Rush Album-Pair Discussion Of The Week! (Now with POLL!!! VOTE!!!)

[The Letter M]

As a sort of countdown to the release of Clockwork Angels, I figured I would do this thread as a way of revisiting the band's past catalog! Here's how the schedule will work, starting a new pair every Monday:
3/19-3/25 - Rush + Fly By Night
3/26-4/1 - Caress Of Steel + 2112
4/2-4/8 - A Farewell To Kings + Hemispheres
4/9-4/15 - Permanent Waves + Moving Pictures
4/16-4/22 - All The World's A Stage + Exit...Stage Left
4/23-4/29 - Signals + Grace Under Pressure
4/30-5/6 - Power Windows + Hold Your Fire
(WHOOPS! Missed a week here...waaaay too busy with work this week)
5/14-5/20 - Presto + Roll The Bones
5/21-5/27 - Counterparts + Test For Echo
5/28-6/3 - A Show Of Hands + Different Stages
6/4-6/10 - Vapor Trails + Snakes & Arrows
6/11-6/17 - Rush In Rio + R30
6/18-6/24 - S&A Live + Time Machine
6/25 - Clockwork Angels

And so we begin at the beginning...

Rush - If Led Zeppelin had been a Canadian Power Trio with helium in the studio, this is what they may have sounded like. It's a great debut effort, with some classic cuts ("Finding My Way", "In The Mood" and "Working Man") and a couple sleeper-hits ("Here Again" and "Before And After"), while the rest are largely forgettable. Alex really shines on this album, over his fellow band mates, and his solos in "Working Man" are what definitely sent him into his own limelight.

Fly By Night - Neil's debut with the band, and it's still got that raw power sound, but you can definitely tell they have evolved their sound, with songs like "Anthem", "In The End" and especially "By-Tor & The Snowdog", which was birthed from an extended jam that sat in the middle of "Working Man" in their prior live shows. This album only suffers from the Tolkien-laden track "Rivendell"...perhaps they were still trying to be Zeppelin-y?
Either way, this band shows that they can stretch out musically, and they certainly try a few new (and different) things on this album, a direction that would continue in the albums to come...

EDIT - updated the new schedule for discussion as the release date for the new album has been pushed back. I've decided to add the live albums, just because! That, and it'll give us a couple weeks to absorb Clockwork Angels.

-Marc.

[Gadough]

and his solos in "Working Man" are what definitely sent him into his own limelight.

olol

[The Letter M]

and his solos in "Working Man" are what definitely sent him into his own limelight.

olol

Not sure if... wait. 

What's funny?

-Marc.

[Nick]

Everyone knows he didn't come into his own limelight until Moving Pictures.

[theseoafs]

Rush

There are some great songs here, and a some forgettable ones. My favorites here are definitely Working Man and Finding My Way, two fantastic tracks which suggest a greater talent hiding beneath the surface of this Zeppelin clone. Here Again is also a nice track, and Before and After is fine, if only for its beautiful introduction. Need Some Love and In the Mood are fun tracks as well, even if they have some pretty silly lyrics (the hour is late? Really? It's 7:45). This was a strong introduction but Rush was capable of so much more.

Fly by Night

Aaaand here's the so much more Rush was capable of. I love this album; with the exception of filler pieces Best I Can and Making Memories, everything here is an instant classic. With Peart's spectacular lyrics and drumming in place, the stage was set for Rush to forge their own identity. Anthem is a great example of this metamorphosis: from the track's 7/8 introduction to its wildly complex lyrical imagery, all signs pointed to Rush being more than just another Zeppelin. Beneath, Between, and Behind was another example of the new, literate Rush, an evolving nerd's rock band.

Anthem and BB&B were plenty to chew on, but Rush was only getting started. By-Tor and the Snow Dog was Rush's first attempt at an epic, multi-part piece, and it was, in my opinion, a successful experiment. Side 2 opens with the stellar pop rocker Fly By Night, proceeds with the mediocre Making Memories, but closes incredibly strongly with Rivendell and In the End, one of the best album-closing duos Rush has ever had. Rivendell is beautiful and peaceful, and In the End marries the classic rock stylings of the debut with a melodic sensibility extremely elegantly. In short, Fly by Night was an instant classic. It would not, however, be the best of things to come.

[Phoenix87x]

Rush

Absolutely love this album. Its just a bunch of Ballsy, rocking fun.

