Rush v. Dirk, Pratt, & Lerxst

[King Postwhore]

Power Windows has 2 high points?


That is their most complete album after Moving Pictures.   The only song that falters a little is Emotion Detector though the guitar solo is killer on that song.

[The Walrus]

That's an interesting perspective. To me there isn't a weak note of music on Power Windows. I love synths and synth-laden rock and metal so songs like Marathon, Grand Designs (good god I love the keyboards in that song) etc. really speak to me. Territories is like Scars with the groovy bass, but with far better lyrics and a chorus that doesn't sound silly to me. But, my favorite Asia album is Alpha, the one with the overpowering synths and super happy songs, so I'm biased a little. I love synths when they're used well and Power Windows is where they used them best, in my opinion. Though I totally understand why that doesn't jive with some people.

Seriously, the way the synths open up the music and let the songs breathe really resonates with me on a very deep level. The pads that back the chorus to Marathon have actually made me choke up a bit because of how it elevates the song to a higher level, especially as Geddy's vocals rise higher with each repeat.

[Fritzinger]

I am listening to DTs Xanadu version RIGHT NOW AND MMs SOUND IS AMAZING!!! FINALLY! I hope JPs eyes are opened now how great they can sound with a good drum sound and that they use a sound like this on their new album...
Here you can also hear the huge influence of Rush on DT. If I didn't know this song inside out it could also be a DT song from the mid-90s.

[TAC]

Power Windows has 2 high points?

Yes.

1. It sure smelled nice when it was brand new
2. The last song finally ends

[King Postwhore]

I will knife you in a dark alley. 

[pg1067]

The pads that back the chorus to Marathon have actually made me choke up a bit because of how it elevates the song to a higher level, especially as Geddy's vocals rise higher with each repeat.

I'll certainly agree with that.  Marathon strikes a nice balance.  The rest of the album...well...

Power Windows has 2 high points?

Yes.

1. It sure smelled nice when it was brand new
2. The last song finally ends

I didn't go quite that far, but calling it a complete album just baffles me.  I typically give up on it before the last song ends, but I'm sure you're right about that.

[TAC]

By the way, the only reason Superconductor isn't the worst song on Presto is because Scars and Hand Over Fist exist.  Superconductor could've been good; the main 7/4 riff isn't bad; but the prechorus and chorus with that "other" voice that says/sings "superconductor" are just embarrassing.

Probably the coolest part of the song.  I like that it's something different.   Then again, I think "Presto" is one of their best albums, so there's that.

I think Presto is their best album released between 1983 and 2001.   

I love Presto. Easy listening adult contemporary Rush.

pg, I like both Scars and Hand Over Fist. To me the worst songs are War Paint and The Pass. But yes, Superconductor is not great.

[Snow Dog]

For Kattoelox:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za62IAlLREY

I remember you mentioning that you wanted to learn bass now because of Geddy.  Here's a YouTube channel that showcases a different classic guitar five days a week, and sometimes they display a bass as well.  Then the guy who does them plays some riffs that might have been recorded with a similar instrument.  Today's episode highlights one of Geddy's simpler bass lines if you ever pick up the instrument and want to learn it.  Skip to around 5:38.

You're welcome. 

[KevShmev]

Power Windows has 2 high points?

Yes.

1. It sure smelled nice when it was brand new
2. The last song finally ends

[King Postwhore]

Kev, you can't blame TAC.  He still has iron on concert T-shirts.

[TAC]

Kev, you can't blame TAC.  He still has iron on concert T-shirts.

Um no...I still have pictures of them. 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Kev, you can't blame TAC.  He still has iron on concert T-shirts.

Um no...I still have pictures of them. 

I'm not sure if that is better or worse 

On the Power Windows debate, I'm with Firewings completely. There isn't a single bad note on that album. Whereas Presto has Superconductor right in the middle just to ruin your whole listening experience. It's probably the worst song Rush has ever written.

[King Postwhore]

Kev, you can't blame TAC.  He still has iron on concert T-shirts.

Um no...I still have pictures of them. 

You know I love ya man. *Bro hug*

[TAC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xglqe2UhJME

[jammindude]

My favs:

What You're Doing
By-Tor and the Snow Dog
The Necromancer
2112
Cygnus X-1:Book 1 - The Voyage
Cygnus X-1:Book 2 - Hemispheres (#1 all time)
Natural Science
Red Barchetta
The Weapon
Between the Wheels
Territories (#2 all time)
Prime Mover
War Paint/Chain Lightning (tie)
Bravado
Cold Fire/Cut to the Chase (tie)
Driven
Freeze
Hope/Faithless (as a single piece)
BU2B

Actually...and surprisingly...the hardest to pick was Clockwork Angels.   I literally have 5 standout favorites on that album right now.

