For REAL Rush fans only please

[PeterG]

Actually I change my vote on COS to Necromancer!!

Good lad!

For me & for many, yourself included, who like this type of Rush song, there is very llittle between Necromancer & FoL, but I think Necromancer just takes it by a nose at the finish line!

[PeterG]

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

Possibly pseudo-silk

[Vic2012]

I've always leaned toward hard/rock Rush. But like it was mentioned earlier, "hard rock" Rush was Rush's "prog" era. I stop at Signals then start again at Counterparts. I gave the 80s/pop/synth Rush a try years ago with "Hold Your Fire" but tossed it after a couple spins. It just sounded so thin and synthetic. Who knows, maybe today I'd appreciate the synth era more with a different set of ears. Anyway ....

Rush - Working Man, Take A friend
FBN - Anthem, In The End
COS - Bastille Day, Necromancer
2112 - Passage To Bangkok, Overture/Temples (I rarely listen to the whole rock opera)
AFTK - Title track, Cygnus
Hemispheres - Hemis/Cygnus, The Trees
Permanent Waves - Jacob's Ladder, Natural Science
MP - Tom Sawyer, YYZ
Signals - Countdown, Subdivisions
Counterparts - Animate, Stick It Out
T4E - Time And Motion, Limbo
Vapor Trails - Peaceable Kingdom, Earthshine
Clockwork Angels - Seven Cities Of Gold, Headlong Flight

[Plasmatopia]

I gave the 80s/pop/synth Rush a try years ago with "Hold Your Fire" but tossed it after a couple spins. It just sounded so thin and synthetic. Who knows, maybe today I'd appreciate the synth era more with a different set of ears.

Not that you need to run out and do this anytime soon, but if you ever decide to give this era of Rush another try (well, you already have Signals) I'd recommend Grace Under Pressure. Personally, I think HYF is the worst sounding of this era...although I listened to it a lot at the time. These days I only like about half of the songs anymore. It's not that I really think it sounds bad, but yes, it's sort of thin in comparison to some of the albums before it. You'd probably feel the same way about Power Windows.

[Plasmatopia]

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.

Whatever the original intent was (and if I recall correctly, I think we can debate whether that was actually the result of the band member's intentions) I can't listen to the original mix of VT. After one or two songs me and my ears are done. I finally got through the entire album for the first time once the remix was in my hands, so even if the original was in some way superior to me it was like a tree falling in the woods somewhere...

[BravadoNJ]

Rush- In The Mood
Fly By Night- Anthem
Caress Of Steel- The Fountain Of Lamneth
2112- Something For Nothing
A Farewell To Kings- Xanadu
Hemispheres- The Trees
Permanent Waves- Different Strings
Moving Pictures- Limelight
Signals- Subdivisions
Grace Under Pressure- The Enemy Within
Power Windows- Emotion Detector
Hold Your Fire- Mission
Presto- Available Light
Roll The Bones- Heresy
Counterparts- Everyday Glory
Test For Echo- Totem
Vapor Trails- Vapor Trail
Snakes And Arrows- Faithless
Clockwork Angels- The Wreckers

[Garden Dreamer]

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.

I realize that. I don't like the thin production of Hold Your Fire, Presto and Roll the Bones either. But I have plenty of "powerful rock albums" in my collection that sound great and I can listen to them all the way through without ear fatigue.

[ThomasKDye]

Not that you need to run out and do this anytime soon, but if you ever decide to give this era of Rush another try (well, you already have Signals) I'd recommend Grace Under Pressure.

Ditto. It's a HEAVY album and very intense. The difference between GUP and Power Windows is pretty night-and-day.

[yamishogun]

The difference between GUP and Power Windows is pretty night-and-day.

I started with Power Windows and Moving Pictures then spent 1986 and 1987 listening to their back catalog. I couldn't wait for Hold Your Fire but first heard it on a friend's low end stereo and couldn't believe how thin it sounded. This can't be Rush... My cassette in my walkman sounded better, but it took a while to accept that sound even though I really liked about all of the songs. Among GUP, PW and HYF, I thought PW had the richest sound.

I only listened to VT on a discman when moving around. Maybe I could tolerate the harsher sound in headphones. It did sound worse on a stereo even though I'd expect the opposite. Lifeson apparently tested VT on a car stereo and thought it sounded great. Lee countered "It sounds horrible!" Considering what Atlantic was rumored to have said for years about not putting out a remastered version, I think what happened is that sadly only a vastly different CD with a new cover and the word "remix" in large letters would be considered. So now you can hear acoustic guitar on Earthshine with tinny Neil drums throughout. Far from an improvement to me.

S&A was sure cleaner but too bad about the songs.

[dropforge]

Grace Under Pressure is a balls-to-the-wall kind of album. Nothing "poppy" about it.

[dropforge]

S&A was sure cleaner but too bad about the songs.

Too bad, indeed, but the instrumentals smoke!

[Vic2012]

Not that you need to run out and do this anytime soon, but if you ever decide to give this era of Rush another try (well, you already have Signals) I'd recommend Grace Under Pressure.

I've been kicking around the idea of getting it (GUP). I played the whole album on Youtube a couple years ago and I remember liking it. If I see a copy reasonably priced I'm might pull the trigger.

As far as VT goes. I haven't heard the remix, and I'm surprised at the comments I'm reading here. I never considered buying the remix because a) I don't LOVE VT so I don't feel a need to buy it again, b) a little too late now. They couldn't get it right the first time and they waited too long to try and fix it. c) I'm used to the original mix anyway. There really are only about 4 songs on VT that I really dig, and the rest ranges from ok to just blech. But I am surprised at the negative comments regarding the remix. I thought anything would have been better than the original.

