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Rush, at their peak in the 70s?
- Thread starter Bassdude15
- Start date
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Moving Pictures was either when they hit their creative peak - or jumped the shark, depending on your point of view. Certainly since then, they have not had the same popularity, and IMO, their work has declined. Playing talent was still there, songwriting not as much.
Rush and Fly by Night are my favorite albums. I also like Moving Pictures of course. I'm kind of a new Rush fan though.
One of the coolest things about Rush is how much they have evolved and tried different things; that means that many different people can have many different favorite Rush albums.
Most bands don't have the skill and artistry to be both that commanding and that diverse.
So even if we don't love all of their stuff equally, it's tough not to respect it.
Most bands don't have the skill and artistry to be both that commanding and that diverse.
So even if we don't love all of their stuff equally, it's tough not to respect it.
The first Rush album I got was All the Worlds a Stage and I got it in 1976, I saw them for the first time on the Hemispheres tour. I have always seen Rush as having two music tracts, song oriented and spacey oriented...both are completely awesome up until MP. After MP, there were some very good songs, but the spacey side really went away for me and I kind of lost interest after Power Windows. To me they peaked at Permanent Waves, the true greatness of that album comes from the less popular songs. Entre Nous, for me, epitomises Peart's lyrical genius. On the other hand you can't ignore the second side of Moving Pictures either. But regardless of what you believe to be their peak, how many other bands can play their music better live today than they could 40 years ago...other than Rash...
I agree except Moving Pictures and Signals should be added. I lost interest pretty much after that.
This whole thing made me think of how I would list my fav albums in order:
1. Caress Of Steel
2. Permanent Waves
3. Signals
4. Moving Pictures
5. Grace Under Pressure
6. Hemispheres
7. Vapor Trails
8. 2112
9. A Farewell to Kings
10. Power Windows
11. Fly By Night
12. Rush
13. Hold Your Fire
14. Presto
15. Test For Echo
16. Counterparts
17. Clockwork Angels
18. Roll The Bones
19. Snakes and Arrows
anyone else?
I don't count live albums or the Feedback albums obviously...
1. Caress Of Steel
2. Permanent Waves
3. Signals
4. Moving Pictures
5. Grace Under Pressure
6. Hemispheres
7. Vapor Trails
8. 2112
9. A Farewell to Kings
10. Power Windows
11. Fly By Night
12. Rush
13. Hold Your Fire
14. Presto
15. Test For Echo
16. Counterparts
17. Clockwork Angels
18. Roll The Bones
19. Snakes and Arrows
anyone else?
I don't count live albums or the Feedback albums obviously...
I'm probably out of the norm but I like all of the Rush albums. While I like some more than others I don't dislike any of them. Over that span of time music went thru many changes and I've caught myself listening to all kinds of music. For Rush I think the music changed as the decades went by and they tried to adapt. Whether you like the different sounds they put out or not there has to be something said for creativity. Imo musically these individuals are three of the finest musicians to ever play their instruments. If I had to rate them thus would be my order.
1. Moving Pictures
2. Grace Under Pressure
3. Signals
4. 2112
5. A Farewell to Kings
6. Permanent Waves
7. Hemispheres
8. Rush
9. Caress of Steel
10. Power Windows
11. Presto
12. Fly by Night
13. Clockwork Angels
14. Roll the Bones
15. Counterparts
16. Hold your Fire
17. Snakes and Arrows
18. Test for Echo
19. Vapor Trails
1. Moving Pictures
2. Grace Under Pressure
3. Signals
4. 2112
5. A Farewell to Kings
6. Permanent Waves
7. Hemispheres
8. Rush
9. Caress of Steel
10. Power Windows
11. Presto
12. Fly by Night
13. Clockwork Angels
14. Roll the Bones
15. Counterparts
16. Hold your Fire
17. Snakes and Arrows
18. Test for Echo
19. Vapor Trails
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My sentiments exactly. Unlike a lot of bands who had been around many years but went to "bandwagon jumping" like trying their hand at hip-hop or disco or new wave or just succumbing to the prevailing "sound" and production techniques of a certain period--enlisting session musicians, songwriting teams, etc. in order to "keep up with the kiddies" and try to sound cool, hip and "now" (usually with embarrassingly ghastly results), Rush has managed to evolve and stay somewhat relevant while (IMO) remaining "Rush" and true to themselves. They may embrace new tech or absorb influences of newer music, but they do absorb it and it is filtered through them as a band--a collective of musicians--so it is still identifiable as Rush rather than "Oh, now here's Rush doing their EDM track their manager and producers pushed them to do in an effort to get a hit single" or whatever.
