Rush for the rest of your life: 70's vs 80's

[Elite]

oh yes, Deep Purple, the child of Pink Floyd and Blue Oyster Cult

[WildRanger]

oh yes, Deep Purple, the child of Pink Floyd and Blue Oyster Cult

You're wrong, because Deep Purple is older than BOC.

[Elite]

Actually, they're not

Pink Floyd (1965)
Blue Öyster Cult (1967)
Deep Purple (1968)

But whatever, it was just a joke about the colours in the band names

[TAC]

Yes. You never saw that Tim?

 

[King Postwhore]

Yes. You never saw that Tim?

 

Brain fart. I know.  I'm having a ton lately. lol

[Stadler]

I've always enjoyed Second Nature.

I have come to in recent years to feel Hold Your Fire is as good if not slightly better than Power Windows.

The weakest track on it I feel is Turn the Page, and I don't hate that tune, I just feel it doesn't include any of those special, goosebump moments that nearly every other track on that album has.

Also Zooropa I find to be a lot better than many of the records that have come since, other than maybe All That You Can't Leave Behind.

Hold Your Fire is way underrated, IMO. It's not a top tier Rush album, but there's no really BAD song on there (including Tai Shan).  Because it's so consistent, it's actually a record I listen to a lot.  Prime Mover is probably a top 15 Rush song (that BASSLINE!). I love Power Windows, but it drops off (in my opinion, badly) on side two.    Mystic Rhythms is the only song on side two I REALLY like.   

I honestly have never got the hate for Tai Shan. I know you used to listen to Used Bin Radio, and that song was a constant punch-line on there, but I also got the sense Brad sincerely felt it is a track that deserved more mention (esepcially to be played live).

I'm with you.

(And yes on the Used Bin; I found a couple podcasts that I had saved - including the "1984" April Fool's episode which is hilarious - and I miss them.  That was a great, great show, and I could listen to them talk about Sunset Strip all day long.)

[WildRanger]

Wow. I'm very surprised.

Although 70's Rush were much more prog, 80's dominate in this poll by a huge margin.

[jammindude]

Even though Hemispheres is my all time #1, the rest of the albums just don’t stack up against PeW, MP, Signals, and PoW. 80s all the way.

[WildRanger]

Even though Hemispheres is my all time #1, the rest of the albums just don’t stack up against PeW, MP, Signals, and PoW. 80s all the way.

PoW over 2112??

[pg1067]

Wow. I'm very surprised.

Although 70's Rush were much more prog, 80's dominate in this poll by a huge margin.

I'm surprised at the margin, but not the result.

You have to keep in mind that, unless you buy into Permanent Waves being a '70s album because it was recorded in the '70s, '70s Rush is only the first six albums -- the self-titled through Hemispheres.  '80s Rush is Permanent Waves through Presto.  Even if you're like me and have GUP, POW and HYF way at the bottom of your album rankings, you're still looking at Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals and Presto against the '70s lineup.  Therefore, if, like a lot of folks here, you think the synth era has more merit than 1-2 songs per album, choosing the '80s albums isn't a difficult thing.

[HOF]

Even though Hemispheres is my all time #1, the rest of the albums just don’t stack up against PeW, MP, Signals, and PoW. 80s all the way.

PoW over 2112??

Absolutely, without a doubt, yes for me too.

[Polarbear]

Even though Hemispheres is my all time #1, the rest of the albums just don’t stack up against PeW, MP, Signals, and PoW. 80s all the way.

PoW over 2112??

Absolutely, without a doubt, yes for me too.

Yes, it's not even close! Power Windows is one of my all time favorite albums. Of any band!

[nick_z]

Even though Hemispheres is my all time #1, the rest of the albums just don’t stack up against PeW, MP, Signals, and PoW. 80s all the way.

PoW over 2112??

Yes, without even a tiny bit of a doubt for me. We probably wouldn't have had Rush as we know it past 1976 if it weren't for 2112, so there's that for literal historical relevance. That said, while certain parts of the suite are incredibly iconic and top-shelf Rush (I'll never get tired of the riffs in Overture/Temples, and the ferociousness of the Grand Finale), the rest is mostly good to ok for me. On the other hand, Power Windows is in my Rush top 5. So, pretty easy choice 

[nick_z]

Wow. I'm very surprised.

Although 70's Rush were much more prog, 80's dominate in this poll by a huge margin.

I'm surprised at the margin, but not the result.

You have to keep in mind that, unless you buy into Permanent Waves being a '70s album because it was recorded in the '70s, '70s Rush is only the first six albums -- the self-titled through Hemispheres.  '80s Rush is Permanent Waves through Presto.  Even if you're like me and have GUP, POW and HYF way at the bottom of your album rankings, you're still looking at Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals and Presto against the '70s lineup.  Therefore, if, like a lot of folks here, you think the synth era has more merit than 1-2 songs per album, choosing the '80s albums isn't a difficult thing.

100% agree with this. Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures being 80s albums clearly tips the balance. In my case, it's an even easier choice, as I love the  synth-era, and I don't love phase one (even 2112, as mentioned above, is not among my Rush favorites). A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres are fantastic, but that's not enough...

