special introductory paragraph!

Not Fade Away 7"

Rush

Fly By Night

Caress Of Steel

2112

All The World's A Stage

A Farewell To Kings

Hemispheres

Permanent Waves

(Keith Davis Reviews) Retrospective I

Moving Pictures

Exit...Stage Left

Signals

Grace Under Pressure

Power Windows

Hold Your Fire

(Keith Davis Reviews) Retrospective II

A Show Of Hands

Presto

(Keith Davis Reviews) Chronicles

Roll The Bones

Counterparts

Test For Echo

Different Stages: Live

Vapor Trails

In Rio

Feedback EP

Snakes & Arrows

Snakes & Arrows Live

No, I'm sorry, not "pussy" - what's the

Ah! Yes. "Leaves."

Then you can glue all the leaves together in the shape of a tunnel and ram your dick in there!

No, I'm sorry, not "dick" - what's the

Ah! Yes. "Loose pine straw."

So you see how difficult it is for me to get by in this country when my first language is ssssssssssssex. Why, just last week I went to Burger King and ordered an "Anus Pounder"! Let me tell you, THAT was no walk in the park!

But enough about the park. The reason I invited you into my cocaine hot tub tonight is to discuss this new single from an up and coming Canadian hard rock band called "Rush." Innocent passersby would look at the top of my piece of paper here on the desk and say, "Wow! Famed online record reviewer Mark Prindle gave the debut Rush single a 10!" But they'd be wrong, for what is actually on the top of my paper is a "1" followed by a "0," serving as a reminder to my short-term memory that I quite enjoy side one of the record but quite hate side two. Thus, a final grade of 5 seems not only sufficient but in fact appropriate. That's why they pay me the big bucks!

The big novelty bucks that I can't spend anywhere. PRICKS!!!!

Side one is a cover of the Buddy Holly hit "Not Fade Away," previously covered by the Amiga Blues Band, A Band of Bees, The Barracudas, The Beatles, Dave Berry, Mike Berry & The Outlaws, Pete Best, Jon Butcher, Crowded House, Michigan Mark Dupree, Bo Diddley, The Bobby Fuller Five, Scott Ellison, Joe Ely, John Entwistle, The Everly Brothers, Mick Fleetwood, Foreigner, Andy J. Forest, Fumble, The Jerry Garcia Band, Gary Gibson, The Grateful Dead, Happy Flowers, Tonio K., Jorma Kaukonen, Sean Kennedy, The Knack, Lemmy, Lightnin' Willie & The Poorboys, Hank Marvin, Mike & The Mellotones, Cory Morrow, The Numbers Band, Christine Ohlman, Jimmy Page, Tom Petty, Pezband, The Pirates, Dave Plaehn, Raw Holly, The Razorbacks, Noel Redding, Roy Rogers, The Rolling Stones, Stars at Studio 99, Status Quo, Stephen Stills, Ned Sublette, The Sutherland Brothers, James Taylor, Trout Fishing In America, Tanya Tucker, Two Tons Of Steel, Walflower Complextion, The Why Four, and X. And though that certainly was one heck of a supergroup, Rush does a good job too, as the second band to cover this little-known obscurity.

Rush's version begins with a chunky "Who Do You Love" guitar choogle in the right speaker. Then a double-tracked man with the highest voice in Canadian history begins singing the opening lines, "I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be - you're gonna give your love to me." When he completes one verse (the song has no chorus), a fast bouncy drumbeat and animated bass line join in, along with a chooglin' left speaker guitar to accompany the right speaker guitar of which we previously spoke at length. Then at some point a few minutes later, the song ends. It's fun! Fast and fun, like a nice diarrhea.

Side B on the other hand is a fast, unfun, ugly original based around a 'one chord and two diddly notes' bottom and Geddy singing along with an annoying descending guitar riff. Nice beat but the song kinda stinks. However, Led Zeppelin fans will enjoy the end of the song where they completely rip off the "Whole Lotta Love" guitar solo. Otherwise, toss this one in the garbage disposal because it STINKS!

No hang on, SIDE A IS STILL ATTACHED!!!! (*shoves penis down garbage disposal to retrieve single*)

Reader Comments

billy.barron@comcast.net
Well, I too enjoy side 1. However, John Nutsack shows that he is about 2 steps below Elma Dee on the bad drumming scale. Side two, OMG, is worse than Geddy's infamous rapping. I think Lifeson was passed out drunk and they got some spare to replace him. I don't think Alex could play that bad if he tried and don't get me started on that failed attempt of Led Zeppelin at the end.

SO... yes. It's a bunch of three-chord hard rock, much of it cliched and simplistic. Geddy Lee sounds about four years old and doubles his vocals to nauseating effect. And original drummer John Rutsey may be a drummer, but he sure ain't aren't no Guy Who Replaced Him Guy! (I forgot his name). It's a fun record, and "Take A Friend" is the only real stinker, but only the bookends scream out bombastically for replay. These would be "Finding My Way" -- one HELL of an enthusiastic opener with Guitarist diddling diddling diddling like a star and Geddy shouting "Yayeh! Awww yayeh!" like Robert Plant at six months -- and "Working Man," a KILLER dark riff rocker that's definitely the most memorable piece on here. In between are slight but unpretentious hard rock songs of middling calibre and NON-mystical lyrics about girls and shit.

"Say, is it true that that Judas Priest singer smokes pole?" is what I asked when I first reviewed this album, because Rob Halford had just come out of the closet and was fucking me up the ass. So that's why some of these reader comments make reference to his feyness.

Reader Comments

JnJCable@worldnet.att.net (Neptune Salad)
NO! You should know better to appreciate Rush alot more since they defined Rock and Roll in the godawful Disco 70's. Because of Rush, the working man got an anthem.

And on Cronicals, which you gave a 10, "Finding My Way" and an excellent live version of "What You're Doing" made appearances as well as the afore mentioned "Working Man".

This album should get a 10 because it's THE album that got Rush started.

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
Other than that atrociously ugly artwork on the cover. Several problems are found here. No signature sound. No Neil Peart. Simplistic lyrics. Too Much filler!!! Only two great songs, "Here Again," and "Working Man" and one great intro---"Before And After." The screeching vocals prevent excellence. The band sounds too much like the worst of "Led Zeppelin." This is an album which is not "art-rock." I give it a four.

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
Yeah, Rob Halford came out. Ram it down!

DSwalen@Concentric.net (Douglas Swalen)

I'll never buy an album for just one song. Well not anymore. I  think. So I won't buy this for "Working Man" even though I really like the song. Nobody has brought up the theory that UFO ripped off Rush pretty badly in the 70's. Change the riffage on "Working Man", speed up the tempo, and you've got "Rock Bottom".

 

There was a group of  mid 70's bands that had this kind of guitar heavy (to a fault) sound. This wasn't Led Zepplin knock off territory. This was a pre-cursor of 80's Heavy Metal. UFO, Rush, Montrose, Scorpions and others were all slashing away with heavy power chords and a production style that was eerily similar in tone. It couldn't be dismissed as Black Sabbath territory either. It was it's own species.

 

Yes Rob finally came out. I've known about him for over a decade. A friend of mine was living in Phoenix and Rob hung out in Scottsdale Az. My firend was in a rock club one night and the bartender and him were talking metal. The bartender metioned that Halford came in there from time to time and that he definately danced on the other side of the tracks.

 

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
here rush sound like what they are- a young, regional band playing originals inspired by their influences: zeppelin, cream, purple, mountain. no real "art" to speak of yet, but slow to mid tempo hard rock with some nice lifeson guitar. many deride the album as derivative and not reflective of rush's loftier ambitions; i enjoy cranking a song or three, then my interest wanders. still, i'm glad rush released at least one basic heavy rock album.

CMBurns104@aol.com
listen to it again

f.d.cable@worldnet.att.net (H.V.C.)
Ok... it's been almost a year, and I've finally listened to this entire album.

Neil isn't here, but Alex and Ged hold this album up above the rushing water. Every song on here is ok.... a few of them are really lame (Take a Friend) but the overall songwriting is great. The best song on here is (you'd think Working Man) What You're Doing. The live version of this song is a whole lot better, but this one is still great. Finding My Way is also a good song, but it's about average with the rest of the tracks here, anyway. I guess I'd give it a 7 out of 10.

angus_rap@hotmail.com (Alex R.)
IMO, this is not their debut album. To me Fly By Night is their debut because Neil Peart is in it. But this album is like a jam session ( like 3 guys jammin in the basement). Too much Zep and Cream worship. I give it a 6. But " Working Man " kicks ass!!!!.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
A quite messy affair. Neil's not in the band yet, so the songwriting is far less technical than in the future and Geddy's lyrics are...not good. Way too much Zeppelin worship, especially on opener "Finding My Way", but at least it's enthusiastic. "Working Man" is a good one though, with a really nice jam section in the middle. All in all not a bad album, but nothing more than that. I give it a 6.

new_skin2012@webtv.net (Ian Buonamici)
Where it all began; three greasy, zit-faced (observe the width of that goiter-like growth on the Gedster) Canucks tearing it up in their momma's basement. No frills here, just old time rock and roll (er, old time to a kid who came of age in the late 80's age of Axl)l this album never ceases to bring a smile to my face, hell some parts of it even make me laugh my bloody arse off (Need Some Love, the "Ooh Yeah" parts of Findin' My Way, In The Mood), On a very few occasions, the inklings of a tear from in my eye also, as Rush flrts with the almost folk-like pretty sound that will become perfected over the next several releases (the opening chords to Before And After). Certainly not an emotional roller coaster ride, and definitely not an intellectual masterpiece (again, two things that will be perfected over the next several releases), this is simply a fun, hook filled romp through lots of 70's cliches performed by three young dudes who obviously spent some time in the woodshed with their respective weapons. Heck, Working Man is one of my least favorite songs on here and it still cracks! A bit too bloozey for my tastes, but it featues some fine playing and hell, everybody else like's it so their must be something good about the song. (The live version on All The World's A Stage makes this version nonexistent on my playists though) Personal faves would be the ever-so-happy vibed Take A Friend (with a KILLER intro!) the somber to kick-ass feel of Before and After, and the Sabbath sludge meets Zep swagger of What Your'e doing, I give this one a solid 8/10 that nobody with a remoted interest in 70's hard rock should be dissapointed with. Oh, and John Rutsey is diabetic, so send your royalties!!!

