Got a bit behind again with these posts - doesn’t take much!
Anyhoo, I rated Hemispheres at #23. It’s a great track and I absolutely LOVE the prelude part of it, which is largely what caused me to give it such a high rating. I do think it’s more cohesive than 2112, but for me there’s something more appealing to the parts of 2112. So that’s why 2112 is 2 spots higher at #21. Always rousing for the concerts and I’m glad in more recent tours they didn’t simply fall back on playing the Overture and Temples of Syrinx, but also the Grand Finale and Presentation.
Between the Wheels is my favorite on p/g - just such a heavy song. No surprise then that I ranked it as #12 on my list. So glad that they brought back in later years and that I got the chance to experience it live more than once. Even better live than the studio recording.
It goes without saying that YYZ is an awesome track, but it’s another one that I’ve grown a bit tired of. As such, it only made it to #41 for me.
The same is true for Freewill. Loved it for many years, but as time goes by, I favor many other songs over it. It made my top 75, but near the bottom at #68.
But the opposite is the case for Marathon which has consistently been one of my two favorites on PoW. I gave the edge to Territories for making my list, but I love them both equally. Getting to see it on the Time Machine tour again (saw it on the HYF tour, too) sent shivers down my spine, especially when Geddy starts playing those keys right before Alex rips that searing solo. Needless to say, it rated as #6 on my list.
Limelight is an absolute classic tune. Both Neil’s honest lyrics and Alex’s guitar solo will always be the stand out elements of the song, but the song as a whole is great. With that said, it has slipped in the ratings a bit for me - I think many years ago I would have ranked it higher, but it still placed at a very respectable #25 at this time.
What more can be said about Natural Science that hasn’t already been said. Obviously my favorite song of theirs with all the twists and turns and moods. And for them to regularly bring it back live beginning with the T4E tour was just a thrill for me! Before that tour, I imagined I had no hope of ever seeing it performed live and I was so glad to be proved wrong! Gotta say that my personal favorite version of this song is the one found on Different Stages - not just because I happen to be at the Chicago show that it came from, but especially because of the way Alex played the intro with what I think sounds like a 12-string guitar (correct me if I’m wrong) and Geddy punctuates parts with his bass, and then I love how that 12-string transitions in sound as the band kicks it into high gear. So glad I can relisten to that recording over and over again, as I’m doing as I type this!
As much as it got over played live, Tom Sawyer is a song I never got tired of - both it and one other that has yet to be announced by Kev. Probably the only two songs that I feel that way about not just regarding Rush, but just about any band’s song (maybe Learning to Live might make that list, too although it’s never been overplayed). Such a great track that more than any other is the quintessential Rush track that most people know. Amazing to imagine that they struggled with getting the song just right when they were working on it. But their perseverance paid off in spades! My personal favorite memory of this song comes from my very first time seeing them live on the HYF tour (my first rock concert ever): my pop (who insisted on coming so that he could point out all the terrible things that go on at rock concerts and would be reasons for “young Christian men” not to attend them) and I were sitting high up on right side, about 3/4 to the back of the arena, and that characteristic opening synth pad played over the PA and I swear just completely surrounded us - so intense! It’s funny because I have a recording of that show and it sounds exactly the way I remember it! I never had that experience with that song ever again, but it still is in my memory to this day. It placed at #8 on my list.
I agree with shmegland - who in their right mind doesn’t include La Villa Strangiato, the KING of instrumental tracks! Love love love this tune. So many layers to it and one that I never get tired of listening to. Going back to my first concert again, I still remember when they started to play part of it during the encore, with the layer of lasers shining out from the stage like a ceiling over the band. I gotta say the way they played it on that tour will always stand out to me, in particular because Alex used his jangly guitar tone (so characteristic of that era) during the quiet part as you can see here:
https://youtu.be/UFwR6VLFPuY?t=5210 I don’t know why, but I just prefer that to the muted way Alex normally plays it. Nonetheless, I loved hearing it every time it was included in the setlist, so it makes perfect sense that it was my #3 song.
Topic: Official Top 75 Rush songs Thread!!! (Top 2 revealed!!) (Read 52957 times)
