@@kevingartland723 Agreed. I would take the title track to Hemispheres over that of 2112 any day. I love the whole Rush catalog, but am actually partial to the mid-period.
I am enjoying this Rush reviews. Doug got me into Rush and we went to the Roll the Bones concert twice. I’m excited to see part 3 and see how you rate the later year music.
Thanks! We're looking forward to part 3 as well for a variety of reasons. Which Roll the Bones shows did you see? I (Brian) saw that tour in Omaha, which was my first Rush show.
Epic Rush Gush part two!! Thanks for the splendid ranking fellows. This is so refreshing. Other people love Power Windows as much as me! Like Caress it doesn't get the love it deserves. I remember getting the Big Money single when it came out in late '85 and after all the fireworks (very dazzling indeed!) died down I remember thinking 'hmm....I don't hear a good song in there. In fact it's a bit cheesy and obvious'....and then I played the B side Territories and wow! Just WOW! I was reassured totally. For me the album starts with its weakest 2 songs but all of you seem to love Grand Designs so much that I'm gonna go back and listen with fresh ears. This album is where the synth vision hits the sweet spot for me. They are much more integrated into the overall sound in terms of arrangement and production. I love Signals (mostly) but with that album the sections are very distinct. For example on Digital Man you get the groovy bouncing riff thing which is the intro/verse, then they're Police for the pre-chorus and when the chorus comes in it goes to half-time with a synth pulse. It's great but they are very distinct from one another. On Power Windows things are much more mosaic-like. There are seemingly thousands of tiny details that all work together and it's all so seamless (maybe comparable to some songs on Yes's 90125---I'm sure you guys would be familiar with that one). Territories is a good example of this. Manhattan Project does have a slightly incongruous turn-around but the song is so great I don't really care. The synths in the second verse are just some of the best in 80's music per se. A very good point you guys made is about the lyrics. Neil needs credit for Territories and also Middletown Dreams. Heartbreaking. You can see it all, the salesman in his office, the middle-aged Madonna the expanses of the 'heartland'. And now that I'm middle-aged...oh boy! And what attention to detail in the intro. That little cymbal splash that stops it all briefly. Credit to Peter Collins must be given for his input. The instrumental of Marathon-that snaking riff that comes out of the second verse, Alex doubles it for a few bars and then....boom! Those synths I swear are the sky scraping peak of 80's Rush in all their glory! Goosebump central!! Anyway, I love Power Windows and I would say that side two is one of their strongest sides ever. Emotion Detector is just so playful and cheeky...and very dense! Permanent Waves--It's the strangest thing, everything is in the right place. Everything is (kinda) perfection but.....I feel little affection for it. It's weird. Different Strings opens the door tantalisingly to an alternative electro/acoustic direction that they never really pursued. Natty Science is my least favourite epic. I know! The fault is mine. I admit it! Moving Pictures--I love it. The last 2 songs let it down a little. I'm with Josh here. The Camera Eye is my favourite Rush song (maybe a tie with Xanadu but probably first). But to compare it with Xanadu shows their development. Xanadu is floral and ornate and sectional. Superior 1970's progressive rock. The Camera Eye is over 10 minutes but all the garden has been pruned, so to speak!! Hey man, it's the 80's. It's all space and economy. A subtler progression. Such a tidy riff. So modern and fresh and what a sense of momentum. I love the 'empty verse' near the end where you hear Geddy say something or other, it reminds me of near the end of both Achilles Last Stand and Megalomania. There's a blown-out feeling. You've been on a very long journey and you are now in unknown territory...very special indeed. I have much love also for Subdivisions, Analogue Kid, Afterimage and Between the Wheels. For me Rush's first 11 albums, from Rush to Power Windows represent a great arc (a grand design, no less), 11 albums in 11 years and each one builds on what has gone before and each one is just magnificent. And then......it get complicated!
