The History of Rush v. Discography Thread: Epilogue

[KevShmev]

How can albums made these days sound like such ass when albums recorded in 1979 can sound so fantastic?

Don't get me started.  I want to punch whoever is responsible for brickwalling the crap out of Clockwork Angels.  If that was mixed and sounded like Counterparts, it would probably be a top 5 Rush album for me (even with Geddy's vocals being a little rough around the edges due to his age). 

[TAC]

Chris, if you want a good 80's playlist, A Show Of Hands is pretty good.

As Joe said, Counterparts is 75% killer. And Clockwork Angels obviously.

[KevShmev]

Chris, if you want a good 80's playlist, A Show Of Hands is pretty good.

Agreed.  I am usually a studio version guy, but some of the live versions on A Show of Hands are better than the studio ones, most notably Red Sector A, Turn the Page and Mission.  And the live version of Marathon has those extra 15-20 seconds that we didn't get on the studio version due to the fadeout (and I don't mind fadeouts).

[King Postwhore]

How can albums made these days sound like such ass when albums recorded in 1979 can sound so fantastic?

Don't get me started.  I want to punch whoever is responsible for brickwalling the crap out of Clockwork Angels.  If that was mixed and sounded like Counterparts, it would probably be a top 5 Rush album for me (even with Geddy's vocals being a little rough around the edges due to his age).

I had to turn down CA today.  It was too muddled playing it loud in my car.

[KevShmev]

I had to turn down CA today.  It was too muddled playing it loud in my car.

Exactly.  You get ear fatigue if you turn it up and listen to too many songs from it in a row, and as a result I rarely listen to all of it anymore, although Headlong Flight and the title track are too good to not go for on a regular basis. 

[TAC]

Chris, if you want a good 80's playlist, A Show Of Hands is pretty good.

Agreed.  I am usually a studio version guy, but some of the live versions on A Show of Hands are better than the studio ones, most notably Red Sector A, Turn the Page and Mission.  And the live version of Marathon has those extra 15-20 seconds that we didn't get on the studio version due to the fadeout (and I don't mind fadeouts).

I just meant that A Show Of Hands is a good greatest songs of the 80's kind of live album and would give a good cross section of tracks.


Rush is a band where it was clear if they were into it live or not, and the Hold Your Fire show that I saw was fantastic and got me back into Rush in the late 80's.

[Cool Chris]

Chris, if you want a good 80's playlist, A Show Of Hands is pretty good.

Agreed.  I am usually a studio version guy, but some of the live versions on A Show of Hands are better than the studio ones, most notably Red Sector A, Turn the Page and Mission.  And the live version of Marathon has those extra 15-20 seconds that we didn't get on the studio version due to the fadeout (and I don't mind fadeouts).

I just meant that A Show Of Hands is a good greatest songs of the 80's kind of live album and would give a good cross section of tracks.

Except you might have missed where I said I wasn't very fond of that era of their music

[Lethean]

If you're looking for a live album focusing on more of their 90s material, I would highly highly recommend Different Stages.  There's plenty of old stuff too - it's an awesome set.

[Lethean]

And after that, they did a live album of every tour.  And they're all good.  Rush in Rio is super cool for the energy.  I haven't actually watched the R40 one yet; I've been holding onto it I guess.

[Stadler]

I don't like Snakes & Arrows now as much as I did when it was first released, but I still like it.  I would definitely place in my bottom tier, though, which of course is no shame since there is no Rush album I do not like.  The very dry sound of the production is bothersome, however.  Even though I like all three albums they did this century, there are major sound issues with all of them (Vapor Trails is loud and noisy, S&A is too dry, Clockwork Angels is brickwalled to death).  The bottom tier albums are the one I rarely reach for anymore (the debut, Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, Snakes & Arrows).

Huh, I always thought the production and sound was the only thing S&A had going for it.

I LOVE the sound of that album.  Other than the instrumentals, it's not their best album of material, song-wise.

[ReaperKK]

Snakes and Arrows is a great album, imo, but it was definitely a grower for me.  First listen was like "ok...." but with time, the songs started to click for me; not all at once, but I'd find myself really enjoying one, then another would click, etc.

S&A is easily my favorite Rush record but I agree that it was a grower. It was the first album I really got into and I find it kind of surprising people hate on it so much. The riffage is great, the production is pretty good and it's an aground solid album. Mid to late 80s rush was way more spotty.

[TAC]

Just finished Grace Under Pressure, which is the greatest 5 song Rush EP ever, and I'm about to dive into the most overrated album in the entire Rush discography.

