The Rush appreciati&#111;n thread

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Posted: January 15 2020 at 21:21

Well, I can understand them doing an album of covers of old blues rock and hard rock songs which is what Feedback was but I wish they also did a cover of prog rock stuff like ELP, King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull etc.

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Posted: January 15 2020 at 21:41

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

Well, I can understand them doing an album of covers of old blues rock and hard rock songs which is what Feedback was but I wish they also did a cover of prog rock stuff like ELP, King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull etc.

Well Feedback is not your typical covers album.....It is songs that made an impact on each one of them growing up. Rush did not record those songs because they were popular, the songs were who they were and influenced them to get into a band and play rock n roll.

This portion from the liner notes, which of course all of it written by Neil.

"It was April of 2004, but Geddy, Alex, and I were channeling back to 1966 and 1967, when we were thirteen- and fourteen -year-old beginners. We thought it would be a fitting symbol to commemorate our thirty years together if we returned to our roots and paid tribute to those we had learned from and were inspired by. We thought we might record some of the songs we used to listen to, the ones we painstakingly learned the chords, notes, and drum parts for, and even played in our earliest bands."

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 00:09

I couldn't quite get there in terms of appreciation until I heard the Roll The Bones album. If that sounds like a joke it isn't. At the time prog was still in long term hibernation and I was just looking for a band that wrote songs that actually meant something. It was only then that I went back and gathered up the back releases.

Moving Pictures remains a favourite album. The first four tracks are sheer perfection. Rush were the finest rock band ever in terms of tightness and just nailing the damn thing! But the lyrics of Neil are probably what elevates the music just that bit higher.

I was talking to a young lad at work yesterday and he was gutted to find out about Peart. We had a good natter but it also illustrates how this band were still making inroads into audiences much younger than them. A very special band that we will never see the like of again imo.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 04:36

Barbu wrote:

A dude I was flipping burgers with at mcdo (age 15) lended me his MP through ASOH cds for a month...quite repulsive at first hearing (that voice), I persevered until HYF started to click...huge fan since then.

My family moved to a new town in '79. I was 11 and up to that point, my musical tatses were Beatles and whatever was on pop radio stations. My new neighbors were huge Rush fans. They tried to get me into them but at first, it just didn't click. In fact, I wanted no part of that weird music. LOL

However by Moving Pictures I had started to like a few songs. I had a mix tape (taped off the radio) of songs like Vital Signs, Spirit of Radio, etc and that blossomed into full on love for their music.

My first record was Moving Pictures. My second was Caress of Steel. As a Rush neophyte, hearing CoS was quite the interesting experience. Confused

It became one of my favorites though.

Edited by Jeffro - January 16 2020 at 04:58

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 04:40

Been fan from the eighties, one of the first progbands I got into with Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Wigwam, Jethro Tull, the Moody Blues & Procol Harum. Never saw them alive although they were sometimes in Finland (there was something else then in my life). After Signals albums haven´t been my big faves, although I like a little Power Windows & Presto. But the first album is not for me as bad as it seems to be some Rush-fans, like to listen it also sometimes.

Edited by Mortte - January 18 2020 at 00:52

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https://www.cbr.com/neil-peart-rush-defenders-homage/

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 05:48

There are some here who probably don't know about this issue of the Marvel comics series The Defenders that was dedicated to Rush

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 08:38

I got into Rush very late. I was well aware of albums like 2112 but working as a sound engineer with a touring band left little time to listen to such a long piece. So, shorter songs like Lime Light were a kind of a gift for me. My favorite rush albums are A Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres but I'm just as home with 80s albums like Moving Pictures. I lost interest around the time Roll Your Bones came out but Clockwork Angels brought back my interest.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 09:36

Jeffro wrote:

There are some here who probably don't know about this issue of the Marvel comics series The Defenders that was dedicated to Rush

I bought a copy of that a number of years ago when a friend of mine worked in a comic book store. I haven't seen it in a while but I know that I have it somewhere.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 14:50

I received Chronicles (double CD) in '93 at my 15th birthday, already having borrowed moving pictures on cassette and taken it everywhere. So I started with the: Tom Sawyer - Red Barchetta - YYZ - Limelight pathway.. also I remember having listened to 'Where's my thing' with great interest before that. After that it was long hot summer afternoons on vacations listening to fly by night on a recorded cassette.

