POLL: Rainbow - Rising vs. Rush - 2112?

[WildRanger]

Let's see which album from 1976 will win in this clash.

[Stadler]

But there's only one album listed:  Rainbow Rising.


(I kid, I kid; this isn't even close for me, and I LOVE Rush.)

[pg1067]

This is a tough one.

Side 2 of Rising v. side 1 of 2112 is a battle of epic proportions, but I have to give a very slight nod to Rising.  However, side 2 of Rising has 4 minutes less material.

The real battle is side 1 of Rising v. side 2 of 2112.

Tarot Woman - Excellent
Run with the Wolf - Good
Starstruck - Really good
Do You Close Your Eyes - Bad

A Passage to Bangkok - Really good
Twilight Zone - Good
Lessons - Good, but a notch down from TZ
Tears - Good
Something for Nothing - Really good

Using a complicated scoring system I picked up from East German figure skating judges, side 2 of 2112 gets a slight nod simply because there's a bit more material there.  When that is weighed against the other half of the battle, it's pretty much a dead heat.  That being the case, tie goes to the album with the best song, which is Rising.

[Lowdz]

That was a very difficult choice. I love them both.
I went with the album that had the biggest effect on me as a youngster finding my way in the music world, and that was Rising.

Now if you’d put it up against A Farewell To Kings, it would have been different. AFTK was my first Rush album and that was a game changer for me.

[El Barto]

Pretty easily Rising. I always thought 2112 (the song) was a tad overrated, so nothing there can really compete with S2 of Rising.

[Nekov]

I don't find 2112 as good as a lot of people do. That being said, I've never been able to get into Rainbow. Rush gets my vote

[hefdaddy42]

I don't find 2112 as good as a lot of people do. That being said, I've never been able to get into Rainbow. Rush gets my vote

Same for me.

[kirksnosehair]

I don't find 2112 as good as a lot of people do. That being said, I've never been able to get into Rainbow. Rush gets my vote

Same for me.

+1

[WildRanger]

I don't find 2112 as good as a lot of people do. That being said, I've never been able to get into Rainbow. Rush gets my vote

Same for me.

+1

Guys what is the main reason why you've never been able to get into Rainbow?   

[hunnus2000]

Hands down 2112! 

The guitar, bass, drums parts are far more interesting in 2112. With Rainbow, they are kind of - meh......

Don't get me wrong, I like Rainbow but if you're going to make me choose.................2112!

BTW - if you add distortion to those keyboards at the beginning of Tarot Woman, that sounds a lot like something Derek Sherinian would play.

[WildRanger]

Title track 2112 vs. Stargazer - 2112 wins by a hair.
But the quintet of other tracks from Rising crush the quintet of tracks on the side 2 of 2112.

So Rising is easily superior for me.
 

[Stadler]

Hands down 2112! 

The guitar, bass, drums parts are far more interesting in 2112. With Rainbow, they are kind of - meh......

Don't get me wrong, I like Rainbow but if you're going to make me choose.................2112!

BTW - if you add distortion to those keyboards at the beginning of Tarot Woman, that sounds a lot like something Derek Sherinian would play.

I can't stomach this blatant disrespect for one of the heavyweights of British rock, Mr. Richard Hugh Blackmore.   I'll give you the drums, I'll give you the bass, I might give you the keyboards... hell, I might even give you the VOCALS, but as much as I love Alex Lifeson - and I do love me some Alex Lifeson - some of the guitar playing on Rising is the stuff of generations.

[kirksnosehair]

Actually, if I'm being honest and I know this is a bit of a hot take, but I've always felt that Alex was the weakest link in Rush. 

[EPICVIEW]

RAINBOW RISING

[hefdaddy42]

I don't find 2112 as good as a lot of people do. That being said, I've never been able to get into Rainbow. Rush gets my vote

Same for me.

+1

Guys what is the main reason why you've never been able to get into Rainbow?   

Their music, mainly.

[Nekov]

I don't find 2112 as good as a lot of people do. That being said, I've never been able to get into Rainbow. Rush gets my vote

Same for me.

+1

Guys what is the main reason why you've never been able to get into Rainbow?   

Their music, mainly.

 

On a more serious note, there is nothing in their music that appeals to me. I find it strange since I am a fan of other bands those musicians have been on (I like Purple and Dio is a beast of a singer), but the music they make is just meh

[kirksnosehair]

I've heard a few tunes from Rainbow that I liked, but 2112 was one of the main reasons I first picked up the guitar.  It will always hold a special place for me

[LudwigVan]

Toss up for me. Went with Rush for sentimental reasons, as I’ve listened to 2112 a lot more. 

[Mister Gold]

But there's only one album listed:  Rainbow Rising.


(I kid, I kid; this isn't even close for me, and I LOVE Rush.)

Same. I'm generally more of a Rush fan than I am a Rainbow fan, but Rising is a monster of an album.

[The Realm]

Love them both but have to go with Rising.

[TAC]

Actually, if I'm being honest and I know this is a bit of a hot take, but I've always felt that Alex was the weakest link in Rush.

That's not a hot take. I thought that was pretty much understood.

