For REAL Rush fans only please

[Deano]

Rush - Working Man
Fly By Night - By-Tor and the Snow Dog
Caress of Steel - The Necromancer
2112 - 2112
A Farewell To Kings - Cygnus X-1
Hemispheres - La Villa Strangiato
Permanent Waves - Natural Science
Moving Pictures - Witch Hunt
Signals - The Analog Kid
Grace Under Pressure - Red Sector A
Power Windows - Middletown Dreams
Hold Your Fire - Mission
Presto - The Pass
Roll The Bones - Ghost of a Chance
Counterparts - Animate
Test For Echo - Resist
Vapor Trails - Secret Touch
Feedback - Crossroads
Snakes and Arrows - Far Cry
Clockwork Angels - The Wreckers

[gearHed289]

I got into Rush right as Hemispheres was about to be released. I like everything 70s and 80s, but my favorite era is COS through MP. I did not buy any of their 90s stuff, except for Different Stages, and that was mostly for the live 77 bonus disc. This is going to be hard, but I'll try!

Rush - What You're Doing
FBN - By Tor and the Snow Dog
COS - The Fountain of Lamneth
2112 - tough one - title track or Something For Nothing
FTK - Cygnus X-1
Hemispheres - title track
PeW - Natural Science
MP - the Camera Eye
Signals - Losing It
GUP - The Enemy Within
PoW - Middletown Dreams
HYF - Turn the Page
Presto - Chain Lightning

Again, I skipped the 90s, but came back for Vapor Trails. I don't really listen to that or SaA at all, but do really like CA.

[JKL2000]

I've never heard anything but their first album. I love it!

[Garden Dreamer]

There are more categories of Rush than just hard rock vs. prog rock. How would you classify Presto and Roll the Bones? They are neither. A co-worker took his wife to a Rush concert because she likes the song Roll the Bones. She's pretty much unaware of the rest of their catalog and I don't think she could conceive that the same band did something like Bytor and the Snow Dog.

As huge a Rush fan as I am, going back to the early days, there are four albums of theirs that I can't stand - the two mentioned above along with Counterparts and Snakes & Arrows. The number of songs I like on each of these albums is far outnumbered by the number of songs I don't like. The rest of their catalog is all good, in varying degrees...


Rush - "Working Man"
Fly By Night - "Bytor and the Snow Dog"
Caress Of Steel - "Bastille Day"
2112 - "2112"
A Farewell To Kings - title track
Hemispheres - title track
Permanent Waves - "Natural Science"
Moving Pictures - "Red Barchetta"
Signals - "The Weapon"
Grace Under Pressure - "Distant Early Warning"
Power Windows - "The Big Money"
Hold Your Fire - "Mission"
Presto - "Show Don't Tell"
Roll The Bones - "Where's My Thing?"
Counterparts - "Double Agent"
Test For Echo - "Driven"
Vapor Trails - "Ceiling Unlimited"
Snakes And Arrows - "Far Cry"
Clockwork Angels - "Headlong Flight"

[PeterG]

I'm very much in the Rush hard rock camp, I much prefer the earlier albums up to and including Hemispheres, and on all their albums I always prefer the heavier and faster stuff.

[Jerjo]

If you're a real Rush fan, you own a kimono.

[trurl]

Actually I change my vote on COS to Necromancer!!

[Phlakaton]

Actually I change my vote on COS to Necromancer!!

[frippster]

Favorite band of all-time, bar none. All eras, no apologies, etc. This is a fun topic so I've got to play.

Rush-What You're Doing
FBN - By Tor
CoS - Bastille Day
2112 - 2112
AFtK - Xanadu
Hemispheres - Hemispheres
PeW - Natural Science
MP - Red Barchetta
Signals - Analog Kid
GUP - Between The Wheels
PW - Emotion Detector
HYF - Lock & Key
Presto - Available Light
RtB - Bravado
CP - Double Agent
T4E - T4E
VT - Secret Touch
S&A - Far Cry
CA - Headlong Flight

[Digital_Man]

Why can't you just be a Rush fan without all the labels?(ie hard rock period vs the prog pop, synth period or whatever). The hard rock period was actually tied in with the prog period which is why they are often considered progenitors of the prog metal genre. Sure there are some heavy metal fans who like Rush just like there are prog rock fans who like Rush.

