What are your 3 favorite Rush albums (in order)

[kexodusc]

I took part in a much heated debate that actually broke out into a fight at the bar last night...we had a dozen or so guys I never met before get in on this.

Thought I'd bring the chaos to the forum:

Mine are:

1) 2112
2) Moving Pictures
3) Vapor Trails (believe it or not, this is what started the fight!!!)


BTW: Would everyone agree that age and the ability to rock and make good music are not related to each other?

[N. Abstentia]

My faves are:

1) Hold Your Fire- to me, this CD has the most soul of any Rush album.

2) Presto- this is the CD I looked forward to most, as I spent the 2 years leading up to it catching up on the entire Rush back catalog, and during this time is when Rush became more than 'just a band' for me. Presto did not dissapoint.

3) Power Windows- my first real exposure to Rush. Very similar to Hold Your Fire, but a little more sterile. Still some of the best songs ever created. Got sick and tired of Big Money though, thanks to all the concerts.

I'm not stopping!

4) Grace Under Pressure- By now, you've figured out my favorite Rush era. Grace is dark and emotional, perfect for a rainy day. This is the CD where Rush really hit their stride for me.

5) Moving Pictures- Not a weak track here, and the best recorded drums in history.

6) Permanent Waves- Simply incredible.

7) Roll The Bones- Maybe more of an emotional connection, lots of good memories around this CD. A few weak tracks, but very strong overall.

8) Hemispheres
9) 2112
10) Counterparts


The rest are too close to call. I can tell you that Vapor Trails will be at the bottom. Rush lost me a little bit with each CD after Presto, and Vapor Trails just has no connection for me. Counterparts does have some great songs that make up for the weak tracks.

[shaemus]

I don't listen as much to Rush in recent years but I would say:

1.moving pictures
2.hold your fire/power windows
3.farewell to kings (used to love hearing this (or Yes-Fragile) while driving in the dark early morning on the way to the ski hill.

Yes, I'm inclined to agree with your statement re: age. Sting is a good example (in my books) certainly musically, I think Mercury Falling is a stellar album. One might argue that older rockers don't have the same connection to youth's frustrations and therefore as they age their later albums may not "rock" younger folks the way they used to. Just a thought and certainly just a generalization.

If you disagree, we can settle this outside.

[DarrenH]

Caress of Steel
2112
Grace Under Pressure

Followed closely by:

Moving Pictures
Permanent Waves
A Farewell To Kings

[kexodusc]

Hmmm, more of the same from last night. Rush fans are such a diverse bunch, appreciating the band for many different reasons.

I don't think Vapor Trails is a terribly great album. But I like it so much because I thought the band was done, I thought the music scene was bland, boring, and then it came out and gave me something decent to listen to at a bad time. The production is pretty crappy, the songs aren't terribly catchy and there's no long solos or tremendous musical demonstrations. But I like it anyway.

N Abstentia: I'd lump you in the crowd last night that thought it was blasphemy to limit the question to 3 albums.

Follow up question too, for anyone who cares:
What current bands do you feel have been the most "influenced" by Rush, that is, do you "hear" a bit of Rush in...

[N. Abstentia]

I've always felt that the band Live was the next coming of Rush, kind of in a more modern way. If you don't believe me, listen to Selling The Drama from Throwing Copper and think about it real hard! It's sad that there's really no room for bands to be experimental anymore, they have to sell records or be dropped so there will be no more experimentation albums such as the Steel - Hemispheres era was for Rush. So I think that Live skipped that whole era and went right to Grace Under Pressure with their dark, soulful debut album and are continuing on from there.

Also, when I first heard 'We Are' by Vertical Horizon (from the Everything You Want album) I felt other than the singers voice it could have been on any Rush album after Bones. Even though the rest of Vertical Horizon's music is not as Rushy, they went on to be one of my very favorite bands especially after discovering their older acoustically driven stuff.

Mudvayne. At first listen you won't see the connection. But listen more and you'll discover that you've found the heavy metal version of Rush, especially drums and bass.

But as we all know there will never be another Rush, and nobody can write lyrics like Neil Peart. I think these will be the bands to carry it to the next generation though, especially if Mudvayne tones down the yelling a bit.