I am a hard core Rush fan but I also am not drinking the Kool-Aid; they are still a formidable band, but their most creative years to me seem to be far in the rear-view mirror. For me, every album from the '70s was better and more inspired than the last. They soared ever higher from one release to the next with seemingly no end in sight. "Moving Pictures", which I purchased on release day back in 1981, was the pinnacle of their progression upward. I have liked all of their albums more less since (except for "Feedback" and "Snakes and Arrows" which are both on the whole unnecessary and ploddingly dull) but have no problem saying the band seemed to these ears to have been far more excited about moving forwards and upwards in the '70s.
Neil has said that "Moving Pictures" was the first "true" Rush album, the first one where they sounded like themselves. For me, it was their last truly towering album, the one where they finally proved their point with no question. Subsequent releases were impeccably performed and very interesting, but a new chapter had begun and I just didn't care for it as much as the previous one. They climbed to the top of the plateau and there was nowhere but sideways or down to go.
They are still my favorite band and I still get the albums and go to the tours and play my Geddy Lee Jazz Bass and take inspiration from them almost daily, but in my book, there's a magic on those first 8 studio albums that was burning brightly that has sputtered on everything after.
That said, I still count "Grace Under Pressure", "Presto" and "Counterparts" as key points in their discography.
They had me up to presto -- I liked presto, its hard to argue with 'show don't tell' or 'the pass.'
Clockwork angels is their best album since hold your fire. That was a looong time ago
Clockwork angels is their best album since hold your fire. That was a looong time ago
Yes, in a pop/rock band context, I have to agree. I'll never forget the time I saw them as Geddy was simultaneously singing, playing some phenomenal bass, playing bass pedals AND playing synth by sitting his butt on it!
But what makes me admire the band members so much is the way they use their talent. It's not just wankery.
I don't personally listen to music (aside from maybe some jazz and classical) in order to be blown away by amazing technical skill. Guitarists like Joe Satriani and Wangie Malmsteen could undoubtedly outplay me, skill-wise, by several orders of magnitude, even with 9 broken fingers, but the actual music they make is completely uninteresting to me. I couldn't possibly care less that someone can run through mixolydian scales upside down, backwards and forwards all day long at a million notes per second if, to me, there is no heart and soul there.
In fact, some of my favorite music was made by rank amateurs and is as raw, unpolished and loose as can be. IMO, technical skill, or a perfectly-executed solo, etc. never made a crap song any better.
I'm not saying every piece of music by Rush has the kind of heart and soul that moves me or resonates with me personally...as I said in my first post on the thread, I'm more of an admirer of Rush than I am a fan/avid listener of their music. But at least they use their incredible musical skills to craft songs...they utilize dynamics...they rock. It's not just an exhibition of their talent. And I think they have remained true to themselves over the years.
Not sure if I would consider it their "peak", but I honestly consider Counterparts Rush's best album.
For me, everything up to and including these were the "classic" Rush albums, kick-ass air-tight start to finish. The rest of the catalog is good, and I own them all, but the self-titled first release up to Hemispheres is the best of Rush for this old boy.
I enjoyed Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, but not as much.
I was a teenager living in Ohio when WMMS-FM in Cleveland started playing "Working Man," and I was hooked. From that point on, I saw every Rush show that came to town (and they often had to play two nights in my town). I met them at a Peaches record store in the late 70's and got a couple of vinyl LP jackets autographed, back when Neil still did meet-and-greets.
