What Rush Are You Playing?

[Progatron]

Been listening to a ton of Rush in the last week, but largely drawn from my favourite period (Signals through Presto). But I think the whole catalogue other than the debut and Feedback has graced my stereo recently.

[ronmac]

Tull? They may have best run period imo.

I was thinking The Beatles, actually.

[dropforge]

Tull? They may have best run period imo.

The mid-late '80s through the early '90s weren't as kind to Tull as they were to Rush.

[dropforge]

LOL Dog Years or Witch Hunt

Both great songs!

[Vic2012]

I got T4E in a trade here on PE years ago. I like a few songs a lot, well produced, but it's mostly forgettable. Dog Years is awful....

[Jerjo]

Just played Power Windows on the main living room system. Sparkling production on that one.

[Rarebird]

Permanent waves
I think this is the first Rush album where the synths are getting more upfront.

It was the first Rush album I heard.

[Rick L.]

I hadn't played any Rush since hearing the news, until today. Cranked A Farewell to Kings. Still dig it.

[yamishogun]

Both great songs!

When I heard Alex and Geddy discuss T4E on Rockline and "Dog Years" was played, I thought it was some kind of prank and after a minute just a really bad song. But as with a lot of Rush, you may not get it until the fourth listen. It's a very good song with very good lyrics and an incredible bridge.

[Vic2012]

I just played Dog Years. Great chugging, crunchy guitar in the intro, and that's about it. The chorus is what ruins it for me. T4E isn't a great Rush album but it's not a bad rock album overall. I think I might prefer it over Counterparts ( sorta).

[SteveSly]

Played "Vapor Trails" while working out today. Not my favorite Rush album, but it was a solid comeback after the tragedy.

[Vic2012]

Played GUP on youtube today. I only really like Red Lenses and Between The Wheels. The rest is ..... not so good.

[Nearfest2]

Played GUP on youtube today. I only really like Red Lenses and Between The Wheels. The rest is ..... not so good.

False. I love p/g.

[Progatron]

False. I love p/g.

This, x ten trillion.

[Vic2012]

The bass tone is good on GUP. It's just not my style of Rush. It almost sounds like 80s Genesis. Whatever.

[Frumious B]

I finally got around to downloading a few Rush bootlegs. Right now I am listening to St. Louis 1980 from the Permanent Waves tour and it is FANTASTIC.

[ronmac]

I finally got around to downloading a few Rush bootlegs. Right now I am listening to St. Louis 1980 from the Permanent Waves tour and it is FANTASTIC.

Did you get the "Hemispheres" Black Forest show from Germany? It kills.

[ThomasKDye]

False. I love p/g.

I have been listening to "Grace Under Pressure" a LOT in the past five years and I've come to the conclusion that it's incredibly underrated. Powerful, intense, emotional and brutal in equal doses, it revs up something fierce by the time of "Between the Wheels". I think it gets so little love because it doesn't even have the veneer of HAIR METAL RAWK that the previous albums had, and because two or three songs wear their Police influences on their sleeves. I can listen to the whole album and get worked up inside: the cries of anguish in "Afterimage," the intense fiery jamming at the end of "The Body Electric," the apocalyptic atonalities of "Between the Wheels." Even "Red Lenses" has that middle section that leads into Neil pounding away at the drums, solo, raging against the dying of the light.

"Power Windows" took all that, cleaned it up, and made it cute and tinkly. (There's darkness in "Manhattan Project" and "Territories" but "Grand Designs" and "Emotion Detector" are as fluffy and light as you please.) "Grace Under Pressure" was, for a while, the last stand for despair and anger and I think as such really deserves a reappraisal in the canon. For me, that's the end of the first Book of Rush, and after that album, they wouldn't be the same at all.

[Frumious B]

Did you get the "Hemispheres" Black Forest show from Germany? It kills.

I’ll give that one a try. The Hemispheres show I grabbed was Tucson, AZ which is also killer.

[chalkpie]

Did you get the "Hemispheres" Black Forest show from Germany? It kills.

[ronmac]

I’ll give that one a try. The Hemispheres show I grabbed was Tucson, AZ which is also killer.

They're both great.

[Yodelgoat]

I have (somewhere) a bootleg of Rush on the R30 tour. I was told it was a mix taken from a wireless stage mix - not off the main board. There do seem to be no effects on the voice or instruments. Very dry. So possibly one of the band was using that mix? - I have no idea if that was actually true, but Rush uses wireless monitors and someone could potentially patch into that. I dont have any idea where it is now, but it was the Tulsa, OK show. it was in MP3 format. I should probably find it. It may be unique. Does anyone know if there is a bootleg of the R30 Tulsa show? The guy who gave it to me was kind of an insider Music buiz know it all kind of guy...

[JKL2000]

This morning when they went to a commercial, MSNBC’s Morning Joe played some of Tom Sawyer.

[yamishogun]

"Power Windows" took all that, cleaned it up, and made it cute and tinkly. (There's darkness in "Manhattan Project" and "Territories" but "Grand Designs" and "Emotion Detector" are as fluffy and light as you please.) "Grace Under Pressure" was, for a while, the last stand for despair and anger and I think as such really deserves a reappraisal in the canon. For me, that's the end of the first Book of Rush, and after that album, they wouldn't be the same at all.

"Cute and Tinkly"? "Fluffy and light"?

[Rarebird]

Today I played Exit stage left.