Another arbitrary RUSH opinion thread: What was the best album for....

[Avenger]

So another 'my silly opinion' thread that sounded fun to discuss.

What were the albums where each of these elements was at its BEST?

VOCAL: Power Windows---I love the mid range singing, and the recording of vocals was layered and clear. EQ was sound as well.
BASS: Permanent Waves--the last stand for the Rickenbacker, great bass lines, very nice Rick-tones, prog-gy as well.
KEYBOARDS: Signals---dominates the album. Love the analog warmth and textures. Last album before move to digital/dated sounds.
GUITARS: Moving Pictures---Alex hit his peak to my ears, the textured and warm tones were fuzzy and clean at the same time. Great riffs.
DRUMS: Power Windows---I have to admit, I loved when Neil incorporated the E-drums with his acoustics. Still playing with his traditional grip.

There is the Big Arbitrary list! Have fun.

[dropforge]

Vocally, Geddy was on fire from Moving Pictures through Power Windows, where his shift to mid-range is concerned.

Bass? Best tone is on Signals. No contest. Runner-up is Moving Pictures.

Synths? Yeah, it's Signals. Lovely. Love them. Love it.

Guitars? For me, it's between Moving and Grace. Alex shreds it up.

Drums? Not even going to think about it!

[Sean]

VOCAL: Permanent Waves- Right at the end of Ged's "banshee" phase.
BASS: Signals--no, THIS is the last stand for the Rickenbacker, best bass tone on any Rush album.
KEYBOARDS: Signals---What you said^^^
GUITARS: G/P- Alex's rythym peak via channeling Andy Summers and taking it to the next level. Every solo is unique too.
DRUMS: Presto- The last album where Neil pushed forward stylistically. His later "reinvention" with Gruber didn't bear interesting fruit.

[PixelDelirium]

Wow... this is a tough one. But, I'm going to have to go with A Show of Hands for all of these. Hey, it was my first Rush album and covers a lot of the material already mentioned here (plus Hold Your Fire which is probably my favorite studio album).

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I'll also pick a live album, but for me it's Exit...Stage Left.

[Freeze]

VOCAL: Moving Pictures
BASS: Moving Pictures
KEYBOARDS: Signals
GUITARS: Permanent Waves
DRUMS: Moving Pictures

[gearHed289]

VOCAL: Moving Pictures
BASS: Moving Pictures
KEYBOARDS: Signals
GUITARS: Permanent Waves
DRUMS: Moving Pictures

Pretty much agree with this.

I love the early Ged vocals. So much passion and manic vibrato. I did not like the multi-layered stuff that came in the 90s and beyond, especially when they faked it with samples live.

If we're including live albums, the bass tone on Exit... is monstrous!

For synths, he must have gotten some great advice from somebody early on, because the moogs and Oberheims are a beautiful combo. Then there was the genius of the pre-MIDI interface with the pedals. Once the samplers came into play, the magic was fading.

One listen to the St. Louis boot will show just how great Alex was at this time.

And a tip of the hat to HYF for drums. I was losing interest at this point, but Neil is smokin all over this one.

[Garden Dreamer]

Good topic, I never get tired of dissecting Rush! I'm in line with most of what's been posted already.

VOCAL -- Permanent Waves. Seamless transition into a lower range but still has some stratospheric excursions

BASS - tough call. The bass lines on Signals and Hold Your Fire are off the charts. But I favor the presence and tone on Farewell to Kings, plus the lines are very melodic and distinct like an additional voice.

GUITAR - another tough call. My favorite would be Hemispheres because of the use of classical guitar and chorus. But even though Grace Under Pressure might just miss my top ten, the change in guitar style was well-executed, I've come to appreciate those big chordal washes and textures. Honorable mention to Clockwork Angels. Alex really dug deep to come up with some new techniques and textures on this one.

SYNTHS - yes, Signals, the last of the warm analog sound.

DRUMS - Too hard to decide. Any of the albums in my top ten contain amazing playing.

[SunRunner2]

It's hard to argue with any of the opinions expressed above, however, I am of the view that one glaring omission is:

DRUMS (prior to Peart)- John Rutsey really nailed it with his channeling of Bonham at the time when Rush was being compared to Led Zeppelin by all the critics and most fans. Especially on the classic closing track, "Working Man", for which Rutsey was given high praise for helping to drive it home with bombast. Definitely deserving of a mention, don't you think?

[chalkpie]

Alex's sound on the 1st album totally rips.

[SunRunner2]

Alex's sound on the 1st album totally rips.

That too! The guitar solo on "Working Man" was voted 94th in Guitar World magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar solos. Because the album was pre-Prog Rush it gets less attention (which is understood considering what came later). But, still.

[undergroundrailroad]

VOCAL - 2112. Priests is super-human. Really, the breadth of approaches he takes in all ranges of his voice on the first side is huge. This album is also the last time he drew on traditional soul/blues inflections, which were an important part of his early singing style, and he was good at it.

BASS - Permanent Waves. The confidence shown in Geddy's playing during the Freewill guitar lead alone tells you he has hit his stride.

GUITAR - Caress of Steel. No keyboards, but somehow the band arrangements on much of this album sound absolutely symphonic. The Bastille Day riff is iconic. Without it, there would be no NWOBHM. He may have developed other soloing skills a few years later, but his creativity was never greater than on Caress.

SYNTHS - Signals. Rich and thick. Geddy even managed a credible Tony Banks lead in Countdown.

DRUMS - Kings. Although the recorded tone isn't as vivid as it became on Waves and Pictures, the thrills in the solo section of the title track and the climax of Cygnus Book 1 are unequaled. Bonus points for the orchestral percussion in Xanadu. His playing on this album is as though Keith Moon cleaned himself up and went to college. The following albums Peart starts to channel Bruford and Collins a little more, which is great but doesn't strike me as quite as original.

[gearHed289]

VOCAL - 2112. Priests is super-human. Really, the breadth of approaches he takes in all ranges of his voice on the first side is huge. This album is also the last time he drew on traditional soul/blues inflections, which were an important part of his early singing style, and he was good at it.

Good points. Totally agree.

[hFx]

VOCALS - 2112, best of the 2 eras in one song... even in one verse!

BASS - Permanent Waves/Moving Pictures era! Still brutal sound and technically a lift. Better playing later but duller sound.

GUITARS - Kings - experimental, Hemispheres - the Pinnacle of Alex guitar development, before the Duran Duran/Charlie Burchill excursions! Lushest guitar carpets and shredding solos. La Villa, someone? Again not the technically best, but the most inspired.

SYNTHS - Signals fat Oberheims is great, as well as the latter PPG-era - dated my *ss

DRUMS - consistently so good! Maybe a little more edge from Kings through Signals (oh that Subdivisions drum vid )

[Vic2012]

I like the early G.B.D sound the most, especially on Caress of Steel. I also prefer Geddy's pre-Permanent Waves, banshee wail.

[Supersonic Scientist]

VOCAL: Moving Pictures
BASS: Moving Pictures
KEYBOARDS: Signals
GUITARS: Permanent Waves
DRUMS: Moving Pictures

THIS !!!!