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

[The Realm]

Let's start with two tonight and I will play it by ear as to how many I will feature each day...

75 Roll the Bones
Appeared on 10 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 18 (nick_z)


74 Double Agent
Appeared on 12 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 19 (DAT)

Roll The Bones - I had this at 59. I like this song and the rap doesn't bother me too much.

Double Agent - I didn't rank this. I'm not a fan of the voice over but musically it is a good song with some really cool things going on.

[jammindude]

#75. Roll the Bones - Me #60

I loved it, then I got sick of it, and then when I saw some live performances much later, I realized what a fun song it is. I wouldn’t want to listen to it all the time, but I love the riff, the chorus, and yes…even the rap section. One of Rush’s better “accessible” songs.

#74. Double Agent - Me - Did not rank. My two original lists both had it in the mid-140’s.

I always thought this song was a mess. The spoken word thing is ok I guess, and the riff is ok. But I just don’t think it works at all. Like Stick It Out, I felt like this was Rush trying a bit too hard to remain relevant after the grunge explosion.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

#74. Double Agent - Me - Did not rank. My two original lists both had it in the mid-140’s.

I always thought this song was a mess. The spoken word thing is ok I guess, and the riff is ok. But I just don’t think it works at all. Like Stick It Out, I felt like this was Rush trying a bit too hard to remain relevant after the grunge explosion.

Unlike Stick it Out, I don't hear much if any grunge influence in Double Agent.

[TAC]

#74. Double Agent - Me - Did not rank. My two original lists both had it in the mid-140’s.

I always thought this song was a mess. The spoken word thing is ok I guess, and the riff is ok. But I just don’t think it works at all. Like Stick It Out, I felt like this was Rush trying a bit too hard to remain relevant after the grunge explosion.

Unlike Stick it Out, I don't hear much if any grunge influence in Double Agent.

I was thinking the same thing. I never heard a chorus like that on a Nirvana album. I actually think Double Agent is one of the most interesting songs they have ever done. It's so different.

[jammindude]

The whole CP album had several places where they realized that “heavy” was cool again and they had to try and tell the world, “Hey! We can be heavy too! Look at how heavy we are! GRRRRRR! Don’t you see how heavy we are? GRRRR!!! Aren’t you impressed at our overwhelming heaviness? GRRRRR!!!!”

EDIT - TO ME. I understand I’m in the minority on this one. But it’s why I feel TFE is so much better. After getting CP out of their system, they “settled down” into who they really were as a heavy band again. It felt like they found themselves and their own brand of heavy instead of putting on a display.

[TAC]

The whole CP album had several places where they realized that “heavy” was cool again and they had to try and tell the world, “Hey! We can be heavy too! Look at how heavy we are! GRRRRRR! Don’t you see how heavy we are? GRRRR!!! Aren’t you impressed at our overwhelming heaviness? GRRRRR!!!!”

I think you were watching too much Home Improvement.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

The whole CP album had several places where they realized that “heavy” was cool again and they had to try and tell the world, “Hey! We can be heavy too! Look at how heavy we are! GRRRRRR! Don’t you see how heavy we are? GRRRR!!! Aren’t you impressed at our overwhelming heaviness? GRRRRR!!!!”

EDIT - TO ME. I understand I’m in the minority on this one. But it’s why I feel TFE is so much better. After getting CP out of their system, they “settled down” into who they really were as a heavy band again. It felt like they found themselves and their own brand of heavy instead of putting on a display.

Hmm, this is all subjective, but again I think Stick it Out is really the only example of them being heavy for heaviness sake. Overall I find Test for Echo heavier than Counterparts. In my humble opinion.

[jammindude]

There are definitely high points on CP that I absolutely love, but I don’t want to get into spoiler territory. Suffice to say that I had an equal number of songs from CP and TFE in the top 75, but about half of CP didn’t make my top 100, and a couple were very near the absolute bottom.

[TAC]

There are definitely high points on CP that I absolutely love, but I don’t want to get into spoiler territory. Suffice to say that I had an equal number of songs from CP and TFE in the top 75, but about half of CP didn’t make my top 100, and a couple were very near the absolute bottom.

[DragonAttack]

^
I understand the shorthand.

I mean, I dug TMOTBQ, FOTW, ITLOTG and ITLOTG...R, as well as CLTCL and DOTL and BR and BR.  Oops, thought I was on a Queen forum

Spock here:  I find it fascinating that the first two rated songs weren't listed by over 50% of the respondents.  I'll bet there were a few songs that didn't make the DT Top 100 where 2/3 of the people did rate them.  This is going to be 'quirky' (for lack of a better term).

[Deadeye21]

Let's start with two tonight and I will play it by ear as to how many I will feature each day...

75 Roll the Bones
Appeared on 10 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 18 (nick_z)



74 Double Agent
Appeared on 12 of 25
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 19 (DAT)

Roll the Bones is probably my number 76 choice - in all fairness, it’s a great song, but if we’re ranking studio performances only, it’s a little lifeless without the audience. The Bones Rap is such a fun little oddity in Rush history that it’s very notable. Glad this was represented again on R40.

