Rush v. Dirk, Pratt, & Lerxst

[Max Kuehnau]

I actually really like James' version of Red Barchetta.

[pg1067]

Random question:

Wondering what everyone thinks about the album Working Man - A Tribute to Rush.

This album was released over 20 years ago and features covers of 13 "classic" Rush songs (all from the debut album through Signals, plus Mission).  The album was released on Magna Carta Records.  Only one song (I think it was only one) was performed by an actual band (Closer to the Heart by Fates Warning).  Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy played bass and drums on about half the songs, and Stu Hamm was on a handful.  Singers included guys like Jack Russell, Mark Slaughter, Sebastian Bach and James Labrie.  I didn't know who most of the other players were (and I still don't, although I have come to recognize many of the names).  For the most part, I thought it was a very subpar effort, and most of the production sounds very sterile.  Most of the vocals, in particular, were pretty bad.  The one that always stands out is Natural Science, which features Devin Townsend on vocals.  It's one of my favorite Rush songs, but he just butchers it.  I didn't know who he was at the time, and that performance has kept me from even checking out anything else he's done.  Terry Brown was involved in the mixing, but not as a producer.

What do you all think?

I actually really like James' version of Red Barchetta.

I quoted my whole post since it got stuck at the bottom of the prior page.

Closer to the Heart, Mission and Red Barchetta are, for me, the runaway best songs on the album.  They even managed to screw up La Villa Strangiato with Sheehan's gross overplaying.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I'd never heard that Devin performance before, but honestly hearing it now I think he does a great job with the song. There are a couple of moments where it's a bit too much, but overall I really like it. I don't really understand the point of cover that just sounds exactly like the original.

[TAC]

I would've rather had Fates tackle a more complex song than Closer To The Heart.

[The Letter M]

I actually really like the album, well, more so the first five tracks, plus Natural Science and Jacob's Ladder. Everything else is OK-to-pretty-good, but those seven covers I listed are really good.

Over-all, I like this one more than the follow-up cover album, Subdivisions, which, funnily enough, featured Mike Mangini on drums over Mike Portnoy (who did not return for the 2nd album). There are a good number of DT members across various songs on both, IIRC, so it's great to hear them cover some Rush tunes with different players involved.

I think my absolute favorite cover has to be of La Villa Strangiato. They tweak it just enough to sound fresh and exciting, but staying fairly faithful to the original, and Portnoy gives his best performance on the album in that song.

-Marc.

[HOF]

The second one features Kip Winger though, so that’s a plus.

[jingle.boy]

I don't recall anything that I disliked about Working Man.  I honestly didn't know about Subdivisions (or had totally forgotten).  Will spin later today.

[King Postwhore]

Yngwie's overplaying bugged me.  Overall Fates cover was the best.

[TAC]

Fates cover was boring.

[King Postwhore]

Fates cover was boring.

If you noticed, only you say that. 

[TAC]

I know. 

As usual, it's a ME problem.

[King Postwhore]

 


I get it.  It would be cool to hear them rip through Freewill.  I get your thought process.

[Orbert]

Tribute albums are a weird thing.  If I really like the band, sometimes I find it interesting to hear other bands play the songs, but usually I'm just disappointed.  The ones I do like seem to fall into two categories: (1) They do something really cool and different with the song, or (2) they stick pretty much to the original, but put their own spin on it, taking it to the next level much like the live version of a song can surpass the studio version.

The vast majority are disappointing to me because they either cover the original version, just not as well (I'd rather just listen to the original version), or they try something different, but I don't like it.  Both of these come down to personal taste, but the end result is that tribute albums are usually a waste of time for me.  Possibly interesting the first few listens, but that's it.  In general, why would I want to hear someone else play a song I like, when I could just listen to the original?

[HOF]

Usually if I like a cover, it’s because I like the band/artist doing the cover more than the original artist. This applies to many Beatles covers. For Rush that’s kind of a high bar though.

[Adami]

Not Rush, but on the topic of tribute albums. One that always disappoints me is the cover of Mr. Crowley by Ripper and Yngwie (and whoever else) for an Ozzy tribute. Ripper was crushing it. Music (minus one thing) was pretty close to the original to make it not interesting, but then you have Yngwie come in, decide that there's no point in learning the song, and just mindlessly shreds over it. Terrible.

Also he did a version of Dream On with....maybe JSS? but the song just has all this random shredding throughout it and it just kills the vibe.

