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

[Glasser]

I am going to generalize here for a moment and submit that any fan who doesn't love Dreamline probably never saw Rush live because I don't think it's possible to have seen that song performed live and not thought it was great.

I was at that tour. I don't remember it not being great live but I always loved the song . The show kicked major ass.

Which tour?  It was played on seven of them!

I saw them on Roll The Bones and Counterparts tours. I though you meant RTB Tour.

[TAC]

Glasser, he's just being an ass. Ignore him.

[King Postwhore]

So that's what we should do with your posts in this thread Tim?

[TAC]

So that's what we should do with your posts in this thread Tim?

Yeah, most of them anyway. 

[King Postwhore]

[TAC]

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

So that's what we should do with your posts in this thread Tim?

It's what I do when he's bashing awesome albums

OK, that's pretty cool.

[King Postwhore]

That site that animates album covers is amazing. 

[TAC]

Google Images?

[KevShmev]

Feels like it's about time to cut to the chase and post the next album.

[TAC]

Yeah, I'm detecting an emotion.

[KevShmev]

I am doing the best I can to hold out till morning.

[jjrock88]

Get busy with the facts, lets move on

[King Postwhore]

Google Images?

https://coolmaterial.com/roundup/animated-album-covers/


On Facebook & Instagram it's "Media in Motion."

[pg1067]

I am going to generalize here for a moment and submit that any fan who doesn't love Dreamline probably never saw Rush live because I don't think it's possible to have seen that song performed live and not thought it was great.

I was at that tour. I don't remember it not being great live but I always loved the song . The show kicked major ass.

Yeah...that's a weird generalization.  I saw Dreamline played at nine different shows between 1992-2012.  It was fine.  Nothing special - especially when the setlists expanded and they were playing so many great songs.  It paled in comparison.

[KevShmev]

Moving on...


13 Fly by Night

Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
Lowest Finish: 18 (Mladen, jingle.boy, DTA, faizoff, Lethean)

This one ranked 14th for me.  Definitely my favorite of the first three, thanks in large part to Side 1. I can only imagine what existing Rush fans thought in 1975 when this came out and they heard the new drummer Neil Peart’s playing at the start of Anthem. It had to be a major “woah” moment.  Interesting that the title track held up as one of their classic rock radio mainstays for so long, considering it was never played by the band again after the 70s.  Solid tune, but not a standout.  Anyway, good album.

Favorite songs: By-Tor and the Snow Dog, Anthem, Beneath, Between and Behind and Making Memories

[Zydar]

Ooh, definitely my favourite of the first three as well. I had it at #8 actually. A big step up from the debut.

[jingle.boy]

Eh…. It’s ok I guess. FBN is even more overplayed than Lakeside Park.  By-Tor is overrated imo. I didn’t ‘get’ that song for a long time, and I now enjoy it, but it seems to have this aura about it like it’s one of their greatest non-radio-hit songs. And the rest of it … largely forgettable.

[King Postwhore]

I am going to generalize here for a moment and submit that any fan who doesn't love Dreamline probably never saw Rush live because I don't think it's possible to have seen that song performed live and not thought it was great.

I was at that tour. I don't remember it not being great live but I always loved the song . The show kicked major ass.

Yeah...that's a weird generalization.  I saw Dreamline played at nine different shows between 1992-2012.  It was fine.  Nothing special - especially when the setlists expanded and they were playing so many great songs.  It paled in comparison.

It was received by most fans as a great opener for the shows.  Not a generalization at all.

[King Postwhore]

Fly By Night was 17 for me. Not a bad album at all.  Anthem is a killer song. It's a good album. I just play the other albums more.

[nobloodyname]

On reflection, I should probably have tinkered with the rankings spat out by The Ranking Machine. Oh, well. Still a good album, though. And, unlike the majority of the fanbase, I love Rivendell

[faizoff]

14 Roll the Bones

Highest Finish: 5 (wolfking)
Lowest Finish: 19 (pg1067, jammindude, Stadler, ReaperKK)

13 Fly by Night

Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
Lowest Finish: 18 (Mladen, jingle.boy, DTA, faizoff, Lethean)

Interesting that no one ranked FBN 19th, it was a toss up between that and Caress for me. Some really good stuff in there among mostly just ok songs.

I enjoy Roll the Bones quite a bit, the rap part must've been so odd to hear for Rush fans when it first came out. Had it at 11.


19. Caress of Steel
18. Fly by Night
17. Vapor Trails
16. Rush
15.
14. Test For Echo
13.
12.
11. Roll The Bones
10. Snakes & Arrows
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

[HOF]

I had Fly By Night ranked exactly at 13 as well, so this is just right!

I have always really liked the title track, which has some really memorable drumming. By-Tor is a lot of fun too, and Anthem is a nice opener. I don’t have a strong opinion on most of the tracks. They’re all decent 70s rock type songs but not really anything characteristically Rush beyond the drumming which is great throughout (except for Rivendell!). I didn’t love this one when I first got it, but it’s held up better over time than some of the other 70s stuff for me (and some of the later Rush as well), so that’s how it ended up at 13.

[ReaperKK]

I really dig FBN. It's a good album whose only crime is that Rush released better albums.

19   Roll The Bones
18   
17   
16   
15   Test For Echo
14   Fly By Night
13   
12   
11   Vapor Trails
10   
9   
8   
7   
6   Rush
5   Caress Of Steel
4   
3   
2   Snakes & Arrows
1   

[Mladen]

I enjoyed most of these songs in the first year or so of getting into the band, but I hardly ever return to it nowadays. It's not much better than the debut, honestly.