Dan804935628@aol.com
Not a great debut ,but hell ,not that bad either,the best is yet tocome.best song-----Of course,WORKING MAN.

katsman7@hotmail.com (Madd Hunter)
Rush is a hard rocker like "Zeppelin IV" or 5150. The least experimental Rush album. Not as good as the others. However "Here Again" is one of the best songs ever written. Period.

jaimoe0@hotmail.com (James Welton)
I've never heard this album and don't much like Rush, but I wanted to point out to Doug Swalen that it would've been awfully hard for UFO to rip off Rush when they wrote "Rock Bottom" since both songs came out in 1974. As for any apparent similarity between the two bands, I just don't hear it if for no other reason than UFO's vocalist, Phil Mogg, has a strong, engaging voice and Geddy Lee has a voice not unlike the wailing of a gassy infant. Further, I can't imagine that Rush ever wrote a song that kicks as much ass as "Rock Bottom," but since I'm only familiar with the drivel that made it onto the radio or that my drugged-out idiot friends made me listen to, I couldn't say for sure. I just find it unlikely.

watta502@yahoo.gr (Akis Katsman)
I give this album an 8/10. I like all the songs here, although only 'Working Man' stands out. 'Here Again' is one of the most underrated Rush songs, I dig it, especially the bass. Geddy Lee was, is and always will be the definite rock bassist. And 'Take A Friend' has a very cool riff. Lots of Rush fans hate this album because it doesn't sound like their classic 'prog' albums (Moving Pictures, for example). But if you like hard rock a la Led Zeppelin, buy it.

Przemmo0@poczta.onet.pl
I wonder what this first album would be like if there played Neil Peart. The third element.
"Finding My Way" and " Here Again" are great songs, John Rutsey's drumming was pedestrian and lyrics written by 10 years old fossil-like. Not amazing.
5 points on 0-10 rushometer scale.

mtlhead@mchsi.com (Adam)
I definitely agree with you on this one. Though there is too much Zeppelin worship going on here, most of the songs are pretty good; certainly not the best they’ve ever done, but still a fun listen. And yes, Rob Halford does smoke pole. Looking back at some of their album titles (Ram it Down, Point of Entry), it seems so obvious Now!

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
Although this is a rockin' album, I'm glad Rush's songwriting vastly matured following this release, thanks to Peart. 6/10

DenBlake29@aol.com
this site is too much fun. i write a bit more serious reviews than the rest of you guys. i am very enthusiastic and even creative and original, but you guys are letting me see that you can tell jokes and and use all sorts of ribbing and humor and still get your point across. and boy do i like to be funny. i'll be joining in the fray more. rush was one of my top favorite bands during those all important high school years, little feat, bob seger and lynyrd skynyrd was the top of the heap for me then. skynyrd every day. anyhow, rush is not for everybody. boy can they play. haven't read the review for all the worlds a stage yet but i remember i loved lifeson's huge guitar. and in high school you liked any huge guitar sound you ever heard.

This one has the strongest production of any of the early Rush records, with really loud distorted guitars burying Geddy just enough so that his squealing isn't nearly as potentially annoying as it would be on the next few albums. Songwritingwise, they're addressing the real-life documentarian concerns of a young hungry rock band in such non-fictional road life accounts as "Fly By Night," "Best I Can" and "Making Memories," as well as mentioning...umm..."elves" (THANKS NEIL) in "Rivendell," a colossal fight between an evil being and a snowdog in -- now see, here's my problem with analyzing Rush lyrics. I don't have a background in geek loser dorkdom. So I can read lyrics like "By-Tor & The Snow Dog" and think to myself, "Oh, he's singing about so-and-so, it appears to be a metaphor for blah blah blah," but chances are that Neil is just referencing some gayass role-playing board game or faggotybutt book about pixies that people read when they're eight years old and wear glasses. Still, I'd like to know whether they're being sincere in "Anthem" or not. If so, I have to assume that Neil had been reading The Fountainhead or some bullshit, because the whole song is about how it's GOOD to be selfish in life because if you don't, all the poor people will keep asking you for more and more until you've nothing left to give. God! Those goddamned poor people! Who the FUCK do they think they are??/?

Musicallywise, this is not a straight hard rock album like the debut. It's more diverse - ranging from bombastic kickasskickers, poppy little happytones, a medieval ballad, a slidey bluesy strummer that sounds like it could be a GOOD Doobie Brothers song, and the band's very first foray into the nightmarish multi-part EPIC prog-rock genre that would so grip their fancy for the rest of the decade. And dig this -- part one of the epic is entitled "At The Tobes Of Hades"! How could it not have occurred to Geddy and Alex that by making Neil Peart their lyricist, they were giving up any possible chance of having sex with a girl?

Reader Comments

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
5. Neil Peart's first album with the band. An improvement in overall structure, better songwriting overall. "Fly By Night" is a great song. "Rivendell" is too tediously boring!! "By-Tor and The Snow Dog" is ok. "In The End" is not terrible. "Beneath, Between & Behind" is ok. Rush is moving toward art-rock.

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
peart's first is a big leap forward lyrically. a snowy album cover and "by-tor and the snow dog" combine to give this album more of a 'great white north' feel, indicative of a canadian band forging an identity and not content merely to ape zeppelin (as so many accused them of on their 1st lp). some longer songs and lighter moments add variety.

ronbevault@prodigy.net (Keith Jones)
Rush's "Fly By Night" is the best pop song rush ever wrote. Period.

f.d.cable@worldnet.att.net (H.V.C.)
A huge change with Neil in the band. Every song on here is fantastic. By Tor & Snowdog is a great introduction to Geddy's and Alex's talents, the two guitars playing off each other, with Neil on effects in the middle.

There are two songs that sound ho-hum, but the writing is still excellent. Making Memories and Rivendell.

And In The End (please erase sexual connotations from your mind) is a great song to end with. It reminds me of a Queen song (Misfire), but it's much more complex, and quite a bit longer.

The best song on here is probably Anthem. 10 out of 10

CMBurns104@aol.com
Anthem kicks ass. First signs of Geddy's virtuosity.

cbutler03@snet.net (Clay Butler)
I dig Rivendell. It's about the Hobbit

angus_rap@hotmail.com (Alex R)
This is a much better improvement than the first one due to the fact that they picked up the best drummer ever, known as Neil Peart. Let me just say that since I have the remastered CD, this whole album sounds great!. The first 6 tracks rule but " Rivendell " pretty much sucks!. But don`t worry, the album closes with a terrific song called " In The End " , this song also has a terrific guitar solo. Alex Lifeson kicks ASS!!. So 9/10 for this one since it`s the remastered version.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
Enter Neil Peart and the music is much more mature and advanced. And the hokey lyrics are for the most part gone. "Anthem" and "Beneath, Between, & Behind" both rock hard. The title track is a pleasant little pop ditty, but more complicated than your average mid 70s radio rock hit. "In the End" starts slow, but picks up towards the middle and the second half is quite admirable. In all, a pretty good album, but beforewarned "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" is fucking embarassing, the boys didn't have the art of the epic down quite yet. This album merits a 7.

Dan804935628@aol.com
I remember a song called ANTHEM and who could forget FLY BY NIGHT (turn on the radio,it's probably playing) but other than that.....

jaimoe0@hotmail.com (James Welton)
If only the song "Fly By Night" had been the capstone to a long and storied career. Instead, it's their best song ever with a whole bunch of long-winded blather yet to come. It was always a mystery to me how most of my friends were Rush fans. I probably got into more musical arguments about the relative merits of this band than any other, but their fans sure are loyal... and vocal.... the poor saps. Oh, and these guys can definitely play the shit out of their instruments. And since I don't think I was brought into this best of all possible worlds just to piss off Rush fans, a seriously wonderful group of people if my own experience with said fans is any indication, I will refrain from further comment on this hard-working and well-intentioned band from the north.

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
An improvement over their debut album, Rush, but things were only just beginning to gel. Highlights include "By-Tor", and "Anthem". 7/10

dfi1999@yahoo.com
"Anthem" is the name of a short story by Ayn Rand. It's a futuristic tale where everyone is EQUAL (ooh Neil Peart's least favorite word) and everyone is governed by these Councils. This one guy creates some glass box or something that is a sort of technical innovation. He presents it to the Council and they order it to be destroyed (sounding familiar yet?). But instead, the guy jumps out the window with his box and lives happily ever after in the forest with some girl.

Fly By Night is a decent album, but you can tell there's still a little friction with the new guy. From "Need Some Love" to "Rivendell" in one album?!? Oh and I named my rabbits By-tor and the Snowdog. They don't fight like in the song though... sometimes they even hump.

Andrew.Reid-Pitcher@hvbasia.com (Red)
It should be noted that while it is best to ignore Prindles facetious comments about Dungeons & Dragons, faggots, nerds, etc, it IS strange that he gripes about songs like rivendell. I thought you liked Led Zeppelin - alot of whose songs are about the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (Misty Mountain Hop, Ramble On for example)

Something BAD!

