Rush

[devilmaycare]

Leppard acused Marc Storace of copying Joe Elliot's between songs "patter" where he'd talk to the audience. Storace would say it all of course, then Elliot would come out an hour later & say the same stuff. It got to the stage (apparently) where Leppard had their people out front during Krokus' set writing down what he said, & threatened to kick them off the tour...

All "handbags at twenty paces" stuff. Very silly.

[The Rules Mob]

Leppard acused Marc Storace of copying Joe Elliot's between songs "patter" where he'd talk to the audience. Storace would say it all of course, then Elliot would come out an hour later & say the same stuff. It got to the stage (apparently) where Leppard had their people out front during Krokus' set writing down what he said, & threatened to kick them off the tour...

All "handbags at twenty paces" stuff. Very silly.

I can't say I remember what either of them said on stage. But, frankly, its not as if either of them were such original front men that their "patter" as you say was more than commenting on a) how good looking the girls in the audience were or b) imploring the audience to be louder. On the other hand, I seem to recall Elliot getting himself in trouble for using the term "wetbacks" while somewhere in the southwest US on stage. Storace made the observation in some magazine that for Krokus, David Bowie was "another Adolph" referring to a comment Bowie made to them that "Adolph" was the best thing to happen to Austria. Maybe both of them would have been better off just reading scripts.

[kakarothusain]

This band is in my top list from many years and i think that the every song theyhad sung till now is just awesome..

[Ady]

New song: http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/rush.html

[devstorm]

Alex is sounding great on this new track. Good song; and the fact that the 2 songs from 2010 will be on this album makes this one seem like it will be worth the wait.

[Josef_K]

I never really got that into Rush. Since I heard "Tom Sawyer" some months ago I gave Moving Pictures lots of listens but it never stayed with me for some reason. I've heard 2112 and I remember I thought it was quite good, but I never checked it out again... Maybe I ought to give them a new chance some day.

[Sporkman GB]

Love the new track, great guitar from Alex, awesome riff, cool Peart solo, just a great song all around; if the three we have so far are any indication, Clockwork Angels is going to be their best in years!!!

[Billy Underdog]

I never really got that into Rush. Since I heard "Tom Sawyer" some months ago I gave Moving Pictures lots of listens but it never stayed with me for some reason. I've heard 2112 and I remember I thought it was quite good, but I never checked it out again... Maybe I ought to give them a new chance some day.

I actually made a thread about this issue. After knowing about Rush for years, i got kinda hooked on YYZ and Tom Sawyer a few months back, starting to wonder if i was becoming a Rush-fan. Didn't stick though...

[Josef_K]

I decided to bump this thread since I have, after the apparently obligatory period of disliking the band yet still checking them out more and more, become what I would call the beginning of a Rush fan. I have bought and like Caress of Steel, 2112, Hemispheres and Signals and I will buy Moving Pictures and get into Permanent Waves and A Farewell to Kings as soon as possible.

I had some issues with the lyrics at first, 2112 seemed to me to be a boring, generic concept about the single hero against the evil totalitarian regime, but as I listened to it I eventually found why it was so special and today I must admit I was COMPLETELY off track. The concept is great, and so is the song in general. My favorite song still has to be "Fountain of Lamneth" for it's wonderful lines such as:

"The mountain holds the sunrise in the prison of the night", "My heart will lie beside you, and my wandering body grieves" and of course "Life is just a candle and a dream... must give it flame...".

The overall feel of that song is just stunning, as is the concept which is probably Pearts most subtle and philosophical imo (as well as the easiest to dislike I guess).

So yeah, I mostly like the longer pieces Fountain of Lamneth, 2112 and Cygnus X-1 Book II Hemispheres (just to be precise ^^), but I'm also a big fan of some of the shorter stuff, mainly Subdivisions, Vital Signs, Witch Hunt and The Analog Kid, but that list could go on for quite a while. I really find it not only nice to have found another great band to listen to but also that I continued to challenge my (obviously faulty) prejudice against this band.