Full disclosure, I'm a huge Rush fan, so I have a very difficult time ranking their studio albums since my rankings change frequently and I end up with a #1a - #1s rank order, lol. All that said, I feel like it's impossible for anybody to rank their entire studio catalog since they have very distinct eras of music. I would group the Rush eras like this (obviously, the boundaries can be blurred): Classic Rock: Rush (self titled album) - Fly By Night Progressive Rock: Caress of Steel - Hemispheres 80s Rock: Permanent Waves - Signals 80s Synth Rock: Grace Under Pressure - Roll the Bones 90s Rock (defined by its moody vibes): Counterparts - Test for Echo Post Neil Peart's Tragedy (defined by hardship, managing grief, existentialism to some extent, and isolation): Vapor Trails - Clockwork Angels So, sub-era ranking is the only thing that makes sense for me.
I totally see where you're coming from. Despite the fact that from 1974 onward there's no lineup change, it's as if they became a whole new band every few albums or so. And yet, at the same time it's all still undeniably RUSH. One of the reasons we use the admittedly imperfect system is to try achieve some way to (somewhat) objectively rank them. But for the most part it's a tool to spark reflection and discussion. Personally, I'm finding that while I would rank albums from every era highly, I see a trend in my ratings. For me, the 80s Rock and 80s Synth Rock era dominates. And I didn't expect that necessarily going in, because I always said Hemispheres was my favorite Rush album of all time. What sub-eras would you rate highest and lowest?
@@underlordsuniverse7823 You're absolutely right about Rush feeling like a whole new band every few albums. They has so much musical talent and lyrical depth, but what truly sets them apart from other amazing bands with similar qualities, is their ability to push boundaries and constantly re-invent themselves without losing the spirit of their music. My absolute favorite sub-era of music was their 80s Synth Rock run. I can't say enough about it - and listening to Hold Your Fire has been a quasi -religious experience for me for the past 30+ years. It's tough to rank (see my 1a-1s comment earlier, lol), but I would rank their sub-eras like this: 80s Synth Rock Post-Neil Peart's Tragedy 80s Rock 90s Rock Progressive Rock Classic Rock But of course, this list is alive and fluid. Depending on the season and my mood, this list can change dramatically, but 80s Synth Rock is always on top for me.
@@tedskullhammer That synth-rock era is really underrated and overlooked by many. I just love the fact that despite all their changes, I still loved what they did.
Golly gee willikers! This is truly going to be tough, troubling and traumatic! 6. Grace Under Pressure 5. Hold Your Fire 4. Signals 3. Power Windows 2. Permanent Waves 1. Moving Pictures I kinda/sorta love all these LPs, except Hold Your Water which trails off after track eight; and Gracie Allen Under Pressure where l feel that “The Body Electric” is the last groovy tune. Cheers 🍻 from The Big Apple. 🍏 Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo! Frog 🐸 On! Your clone and mine, ~ The Druidic Dragon 🐉 and Doppelgänger of Davey Cretin, from the dreaded, shredded and unleaded CRETIN CLASSICS.
Hmmmm... GUP trailing off after "The Body Electric"? Can't agree there - "Between the Wheels!" So glad they brought that out in the live set - I think it's actually better live. Can't say the same about "Mystic Rhythms" which I think is a masterpiece as a studio recording.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 ~ “Mystic Fishes!” 🐠 🐟 Bwhahahahahaha! My first Rush show was the Power Windows tour where they played the whole album except for “Emotion Detector.”