[The Letter M]

I guess I'll play the Least Fave/Most Fave songs game here. I'll post the Least first, then the most:

You Can't Fight It / Garden Road (if we're looking at early non-album songs...all 4 or 5 of them, counting covers)
Take A Friend / Working Man
Making Memories / By-Tor & The Snowdog
I Think I'm Going Bald / The Necromancer
Lessons / 2112
Madrigal / Xanadu
Circumstances / La Villa Strangiato
Entre Nous / Jacob's Ladder (barely edges out Natural Science)
Vital Signs / YYZ (or maybe Limelight, both are so good)
Chemistry / Subdivisions
Red Lenses / Between The Wheels
Emotion Detector / Marathon
High Water / Mission (though Lock And Key is up there)
Hand Over Fist / The Pass or Available Light
Neurotica / Dreamline or Bravado (especially live versions)
The Speed Of Love or Alien Shore / Leave That Thing Alone (if I *had* to pick one)
Dog Years / Driven or Limbo
Nocturne or The Stars Look Down / Freeze (easily, but Secret Touch not far behind)
Shapes Of Things / The Seeker
Bravest Face (I guess?) / The Main Monkey Business (I really like their instrumentals lol)
BU2B2 / Headlong Flight or Clockwork Angels (but Caravan gets my blood going too)

...Whew. That took a bit more thinking that I had anticipated. Some of the least favorites are really my least faves, but others I had to really think about which tracks I really just don't care for among the others, so that made it a bit tougher, especially after Signals.

-Marc.

[Polarbear]

This might be the hardest list i have ever done! And one week from now, it might look totally different..

So My "favorites"..

Working Man
Fly By Night
Bastille Day
Twilight Zone/ 2112
Xanadu
La Villa/ The Trees
Spirit of Radio/ Natural Science

Can't decide on Moving Pictures!

The Weapon/Subdivisions
Red Sector A/ The Enemy Within

Can't decide on Power Windows..

Lock and Key/ Time Stand Still
Chain Lighting/ Scars
Dreamline/ Ghost of a Chance
Animate/ Cold Fire
Test for Echo
Vapor Trail/ Earthshine
Bravest Face/ Far Cry
BU2B/ Wreckers

[AngelBack]

I am listening to DTs Xanadu version RIGHT NOW AND MMs SOUND IS AMAZING!!! FINALLY! I hope JPs eyes are opened now how great they can sound with a good drum sound and that they use a sound like this on their new album...
Here you can also hear the huge influence of Rush on DT. If I didn't know this song inside out it could also be a DT song from the mid-90s.

Without breaking in forum rules, can you tell me how you are hearing this?

[Fritzinger]

I am listening to DTs Xanadu version RIGHT NOW AND MMs SOUND IS AMAZING!!! FINALLY! I hope JPs eyes are opened now how great they can sound with a good drum sound and that they use a sound like this on their new album...
Here you can also hear the huge influence of Rush on DT. If I didn't know this song inside out it could also be a DT song from the mid-90s.

Without breaking in forum rules, can you tell me how you are hearing this?

The album is out today?

[Stadler]

Kev, you can't blame TAC.  He still has iron on concert T-shirts.

Um no...I still have pictures of them. 

I'm not sure if that is better or worse 

On the Power Windows debate, I'm with Firewings completely. There isn't a single bad note on that album. Whereas Presto has Superconductor right in the middle just to ruin your whole listening experience. It's probably the worst song Rush has ever written.

Just as conversation, couldn't disagree with that more.   There are at least three duds on Power Windows (though the highs are so high it's still one of my favorite albums by the band) and other than perhaps the chorus to Chain Lightning, Presto is almost perfect, with Superconductor being one of the three or four best on the record.   LOVE that record.   Then again, I'm the guy that thinks that p/g is a massive misfire by the band, so...   

[AngelBack]

I am listening to DTs Xanadu version RIGHT NOW AND MMs SOUND IS AMAZING!!! FINALLY! I hope JPs eyes are opened now how great they can sound with a good drum sound and that they use a sound like this on their new album...
Here you can also hear the huge influence of Rush on DT. If I didn't know this song inside out it could also be a DT song from the mid-90s.

Without breaking in forum rules, can you tell me how you are hearing this?

The album is out today?

Ah. didn't realize that. 

[Architeuthis]

Was just watching the live version of Marathon on the Time Machine DVD last night, that is so awesome!!!!  I almost forgot how good that concert is, high energy performance..

[pg1067]

Kev, you can't blame TAC.  He still has iron on concert T-shirts.

Um no...I still have pictures of them. 

I'm not sure if that is better or worse 

On the Power Windows debate, I'm with Firewings completely. There isn't a single bad note on that album. Whereas Presto has Superconductor right in the middle just to ruin your whole listening experience. It's probably the worst song Rush has ever written.

Just as conversation, couldn't disagree with that more.   There are at least three duds on Power Windows (though the highs are so high it's still one of my favorite albums by the band) and other than perhaps the chorus to Chain Lightning, Presto is almost perfect, with Superconductor being one of the three or four best on the record.   LOVE that record.   Then again, I'm the guy that thinks that p/g is a massive misfire by the band, so...

"At least three duds on Powers Windows" is an understatement, and you're hardly alone in your opinion of p/g.  Where we differ in opinion is on Superconductor.