Fly by night

It contains Anthem, which is my favorite Rush song. I was never that big on the title track and I respect the album overall, but its not one of my favorites. They were still feeling each other out and it shows. Its a solid album, but really foreshadows the future greatness.

[The Letter M]

Rush

There are some great songs here, and a some forgettable ones. My favorites here are definitely Working Man and Finding My Way, two fantastic tracks which suggest a greater talent hiding beneath the surface of this Zeppelin clone. Here Again is also a nice track, and Before and After is fine, if only for its beautiful introduction. Need Some Love and In the Mood are fun tracks as well, even if they have some pretty silly lyrics (the hour is late? Really? It's 7:45). This was a strong introduction but Rush was capable of so much more.

Fly by Night

Aaaand here's the so much more Rush was capable of. I love this album; with the exception of filler pieces Best I Can and Making Memories, everything here is an instant classic. With Peart's spectacular lyrics and drumming in place, the stage was set for Rush to forge their own identity. Anthem is a great example of this metamorphosis: from the track's 7/8 introduction to its wildly complex lyrical imagery, all signs pointed to Rush being more than just another Zeppelin. Beneath, Between, and Behind was another example of the new, literate Rush, an evolving nerd's rock band.

Anthem and BB&B were plenty to chew on, but Rush was only getting started. By-Tor and the Snow Dog was Rush's first attempt at an epic, multi-part piece, and it was, in my opinion, a successful experiment. Side 2 opens with the stellar pop rocker Fly By Night, proceeds with the mediocre Making Memories, but closes incredibly strongly with Rivendell and In the End, one of the best album-closing duos Rush has ever had. Rivendell is beautiful and peaceful, and In the End marries the classic rock stylings of the debut with a melodic sensibility extremely elegantly. In short, Fly by Night was an instant classic. It would not, however, be the best of things to come.

I haven't listened to FBN in awhile, so I may only remember how bad "Rivendell" was when I first started listening to Rush, but the way you make it, it sounds like it's a glorious piece! I may have to revisit this album soon!

-Marc.

[Gadough]

The debut album opens and closes with excellent songs. The 6 in the middle are just ok. I don't care for the album as a whole.

Fly By Night is much better. The last two songs aren't worth my time, but the first 6 are all winners.

[theseoafs]

Rush

There are some great songs here, and a some forgettable ones. My favorites here are definitely Working Man and Finding My Way, two fantastic tracks which suggest a greater talent hiding beneath the surface of this Zeppelin clone. Here Again is also a nice track, and Before and After is fine, if only for its beautiful introduction. Need Some Love and In the Mood are fun tracks as well, even if they have some pretty silly lyrics (the hour is late? Really? It's 7:45). This was a strong introduction but Rush was capable of so much more.

Fly by Night

Aaaand here's the so much more Rush was capable of. I love this album; with the exception of filler pieces Best I Can and Making Memories, everything here is an instant classic. With Peart's spectacular lyrics and drumming in place, the stage was set for Rush to forge their own identity. Anthem is a great example of this metamorphosis: from the track's 7/8 introduction to its wildly complex lyrical imagery, all signs pointed to Rush being more than just another Zeppelin. Beneath, Between, and Behind was another example of the new, literate Rush, an evolving nerd's rock band.

Anthem and BB&B were plenty to chew on, but Rush was only getting started. By-Tor and the Snow Dog was Rush's first attempt at an epic, multi-part piece, and it was, in my opinion, a successful experiment. Side 2 opens with the stellar pop rocker Fly By Night, proceeds with the mediocre Making Memories, but closes incredibly strongly with Rivendell and In the End, one of the best album-closing duos Rush has ever had. Rivendell is beautiful and peaceful, and In the End marries the classic rock stylings of the debut with a melodic sensibility extremely elegantly. In short, Fly by Night was an instant classic. It would not, however, be the best of things to come.

I haven't listened to FBN in awhile, so I may only remember how bad "Rivendell" was when I first started listening to Rush, but the way you make it, it sounds like it's a glorious piece! I may have to revisit this album soon!

-Marc.

Yeah, I'd definitely suggest giving it another go. Rivendell is certainly not up to par with the likes of By-Tor, Fly By Night, and In the End, but in my eyes it's a very pleasant little acoustic piece. The Zeppelin influence is indeed prevalent (Geddy even mentions the "misty mountain"  ), but for what it is, a quiet ballad with fantasy lyrics, it's very good.