6 Hold Your Fire Probably my least favorite Rush album. I was in the Army and not consuming music like I had in the past, and when I heard this album I just started drifting away from the band. Some kind of cheesy songs, imo. "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission". Kind of flowery cringe, sorry. Or Time Stands Still, I really like this song (and album) now, but at the time I just couldnt stop thinking 'what happened'? 5 Power Windows See GUP. Wait, Brent didnt like the Power Mullet Geddy was sporting? hehe 4 Grace Under Pressure These two albums are great, but for my analysis I would just refer you to my criticism of Signals. Where did Alex go? 3 Signals This is the album with the 2nd biggest shift in their style, imo (Rush to Fly By Night #1). After going from 'Who is Rush" to "they are the greatest ever" during Moving Pictures, when Signals came out I was very WTF? The DJ was like 'Heres the new Rush song" and played New World Man. At first I was very disappointed. Subdivisions as well. Just pretty good, no better, imo. I've had this argument ad nauseum before, but here is my take: This is where Alex starts to fade into the background. Love all 3, but I'm an Alex man. This band through Hemispheres is a 'lead guitar band'. I have an entire extended argument for this but look at Working Man, this is the song that broke them into the scene, and it's primarily just a 5 minute guitar solo with hard rock bookends. 2112 is about a guitar player, By Tor, Necromancer, La Villa, these are all guitar first songs. Like Zeppelin, they are all awesome, but Page was the guy amongst most fans. All of the first 6 albums are guitar focused, imo. I'm not saying that Geddy or Neil were less important in any way. Just my take on the early stuff. Here is an example of my point about Alex and Signals. Take Chemistry, a good song with lots of synth but Alex's hook is awesome, and the solo is awesome. The rest of the song you can barely hear him. He's playing a sort of reggae accenting of Neils playing. World class hook and solo....big stretches of studio musician level backing guitar tracks. I like signals much better now, it's still great music. Analog kid and digital man have some world class bass licks. Top 5 "Geddy on the Bass" songs for me. I like countdown, great buildup. I actually really like losing It, unlike Brent. The lyrics and the melody match so well. 2 Permanent Waves Great album, but I would probably have a lower overall rating than any of you 4. Spirit is always great, especially in concert. Freewill good. It's all good. However, not one song on this album would probably make my top 20 Rush songs. I like Natural Science, but less so than most. It reminds me of Cygnus X1. Just a bit 'lets play really hard' song. 1 Moving Pictures At this point in my fandom I rarely ever put this album on. I actually think Tom Sawyer is the low point on this album (Ducks to avoid thrown coffee mugs). The drumming is top notch, great musicianship all around, but it just seems like a formulaic radio friendly song. 3.5 for me. Vital signs and witch hunt also 3.5, which is a good song to me, just not amazing. Red Barchetta, YYZ, Camera Eye (Alex's arpeggios are just beautiful) all 5s. This is the album where I 'discovered' Rush. I was 15 and had advanced tickets (deposit) to see Zeppelin when Bonham died. Ticketmaster (aka the Devil) told me I could switch the deposits to another band, and Jim Ladd had just played Moving Pictures on the 7th day (KLOS) so we switched to Rush tickets. I went out and bought Chronicles (1st 3 albums), Moving Pictures and Permanent waves. MP got me into Rush and is an all time great album, but again, rarely put this album on anymore.
Moving Pictures is one of those albums that I only have to think of it in order to hear it in my head, so I rarely put it on either. Then again, I can say that for pretty much every Rush album. As for Alex and Signals, I agree. My understanding is that as writers, Alex is more spontaneous, and Geddy is more methodical. I wonder how much, behind the scenes, Geddy just hunkered down and wrote without Alex at that time, given his growing interest in keyboards. It seems to me their 70s album were written collectively - even on acoustic guitars on the road. And I wonder how much of the synth-era stuff was Geddy saying, "hey, I've got this song here, Al, where can you fit some guitar in?" And if that's the case, I wonder if that's due to Alex's more lax nature as a writer.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 It might have been, good point. Sometimes it feels odd being critical of the band because I love their music so much. I also think that while Neil wrote excellent lyrics start to finish, I think some of the later writing was (sometimes) a bit more 'dissent formulaic' or 'forced profound' than the early stuff. I've heard the opposite from other fans, too. That the early stuff was just sort of weird Tolkien and DnD oriented fluff and they started singing about real issues later. It's all subjective, and it's all excellent music :)
6. Hold Your Fire
5. Grace Under Pressure
4. Signals
3. Moving Pictures
2. Power Windows
1. Permanent Waves
Ah... Power Windows edges out Moving Pictures.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 Probably side 2 but I am not a huge 2112 fan. A great album compared to other bands but not even in my top 15 Rush albums.