Anyway, here's my list:

Rush- Before and After
Fly by night- In the End
Caress of Steel- The Necromancer
2112- the title suite (of course )
A Farewell to Kings- Xanadu
Hemispheres- title track (although La Villa is right behind it)
Permanent Waves- Natural Science
Moving Pictures- Camera Eye (maybe in part because most everything else is so over played)
Signals- Subdivisions (I don't usually pick the obvious ones but I'll make an exception here)
Grace Under Pressure- Distant Early Warning (ditto as above although Kid Gloves isn't too shabby either)
Power Windows- Marathon
Hold Your Fire- Turn the page
Presto- Warpaint
Roll the Bones- title track
Counterparts up through Vapor Trails- Not really familiar enough with these albums to comment. Counterparts I probably know the best but even here I don't really remember it well enough to comment. I think I liked Alien Shore a lot though).
Snakes and Arrows- The main monkey business
Clockwork Angels- Wish them well

[GuitarGeek]

First album: the one where Alex played an electric 12 string (it's been so long since I've listened, I dont' even remember the title)
Fly By Night: By-Tor
Caress Of Steel: the first section of The Fountain Of Lamneth, where it's just acoustic 12 string and Geddy's voice, before the electric guitars come in.
2112: Tears
A Farewell To Kings: Xanadu
Hemispheres: La Villa Strangiato (or maybe The Trees)
Permanent Waves: tie: Jacob's Ladder/Different Strings
Moving Pictures: the first section of The Camera Eye
Signals: Subdivisions (probably Neil's best lyrics ever)
Grace Under Pressure: I dunno maybe Red Sector A (Neil's other best set of lyrics)
Power Windows: Marathon
Hold Your Fire: don't remember much off this album other than the first song (I think it's the first song that has that really cool bass line)
Presto: The Pass (Neil's other other best set of lyrics)

And I only have one album after that, Vapor Trails, and I dont' remember enough about it to pick a song.

[Yaman Aksu]

Half their albums I don't know well enough to choose a favorite song from, but I've heard almost all. The other half is:
2112 - 2112
Moving Pictures - Tom Sawyer
Signals - subdivisions
Grace Under Pressure - Red Sector A
Power Windows - Mystic Rhythms
Hold Your Fire - mission
Presto - The Pass
Roll The Bones - bravado
Counterparts - Animate

[Birdy]

Rush--Here Again
Fly By Night--By-Tor
Caress..-Fountain Of Lamneth
2112--Overture
Farewell To Kings--Xanadu
Hemispheres--LaVilla...
Permanent Waves--Jacob's Ladder
Moving Pictures---YYZ
Signals---Analog Kid

[Garden Dreamer]

If you're a real Rush fan, you own a kimono.

Oh, I do! Several in fact...

[yamishogun]

This is impossible. However:

Rush- Working Man
Fly by night- Anthem
Caress of Steel- The Necromancer
2112- 2112
A Farewell to Kings- Xanadu
Hemispheres- La Villa Strangiato
Permanent Waves- Natural Science
Moving Pictures- Camera Eye / Red Bachetta
Signals- Subdivisions
Grace Under Pressure- Between The Wheels
Power Windows- Middletown Dreams / the rest of the album
Hold Your Fire- Time Stand Still
Presto- Available light / Presto
Roll the Bones- Where's My Thing
Counterparts- Cold Fire (vote change!)
Test For Echo - Dog Years (the bridge)
Vapor trails - Secret Touch
Snakes and Arrows- The Main Monkey Business
Clockwork Angels- Clockwork Angels

Vapor Trails, the misunderstood monster album -- don't get the remix!

[JKL2000]

Actually I change my vote on COS to Necromancer!!

This changes everything...

IMO, both Presto and RTB are prog.
But then, everything's prog...

[TheLoony]

This is impossible. However:

Vapor Trails, the misunderstood monster album -- don't get the remix!

Why? It's not as if they made it sound worse. It may not be better, maybe weirder, but not worse. I doubt anyone could make it sound better, at least from what I supposedly know.