No, I'm just making fun of you. They've really stuck their heads into Epic Hard-Rock Prog Compositions on this one, including a three-section track at the end of side one, followed by a SINGLE six-part track taking up the entire second side (under the hard rockin' party-hearty title "The Fountain Of Lamneth"). The songwriting is still quite here-or-there, with four awesome songs -- the awesome speed rocker "Anthem," Pink Floyd jazzy "Into Darkness," exciting pulse-pounder "In The Valley" (and its exact copy - er...'reprise' "The Fountain") and darkly arpeggiated, yearning "No One At The Bridge" -- resting uncomfortably alongside eight additional tracks of passable but not mindblowing pop rock, generic goodtime happy music, and ugly malnourished noise. Basically, it's the same as most any other record - some of the parts are great, others are less likely to stick to the ears.

The lyrics discuss the French Revolution, nostalgia, mythic battles, and an epic search for the meaning of life that appears to end with the revelation that life itself is all about the search for meaning. THANKS NEIL.

Reader Comments

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
Rush's first concept piece. "Lakeside Park" and "Bastille Day" are great songs. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" at 19:44 is Rush's first extended suite--There is also much to recommend it. Those other songs, "I Think I'm Going Bald" and "The Necromancer" are annoying. Too much screeching on Geddy Lee's part. This is Rush's first "art-rock" album. "Caress Of Steel" is a bad title. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" is almost akin to an instrumental re-writing of "The Seven Ages Of Man," from As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Altogether, a good attempt, 6/10. This would rate a 7/10 with the "exclusion" of "The Necromancer." I hate that medieval, gothic dungeons and dragons crap!!

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
Caress of Steel is certainly competent mid-70s hard rock. The set-pieces are lyrically cheesy, but the sound is fairly impressive for a band that was still pretty low-budget at the time. "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" are decent radio tunes. I'd give it a 6, much like Mark does.

McCay99@aol.com
Granted, this album's lyrics get a bit stupid. But this record has AMBIENCE! I love the guitar work on "No One at the Bridge". To me, this is great early Rush. It sounds as if they recorded it in the middle of the night with a never-ending supply of pot. Which of course would explain the "imaginative" lyrics.

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
usually regarded as a bizarre pitstop along the way to making 2112, caress of steel has, if nothing else, variety to recommend it. the manic 'i think i'm going bald' alongside the breezy 'lakeside park' and the histrionic epic 'the necromancer' combine for some pretty cool rock. overall, the album sounds incredibly obscure, naive, and adventurous today. modern bands who claim a rush influence (such as king's x, dream theater, and fate's warning) never sounded like this!

Stryker120@aol.com
How in the world can Caress of Steel get a better rating than Fly by Night. I need to only mention one song: Best I can.

DUGTURN1@aol.com
Caress of Steel is one of the best recorded albums of all time. Amazing production. You can hear everything. Are you mad that there is no 90's digital reverb there to destroy everything and cover up everything that is good on the album? And also some of the best singing since the beginning of man. Not as good as the Goat album Hammer the Chicken Machine though......thanks to Geddy for his basswork on that album! Goat has no equal.........

f.d.cable@worldnet.att.net (H.V.C.)
Sucks.

The album would be packed full of great tunes, with a few bits of crap, if there were anymore than 5 songs on this. Bastille Day is a great song (which could have been much worse, considering how Fountain turned out), I think I'm Going Bald is kinda ok but is better near the end. Necromancer is the better of the two story songs. And Fountain is, without a doubt, the very worst Rush song EVER!!!! FOREVER AND EVER!!!!

5 out of 10

CMBurns104@aol.com
Stop bitching about bad production, just listen to the remasters.

Sean@darkagepictures.com (Sean Harris)
CARESS OF STEEL is a fine record. It may not be for everybody, but the comment about The Necromancer being "bad dungeons and dragons" crap is nonesense. It was written about The Lord or the Rings. Peart's lyric writing is vastly underrated and dimissed as "cheesy", when in fact his style and apparant intelligence shine through consistently. I like Fly by Night better, but Caress is a solid album that shouldn't be ignored.

The Fountain of Lamneth bad? No way!

angus_rap@hotmail.com (Alex R)
Probably their darkest record ever, but you know that song " The Necromancer " ??, it Rules!!!, that really spooky voice in the beginning, that crazy guitar solo that Lifeson does for like a minute or 2 and finally the happy part and the end of the song, how come they can`t write anymore songs like that anymore??.

Other than that " Bastille Day " and " Lakeside Park " are terrific songs and I find that their live versions on ATWAS are much better. " The Fountain Of Lamneth " is alright, my favorite part of the song is " No One At The Bridge " because it`s so god damn dark.

So I believe that an 8/10 is a resonable rating for this one.

glassmoondt@yahoo.com (Nick Karn)
I really think the 'weak production' of this album actually benefits the songs here. I don't think "The Necromancer" would sound as amazingly dark and threatening as it does without it. Speaking of that song, it just rules - along with "2112", it's one of my favorite Rush tracks... I LOVE that ending section, and some of Alex's nicest shops are there. The rest of the album? "Bastille Day" is an awesome, complicated opening rocker, "Lakeside Park" is a really nice feelgood song, "The Fountain Of Lamneth" has its' gorgeous moments in its' 20 minute length, and "I Think I'm Going Bald" is somewhat silly but damn catchy and clever too. An 8 on this one as the most underrated Rush album IMO - I don't mind Geddy's voice here.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
BIG step backwards here. Totally inaccessible. And though I usuallylike Geddy's voice, here it borders on grating. "Bastille Day" is quite the ass-kicking opener, but that's about it folks. Both of the suites are not good, they still haven't figured them out yet, but they will the next year. Only a 4.

Dan804935628@aol.com
Caress This! This album blows!

scottcamp30@hotmail.com (Scott Campbell)
I don't see why so many people are down on this record. Maybe because it's the precursor to 2112? There are a variety of moods and styles on this one and I like that. Plus The Necromancer kicks out some bad-ass jams for 1975 for Christ's sake.

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
A tad uneven, yet there are enough glimpses of the genius behind this great trio to keep me revisiting this disc. "Bastille Day" and "Fountain of Lamneth" are big standouts. 7/10

sarah36mo@msn.com
Let's not forget Rush released both of those albums in the same year. Caress of Steel was made during a year of touring over 200 venues. RUSH is over 50 now and are still as creative as ever. Neil's been Drummer of the universe as voted by his musician peers (as if ) for over a decade now. Alex is so damn spontaneous and aaarrrgghh he is the best just pick an album and be served with talent that takes dozens of plays to even begin to discover the intricate razor edge sound and lyrics each could be a college course for the study of awe. And Geddy is top at his game he rocks. (period) Rush can put out a studio rehearsed re-mastered sounding album IN concert night after night. They made their own sound and did it the way they wanted it to be success or not and didn't give a damn about playing songs (The Man) wanted them to, let alone their own fans. They kept it real now for over 30 years. 30 years......

The lyrics suck some serious shit though, and it's about time somebody admits it. The "2112" suite, which takes up all of side one, is a story in which the following occurs: Okay so it's the year 2112 and it's just like 1984 or Rollerball where there is no famine or pain because the elite leaders (in this case, the Priests of the Temple of Syrinx -- who have a really catchy theme song, incidentally) provide everything that the people need in exchange for complete acquiesence and loss of individuality. So already there's nothing new going on. Ah, but wait! Suddenly the narrator finds a guitar in a cave. "What the fuck is this bullshit?" he wonders as he plucks at the strings. Slowly but surely, he learns how to create melodious sounds with it, and can't wait to show his discovery to the Priests Of The Temple Of Syrinx so that they can play their awesome theme song for him. Unfortunately - as most listeners better have expected - the Priests are angered by his discovery and smash it to pieces. Forlorn and alone, our narrator falls asleep and dreams of The True Elite - a group of individual-minded artists from olden-times who, according to his dream, left the Earth long ago in order to build their strength and numbers for an eventual return and recapturing of the Earth (to make it good again or whatever). When he awakes, our narrator is so sad, he goes to his cave and commits suicide. AND SECONDS LATER, WITH THE TIMING OF A SNUFFLE-UP-A-GUS, THE ELITE RETURN AND TAKE OVER THE EARTH, RESTORING IT TO ITS ORIGINAL INDIVIDUALISTIC NATURE!!! Yeah, good one Neil. Good work on that one.

But at least side one HAS a plot. The songs on side two are just a bunch of stupid words - one about smoking opium in the Orient; one about The Twilight Zone that mentions exactly TWO eerie things that might happen to one (Ah! A man with three eyes! Ah! A giant little boy! And... that's it really.); one about a crying lover; one about how one should teach what one has learned (?); and one about how you have to work to succeed because nothing is free.

In other words, Neil Peart was busy growing a cool twisty Rollie Fingers mustache, so they farmed out the lyrics to a bunch of retarded four-year-olds.

Reader Comments

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
This, along with Exit: Stage Left, was my introduction to this band. More velveeta in the conceptual lyrics, but the sound is strengthened further and is fleshed out by some fun effects. "Bangkok" is a killer tune about getting baked off your ass, and I don't agree on "Lessons"... I used to love to blast it on the car stereo. 7 or 8 up my way.

JnJCable@worldnet.att.net (Neptune Salad)
This is a great album all around, exept for 1 scary fact. The futuristic story of "2112" (and some of the other Rush story/song concepts) is frighteningly similar to the Spinal Tap song, "Stonehenge".

But "2112" is still a great song.

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
Most fans' favorite album. The "2112" suite is very good, but again Geddy's screaming is tedious. "A Passage To Bangkok," "The Twilight Zone" and "Something For Nothing" are also good. "Tears" is magnificent!! "Lessons" is horrible!!!

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
often referred to as the first `real' rush album, many today are offput by the long title track and caterwauling vocals, not to mention the bands' stage kimonos (think decadent jedi knights); however, try to imagine how utterly idiotic Korn would look to hard rock fans in 1976. upon considering 2112, i hear a band that is confident, powerful, and possessing of an undeniable identity and vision.

