Rush: Freewill vs. Red Barchetta?

[WildRanger]

Which popular and beloved Rush song do you prefer and why?

[Ben_Jamin]

Red Barchetta...

Love this song because the music describes that feeling of Driving a Red Barchetta. The Opening Harmonics, are like a young Neil, discovering the Red Barchetta. Then the middle section gets even better, as Neil, takes it for a spin, and sees how lovely the car is. "Wind In My Hair..." The music underneath perfectly describes that feeling of Pushing the Pedal.

Freewill is ok. But, the overplaying of it ruined it for me. The unfortunate effect of overplaying on Radio, and everywhere else in general. I'm actually like that to a lot of Radio Hits, Singles, and the like.

[The Walrus]

Freewill.

I like Red Barchetta but it's about cars and I honestly can't think of something I care less about than cars, except maybe Archer.

EDIT: I also hate that they don't spell this out as two words.

[HOF]

I choose not to decide.

[Zantera]

I think Freewill is the better song overall but the main guitar riff in Red Barchetta (once it takes off) is killer.

[pg1067]

I went with Red Barchetta, but it's SUPER close.

Both are prime examples of Rush's ability to condense an epic prog song into a relatively compact song form.  Freewill is a bit more of a straightforward verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus format, but Freewill has that epic solo section where it feels like the three instruments are soloing at the same time.  The satisfaction I gained when I finally nailed that section on bass was something I'll always remember.  Lyrically, the two songs are very different, with Freewill being more of a philosophical dissertation, while Red Barchetta tells a great story.  The way Neil was able to condense that R&T article into a six minute song with background, building tension and the release at the end is just masterful.  Red Barchetta is one of the best songs for translating a car theme into the music itself.

Ultimately, I think Barchetta is just a slightly better song, but like I said, it's super close.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I love Freewill, but Red Barchetta is a special song.

[TAC]

I choose not to decide.

[emtee]

You still have made a choice.

[HOF]

You still have made a choice.

Well shoot, I will choose Freewill I guess.

[HOF]

Truthfully, I'd probably give a slight edge to Red Barchetta just because I think it's had a little bigger impact on my Rush fandom and it's a really unique song. But the instrumental section in Freewill is really great.

[Stadler]

I never really cottoned to Freewill, or Permanent Waves in general.  It's always been lesser to that which came before (Hemispheres) and that which came after (Moving Pictures).

For me, this isn't close:  Red Barchetta, one of my favorite Rush tunes from one of my favorite Rush albums.  While I respect Neal's lyricism, some of his words are a miss for me (personally).  But I'm a car guy, and this is not one of them.  I love the picture he paints, I love the imagery, and I love the way the music carries that narrative forward.   Listen to the way the rhythm changes and Alex's tone changes as the description of the "driving" begins; even the guitar before the bridge seems to simulate the changing of gears, and the driving rhythm of the "wind in my hair" section perfectly captures the "adrenaline surge" Geddy is singing about. 

Guess what I'm listening to now!   

[hunnus2000]

In the movie Caligula, Caesar's father asked him which he preferred, the flesh of the man or the flesh of the woman to wit Caligula answered, 'why not both'?

Anyway, that's how I feel about these songs, 'why not both'? Red Barchetta's solo section gives me goose bumps but Freewill has me pumping fists and singing along with the chorus. It's a wash.

[WildRanger]

I never really cottoned to Freewill, or Permanent Waves in general.  It's always been lesser to that which came before (Hemispheres) and that which came after (Moving Pictures).

For me, this isn't close:  Red Barchetta, one of my favorite Rush tunes from one of my favorite Rush albums.

Spirit of the Radio vs. Limelight?

[Snow Dog]

Spirit of the Radio vs. Limelight?

Do NOT get this debate started again... 

As for the original question, Freewill for me, easily.  Red Barchetta is good, but Freewill just has that extra oomph for me that puts it over the edge.  And opposite of Stadler, I prefer PeW over MP as well for some reason.  Plus I tend to like Neil's philosophical lyrics better than his storytelling ones as well.

One thing that has always bugged me about Red Barchetta, though, is at least on the album version, the "Adrenaline surge" line is sung about as blandly and unenthusiastically as it could be to my ears.  I don't know necessarily how to have fixed that, whether it would be singing it in a higher octave or with a slightly different, more emotive melody, but as it stands on the album, it just seems it could be better...

[WildRanger]

I never really cottoned to Freewill, or Permanent Waves in general.

Isn't Natural Science among most beloved Rush tunes in your book?

[Stadler]

I never really cottoned to Freewill, or Permanent Waves in general.  It's always been lesser to that which came before (Hemispheres) and that which came after (Moving Pictures).

For me, this isn't close:  Red Barchetta, one of my favorite Rush tunes from one of my favorite Rush albums.

Spirit of the Radio vs. Limelight?

Limelight >>> Spirit Of Radio >> Spirit Of The Radio.

[jjrock88]

Red Barchetta, mostly because Moving Pictures is one of my top albums.

[Stadler]

I never really cottoned to Freewill, or Permanent Waves in general.

Isn't Natural Science among most beloved Rush tunes in your book?