Then obviously I went to review all the 70's albums one by one and I ended up stationed there for good. When I listen to Rush, I look for Alex Lifeson distorted strumming (and solos obviously, but those perfectly tuned up, distorted strummings always fascinate me; I play guitar and I don't find it easy to make the electric guitar sound so neat strumming entire chords, or chords progressions like an acoustic guitar, with distortion), also his unusual power chords and arpeggiated transitions (ex. Anthem), his solos with that blessed wrist for the vibratos and all kinds of color with harmonics. Geddy's screams and bass, and Neil Peart's (a hero) clockwork drumming; for me there's nothing like that. It fulfils all my musical power needs and I think with Yes is the progressive rock band that I have most consistently listened to through the years.

On that matter I can also remember a period when with friends it got into our heads to start loathing Geddy's voice.. now I find that ridiculous (no offense to anyone but me), but you know, perhaps is one of those 'acquired tastes'. Now I simply love Geddy's voice (screams I like most). Take for example 2112, Temple Of Syrinx.. after all that instrumental introduction he starts the song screaming at max! Wow.. I was in a band called 'Jacob's Ladder'.. and we had fun playing some of the more "playable" Rush songs.. but when it came to singing them… there was our problem.. much later I reunited with another friend and put effort to play subdivisions and YYZ... there I attempted some singing on subdivisions (plus the guitar) and there you can really appreciate Geddy's singing (screaming sometimes) and seemingly unrelated bass playing! other-worldly.

That's also why I like best records like Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick, and I suppose I'm a rock-driven progressive kind of fan (Close To The Edge, Hemispheres, Relayer, and Bruford era King Crimson) I like 'hard' progressive rock, that flows with momentum (I like the other kind also). In that sense Rush is not a beginning or 'introduction' to other bands, but an end on itself; it is for me the culminating point of hard rock with perfect musicianship, awesome and clever fantasy/sci-fi lyrics and perfectly employed bits of synthesizer. That's it!

Edited by Machinemessiah - January 17 2020 at 06:23

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 15:04

Machinemessiah wrote:

When I listen to Rush, I look for Alex Lifeson distorted strumming (and solos obviously, but those perfectly tuned up, distorted strummings always fascinate me; I play guitar and I don't find it easy to make the electric guitar sound so neat strumming entire chords, or chords progressions like an acoustic guitar, with distortion), also his unusual power chords and arpeggiated transitions (ex. Anthem), his solos with that blessed wrist for the vibratos and all kinds of color with harmonics.

He really came a long way stylistically between Hem and MP. By the time Signals came out ~ with his emphasis on phrasing, tone, and restraint ~ he was almost unrecognizable from the post-Page shrieks & squeals of his earlier days.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 15:27

Catcher10 wrote:

Rush has been my #1 band for the past million years. I got into them around 77-78 and it has been non stop ever since.

Saw them in 78-79 first time......College, marriage, kids, caused a break in live shows thru late 80s early 90s, only saw the Presto tour with my wife (marrying me she became a Rush fan, and a huge Peart fan). We saw every tour in the 2000s to the last one, R40 Tour. Saw Time Machine tour twice in Seattle and San Francisco in 1 week span.

Our kids saw the last 3-4 shows in Seattle so it became a family affair to see a Rush show.

According to my Discogs collection account I have 43 Rush entries of LPs, CDs, VHS, DVDs.....And I have not loaded all my cassettes and some 8-tracks I have also. Plus I have books, tour programs and numerous tour shirts. Clearly Rush has been a massive part of my musical life, that will never change.

All eras of Rush are excellent, that has nothing to do with being a fanatic but a lover of great music and the brilliance of change.

