Official Top 75 Rush songs Thread!!! (Top 2 revealed!!)

[King Postwhore]

I had actually forgotten to put Herr Again on my list somehow. I made the revision yesterday. It’s not really high but it’s on there.

That’s an early Schenker solo right there.

I'm slowly infecting you.

[Stadler]

I had actually forgotten to put Herr Again on my list somehow. I made the revision yesterday. It’s not really high but it’s on there.

That’s an early Schenker solo right there.

See, I get that vibe as well.

[TAC]

I had actually forgotten to put Herr Again on my list somehow. I made the revision yesterday. It’s not really high but it’s on there.

That’s an early Schenker solo right there.

I'm slowly infecting you.

Fucking cooties. 

[King Postwhore]

 

Sent my list in yesterday to Kev.  I found ranking the top 30 easy.  The other songs were harder for me.

[Stadler]

So - and I mean this constructively, and in good faith - when can we start sharing our BOTTOM ten?

[pg1067]

Tai Shan didn't make my list, but I actually like that song. I do not get the hate for it, honestly.  It's not a popular opinion, but I think a fair number of people assume it's bad because the band have spoken poorly of it.

It's Rush's "You Not Me."  I swear 75% of the hate for that song is because MP dumped on it publicly.

I had actually forgotten to put Herr Again on my list somehow. I made the revision yesterday. It’s not really high but it’s on there.

That’s an early Schenker solo right there.

Freudian slip?

Also, I believe it should be "Herr Wieder"...or maybe "Hier Wieder."

[SoundscapeMN]

Tai Shan didn't make my list, but I actually like that song. I do not get the hate for it, honestly.  It's not a popular opinion, but I think a fair number of people assume it's bad because the band have spoken poorly of it.

Used Bin Radio-ism 

[Stadler]

Tai Shan didn't make my list, but I actually like that song. I do not get the hate for it, honestly.  It's not a popular opinion, but I think a fair number of people assume it's bad because the band have spoken poorly of it.

Used Bin Radio-ism 

To this day, I miss that show.  I still hear Joe saying "dia-monded", and I often say "ten bucks is ten bucks!". 

[TAC]

What show are we talking about?

[Setlist Scotty]

Tai Shan didn't make my list, but I actually like that song. I do not get the hate for it, honestly.  It's not a popular opinion, but I think a fair number of people assume it's bad because the band have spoken poorly of it.

It's Rush's "You Not Me."  I swear 75% of the hate for that song is because MP dumped on it publicly.

Perhaps, but I fall outside that for both songs. TS is an OK song that is an outlier for me; it didn't make the cut because I prefer a lot of other music over it. For me it averaged out to #145 after I ranked all the Rush songs 3 different times.

In the case of YNM, my dislike for it doesn't come from MP's comments but especially because of the way it feels like 2 separate songs slapped together, especially with that pause before the chorus. Plus I think having it in the key that it was played a factor - I know it was originally in a higher key, but they ended up lowering it while recording it, I'm guessing to make it easier for JL to sing live since they probably expected to play it at many shows because it was going to be a single. I'd love to hear it in its original key, as well as the original demo that Desmond Child and JP put together - perhaps I would like the song more then.

[Stadler]

What show are we talking about?

There used to be an internet radio show called "Used Bin Radio"; two guys from Los Angeles, Joe and Brad, and they were hilarious.  I don't know all the deets, but Joe, apparently, was in bands that played the Sunset Strip, and they had great stories of that time and place.  They had some great guests now and again (including Mr. Portnoy) and they had awesome collections of music; the bumpers (the songs in between segments) were almost always obscure demos or live stuff. 

It was live, so people could call in, but for some reason I was only able to get it a week late, so I think I only called in one time.   Brad used to post at Portnoy's forum for a while.

[TAC]

Oh OK cool.

[nick_z]

Overall, I like the debut, but I rarely listen to it, and whenever I think of the best debuts by any artist, this one never comes to mind.  Some bands crushed it on their first album (Boston, LZ, VH, etc.), but I don't think Rush was one of them.

This is pretty much me. I think the debut sounds great, but I'll go a little further and say this: the fact it has the "Rush" name attached to it, somewhat paradoxically, hurts the way I assess it. In a vacuum, the album is musically very strong. But I can't help it - the "band" Rush to me really starts with Neil joining. It's not fully rational, I know. There's a lot on Fly By Night that could be from the debut (and, more broadly, CoS and 2112 still have traces of that general approach). And, surely, an album like Hold Your Fire is so much more far removed from, say, Hemispheres than FBN is from the debut, despite the musicians being the same people. Yet, to me, these are all "Rush" records in a way that, um, "Rush" isn't.

[Stadler]

Overall, I like the debut, but I rarely listen to it, and whenever I think of the best debuts by any artist, this one never comes to mind.  Some bands crushed it on their first album (Boston, LZ, VH, etc.), but I don't think Rush was one of them.