[jammindude]

I had Fly By Night at #15, and my least favorite of the first 4 albums.

That being said, I still really like this album. There are higher highs than the debut, but overall, it feels more inconsistent than its predecessor.

Side 1 is pretty amazing from start to finish. The title track is good if a bit overplayed. Making Memories is one of the first songs I ever learned to play on the guitar, so there’s a soft spot there. Rivendell is actually ok for what it is, but it doesn’t really feel like Rush. In the End didn’t age well. Loved it as a kid, but it’s a 3 minute idea dragged on for 6. I like the live version a lot better.

[TAC]

I had Fly By Night at #8. I really like it. It has such a cool vibe. In The End is one of my favorite Rush songs though I do prefer the ATWAS version. I do find By Tor a bit overblown though. It’s just a real enjoyable listen.


19 Snakes & Arrows
18 Test For Echo
17
16
15 Roll The Bones
14 Caress Of Steel
13 Vapor Trails
12
11
10
9 Rush
8 Fly By Night
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

[DTA]

Number 18. Stronger than the first album, but still weaker than what came after. I love the title track, By-Tor is cool (possibly a bit overrated by the fanbase), and Anthem is a great opener but past that, the rest of the songs still feel a bit too much rooted in a 70's rock sound. I think Geddy himself ranked this album last on Eddie Trunk's show when asked to rank the first 9 albums.

[The Letter M]

Moving on...


13 Fly by Night

Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
Lowest Finish: 18 (Mladen, jingle.boy, DTA, faizoff, Lethean)

01   ?
02   ?
03   ?
04   ?
05   ?
06   Caress Of Steel
07   ?
08   ?
09   Fly By Night
10   Vapor Trails
11   ?
12   ?
13   ?
14   ?
15   ?
16   Test For Echo
17   Snakes & Arrows
18   Roll The Bones
19   Rush

In my recent binge of early Rush, my appreciation for FBN grew like it did for COS, and so it ended up a. It higher than it probably would have before a couple months ago.

Side one is definitely very strong, but Side 2 isn't anything to scoff at either, although the novelty of "Rivendell" wears off after awhile, and "In The End" was much stronger live.

Either way, what a strong sophomore album and first outing with Neil in the studio.

-Marc.

[Metro]

13 Fly by Night

Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
Lowest Finish: 18 (Mladen, jingle.boy, DTA, faizoff, Lethean)

#11 for me. Half great, half meh. The half that's great is among their best material. The rest is among the worst.

19. Test for Echo
18.
17. Vapor Trails
16. Rush
15. Roll the Bones
14. Caress of Steel
13. Snakes and Arrows
12.
11. Fly By Night
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.


The real question is who would win in this fight:

vs

vs


FBN owl looks pretty mean. He's got my bet.

[425]

I'm a bit surprised to see this one down here; I thought it was generally more well-loved than this. I sort of expected that I'd have to defend my low placement of this album, but it turns out that my ranking is pretty much in line with the consensus: I had this at #14, so right behind Roll the Bones. That's kind of a relief since it means I can talk more about what I like about this one, and I'll only have to defend one heresy later on.

Why this is so low for me is pretty simple: I like Rush's mature work better than the earlier stuff. This one still shows a lot of the immaturity of their first few albums, and it features Geddy's very high-pitched vocals, which I'm not a fan of.

But why is this as high as it is? Well, I really like that it's a complete album. It's really the only Rush album until the late 70s that I really think is complete from start to finish. It's a cohesive album that doesn't overstay its welcome at 38 minutes, and I think most of the songs are at least pretty good. Rivendell is the only one that I find really questionable, and even then, it's inoffensive and it feels like it has its place in the album's sequence. I even enjoy Best I Can, even though it's far from being their best work.

I think my favorite song here is actually In the End. I really like how this one works as an album closer. Other top contenders would be Beneath, Between & Behind and Fly By Night. But Anthem, By-Tor and even Making Memories are strong tracks as well. I don't hold By-Tor in the level of esteem that some fans do. It's nowhere near my favorite on the album, and I don't like all of the instrumental section. But it does serviceably as a part of the whole here. The songwriting on this album, IMO, is just on a higher level than either the previous debut effort or the attempt to leap forward that is Caress of Steel. But they got even better later, and created deeper, richer music than this. So #14 is the right place for me.


19. Rush
18. Caress of Steel
17. Test for Echo
16.
15.
14. Fly By Night
13. Roll the Bones
12. Snakes & Arrows
11.
10.
9.
8. Vapor Trails
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Despite ranking it #17 I really do like this album. Sure there are a few songs that aren't quite up to the standards of later material, but in the end (see what I did there ) it's still a good album, they just have many more better albums.

19. Rush
18. Snakes & Arrows
17. Fly By Night
16. Vapor Trails
15.
14. Roll the Bones
13.
12. Test for Echo
11.
10. Caress of Steel
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

[Glasser]

Ooh, definitely my favourite of the first three as well. I had it at #8 actually. A big step up from the debut.

Same on both.

[Lethean]

Fly By Night was 17 for me. Not a bad album at all.  Anthem is a killer song. It's a good album. I just play the other albums more.

This sums it up for me as well.  Nothing bad to say about it, and having Neil's lyrics was a big step up from the debut, but I like the others even more.

[Kram]

19. Rush
18. Test for Echo
17. Fly by Night
16.
15. Roll The Bones
14. Snakes & Arrows
13. Caress of Steel
12. Vapor Trails
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

It's ok, better than the debut, but still one of their weaker outputs.  Anthem, By-Tor, In the End and Beneath Between and Behind are the standouts for me.