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.