Stryker120@aol.com
Only 2112 and Bangkok are worth listening to

Godranek@aol.com
God, I used to think this was the greatest heavy rock album of all time. Of course, it was around the time when I was getting into classic rock (early 90s). So upon listening to it, I was blown away. The musicianship, the sheer emotion in Geddy's wailing vocals just made my insides move. BUT.. this was also BEFORE I got into the REAL classic rock bands such as Deep Purple,Nazareth,Led Zeppelin, Yes, old Aerosmith, Black Sabbath,.. and so on and I thought.. WHAT IN BLOODY HELL WAS I ON?! RUSH REALLY BLOWS!!!!

and of course, it was also before I heard the rest of Rush's catalog where they eventually turned into a dumbass jazz-rock/new age band with sci-fi overtones.

And man, the vocals were allright in 2112, but elsewhere he just sounds like a little troll getting squeezed by the nuts. I begin to wonder why their popularity is so great, but I guess something has to appeal to them damn trekkies out there.

Sean@darkagepictures.com (Sean Harris)
That last 2112 review was low. I happen to love Rush-- but I hate trekkies. What's with the lame comparisons?

jtcable@tir.com (Josh Cable)
This whole album, while still only having 6 songs, is thought of as Rush's high point. And they don't really have any high points, especially early on. But yes, this whole thing is good. The 2112 sweet is awesome beginning to end, Something For Nothing kicks the ass, and then there are three somewhat questionable non-rockers that are ok/notbad.

For this album, Neil makes the mistake of letting Alex and Ged write lyrics for the VERY LAST TIME in Rush's 25 year career. Tears and that other tune penned by Alex aren't terrible. As a matter of fact, I enjoy them. But Tears is pretty fruity and Alex's tune is just basic cock rawk bullshit. Musically, they rule, but the lyrics side of them is... CRAP. Well, not crap, but it's mostly Cream/Led Zeppelin ballad type shit, and we all know that even when he was "God" Eric Clapton just wanted to create boring ass blues based blues. Eventually he moved on to stop making music and start making tunes for supermarkets. And while I love Cream, Clapton by hissself is boring, and his hair during the 80's was a fucking cocaine induced joke.

But 2112 is good. 8 out of 10.

mjhaag@webtv.net (Michael Haag)
I remember getting high in college while listening to this record and falling on the floor laughing. That annoying voice. Those ridiculous lyrics. "Another toy To help destroy..." indeed

bglad@synopsys.com (Bruce Gladstone)
mother of god , what an embarassment...

univeristy of illinois in 76, my friend rob lost it when he discovered pot. we laughed our guts out, but he tried to explain 'you guys don't understand... it's like an opera... we're going to california."

can giddy lee whisper ????

Sean@darkagepictures.com (Sean Harris)
Nope....Ged and Alex would pen more lyrics after this record. Most notable is Lee's "Cinderalla Man" on A FAREWELL TO KINGS--on SIGNALS all three band members contributed lyrics for "Chemistry". So whatever.

This album is great. I don't understand the nerd/sci-fi overblown attacks, because isn't that the point? I mean of early RUSH? Neil writes lyrics like a good fiction author--and makes all sorts of sly references to his influences.

And Geddy's voice is perfect. He sounds like an elf singing. It seems there are a lot of raging homophobes who can't deal with his androgenous voice writing these reviews. Don't listen if that's the case--go play your AC/DC and slap your girlfriends.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
The one that made them stars. The side long title track is complex, loud, moving, and bombastic. Sure the lyrics are pretty cheddar and many still won't like Geddy's voice, but the music is very well written and Alex's guitar work takes no prisoners. Second side alternates between kickass rockers ("Something From Nothing", "A Passage to Bangkok") and weaker ballads ("Twilight Zone", "Tears"). The first truly good Rush album. It earns its 8, and a high 8 at that.

cindy@mmcable.com (Cindy Wilson)
What can I say? 2112 might as well have been one of the lost books of the bible. Along with the other subsequent LPs and CDs of the great ones... headache is very good. More to come this year?

email@idlemirth.com (David Mirth)
2112 is perhaps Rush's most important and defining moment. They caught for themselves a cult following with the intense touring from this record.

After recording Caress Of Steel, an album high in artistic merit, but with virtually no commercial success, Rush were under heavy pressure from their record company to come out with a hit single. So what did they do? They recorded perhaps the greatest 'fuck you' in the history of music. They devoted one entire side of the record to an Ayn Randian/George Orwellian futuristic science fiction song about rediscovering the lost ancient artform of rock and roll. Even if you don't like Rush - especially in this day and age - you have to give them some respect for their integrity, devotion to music as an art, and just plain having the stones to face down the record company.

Eventually, Rush would develop their craft until they could achieve radio and MTV success on their own terms. A string of Rush albums (Permenant Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals) all contain radio classics that spurned the rediscovery of Rush singles like "Closer To The Hear" and "Fly By Night."

Even if you cannot appreciate the courage it took just to make 2112, take the time to listen to it. It just rocks. For anybody that ever accussed Rush of lacking feeling - listen to this record. Geddy Lee sings the parts of two different characters, Neil Peart practically invents the musical form of Art Rock on drums, and Alex Lifeson provides some of the most inventive rock and roll guitar ever.

If you have not gotten the picture yet, I cannot say enough good things about this album. 10 out of 10 from me. 2112 is the stuff of legend.

Dan804935628@aol.com
Yeah,this is the masterpiece I was talking about,I don't really even like concept albums but this one kicks ass! TEMPLES OF SYRINX is the most ass-kickin' song the band has ever recorded,although YYZ from MOVING PICTURES comes close.If you only own one album by the band,it should be this one!

kevinhollis1@home.com
Rush is for geeks, you say? The vocals are hideous? You actually gave this album a '6'. C'mon, you must have smoked some REALLY bad dope before you reviewed this one. Although A Farewell to Kings, Permanent Waves, Hemispheres, and Moving Pictures are all better overall than 2112, this is still a great album. Maybe I'm just a geek who loves hideous vocals, but I'd give it a '9'.

snouters@earthlink.net
In the late 70's, my pal and I used to try to outdo each other with hilarious comments about how much Rush sucked. Unfortunately I did not save anything from what I now refer to as my "Chipmunk Slaying Period" and fortunately /praise jesus/ I have not had to actually *hear* Rush for decades /end praise/. So all I can say is that I recommend that everyone buy this album and embark on their own Chipmunk Slaying Period.

jmrwl13@yahoo.com (James Rowlee)
This 2112 has to be one of my all time favorite albums.

the first side is so awesome and involving. it all rocks .I had never heard of rush before this album came out and me and my friends spent many hours toking out and listening to this creative and inspired effort from geddy and the boys.. 8 out of 10 on my scale.

pumpkinhead_27510@yahoo.com (Mike)
My god, dude this album sucks. Sure, like you said, solid guitar melodies...they're tightly played and neat-sounding, but this band...they don't have a very good flow all together. It sound like The Muppets playing Math Rock. I concede that Rush is heavily influential, and lots of wonderful bands openly admit to being heavily influenced by Rush, and I admit everyone in the band except for the singer is talented as hell, but this album, for some reason strikes me as a pathetic cheesy futuristic "sci-fi" waste of time. What are those stupid sound effects? The production is terrible! I do enjoy Bangkok and Someting for Nothing, and parts of the title track. But this album is still way too inconsistant. I never understood why anyone would praise this as a "classic"...just listen to it...they sound like their making fun of themselves.

mrivera48@hotmail.com
hey prindle correct me if i'm right or worng but maybe you might review steve vai! or or joe satriani? oh man! maybe they could do a remake of 2112? awsome! hey i don't mind telling you that i'm a fucking anime freak! belive me man! it rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOW YOU LIKE THE POLICE! THE RAMONES! AND PUNK STUFF! BUT I'M INTO PROG METAL! AND DID I MENTION I WAS AN ANIME FREAK? I WAS GOING TO A SITE AND SAW A SEXY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN GREEN HAIR AND GOLDEN BIKINI WITH TIGER STRIPES!
HER NAME IS LUM! LUM IS THE MOST BEUTIFUL WOMAN I EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE AND IF YOU AGREE THEN DO SO IF NOT FUCK YOU! 2112 CAN BE BETTER THAN THE TOPOGRAPHIC BRU JAJA! BETTER THAN THICK AS A BRICK! HA ! SHE LOOKS DELICIOUS IN THAT BIKINI! QWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! YUM YUM YUM! OW! PRINDLE I ADMIT YOU CAN GET A WOMAN LIKE TAHT INSTEAD OF FUCKING AROUND WITH YOUR SHIT JOKES! ANYHOW SHE'S MINE SO SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL AND YOU CANT' HAVE HER HA! BYE NOW!

mossinator@hotmail.com (Ian Moss)
I can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet. The best criticism I can offer is that the whole thing is too...intentional. Like those power chords in the opening of "2112," with lots of space in between--it's like, okay, WE GET IT, y'all can count together, now move on. Or that section of the title track when he discovers a guitar ("what is this thing that I've found?"). It's all just a bit too cutesy, too self-referential, too self-conscious.

That said, the music does rule for the most part.

themightygreegor@yahoo.com
Geddy Lee sounds like a whiny, annoying girl. And I think that Sean Harris is a fag.

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
The first truly great Rush album. The beginning of a series of excellent studio releases from this talented trio... 8/10

jkonrath@rumored.com (Jon)
I hate when hipster art rock snobs proclaim that 2112 is the greatest concept album ever. It's not a concept album! The first side is all one song, and then the back side is a bunch of random shit. That Twilight Zone song is actually cheesier than the original TV show.

billy.barron@comcast.net
I was once in an English course, we had to analyze a joke, a song or something. I thought I might as well pick a song with a plot. After I turned in my paper, the teacher told me that in a creative writing class a student turned in the same story to her as his own but she didn't know. I guess Neil's lyrics are good for something.

whitmandg1@juno.com
I was the stupid forking idiot who as 'Godranek' wrote a very blasphemous review about this album many years ago. I will tell you now, I knew not what I did.

