"best album since Moving Pictures"?

Snow Dog wrote: Blacksword wrote: I would say it's their best since 'Hold your Fire' in 1988, although my perspective may change over time. I dont think it beats anything prior to that, apart from the first three albums, and right now I'd also much rather listen to S&A than 'Signals' and '2112'.   I agree with you best since HYF comment........possibly.   But....and itsd a big butt!   Itsm nowhere near as good as FBN or COS.......imo of course.     My favourite Rush period is Rush to Hold Your Fire. I can shorten that to Fly By Night to Signals.   Ultimately though Fly By Night to Permanent Waves is the best Rush.

I would agree that FBN and COS are damn fine Rush albums. FBN is Pearts first album, and features 'By Tor..' their first 'concept track' and COS has both 'The Necromancer' AND the wonderful 'Fountain of Lamneth'

It's tight, and as I said my perspective on S&A may change. Bouts of hopeless nostalgia take me back to COS frequently. I've always enjoyed COS more than 2112 too!! For now, I'm more excited by this new Rush album, more so than any of the others since HYF.

Tony R wrote: Rocktopus wrote: I'll never understand fans being this loyal. Stop the press! Rolling Stones' latest is their best since 91's Flashpoint. No wait, since 81's Tattoo You! Its still not good enough.   This is a discussion forum for discussing things...surely even you can grasp this...

Well, that's me discussing things, isn't it? I know I'm being disrespectful and there was no need to post that little insult. But still most of writes stuff like that once in a while.

Here's you not wanting my beloved Gong in the 'superprog' category. Full of wit, irony and insight:

We have all accepted that Gong are the only important band in Progressive Rock,despite the fact that Gong are neither progressive nor do they rock.

Rocktopus wrote: Tony R wrote: Rocktopus wrote: I'll never understand fans being this loyal. Stop the press! Rolling Stones' latest is their best since 91's Flashpoint. No wait, since 81's Tattoo You! Its still not good enough.   This is a discussion forum for discussing things...surely even you can grasp this... Well, that's me discussing things, isn't it? I know I'm being disrespectful and there was no need to post that little insult. But still most of writes stuff like that once in a while. Here's you not wanting my beloved Gong in the 'superprog' category. Full of wit, irony and insight: We have all accepted that Gong are the only important band in Progressive Rock,despite the fact that Gong are neither progressive nor do they rock. Whilst Gong were happily ensuring through their winning formula of combining a throwaway joke with soporific musicianship that prog would be confined to the margins,

From reading some of your previous posts (not necessarily on this thread), I'm sure you can understand passion about one's favourite group or music. True, fans tend to get excited about their idols' new album, especially if their first impressions of it are positive. But that's natural, especially if you feel the act has gone through a fallow period. For me, Rush's fallow period, as far as albums that I have kept, starts with Power Windows & goes up & including Test for Echo. I liked Vapor Trails, & felt it was a true return to a harder edged sound. So far, S & A sounds pretty good. The lyrics, I'll have to go through, but the music seems fresh. And that's not to say the others are crap, just not that they were to my liking. And one thing I must add, is that compared to some rabid Genesis fans, I didn't take it personally that one of my fave groups would dare to do something different, like not re-writing the same album over & over again.

P.S. A Bigger Bang was the Stones' best since Tattoo You. Some of their 90s albums were good, but didn't quite sound "gritty" enough for me, even though they were successful. Mind you, I like the Stones, but not unconditionally. It's very much an album by album thing.

Haven't got the album yet, but will hear it soon enough as my mate had it on order and may have it by now. I am looking forward to it!

Rocktopus wrote: Now we got a disscussion going on. And it ain't too bad. And I wasn't really that insulting, was I? As a Genesis fan, I think you're being too gererous calling going mainstream, by making simpler, catchier, less interesting music daring to do something different.  Radiohead dared to do something different when they made Kid A. Genesis' did a 'careermove'. That's not really about being daring and taking chances. When a band deliberatly starts dumbing things down to get a mass audience, I see no reason for the musicinterested listener to stay loyal. (that was mainly for gebrewguy's Genesis remark, not so much Rush)

I won't get into the motivation behind any group's decision to write & perform any music that they so choose, whether it's Rush or Genesis. I don't even spend time wondering whether it's driven by artistic or commercial motivations. I listen to the end product, If I like it I like it, if I don't I don't.  AN earnest musician writing crap doesn't make the music better. For Rush, I was happy to see that , even though by the mid 80s they were putting out albums that didn't catch my ear, they were still enjoying a modicum of success AND still playing the music they wanted to. Indeed, even Geddy & Alex have said over the years that they probably could have sold more albums if they had stuck to the sound they built up from Hemispheres to Moving Pictures. But the thing was that they wanted to keep it interesting for themselves. If the old fans followed, fine. If new fans came on board, fine. If neither happens, fine. The point being that the group did what they wanted to do for their own reasons, had the "luxury" of opportunity, & followed their muse.
Now mind you, I am one that would have loved to have them to keep writing albums like Hemispheres. But that would have meant that they would never have put out Grace Under Pressure which is one of my favourite albums, not just from Rush, but among my entire collection.
Would I have preferred Genesis putting out another SEBTP or Duke instead of Calling All Stations ? Yes, but they didn't , I didn't buy CAS, and my life & theirs went on. I still listen to the older albums. And if the reformed Genesis put out a new album, I'll give it a listen. Who knows, I might like it as much as Abacab or Trespass, love it it like Genesis or Foxtrot, or scratch my head wondering what the appeal is , like From Genesis to Revelation or CAS.