you can go as far as Hold Your Fire. The songs aren't bad, just very '80s'
The 90s were kind of poopy, Test For Echo is my least favorite album.
Post 2000, I really like Vapor Trails. Snakes and Arrows sucked. The covers album was cool and Clockwork was okay.
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I've never even heard of these albums. Like I said in a previous thread, saw them live 16 times, bought all their records, but was done after Signals. Magic gone, moved on.
 
#35
jjmuckluckjr said:
Wow. How do you break down a 40+ year career in a paragraph or three? You can't. But we can pay homage to our inadequately honoured idols from the north. Have I payed enough attention to them over the years? No, absolutely not. My musical tastes and Rush parted ways somewhere in the mid '80's. And this is from someone who wore out the 2112 album and saw them a half dozen times in their so-called halcyon peak. I still question if I outgrew them or vice-versa. In either case, we sought divergent musical paths. My admiration for them came from afar. My love for the band was only recently rekindled upon viewing their documentary, "Beyond the Lighted Stage". It was like catching up with a long lost friend (I'm sure Mr. Peart wouldn't mind/ care, sorry Neil). I was amazed, but not surprised by their diverse catalog of tunes over the ensuing years. I was incredibly proud of what they'd accomplished and overcome. I felt more than a tinge of guilt for not being able to hang in. C'est la vie.

Did Rush peak in the '70's? No. We just grew apart like high school friends. Unlike many of their contemporaries, fortunately, Rush has survived intact. Thank the musical gods for that.
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This is so true. I have a period where they are just amazing, but I also appreciate how they experiment, shift, redefine, and take chances. Think about how hard it is to go from broke with a crappy van to filling stadiums and still willing to change possibly hurting the money flow. Came into the fold with Hemispheres and loved Working Man without a flinch. Would WM ever happened if Peart was in the band from the beginning? When you establish the starting point with any band everything afterwards is scrutinized and the past is always accepted. Bowie did the same thing and that's cool. The balance between what the fan wants and keeping it different is an impossible task but would you really want By-Tor and the Snowdog part XXIV?
 
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#36
Spirit of Ox said:
Come to think of it most 70's bands kinda sucked in the 80's. Rush, Queen, Rainbow, Sabbath (cept the Dio stuff), Yes (although I love Drama), and even The Who couldn't quite fit in with the 80's sound.
Click to expand...

I sorta think Rush, as a band who'd been around a good while, navigated the 80s better than a lot of The Old Guard, but I agree with what you say here for the most part and have often said the same.

Especially bands that had been around since the 60s...seems like many lost their way somewhat in the 80s...the MTV age. All that uber-produced studio stuff...Fairlights, MIDI everything, gated drums...

I think a lot of cool, inventive bands and music came along in the 80s (along with a lot of pablum and dross, just as in every decade) but the "sound of the 80s" was kind of hard on many older bands and artists, IMO.
 
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#39
I've been listening to Rush since 2112. I've seen them on every tour from Moving Pictures to Vapor Trails. I was at the famous FL concert in 1981 when Peart was late for the show, so the crowd rushed the gate and got tear gassed. Peart even mentions it in his book. Dozens were injured and arrested, yet it is still considered one of the greatest Rush shows in FL. I think they lost something after Counterparts. Definitely peaked with Moving Pictures.
 

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