Double Agent was my number 74. To be fair, I think it probably should’ve ranked a lot higher. Always thought it had an ill-fitting title, I’d have called it “The Edge of Sleep”. Spoken vocal, an intriguing story, and a chaotic instrumental supporting it’s story. Almost want to amend my list now, but ot definitely deserves to be here.

[Tomislav95]

Neither of those made my top 75. Both are fine, especially Double agent but I don't like the spoken parts. Surprised by Roll the bones, though it's pretty hated among Rush fans.

[nobloodyname]

Double Agent is 68 on my list while Roll the Bones is a respectable 36. I really like it. But I was a late starter with Rush, only really finally getting them in the mid-00s, so I'd have missed all the wailing and gnashing of teeth!

[wolfking]

I think I had RTB somewhere around the 30 mark.  One if the first Rush songs I heard and always loved it.  Great chorus.

Didn't rank DA, never really cared for it.

[devieira73]

Both songs didn't rank in my Top 75, but I do think Double Agent is really cool, it could have been there - at the time, it reminded me, in parts, like something that could came directly from Hemispheres. Roll the Bones is not bad - indeed it has a very good melody in the chorus and a beautiful (although a bit short) guitar solo, but surely isn't one of my favorites from the album.

[ReaperKK]

I think RTB was either the last song on my list or near the bottom. I really, really dislike RTB, it's almost at the same level as my hatred for "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney.

[romdrums]

RTB wasn't on my list.  I've never really liked that song, and I thought they overplayed it live.  Double Agent has always been one of my favorites from Counterparts, and it ended up at 55 for me.

[devieira73]

Adding about RTB, I also think it would be better the instrumental beneath the spoken part was louder, with the words complementing the instrumentation (it's really cool what Lifeson is doing there!) - not the other way round, like actually happens in the song.

[Stadler]

Funny - I was under the impression you all were speaking about the bottom bottom, as in #161-170.

Same here.

That's certainly what I meant. 

[Stadler]

#74. Double Agent - Me - Did not rank. My two original lists both had it in the mid-140’s.

I always thought this song was a mess. The spoken word thing is ok I guess, and the riff is ok. But I just don’t think it works at all. Like Stick It Out, I felt like this was Rush trying a bit too hard to remain relevant after the grunge explosion.

Unlike Stick it Out, I don't hear much if any grunge influence in Double Agent.

I was thinking the same thing. I never heard a chorus like that on a Nirvana album. I actually think Double Agent is one of the most interesting songs they have ever done. It's so different.

That's exactly me.  I thought Double Agent was a throwback to an earlier era.  It's one of the more progressive songs in that way.  I love the different parts and how they fit together.  For me, this song was #28 on my list.   I really like Counterparts, and this is one of the better, more interesting ones from that album.  I will also go out on a limb and say this is one of Neil's better lyrics - I view it as a man conflicted between his good side and bad side; the angel and the devil on his shoulders, if you will - and flat out, Alex's BEST solo.

Roll The Bones is a different story; it's #159160* on my list, and while I'll sort of cop to it being symbolic, this is a song that embodies an album that I don't really care for, and not only that, it harkens back to another album I don't really care for.  RtB to me could be on p/g and that's not a compliment.  I don't HATE the rap section; in fact I sort of like it, and while some of it is cringe-y, some of it is clever too.  I just don't like the record and, as title track, this is emblematic of that.

[TAC]

Roll The Bones is a different story; it's #159 on my list, and while I'll sort of cop to it being symbolic, this is a song that embodies an album that I don't really care for.  I don't HATE the rap section; in fact I sort of like it, and while some of it is cringe-y, some of it is clever too.  I just don't like the record and, as title track, this is emblematic of that.

I'm with you on the album. I thought it was way beneath them. But the song is fun and catchy enough.

[pg1067]

Let's start with two tonight and I will play it by ear as to how many I will feature each day...

75 Roll the Bones
Appeared on 10 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 18 (nick_z)

I was pleasantly surprised that this made the top 75. I had it at 42.  I know some dislike it, but I have always loved it.  I still know the rap by heart. 


74 Double Agent
Appeared on 12 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 19 (DAT)

Another longtime favorite of mine, I had this at 29.  Not sure Rush ever got this dark again in their later years with that kind of vibe, but they did it really well.  That song kicked my ass the first time I heard it, and still does.

Gotta say I'm a little shocked that RTB made the top 75.  It's at #159 for me (out of 166*).  It's the second worst song on the band's worst album.  Unfortunately, it got played A LOT.

Double Agent, on the other hand, came in at #53 on my rankings.  So many cool elements combined into a single song.  Great guitar throughout.  Heavy riffing.  The spoken word part is oddly cool.  The "wilderness of mirrors" melody is super cool.  Being the #53 Rush song is not a bad thing at all, and this is a super underrated song.  Unfortunately, it never returned to the set list after the Counterparts tour.