[UnderAGlassMoon]

This is pretty impossible as I like almost every song they have written. They too are my favorite band. Funny that this thread stems from the thread about the first song on an album being the best, because when Rush started to get regular radio airplay it seems they have always put that first single as the opening track. Up until Counterparts, where "Stick it Out" was the "single"

So that said (with many matching selections):

Rush-Before and After
Fly By Night-In The End
Caress Of Steel- The Necromancer
2112-2112
Farewell to Kings-Xanadu
Hemispheres-Cyngus X-1 part II
Permanent Waves-Natural Science
Moving Pictures-The Camera Eye
Signals-The Analog Kid
Grace Under Pressure-The Body Electric
Power Windows-Marathon
Hold Your Fire-Mission
Presto-Available Light
Roll the Bones-Dreamline
Counterparts-Double Agent
Test For Echo-Time and Motion
Vapor Trails-One Little Victory
Snakes and Arrows-We Hold On
Clockwork Angels-The Anarchist

[yamishogun]

Why? It's not as if they made it sound worse. It may not be better, maybe weirder, but not worse. I doubt anyone could make it sound better, at least from what I supposedly know.

The negative reviews at Amazon explain it well. In one comment section: "The balls have been cut off of a very strong album." The climatic guitar in "Ceiling Unlimited" was erased... The remixed "Secret Touch" ruined one of their best songs in a decade. Definitely worse.

[MJBrady]

fbn- By-Tor And The Snow Dog
cos- The Fountain Of Lamneth
2112-2112
aftk-Cygnus X-1 (Book One - The Voyage)
Hemispheres-La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise In Self-Indulgence)
pw-Natural Science
mp-YYZ

[Garden Dreamer]

The negative reviews at Amazon explain it well. In one comment section: "The balls have been cut off of a very strong album." The climatic guitar in "Ceiling Unlimited" was erased... The remixed "Secret Touch" ruined one of their best songs in a decade. Definitely worse.

The original version of Vapor Trails gave me ear fatigue. I could not listen to the whole thing in one sitting. I much prefer the remix. There was only one song that I liked better on the original, might have been Secret Touch but can't remember now.

[yamishogun]

The original version of Vapor Trails gave me ear fatigue. I could not listen to the whole thing in one sitting. I much prefer the remix. There was only one song that I liked better on the original, might have been Secret Touch but can't remember now.

I've read this complaint and maybe this is because most Rush fans are used to production like PW or CP. (I think Presto is too thin and TFE ....just not good)
VT was always meant to be a powerful rock album, not a stripped down, Prestoesque album, which is what the remix is.

Not that there aren't problems with the original but VT isn't supposed to be Roll the Bones II.

[FKYES]

I will give it a shot:

Rush - Working Man
Fly By Night - Anthem
Caress of Steel - The Necromancer
2112 - 2112
A Farewell To Kings - Cygnus X-1
Hemispheres - Hemispheres
Permanent Waves - Natural Science
Moving Pictures - Camera Eye
Signals - Subdivisions
Grace Under Pressure - Red Sector A
Power Windows - Big Money
Hold Your Fire - Force Ten
Presto - The Pass
Roll The Bones - Where's My Thing?
Counterparts - Animate
Test For Echo - Driven
Vapor Trails - Secret Touch
Feedback - The Seeker
Snakes and Arrows - Armor and Sword
Clockwork Angels - Headlong Flight

[Facelift]

Rush: Working Man
Fly By Night: Beneath, Between, Behind
Caress of Steel: Bastille Day
2112: Temples of Syrinx (it's not one song)
Farewell to Kings: Xanadu
Hemispheres: La Villa Strangiato
Permanent Waves: Natural Science
Moving Pictures: Red Barchetta
Signals: Analog Kid
Grace Under Pressure: Distant Early Warning
Power Windows: Territories
Hold Your Fire: Force Ten
Presto: Available Light
Roll the Bones: Dreamline
Counterparts: Animate
Test For Echo: Driven
Vapor Trails: Ceiling Unlimited
Snakes and Arrows: Malignant Narcissism
Clockwork Angels: BU2B

[ThomasKDye]

Okay.

Rush - Working Man (8)
Fly By Night - Beneath Between and Behind (3)
Caress of Steel - Bastille Day (1)
2112 - 2112 (1)
A Farewell to Kings - A Farewell to Kings (1)
Hemispheres - Hemispheres (1)
Permanent Waves - Free Will (2)
Moving Pictures - Vital Signs (7)
Signals - Chemistry (3)
Grace Under Pressure - Between the Wheels (8)
Power Windows - Manhattan Project (3)
Hold Your Fire - Turn the Page (8)
Presto - Chain Lightning (2)
Roll the Bones - Neurotica (9)
Counterparts - Cold Fire (10)
Test for Echo - Driven (2)
Vapor Trails - Secret Touch
Snakes and Arrows - Bravest Face
Clockwork Angels - Caravan (1)