The ranking engine is still down, so I once again don't know where I had these songs ranked, but I know I had them both in the top 20, if not top 15.
12 YYZ
Appeared on 24 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 8
Highest Ranking: 4 (romdrums)
You know an instrumental is bad ass when the band chooses it as their last encore on multiple tours, as Rush did with this one. I had it at 20, and that feels too low on my part, but it probably got dinged a tad by me due to overplay. Still a terrific song, and it goes without saying that the Rio version from 2002 is just bananas.
YYZ is so unique among instrumentals. I think a lot of instrumentals are a result of a band writing music and being unable to fit lyrics to it, so they just add a bunch of crazy soloing where lyrics would go. YYZ is not only clever in its use of the Morse code pattern for the intro, it has passages that are infinitely interesting without a bunch of busy soloing. Being a Lee/Peart composition, I suppose it's no surprise that Geddy and Neil are the stars of most of the song. Trade off bass and drum fills are super cool. However, Alex's chord work under that section is amazing. And, when it comes time for Alex to take a solo, he makes the most of it by making it minimalist. For ANY other band, this would be a crowning instrumental achievement, but Rush isn't any other band.
11 Freewill
Appeared on 23 of 25 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 4
Highest Ranking: 4 (Puppies_On_Acid,)
This is one that actually took a bit of time for me to love when I was first a fan, but I got there. The instrumental section is just out of this world, with all three guys soloing, and the latter part was always amazing live, with Alex going back and forth between the soloing and revisiting one of the main riffs. And that moment where they segue way back into the main part of the song always got a huge applause live, almost like the band was giving that "we're not worthy" cheer after Alex (in particular) nailed the end of that instrumental section.
The 3-in-1 solo section is this songs crowning achievement, but, as usual, there's so much more going on here. Never have alternating measures of 6-8-6-7 sounded like an easy 4/4. Bass and drums are in lock step on the pre-choruses, and the chorus is just fun. The harmonies between bass and guitar leading into the solo section are super clever and subtle. This was a song that got me so excited about learning it on the bass. When I finally nailed the solo section, I was so damn happy!
The Score So Far- Rush - 1 song of 8 (12.5% or 17.86% of album time): Working Man - #56)
- Fly by Night - 3 songs of 8 (37.5% or 43.67% of album time): Fly by Night - #70; By-Tor and the Snow Dog - #38; Anthem - #36
- Caress of Steel - 2 songs of 5 (40% or 38.15% of album time): The Necromancer - #67; Bastille Day - #59- 2112 - 2 songs of 6 (33.33% or 19.42% of album time): Something for Nothing - #63; A Passage to Bangkok - #58
- A Farewell to Kings - 3 songs of 6 (50% or 51.57% of album time): Closer to the Heart - #43; A Farewell to Kings - #26; Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage - #23
- Hemispheres - 3 songs of 4 (75% or 73.51% of album time): Circumstances - #45; The Trees - #18; Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres - #14
- Permanent Waves - 4 songs of 6 (66.67% or 60.04% of album time): Different Strings - #57; Entre Nous - #53; Jacob's Ladder - #15; Freewill - #11
- Moving Pictures - 4 songs of 7 (57.14% or 62.33% of album time): Vital Signs - #51; Witch Hunt - #38; The Camera Eye - #17; YYZ - #12
- Signals - 6 songs of 8 (75% or 75.22% of album time): Countdown - #68; New World Man - #54; The Weapon - #48; Digital Man - #47; Losing It - #25; The Analog Kid - #16
- Grace Under Pressure - 5 songs of 8 (62.5% or 64.51% of album time): The Enemy Within - #49; Afterimage - #29; Red Sector A - #21; Distant Early Warning - #20; Between the Wheels - #13- Power Windows - 7 songs of 8 (87.5% or 86.19% of album time): Emotion Detector - #66; Grand Designs - #37; Mystic Rhythms - #35; Middletown Dreams - #31; The Big Money - #30; Territories #24; Manhattan Project - #22
- Hold Your Fire - 5 songs of 10 (50% or 40.19% of album time): Prime Mover - #73; Open Secrets - #72; Force Ten - #50; Mission - #44; Time Stand Still - #34
- Presto - 4 songs of 11 (36.36% or 39.62% of album time): Presto - #69; Show Don't Tell - #64; The Pass - #33; Available Light - #19
- Roll the Bones - 4 songs of 10 (40% or 41.62% of album time): Roll the Bones - #75; Ghost of a Chance - #52; Bravado - #41; Dreamline - #32
- Counterparts - 6 songs of 11 (54.55% or 54.24% of album time): Double Agent - #74; Everyday Glory - #65; Cut to the Chase - #61; Cold Fire - #60; Leave That Thing Alone - #40; Animate - #28
- Test for Echo - 2 songs of 11 (18.18% or 19.41% of album time): Test for Echo - #71; Driven - #62
- Vapor Trails - NO SONGS (0%)
- Snakes & Arrows - NO SONGS (0%)
- Clockwork Angels - 4 songs of 12 (33.33% or 41.58% of album time): Clockwork Angels - #55; Headlong Flight - #46; Caravan - #42; The Garden - #27