[Priest of Syrinx]

Rush

Finding My Way, Here Again, What You're Doing, Working Man are the winners here.

Fly By Night

The only bad track is Rivendell.  Anthem & By-Tor are legendary.  Everything else is varying degrees of good.

[Nick]

Finally got around to listening to these tonight. So much great stuff on Fly By Night I had kinda forgotten about.

[KevShmev]

Rivendell is wretched.  That ranks down there with Time and Motion and War Paint when discussing the worst songs the band ever did.

But the rest of Fly by Night is rock solid, and even occasionally great (By-Tor and Anthem, most notably).  Beneath, Between and Behind is still one of their most underrated songs ever.

[Lowdz]

Rush- Not really put much effort into this album. I'm familiar with the tracks on the live albums and they are ok, but I don't have any emotional attachment to them. I'm not a Led Zep fan so knowing it sounds like Zep always put me off.

FBN- A great Rush album- one of the first I heard. Peart's drumming is so great, the guitar jumps out at you. By-Tor was my favourite song ever at one point. But Rivendell was and will always be awful. I'll take the rest though. Favourite shorter song? BB&B.

[The Letter M]

Alrighty folks, now we start the week with Caress Of Steel and 2112! I haven't listened to these albums in awhile, but I probably will today or tomorrow and some more as the week goes on. From what I remember though...

Caress Of Steel - Definitely a step towards prog, here, more so than Fly By Night, especially with it's two longer pieces. The opening track really sets the tone, and as it was once put, the song ends majestically, and for being less than 5 minutes long, it's got a LOT in it! The next two tracks are fun, while "Lakeside Park" is only slightly less forgettable. The real meat of the album lies in "The Necromancer", being the sequel (or prequel?) to the last album's epic "By-Tor & The Snow Dog", and while it continues the Tolkein-esque pastiche of "Rivendell", it does so in a hard rocking manner! The band must have been listening to lots of Yes and Genesis when constructing a song like this as there are hints of those styles in here (and the following side-long epic). "The Fountain Of Lamneth" was a great 'try' at the side-length suite, but they got it right on the next album! However, it's not without it's merits - Neil's showcase in "Didacts & Narpets" and Alex's solo in "No One At The Bridge" are spectacular, and Geddy's vocals really soar on the whole thing. In the end, it becomes sllightly more disjointed than "Supper's Ready" and only because of the literal dead-stops between movements. Had they segued the tracks together, it might have sounded a bit better, especially had "Bacchus Plateau" not faded out.

2112 - And here it is - the album that set the tone for Rush for the next two albums. Prog and Hard Rock/Metal finally come together in the title suite, where everyone shines. What else can be said about this piece that hasn't already? Neil does some great and creative drumming here, to his fills in "Temples" to the outro of "Grand Finale", while Alex just COOKS all over the place, from his gentle plucking in "Discovery" to some of his best solos to that point. Geddy performs amazingly as usual, and his shrieks reach higher highs as his fingers spider-along all over the fret board.
Side two is pretty interesting, but the power of side one seemingly overshadows the shorter pieces, but the opening and closing songs on side two are pretty memorable. "Tears" is a great softer piece, and one I think the band should bring back (perhaps as part of their "acoustic set"), while the quirky and odd "Twilight Zone" pays homage to the show of the same name, while giving fans a lot to talk about (like the weird tin-can sound? WTF IS that sound?!).

-Marc.

[Priest of Syrinx]

CoS is the first album I ever bought, and I still have it.  I love every song other than I Think I'm Going Bald.

I agree that the B side of 2112 is overwhelmed by the suite itself, by least favorite here is Twilight Zone.

[The Letter M]

And now we get to what may be my two favorite back-to-back Rush albums of ALL time...