[kexodusc]

Sweet Jebus, N Abstentia.

Those are definitely NOT the answers I was expecting.

I've heard someone say the Live thing before...still not sure I hear it, at the time I thought he was just trying to justify his listening to Live, but to be fair, Live is probably a bit more than the typical alternative/post-grunge garbage that's out there. I liked their Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here albums.

I hear more Metallica in Mudvayne than Rush... I I'm too sick of screaming growls in todays music to pay enough attention to them.
I'll have to go back and listen to the drumming again, as a piano and guitar player , drums are probably what I overlook the most.

Vertical Horizon was an interesting call too. Sadly, I don't have any of their material to make a call on that one.

The most common I've heard are:
Dream Theater - which I don't think is fair, when you look at their music instead of their make-up, I think the fact they're proud to have keyboards in their music is why.

Megadeth - especially earlier Megadeth...ever think Geddy sang for Megadeth they'd have hit a whole other level? Singing ain't Mustaine's strong point.

Porcupine Tree - maybe, for their experimentalism...this one is a stretch for me too..guess I can see some similarities..maybe the tendency from sliding into mainstream metal...but that's it.

I hear Symphony X, or the Flower Kings mentioned alot too.

I hear lots of modern prog bands getting lumped into the category influenced by Rush...maybe just because they share the same fan bases?

[N. Abstentia]

Yeah I think those people are getting 'I hear Rush in this music' and 'you'd like these guys if you like Rush' confused.

You definitely shouldn't hear ANY Metallica in Mudvayne. Mudvanyne is definitely not a pop band. Musically they run circles around Metallica. Metallica sells more records, but that's about it. To me, Metallica are just about two notches away from being a boy band. Which is sad because I worshipped them from 86-90. But if you're listening for piano/keyboards and guitar in Mudvayne you won't hear anything spectacular. But if you're listening to bass and drums, you'll have to pick yourself up off the floor. I suggest the song Not Falling as a good starter.

Megadeth..well is Megadeth. A true original.

Porcupine Tree, also a bit different and more of a 'you'll like them if you like Rush' thing but musically more like Radiohead/Filter.

Dream Theater- I don't think they've ever worn make-up. You might be thinking of someone else, and if you're not familiar with them do yourself a favor and get to know them!

[kexodusc]

Dream Theater- I don't think they've ever worn make-up. You might be thinking of someone else, and if you're not familiar with them do yourself a favor and get to know them!

LOL: Sorry, I had to read that a few times to figure out what you meant. My fault, I didn't mean "make-up" as in Kiss, Alice Cooper...make-up as in instruments. The closest I see Dream Theater to sounding like Rush is on "Falling Into Infinity", the lighter, more concise songs and synthesized keyboarding might sound a bit like Rush.
DT is definitely one of my favorite bands...actually met the band back in 1998 and they are (or at least were then) genuinely nice guys.

I've got to agree with you...Metallica hasn't been the same since "...And Justice For All", a few interesting tunes on Re-Load, but generally just junk since 1990.
While I'm no the Metallica subject, I've always felt a band should know when to bow out gracefully and call it quits. Even Megadeth knew when they were done...Pantera too. The Metallica boys must be making a ton of money because I can't imagine them even liking their songs these days. I heard 2 tracks on St. Anger and that was enough for me...it sounded to me like they wanted to be Slipknot, only worse. They should hire Axle Rose, he's hanging on to the past just as bad as these guys.

[2 channel]

What..NO SHOW OF HANDS???
definitely my fav!

1. A Show of Hands
2. 2112
3. Moving Pictures

[ForeverAutumn]

You're going to have to put me in that group who can't pick just three. My favourite Rush disks change order. For a long, long time I said that A Farewell to Kings was my alltime favourite. But I've listened to it so much, that It's actually gotten a little tiresome. While it's definately up there, it's slipped from the number one spot for a while. So...right now, I would have to say...

1. Permanent Waves. Mostly for the song Freewill which has taken on a new meaning for me in the last few years.

2. 2112

3. Hemispheres

4. A Farewell To Kings

5. Signals

6. Counterparts

7. Moving Pictures - This would normally be higher on the list, but too much commercial radio play has made me tired of this one too. Although, I never fail to fall into a good head banging mode whenever I hear Tom Sawyer.

