RUSH

So...Rush without Neil. Is it still as good as Rush WITH Neil? Well, in many ways...yes. Much of this record is QUITE good. Alex (the guitar god that he is) relies on crunch rather than the myriad effects he'd use later on. The drumming works quite well for what the songs call for, and Geddy is a total jam-meister on his beloved Rickenbacker. Also of note is the clean, yet organic sounding production. It lets each note of each song come through clearly, yet with force and presence. Also of note are the tracks "Finding My Way", "Need Some Love" and the pseudo-epic closer, "Working Man". The first two are frantic adrenaline rushes (no pun intended), fueled by sceaming vocals, pounding bass and clattering drums. "Working Man", a slow, plodding 7 minute monster-with its huge riff- qualifies as a major air guitar moment.

Even though it sounds a bit dated by today's standards, and we all know that Rush have done better, I still give this a 4. All it took was Neil to fire Geddy and Alex's imagination(s), and everyone knows what happened next...