Rush - that Canadian prog rock thingummy - wtf?

Bought a Rush compilation but it confused me. Did they think they were the Canadian Genesis or the real inspiration for Spinal Tap?

Several songs were 'spot the Genesis track'. Good fun but eventually annoying.

A classic line from 'The Trees' is pure Spinal Tap on LSD.

"There is unrest in the forest, there is trouble with the trees, for the maples want more sunlight and the oaks ignore their pleas."

I wet my pants in the car, listening to that one. But in their defence they did write one or two great songs (Manhattan Project, Subdivisions) when they weren't trying to be too Bonzo Doo Da.

I always thought they reminded me of Yes.

Closer to the Heart was really good although I didn't really listen to the lyrics.

I was always a big Yes fan but their lyrics were really confusing.

Is this what Glastonbury was like in the 70s but with more mud?

Quote: ajp29 @ December 19, 2007, 11:46 PM

Is this what Glastonbury was like in the 70s but with more mud?

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No - I don't think Mud ever played Glastonbury.

Quote: SlagA @ December 19, 2007, 10:06 PM

Bought a Rush compilation but it confused me. Did they think they were the Canadian Genesis or the real inspiration for Spinal Tap?

Several songs were 'spot the Genesis track'. Good fun but eventually annoying.

A classic line from 'The Trees' is pure Spinal Tap on LSD.

"There is unrest in the forest, there is trouble with the trees, for the maples want more sunlight and the oaks ignore their pleas."

I wet my pants in the car, listening to that one. But in their defence they did write one or two great songs (Manhattan Project, Subdivisions) when they weren't trying to be too Bonzo Doo Da.

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RUSH kicks extreme mutherf**ken ass. Check out 2112. Check out their live album Exit Stage Left.

Alex Lifeson was one of the very best hard rock guitarists of the 1970s.

Most of the lyrics are written by the drummer Neil Peart who was also one of the very best hard rock drummers of the 1970s. He's right up there next to Moon and Bonham.

Most of the lyrics deal with enlightenment, self discovery, and seeing this mortal world as a sort of tricky dreamgame.

Those lyrics you quoted are beautiful. I am surprised you laughed at them. They are anthropomorphic and paint a perfect picture of f**ked up humanity.

Closer To The Heart is another fantastic song which opens up with the very heartfelt advice:
And the men who hold high places
Must be the one's to start
To mould a new mentality
Closer to the heart.

The bass player sings the songs with an embarrassingly high voice and yet you get used to it and sing along with him.

The musicianship of all three members is nearly 2nd to none.

I saw them in concert on their Moving Pictures tour in 1981. Fan-f**ken-tastic.
Damn near note-for-note perfection....not a jam band by any stretch of the imagination...and yet, for their music, which is almost symphonic, you really do want to hear it in concert like it sounds on the album.

Genesis sucked the cocks of RUSH for inspiration. Not a nice thing to say but the proof is in Rolling Stone issue #129, page 32, left hand corner. Which of course begs the question as to which is more homo: Sucking a cock, or letting your cock be sucked by another man?

Nevermind.

Skibbington von Skubber

The mighty Tap! I'll not hear a bad word said about 'em. Such classic lyrics as:

"The majesty of rock the pageantry of roll" from the seminal "Break like the Wind" album.

Sublime!!!!!

... I guess it's one of those "you have to be there" moments.

Quote: Skibbington von Skubber @ December 20, 2007, 11:27 AM

Most of the lyrics are written by the drummer Neil Peart who was also one of the very best hard rock drummers of the 1970s. He's right up there next to Moon and Bonham.

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Is he dead too then?

quite big fan of Rush here... even drove two days to Prague to see them four years ago...
Well, you can snatch any line from context, and it might seem ridiculous.

Can't knock them as musicians, Skibb and WrongTale. Geddy Lee played synth with both hand while playing bass pedals with his feet and slapping the bass by tensing his erection all at the same time. But Lifeson (to me) was an average impersonation of Jimmy Page who rather grew into his role in the band. Many of his early leads wander through the tempo (and not in a good way) but he turned from an average guitarist into a great guitarist with incredible speed. Peart was admittedly great and as far as I can see instrumental ( - sorry) in the arhythmic passages but for prog rock drumming Peart and Collins fade before Bill Bruford: awe-inspiring.

Once Rush hit 'Hemispheres' though, they were into their best patch and stopped sounding like contemporaries but as contenders for the throne of prog rock then they'd really have to kick Genesis out of the way (even when Genesis went twee and started singing about 'All in a mouse's night'). But Rush could never topple the true kings, King Crimson (I bowed as I wrote that name) from the unassailable heights. Fripp is a metallic acid flashback, violently spastic in his timing, soaring in Bowie's 'Heroes', shrieking through 'Elephant Talk', jarring in Gabriel's third and best album.

Skibb, I owned 2112. I was in a band who loved Rush. I really liked 'Priests of Syrinx' but dedicating a section of the album to the hero finding a guitar in a cave and (despite never seeing one before) tunes it to concert pitch, then frees mankind by playing electric rock on it broke the illusion for me.

So I agree re: musicianship but I can only join you from 'Hemispheres' through to 'Power Windows' when they were at their (imo) peak.

Cool enough, Slag.

My favourite album is Exit Stage Left. I lost interest after Moving Pictures. And there's a slew of albums from the 90s and 00s that I have not heard yet. They supposedly returned to a more guitar-driven sound in the late 90s and left the heavy synth scene behind. We shall see.

Yep, my brother is well into Rush. And he said there's been a return to the guitar.

I'm a big Yes fan and only touched on Rush slightly.

Yes, Yes are my faves too. Mind it's rather unfashionable to out oneself as a Prog Rock fan. So just in case and to hedge my bets I like Steps and Robbie. Right?

Quote: Blenkinsop @ December 28, 2007, 4:59 PM

Yes, Yes are my faves too. Mind it's rather unfashionable to out oneself as a Prog Rock fan. So just in case and to hedge my bets I like Steps and Robbie. Right?

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If you say so - although Lisa Scott-Lee was quite tasty in Extras.