Has anyone else heard Geddy Lee's solo disk, My Favourite Headache ? It's pretty good. Sounds like Rush, only different.

[Dave_G]

I'll fight ya'll on this topic.

First off, Vapor Trails is crapola. They boffed the production and it sounds like crud. So does My Favorite Headache and the new one, the covers disc.

Why do I not like these?

It's Geddys vocal work. All of these songs sound the same. Annoying lead vocal tone with the even more anoying backing vocal dubbed onto the lead vocal. Urrgh I can't stand it.

And they don't change the guitar sound at all. It reminds me of these newer rock bands where every darn track sounds the same.

Hey I have been a huge fan of Rush since 1974 and love them as much as anyone else, but of late they have let me down big time.

SIGNALS
PERMANENT WAVES
MOVING PICTURES


are probably my favorite three but 2112 and HEMISPHERES are way up there too.

None of those albums sound anythink like the new releases. However, live, the new songs are just fine, it's just the production anymore has lost it's sheen. I guess I like Terry Brown on the board, huh.

Dave

[Dusty Chalk]

...always has been, always will be. A tough question, that is. That said:

All The World's A Stage -- my first ever Rush listen, and still my favourite. Originally, did not like the vocals. Checked the speed on the turntable to make sure it was right...

Once I got over that, OMG, what a blast! That drum solo in the finale, plus, it's a great pair of songs -- I get up at seven, yeah, I go to work at nine... and "Finding My Way"...plus the encore (I'm going to cover "What You're Doing")...an adequate version of 2112, minus that annoying guitar-tuning noodling thing (I think what they did in place of that in concert recently was much better, but at the time, just leaving it out was a good response -- besides, left room for "Lakeside Park")...the completely spacey (you can feel the dry ice) of side three (By-Tor/In The End)...nope, not a weak moment on there. The only annoying thing might be just the sheer fact that it's a live recording, and not the audiophile sheened wilderbeast that it could be, but...just as well...

Moving Pictures -- drags just a twee on the Camera Eye song...but perhaps that's why I enjoy "Witch Hunt"/"Vital Signs" so much...and "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight" are just a little played out...hmmm...maybe I need to take a break from this album...nah..."YYZ" is one of the greatest instrumentals ever (after "La Villa Strangiato" and "Scatterbrain" of course)...which leads to...

Hmmm...not too many weak tracks on side 2 of 2112...but Hemispheres has "La Villa Strangiato", "The Trees", side one...but A Farewell to Kings has "Cygnus X-I", "Xanadu", and a bunch of others...Permanent Waves doesn't suck, with that wonderful "Jacob's Ladder" and the sleeper title track...and I listened to Counterparts to death...dang, this is hard...(head explodes)...

It's not so much that it's blasphemy to limit the list to three albums, it's just that between my fickleness (the answers would be different on a different day) and the question's difficulty...well, you get the idea...the frustration has to come out somewhere, so might as well blame it on the person asking the question...

[MasterCylinder]

1) Signals
2) P/G
3) Moving Pictures

[kexodusc]

Since I think I'm the only Rush fan that doesn't mind this album I think I'll explain why have it there in my "favorite 3"...much has to do with the fact it's in my current listening batch, so it's in my fav's now...I've "worn out" a bunch of other Rush albums. Maybe in a few weeks it'll fall out of favor with me, who knows.

At first I was disappointed with it...listened to it for a bit, then put it away...took it out again last month after a year or so of ignoring it. Since I've given it a 2nd go, I've come to appreciate it a bit more....It's 3-star at best album, not what I would have put on the list if my question was "Rush's BEST 3 albums"...but I guess I can relate to it since it is a comeback album of sorts, especially after all the adversity the band members went through...I honestly thought Rush was done before this...I just wish the production wasn't so crappy. I don't think it was meant to be a concept album, but it could almost pass for one if you pay enough attention to the lyrics. Sounds like there's alot of healing and reflecting being done in the songs, I think this is a good thing.

I've probably listened to "Signals" more than any other Rush album, so it could easily be there too.

[ForeverAutumn]

I don't think it was meant to be a concept album, but it could almost pass for one if you pay enough attention to the lyrics. Sounds like there's alot of healing and reflecting being done in the songs, I think this is a good thing.