I have since rediscovered 2112 and found it to be quite a sonic revelation; majestic in every way possible. Forgive me Gods of Hard Rock. The dirt... it... it just won't come off!

Okay enough with the Canada shit - we're here to talk about Cincinnati's Rush! On their first of five (so far) official live recordings, Rush was still a raw, gritty hard rock band making its earliest untutored moves into the world of epic prog disastry. Featuring four songs each from their debut and Fly By Night, two from Caress My Balls and anywhere between two and five billion tracks from 2112 (depending on how you divide up side one, recreated in its entirety on here), this contains some of Rush's greatest headbanging material as well as a few pieces of naive fruity pubic gas. Rather than discussing the band's performance or how the songs sound, let's discuss the emotions that I personally derive from them. That way, we can compare my emotional responses to yours in reaction to the same stimuli and find out which of us is more likely to go nuts and murder the president.

"Bastille Day" - KILLER!!!! LOVE IT TO DEATH!!!!!

"Anthem" - ZIPPER CATCHES SKIN!!!! THE EYES OF!!!

"Fly By Night" - DO IT, GEDDY!!!! POP MY ASS SHINGLE WITH YOUR POPPY-ASS SINGLE!!!!!

"In The Mood" - Tough macho bullshit. Geddy trying to approximate what it might feel like to touch a girl (soft).

"Something For Nothing" - DARK MINOR KEYS AND AWESOME CHORUS!!! 'YOU CAN'T GET SOMETHIN' FOR NOTHIN'! YOU CAN'T GEDDY MIDDLE-NAME LEE!!!!'

"Lakeside Park" - CATCHY VERSE!!!! But that's up with the hokey nostalgia chorus? If that chorus were a cigarette in Britain, it would be a 'fag.'

"2112" - GREAT OVERTURE!!!! YEAAAHHAHA!!! AWESOME ROCKIN' OUT CRUNCHY CHORUS CHORUS!!! Ew. Crappy happy dopey nopey. AWFUL guitar solo! Eh. Mmm. Okay. (*cums in pants, but not very enthusiastically*)

"By-Tor And The Snow Dog" - JAWBONE AND THE AIR-RIFLE!!!! YEEEAAAHHH!!! No wait

"By-Tor And The Snow Dog" - GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT!!!!! Except for the part with all the dumb noises that goes on for like five years.

"Working Man/Finding My Way medley" - TOUGH AS SHIT!!! ASS-FUCKIN' SHITASS SHIT!!!! SHITBALLS ON THE DOWN LOW!!!! AWESOME!!! GREAT!!!!! ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKKKIN' DRUM SOLO!!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP, GUY WHOSE FAMILY DIED! NO, YOU SHUT UP! NO, YOU SHUT UP! NO, YOU SHUT UP! NO, YOU SHUT UP!

Okay, time to add 'Pedro Andino' to my list of major writing influences.

"What You're Doing" - SOUNDS LIKE BLACK SABBATH!!!! TONIGHT I'M GOING TO MURDER THE PRESIDENT!!!!!

So you see, the album kicks some serious ass if you're into the '70s hard rock thing. They were young, wild, long-haired and free. At times Geddy's vocals distort, feedback and miss notes, but that's what the cnocert experience was like back in the early 70s before plastic pop stars like Britney Spears, the Dillinger Escape Plan and that girl who fucked up on Saturday Night Live but still has a career because 53% of USA Today readers believe in Intelligent Design turned the whole thing into a perfectly orchestrated round of karaoke.

But come on, it's a live album. Who the hell buys live albums? I mean besides Ed Kowalczyk fans - HA HA HA! HA HA HA! HA HA HA!!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

Come on, those guys had a ton of hits. It's not like I'm telling Kajagoogoo jokes here.

Which reminds me: Why DIDN'T Chris "Limahl" Hammill cross the street?

Because he was "Too Shy"!!!!!!

(*commits suicide

into a rehab center; ignores martin rev's incessant bitching*)

Reader Comments

Keith David
5 out of 10. Rush's first live album. In a word, unpolished. This illustrates Rush in a point of transition between The early years, which mercifully only lasted for 3 years and the great middle period. This is a representation of Rush's live work, which is actually quite boring!!!

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
a cool triple gatefold album, lots of photos, and a personal message from the band. back in the days when bands lived or died by their live shows. it is important to recognize how important live albums were in the '70s (yessongs, lizzy's live and dangerous, kiss alive, purple's made in japan, priest's unleashed in the east, foghat live etc...). having said that, rush is known for playing note-for-note live renditions of their songs. they do so here, loudly!

student@mhs.mcn.org (ytf)
This is my favorite Rush live record. Vastly and unfairly frowned upon in this site (no offense Mark--great site but this Rush section almost drives me into a rage) this is such an energetic and raw sounding album. They sound great live--most people can't believe they sound that close to their recorded versions when I play it. The remaster is the best way to own it--uncut and polished up. Geddy's got the best scream I've ever heard in my life on "Anthem". It's apparant you don't like Rush that much to begin with, which is fine and certainly understandible that you aren't impressed by a live effort. But Rush fans will certainly enjoy it immensely.

I give it a ten. Exit...Stage left is just as brilliant, but I like the young sound on this one the best.

angus_rap@hotmail.com (Alex R)
Hey!!, this is one hell of a terrific live record, my favorite Rush live record ( I have not heard Different Stages yet ). Most of the songs on here kick the studio versions Ass!!, like " What You`re Doing " , " Bastille Day ", " By Tor and The Snow Dog ".. the list is endless. The only bad thing about this record is that they cut parts of " 2112 ", I guess the guys didn`t feel like playing the whole thing. And this record is so Raw, I love live records like that.

Other than that, I also enjoyed track 9 where they play " Working Man / Finding My Way and the drum solo " alltogether. So 9/10 for this one.

Wiskeycorgi@cs.com
I think that this was the first live album I ever bought and it still sounds great today. This is right up there with Humble Pie's Fillmore, Who Live At Leeds, AC/DC If You Want Blood..., Allman Bros. Fillmore, and Skynyrds' One From The Road. They should have tacked on some extra bonus tracks when they remastered the cd. In The End is amazing still.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
Pretty good, an accurate representation of their sound circa 1976. Nothing particularly bad except "By Tor and The Snow Dog", which I just don't like, and also nothing particularly outstanding, though the "Working Man/Finding My Way" combo it pretty well done. A low 7.

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
"By-Tor" is the tour-de-force of this release. I would've liked to hear live versions of "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth", instead of "In the End", "What You're Doing", etc. 7/10

DenBlake29@aol.com
okay, now i get to see the review. haven't listened to it since the high school years but reading a couple of the other reviews reminded me of the sound of lifeson's guitar. HUGE. worth it for just this. especially when he is doing some canadian version of shredding to such prog material sung by donald duck on helium(stole that one from rolling stone). but it is true. the lp has energy. guitar shredding supported by peart and lee. and man, energy is everything. this record has a fast pulse and a loud roar. where is that old piece of vinyl? make me 16 again.

jkonrath@rumored.com (Jon)
They fucked up the CD version of this - the album used to have a little bit of audio in the outro of Geddy and the guys talking to some others as they ran off stage. Did they ever fix this in the remaster? Am I going to have to buy this one three more times?

marcmc1@cox.net
This is one of the best live albums, period. Maybe you will be able to fully appreciate it when you grow up. The band sounds almost exactly the same on stage as they do in the studio, which is a testament to them as musicians. And there has never, EVER been a better drummer than NP. Best of all time. This is a great album from a great band. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably a Metallica fan, anyway...

The production still doesn't do the band justice, and Geddy's voice is still way up there in that tree in the backyard. But the music is pretty darn complex and interesting, especially in the complicated-and-beautiful multiple-parted 11-minute "Xanadu" and creepy oddly-time-signatured weird busy aggressive 10-minute "Cygnus X-1." And you've heard "Closer To The Heart," right? Short ballad? Really pretty? Maybe they played at your prom, if you want to a Nerd Science school? Unfortunately, the other three songs range from ugly strangulation to cliched lovey-dove to saccharine-tainted smiley penis-squirt, and Geddy's helium throat is still not going to be to everybody's taste. As Grand Funk probably should have said, "Bad singin', good playin'!"

Reader Comments

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
Rush's first great album? This album has much to recommend it--"Closer To The Heart" and Rush's magnum opus, "Xanadu." It has two masterpieces, 2 very good songs, "Cinderella Man" and "Madrigal" and another opus, "Cygnus X-1," which although complicated and interesting is still prevented from reaching perfection by those screeching vocals. The title cut has a good classical guitar intro--but is too cynical!! Overall, a 7/10 for this one, a huge improvement over 2112 and ATWAS.

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
"Closer to the Heart" is justifiably Rush's true signature tune, regardless of how much airplay "Tom Sawyer" still gets. "Xanadu" is their first really solidly compelling epic, with lyrics that move beyond cheese into pretty odd mystical territory. Unfortunately "Cygnus X-1" brings it all crashing back to earth... I have always despised this track. "Cinderella Man" has interesting guitar riffage, and "Madrigal" is the first good quiet Rush tune since "Rivendell". Not as good an album as the next few by any stretch. 7.

JnJCable@worldnet.att.net (Neptune Salad)
"Madrigal" is not a very good song, only because it is slightly boring. It's still not a bad song. And "Cygnus X-1" is stupid, but the tunes through out it are classic Rush. Rush often still plays "Cygnus" at concerts (of course, shortened versions of the song).