@@kevingartland723 Agreed. I would take the title track to Hemispheres over that of 2112 any day. I love the whole Rush catalog, but am actually partial to the mid-period.
I am enjoying this Rush reviews. Doug got me into Rush and we went to the Roll the Bones concert twice. I’m excited to see part 3 and see how you rate the later year music.
Thanks! We're looking forward to part 3 as well for a variety of reasons. Which Roll the Bones shows did you see? I (Brian) saw that tour in Omaha, which was my first Rush show.
We went to Minneapolis and then Sandstone in Kansas
@@michelleharper8195 Lots of memories from shows at Sandstone!
Epic Rush Gush part two!! Thanks for the splendid ranking fellows. This is so refreshing. Other people love Power Windows as much as me! Like Caress it doesn't get the love it deserves. I remember getting the Big Money single when it came out in late '85 and after all the fireworks (very dazzling indeed!) died down I remember thinking 'hmm....I don't hear a good song in there. In fact it's a bit cheesy and obvious'....and then I played the B side Territories and wow! Just WOW! I was reassured totally. For me the album starts with its weakest 2 songs but all of you seem to love Grand Designs so much that I'm gonna go back and listen with fresh ears. This album is where the synth vision hits the sweet spot for me. They are much more integrated into the overall sound in terms of arrangement and production. I love Signals (mostly) but with that album the sections are very distinct. For example on Digital Man you get the groovy bouncing riff thing which is the intro/verse, then they're Police for the pre-chorus and when the chorus comes in it goes to half-time with a synth pulse. It's great but they are very distinct from one another. On Power Windows things are much more mosaic-like. There are seemingly thousands of tiny details that all work together and it's all so seamless (maybe comparable to some songs on Yes's 90125---I'm sure you guys would be familiar with that one). Territories is a good example of this. Manhattan Project does have a slightly incongruous turn-around but the song is so great I don't really care. The synths in the second verse are just some of the best in 80's music per se. A very good point you guys made is about the lyrics. Neil needs credit for Territories and also Middletown Dreams. Heartbreaking. You can see it all, the salesman in his office, the middle-aged Madonna the expanses of the 'heartland'. And now that I'm middle-aged...oh boy! And what attention to detail in the intro. That little cymbal splash that stops it all briefly. Credit to Peter Collins must be given for his input. The instrumental of Marathon-that snaking riff that comes out of the second verse, Alex doubles it for a few bars and then....boom! Those synths I swear are the sky scraping peak of 80's Rush in all their glory! Goosebump central!! Anyway, I love Power Windows and I would say that side two is one of their strongest sides ever. Emotion Detector is just so playful and cheeky...and very dense!
Permanent Waves--It's the strangest thing, everything is in the right place. Everything is (kinda) perfection but.....I feel little affection for it. It's weird. Different Strings opens the door tantalisingly to an alternative electro/acoustic direction that they never really pursued. Natty Science is my least favourite epic. I know! The fault is mine. I admit it!
Moving Pictures--I love it. The last 2 songs let it down a little. I'm with Josh here. The Camera Eye is my favourite Rush song (maybe a tie with Xanadu but probably first). But to compare it with Xanadu shows their development. Xanadu is floral and ornate and sectional. Superior 1970's progressive rock. The Camera Eye is over 10 minutes but all the garden has been pruned, so to speak!! Hey man, it's the 80's. It's all space and economy. A subtler progression. Such a tidy riff. So modern and fresh and what a sense of momentum. I love the 'empty verse' near the end where you hear Geddy say something or other, it reminds me of near the end of both Achilles Last Stand and Megalomania. There's a blown-out feeling. You've been on a very long journey and you are now in unknown territory...very special indeed.
I have much love also for Subdivisions, Analogue Kid, Afterimage and Between the Wheels.
For me Rush's first 11 albums, from Rush to Power Windows represent a great arc (a grand design, no less), 11 albums in 11 years and each one builds on what has gone before and each one is just magnificent. And then......it get complicated!