This is pretty much me. I think the debut sounds great, but I'll go a little further and say this: the fact it has the "Rush" name attached to it, somewhat paradoxically, hurts the way I assess it. In a vacuum, the album is musically very strong. But I can't help it - the "band" Rush to me really starts with Neil joining. It's not fully rational, I know. There's a lot on Fly By Night that could be from the debut (and, more broadly, CoS and 2112 still have traces of that general approach). And, surely, an album like Hold Your Fire is so much more far removed from, say, Hemispheres than FBN is from the debut, despite the musicians being the same people. Yet, to me, these are all "Rush" records in a way that, um, "Rush" isn't.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that point of view, at all.  There are plenty of bands whose first release is sort of "separate" from the rest of the catalogue.   Genesis started, for me, with Trespass.  Dream Theater started, for me, with Images and Words.   UFO started, for me, when Michael Schenker joined.   So? 

I know for me, not all of Neil's lyrics resonate with me, and I don't necessarily think he's the lyrical God that many do (still good, though), but with the exception of Best I Can (which could easily be on the first album) the lyrics from Fly By Night onward - even the ones from Geddy and Alex - are a real cut above, and that's the difference for me.  I don't mind dumb lyrics - I'm a Kiss fan - but there has to be SOMETHING.  (And for some reason, the line "tell you all my lies!" is so cliched as to be cringe-inducing).

[KevShmev]

I'd rather wait for everyone to post any of their lists or bottom 10s or whatever till I finish doing the countdown, which will start in a couple days.

[nick_z]

I actually didn't rank anything beyond 100...I trimmed the whole list down to 100, ranked those and then sent the top 75.

Anyway - can't wait for the countdown to begin!

[TAC]

I self whittled it down to 80-85 songs and then I ran the ranker twice.

[HOF]

So apparently today is the 48th anniversary of the release of RUSH, so that’s kind of a cool coincidence.

[SoundscapeMN]

What show are we talking about?

There used to be an internet radio show called "Used Bin Radio"; two guys from Los Angeles, Joe and Brad, and they were hilarious.  I don't know all the deets, but Joe, apparently, was in bands that played the Sunset Strip, and they had great stories of that time and place.  They had some great guests now and again (including Mr. Portnoy) and they had awesome collections of music; the bumpers (the songs in between segments) were almost always obscure demos or live stuff. 

It was live, so people could call in, but for some reason I was only able to get it a week late, so I think I only called in one time.   Brad used to post at Portnoy's forum for a while.

I dunno if you've found them for nostalgia, but they have been uploading the old shows to YouTube.

It almost feels like going back in time hearing them, the ones I called in especially which was like every other week, lol.

https://www.youtube.com/user/UsedBinRadio

[jammindude]

Overall, I like the debut, but I rarely listen to it, and whenever I think of the best debuts by any artist, this one never comes to mind.  Some bands crushed it on their first album (Boston, LZ, VH, etc.), but I don't think Rush was one of them.

This is pretty much me. I think the debut sounds great, but I'll go a little further and say this: the fact it has the "Rush" name attached to it, somewhat paradoxically, hurts the way I assess it. In a vacuum, the album is musically very strong. But I can't help it - the "band" Rush to me really starts with Neil joining. It's not fully rational, I know. There's a lot on Fly By Night that could be from the debut (and, more broadly, CoS and 2112 still have traces of that general approach). And, surely, an album like Hold Your Fire is so much more far removed from, say, Hemispheres than FBN is from the debut, despite the musicians being the same people. Yet, to me, these are all "Rush" records in a way that, um, "Rush" isn't.

It becomes even more paradoxical when you consider the fact that fully half the album was regularly performed by Neil for many years after.  And even after they quit playing those four songs regularly, one of them would get revisited pretty much on the regular all the way up until their retirement

EDIT - In fact, I don’t have the tourography in front of me, but I’d be willing to bet that the debut was more commonly represented than fly by night was in later tours

[pg1067]

Tai Shan didn't make my list, but I actually like that song. I do not get the hate for it, honestly.  It's not a popular opinion, but I think a fair number of people assume it's bad because the band have spoken poorly of it.

It's Rush's "You Not Me."  I swear 75% of the hate for that song is because MP dumped on it publicly.

Perhaps, but I fall outside that for both songs. TS is an OK song that is an outlier for me; it didn't make the cut because I prefer a lot of other music over it. For me it averaged out to #145 after I ranked all the Rush songs 3 different times.

In the case of YNM, my dislike for it doesn't come from MP's comments but especially because of the way it feels like 2 separate songs slapped together, especially with that pause before the chorus. Plus I think having it in the key that it was played a factor - I know it was originally in a higher key, but they ended up lowering it while recording it, I'm guessing to make it easier for JL to sing live since they probably expected to play it at many shows because it was going to be a single. I'd love to hear it in its original key, as well as the original demo that Desmond Child and JP put together - perhaps I would like the song more then.

I disliked Tai Shan before I ever knew that Geddy had bad-mouthed it (and I think it was just Geddy).  On the other hand, I think YNM is both vastly superior to YOM and one of the five best songs on FII.