As they progressed and evolved, I became less enthusiastic. Not to pee on anyone's personal taste, that's just me, and maybe a lot of people in my demographic.
Been a fan since Permanent Waves (Spirit of Radio specifically) came out.
They're one of the reasons I play bass.
I kind of lost track of them after Presto due to having kids, working nights, general life stuff getting in the way of just being able to spend time enjoying listening to music.
I haven't really had time to just sit back with headphones on for hours in a long time.
Best period for me is from PW to Signals, when I was in my last years of high school and just discovering music other than Beatles and Beach Boys (parent's records).
Some of the newer stuff speaks to me, but not as much as earlier material, and often not even whole songs, just sections.
I would love to be able to buy a DVD of the early tours, especially Caress of Steel & 2112.
Those are the classic formative years when things were tentative regarding commercial success or failure.
They love to put out DVDs and we have all the newer stuff well documented, but the make or break era would be fascinating.
One of the best features of the band is how well they've persevered and stayed friends, and always uncompromisingly made the music that they want to without bowing to outside pressure.
Whether one likes their material or not, at least that should be taken as inspiration to be true to the art of music and not be afraid of taking chances.
They're one of the reasons I play bass.
I kind of lost track of them after Presto due to having kids, working nights, general life stuff getting in the way of just being able to spend time enjoying listening to music.
I haven't really had time to just sit back with headphones on for hours in a long time.
Best period for me is from PW to Signals, when I was in my last years of high school and just discovering music other than Beatles and Beach Boys (parent's records).
Some of the newer stuff speaks to me, but not as much as earlier material, and often not even whole songs, just sections.
I would love to be able to buy a DVD of the early tours, especially Caress of Steel & 2112.
Those are the classic formative years when things were tentative regarding commercial success or failure.
They love to put out DVDs and we have all the newer stuff well documented, but the make or break era would be fascinating.
One of the best features of the band is how well they've persevered and stayed friends, and always uncompromisingly made the music that they want to without bowing to outside pressure.
Whether one likes their material or not, at least that should be taken as inspiration to be true to the art of music and not be afraid of taking chances.
Tough call, but I'll give it a shot:
1. Moving Pictures
2. 2112
3. A Farewell to Kings
4. Permanent Waves
5. Hemispheres
. . .
6. Caress of Steel
7. Fly By Night
8. Signals
9. Rush
10. Grace Under Pressure
. . .
11. Power Windows
12. Presto
13. Hold Your Fire
14. Roll the Bones
There are fairly significant gaps between the three groupings. The last album I considered is Roll the Bones because I quit buying their albums after that. I realized that I was really wanting to like the stuff they were putting out, but I was only buying it based on what they once had been. They're still great musicians, but their music no longer connected with me.
Agreed, it was magic!
The live albums are real gems.
My favorite live moment is from All the world's a Stage: the quiet mid section of By Tor and the Snow Dog when Alex is using volume swells.
Also not a fan, I think the 80s were their peak. The 70s stuff was too much wanking and screechy vocals, anything up to the first live album (my college roomate had that one)...yuck.
My favorite song is New World Man, maybe because it's a ripoff of the Police
My favorite song is New World Man, maybe because it's a ripoff of the Police
Wow ... Caress of Steel the best, and Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures a disappointment? I know it's your opinion, but that's a first.
It was hard for me to actually do the list....I am one of those fans who can find something solid on every album, but I got to thinking about which ones were the most prevalent in my own influences, and which ones I think about less. Snakes and Arrows is the only album that I CAN NOT bring a song up in my mind in a moments notice. At one point in my life, I could play along to the bass and drum parts of every album up to Power Windows, so I feel like I "know" those albums the best, and that they were instrumental in my own development as a player.
From Hold Your Fire on, I focused less on being able to do this...mostly because I was in college and having to learn other things on the same instruments for my college ensembles, as well as non-music class stuff. I feel like HYF to CA I "know", but I have not "spent as much time with" if that makes any sense.
They are definitely the one group who I consider "infallible". They have influenced many aspects of my life...musical and non-musical. I consider Rush, Iron Maiden and Minor Threat to be my "god parents"...
