Rush

[Drummer Chris]

Rush was extrordinarily creative musically after the passed through their Zeppelin phase....they re-defined what a power trio was with their eccentric, original timings , unusual stop-starts and amazing tonal qualities.
Their peak seemed to be in the early 80's though I know that Tom Sawyer is overplayed, but it is still an amazing song.....Passage to Bangkok and Limelight are also excellent songs.
Sounds like they are getting back to their heavier times again lately, loved the cover cd they did as well as the last "new" cd!
Rock On Rush!

 

[newdawnfades]

I recognize the ability of Neil Peart, but Rush has always struck me as a little too 'musical' and not emotional enough. I have no reason to listen to a Rush song other than to admire the musicianship.

 

[Music Wench]

I recognize the ability of Neil Peart, but Rush has always struck me as a little too 'musical' and not emotional enough. I have no reason to listen to a Rush song other than to admire the musicianship.

I've heard that said about Rush a lot. Pretty much I have to agree. It's sensational musicianship but it's hard to find any feeling there.

Kind of like guitarists like Steve Vai. Great for flash and technical skill but no emotion behind it.

 

[Big Generator]

I'm all for listening to songs to admire the musicianship...but I take your point about the lack of emotion or soul in Rush's music. There are some exceptions..."Losing It", "Time Stand Still", etc.

Anyway, I went to see Rush in concert last year...and my god...Neal Peart's drumming is from another planet...totally breath-taking...have never seen anything like it...it was a honour to witness that performance...and although Rush are a bit "left-brain" I was most moved by the experience of seeing a true genius at work.

 

[Drummer Chris]

The musicianship is very high, no doubts about that...as for emotion, it is present in many songs, though not everyone can tune into it.
However, mysister says she hates Geddy's voice so not everyone is into Rush....lol

 

[TheEvilErk2008]

Yeah, Geddys voice is anything but normal and modern. Emotion does seem to lack somewhat, but like everyone else says, the music is amazing. As a guitarist, its not only progressively challenging but also fun.

Also, a comparison to Steve Via should be expounded upon a bit. Rush's music is all about the equality of skill of every member, not just one guitarist or musician. I think this is one of the reasons Alex is so underated, he keeps himself at a level where no one instrument shines through, well at least in most cases, cause peart is quite amazing.

I really wouldnt know what Rush would be like if i wasnt a musician, but my sis isnt and she likes it. Its real rock thats actually about the music. I think its appeal has to grow on you.

I wish i could see Rush in concert, awhile back they supposably went into the studio to work on a new album, though with thier age it may take a while. Does anyone have any news on this?

 

[Drummer Chris]

I haven't heard much about a new album but I thought the last one was pretty intense and I liked a lot of the covers on that summer cover cd they had , 2 summers ago....Summertime Blues, was great...reminded me of the Who's version at Woodstock; 1969.
Maybe Rush is taking time off "product" and just playing shows....which is good because they have a Heck of a lot of product!

 

[TheEvilErk2008]

Sadly I dont think they will be doing any American shows for about 5 years

 

[Big Generator]

Can anyone explain those washing machines they had on stage during the last tour? I'm not sure I quite got the 'laundry concept'.

 

[Sasquatch]

Are you all mad? Rush were utterly at their peak between 1980-82..."Permanent Waves", "Moving Pictures" and especially "Signals"...classic after classic...

It did go a bit wrong with "Grace Under Pressure" and "Power Windows" was abysmal...but "Hold Your Fire" was another classic...and then they went crap for years afterwards. That's how I see it anyway.

IMO...after Hemispheres and 2112 most of what Rush did pandered to the fm radio playlist...in other words..." what do we have to do to get airplay? " I`m not a big fan of FM radio. It bothers me that 1000 or 1500 people surveyed on the other side of the county I may be living in decides what music we all like the best...or a label deciding what I want to hear. The boys from Rush are classicly trained musicians that had more talent than a lot of other groups, and still buckled under to the "popular music" format. Maybe I`m a bit biased because I was lucky enough to see them when they were a "local" group struggling in the Toronto area, and thought that they were the best thing to come along in a long time. They had thier own thing going on, sounded like noone else.

Jack