A Farewell To Kings definitely shows the band stepping it up and going in a more diversified "prog rock" direction, with more dynamic changes, more guitars, more keyboards, more percussion, and just more of everything. Gone is the Zeppelin-infused hard-rock sound, and in its place is something more akin to Kansas, Yes, and Genesis, but with the same raw intensity and power that a trio could produce. The opening title track is quite a change from what had come before, and the following "Xanadu" is even wilder, with it's lengthy spacey/nature-sounding intro, with a powerful thematic opening, then going into the song proper, which continues to develop and evolve as it reaches the end.
As side two opens, we're greeted with the radio hit "Closer To The Heart", and it's as catchy of a tune as they've ever written. The following two tracks are some of their better "mid-album-forgettables", but the real gold lies in the closing track, one of their most experimental tracks ever, and it features some AWESOME playing and great vocals from Geddy, who reaches some of his highest notes yet! But the journey didn't end there...

Hemispheres - the opening title, side-length suite is an amazing piece, that takes everything they learned about side-length suites and condenses it all into a compact, concise composition that blends and weaves various themes and motifs throughout to create a (mostly) seamless opus that is a brilliant sequel to "Cygnus X-1 Book I".
After the amazing 18 minute side one, one would think they couldn't top that in side two, but they open with one of their shortest songs (and the shortest on the album), and it's a quick but fun track, while the following "The Trees" is a quirky metaphor involving Oaks and Maples (a bit silly, but they have to show us they still weren't taking themselves TOO seriously). The closing epic instrumental is a 12-part romp through a few various themes, the focus of which revolves around a melody from Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" (a cartoon staple), as well as one of Lifeson's most highly regarded guitar solos in "A Lerxst In Wonderland".

These two albums form what I think are one of the best one-two-punches of album releases ever, by any band (even rivaling such pairs like Fragiles/Close To The Edge, Foxtrot/Selling England By The Pound, Leftoverture/Point Of Know Return, A Night At The Opera/A Day At The Races, and so so many more).

-Marc.

[Nick]

AFtK and Hemi are my two favorite albums of all time, so needless to say I'm looking forward to spinning them them.

On the rare occasion I listen to Caress of Steel I always forget how much I do enjoy the final two tracks. Really is a pretty solid album minus I Think I'm Going Bald.

[The Letter M]

AFtK and Hemi are my two favorite albums of all time, so needless to say I'm looking forward to spinning them them.

On the rare occasion I listen to Caress of Steel I always forget how much I do enjoy the final two tracks. Really is a pretty solid album minus I Think I'm Going Bald.

I think I agree with you. I've been spinning AFTK and HEMI over the last 5 days and I have forgotten just how GOOD, no... AWESOME these two albums are! I've not really listened to Rush in recent years, having been focused on other, newer bands, but this revisiting is really rekindling my relationship with Rush, and I've just recalled just how great these two albums really were! There's no bad tracks on here among these two albums and ten tracks (yes, even "Madrigal" is pretty good).

I'd almost have to say that 2112-MP is one of the greatest 5-album runs of ALL time, contending with Kansas' first five albums, any run of Yes albums (TYA-Relayer or Fragile-GFTO), any run of Genesis albums (Trespass-TLLDOB or NC-ATTOT or Foxtrot-W&W), etc. etc.

Also, gotta say the run of "Broon's Bane"/"The Trees"/"Xanadu" on ESL is just insanely good. One of the best side of live vinyl I've ever heard, the whole 19:37 is just great. I can't really explain it. Every member of the band just pushes the songs to a new level, and Neil in particular is just on FIRE.

-Marc.

[Nick]

For 5 albums runs I have to go with Marillion (Script>Season's End) or Queensryche (Warning>Promised Land), but Rush is a close 3rd.

I did listen to AFtK and Hemi this past week. Not much to say, many orgasms were had.

[Priest of Syrinx]

What about a 7 album run, Fly By Night -> Moving Pictures.

[Elite]

For some reason I'm not that into Hemispheres, but A Farewell to Kings is my favourite Rush album. That said, I have to get into Rush more.

[pain of occupation]

  enjoying the write-ups now that ive finally opened this thread.
AFTK and Hemispheres arent only my favorite back to back albums of theirs, but my favorite two of theirs period!  (okay, so not quite the amount of love Nick gives the two of em).
i also havent been in a huge Rush mood in recent times, but i think this thread might change that...in fact, i'll throw on AFTK as soon as my current album has finished spinning (Unfold the Future....apparently, she's a prog night tonight) .

[KevShmev]

What about a 7 album run, Fly By Night -> Moving Pictures.

How about we just expand it to 8 album runs, and we can safely call 2112 through Power Windows the greatest one ever.

[Lowdz]

One of these is in my top 5 albums of all time and one isn't anywhere near.








