How to Buy....Rush (post 1982)

[The Grand Wazoo]

I need some help here folks: Rush used to be one of my favourite bands when I was a teenager. I saw 'Permanent Waves' as the beginning of the end of my love affair with them. After the release of 'Signals', I just gave up completely & their new albums never darkened my door again.

So I'm beginning to wonder if I've been missing anything over the last 30 years (bloody hell - is it really 30 years since I last went to a Rush gig?!

Anyone with any album recommendations please? It would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[John]

Well I always thought moving pictures was one of their strongest albums Chris
Others to think about
Roll the Bones its quite rocky
Different Stages My favourite live album by Rush


But on the whole totally understand where you coming from Chris
A lot of my friends also like Vapour Trails

[aquapiranha]

Power Windows has always been a guilty pleasure of mine.

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/164bfebefc274f9fb19cbfad7c1aa92faefea441.jpg

[The Grand Wazoo]

Well I always thought moving pictures was one of their strongest albums Chris

Yes, I much preferred it to 'Permanent Waves', but thought they were both a pale shadow of what had gone before.



Roll the Bones ............Different Stages .................Vapour Trails

Thanks John, I'll stick those on my list - thank heavens for Spotify!



Steve.....

Power Windows has always been a guilty pleasure of mine.

.....a guilty pleasure because you think you ought to know better or simply because others don't like it?

[aquapiranha]

Steve.....


.....a guilty pleasure because you think you ought to know better or simply because others don't like it?

Chris, I get the impression that 'proper' Rush fans never really liked it but think it is a fantastic album! In fact, I will listen to it today! :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

OK, it's on the list!

..........I've got the same sort of relationship with 'And Then There Were Three' by Genesis. Everyone hates it, but despite liking all of the 'approved by the cognoscenti' albums, I like this one too. It's just different from what went before.

[aquapiranha]

My other favourite Rush albums are 2112, Fly by night and A farewell to Kings, though obviously not 'new' enough.

I know what you mean about 'And then there were three' too.

[Spectral Morn]

I see Rush as having a couple of distinct periods and depending on the listeners musical taste different periods of Rush may not fit in with what they like.

Fist album Led Zep rip off mostly and imho not worth looking at.

Next period was interesting but it was not until 2112, Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres that Rush really took off (for me at least) This is referred to by many as their prog rock phase, though I don't think it is exactly prog, maybe more pomp rock but regardless of exact genre definition its very good.

The AOR period. Frankly where you parted with them Chris I embraced them more. I love Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, Power Windows, Presto etc

Roll the Bones onwards. This heavier more metal period is when I lost interest in Rush as what I loved of their music before vanished to be replaced by something which for me was not really Rush.

Try some of the latter albums if you prefer a heavier vibe but I agree with John, Moving Pictures is a stunning album.


Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hahaha....you & I are on completely the opposite sides of the coin, Neil!
I spotted the Led Zeppelin influence within seconds of dropping the stylus onto the first track of their first album.......but I liked it.
Their albums came in gangs of three, didn't they?
The first 3 were filled with quite conventional heavy rock songs.
Next up, 2112/Farewell to Kings/Hemispheres period was rather more sophisticated, technically crafted and lyrically more fantasy based.
Permanent Waves/Moving Pictures/Signals moved away from the epic & back to the short and more radio friendly form. But (and for me, it was a big but) they also started to incorporate more keyboard based sounds. Agreed, Moving Pictures was great, but different. Signals was reasonably interesting, but that was the end of it for me as any time I took a tentative listen to one of their new efforts after that, I just couldn't engage with it.
So I'm interested to hear that perhaps they've gone back to guitars!

[Pete The Cat]

I struggled with Rush after "Power Windows", they'd taken on that fashionable but overly bright 80s production sound (re current thread about 80s music), lost the heaviness that was occasionally used so effectively in a light-and-shade kind of way on previous records and the tunes weren't as strong.

Not everyone's cup of tea but I picked up with them again for "Vapor Trails". The first half of the album is pretty good, it runs out of steam a little for the second half. Its key - and this is the bit that divides opinion - is that they went for a heavier, denser modern rock sound. It's possibly another victim of the loudness wars too, but was enough to convince me that they've still got something to offer. I bought "Snakes And Arrows" on the strength of "Far Cry" which is brilliant, as is "Workin' Them Angels", however not much of the rest stands out for me.

Pete

[WOStantonCS100]

I will be of no more help to what has already been posted. Caress of Steel, A Farewell to Kings, 2112, Fly By Night... favorites from them. And sadly, I realized I don't actually have Moving Pictures, anymore. I used to. :scratch:

I'm a completist, so eventually, I'll get everything. I like Signals as well; but, have to adjust my thinking when I listen to it, much like I have to do with different periods of King Crimson. Otherwise, I would definitely have stopped following the band as of the end of 1981.

[sparrow]

I like all the Rush albums except Vapour Trails IMO all the others have good parts and IMO some are masterpieces. All their live albums are great too especially Different Stages & Exit Stage Left.

[farook]

Took my 13 yr old daughter to see them at the 02 last year!
They were stunning,played mp in its entirety ,stage show was brill as well,
ya can get the show on blu ray as well "rush-time machine,live in cleaveland"
well worth getting,great performance,and shows of there quirky sense of humor as well!
All rush is good,some albums have a bit of filler on em,but mostly its all good,as has been stated,they do have stages,dif stages is a good cross section of there work up until 1998,when they went on a sabatical due to neil peart losing his daughter in a car crash,and his wife to cancer one year later,Vapor trails is a good documentation of this,and the power and emotion are so present,its a visceral work,no airs or graces,just in yer face dude!
try it out,they never rip ya of,they mean what they do!
cheers:)