Farewell To Kings through Moving Pictures are definitely their peak, IMO. Of the 70's albums, 2112 and Fly By Night are really good. Post-Moving Pictures, Signals (particularly "Subdivisions", "New World Man", and "Losing It"), Grace Under Pressure (which honestly I didn't like when it first came out), Power Windows and Counterparts stand out to me. I like Test For Echo a lot, too, but they lost me after that. Mainly because for the most part, the hooks became non-existent, both musically and melodically in the vocals. As others have said, all of their albums are good in their own way, but may not appeal to all Rush fans.
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Rush, at their peak in the 70s?
- Thread starter Bassdude15
- Start date
IMO the decline began around Roll the Bones. Counterparts was OK, Test for Echo... not so much.
Counterparts popped up on random play a couple of days ago, and I couldn't believe how fresh it sounded. Such punchy, organic production.
Recent productions have been dreadful - all those layers kill it. There's no life in it.
Counterparts popped up on random play a couple of days ago, and I couldn't believe how fresh it sounded. Such punchy, organic production.
Recent productions have been dreadful - all those layers kill it. There's no life in it.
Here's my order at the moment:
Moving Pictures
2112
Permanent Waves
Hemispheres
A Farewell to Kings
Caress of Steel
Fly By Night
Signals
Clockwork Angels
Counterparts
Test for Echo
Power Windows
Snakes & Arrows
Rush
Roll the Bones
Vapor Trails
Grace Under Pressure
Presto
Hold Your Fire
This is based on how much of the album I like, and my preference on the overall production of the album. In the end, it really depends on what I'm grooving on right now. I can say that the first three on this list will most likely never change. If I had been asked to make this list a month ago, Test for Echo might have been higher on the list.
Moving Pictures
2112
Permanent Waves
Hemispheres
A Farewell to Kings
Caress of Steel
Fly By Night
Signals
Clockwork Angels
Counterparts
Test for Echo
Power Windows
Snakes & Arrows
Rush
Roll the Bones
Vapor Trails
Grace Under Pressure
Presto
Hold Your Fire
This is based on how much of the album I like, and my preference on the overall production of the album. In the end, it really depends on what I'm grooving on right now. I can say that the first three on this list will most likely never change. If I had been asked to make this list a month ago, Test for Echo might have been higher on the list.
View attachment 733624 All I know for sure is my sweet Rush t-shirt came in the mail today
Wow, you've come a long way in a short time. Are you only going to wear that shirt on TB?
Hahaha nope! Going to band practice!Wow, you've come a long way in a short time. Are you only going to wear that shirt on TB?
Whoa, cant believe I forgot moving pictures
. Still what I seem to be sensing is sometime in the mid 80s they dropped off and thats what I was really trying to get at
. Still what I seem to be sensing is sometime in the mid 80s they dropped off and thats what I was really trying to get at
To my ears, the writing continued to improve and I appreciate all of the reinventions.
They're like any other band - they spent their early years in each other's company constantly, writing on the tour bus, jamming at soundcheck, and showing the kind of total musical solidarity that comes with all that.
As time went by they got older, busier with life, and more financially capable. They started to fly in for gigs, hit the door ten minutes after the lights went back up (in Neil's case), and spend time with their families.
I'm an enormous fan and have been for 30 years. But I agree, they were tighter right around Exit Stage Left than they ever were before or since.
They're like any other band - they spent their early years in each other's company constantly, writing on the tour bus, jamming at soundcheck, and showing the kind of total musical solidarity that comes with all that.
As time went by they got older, busier with life, and more financially capable. They started to fly in for gigs, hit the door ten minutes after the lights went back up (in Neil's case), and spend time with their families.
I'm an enormous fan and have been for 30 years. But I agree, they were tighter right around Exit Stage Left than they ever were before or since.
I, actually will disagree. However, being a 1986 model, I wasn't around to see them in the 1970s. However, I think that Rush is at their best when they're not writing sci-fi fantasy epics. They just get very "70s"- too thick sounding, trying to emulate Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin too much while going on long, music tirades. 2112 is probably my least favorite Rush song. I think they continued to grow and evolve, and I probably am a fan of Permanent Waves forward much more than their 1970s material. I think Permanent waves was definitely their turning point as a band. Counterparts is still a very special record, and Red Barchetta was the very last song I played with my dad before tendinitis got him and made him put the sticks down... Much the same way it's getting Neil Peart now. To each his own, I guess.
I feel that they hit a creative peak between 2112 and Grace Under Pressure. Everything since then has been relatively disappointing to me, though I still like a couple of tracks on every album. My favourite since the mid-80s was either Hold Your Fire or Vapor Trails as there was some real emotion in the lyrics, not the didactic stuff that Neil started to write. Not a fan of the two Nick R albums at all.
The yardsticks I go by as to which albums and era I like are several: I've played most of their songs (on bass/keys) from their first album up to Signals. I just couldn't get interested in the material after that. I tried re-listening to each of their albums up to Clockwork Angels to see if I missed anything, and as usual I prefer to listen to everything up to Signals, while there are some select songs here and there after that.
I like Fly By Night, 2112, etc. but my favourite of their early stuff is A Farewell To Kings. To me, front to back, that album is a masterpiece. Hemispheres didn't kick me like I expected it to (although I love side two). Permanent waves is another killer album, side one they were on fire, including Natural Science to end that disc. And Moving Pictures still sounds as thick sonically today as it did the day I bought the album at the mall right after it came out.
I met Terry Brown just before Clockwork came out, and told him his era was the best...and he laughed!
I was listening to Watchtower's first album Energetic Disassembly recently, and wondered if Rush could have gone down that route: still Prog but more metal, instead of the more poppy stuff they built in the 80's.
I like Fly By Night, 2112, etc. but my favourite of their early stuff is A Farewell To Kings. To me, front to back, that album is a masterpiece. Hemispheres didn't kick me like I expected it to (although I love side two). Permanent waves is another killer album, side one they were on fire, including Natural Science to end that disc. And Moving Pictures still sounds as thick sonically today as it did the day I bought the album at the mall right after it came out.
I met Terry Brown just before Clockwork came out, and told him his era was the best...and he laughed!
I was listening to Watchtower's first album Energetic Disassembly recently, and wondered if Rush could have gone down that route: still Prog but more metal, instead of the more poppy stuff they built in the 80's.