Good not great.  Jacob's Ladder is by FAR my favorite song on that album.  Then Different Strings, then Entre Nous.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Red Barchetta easily. I like Freewill but it's probably one of the weaker songs on its album.

[Anguyen92]

Honestly, I always found Freewill to be my least favorite of the mainstream well-known Rush songs and I like Red Barchetta in general, so this is a no brainer of a pick.

[HOF]

I never really cottoned to Freewill, or Permanent Waves in general.

Isn't Natural Science among most beloved Rush tunes in your book?

Good not great.  Jacob's Ladder is by FAR the best song on that album.  Then Different Strings, then Entre Nous.

Jacob's Ladder is by far my LEAST favorite on Permanent Waves (it's not bad, more weird and I like the other songs better). Also love Different Strings and Entre Nous!

[hunnus2000]

Red Barchetta easily. I like Freewill but it's probably one of the weaker songs on its album.

What? 

Are ya daft man? 

[pg1067]

I never really cottoned to Freewill, or Permanent Waves in general.

Isn't Natural Science among most beloved Rush tunes in your book?

Good not great.  Jacob's Ladder is by FAR the best song on that album.  Then Different Strings, then Entre Nous.

"[M]ost beloved . . . in your book"?  Sometimes I think WR intentionally phrases stuff in this way.

I would say that, among Rush fans in general, TSOR and Freewill are generally the favorite/"most beloved" songs on PEW.  Among folks on this forum, however, Natural Science and Jacob's Ladder are at the top.  In the recently completed Rush survivor, the rankings for PEW turned out as follows:

1. Natural Science (never received a single vote until the final round
2. Jacob's Ladder (received 14/20 votes in round 5)
3. The Spirit of Radio (received 13/22 votes in round 4)
4. Freewill (received 13/21 votes in round 3)
5. Entre Nous (received 15/18 votes in round 2)
6. Different Strings (received 11/19 votes in round 1)

In the finals, Natural Science finished in the #1 spot, and Jacob's Ladder finished in the #6 spot.  Somewhat surprisingly, The Spirit of Radio finished ahead of Jacob's Ladder in the #5 spot.  PEW and MP were the only albums to get three songs in the finals, and only PEW placed all three songs in the top 10.

My personal rankings are the same as above, except that I would flip TSOR and Freewill, and NS and JL are a 1a/1b sort of thing.

[WildRanger]

I like Freewill but it's probably one of the weaker songs on its album.

Nah

[hefdaddy42]

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

[wolfking]

I will choose Freewill.

[The Walrus]

I like Freewill but it's probably one of the weaker songs on its album.

Nah

But is it objectively weaker than the rest?

[hunnus2000]

I think it's absolutely  stupid to call any song weaker than another song on any album from any one group without explaining why. BUT - if you don't like a song that's OK but realize there are some songs that are your trash that are someone else's treasure. Sheez...

[WildRanger]

But is it objectively weaker than the rest?

Of course not. I can't imagine Freewill being weaker than Different Strings and Entre Nous.

[WildRanger]

I don't think PeW has any weak tracks. Natural Science, Freewill, The Spirit of Radio and Jacob's Ladder are really great and Entre Nous and Different String are weaker than those 4 songs by a fair margin, but they are still decent songs.

[The Walrus]

But is it objectively weaker than the rest?

Of course not. I can't imagine Freewill being weaker than Different Strings and Entre Nous.

Why?

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I think it's absolutely  stupid to call any song weaker than another song on any album from any one group without explaining why. BUT - if you don't like a song that's OK but realize there are some songs that are your trash that are someone else's treasure. Sheez...

Not sure if this is directed at me. But as I said, I like Freewill. Truthfully PW doesn't have a dud on it. It's one of my all time favorite Rush albums and I think it's super consistent and solid, so I think Freewill being among my least favorite tracks on that album speaks more to how good the album itself is.

I don't even think I have any specific issues with Freewill. Maybe it's a bit by the book? Even that's a stretch. I just think most of the rest of PW has a little more to offer.

[TAC]

For me, this isn't close:  Red Barchetta, one of my favorite Rush tunes from one of my favorite Rush albums.  While I respect Neal's lyricism, some of his words are a miss for me (personally).  But I'm a car guy, and this is not one of them.  I love the picture he paints, I love the imagery, and I love the way the music carries that narrative forward.   Listen to the way the rhythm changes and Alex's tone changes as the description of the "driving" begins; even the guitar before the bridge seems to simulate the changing of gears, and the driving rhythm of the "wind in my hair" section perfectly captures the "adrenaline surge" Geddy is singing about. 

All of this!

[Eldomm]

For me, this isn't close:  Red Barchetta, one of my favorite Rush tunes from one of my favorite Rush albums.  While I respect Neal's lyricism, some of his words are a miss for me (personally).  But I'm a car guy, and this is not one of them.  I love the picture he paints, I love the imagery, and I love the way the music carries that narrative forward.   Listen to the way the rhythm changes and Alex's tone changes as the description of the "driving" begins; even the guitar before the bridge seems to simulate the changing of gears, and the driving rhythm of the "wind in my hair" section perfectly captures the "adrenaline surge" Geddy is singing about. 

All of this!

+1