[arise_shine]

Rush: Working Man
FBN: By-Tor
COS: Lakeside Park
2112: 2112
AFTK: AFTK
Hemispheres: Hemispheres
PermW: Jacob's Ladder
MP: Tom Sawyer
Sig: Subdivisions
GUP: Red Sector A
PowerW: Mystic Rhythms
HYF: Mission
Presto: The Pass
RTB: Ghost of a Chance
CP: Animate
TFE: Limbo
VT: Earthshine
SAA: Far Cry
CWMFA: The Garden

Man, I love Rush. \m/

[Garden Dreamer]

Vic, I'm surprised by the VT comments too. I'm on a Rush forum and when the remix came out, a lot of members were raving about it and there were very few who said they preferred the original.

It's funny how perspective of albums can change over time and with the contrast of newer albums to compare to. At the time, GUP pretty much knocked me off my hardcore Rush bandwagon. It wasn't until many years later that I caught up with all of the catalog released since then. Even though Signals was a big change, they still had Terry Brown at the helm making it sound great. GUP... well, it sounded... lighter. The Broon magic touch wasn't there. Plus you had Geddy's rubbery Steinberger bass and the songs lacked the kind of proggy instrumental excursions I liked. However, years later, compared to Presto and Roll the Bones (and the thin sound of HYF, although I like the songs)... GUP is a pretty good album.

Where does Power Windows fit in all that? Well I'm glad that's one I caught up with years later. It became the last Rush album that I liked from front to back until Clockwork Angels came along. Despite the most over-the-top use of synths of any Rush album, it sounds more energetic and the instruments more up-front than GUP or HYF and the arrangements have more of the progginess I require.

[dropforge]

Plus you had Geddy's rubbery Steinberger bass and the songs lacked the kind of proggy instrumental excursions I liked.

Wow, I can't imagine any Rush/Geddy fan not loving the basslines on GUP, especially "The Enemy Within."

[TheLoony]

This thread reminded me I hadn't looked at Neil's site in a while. I'm convinced Rush is from a alternate universe. They don't belong in this one, they belong in one that makes "sense". Seriously, who writes like this?

Compared to some spurious saint’s name, this explorer finds Anacapa to be more evocative and attractive—in the true sense of that word: magnetic. Just to contemplate the Chumash people, thousands of years ago, having a word for “mirage”—that mystical abstraction forges a deeper connection across time than knowing their word for water or fish. They had illusions and imaginings, too, as well as words for them, and were likely more like us than we might imagine.

History lessons from Neil. Who woulda thunk? It just cracks me up reading his musings.

[Garden Dreamer]

Wow, I can't imagine any Rush/Geddy fan not loving the basslines on GUP, especially "The Enemy Within."

The bass lines were fine; the bass guitar sound wasn't.

[dropforge]

The bass lines were fine; the bass guitar sound wasn't.

Sounds fine to me. Geddy might have been listening to The Fixx, but think of that awful tone on Presto.

[yamishogun]

Vic, I'm surprised by the VT comments too. I'm on a Rush forum and when the remix came out, a lot of members were raving about it and there were very few who said they preferred the original.

Maybe at The Rush Forum but at the Counterparts forum people were making their own improved versions long before the remix came out. They were cleaning it up without changing the mix, so "Ceiling Unlimited" [edit due to inebriation] still has the blistering finale instead of fizzle. I don't think there has been a remaster of the original, so it is possible a cleaner version that keeps Peart's drumming and the emotion will come out. As one guy said on Countrparts forum "You don't fuck with Secret Touch"

I think the less heavy songs like "The Stars Look Down" (my least favorite) might have been improved on the remix. But if you look for reviews, even the positive ones say the heavier songs "have been neutered" VT should never, never be neutered!

[flowerking]

I'm violating your subject because I'm not a "REAL" Rush fan, not any more. They were my favorite when I was in high school but I long since have gotten bored by them. Still, I'll play along and list my favorite songs from their first 8 studio albums. I quit listening to anything new after Moving Pictures.

Rush - Before and After
Fly By Night - In the End
Caress Of Steel - Lakeside Park
2112 - A Passage to Bangkok
Farewell to Kings - Farewell to Kings
Hemispheres - Hemispheres
Permanent Waves - Natural Science
Moving Pictures - Red Barchetta (although I could also go with Camera Eye)

[Vic2012]

Even though Signals was a big change, they still had Terry Brown at the helm making it sound great. GUP... well, it sounded... lighter. The Broon magic touch wasn't there. Plus you had Geddy's rubbery Steinberger bass and the songs lacked the kind of proggy instrumental excursions I liked.

Signals still had balls. There was a wall of synthesizers but it still sounded organic and the bass kicked ass all over the place. I mean, why can't Rush produce albums like that anymore? I wish they'd let Terry Brown produce them again.

[Soc Prof]

What I love about Signals is the Moog leads + Oberheim pads combo. Grace Under Pressure marks the introduction of the PPG synth. Still a nice album, but a step down from Signals to my ears. I don't really like Hold Your Fire. There the synth sounds (Roland D50?) get really thin and cold.

If I had to name the Rush song I most identify with, it would have to be "I Think I'm Going Bald."

[UnderAGlassMoon]

CWMFA: The Garden

Man, I love Rush. \m/

Took me a couple of seconds to remember what CWMFA stood for.

Clockwork M'fing Angels...good memories

[frippster]

I wasn't all that impressed with the VT remix, but the sound of the original, as dense,muddy and brickwalled as it is never really bothered me all that much anyway. But yeah, the remix just sounds neutered. Almost like they over-corrected. Especially Neil's drums. YMMV.

[trurl]

Signals still had balls. There was a wall of synthesizers but it still sounded organic and the bass kicked ass all over the place. I mean, why can't Rush produce albums like that anymore? I wish they'd let Terry Brown produce them again.

Damn straight.