We get it Yngwie. You can shred really fast. Stop it.

[Stadler]

Not Rush, but on the topic of tribute albums. One that always disappoints me is the cover of Mr. Crowley by Ripper and Yngwie (and whoever else) for an Ozzy tribute. Ripper was crushing it. Music (minus one thing) was pretty close to the original to make it not interesting, but then you have Yngwie come in, decide that there's no point in learning the song, and just mindlessly shreds over it. Terrible.

Also he did a version of Dream On with....maybe JSS? but the song just has all this random shredding throughout it and it just kills the vibe.

We get it Yngwie. You can shred really fast. Stop it.

Dream On was with Dio, I believe.

I saw him in a 500 seat theater about a year ago. Keys, bass, and drums were far stage right, leaving literally 80% of the stage for him.  There were 55 Marshal heads on stage, in 12 stacks (I counted).   He only had three lit up, but still.   And he basically did two things for an hour and 45 minutes:  kicked picks into the crowd and shredded.   That was it. 

[Adami]

Not Rush, but on the topic of tribute albums. One that always disappoints me is the cover of Mr. Crowley by Ripper and Yngwie (and whoever else) for an Ozzy tribute. Ripper was crushing it. Music (minus one thing) was pretty close to the original to make it not interesting, but then you have Yngwie come in, decide that there's no point in learning the song, and just mindlessly shreds over it. Terrible.

Also he did a version of Dream On with....maybe JSS? but the song just has all this random shredding throughout it and it just kills the vibe.

We get it Yngwie. You can shred really fast. Stop it.

Dream On was with Dio, I believe.

I saw him in a 500 seat theater about a year ago. Keys, bass, and drums were far stage right, leaving literally 80% of the stage for him.  There were 55 Marshal heads on stage, in 12 stacks (I counted).   He only had three lit up, but still.   And he basically did two things for an hour and 45 minutes:  kicked picks into the crowd and shredded.   That was it.

Dio! You're totally right. What a waste of a potentially great cover.

[King Postwhore]

Not Rush, but on the topic of tribute albums. One that always disappoints me is the cover of Mr. Crowley by Ripper and Yngwie (and whoever else) for an Ozzy tribute. Ripper was crushing it. Music (minus one thing) was pretty close to the original to make it not interesting, but then you have Yngwie come in, decide that there's no point in learning the song, and just mindlessly shreds over it. Terrible.

Also he did a version of Dream On with....maybe JSS? but the song just has all this random shredding throughout it and it just kills the vibe.

We get it Yngwie. You can shred really fast. Stop it.

He did that with Rush as well.

[KevShmev]

I've never heard that Working Man tribute album.  I guess I am weird in that I don't want to hear a whole album of covers of Rush tunes.  A one-off, sure, but after two or three songs, I know I'd be thinking, "why am I listening to these when I can be listening to the real thing?"

[Stadler]

I've never heard that Working Man tribute album.  I guess I am weird in that I don't want to hear a whole album of covers of Rush tunes.  A one-off, sure, but after two or three songs, I know I'd be thinking, "why am I listening to these when I can be listening to the real thing?"

There's an element of that with that album.   But it's worth hearing once just to hear it.  It's one of the better tribute albums I have, and some of the choices are interesting (Jack Russell on The Analog Kid, Devin Townsend on Natural Science).  It's certainly not done for the $$$, like some of them (The Art Of McCartney comes to mind).

[ytserush]

Random question:

Wondering what everyone thinks about the album Working Man - A Tribute to Rush.

This album was released over 20 years ago and features covers of 13 "classic" Rush songs (all from the debut album through Signals, plus Mission).  The album was released on Magna Carta Records.  Only one song (I think it was only one) was performed by an actual band (Closer to the Heart by Fates Warning).  Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy played bass and drums on about half the songs, and Stu Hamm was on a handful.  Singers included guys like Jack Russell, Mark Slaughter, Sebastian Bach and James Labrie.  I didn't know who most of the other players were (and I still don't, although I have come to recognize many of the names).  For the most part, I thought it was a very subpar effort, and most of the production sounds very sterile.  Most of the vocals, in particular, were pretty bad.  The one that always stands out is Natural Science, which features Devin Townsend on vocals.  It's one of my favorite Rush songs, but he just butchers it.  I didn't know who he was at the time, and that performance has kept me from even checking out anything else he's done.  Terry Brown was involved in the mixing, but not as a producer.