[Franklin]

Nice to see, Josef. Rush has been one of my favorite bands and on occasion my very favorite band for about 34 years, ever since I bought the Hemispheres album back when it was a "new release."

[devstorm]

I decided to bump this thread since I have, after the apparently obligatory period of disliking the band yet still checking them out more and more, become what I would call the beginning of a Rush fan. I have bought and like Caress of Steel, 2112, Hemispheres and Signals and I will buy Moving Pictures and get into Permanent Waves and A Farewell to Kings as soon as possible.

I had some issues with the lyrics at first, 2112 seemed to me to be a boring, generic concept about the single hero against the evil totalitarian regime, but as I listened to it I eventually found why it was so special and today I must admit I was COMPLETELY off track. The concept is great, and so is the song in general. My favorite song still has to be "Fountain of Lamneth" for it's wonderful lines such as:

"The mountain holds the sunrise in the prison of the night", "My heart will lie beside you, and my wandering body grieves" and of course "Life is just a candle and a dream... must give it flame...".

The overall feel of that song is just stunning, as is the concept which is probably Pearts most subtle and philosophical imo (as well as the easiest to dislike I guess).

So yeah, I mostly like the longer pieces Fountain of Lamneth, 2112 and Cygnus X-1 Book II Hemispheres (just to be precise ^^), but I'm also a big fan of some of the shorter stuff, mainly Subdivisions, Vital Signs, Witch Hunt and The Analog Kid, but that list could go on for quite a while. I really find it not only nice to have found another great band to listen to but also that I continued to challenge my (obviously faulty) prejudice against this band.

Farewell to kings is definitely one of their shorter albums. It only runs 37 minutes all things considered. But its really a turning point I think. It seems to me they were able to focus a little more; work just as many parts into a song, but economize; and get the point across a bit more directly (A technique they'd finally perfect on Permanent Waves). They still pack a lot of playing into that 37 minutes. And it's got mini epics like the title track, Xanadu and the awesome Cygnus X-1. I love book 2, and if there was ever a Rush song that demanded that much elaboration its Cygnus. But there's something about the first one that has a little more aggression, its almost thrashy in parts, and the whole sci-fi element to it just really speaks to my soul. You're in for a treat there Josef.

Permanent Waves too has some of my most favorite Rush tracks: Jacobs Ladder (another mini epic), and Natural Science. Natural Science has the aggression of Cygnus, but shows just a little more refinement. They started revisiting Natural Science in their live shows back in 1996, and kept that one around for the better part of 12 years or so. It made those concert experiences extra mind blowing for me. Of course I love the PW in it's entirety. But those two tracks are songs that I never miss when playing that one.


I get the whole accusation of pretentiousness they get a lot of times. And I don't know that its not deserved in some cases. But they are massively talented musicians and I think where they differ from other prog bands, as well as other rock bands is they have an uncanny ability to switch gears between a good simple hard rocking part into something much more intricate, complex, or just unexpected. I love Yes, King Crimson, and Genesis, and many other bands of their ilk. But there are times where I feel the moods they hone in on overstay their welcome. Maybe I just have a short attention span, but I like the way Rush put things together and I also appreciate their evolution. I may not always like every song on every album, but on ANY Rush album there's at least one song I think is great. For a band that has 20 albums under it's belt thats saying something.

[DiosSword]

Leppard acused Marc Storace of copying Joe Elliot's between songs "patter" where he'd talk to the audience. Storace would say it all of course, then Elliot would come out an hour later & say the same stuff. It got to the stage (apparently) where Leppard had their people out front during Krokus' set writing down what he said, & threatened to kick them off the tour...

All "handbags at twenty paces" stuff. Very silly.

Wow...I saw that tour, with the late Gary Moore third-on-the-bill. He had a killer band: Neil Murray, Ian Paice and (I think) Don Airey. I actually went to see him, though Krokus were touring behind their best album (for me) and they did quite well. Leppard were not at all bad. Steve Clark was, of course, still living and to me he was far more the musical "guts" of the band than Phil Collen. Pyromania was the last album of theirs I found listenable (I really like the first two).