[pg1067]

100% agree with this. Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures being 80s albums clearly tips the balance. In my case, it's an even easier choice, as I love the  synth-era, and I don't love phase one (even 2112, as mentioned above, is not among my Rush favorites). A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres are fantastic, but that's not enough...

WildRanger apparently hasn't paid a lot of attention to how much love POW gets around here and seems to assume that, because DT is a prog metal band, the most proggy option will always win.

My rationale eight-plus months ago when this thread was as follows:  the best stretch of albums is 2112 through Signals, three of which are from the 70s and three of which are from the 80s.  They're basically a wash, so you have to look at the others:  Rush, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel versus the three synth era albums and Presto.

Presto and Fly by Night are the best of that bunch and probably pretty comparable, so that leaves Rush and Caress of Steel against the three synth era albums.  I can make one album of material worth listening to from the synth era (Distant Early Warning, The Enemy Within, Kid Gloves, Between the Wheels, Marathon, Manhattan Project, Middletown Dreams, Emotion Detector, and Mission (I previously said Time Stand Still, but Mission is the far superior song)).  Rush has about a side's worth of really good to great material, and Caress is almost all good.

So...I voted for '70s by the whiskeriest of whiskers.  If Permanent Waves were moved from the '80s to the '70s, then this would be the easiest choice ever.

[hefdaddy42]

70s by a nipple.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Easily the 80s.  Geddy's voice is less screechy, his synths are one of my favorite things about Rush, I like the new wave and reggae influences (maybe just second hand Police ones?), and Lifeson, despite not being quite as prominent, does some of his most interesting work in this period. 

[jammindude]

Even though Hemispheres is my all time #1, the rest of the albums just don’t stack up against PeW, MP, Signals, and PoW. 80s all the way.

PoW over 2112??

Absolutely!!! No hesitation.

2112 is a monster song, but an uneven album. Don’t listen to it very often anymore.

Power Windows is easily 3 or 4, 2112 barely cracks the top 10.

[Cool Chris]

Not sure if this would be interesting, but:

Rush for the rest of your life: 90's vs 00/10's

Roll the Bones   
Counterparts   
Test for Echo   

~vs~

Vapor Trails   
Snakes & Arrows   
Clockwork Angels   

[jammindude]

Not sure if this would be interesting, but:

Rush for the rest of your life: 90's vs 00/10's

Roll the Bones   
Counterparts   
Test for Echo   

~vs~

Vapor Trails   
Snakes & Arrows   
Clockwork Angels

This is tough. I think TFE might be the best of them all, but as a group the 10s are far stronger.

[Cool Chris]

Just curious, I don't have a good enough read on the forum's Rush fans, or Rush fans in general, to see which way this would go. Out of those, I only own CA, and love it, so that is where I lean.

[Trav86]

Just curious, I don't have a good enough read on the forum's Rush fans, or Rush fans in general, to see which way this would go. Out of those, I only own CA, and love it, so that is where I lean.

I think most Rush fans would say that is the best out of that group.

[Stadler]

Not sure if this would be interesting, but:

Rush for the rest of your life: 90's vs 00/10's

Roll the Bones   
Counterparts   
Test for Echo   

~vs~

Vapor Trails   
Snakes & Arrows   
Clockwork Angels

uh, Genesis?   

Roll The Bones, Test For Echo and Vapor Trails are not favorites.   So it's Counterparts versus Snakes and Arrows (the best of the six) with CA as the tie-breaker.  Nod to the 10's. 

[pg1067]

Not sure if this would be interesting, but:

Rush for the rest of your life: 90's vs 00/10's

Roll the Bones   
Counterparts   
Test for Echo   

~vs~

Vapor Trails   
Snakes & Arrows   
Clockwork Angels

I'd probably go with the new millennium albums simply because RTB would be no factor at all, and VT is the best of the six.

VT
TFE
Counterparts
S&A


CW









RTB

Just curious, I don't have a good enough read on the forum's Rush fans, or Rush fans in general, to see which way this would go. Out of those, I only own CA, and love it, so that is where I lean.

I think most Rush fans would say that is the best out of that group.

Ummm....

[HOF]

Not sure if this would be interesting, but:

Rush for the rest of your life: 90's vs 00/10's

Roll the Bones   
Counterparts   
Test for Echo   

~vs~

Vapor Trails   
Snakes & Arrows   
Clockwork Angels

I’ll take the first three. I just haven’t been able to form much attachment to S&A or CA. I do love Vapor Trails, but on the whole I like the first group a lot more than the second.

[nick_z]

Not sure if this would be interesting, but:

Rush for the rest of your life: 90's vs 00/10's

Roll the Bones   
Counterparts   
Test for Echo   

~vs~

Vapor Trails   
Snakes & Arrows   
Clockwork Angels

Counterparts is one of my favorite Rush albums, period. That alone, combined with not having super-strong feelings about the other albums in the list (I like them all, btw, they just are not top-tier...), makes the 90s the group of choice.

If I had to rank these:

Counterparts
Roll the Bones
Test for Echo/Clockwork Angels (can't quite decide)
Vapor Trails
Snakes & Arrows