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
a cool album cover, supposedly symbolic of a band who will bid goodbye to baroque/medieval tunes and go for sci fi and other contemporary themes. production is polished compared to the blunt savagery of 2112. songs riffs, structures, and melodies, other than `closer to the heart,' are difficult to recall despite having listened to the record many times. somewhat of an overlooked record between 2112 and the magnificent hemispheres.

ronbevault@prodigy.net (Ron & Bev)
Geez, Prindle. you do not like high singing, do you?

angus_rap@hotmail.com (Alex R)
Giving this album a 5/10 is just a complete slap in the face. " Xanadu " , " Closer To The Heart " and the title track are Rush classics and so is " Cygnus X-1 ". But I just can`t get into " Madrigal ". Since I own the remastered version of this recording, I give it a 9/10. Remember, this was when they were really kickin some ass.

michael.blume@gte.net
Hey, dude. 'Love your site. Your reviews kick more ass than any of those god-awful Rolling Stone/SPIN reviews. Also, I like to comment on what you said about Rush. After listening to two of their albums, 2112 and A Farewell to Kings (I don't own these albums, I listened to the whole albums on a website called By-tor's Doghouse. The address is http://www.by-tor.com/html/albums) I was actually glad that you were goddamn dead-on about Rush. They ARE a band for geeks. You didn't have to be so damn apologetic about having to break it to fans like that. Neil Peart writes unsophisticated mystical bullshit that makes you wanna laugh out loud, Geddy Lee sounds like Robert Plant, if he was girl, and Alex Lifeson is the only O.K. kinda guy who should stop hanging around with those dork-ass schmucks. I will admire one thing: they're all top-notch at their instruments. People, please, flip Rush a bird, and listen to some REAL music like Yes, the Ramones, the Beatles, Nirvana, and plenty of others recommended by Prindle.

Oh yeah, have you heard those bands that I mentioned. Now they were good, I mean, really good.

Wiskeycorgi@cs.com
As a long-time Rush fan, I have to admit we start getting a little "far out" at this stage in the game. TOO MANY SYNTH PARTS!!!!!!!!!! But, Peart's lyrics are not half as bad as Dio's (who is the REAL D&D dork).

jtcable@tir.com (Josh Cable)
Yey, Rush decided to rule over all things fictional and create some sweet ass story songs with Xanadu and the faggagay Cygnus X-1. Madigral is just an asspain to listen to now, but Closer to the Heart (gay title, fun as a muther song), Xanadu, and AFTK rule over everything. And while Cygnus sucked now, the continuation on the next album just blows away everything they had done before.

And... real bands like "The Beatles and Nirvana?" I know for a fact that until MTV came up with the idea for a "revoltionary new band," Nirvana did not exist except in rainy England, er, whatever. They certainly aren't a real band, and their music was about a billion times worse than Rush's. ESPECIALLY the singing. Kurt practically invented the concept of "sing all the time so no one knows how shitty your band is." And The Beatles? I dunno if anyone could call them a REAL band, as much as they were just three songwriters and a drummer. And why compare Beatles to Rush? The Beatles were at the rock forefront since the begin. Granted, they started off as the lamest type of pop/cover band. Oh well.

The Ramones are ok, as far as I know. But they like Rush, so...

Sean@darkagepictures.com (Sean Harris)
This is one of my favorites. I don't understand some of these reviews--Neil's lyrics are great all over the place. Everybody can't write songs about sex, alcohol and death--even though most bands try. At least Rush did something different.

Xanadu is great--the story, imagery--playing. It's unnerving to learn that the man is trapped forever in the caves as an immortal--gone mad and watching the stars pass for milleniums. Nice touch...these are things you can think about and reflect about later, rather than 4/4 catch tunes stuck in the repititious section of your brain. Not that I hate those, mind you, but clearly there's something more imaginative going on here.

Rush is not a band for dorks. That's just what someone says in rage when they don't understand the more cerebral part of their music.

Closer to the Heart rules. Cygnus is frightening when you play it loud. This album deserves better listeners.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
Smack in the middle of Rush's "progressive stage". Song structures are becoming more advanced. Features one of their true masterpieces "Xanadu", 10 plus complex minutes or pure bliss with fantastic guitar work and drumming and some rather interesting lyrics based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem "The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan." "Closer to the Heart" is rather pretty, with the classical guitar and all and went on the become a singalong crowd pleaser. Some nice guitar work throughout, but why did they have to end the album with the ten minute mess of "Cygnus X-1"? Fits right in with their habit of usually including one bad song in every record. This album is a solid 8.

Dan804935628@aol.com
Descent album by the band ,and Prindle,Geddy's voice is quite alright.If you want to bash a high singer you should start with JON ANDERSON of YES,now there's somebody who gets on my nerves...geez!

cape_royds@yahoo.ca (Roland Arbour)
I enjoy your site.

Rush was the band my more "sophisticated" friends were into, but I always thought Rush psuedo-intellectual in a harmless high-school kind of way.

Here's some demographic info. to confirm your views on Rush: we were all geeks, nerds, and D & D players, although a couple did get laid in high school (not me, though). But you know, geeks, nerds, etc. are all people too. It wasn't our fault that we actually liked to think when everyone else was watching reruns on TV, or that we preferred taking some guns out into the bush and blaze away between swigs of JD while other kids in the 80's were flouffing their hair. Eccentric yes, dangerous sometimes, well-meaning usually, and squeaky like Geddy Lee, well all too often!

Geddy proves on the first album that he can't belt out kick-ass blue collar rock. So while the debut albuim is decent instrumentally it just doesn't match Zeppelin, Sabbath, etc.

It's the addition of Peart that gives the group a niche--doing the Serious Tolkien Thing that Zep would have done with a wink ("Then Gollum and the Evil Lord crept up and slipped away with her...").

My favorite Rush album (that I own) is Caress of Steel, with FTK a close second. I like the Necromancer--the way I interpret it is that it depicts the men of Willowdale (the band) venturing into the city to do battle with the record co. executives. And Panacea is sappy but I like it.

And while FTK has a couple of tracks that make me puke (Closer to the Heart--pure schmaltz, chicken soup for the toilet, more like!; and Cinderella Man more Geddy Lee sermonizing; Madrigal just a empty yawn, like the mouthings of a fish), FTK also has some of my favorite Rush stuff--Xanadu and Cygnus X1 (now parts of the latter are a bit much, esp. the last part when it sounds like Lee is getting castrated, but "on my ship the Rocinante" always gets my adrenalin flowing, and the song should stir anyone with a sense of adventure and imagination--and THAT is what RUSH is really all about).

I admit, I would never play RUSH at a beer party--the results would be tragi-comic. But I always remember my introduction the band, melting slowly into a plush carpet after sharing a minor globe of black hash, grooving into Exit Stage Left on an auto-reverse deck. For a 16 year old nerd that's a cool trip!

The worst thing about being a teenager in the 1980's was that no one was really making ass-kicking rock in the Zep mode, although there was always ACDC and the speed metal scene got interesting around 1986. So anyone who wanted something hard with a psychadelic twist had to turn to old stuff--Hendrix, Zep, Sabbath, certain Doors tunes, and Rush.

I can't get into New Rush (new as in 1980's on). I mean, if you're gonna get sophisticated, why not just listen to jazz or classical, which kicks absolutely and unlimited butt on any art rock you could care to name. Rock is Art of its own, but Mature Art Rock is a sickly and pathetic thing best left exposed on a mountainside shortly after birth.

So I enjoy the naive and sometimes 1970's Rush, over-indulgent and bombastic though it often is.

jaimoe0@hotmail.com (James Welton)
I know I said I was going to refrain from further comment, but I just had to say that I really, really like "Closer to the Heart." That is all.

jmrwl13@yahoo.com (James Rowlee)
I had a co-worker who loaned/gave me this album and it kicked so much ass I kept it and paid him the cash for it.

I really really love xanadu,cygus x-1 and the rest is only complimentary to those two awesome songs. This rivals 2112 as possibly their best work EVER......

8 out of 10 on my all time scale of greatness. it was all down hill after this great album

watta502@yahoo.gr (Akis Katsman)
I'd give this a solid 8. I don't understand why some Rush fans dislike it, it's by all means a classic Rush album. The album kicks off with the fresh rocker "A Farewell To Kings" which is a great song with excellent lyrics. Then comes the great epic "Xanadu", a classic Rush song. I love it all, especially the guitar and vocals, but I think the intro is somewhat long. No matter. Next is a favourite of mine and one of the true highlights of the album, the classic song "Closer To The Heart". Running under 3 minutes, it's the perfect song to listen in the sunrise. I love the lyrics here. "Cinderella Man" is a nice tune, but by no means a great Rush song. The lyrics here are written by Lee, not Peart. "Madrigal" is somewhat filler-ish, but it's good. I like the voice here, it's not as high and intense as the other songs. Does Geddy sing here? I don't know. The last song of the album is "Cygnus X-1", a song about a black hole. I like this song, although I find it somewhat disjoined. Gotta love the screams of uncle Geddy and the somewhat frightening guitar parts, although. But I prefer they put this song in another album, because it doesn't fit there. When you have the ancient/epic-like "Xanadu" and the mysteriously medieval "Madrigal", it ain't the best idea to have a sci-fi song in the same album. All in all, this is a good Rush album, buy it if you are into progressive or "epic" rock. If you are unfamiliar with prog-rock, start with an easier album, say The Wall.

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
Every bit as good as 2112, if not better...

thepublicimage79@hotmail.com
Ok.

I have never felt the urge to listen to Rush, at any time in my life, before. That changed tonight. I figured that since so many people make fun of them, they had to be a little underrated, right?

So I went and downloaded this song called "Cygnus X-1." The music is good - complex, hard proggy rock, full of itself, but pretty interesting nevertheless - but these fucking vocals...does this idiot hear himself? I mean...all I hear out of this moron's mouth is an unrelenting AIIEEEEEEEEEIEIEEEE...this guy is a fucking tool.