Somewhere on this site many years ago I remember mentioning the day that Rush retire was going to be a tough, tough day to swallow. They are literally the last band to be able to put on live shows like they did with such grand presence and production, at least within this genre...there is nobody left that can do that....
Retiring from touring was tough although something kept telling me at least maybe we will still get new music but no huge tours, maybe a few shows here and there....I kept a candle burning.

In interviews (recent) Geddy has mentioned that there is no unreleased Rush music in a vault somewhere...

Losing Neil Peart was simply massive, 10 yrs from now I understand it but still he was only 67......Last week I read the announcement over and over and over just to make sure....The Professor is gone.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 16:26

Atavachron wrote:

I remember reading online somewhere a few years ago or so about how Alex's approach(especially on Perm. Waves and later)would have sounded different without the first Van Halen album. Although it's been well documented that Alex was influenced by Andy Summers(and you can certainly hear that in some of the 80's albums)it's been mentioned far less frequently(if at all)that he was influenced by Eddie Van Halen when he first came on the scene. Yet the fast guitar intro at the beginning of "spirit of radio," although a bit different than Eddie's tapping technique(which itself was probably "borrowed" from Steve Hackett), would nonetheless be different without that first VH album. I read this somewhere although I happen to agree with it. I don't feel Alex stole anything from these guys. He merely borrowed ideas which is something most great musicians do.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 16:43

^ As a total guitar geek I have to nitpick that. Eddie VH's influence on Alex pretty much begins & ends with with 'YYZ'. The hammer/pull phrases on Permanent Waves were long-established guitar techniques and had little to do with Eddie other than that he influenced well over a decade of players in the late 70s/early 80s.

Alex's new approach reminded me much more of Jeff Beck, and as you point out, Andy Summers. He had matured as a musician and was more interested in getting to the point with tasteful, carefully considered phrasing, ultimately creating his own very unique sound.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 16:50

Atavachron wrote:

The article goes into details about it though which sounded pretty convincing to me. If I ever find the article online then I'll post it here.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 16:55

Everyone was influenced by Eddie, but the only one who can say how & when he influenced Alex Lifeson is Alex Lifeson.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 16:55

I got into Rush in 1976 when I picked up All the World's a Stage and tried to convert all my school friends who had never heard them. Devoured the back catalogue and saw them on the 1977 UK tour when they introduced Xanadu. After that, it was full on worship. Farewell to Kings through to Moving Pictures must be one of the best album runs any band have put together. Kept with them after that as they shifted style and moved to shorter, less proggy songs, but after Power Windows I have to admit my interest faded somewhat and I opened up to other artists - even though there were still gems in the albums and the live albums still kicked. It was the reunion that reawakened my devotion again and although Vapor Trails wasn't the best comeback, the R30 tour, Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels definitely gave them a fine send off. A unique band still fixed into my musical DNA and responsible for some wonderful memories. Neil's death struck me hard, but I suppose it's allowed me to reconnect with their legacy again.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 16:58

Ok, I did find it but it won't upload for some reason. I'll try again later.

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 17:00

Atavachron wrote:

Everyone was influenced by Eddie, but the only one who can say how & when he influenced Alex Lifeson is Alex Lifeson.

True, but I seriously doubt that intro to spirit of radio would have happened the way it did without that first VH album. We all have our opinions but I'm not budging on that and I'm not the only one who thinks that. Like I said I never thought of it until I read it but again the site isn't loading otherwise I would share it here.

I did find this though where he mentions Eddie as a general influence. http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19960900guitarone.htm

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - January 16 2020 at 17:58

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Posted: January 16 2020 at 17:12

I do like Rush well enough, though I didn't plan on getting their whole discography... only their 70's classics (up to Moving Pictures, actually) and one or 2 later live albums to complete... however, once I had those, they released Clockwork Angels, and I ended up getting it, and then they had a box set with their studio albums from the 80's, after Moving Pictures, at a very good price and I just had to get it... and some months later they had the next box set with the rest of the albums (except Clockwork Angels which I already had), again at a very good price, and so I ended up with all their albums (except for the very first). Now I only have to get some more live albums, since the ones I have already got sound very nice, and mostly I like better how they sound live than studio.

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