If You're New to Prog, Don't Start With Rush

SteveG wrote: moshkito wrote: The dope wasn't bad, the music was better, and the scene? Too much Clairol and Hair coloring for my tastes and the kisses tasted awful with all those chemicals! You kids from the 70's and 80's had it much better then my g-g-generation. The hippy chicks I hung with didn't even bath, let alone dye their hair or wear makeup!

It's different for every generation. I simply think that this generation does not have the musical ability and lyrical flow to show that they have something that is outstanding and above the norm.

That's not to say that rap is nothing, for there are some very fine things in there, but considering what is behind it, and calling it  "music" is a bit scary for me!

From a "prog" standpoint, I would suggest Ian Anderson and Peter Gabriel are far better. Peter Sinfield is quite accomplished as well. I would consider any one of the three as poets, as opposed to Peart as just a lyricist with an occasional hard-on for Ayn Rand.

doompaul wrote: I must be in the minority. I completely love Geddy's 70s screeching vocals.

He sounds amazing on those records. On Hemispheres and Permanent Waves, he found the perfect middle.

This, however, doesn't mean Peart didn't have some cool stuff.

Ditto. His voice from then is a part of what Rush was. 

I guess it depends on how new. I would think most people, even these days, would find out about prog through the older bands. I would guess someone even hears about Rush or Pink Floyd before they hear about Porcupine Tree or Dream Theater but I suppose it just depends. I think usually the classic bands are recommended to give an idea of what the genre is all about. Also, imo, it wouldn't make sense to tell someone to listen to Spock's Beard or the Flower Kings before hearing the bands that influenced them such as Yes or Genesis. It also wouldn't make sense to tell someone to listen to Porcupine Tree before they heard Pink Floyd or the other classic prog bands but again that's just my opinion. None of this is written in stone. I'm sure there are a lot of younger prog fans who heard a lot of prog metal bands and PT and other modern bands before they even heard classic prog and I bet some of them still haven't heard any classic prog and have no interest in them. Their loss.

Rush to me along with Yes, Tull and Floyd was simply rock music that was different than FM radio rock like Sabbath, LZ, The Who. 

Even when Rush was releasing 2112 to PW......it was simply just great music. I also never had any issues with Ged's vocals.

During that period, you could not find a more prolific drummer that created so much excitement on stage. Neil progressed into a monster drummer and helped push Rush into its own genre....