EDIT - In fact, I don’t have the tourography in front of me, but I’d be willing to bet that the debut was more commonly represented than fly by night was in later tours

I'm sure that's right, but it was primarily Working Man, which (if setlist.fm is accurate) was their 12th most played song (905 times).  In the 17th spot, By-Tor is the most played song from FBN (although I'm sure at least half of those were the very abbreviated medley version), with 726 plays, the last of which was in 2004 on the R30 tour.  After that, you have Anthem at #20 with 555 non-medley plays, but the last time before R40 was in 1980.  Finding My Way is next at #41, with 312 non-medley performances, the last of which were in 1985.

[KevShmev]

Anthem was played on the Roll the Bones tour, although it might have been part of the encore medley.

Not sure how setlist.fm calculates the songs that were played in medleys, but In the Mood has to be up there as well. That was played on practically every tour from the debut through Presto (but never played after that).

[nick_z]

Overall, I like the debut, but I rarely listen to it, and whenever I think of the best debuts by any artist, this one never comes to mind.  Some bands crushed it on their first album (Boston, LZ, VH, etc.), but I don't think Rush was one of them.

This is pretty much me. I think the debut sounds great, but I'll go a little further and say this: the fact it has the "Rush" name attached to it, somewhat paradoxically, hurts the way I assess it. In a vacuum, the album is musically very strong. But I can't help it - the "band" Rush to me really starts with Neil joining. It's not fully rational, I know. There's a lot on Fly By Night that could be from the debut (and, more broadly, CoS and 2112 still have traces of that general approach). And, surely, an album like Hold Your Fire is so much more far removed from, say, Hemispheres than FBN is from the debut, despite the musicians being the same people. Yet, to me, these are all "Rush" records in a way that, um, "Rush" isn't.

It becomes even more paradoxical when you consider the fact that fully half the album was regularly performed by Neil for many years after.  And even after they quit playing those four songs regularly, one of them would get revisited pretty much on the regular all the way up until their retirement

EDIT - In fact, I don’t have the tourography in front of me, but I’d be willing to bet that the debut was more commonly represented than fly by night was in later tours

Absolutely. And, clearly, Working Man is an iconic song for them, for a variety of reasons. It's just that for me, even when those songs were played live, it was more of a fun celebration of their beginnings rather than a "oh that's such a cool Rush song they are playing!" moment. It didn't make it any less enjoyable. But, again, more like a tribute to an earlier version of the band.
 

[jammindude]

That was my point. It was more often Working Man than anything else, but it was almost almost always *something* from the debut. It was FMW on the GUP tour. And it was a pleasant surprise when WYD made an appearance at R40.

[jammindude]

I would argue that the title track from FBN is nearly as iconic (from a radio play standpoint) as Working Man is. But for some reason they never really cared for that one and avoided it after the 2112 tour. By-Tor is probably almost as iconic from a fan standpoint, and that rarely resurfaced.

That along with the fact that more songs in general made an occasional appearance from the debut than FBN. Heck, you could almost say it was nearly as well represented as 2112 itself. Yes, Overture/Temples *always* got played, but everything from side 2 was ditched after the AFTK tour, and other than the full performance on the TFE tour, the grand finale was just once in awhile.

EDIT - I just remembered they brought back Bangkok once for the Time Machine tour…but still.

[TAC]

By-Tor is probably almost as iconic from a fan standpoint, and that rarely resurfaced.

By-Tor And The Snore Dog. Yawn.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

By-Tor is probably almost as iconic from a fan standpoint, and that rarely resurfaced.

By-Tor And The Snore Dog. Yawn.

By-tor is an amazing song! The extended version on AtWaS is even more amazing!

[jammindude]

By-Tor is probably almost as iconic from a fan standpoint, and that rarely resurfaced.

By-Tor And The Snore Dog. Yawn.

Tim, haven’t we already established that you are not a good barometer for “the fanbase”…..of anything. 


We are just going to have to turn, “DAMMIT TIM  ” into an official catchphrase at this point

[TAC]

I've always felt like I should like it more than I do. I just don't care for it.

[HOF]

I've always felt like I should like it more than I do. I just don't care for it.

I like it, but it would be better without the spacey quiet part where the song basically stops for two minutes.

[DTA]

In The Mood somehow made it to the setlist for every tour from the debut through Presto. I guess it was just a fun, dumb song to play at the end of a show. It's probably is the most consistently played song outside of 2112/Spirit/Tom Sawyer

[TAC]

I've always felt like I should like it more than I do. I just don't care for it.

I like it, but it would be better without the spacey quiet part where the song basically stops for two minutes.

Wow, that's an illuminating theory.

[Cool Chris]

Looked at Ultimateclassicrock.com's ranking of all Rush's songs, just to see how my list stacked up against theirs. In the Mood was listed as the #1(?)worst song. Made my Top 75 fairly easily.

[Setlist Scotty]

By-tor is an amazing song! The extended version on AtWaS is even more amazing!

Very true! My favorite part of AtWaS.

[nick_z]

I've always felt like I should like it more than I do. I just don't care for it.

I like it, but it would be better without the spacey quiet part where the song basically stops for two minutes.

Wow, that's an illuminating theory.