[KevShmev]

Just finished Grace Under Pressure, which is the greatest 5 song Rush EP ever, and I'm about to dive into the most overrated album in the entire Rush discography.

A Farewell to Kings?

[TAC]

I'm going in chronological order wise ass.

But that said, AFTK is easily my least fave in the 2112-MP run.

[KevShmev]

I'm going in chronological order wise ass.

But that said, AFTK is easily my least fave in the 2112-MP run.

Better to be a wise ass than a dumb ass.

And to be clear, I am a big fan of A Farewell to Kings, but agree that it is their least best of the classic run, and like probably 7-8 overall Rush albums more than it now, thus it gets overrated.

[TAC]

I'm going in chronological order wise ass.

But that said, AFTK is easily my least fave in the 2112-MP run.

Better to be a wise ass than a dumb ass.

Tbh, it was 50-50 which one I typed. I went back and forth.

[KevShmev]

I'm going in chronological order wise ass.

But that said, AFTK is easily my least fave in the 2112-MP run.

Better to be a wise ass than a dumb ass.

Tbh, it was 50-50 which one I typed. I went back and forth.

[TAC]

So the funny thing about Red Foreman is that my best friend in 9th grade, his father looked and talked just like Red. I think that's why his character is so realistic to me. I mean, he looked just like him!

[King Postwhore]

And you're a dummass as well.

[KevShmev]

It took me a while to get used to the stern father from Dead Poets Society played Red. 

[Cool Chris]

Both of those two are a far cry from seeing him as the president of the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek VI.

Kev, your avatar is adorable, who is it?

[KevShmev]

Emilia Clarke.  To say she is adorable would be the understatement of the century.

[Cool Chris]

Huh never would have thought that was her! But then it took me about halfway through Solo to realize she was the gal in that too. So basically if someone kills your wife prey I am not the only eyewitness.

[KevShmev]

Huh never would have thought that was her! But then it took me about halfway through Solo to realize she was the gal in that too. So basically if someone kills your wife prey I am not the only eyewitness.

That shot is from this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQE66PTOy_E

[TAC]

I have no idea who that is.

[KevShmev]

Shocking.   She played Daenerys, the Mother of Dragons, on Game of Thrones.

[TAC]

I've never seen Game Of Thrones. I don't know any of the cast.

[KevShmev]

I've never seen Game Of Thrones. I don't know any of the cast.

[faizoff]

She played Sara Connor in Terminator Genisys.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

She played Sara Connor in Terminator Genisys.

TAC hasn't seen a movie since 1987.

[King Postwhore]

She played Sara Connor in Terminator Genisys.

TAC hasn't seen a movie since 1987.

Only with commercials.

[TAC]

Not including kids movies, I think the last time I went to the movies I saw The Blair Witch Project. 

[TAC]

Well, I just finished Power Windows and Hold Your Fire...

I really was not a Rush fan in the 80's. I had a friend big into Rush that nagged me to death to see the Power Windows show. I thought it was awful really. I was like 6 rows back right in front of Geddy. It was early in the tour and Geddy just looked pissed the entire night. Plus they played so many songs from Power Windows.


A few years later, I while in college, I went to the Hold Your Fire show in Worcester. Michael Schenker was opening, so that was the real draw for me. Well, Rush blew me away. They were so joyful on stage, and not the curmudgeons they were on the previous tour.

I became reinvigorated as far as Rush was, and was really hopeful for the soon to be released Presto.


That said, I still don't get the love for Power Windows. I find it really out there and somewhat directionless. On Hold Your Fire, they clearly scaled it back a bit by writing better songs, but it's basically on par or a little less than Grace Under Pressure.

I'm glad they would soon move on from this Era, as I don't really consider Presto an 80's album.

[HOF]

Power Windows is just really special to me in a whole bunch of ways I probably can’t put into words adequately. Lyrically, musically, production wise, it just all pushes the right buttons for me. I don’t know what might have been up with the guys when you saw them on that tour, but Power Windows for me is brimming with joy, heart, and, well, power. I listened to a lot of Rush yesterday on shuffle or selecting individual favorites I wanted to hear, but Power Windows was the one album I listened to the whole way through (also most of Signals, but Power Windows first). It’s a magical place.

Oddly enough, while I like a lot of Hold Your Fire, that’s the album that feels a little overcooked to me (both lyrically and production wise), with a bunch of songs that just fall flat (despite some real highs in songs like Force Ten, Time Stand Still, Mission, etc.). Like they tried to make a second Power Windows but just couldn’t capture the same magic.

[TAC]

I find most of HYF a lot easier on the ears than most of Power Windows. And it's a lot catchier in places. But there are a couple of duds for sure.