Full disclosure, I'm a huge Rush fan, so I have a very difficult time ranking their studio albums since my rankings change frequently and I end up with a #1a - #1s rank order, lol. All that said, I feel like it's impossible for anybody to rank their entire studio catalog since they have very distinct eras of music. I would group the Rush eras like this (obviously, the boundaries can be blurred):
Classic Rock: Rush (self titled album) - Fly By Night
Progressive Rock: Caress of Steel - Hemispheres
80s Rock: Permanent Waves - Signals
80s Synth Rock: Grace Under Pressure - Roll the Bones
90s Rock (defined by its moody vibes): Counterparts - Test for Echo
Post Neil Peart's Tragedy (defined by hardship, managing grief, existentialism to some extent, and isolation): Vapor Trails - Clockwork Angels
So, sub-era ranking is the only thing that makes sense for me.
I totally see where you're coming from. Despite the fact that from 1974 onward there's no lineup change, it's as if they became a whole new band every few albums or so. And yet, at the same time it's all still undeniably RUSH. One of the reasons we use the admittedly imperfect system is to try achieve some way to (somewhat) objectively rank them. But for the most part it's a tool to spark reflection and discussion. Personally, I'm finding that while I would rank albums from every era highly, I see a trend in my ratings. For me, the 80s Rock and 80s Synth Rock era dominates. And I didn't expect that necessarily going in, because I always said Hemispheres was my favorite Rush album of all time. What sub-eras would you rate highest and lowest?
@@underlordsuniverse7823 You're absolutely right about Rush feeling like a whole new band every few albums. They has so much musical talent and lyrical depth, but what truly sets them apart from other amazing bands with similar qualities, is their ability to push boundaries and constantly re-invent themselves without losing the spirit of their music. My absolute favorite sub-era of music was their 80s Synth Rock run. I can't say enough about it - and listening to Hold Your Fire has been a quasi -religious experience for me for the past 30+ years. It's tough to rank (see my 1a-1s comment earlier, lol), but I would rank their sub-eras like this:
80s Synth Rock
Post-Neil Peart's Tragedy
80s Rock
90s Rock
Progressive Rock
Classic Rock
But of course, this list is alive and fluid. Depending on the season and my mood, this list can change dramatically, but 80s Synth Rock is always on top for me.
@@tedskullhammer That synth-rock era is really underrated and overlooked by many. I just love the fact that despite all their changes, I still loved what they did.
Golly gee willikers! This is truly going to be tough, troubling and traumatic!
6. Grace Under Pressure
5. Hold Your Fire
4. Signals
3. Power Windows
2. Permanent Waves
1. Moving Pictures
I kinda/sorta love all these LPs, except Hold Your Water which trails off after track eight; and Gracie Allen Under Pressure where l feel that “The Body Electric” is the last groovy tune.
Cheers 🍻 from The Big Apple. 🍏
Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo!
Frog 🐸 On!
Your clone and mine,
~ The Druidic Dragon 🐉 and Doppelgänger of Davey Cretin, from the dreaded, shredded and unleaded CRETIN CLASSICS.
Hmmmm... GUP trailing off after "The Body Electric"? Can't agree there - "Between the Wheels!" So glad they brought that out in the live set - I think it's actually better live. Can't say the same about "Mystic Rhythms" which I think is a masterpiece as a studio recording.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 ~ “Mystic Fishes!” 🐠 🐟 Bwhahahahahaha! My first Rush show was the Power Windows tour where they played the whole album except for “Emotion Detector.”
@@daveycretin664 Ever listen to the Power Windows demos?
6 Hold Your Fire Probably my least favorite Rush album. I was in the Army and not consuming music like I had in the past, and when I heard this album I just started drifting away from the band. Some kind of cheesy songs, imo. "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission". Kind of flowery cringe, sorry. Or Time Stands Still, I really like this song (and album) now, but at the time I just couldnt stop thinking 'what happened'?
