Rush v. Dirk, Pratt, & Lerxst

[Architeuthis]

I agree with puppies about Stick it Out being the worst song on the album. Especially compared to songs like CTTC,  Double Agent, and Everyday Glory. I do recall hearing Animate and Nobody's Hero on the radio quite a bit.
When I first heard Stick It Out,  My first thought was Rush trying to be relevant to the grunge era too, as jammindude said..  That's probably why they chose it as the single.

I also remember Beavis and Butthead ripping on Stick it Out on MTV.. 

[nick_z]

I actually enjoy Stick It Out a fair bit but, yes, I certainly wouldn’t consider it among the top songs on the album.

Anyway, Counterparts is one of my favorite Rush albums, period, so…

[KevShmev]

I don't see anything Rush did as trying to be relevant in the 90s because they were very irrelevant as far as the mainstream went.  They still had a big enough fanbase to sell a lot of albums and concert tickets, but many publications went from criticizing a new Rush album to not even reviewing it at all, and MTV, thanks to Rush hater Kurt Loder (by his own admission), ignored them as if they didn't exist, or in the case of Beavis and Butthead, tore them to shreds.  Time has been good to Rush as the new wave of critics in the last 20 years have much kinder to them, and their success and longevity became impossible for most to ignore at a certain point, but they were the punching bag of critics and many for most of their time as a band in the 20th century. 

[HOF]

I think Rush were always kind of influenced by other bands/styles they appreciated (The Police in the 80s, grunge in the 90s, Tool in the 2000s, etc.), but I don’t think they were trying to be cool or trendy.

[Stadler]

Always a big fan of "Double Agent".  I always thought (and still do) that it was a very creative song that sort of played around with the concept of "verse, chorus, verse, chorus"... in a neat way.   There's nothing "grunge" about Double Agent.  If anything it harkens back to the early years; that guitar behind what you could call the "verse" is vintage "Fly By Night"- era Alex. 

[jingle.boy]

Ged and Al hanging in the brewery is always worth a bump.

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

[Architeuthis]

    🍻

[TAC]

Always a big fan of "Double Agent".  I always thought (and still do) that it was a very creative song that sort of played around with the concept of "verse, chorus, verse, chorus"... in a neat way.   There's nothing "grunge" about Double Agent.  If anything it harkens back to the early years; that guitar behind what you could call the "verse" is vintage "Fly By Night"- era Alex.

Great tune.

[Setlist Scotty]

Always a big fan of "Double Agent".  I always thought (and still do) that it was a very creative song that sort of played around with the concept of "verse, chorus, verse, chorus"... in a neat way.   There's nothing "grunge" about Double Agent.  If anything it harkens back to the early years; that guitar behind what you could call the "verse" is vintage "Fly By Night"- era Alex.

Great tune.

I agree with Stad's assessment, too. Only issue I take with it is that Geddy didn't do the spoken vocals live, which was a major disappointment. But I love the song.

[jjrock88]

Ged and Al hanging in the brewery is always worth a bump.

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

 

[TAC]

That's funny. I'd love to see them do some sort of video podcast together.

[Orbert]

Those guys are insane!

[ReaperKK]

That's funny. I'd love to see them do some sort of video podcast together.

I would love to listen to one if they did, even if it was just a few episodes long.

[King Postwhore]

They sell beer scientist bumper stickers at the Rush Backstage Club. 

[King Postwhore]

Rush with their Dad's.

[ytserush]

OK...does anyone have any sort of primary source for the actual release date of Permanent Waves?

I had long heard that it was released on new year's day 1980, but that seems absurd.  Plenty of random sites still list 1/1/1980 as the release date.  Wikipedia lists the release date as 1/18/1980 (a Friday) and cites an article in the January 12, 1980 issue of Music Week, which appears to have been a British music magazine.  That article (on p. 2 of this pdf - chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1980/Music-Week-1980-01-12.pdf ) stated, "PHONOGRAM IS planning a heavy new advertising campaign for leading heavy metal group Rush who have a new album released on January 18 called Permanent Waves. . . .  [P] The LP will be simultaneously released worldwide. . . ."  However, I know that albums were sometimes released on different dates in the U.S./Canada and England.

Anyone?

I'd have to hit the shelf for this one but the story is that this was supposed to be the first album released in the new decade and while I believe it was scheduled for that date I'm not really sure it they managed to hit it.

As an aside, my original Japanese CD pressing has a 1979 copyright date which supports my theory that it was released in 12/31/79 in Japan.

The reason I doubt it was not released in the US on 1/1 because of the "controversy" of the cover art. (Dewey Defeats Truman, the coca cola sign, etc....) So it may have hit on 1/1 in Canada and in other countries where this was not a problem but delayed in countries where the cover art WAS a problem.