[Architeuthis]

Power Windows is excellent the whole way through, no duds on that one..  Superconductor is a great song. I love all the key changes towards the end. Kind of similar to Marathon.

[Nick]

So Friday the new Rush box set arrived like this:


Then today the replacement arrived like this:


What shitastic quality control on such an expensive item.

[ProfessorPeart]

Where did you order from?

I got the Super Deluxe as well and the packaging could not have been better. I ordered from Amazon and got it for $97. I opened the box and in the box was another well sealed box. In that tightly wrapped box was the Super Deluxe. There was not a thing out of place and was absolutely perfect. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing.

It is a heck of a set as well. I thought the 2112 Super Deluxe was nice. This is even nicer.

[Nick]

Where did you order from?

I got the Super Deluxe as well and the packaging could not have been better. I ordered from Amazon and got it for $97. I opened the box and in the box was another well sealed box. In that tightly wrapped box was the Super Deluxe. There was not a thing out of place and was absolutely perfect. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing.

It is a heck of a set as well. I thought the 2112 Super Deluxe was nice. This is even nicer.

I ordered from Amazon as well, and they are the golden child in this. As usual it was well packed and came on time the first time, and as quickly as possible on the replacement. These fuckups go back to when the things were made and put together. It is a beautiful set outside of these problems I've had.

[Orbert]

So Friday the new Rush box set arrived like this:

Holy Shit!  Is that literally a disc and a booklet taped into a huge box, and nothing else?  How does that even happen?

[Nick]

So Friday the new Rush box set arrived like this:

Holy Shit!  Is that literally a disc and a booklet taped into a huge box, and nothing else?  How does that even happen?

Sorry for the confusion, but everything else in the set was fine.

That double sided tape at the bottom is to hold foam in place, which has cutouts for the CDs and necklace, so that the vinyl and big stuff can sit on top. Somehow that sleeve and disc got under the foam and stuck to the tape.

[TAC]

What is that yellow thing in the picture Nick? Is that a glue gun? Feeling crafty?

[Orbert]

That double sided tape at the bottom is to hold foam in place, which has cutouts for the CDs and necklace, so that the vinyl and big stuff can sit on top. Somehow that sleeve and disc got under the foam and stuck to the tape.

Ah, got it.  That's pretty crappy, but glad they took care of it right away.

[ytserush]

More than happy with the 3CD set for now. May get the super deluxe at some point because I'd want the live show on vinyl and the bluray, but those aren't huge priorities at the moment.

It's the best sounding A Farewell To Kings CD I own, beating the original atomic, the '97 remaster and the Sector remaster.

[Stadler]

ytserush, what do you know about the specs on the Sector box sets, specifically the 5.1 mixes on DVD?    I bought Sector 2 and Sector 3 boxes, and while the "AFTK" and "Signals" 5.1 mixes are amazing, I don't know what I'm really dealing with, and don't know that I am getting the most out of them.

My setup is such that my DVD/CD player will decode the disks, but so will my receiver.   So technically, I can listen to any of the Rush disks (any disk, really) in "5.1", as the receiver will "explode" the 2-channel signal into 3/2.1.    With most of my other 5.1 disks (Genesis, Crimson) I can select on the disk what I want the output to be and it will send the signal already in 5.1.   This is important since that means I am getting the mix/5.1 signal that the band wanted me to, not an approximation from the receiver's codec. 

LOng story short, I can't seem to figure out what the Rush signal is supposed to be.  In the DVD menu it says "Surround Sound" and "Stereo" selections, but it doesn't seem to make a difference which one I pick (unless the sonic differences are just not that big, which is a possibility). 

[ProfessorPeart]

It's the best sounding A Farewell To Kings CD I own, beating the original atomic, the '97 remaster and the Sector remaster.

These Abbey Road remasters are the essential ones for me. I owned the original discs and the '97 remasters. Ever since I got the Rush Rediscovered 40th release of the first album on vinyl, I have been on a mission with these Abbey Road masters. I could not believe how good that album sounded. 2112 was the first CD release of an Abbey Road master as they were all originally done for just vinyl and the HD Audio releases.

Since then I have bought the HD Audio releases of Rush, Fly By Night, and Caress. I now have 2112 and Farewell on CD. I'm waiting to see what happens next before buying the other albums in HD. Assuming a Hemispheres 40th next.

In my opinion, these Abbey Road masters will be it. I see no way they can improve them or a reason to buy a 4th time (famous last words).

[Orbert]

I would just like to say that the live version of "Xanadu" from Exit Stage Left is fucking mind-blowing.  The ending is pure bliss.  Most times you can get away with just one guitar even if the studio version has both lead and rhythm guitars, if you're good; it also helps if the music was basically written that way.  But there's some times when you just have to have the lead guitar wailing with power chords behind it.  The ending of Xanadu, with both of them on the double-necks, both playing pedals, and Neil sounding like at least two or three guys anyway, it's like there's six or seven of them up there, but no, it's just Rush.  Still my favorite power trio, probably always will be.