The Rush Thread v. Clockwork Angels

[King Postwhore]

My least is Grand Designs.

Believe it or not, it was an encore song on the PW tour.

[dbrooks22]

am watching Marathon from the Time Machine Tour on VH-1 Classic right now.  Awesome.  Will air again in the early a.m. for those with DVRs

[King Postwhore]

I took in a few minutes but I want to keep it fresh when I buy it on Blu Ray.

[ZBomber]

I might get shit for this, but Mystic Rhythms is my least favorite on the album. I love it live though, so compared to the live version the studio version seems flat to me.

And Middletown Dreams is amazing. I remember one day about 4 years ago when I was on a trip with my family, I listened to Middletown Dreams over and over on my MP3 player for an hour. Great lyrics. 

[PlaysLikeMyung]

I might get shit for this, but Mystic Rhythms is my least favorite on the album.

Same

but that's like saying it's 9.7/10 instead of 10/10

[ZBomber]

I might get shit for this, but Mystic Rhythms is my least favorite on the album.

Same

but that's like saying it's 9.7/10 instead of 10/10

Yup!

Also I might have said this before, but I had a paper on "The Catcher in the Rye" due my junior year of high school. I needed to fill up the remaining 1/3 of the page so I just quoted Emotional Detector and talked about how amazing it is while attempting to somehow loosely tie it to the book. 

[Pols Voice]

My least fave is Emotion Detector. It's another song I can't remember much. I guess I should listen to that album more. Mystic Rhythms is cool because it's hypnotic and also unique for Rush. I liked seeing it live, but somehow I get the feeling other people aren't too into it.

[ZBomber]

We all knew it would come to this

Marathon
Middletown Dreams
Big Money
Grand Designs
Territories
Manhattan Project
Emotional Detector
Mystic Rhythms

Spectacular album!

[jammindude]

OH GOODY!  I wanna play to!!   


Territories
Manhattan Project
Middletown Dreams
Grand Designs
Marathon
Mystic Rhythms
Emotion Detector
Big Money

Top 5 are all 10/10....actually the top 4 are 11/10.   The next two are 9/10, and Big Money is 8/10.  I still love it though.

[Nick]

Big Money is my least favorite.

[MasterShakezula]

Middletown Dreams
Marathon
Big Money
Mystic Rhythms
Manhattan Project
Emotion Detector
Territories
Grand Designs

[KevShmev]

All of PoW is great, and picking a least favorite almost seems unfair.

[carl320]

Big Money is my least favorite.

This.  Mystic Rhythms is my favorite off PW.

[ytserush]

Quick, help me out! To all you who are knowledgeable about Rush's whole catalog (not just the big hits). Give me the top 5 albums and the top 15 songs! I'm just getting into it, and I like it all. Trying to find the songs that are considered the best. Thanks

You're probably going to get a different answer from everyone here.  Start with Moving Pictures, and then Permanent Waves.  Most people will agree on those.  Then, if you like the more "raw" and hard rock side of Rush, move backward in time to 2112.  If you like the synthesizers, move forward to Signals.  Then you can fill in the rest as your budget allows.

I almost never get involved in suggesting anything because I will always say start at the beginning and move forward because I think that with Rush more than almost any other band it's about the journey. (It's all out there. On the job training. And I'd include all the live albums sprinkled in the correct order).

During the the Mercury/Polygram years the progress is almost directly linear.  And after a small step back to refocus it continues with he Atlantic years.




Count me among those Test For Echo lovers, but I can't say there  is an album that I don't like. I even enjoy Feedback in moderation.

I don't know if I'd put Test For Echo in my top 5, but I consider it to be a classic. 
 
The only songs I'm not all that enthused about are Test for Echo and Carve Away The Stone.
Are there some lyrical headturners on that album? Sure.  But I'd put Totem, Half The World, Driven, Time And Motion, Resist and The Color Of Right up against the best that Rush has ever done.



Least favorite song on Power Windows for me is probably Manhattan Project although I quite like it.






Love to hear Grand Designs brought back live since it's been 25 years since I've last experienced it that way.


One more word on the Birmingham Hold Your Fire show from 1988.
I'd have to listen to it closely, but if it's just a compilation of the A Show of Hands CD and DVD then most of the show is Birmingham. However, there are tracks on the A Show Of Hands CD that were recorded in other US cities so it would just be a hybrid set From the Hold Your Fire Tour.