While I've looked into the research of 2112 I've never actively looked into Permanent Waves. Perhaps Billboard would have the answer to that.

Of course Tuesday was a traditional date for new releases. but I'm not sure when that started and ended. I think it might be Fridays now, but I'm not sure.

[ytserush]

The Clockwork Angels tour was the muddiest sounding live show Ive ever heard from Rush. With all the advancements in technology by that time,  what the heck happened??   You can't blame the venue because I've seen countless shows there before that were crystal clear (including several Rush shows).
The CA live blu-ray even has the same issues.

I believe the phrase you're looking for is "densely layered."

[ytserush]

Speaking of Rush live releases, I have the Rush R40 Bluray box set and I plan on watching a couple of the concerts again in the coming weeks.

How would you rank all the different concert movies?

We have:

Exit... Stage Left
A Show Of Hands
Rush In Rio
R30
Snakes & Arrows: Live
Time Machine 2011
Clockwork Angels Tour
R40: Live

What happened to the Grace Under Pressure Tour?

[ytserush]

Nah, if they remixed Presto they'd compress the fuck out of it and it would end up sounding brickwalled like the last couple of albums.  Because that's how it's done these days, apparently.

Presto is rather thin-sounding, but I'd rather have the space and be able to hear the instruments.  I can bump up the midrange on my stereo if I have to.

The Audio Fidelity CD version is a slight improvement and adds a bit more punch,

[ytserush]

Presto was my 4th tour that I saw Rush. It was the last tour I saw without my wife. We started dating in 1991.

I saw the tour twice. I loved the bunnies on the stage. Presto was a different album for them but I loved it. I remember reading that Hand Over Fist was originally going to be an instrumental.

And Neil kept handing Geddy lyrics so bye bye instrumental.

Presto Tour is my least favorite even though I saw them 5 times on that tour.

Remember calling my future wife after one of the shows and told her about the bunnies. Everybody loves bunnies.

[ytserush]

Just the opposite by the guys in the band. Alex got into agreements with the engineer,  Kevin Shirley (sound familiar?) about not using pedals and adding the effects later.

T4E, they were going with a more modern sound with the dry vocals that fit in that mid to late 90's era.

Alex was not "encumbered by effects."

[ytserush]

100% agree, Puppies and Kev.

CP, in retrospect (and I’m saying this because that was literally the first Rush album I heard, right when it came out, so at the time I wouldn’t have had any perspective on Rush overall discog) was a deliberate return to a more guitar-driven sound, but it doesn’t strike me as a clear attempt to be relevant to the “grunge” crowd…it sound very Rush to me, all around

The Stick It Out video reeks of grunge, not so much the album. The Nobody's Hero  video does not.

[ytserush]

Rush with their Dad's.

'83?

[King Postwhore]

I believe so!

[fadetoblackdude7]

Didn’t Ged say that his dad passed away when he was 12? Could’ve sworn he said that in one of the documentaries.

[King Postwhore]

Step dad.

[pg1067]

Geddy's father Morris, whom Geddy quite resembles, died in 1965, when Geddy was 12. 





I have no idea about his mother re-marrying.

[King Postwhore]

Again, step dad. Yes, his dad died when he was 12.  His mom did marry again.

[Kram]

Again, step dad. Yes, his dad died when he was 12.  His mom did marry again.

That explains it then. And yes, Geddy does look like his dad.

[King Postwhore]

Here's the full pictures with the moms too.

[pg1067]

Again, step dad. Yes, his dad died when he was 12.  His mom did marry again.

That explains it then. And yes, Geddy does look like his dad.

The interesting thing is that Morris was in his mid-30s when that picture was taken, and Gary is close to being 25 years older than Morris was when he died!  That's not how 70-year old people looked when I was a kid!

[King Postwhore]

I saw some online thing where actors in their 50's looked like in the 70's compared to the actors in their 50's today. You're not kidding pg.

[pg1067]

I saw some online thing where actors in their 50's looked like in the 70's compared to the actors in their 50's today. You're not kidding pg.

It's wild.  I've been watching Cheers over the past few weeks (in the middle of season 2 right now), and it's amazing to see these actors who looked like they were at least in their 60s, but I look them up and find they were actually in their 40s!

[King Postwhore]

Ed Asner was 41 on the 1st episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  He looked in his late 50's!  Look at Paul Rudd.  He's 54 looking like he's in his late 30's!

[pg1067]

Ed Asner was 41 on the 1st episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  He looked in his late 50's!  Look at Paul Rudd.  He's 54 looking like he's in his late 30's!

Exactly!  These people were the same age when the photos were taken: