Rush studio albums countdown thread!!! (#01 revealed!!)

[Kram]

I was just listening to Snakes and Arrows this morning and was really enjoying it.  That said, I had it at 14.

19. Rush
18.
17.
16.
15.
14. Snakes & Arrows
13.
12.
11.
10.
9. 
8. 
7. 
6. 
5. 
4. 
3. 
2. 
1. 

[KevShmev]

   The best thing about the tour was that only 5 of the 20+ songs were from RTB, and one was the instrumental (on the other hand, they never played the best song from the album).

Actually, if you saw the first 5-6 weeks of the Roll the Bones tour, you only got four songs from it as Ghost of a Chance wasn't played early in the tour, IIRC.  I think it was added before the new year.  I know it wasn't played when we saw them in early November (my first Rush show ever), but it was when they were here again in June late in the tour when they did a second run through the US.

[pg1067]

   The best thing about the tour was that only 5 of the 20+ songs were from RTB, and one was the instrumental (on the other hand, they never played the best song from the album).

Actually, if you saw the first 5-6 weeks of the Roll the Bones tour, you only got four songs from it as Ghost of a Chance wasn't played early in the tour, IIRC.  I think it was added before the new year.  I know it wasn't played when we saw them in early November (my first Rush show ever), but it was when they were here again in June late in the tour when they did a second run through the US.

I saw January and June 1992, and they did Ghost both times.

[KevShmev]

   The best thing about the tour was that only 5 of the 20+ songs were from RTB, and one was the instrumental (on the other hand, they never played the best song from the album).

Actually, if you saw the first 5-6 weeks of the Roll the Bones tour, you only got four songs from it as Ghost of a Chance wasn't played early in the tour, IIRC.  I think it was added before the new year.  I know it wasn't played when we saw them in early November (my first Rush show ever), but it was when they were here again in June late in the tour when they did a second run through the US.

I saw January and June 1992, and they did Ghost both times.

Yep, yep, I looked it up and it looks like Ghost of a Chance was added in early December.

https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/setlists.php#ROLLTHEBONES

Unrelated: Playing the first half or so of Xanadu and then segueing into Superconductor was the biggest WTF in their history.

[King Postwhore]

Pg, that's how they've always done the lyrics. Neil writes, Geddy peaks in. Says, I can work with this. Alex and zgeddy work the lyrics.   Geddy goes back to Neil, says, this works, this phrase doesn't work here.

Neil works with Geddy to work out the lyrics and Bam, a song. It's always veen that way.

[TAC]

[HOF]

zgeddy sounds like Geddy's evil twin.

[King Postwhore]

Zgeedy is truly evil. 

Tim, it's always been a collaborative effort but neil gives notes and Geddy works with him.  You simpleton.

[TAC]

Tim, it's always been a collaborative effort but neil gives notes and Geddy works with him.  You simpleton.

The thing is, on S&A, it's really obvious, and the music ultimately doesn't hold up its end of the bargain.
Somewhere along the way, their music simplified, for lack of a better term, and instead od providing a nice and natural nest for the lyrics, it became a tad more rigid and it didn't seem to fit so well.

[King Postwhore]

You can say that on every album. I love Counterparts but "The Speed of Love" is a weak song with weak lyrics.

[TAC]

You can say that on every album. I love Counterparts but "The Speed of Love" is a weak song with weak lyrics.

Well, sure, every album has a song that misses the mark musically.

[HOF]

You can say that on every album. I love Counterparts but "The Speed of Love" is a weak song with weak lyrics.

I really like that song. Lyrics are a bit forgettable though.

[King Postwhore]

You can say that on every album. I love Counterparts but "The Speed of Love" is a weak song with weak lyrics.

Well, sure, every album has a song that misses the mark musically.

And lyrically as HOF just said.

[jingle.boy]

19.
18.
17. Snakes & Arrows
16.
15.
14.
13. Rush
12.
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

As I said earlier... for me, my albums 11-17 are largely interchangeable.  They've all got 3-5 A-list songs (imo), and then the rest range from 'mostly enjoyable' to 'filler'.  The Main Monkey Business is the bomb though.  Top 3 instrumental from them. 

[TAC]

The Main Monkey Business is the bomb though.  Top 3 instrumental from them. 

It's a rip off of A National Acrobat.

[jingle.boy]

I don't know what that means.

[TAC]

I don't know what that means.

The main riff is the same as Black Sabbath's A National Acrobat, but faster.

[pg1067]

The Main Monkey Business is the bomb though.  Top 3 instrumental from them. 

Well...think about the competition.  Maybe someone doesn't have LVS (12) and YYZ (20) as 1 and 2 (in whatever order), but I suspect such folks are few and far between.  After that, we've got

- Where's My Thing (127)
- Leave That Thing Alone (126)
- Limbo (103)
- The Main Monkey Business (109)
- Hope (123)
- Malignant Narcisism (142)

Is TMMB the best of those 6?  Maybe, none of those are anywhere near the level of LVS and YYZ (IMO, of course).  The numbers above in parentheses are how I ranked the songs when we did the Rush countdown.

I don't know what that means.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gozCnbfY-xM

One of the main riffs in TMMB is quite similar to the single main riff in Black Sabbath's A National Acrobat.

EDIT:  Tim swooped me!

[HOF]

The Main Monkey Business is the bomb though.  Top 3 instrumental from them. 

Well...think about the competition.  Maybe someone doesn't have LVS and YYZ as 1 and 2 (in whatever order), but I suspect such folks are few and far between.  After that, we've got

- Where's My Thing
- Leave That Thing Alone
- Limbo
- The Main Monkey Business
- Hope
- Malignant Narcisism

Is TMMB the best of those 6?  Maybe, none of those are anywhere near the level of LVS and YYZ (IMO, of course).

For reasons I don't quite understand I don't connect very well with Rush instrumentals. They are all fine, but I don't really seek any of them out. I think I concluded during the Rush song countdown that Leave That Thing Alone is the one I enjoy the most.

[nick_z]

I don't know what that means.

The main riff is the same as Black Sabbath's A National Acrobat, but faster.

Yep, that jumped at me right away the first time I listened to it.

It's kind of a cool instrumental, though...nothing mindblowing, to be sure...a bit "breezier" than their usual. In a way, a better version of what they were going for with Limbo, imo...

[425]

With the huge caveat that S&A comes from the section of the discography I'm not very familiar with, and that I notice several of you mentioned that you came to like this one less over time . . . . .

Y'all are crazy (except Stadler). I have a really positive early impression of this one. It has a distinct sound to it that I really like. It feels both heavy compared to most Rush albums while also being really melodic and having a lot of strong acoustic sections. So far, highlights for me are Far Cry, Armor and Sword and The Main Monkey Business. But there's a lot on here I find quite interesting.

With all that said, I put it in the bottom half of my list, but nowhere near last—#12—mainly because the second half doesn't feel as strong to me as the first. But that's partly with the "early impression penalty"; I could see myself going higher one day (assuming it doesn't fall off for me like it seems to have for many of you).

19. Rush
18.
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12. Snakes & Arrows
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

[nick_z]

The Main Monkey Business is the bomb though.  Top 3 instrumental from them. 

Well...think about the competition.  Maybe someone doesn't have LVS and YYZ as 1 and 2 (in whatever order), but I suspect such folks are few and far between.  After that, we've got

- Where's My Thing
- Leave That Thing Alone
- Limbo
- The Main Monkey Business
- Hope
- Malignant Narcisism

Is TMMB the best of those 6?  Maybe, none of those are anywhere near the level of LVS and YYZ (IMO, of course).

For reasons I don't quite understand I don't connect very well with Rush instrumentals. They are all fine, but I don't really seek any of them out. I think I concluded during the Rush song countdown that Leave That Thing Alone is the one I enjoy the most.

I LOVE Leave That Thing Alone! For sure my third favorite Rush instrumental after LVS and YYZ.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I'm starting to wonder if Kev is just reposting my list....

19. Rush
18. Snakes & Arrows
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

[KevShmev]

I'm starting to wonder if Kev is just reposting my list....
 

That trend comes to a crashing halt tomorrow.

[Glasser]

I'm starting to wonder if Kev is just reposting my list....
 

That trend comes to a crashing halt tomorrow.

Can I guess the album???

[KevShmev]

I'm starting to wonder if Kev is just reposting my list....
 

That trend comes to a crashing halt tomorrow.

Can I guess the album???

Nah.

My new rule is for every spotlighting offense, I post in the Taylor Swift thread to bump it back up to the top. 

[Glasser]

I'm starting to wonder if Kev is just reposting my list....
 

That trend comes to a crashing halt tomorrow.

Can I guess the album???

Nah.

My new rule is for every spotlighting offense, I post in the Taylor Swift thread to bump it back up to the top. 

Haha! I wasn't going to try to guess what I believe it would be, I was gonna say Moving Pictures as a goof.

[KevShmev]

Moving Pictures is next!

Maybe I should just post it tonight.

[nick_z]

Moving Pictures is next!

Maybe I should just post it tonight.

That would be quite the twist!

[TAC]

Nah.

My new rule is for every spotlighting offense, I post in the Taylor Swift thread to bump it back up to the top. 

Like you even need a reason.

[Glasser]

Moving Pictures is next!

Maybe I should just post it tonight.

I would post TAC in a thong and then light him on fire if Moving Pictures is next. 

[TAC]

If Moving Pictures is next, I'll post TAC in a thong!

[KevShmev]

Okay, so we are skipping ahead to 16.

[King Postwhore]

I have a picture of TAC pushing a shoping cart into a cart return. That's worth more than him in a thong.

[KevShmev]

I have a picture of TAC pushing a shoping cart into a cart return. That's worth more than him in a thong.

Ah, fiction.