* - The 166 songs I ranked included every song on the 19 studio albums plus Broon's Bane.  I didn't include the stuff from Feedback or the proto-Rush songs like Garden Road (mostly because none of them had any chance of making the top 75, and including them would make the process take longer).

That's exactly me.  I thought Double Agent was a throwback to an earlier era.  It's one of the more progressive songs in that way.  I love the different parts and how they fit together.  For me, this song was #28 on my list.   I really like Counterparts, and this is one of the better, more interesting ones from that album.

Same.  I generally don't like grunge and don't hear that at all in the song.  Although I don't agree, I can understand Ben's "mess" comment.  Like Bill, I just think the various sections fit together really well.

Roll The Bones is a different story; it's #159 on my list, and while I'll sort of cop to it being symbolic, this is a song that embodies an album that I don't really care for.  I don't HATE the rap section; in fact I sort of like it, and while some of it is cringe-y, some of it is clever too.  I just don't like the record and, as title track, this is emblematic of that.

What are the odds?!  And, while "hate" seems like too strong of a word, I REALLY dislike the rap section.  It's one of the more embarrassing/"what were they thinking" moments in Rush's catalog.

[Stadler]

Haha, maybe I'm more lenient of the rap section because my hockey team used to take the ice to "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" by Kiss.

[King Postwhore]

I think you guys take it too seriously. It's tongue and cheek.  It works well in the song.  Fans respond well to it lve.

[HOF]

I think you guys take it too seriously. It's tongue and cheek.  It works well in the song.  Fans respond well to it lve.

Yeah, I think Rush have a sense of humor that pervades kind of their whole catalog. If you can’t get on board with something like the RTB “rap,” you’re probably not going to like a big chunk of their stuff.

[pg1067]

Haha, maybe I'm more lenient of the rap section because my hockey team used to take the ice to "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" by Kiss.

I think you guys take it too seriously. It's tongue and cheek.  It works well in the song.  Fans respond well to it lve.

I know it's tongue in cheek, but that doesn't make it good.

I also think the difference between the RTB "rap" and the spoken word bits in AHBL (along with those in Double Agent) is entirely in the execution.  I'm not much of a KISS fan, but AHBL is one of my favorites.

And I like the bulk of Rush's catalog.  I do not, however, seem to share a chunk of their sense of humor.  I found most of the "funny" videos they did over the last 10 years of their career to be downright stupid.  Fortunately, that didn't usually pervade the music.

[Stadler]

They do gravitate to a sort of "Three Stooges" humor, which I largely do not share.  Having said that, though, some of the bits and pieces on the various DVDs are - or can be - pretty funny.

[jammindude]

There are two kinds of people. Those who get “the bag” (Ace), and those who don’t get “the bag” (Gene).

[Setlist Scotty]

There are two kinds of people. Those who get “the bag” (Ace), and those who don’t get “the bag” (Gene).

Gotta love the bag!   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykGIq_fBa3U

[KevShmev]

Today's two are from the same album!

73 Prime Mover
Appeared on 12 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 10 (Stadler)

This is on my "I can't believe this only got played on one tour" list. Such a great song.  I had it at 41, and it's another that feels like it could have been 10 spots higher if you had asked me where to rank a few years ago.


72 Open Secrets
Appeared on 11 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 17 (Tomislav95)

This is another that I feel like I underrated, as I had it at 60.  The bridge really stands out.  This is the first of seven songs to make the top 75 that Rush never played live.

[TAC]

73 Prime Mover
Appeared on 12 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 10 (Stadler)


72 Open Secrets
Appeared on 11 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 17 (Tomislav95)

I had Prime Mover at #66. I like the chorus. It's a pretty catchy tune.

I had Open Secrets as unrated. If this was a Top 100, it might've squeaked in.

[King Postwhore]

Open Secret was born from the guys jamming on soundchecks. It's on of my favorite album cuts.

[TAC]

Open Secret was born from the guys jamming on soundchecks. It's on of my favorite album cuts.

Where did you rank it?

[King Postwhore]

Open Secret was born from the guys jamming on soundchecks. It's on of my favorite album cuts.

Where did you rank it?

I don't remember. I'd have to turn on my computer. Lol

Edit: Found it. #47

[Setlist Scotty]

Interesting to have a pair from HYF back to back.

Primer Mover is decent enough, but never really grabbed me. Probably my second least favorite from the album behind Tai Shan. In all honesty, I do think that a newspaper review of HYF colored my view of this song that I've never shaken. Can't remember exactly what was said, but the reviewer complained about the lyrics being a bit obscure and I've never forgotten that. Still, I think I like just about everything else on this album better musically, too, which plays a bigger role in why it ended up ranking as #109 for me.

OTOH, I absolutely LOVE Open Secrets. It quickly became one of my favorites on HYF and has continued to be until this day. Such a shame they never played it live. For whatever reason (must be subconsciously), I've always connected to it lyrically, too. My highest ranking HYF track at #28.