Really, who has "original" stage talk, especially considering that Marc Storace, who is from Malta and spent much of his time in Switzerland, is likely not a native English-speaker?

[A Sabbath Historian]

Farewell to kings is definitely one of their shorter albums. It only runs 37 minutes all things considered. But its really a turning point I think. It seems to me they were able to focus a little more; work just as many parts into a song, but economize; and get the point across a bit more directly (A technique they'd finally perfect on Permanent Waves). They still pack a lot of playing into that 37 minutes. And it's got mini epics like the title track, Xanadu and the awesome Cygnus X-1. I love book 2, and if there was ever a Rush song that demanded that much elaboration its Cygnus. But there's something about the first one that has a little more aggression, its almost thrashy in parts, and the whole sci-fi element to it just really speaks to my soul. You're in for a treat there Josef.

Permanent Waves too has some of my most favorite Rush tracks: Jacobs Ladder (another mini epic), and Natural Science. Natural Science has the aggression of Cygnus, but shows just a little more refinement. They started revisiting Natural Science in their live shows back in 1996, and kept that one around for the better part of 12 years or so. It made those concert experiences extra mind blowing for me. Of course I love the PW in it's entirety. But those two tracks are songs that I never miss when playing that one.


I get the whole accusation of pretentiousness they get a lot of times. And I don't know that its not deserved in some cases. But they are massively talented musicians and I think where they differ from other prog bands, as well as other rock bands is they have an uncanny ability to switch gears between a good simple hard rocking part into something much more intricate, complex, or just unexpected. I love Yes, King Crimson, and Genesis, and many other bands of their ilk. But there are times where I feel the moods they hone in on overstay their welcome. Maybe I just have a short attention span, but I like the way Rush put things together and I also appreciate their evolution. I may not always like every song on every album, but on ANY Rush album there's at least one song I think is great. For a band that has 20 albums under it's belt thats saying something.

I agree 'devstorm' with your assessment of Rush with regards to their place in prog rock circles. To me, the greatest aspect of their music is that they have never forgotten the importance of the SONG, something that some "prog bands" fail to grasp, when all is said and done. To your point about 'Permanent Waves', yes, I think they nailed it when it came to finding that "happy medium" with fans of the longer pieces as well as ( then) new fans who enjoyed the shorter songs. As the old adage goes, LESS can definitely be MORE! In my opinion, 'Natural Science' hit the bulls-eye whereas side 1 of 'Hemispheres' missed the mark. I think they tried a little too hard to top side 1 of '2112' , admittedly not an easy task! So, for me, 'Natural Science' really is the big winner of the "epics", and arguably their best song of all time. Quintessential RUSH! Great comment. Always more than happy to discuss all things Rush with Black Sabbath fans!! Always interesting perspectives. Thanks BSO.

[devstorm]

To me, the greatest aspect of their music is that they have never forgotten the importance of the SONG, something that some "prog bands" fail to grasp, when all is said and done.

Yeah, being a fan of many genre's of music I find that the more emphasis made on chops and musicianship, the song tends to suffer. There's certainly a happy medium that RUSH seemed to have harnessed.

I think they tried a little too hard to top side 1 of '2112' , admittedly not an easy task!

Was it really an attempt to "TOP" themselves? Or was this just an example of the band needing that much time and energy to effectively flesh out all they wanted to say about the subject matter? Admittedly it was an overly indulgent opus. But the band had really fought hard for the creative freedom their record label had finally allowed them; and surely they risked a lot getting up to that point. But consider the fact that the album that directly followed 2112 didn't contain one large epic (although did feature the first chapter). They could have stayed off the road and dished out 'Kings & Hemispheres as a big double studio album rivaling what Yes were up to at that point. Instead the band punctuated Farewell to Kings with a cliffhanger in a sense. This provided Peart time to really gather all his druthers and assemble the narrative in a precise and effective manner. Personally it occurs to me RUSH have never seemed like the type of band who did a lot of showboating, without it being about pleasing themselves first.