I've been incredibly busy lately and haven't had time to write an update, so this one will cover several albums. Fortunately, I've also been busy listening to some great Rush:
Fly by Night: I said earlier that this wasn't as strong as
Rush and that I didn't consider any of the songs great. Forget about that. By-Tor is such a great song, with the incredibly energetic riffs and melodies, and the instrumental section is great. I thoroughly enjoy the other songs except for Rivendell. "Fly By Night", "Making Memories" and BBB have grown a lot on me.
Caress of Steel: OK, I'm not sure about this one. It is a case where the longest song actually detracts from the album IMO. I was already familiar with Bastille Day, and it's an incredible song, it will probably end up in my top-20 or even top-10 list. I don't take "I think I'm going Bald" seriously and didn't pay much attention to it. "Lakeside Park" is excellent, I have to say that it is my favorite Geddy Lee vocal performance so far, there is something special about the production that really highlights his voice IMO. It is probably my second favorite song off the album. The Necromancer is good, but no more than that. My main problem is with The Fountain of Lamneth. There are only a few moments that excite me, the rest of the song is pretty dull IMO. Another drawback is that they make small pauses between the sections instead of developing transitions between them. I hate that in multi-section songs, it makes them feel disconnected. I'll listen to it more times to see if it grows on me, but I don't think it is regarded as one of their best songs.
Now I'm relistening the albums I was already familiar with:
2112: I like the tittle song a lot, and playing it on GH adds to the fun. Top-20 material here. From the rest, I find A Passage to Bangkok and Lessons uninteresting. "Twilight Zone" has grown on me a lot, as has "Something for Nothing" which in my opinion is one of the last songs that sound like the old Rush hard-rock style, and it's very good. I was already in love with "Tears" due to the DT cover which was the first version I heard, I hope the band explores this melodic side on future albums.
I'm currently on
Permanet Waves but I'll listen to it a couple times more before posting my little review. By the way, I'm obssessed with
Hemispheres and I have to break the chronological order time after time to listen to it. I have played it in its entirety about 20 times, and I can listen to it 5 times in a row on my car without getting tired, actually I have to restrain myself and try not to overplay it. I could be one of the best 10 albums I've ever heard. Everything about it is just pefect