You know, maybe if they'd had a decent singer and lyricist, they could have been worth the time, but on this evidence, who could possibly like these dudes?

Okay, your first hint that Rush hasn't found a girlfriend yet is the disgustingly hilarious album cover, which features a naked (and therefore 'artistic' and 'sensual') man confronting a suit, tie and bowler-hatted (and therefore 'rational' and 'scientific') man --- on the top of a giant brain.

GET IT??? "HEMISPHERES"????? Yes, it is in fact an 18-minute story about the ancient struggle between our logical left brain and creative right brain (heart v mind). Unfortunately it ends in a draw and nobody throws Neil Peart and his mustache off a cliff. Pathetic childish lyrics aside, "Hemispheres" features several wonderful musical passages, ranging from strangled dark hard rock chords to gorgeous arpeggios and Satanic bouncy shindigs to strummy Medieval folk (marred only by a few minutes of boring new wave keyboards, and some fantasy/adventure dork chord sequences that show up every once in a while to drive any stray women out of the auditorium.

Side two features three tracks: ugly, lousy rocker "Circumstances," catchy pop/lyrical monstrosity "The Trees" and 10-minute instrumental show-off "La Villa Strangiato." I've nothing to say about "Circumstances," but I have a couple of quick things to say about the final two tracks. First of all, "The Trees" is neither the first nor the last time that Neil Peart has used verse to deride the Welfare State, but it's by far the most poorly-conceived and thus most enjoyable. See, it's about these two sets of trees, right? And like one of em's all tall and shit but the other one's all dinky. And the dinky ones are all pissed at the tall ones for hoarding all the sunlight so they form a union -- that's FORM A UNION -- to demand more sunlight. After a long protracted legal battle, a law is passed to keep all trees equal -- "by hatchet, axe and saw." Sigh. Where does one even begin refuting an argument that dangerous and one-sided? Gee you're right, Neil. If a person is rich, that's because they are SUPERIOR to the person who is poor. No, has NOTHING to do with privilege at birth created through years of oppressing the working class. Having said that, I do agree with Neil that a fully Socialist society is a terrible idea.

The only thing I wanted to say about "La Villa Strangiato" is "Hey Cows fans! Hear that one silly bit near the end? That's "Porky Pig Factory!"

Also, "Hey cartoon fans! Hear that one silly bit near the end? That's an old piece of cartoon music that the Cows stole for "Porky Pig Factory!"

There I go, getting all specific like an ass-crack. AS A WHOLE, Hemispheres finds Rush once again creeping forward into greater diversity, songwriting beauty and instrumental prowess. But it's nothing compared to the Scott Bakula-style quantum leap of confidence and quality they would display on their next album.

Reader Comments

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
8. Rush's first great album. An overall very impressive work, prevented by being "truly great," again by those vocals, at least they are not so terrible this time!! "Hemispheres," the side long suite, the second part of "Cygnus X-1" is grand, complicated, everything that great "art-rock" should be. "Circumstances," "The Trees," and "La Villa Strangiato" are show- cases for Rush's instrumental virtuosity.

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
I love this one. It's too damned short, though!! By today's standards, this would be more of an EP. The suite kicks ass in a big way. For the first time, Peart hits home on most of the lyrics, moving back and forth between allegory and storytelling with fluid precision.

I'm a total Rush dork for having written that last sentence.

The short tunes are great. "The Trees" is wondrous, with great metaphoric lyrics again, and "Circumstances" is a tight hard rocker, though Geddy has no more reason to be warbling in French than Paul McCartney did. "La Villa", though done much more convincingly on E:SL and the Show of Hands video, is a pretty impressive instrumental. We should be glad it's got no lyrics, since you can only imagine the lyrics Neil would have written to go with those silly titles for each part. I'll see you 8, Keith, and give it a 9.

JnJCable@worldnet.att.net (Neptune Salad)
Geddy Lee is Canadian. In Canada, some people speak French. As a matter of fact (get ready to learn something) a lot of people in Canada speak French. Therefore, Geddy Lee can speak French, just like the rest of us. Quebec somewhat recently tried to separate from Canada because of the language of Frenchians is so common. I must be the only person on Earth to remember that, for good reason actually. I'm so alone.

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
Okay, Mr Neptune, no need to get Eimillerish on my ass here. Geddy is actually from a suburb of Toronto, where hardly anyone speaks French. It doesn't change the cheesiness of the song.

break7@localnet.com (Tim Eimiller)
Yeah, no need to get... Wait a minute...

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
the pinnacle of rush in the 70's. while `closer to the heart' is better than `the trees,' everything else on Hemispheres is like a farewell to kings done much better. rush had to take a radically different approach to the next album, permanent waves, to avoid being accused of repeating themselves after these two albums.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
I got this one because I heard Geddy Lee was really good at bass, and Alex Lifeson was a guitar "mastah" too and so forth. But mostly because John Petrucci of Dream Theater said in some guitar magazine that this album was really good. Anyway, I think this album is alright....I really was happy when I first turned it on and it sounded interesting..but then Geddy Lee opened his voice..and....everything went to hell pretty much. Oh and the lyrics! Jesus Christ they're terrible! What the fuck are they talking about? It's madness I tell you. This band seems musically capable of so much, it's too bad that Geddy Lee has to sing and the lyrics have to be so silly. This one gets a 7 from me, *for the music*.

jtcable@tir.com (Josh Cable)
If think the lyrics are bad, check out some stuff called "Roman and Greek myths." God almighty, what a bunch of stupidity! What were those ancient writers and story tellers thinking? They ruined it all for everyone with their stupid stories about Gods and such. I hate them. And that Plato guy had a terrible voice, so obviously everything he ever said was not good. That asshole.

And yes, DT loves Rush. Just about anyone that actually makes music that's any good has heard or listened to Rush. Except Barenaked Ladies. They listened to two hits and they fucking suck ass. I don't care if they put Tom Sawyer in their song.

Every single track on this album is great. In part because there's only 4 songs. But they rule over all kinds of rock ass. And it's a lot better than any Misfits album, BY FUCKING FAR.

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
Ok, at first I was unimpressed, but I've been listening to this album quite often lately, and I must say that it is terrific. Or, should I say, the sidelong title track is terrific. If one can just ignore the lyrics (which was hard for me to do, at first) one will realize that this is one of the finest hardrock/artrock pieces ever made. The repeated alternation between the growling hard riff and the softer higher guitar parts is sheer beauty to my ears, and I love ever second of it

Side two? It's good too. Circumstances doesn't do much for me, but La Villa is plenty impressive, while The Trees is one of the few instances where Peart's lyrics actually work and are set to a decent melody with good arrangments. Overall, an 8/10

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
I was disappointed. "La Villa Strangiato" isn't nearly as good as the live version on Exit: Stage Left, and the French song blows. "The Trees" is still a catchy little tune. The side-long suite has its moments, certainly, but I kept waiting for Alex to just go crazy with the guitar, and he never really does. It manages to keep from falling apart, but it's no Yes. (Ha! No Yes.) I was all set to grab up the early Rush catalog, but this album stopped me in my tracks (so to speak). If this is really the best they'd done up to this point, I have no need for the others.

sdennin@adelphia.net (Scotty Dennin)
OK. What is this French stuff? I kinda like Circumstances, the chorus is frightning!

But the best thing on this album is not the title track, but the The Trees. I absolutely love this song. I love the melody, and I actually think that Geddy sounds pretty good. (In the soft opening part anyway).

La Villa is every bassplayers nightmare, as it has the most complicated jumble of a bass solo ever written. (In my band, I just make it up, forget trying to play the written notes.)The solo in the middle shows a very emotional Alex at first, then he gradually tears into that poor Les Paul and lets us have it. One of my more favorite moments (other then ANYTHING of the Victor album... don't have it? BUY IT!!) from Alex.

The rest? Bah ™. Twas dissapointing to say the least. I give this one a 7/10, but only cause La Villa kicks so much ass.

LandCruiser96@aol.com
If you play an instrument or just appreciate quality well-done hard rock, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Hemispheres is the last of their concept records when they realy kicked major ass in the mid-seventies. I need to say something to some of these close-minded idiots writing these reviews. Neil's idea of writing a trilogy for 2112, AFTK, and the mighty Hemispheres is brilliant. You don't have to stereotype fans for being sci-fi jackoffs because they appreciate creative lyrics along with kick-ass song writing. Anyone can be in a metal band and sing about sex, drugs, and rock and roll.......Fuck that! Also, Rush wouldn't be Rush without Geddy singing.

These guys put such a monumental effort into this album and it's a shame that hardly anyone plays at this level of perfection today.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
Another step forward. Arrangements have become more and more complex and Alex Lifeson's guitar work has reached a new level. The title suite is a bit long, but it alternates textures nicely and makes for a pleasant listening experience. "The Trees" rules. "Circumstances" is a heavy guitar rocker despite Geddy singing in French (pretensiousness warning!). But the piece de resistance is the scorching closing instrumental "La Villa Strangiato". Damn are these guys great musicians. 8/10.

email@idlemirth.com (David Mirth)
I hope you all don't mind an actual 'Rush geek' dropping in - no ... butting in to defend the Holy Trinity of thinking rockers everywhere. You guys are great commentators, albeit quite mistaken about the merits of Rush.

"Circumstances", even if you didn't ask me, is one intense rock song, and there is no need to apologize for the French section. It's great by any standard. "The Trees" ... well even you guys recognize how great "The Trees" is. The lyrics stand on their own as great poetry and social commentary. Geddy Lee's quirky voice is perfect for telling the story of this song. The rich sound of Alex Lifeson's classical training on guitar fits perfectly here. "La Villa Strangiato" is just a great instrumental and showcases Rush's individual virtuosity, in my opinion even better than their better-known live standard "YYZ."