5 Power Windows See GUP. Wait, Brent didnt like the Power Mullet Geddy was sporting? hehe
4 Grace Under Pressure These two albums are great, but for my analysis I would just refer you to my criticism of Signals. Where did Alex go?
3 Signals This is the album with the 2nd biggest shift in their style, imo (Rush to Fly By Night #1). After going from 'Who is Rush" to "they are the greatest ever" during Moving Pictures, when Signals came out I was very WTF? The DJ was like 'Heres the new Rush song" and played New World Man. At first I was very disappointed. Subdivisions as well. Just pretty good, no better, imo. I've had this argument ad nauseum before, but here is my take: This is where Alex starts to fade into the background. Love all 3, but I'm an Alex man. This band through Hemispheres is a 'lead guitar band'. I have an entire extended argument for this but look at Working Man, this is the song that broke them into the scene, and it's primarily just a 5 minute guitar solo with hard rock bookends. 2112 is about a guitar player, By Tor, Necromancer, La Villa, these are all guitar first songs. Like Zeppelin, they are all awesome, but Page was the guy amongst most fans. All of the first 6 albums are guitar focused, imo. I'm not saying that Geddy or Neil were less important in any way. Just my take on the early stuff. Here is an example of my point about Alex and Signals. Take Chemistry, a good song with lots of synth but Alex's hook is awesome, and the solo is awesome. The rest of the song you can barely hear him. He's playing a sort of reggae accenting of Neils playing. World class hook and solo....big stretches of studio musician level backing guitar tracks. I like signals much better now, it's still great music. Analog kid and digital man have some world class bass licks. Top 5 "Geddy on the Bass" songs for me. I like countdown, great buildup. I actually really like losing It, unlike Brent. The lyrics and the melody match so well.
2 Permanent Waves Great album, but I would probably have a lower overall rating than any of you 4. Spirit is always great, especially in concert. Freewill good. It's all good. However, not one song on this album would probably make my top 20 Rush songs. I like Natural Science, but less so than most. It reminds me of Cygnus X1. Just a bit 'lets play really hard' song.
1 Moving Pictures At this point in my fandom I rarely ever put this album on. I actually think Tom Sawyer is the low point on this album (Ducks to avoid thrown coffee mugs). The drumming is top notch, great musicianship all around, but it just seems like a formulaic radio friendly song. 3.5 for me. Vital signs and witch hunt also 3.5, which is a good song to me, just not amazing. Red Barchetta, YYZ, Camera Eye (Alex's arpeggios are just beautiful) all 5s. This is the album where I 'discovered' Rush. I was 15 and had advanced tickets (deposit) to see Zeppelin when Bonham died. Ticketmaster (aka the Devil) told me I could switch the deposits to another band, and Jim Ladd had just played Moving Pictures on the 7th day (KLOS) so we switched to Rush tickets. I went out and bought Chronicles (1st 3 albums), Moving Pictures and Permanent waves. MP got me into Rush and is an all time great album, but again, rarely put this album on anymore.
Moving Pictures is one of those albums that I only have to think of it in order to hear it in my head, so I rarely put it on either. Then again, I can say that for pretty much every Rush album. As for Alex and Signals, I agree. My understanding is that as writers, Alex is more spontaneous, and Geddy is more methodical. I wonder how much, behind the scenes, Geddy just hunkered down and wrote without Alex at that time, given his growing interest in keyboards. It seems to me their 70s album were written collectively - even on acoustic guitars on the road. And I wonder how much of the synth-era stuff was Geddy saying, "hey, I've got this song here, Al, where can you fit some guitar in?" And if that's the case, I wonder if that's due to Alex's more lax nature as a writer.
@@underlordsuniverse7823 It might have been, good point. Sometimes it feels odd being critical of the band because I love their music so much. I also think that while Neil wrote excellent lyrics start to finish, I think some of the later writing was (sometimes) a bit more 'dissent formulaic' or 'forced profound' than the early stuff. I've heard the opposite from other fans, too. That the early stuff was just sort of weird Tolkien and DnD oriented fluff and they started singing about real issues later. It's all subjective, and it's all excellent music :)