Rush were one of the first bands for me to get into, not surprising given my progressive rock disposition, even if I had no clue what that would have even meant in 1978. That year, Rush released Hemispheres and I bought it upon release. I must have listened to that album hundreds of times, pouring over the lyrics, and immersing myself in the instrumental 'La Villa Strangiato'. In addition, as was my pattern, I began to collect the back catalog, including 2112 (my school peers' favorite choice), Caress of Steel, and A Farewell to Kings. A buddy picked up the first two, but I wasn't too much into them back then. When Permanent Waves hit the shelves, I was there on Day 1. Loved it - still do. And a year later came Moving Pictures. Well now, hmmm, yea OK, I like it, kinda, well sort of, maybe not. Maybe.
Over time, I've reconciled in a big way with Moving Pictures. As it turns out, that is also where I got off the Rush bus. I was entirely disgusted with Signals and even worse was Grace Under Pressure - both albums I've also long reconciled with. By Power Windows I didn't even know who Rush were anymore.
Counterparts (1993)
As the years rolled on, many of my music buddies were still hanging onto Rush, hoping against hope that they really were still a great band. I can remember the buzz around Counterparts in 1993. I was so hopelessly deep into the underground by then, Rush seemed like a blurry memory of my childhood. I could care less what they were up to, but a friend was thrilled. He proclaimed enthusiastically "It has a couple of good songs!" Down to that are we? A couple of good songs. That's something I've noticed with rabid fans of their favorite groups from their youth. Apologists to the core. Whether it be Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Rush, what have you, as long as they're still breathing, playing live, and releasing new albums, all is OK. Even if those new albums aren't really anything special. So with that, I heard Counterparts for the first time recently. Hey you know what? It has a couple of good songs! lol. I will say it's miles better than Presto to my ears, which isn't saying much. Rush seems to have this irrational desire to be hip and relevant, when their fan base holds them to their past. Their live shows are filled with classics not new stuff. Why didn't they get that? Who knows, but Counterparts is heavier than they've been in a while, and the first couple of cuts are well done. Then off to plastic land they go and the fast forward button gets some use. The great track here (have to wait until #9) is the rare instrumental 'Leave That Thing Alone'. One wonders why they didn't do more of this? According to RYM, Counterparts is their best album between Power Windows and their swan song Clockwork Angels. That doesn't bode well for the others. Though same website has Counterparts better than their debut and Caress of Steel. That's insane.
Source: 1993 Atlantic (CD)
2/27/25 (review)
Caress of Steel (1975)
This is a foundational album for me, having first purchased it in 1979 at the ripe old age of 14. 'The Necromancer' is one of those epics that shaped my musical tastes versus satisfying them. Brilliant in every way, I spent my youth looking for similar sounds. 'Bastille Day' makes for a great hard rock opener, and 'The Fountain of Lamneth' was their first attempt at a side longer. A bit awkward in places, it's still a fine piece. They would later nail the long form composition perfectly on Hemispheres. For the first time ever, I even heard some decent progressions on 'I Think I'm Going Bald', one of their worst early era tracks. After all these years, nostalgia pushed this to a +1 as well.
Ownership: 1976 Mercury (LP). Gatefold.
1979 (first listen); 10//06; 7/26/23 (review)
Grace Under Pressure (1984)
---Mar 2005
This one came out after I’d pretty much written off the group altogether. So this is really the first time I’ve heard the album with any kind of objective presence. Definitely a continuation of where the band had been heading since Permanent Waves. A more mature, confident, and consistent work than Signals. ‘Distant Early Warning’ is the right kind of radio hit – one that sticks with you in a good way. The transformation from 70’s big idea prog to 80’s sophisticated slick rock was completed here. They would go too far on Power Windows and the long, painful journey to obsolescence had begun.
---7/26/23
I mentioned recently that Signals was the first Rush album for me not to buy real time and that Power Windows was their first for me to outright reject. But what about the one in between those two? I was now three years away from embracing anything new from Rush, but I have to admit that Grace Under Pressure sounded better back then to my ears than its predecessor. Seemed punchier and more melodic. Essentially it was here they had mastered what they had set out to do - release a commercially viable product for the 80s. However by 1984 I wasn't regressing back to the radio albums but was boldly going forward towards the Euro underground. It would be another 20 years before I bought Grace Under Pressure and heard it throughout. Last night I enjoyed a +1 listen and I now hold it at the same level as Moving Pictures. And it's the last excellent album by them, at least of the ones I've heard plus what I've read about those I have not.
Ownership: 1984 Mercury (LP); 1984 Mercury (MC)
3//05; 7/26/23 (review)
Exit...Stage Left (1981)
Exit...Stage Left makes for a great compilation and setlist, but the music is exactly the same as the studio versions. I saw them live in Dallas in 1981, and even that potential nostalgia pull doesn't happen here. I didn't buy this album real time, and I didn't need to now either.
Source: 1981 Mercury (2xLP)
7/18/23 (review)
Presto (1989)
When I would first hear any Rush album from Power Windows on, I immediately had a dislike for them. And in fact, my recent revisit of Power Windows confirmed my initial findings, but I did think it was better than I originally thought. What about Presto? OMG no. This is just not for me. It's one thing for Rush to have shed all of their hard rock leanings, but the songwriting here is almost non-existent. It's as if The Police decided to release an album of their trademark sound, but without any melodies. No matter how much rationalization I bring to listening to this, I can't reconcile any of it. One wonders if anyone would have paid attention to albums like Presto if it didn't carry the Rush brand?