[ytserush]

And damn that Live in Cleveland DVD looks awesome!

I was originally bummed that it was going to be cut, but that just leaves undiscovered stuff for the big screen October 26.

So far the closest place I've found that is showing it Oct. 26 is Center Valley, PA but there has got to be somewhere else closer announced soon.


Happy Rushashanah Everyone!

[Mladen]

Big Money is my least favorite.

Mine too.

It's hard to rank the songs from one of the best albums of all time, but I'll give it a shot:

Marathon
Middletown Dreams
Mystic Rhythms
Manhattan Project (yeah, the Ms truly are incredible)
Territories
Grand Designs
Emotion Detector
Big Money

[The Curious Orange]

Top 5 Rush albums?

Rush In Rio
Snakes and Arrows Live
Different Stages
Exit Stage Left
Alll the World's a Stage

 

[KevShmev]

Here's a toughie: rank your least favorite songs from every Rush studio album in order (1 being your favorite of the least bests, and 18 being your least favorite of the least bests):

1. Different Strings
2. Vital Signs
3. Circumstances
4. Something for Nothing
5. Emotion Detector
6. Stick It Out
7. Red Lenses
8. Countdown
9. Spindrift
10. Second Nature
11. You Bet Your Life
12. The Stars Look Down
13. I Think I'm Going Bald
14. Madrigal
15. Take a Friend
16. War Paint
17. Rivendell
18. Time and Motion

[jammindude]

^^^^

LOVE this idea....let me try...

I want you to know that this was *REALLY REALLY* hard.   Some albums felt like a crime to pick anything...some albums it was a chore to pick which one I hated the most.

But here it goes.

1. Entre Nous
2. Circumstances
3. Vital Signs
4. Emotion Dectector
5. The Enemy Within
6. In The Mood
7. Lakeside Park
8. A Passage to Bangkok
9. Rivendell
10. Madrigal
11. Hand Over Fist
12. Lock And Key
13. Good News First
14. The Speed Of Love
15. Nocturne
16. Digital Man
17. Dog Years
18. You Bet Your Life

[Pols Voice]

1. Different Strings
2. Circumstances
3. Anagram (For Mongo)
4. Red Lenses
5. Lock and Key
6. Madrigal
7. Emotion Detector
8. Countdown
9. Dog Years
10. Neurotica
11. Rivendell
12. The Twilight Zone
13. I Think I'm Going Bald
14. Freeze
15. Witch Hunt
16. Faithless
17. Nobody's Hero

[Mladen]

10. Second Nature
12. The Stars Look Down
14. Madrigal
16. War Paint

Great songs. 

But a cool idea, lets give it a shot:
1. Entre nous
2. Kid gloves
3. Lessons
4. Circumstances
5. Presto
6. The Big money
7. The Necromancer
8. Freeze
9. A Farewell to kings
10. Digital man
11. The Speed of love
12. Vital Signs
13. Malignant narcissism
14. Dog years
15. You bet your life
16. Tai Shan
17. Take a friend
18. Rivendell

[jammindude]

Two people in a row think Freeze is the worst song from Vapor Trails???   

[Ryzee]

I'm bummed that so many people think Circumstances is the worst tune on Hemispheres!  That's one of my favorite Rush tunes ever.  I get it though, it's pretty much impossible to name a "worst" tune on that album.  Gun to my head though I'd probablly go with The Trees, because like I said I love Circumstances and there's no way you could go with the title track or La Villa.

[jammindude]

I'm bummed that so many people think Circumstances is the worst tune on Hemispheres!  That's one of my favorite Rush tunes ever.  I get it though, it's pretty much impossible to name a "worst" tune on that album.  Gun to my head though I'd probablly go with The Trees, because like I said I love Circumstances and there's no way you could go with the title track or La Villa.

THIS.   I had such a tough time.  It almost felt like sacrilege choosing anything from that album.   It's just 4 10/10 songs period.   In the end, it was a coin toss between The Trees and Circumstances for reasons you mentioned.

[dbrooks22]

This is an interesting concept.  I'm not going to rank the worst tracks from each album, but it's interesting nonetheless that the same songs are coming up - meaning we can objectively identify bad songs.  I think maybe we should have a survivor for the worst Rush songs of all time.  Any takers?