What do you all think?

It's OK,  Don't really listen to those  Rush Magna Carta tributes much.

James is really the only vocalist I liked.  Not a fan of Fates Warning, but I thought they did a decent enough job.  Didn't really like the rest of the  lineup for these aside from Stu Hamm, Portnoy, Steve Morse, Billy Sheehan and John Petrucci, Randy Jackson, Mike Mangini and Alex Skolnick.

[ytserush]

I'd never heard that Devin performance before, but honestly hearing it now I think he does a great job with the song. There are a couple of moments where it's a bit too much, but overall I really like it. I don't really understand the point of cover that just sounds exactly like the original.

When this was released I didn't know who the guy was or his schtick. Still don't like his performance but I at least understand it now.

[ytserush]

I would've rather had Fates tackle a more complex song than Closer To The Heart.

I wouldn't disagree with that, but at least it wasn't embarrassing.

[ytserush]

I actually really like the album, well, more so the first five tracks, plus Natural Science and Jacob's Ladder. Everything else is OK-to-pretty-good, but those seven covers I listed are really good.

Over-all, I like this one more than the follow-up cover album, Subdivisions, which, funnily enough, featured Mike Mangini on drums over Mike Portnoy (who did not return for the 2nd album). There are a good number of DT members across various songs on both, IIRC, so it's great to hear them cover some Rush tunes with different players involved.

I think my absolute favorite cover has to be of La Villa Strangiato. They tweak it just enough to sound fresh and exciting, but staying fairly faithful to the original, and Portnoy gives his best performance on the album in that song.

-Marc.

La Villa is definitely a favorite from the first tribute album. Killer performances by everyone.

[ytserush]

Yngwie's overplaying bugged me.  Overall Fates cover was the best.

Yngwie?  I want your copy of the album.

[ytserush]

Usually if I like a cover, it’s because I like the band/artist doing the cover more than the original artist. This applies to many Beatles covers. For Rush that’s kind of a high bar though.

If you have the right vibe, it totally works. Playing something right off of the page to the studio album just doesn't cut it. The song needs to live.

[ytserush]

Not Rush, but on the topic of tribute albums. One that always disappoints me is the cover of Mr. Crowley by Ripper and Yngwie (and whoever else) for an Ozzy tribute. Ripper was crushing it. Music (minus one thing) was pretty close to the original to make it not interesting, but then you have Yngwie come in, decide that there's no point in learning the song, and just mindlessly shreds over it. Terrible.

Also he did a version of Dream On with....maybe JSS? but the song just has all this random shredding throughout it and it just kills the vibe.

We get it Yngwie. You can shred really fast. Stop it.

He did that with Rush as well.

Anthem?

[ytserush]

I've never heard that Working Man tribute album.  I guess I am weird in that I don't want to hear a whole album of covers of Rush tunes.  A one-off, sure, but after two or three songs, I know I'd be thinking, "why am I listening to these when I can be listening to the real thing?"

Depends on the parameters, I've seen better performances from School Of Rock students that some of the performances on those Rush tributes.

[contest_sanity]

The most unexpectedly amazing Rush cover will always be that Jacob Moon "Subdivisions" version.

[King Postwhore]

The most unexpectedly amazing Rush cover will always be that Jacob Moon "Subdivisions" version.

💯

It is mindblowing. 

[HOF]

Absolutely. Jacob Moon is awesome. I also really like his cover of Time Stand Still.

[contest_sanity]

How have I never heard these Fleesh versions before? Their cover of "The Pass" is incredible!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRTZls4q4GE

[HOF]

Woah, that was good. I like how they handled the drum part seeing as they don’t have a drummer. Less is more there. I remember seeing a Marillion cover they did (Season’s End I think) and maybe a couple others.

[ProfessorPeart]

Man, I am not understanding the pricing on this Permanent Waves 40th set. Of all of the Super Deluxe sets thus far, this one is the least impressive to me yet is somehow way more expensive than any of the others were. As of now, I can only see myself getting the vinyl and CD sets separately. That alone will run about $80. The Super Deluxe is going for $180. There just is not an extra $100 of worth there, especially with no Blu-ray or DVD or anything.

[ytserush]

The most unexpectedly amazing Rush cover will always be that Jacob Moon "Subdivisions" version.

That's certainly among the best and just proves how great the band was at writing songs.