Toss up for me. Went with Rush for sentimental reasons, as I’ve listened to 2112 a lot more. 

Yeah, same here.

[Eldomm]

2112

[Fritzinger]

2112 is in my lower third of Rush albums. But I don't care for Rainbow at all, so 2112 still easily wins this for me.

[WildRanger]

2112 is in my lower third of Rush albums. But I don't care for Rainbow at all, so 2112 still easily wins this for me.

In Austria Rainbow is a much more popular and beloved band than Rush and despite that you decided to be a Rush fan and don't care for Rainbow? 

[WildRanger]

Actually, if I'm being honest and I know this is a bit of a hot take, but I've always felt that Alex was the weakest link in Rush.

As an guitarist/instrumentalist he is definitely technically weaker than Geddy and Peart, but don't forget he created a way more different, diverse sounds (because he played a GUITAR) than Geddy on bass and Neil on drums because it's about a nature of instruments: both bass and drums are very limited instruments compared to the almighty guitar that can made thousands of different sounds.

Although he is the technically weakest link in Rush he is STILL a great and super creative player. His playing makes Eddie Van Halen to be one-trick pony regardless of how great Eddie is.





 

[WildRanger]

Rush wins another poll. BIAS towards Rush. 

[ReaperKK]

I could never get into Rainbow so Rush wins for me.

[hunnus2000]

I don't think Alex was the weak link at all and in fact for years I thought he was the most underrated guitarist in rock. His chord phrasings and his use of tone was IMO ground-breaking. I could give examples of many songs where Alex's playing shines easily as much as NP and GL but suffice to say that there would be no Rush without Alex (and yes I include all three players in that statement).

Now if you want to talk about a one trick pony - that would be Ritchie Blackmore.

[Peter Mc]

2112 for me.  Rising, like all the Dio Rainbow albums, was very patchy for me.  I love Tarot Woman and Stargazer.  Everything else ranges from ok to pretty bad.  They probably had one albums worth of classic material spread across three very patchy albums.

[Stadler]

I don't think Alex was the weak link at all and in fact for years I thought he was the most underrated guitarist in rock. His chord phrasings and his use of tone was IMO ground-breaking. I could give examples of many songs where Alex's playing shines easily as much as NP and GL but suffice to say that there would be no Rush without Alex (and yes I include all three players in that statement).

Now if you want to talk about a one trick pony - that would be Ritchie Blackmore.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

No.

[Dream Team]

Went with RR because 2112 is overrated to me. If Side B had better material I might feel differently.

[hunnus2000]

I don't think Alex was the weak link at all and in fact for years I thought he was the most underrated guitarist in rock. His chord phrasings and his use of tone was IMO ground-breaking. I could give examples of many songs where Alex's playing shines easily as much as NP and GL but suffice to say that there would be no Rush without Alex (and yes I include all three players in that statement).

Now if you want to talk about a one trick pony - that would be Ritchie Blackmore.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

No.

Mr. Stadler, that is a lucid, well thought-out, intelligent objection.

OVERRULED! 

[Stadler]

I don't think Alex was the weak link at all and in fact for years I thought he was the most underrated guitarist in rock. His chord phrasings and his use of tone was IMO ground-breaking. I could give examples of many songs where Alex's playing shines easily as much as NP and GL but suffice to say that there would be no Rush without Alex (and yes I include all three players in that statement).

Now if you want to talk about a one trick pony - that would be Ritchie Blackmore.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

No.

Mr. Stadler, that is a lucid, well thought-out, intelligent objection.

OVERRULED! 

Your honor, if it may please the court, you can say a lot of things about Blackmore, but "one trick pony" is not one of them.  From his sessions in the 60's in England (he was a peer of Jimmy Page) to the proto prog of early Deep Purple to the proto-metal of mid-period Deep Purple to the blues funk of Mark IV Deep Purple through the various incarnations of Rainbow, to the resurgence of "new" Purple, to the multi-faceted genres of his Renaissance gig with Candace...

[WildRanger]

2112 for me.  Rising, like all the Dio Rainbow albums, was very patchy for me.  I love Tarot Woman and Stargazer.  Everything else ranges from ok to pretty bad.  They probably had one albums worth of classic material spread across three very patchy albums.

And 2112 is not patchy?

[KevShmev]

I don't think Alex was the weak link at all and in fact for years I thought he was the most underrated guitarist in rock. His chord phrasings and his use of tone was IMO ground-breaking. I could give examples of many songs where Alex's playing shines easily as much as NP and GL but suffice to say that there would be no Rush without Alex (and yes I include all three players in that statement).

Rush had no weak link.  Now, I think it does go without saying that Alex was not as highly regarded by the general public, for lack of a better term, on his instrument as the other two (Neil is often call the greatest rock drummer ever or 2nd or 3rd best at worst, and Geddy is usually in the top tier of all-time bassists, while Alex is never in the top tier of guitarists with Hendrix, Page, EVH, Gilmour, Clapton, etc.), but being the least best of those three does not make you a weak link, as being weak implies that your deficiencies held the band back in some way, and that was never the case with Rush.