Yes, I'm not a fan of Hemispheres- the track, though the rest of the album is awesome.

[The Letter M]

Permanent Waves - what can I say about this album...hmm, well, every song is at least 7/10 - "Entre Nous" being 7/10 for being pretty good but not insanely great, while "Different Strings" gets an 8/10 for being just a bit too short! It should've been longer!
Side 1 is just spectacular, with the the classic "The Spirit Of Radio" opening the album, you know this band means business, even in 5-minute songs. Highlights of Side 1 include the bridge in TSOR, the bridge in "Freewill" (well, ALL of "Freewill" is just great), and the entirety of "Jacob's Ladder". It's like they took what made their proggy epics of past albums, condensed it into a under-8-minute piece and made it even heavier with it's various odd-meter riffs before the quiet middle verse, then the mind-numbing 13/8 section! This took me FOREVER to learn on drums, but it was worth the wait as it's fun to play! Neil had a unique way of phrasing each measure of 13/8 (or 6/8+7/8) just to be slightly different each time when that section starts, then he falls into a groove. Just wonderful!
Side 2, as I said above, starts with two shorter pieces that are pretty good, but following the 3 songs on side 1 would be hard to do, but they close the album with, what I think, it's one of their best epics. "Natural Science" has some great riffs and solos and everyone's playing is top notch here, everyone gets time to shine on this track, and it was amazing that they've brought it back in the last 15 years after a long break from the setlists! I was also glad they pulled out "Entre Nous" a few years back! Now they just need to play "Different Strings" and "Jacob's Ladder"!

Moving Pictures - it's no coincidence that this album is often abbreviated as "MP", which could also stand for master-piece, because this album is truly that. Every song is constructed so well, and while Side 1 gets more praise (and play from the band) as the songs were more radio-friendly, Side 2 shows the band still had some proggy/experimental roots in them, ranging from a 10-minute epic, to a haunting almost-program-music-esque piece, ending with something of a mash-up of electronic and reggae influences that would hint at what's to come. This album shows a LOT of sides of the band - where they were and where they were going, and while the keyboards had become more prominent than ever, the songs on here really showed us that they were still the power-trio they had always been.

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Updated the new schedule for discussion as the release date for the new album has been pushed back. I've decided to add the live albums, just because!

All The World's A Stage - With four albums under their belts, they figured it was a good time to toss out a live album, and what a strong one it is! We get most of the "2112" suite, a couple from COS, and a good chunk from their first two albums, including an awesome (but short) drum solo from "The Professor" (with Geddy's introduction). I love the raw intensity on this album, though I wish songs like "The Necromancer" had made it on there, but I can understand that they needed to include some other songs, especially the shorter ones, but they still included "2112" and the "Working Man"/"Finding My Way" medley, paving way for them to play and release longer tracks in the coming albums. It's nice to hear all of "By-Tor", even though we get the first half of it 3 times later (ESL video, Different Stages Disc 3, and Rush In Rio).


Exit...Stage Left - Now, on the other side of the "live coin", this is a more clean, studio-like, polished-sounding live album. The songs are crisp, clear, and clean but there's a distinct lack of "live sound", with a few exceptions like "Closer To The Heart". But we do get all the great songs from this era, with the hits from PEW and MP, but we're also treated the longer tracks like "La Villa Strangiato" and "Jacob's Ladder", but we miss out on "Natural Science" and both parts of "Cygnus X-1". I suppose if the band had more guts, they COULD have made a triple LP (eventually a double CD), and given us ALL their epic songs, but tough choices had to be made. At least we got "Broon's Bane"/"The Trees"/"Xanadu", which is probably my favorite part of ESL.

-Marc.

[Orbert]

All the World's a Stage was my first Rush album, and I'm sure that's true of a lot of Rush fans from the 70's.  Getting into a band via their live album was pretty common, and live albums in general I think were more common and more popular back then.  Anyway, it blew me away and I ended up buying all four studio releases, by which time A Farewell to Kings had come out and it was time to be blown away all over again and Rush moved into their next phase.

I was so stoked when Exit... Stage Left came out and I bought it right away.  ...And was honestly a bit disappointed.  It was the first album I owned that was digitally mastered, and I didn't know if that was the problem, but overall the album just didn't sound very "live" to me.  It sounded very dry.  You could hear the audience, you could tell that it was recorded live, but something wasn't right.  Some spark was missing.  The performances themselves were very good, and "Broon's Bane" into "The Trees" was cool, but I don't find myself playing this one very often.