While I'm not a big fan of Vapor Trails, I agree that it's a very rich album lyrically. Peart's lyrics are obviously a heartfelt reflection of his life and healing over the several years prior to recording this album. If you're interested in knowing more about him and his life during this period, read, Ghost Rider, Travels on the Healing Road. After losing his wife and daughter, Peart took off on his motorcycle for a fourteen month and 55,000 mile long cross continental tour. This book is his story during this time. I haven't read it yet, but my husband has and was quite moved by the story.

[mad rhetorik]

I've always felt that the band Live was the next coming of Rush, kind of in a more modern way. If you don't believe me, listen to Selling The Drama from Throwing Copper and think about it real hard! It's sad that there's really no room for bands to be experimental anymore, they have to sell records or be dropped so there will be no more experimentation albums such as the Steel - Hemispheres era was for Rush. So I think that Live skipped that whole era and went right to Grace Under Pressure with their dark, soulful debut album and are continuing on from there.

Also, when I first heard 'We Are' by Vertical Horizon (from the Everything You Want album) I felt other than the singers voice it could have been on any Rush album after Bones. Even though the rest of Vertical Horizon's music is not as Rushy, they went on to be one of my very favorite bands especially after discovering their older acoustically driven stuff.

Mudvayne. At first listen you won't see the connection. But listen more and you'll discover that you've found the heavy metal version of Rush, especially drums and bass.

I've heard someone say the Live thing before...still not sure I hear it, at the time I thought he was just trying to justify his listening to Live, but to be fair, Live is probably a bit more than the typical alternative/post-grunge garbage that's out there. I liked their Throwing Copper and The Distance to Here albums.

I hear more Metallica in Mudvayne than Rush... I I'm too sick of screaming growls in todays music to pay enough attention to them.
I'll have to go back and listen to the drumming again, as a piano and guitar player , drums are probably what I overlook the most.

Vertical Horizon was an interesting call too. Sadly, I don't have any of their material to make a call on that one.

The most common I've heard are:
Dream Theater - which I don't think is fair, when you look at their music instead of their make-up, I think the fact they're proud to have keyboards in their music is why.

Megadeth - especially earlier Megadeth...ever think Geddy sang for Megadeth they'd have hit a whole other level? Singing ain't Mustaine's strong point.

Porcupine Tree - maybe, for their experimentalism...this one is a stretch for me too..guess I can see some similarities..maybe the tendency from sliding into mainstream metal...but that's it.

I hear lots of modern prog bands getting lumped into the category influenced by Rush...maybe just because they share the same fan bases?

Live? They're your typical post-grunge mainstream pap. Same goes with Vertical Horizon. I don't see the Rush comparisons at all.

Ditto with Mudvayne. Their closest musical relation is probably Slipknot...except that they don't have 9 members in their band and throw in some time signatures that would take more than a one-year student of drums to play. Some of the Mudvayne songs I've heard are done in 7/8 time (or something similar). Otherwise, nothing really notable about them. Just another stupid mask-wearing nu-metal outfit with hordes of wannabe goth fans (no aspersions cast on you, N. Abstentia, I'm on one of my rants again ; ) ).

Comparing Megadeth to Rush (or Dream Theater, as I've heard in some circles) doesn't make much sense to me. Megadeth started out as straight-up thrash metal. They didn't set out to do anything really "progressive," and they never used keyboards--they were just extremely talented musically. Dave Mustaine and Chris Poland (and later Marty Friedman) were some of the greatest guitarists ever, metal or otherwise. The Dream Theater comparison makes a little more sense, as I can see a Megadeth influence in some of the riffs (especially on their latest album Train Of Thought which is more metal than their other work). And by the way, I think Mustaine's voice is okay. It has character, and it fits the biting black humor of their lyrics pretty well. Geddy would suck fronting a metal band.

I can see a comparison of Rush to Dream Theater or Porcupine Tree (though the latter is more of a Genesis, Pink Floyd, and King Crimson hybrid). Dream Theater is distinguished by their heavy use of keyboards and prog-metal sound. Also, Labrie's torch-singer cheeseball vocals are very different from Geddy's constipated-geek voice.