Source: 1989 Mercury (LP)
7/16/23 (review)
Fly By Night (1975)
As I stated on the debut, the key to enjoying the early Rush albums is to view them through a mid 70s Midwest hard rock lens, versus a full blown prog act. Now songs like 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog' sound incredible in that context. And a major reason why Rush built a cult audience early.
Ownership: 1977 Mercury (LP)
12/7/11; 7/10/23 (review)
Power Windows (1985)
If Signals was the first Rush album for me to not acquire real time, then Power Windows was the first album for me to entirely reject. As with Saga's Behaviour, once you get past the shock of the middle 80s slick-as-a-butter-dish production, the music isn't so bad. The problem here is most of the songs sound exactly alike. I couldn't tell you one from the other even after a headphones listen. So yea, I still don't need this.
Source: 1985 Mercury Germany (CD)
6/22/23 (review)
Permanent Waves (1980)One of those origin story albums for me. Bought this on the day of release, while still in high school (early high school at that). It never transcends the Gnosis 11 I have on it, but I always expect it to. As I said on the Moving Pictures review, it's really amazing how they were able to tap into the future of music without letting go of their principles. I think they finally lost the plot by the middle 80s, but in 1980 this was some stellar music. Thoughtful hard rock with a commercial sensibility. Not their best album (I still go with the predecessor to this) but close to it.
Ownership: 1980 Mercury (LP). Lyric insert; 1980 Mercury (MC)
1980 (first listen); 2//05; 9/22/14; 1/17/23 (review)
Rush (1974)Like with many debut's, Rush's entrance into this world was much different than who they became and what they were known for. Though some do not like that I linked Ontario with the American Midwest for my RYM list, the fact remains that the landscape was very similar throughout the 70s. And Rush was very much part of that scene, playing clubs and small venues. Straight up hard rock was the best game in town, and interest in the band was nominal at best. Along with their management, they were able to scrape together just enough scratch to record and release both an album and a 45 on their own (both go for a small fortune today). One of those scarce copies managed to get to Cleveland's WMMS, and a female program director by the name of Donna Halper placed the song 'Working Man' into their regular rotation, figuring it would appeal to their blue collar fan base. Imagine that? She also was able to get the attention of Phonogram, based in Chicago, and the rest is history as they say.
Drummer John Rutsey was not just a tagalong member, but rather he was one of the two founders (along with Alex Lifeson) and was a major part of their original sound. He wanted to stay the course with the driving hard rock the band had established a small reputation for. But Lifeson and Geddy Lee (nee Weinrib) wanted to add prog rock elements and go a different direction. Along with Rutsey's health problems, it was decided a change was needed. Auditions were held, and they selected brainiac Neil Peart as their new drummer and lyric writer. The die was cast.
As a listener, it helps to put your mind into the 1974 landscape (which I did last night resulting in a +1 listen). Wet T-Shirt night and jammin' guitars was the name of the game. The cheaper the beer - the better. More for the merrier, that is to say. In that light, the great tracks here are opener 'Finding My Way', 'What You're Doing', and 'Before and After'. Best of all is the track that Ms. Halper thought would appeal to Cleveland's hard working industrial base: 'Working Man'. This song would remain as the sole representative the band took forward for their live set from their debut. If you don't go in expecting 2112 or Hemispheres, and you like hard rock, then there's a good chance to you might really enjoy Rush's debut.
Ownership: 1976 Mercury (LP)
12/7/11; 8/14/22 (review)
Moving Pictures (1981)On Moving Pictures, Rush were clearly moving away from their 70s prog rock roots and entering the 80s decade. In retrospect, they were pioneers, a band with the foresight and wisdom to predict the mood and whim of the fans. It's Side 1 that everyone knows from the album - 'Tom Sawyer', 'Red Barchetta', and 'Limelight' being instant radio hits. Ones you still hear to this day everywhere. A close study reveals a lot of invention and thought, wrapped around a commercial sensibility the band had lacked prior. The move to synthesizers proved to be prescient. "ygrek ygrek zed" (the Toronto airport of course) was the one track that took me in instantly, and recalled my fave 'La Villa Strangiato' from the beginning of my Rush journey. But in compact form, like everything else on the album So in recent listens (twice in three years - amazing regularity!), it's been side 2 that requires my focus, as I rarely remember anything about it. Ironically it's the more progressive rock oriented side and has aged incredibly well for me.
I still have the ticket stub of the concert I saw in April 1981 at Reunion Arena in Dallas (funny that it was still a new arena then. Been out of service for over 18 years now), which adds more nostalgia points to the formula.
Ownership: 1981 Mercury (LP). 1988 Mercury (MC)
2//81 (first listen); 2//05; 7/15/14; 12/20/18; 1/12/22 (review)
A Farewell to Kings (1977)
---Feb 2005
This is in the breadbasket of their classic era. Longest track, the eleven minute ‘Xanadu’, is the template for the classic Rush power prog sound. Many theme and rhythm changes without compromising any heaviness. ‘Closer to the Heart’ was one of the original Bic-lighter swaying songs. Who cares about the next twp songs cause who could wait for ‘Cygnus X-1’, perhaps their greatest composition ever and heralded the arrival of Hemispheres, certainly their finest hour. What an ending!
---8/4/19
Rush's 5th studio album A Farewell to Kings represents core music from my adolescent years. Hard to imagine the needle moving much by this point. It's an excellent album that will always be, never to improve or to decline. 'Cygnus X-1' remains my favorite of a great set of tunes.
Ownership: Mercury Netherlands (LP). Gatefold with lyrics in the centerpiece.
1979 (first listen); 2//05; 2/7/15; 8/4/19
8/22/20 (new entry)
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