These would definitely be on my list:

Neurotica
Time and Motion
Dog Years
Speed of Love
The Stars Look Down (i had a gag reflex just thinking about this one)
Stick it Out
Out of the Cradle
We Hold On

[KevShmev]

Both Freeze and Nocturne showing up as someone's least favorite from VT makes me a sad panda.

Circumstances is good, but the other three songs from Hemispheres are just too great for it to compare. 

As far as worst Rush song ever goes, to me, it comes down to my bottom three:

Time and Motion
War Paint
Rivendell

All three of those songs should be thrown into the abyss, never to be heard from again.

[dbrooks22]

Kev - what do you think about doing a worst Rush song survivor?  You've done all those Album of the Year polls...

[King Postwhore]

1.  Circumstances
2.  Vital Signs
3.  Different Strings
4.  Emotion Detector
5.  Something For Nothing
6.  Countdown
7.  Time And Motion
8.  Out Of The Cradle
9.  Spindrift
10.  Heresy
11.  Red Lenses
12.  The Speed Of Love
13.  Tai Shan
14.  Scars
15.  Madrigal
16.  Take A Friend
17.  Rivendell
18.  I Think I'm Going Bald

[dbrooks22]

I've seen a few people mention "Spindrift."  I was pretty surprised that Rush released this song as a single (although since Cparts they have been releasing far too many weak songs as singles - Far Cry notwithstanding).  Anyway, after a few listens, i decided that as much as i dislike the first half of the song, the second half is really good.  It's almost a different song altogether. 

[King Postwhore]

Spindrift and Time And Motion have that same vibe to me.  I just think they're ok.

[ytserush]

Easier than I thought. Really it's only the bottom 6 or so that don't do much for me:

Maybe I just have too many listening hours on each album but Caress Of Steel to Hold Your Fire were really hard then it got really easy until Vapor Trails where it became hard again.

1. Entre Nous
2. Circumstances
3. Bravest Face
3. Freeze
4. Red Sector A
5. A Passage To Bangkok
6. Manhattan Project
7. Countdown
8. I Think I'm Going Bald
9. Red Sector A
10. Time Stand Still
11. Limelight
12. Closer To The Heart (This isn't here if it's live)
13. Superconductor
14. Fly By Night
15. The Speed Of Love
16. Carve Away The Stone
17. Crossroads
18. Need Some Love
19. Face Up


I just finished listen to one of my vinyl copies of Power Windows. The remastered CD never really captures the warm low end attack on this one. Definately one of my favorites sonically.

[King Postwhore]

I remember getting Power Windows a day early.  I had an in with a record shop.  I spun that album a thousand times.  I don't have a record player anymore I wish I did still.

[ytserush]

I remember getting Power Windows a day early.  I had an in with a record shop.  I spun that album a thousand times.  I don't have a record player anymore I wish I did still.

First Rush album (vinyl) I ever bought on release day.

When Hold Your Fire was released, I bought the vinyl AND the CD because I had my CD player by then and I wanted to keep collecting all of the vinyl.

I have to say that I've probably haven't listened to Hold Your Fire (vinyl copy) all that much because I don't think it sounds as good as the original release of the CD.
I should probably spin that again soon to see if anything has changed.

[Phoenix87x]

I'm just going to go right in order, but the trend still goes most favorite to least favorite anyway.

1.                (Love all of the first album)
2. Rivendell
3. I think I'm going bald
4. Tears
5. Madrigal
6. The Trees (almost impossible to pick a least favorite off of Hemispheres)
7. Free Will
8. The Camera Eye (just a tad bit too long) especially live
9. Countdown
10. Kid Gloves
11. Manhattan Project
12. Tai Shan
13. Superconductor
14. You Bet your life 
15.                     (Love all of Counterparts)
16. Dog Years
17. Out of the Cradle
18. We hold on

[ytserush]

Looks like they have a partial list released of where they are showing the concert on the big screen.


https://www.rushtimemachinepremiere.com/

The only concern seems to be if it's going to be the whole show of the VH1 Classic Edit.

It's a no brainer for me to go if it's the whole show.
If it's the edit, I just might wait a week and enjoy the whole thing in my own home.