Personally, I think the best comparison to Rush is a Swedish prog-metal band called Spiral Architect..ever heard of them? Lyrically they're very similar (lots of Ayn Rand concepts); musically Spiral Architect is like Rush on crack. Extremely complex music and time signatures. Vocals are a bit different though (think Geoff Tate), so it's not quite a direct comparison. Another decent modern comparison is Tool. I've heard Tool described as "Rush's darker, pissed-off cousin" and I think that's pretty fitting.

I've never really dug Rush myself.. I see them as "prog-lite." They have more compositional taste than say, Yes, which is good, but their music is so sterile and boring. "Prog" means taking risks in your music--King Crimson does it, Genesis did it (back in their Gabriel years), even Pink Floyd did it (not one album sounds the same as the one preceding it). Most Rush albums sound the same, plus or minus keyboards/synths. And Geddy Lee is an awful, awful vocalist. Neil Peart's a pretty great drummer, but I've heard better. Bill Bruford has a lot more style and pizzazz. As does Mike Portnoy, or Danny Carey.

...I've got to agree with you...Metallica hasn't been the same since "...And Justice For All", a few interesting tunes on Re-Load, but generally just junk since 1990.
While I'm no the Metallica subject, I've always felt a band should know when to bow out gracefully and call it quits. Even Megadeth knew when they were done...Pantera too. The Metallica boys must be making a ton of money because I can't imagine them even liking their songs these days. I heard 2 tracks on St. Anger and that was enough for me...it sounded to me like they wanted to be Slipknot, only worse. They should hire Axle Rose, he's hanging on to the past just as bad as these guys.

Yep, put a fork in 'em... Metallica is little more than an arena-rawk outfit these days. Lars Ulrich is only in it for the money, and the rest of the band is following him (and Bob Rock) down the yellow brick road of mainstream sterilization. I will give them credit, though, for trying to make a metal album again, even if it's a turd.

One metal band I have to give mad props to for hanging on all these years is Anthrax. They have a different vocalist (John Bush), and their music isn't as "thrashy," but they have stuck to their guns and continue to make quality metal albums. Hats off to them. Same goes with Iron Maiden and Motorhead... I'm starting to think that if there ever was a nuclear war, the only thing left would be cockroaches and those two bands. ; P

[Troy]

1. Moving Pictures (I guess I don't listen to the radio enough)
2. Farewell to Kings
3. Signals

With:
Grace Under Pressure
Power Windows

Fighting for the 3rd spot on other days.

[DPM]

And I can't wait. As for my favorite three releases?

1) A Farewell To Kings--If this isn't prog I'll eat my hat.
2) Moving Pictures--There's a reason why this has been played to death.
3) Caress Of Steel--Prog metal at its best.

Dave M

[Grblgrbl]

Guess I'm a traditionalist:

1. Hemispheres
2. 2112
3. A Farewell to Kings

4. Moving Pictures
5. Permanent Waves
6. Test For Echo
7. Counterparts
8. Fly By Night
9. Vapor Trails

[progfan]

It's impossible to pick only three Rush albums. I won't even try because the list would change every day depending on my mood. I find value in everything the band have recorded, including "Vapor Trails" which is supposedly being remastered this year (!) along with "Presto", "Roll the Bones", "Counterparts" and "Test for Echo". Apparently the constant griping from fans regarding the VT sound mix have been heard by the band.

[Mr MidFi]

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread for one more time before it falls off the edge of the universe. It should be noted that my knowledge of their work more recent than Power Windows is sadly lacking.

1. Moving Pix...This one is too obvious, bust that's why I'm the Master of the Obvious. It's not just Rush's best album, it's one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time. Not one weak track. Even the long, "boring" track (Camera Eye) gets better every time I hear it. The term 'masterpiece" gets thrown around too much, but it applies here.

2. Permanent Waves...I don't care if The Spirit of Radio got overplayed by FM program directors. That's not the band's fault. You may be buned out on it now, but it's their best damn song. The rest of them, especially Entre Nous, Free Will and Natural Science, are very strong as well.

3. A tie between Hemispheres, A Farewell to Kings, Signals and 2112. All have their relative strengths and weaknesses, but none are in the same league as the top 2. IMHO.