[The Letter M]

Signals is an interesting album that has a bit of a different feel and direction than MP had, and it's a sound that doesn't really develop after the album either (GUP is nearly a sort of polar opposite of this), but this album produced some of the band's greatest songs like "Subdivisions" and "The Analog Kid", along with the radio hit "New World Man". A lot of fans say Signals rounds out a Top 3 Consecutive run of PEW/MP/SIG, and while I would agree, I think it's a bit more different from PEW and MP were with each other. The songs are all a bit shorter, but the band still has a lot of punch to it, especially Alex, despite his sound slowly being enveloped by keyboards and synths. I'd say this album has a good balance of both, while keeping the sound warm and not as cold as it would be in later albums. I'd say most of this album is pretty good, but there have been a couple songs I just struggle with liking like "Chemistry" and "Countdown".

Grace Under Pressure has a bit more of a cold, sterile sound but it works with the overall theme and general feel of the album. And while it's still got 8 songs, they all have quite a different feel than the 8 songs on the previous album, but there is still a lot of power, like in "Red Sector A" and "Between The Wheels". I don't think, when I first listened to this album, there were any songs I didn't initially like. The album, as a whole, is better than Signals and a lot more consistent, and starts and ends with a bang, whereas "Countdown" just sort of fizzles out.

-Marc.

[dbrooks22]

Pretty sure that Signals is better than P/G, although i love them both.  And Countdown is a beast of a song.  I didn't always like it - took me a long time to appreciate it - but these days it hits me right in the sweet spot.

[Phoenix87x]

Funny timing,

  cause I was just listening to Grace under pressure while buying tickets and I am now listening to Signals.

Signals took me a long time to warm up to, but as of now I absolutely love it. Losing it and Subdivisions in my top five favorite Rush songs.

Grace Under Pressure is fantastic. The first half I feel is a bit stronger then the 2nd half, but its still an incredible album, and the album art is truly inspiring.

[Lowdz]

I took a long time to appreciate Signals as at the time I was into the Metal  It grew on me but some songs I just couldn't stand (Chemistry, Digital Man, The Weapon). Analog Kid was a winner and as a sci-fi geek I loved Countdown. Losing It is a great ballad and the other songs are very good. As time has gone on I've come to nearly love it with only the verse reggae bits in DM and Chemistry being crap.

P/G was an instant classic. I loved the icy sound to the guitars and the awesomeness of side 1 (hey it was vinyl at the time). Side 2 doesn't match up but the only track I skip is Red Lenses- poor. It ends well with BTW and Kid Gloves is great too- Love the solo there. And Rush's best album cover too.

[Nick]

Yesterday I took care of PW>GUP, and there isn't too much to say other than... SO MUCH FUCKING WIN.

[bundy]

Signals was the my introduction to Rush. After the first 30 seconds of Subdivisions I was hooked. Thirty years later, it's still one of my favourite Rush tracks and Signals still holds huge sentimental value to me.

GUP is probably my absolute favourite Rush album. Every track is killer. Particular favourites are Red Sector A and Afterimage. Peart's lyrics and drumming are simply incredible. Has there ever been a more poignant song about suicide? What is so impressive is that it is not at all morbid or depressing, simply tells it as it is for those left behind.

suddenly you were gone
from all the lives you left your mark upon
....
try to believe it but you know it's no good
this is something that just can't be understood
etc

likewise the lyrics for Losing It, a song that's come to have far more meaning now I'm getting closer to fifty, the hairs falling out and the eyesight is failing. Love the philosophical question he raises to

"Sadder still to watch it die than never to have known it"

Don't know if I agree with him on that one or not.

Two absolutely brilliant albums!!!!

[dbrooks22]

Afterimage was written for Robbie Whelan, who died in a car accident. 

The Pass (from Presto) was written about youth suicide

[bundy]

Afterimage was written for Robbie Whelan, who died in a car accident. 

Didn't know that - thanks. The lines I quoted about the sudness and trying to understand but it being something that can't be understood immediately made me think of suicide. I suppose those sentiments apply equally to the loss of someone close in a car accident or any kind of sudden accident I suppose. Really beautiful and touching song.