The album Hemispheres in total is the perfect crown jewel of Rush's early album-oriented period. The clear, shining production quality of this album is perfectly appropriate. Hemispeheres, though not as raw and rocking as 2112, finally synthesizes the suite format into one cohesive work and delivers some great supporting album material.

eric.knauer@mtsint.com
In order to appreciate the lyrics of The Trees, it's essential that you know Neil Peart was a fan of Ayn Rand (atheist novelist/philosopher). In fact, in order to appreciate many of the songs he wrote, you should read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I asked my friend once about what he thought The Trees meant to him. His interpretation was that the Oak trees were unjustly and greedily consuming the sunlight from the Maple Trees, and that force needed to be used to correct this wrong. I told him that Peart was a fan of a certain writer that promoted egoism and laissez-faire capitalism, and that the song was actually an indictment of communism- more specifically the modern liberal theory of egalitarianism (equality through coercive wealth distribution). He thought I was being over-analytical of course, but I can assure anyone this is what The Trees is about. The Oaks represent what Karl Marx would call the bourgeois, or what Rand thought of as the productive and heroic members of society, and of course the Maples represent to oppressed proletariat. The cryptic and sarcastic lyric "And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, axe, and saw" symbolizes all the blood that has been spilled by government abuse, notably communist regimes that have murdered hundreds of millions in the name of promoting social justice through the state. Other classic Rush songs influenced by Rand include Freewill (indictment of determinism), Tom Sawyer ("No, his mind is not for rent, to any god or government"- classic Rand), Show Don't Tell, (promotes objective reality over mysticism, religion, and faith), Roll The Bones (ditto), and Heresy (sad song about lives wasted due to collectivist ideology).

Oh yeah, La Villa Strangiato has amazing guitar, bass, and especially drums. Good grief, these guys can jam.

Dan804935628@aol.com
Another descent one ,though not as good as 2112.La villa Strantiago (hope I spelled that right)jams as well as CIRCUMSTANCES (that one looks misspelled too)

pedroandino@msn.com
hey prindle! wanna hear a joke? picture this! on the cover of the album the naked man is standing near you! then i was watching futurama and i was choosing what guy or girl i shall make out with leela or fry? i say fry! call me gay but i think he is so sexy! oh! with his clean shaven face and sweet voice and recklessness and finally to top it all off, HIS UNDERWEAR! ANYHOW PRINDLE YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME! CAUSE BAD YOU FUCKER! MICKEY MANIA COBARDE!

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
Arguably Rush's most underrated release and one of my very favorites.

A great follow-up to Kings. This recording marks the end of an era for Rush, as subsequent releases would get much more commercial exposure and the music would, at times, begin to lose some of its hard edge. 8/10

DenBlake29@aol.com
this might be the lp where early rush fans, late rush fans, and non rush fans can come together and say this is quite good. i was weened on 2112 so this one took some time getting used to but before you knew it the first thing i did after school every day was to blow my eardrums out listineng to la villa. i mean ear pressed into the speaker. everyone say it altogether. that piece of music kicks ass. my rush rookie friends took to trees quickly. i agree rush might have been for geeks but i agree with the guy who said all along i thought i was being sophisticated. besides, my alltime favorite at the time was lynyrd skynyrd so i had more than enough geek room to spare. c'mon everyone. this lp is better than any piece of crap than the likes of styx and journey, though not as bad as styx, was just plain boring compared to these guys. still a rush fan.

- "Too many people give up in life under the false assumption that everything that happens to them if preordained. Since we will never be able to prove whether or not this is the case, why ruin your life by believing in such a defeatist philosophy? You CAN make the choice to believe in free will, so why not do so and take responsibility for your life?"

- "War is coming, but suddenly light streams down and makes everything better? Not sure about this one.

- "People - even lovers - are really only held together by very tiny emotional strings. We all live very different lives and have very different thoughts, and no two people will ever truly 'know' each other. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that people can't accept this existential isolation, stay together and grow together."

- "Geddy wrote this one. I think it's about band members having arguments."

- "We all get so caught up and concerned about the *IMPORTANCE* of our lives that we forget that our lives, and in fact the entire human race, is actually only about .000000000000001% of what is actually going on in the universe. Science must be tamed, just like nature. And the most endangered species (okay, this is kinda corny) is the honest man."

Like I said, I know that some of this stuff is Basic Philosophy 101, but these are issues that really matter to him, and could actually make a difference in the beliefs of Rush's young fans. Neil Peart is not a dumb guy! And as I said, he has continued down this path throughout the rest of Rush's career. Even when the music got wimpy and shitty, he was still looking at human relations and examining them in much closer, realistic and interesting detail than about 90% of the songwriters in the pop/rock universe. Sure, some of 'em suck dick ("Big Money" is dumb as hell, for example), but those were probably rush jobs. GET IT!??!?! 'RUSH' JTROJ AFDJk

This is a dammed fine album incidentally. The production is light beers better than before (the band actually sounds like they're right in front of the mics, rather than in a bathroom way down the hall) and Geddy's voice has matured to something at least slightly resembling a normal range and frequency. The choppity chops and complex ideas had always been present in the collective Rush mind, but here for the first time, everything really meshes into a gel. Replacing bombast with radio-friendly catchy pop riffs, but leaving in the instrumental fortitude that separated them from the Foreigner/Bad Company animals, Rush erupted with one HELL of a hit single, "The Spirit of Radio" (THAT RIFF! MY GOD! GREATEST RIFF EVER!), along with a bunch of other calmed-down, well-composed rock songs (including "Free Will," which gets stuck in my head probably 2 times a day). It unfortunately gets a little sluggish near the end (and the last song has about 18 different parts that don't flow together worth a SHIT!), but up until that point, it's chockadiddlefull of clever time signature changes, strong pop/rock/prog songwriting and lots of guitar arpeggios played with a chorusy sheen. Warning though: Keyboards are beginning to encroach upon that long-rockin' Rush distorted guitar sound. And that ain't metal! That ain't metal 't'all!

Reader Comments

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
Rush's second great album. More impressive than even Hemispheres. An improvement in overall sound quality and structure. More beautiful short songs and one magnificent extended suite, "Natural Science." "Jacob's Ladder" is superb!! "Freewill," "The Spirit Of Radio," and "Different Strings" are also awesome. "Entre Nous" is also very good. Overall, a 9/10 for this album.

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
This is my favorite one. All of the tunes are great, the lyrics are almost uniformly well-done, and the production is strong. No track is too long. "Natural Science" is almost 10 minutes long and doesn't lose pace for one second. The radio tunes are awesome, with "Freewill" probably being my single favorite Rush song of all. I agree, buy it now, since you can probably find it for like 8 bucks. 10.

JnJCable@worldnet.att.net (Neptune Salad)
ONLY 8 BUCKS! MY MOM HAD TO PAY ALMOST $100 FOR PERMANENT WAVES! Ha ha! But its amazing that after all this time, radio stations all over America still play "The Spirit of Radio", even though the synth styles of the 1980's are now way too out of touch, according to every music critic around today. So 10 out of 10 for the album that showed that Rush would evolve over time and still stay original.

charles.carlino@prudential.com (Charles Carlino)
This is without question my favorite Rush album. Definitely.

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
my first rush album. it was initially the lp's first side that grabbed me, but radio saturation of "freewill" and "spirit of..." have, over the years, led me to prefer and appreciate side 2 of this fine album. it was great to see/hear rush perform natural science on tour last summer!

angus_rap@hotmail.com (Alex R)
Rush`s best album PERIOD. " Natural Science " is their greatest song ever. Their best production also. You can also expect a lot of air guitar playing. So an easy 10/10. Get the remasterd version if you can.

Wiskeycorgi@cs.com
Best Rush album, hands down.

michael.blume@gte.net
Now there's a Rush album I could really sink my teeth into!! Permanent Waves is by far a very good Rush album I have heard thus far. I must admit that it took me like 3 or 4 listens to finally assimilate to it. As with the lyrics? Well, they had seemed to be an improvement over those of 2112 and Farewell To The Kings. For example, "The Spirit of Radio" features some elaborate, lovely lyrical structures, and is basically about radio and the positive aspects of it. I think that's pretty cool. From what I've read somewhere on a certain website, the song was a tribute to some Cleveland radio station who first played Rush's "Working Man" song. Anyways, it was better for Mr. Peart to veer into different subjects rather than just the mystical inspiration that totally dominated most of the previous 70's albums. "Freewill" also has an impressive blend of mysticism, which is luckily recessive, and the message about how it's better to give than recieve, which is the dominant part of the song that sounds a tad preachy, but not too preachy. The production is totally top-of-the-line, and Alex Lifeson really tears. Awesome guitar riffs all around. (YEAHH!!!!)

For now, it's an 8 out of 10 (just because the very last song is a little lengthy, and doesn't have enough of the thematic elaboration like Yes' "Close to the Edge" does). Like it a lot, though!!

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
This is probably Rush's best studio album, at least of the ones I've heard. "The Spirit of Radio" is a classic, and so is "Jacob's Ladder." "Freewill" is definitely the highlight for me, as Alex Lifeson pulls off an incredible guitar solo that makes me wonder why I've seen him described as "un-flashy." I also love the way that the solo segues back into the last verse through a repetition of the opening riff--very cool effect! "Entre Nous" is another annoying French-language-influenced song--where does Neil Peart get off with these? "Diff'rent Strings," although semi-acoustic, almost succeeds in its attempt at deep reflection. And then there's the Science suite, which is okay. Not enough of Alex going nuts (OK, I'll admit that's pretty much the only reason I like Rush). But it's pleasant enough as it is. I give it a 9 on the strength of the first three songs.

richbunnell@home.com
I agree with the rating, this is definitely one of Rush's more consistent albums. Sometimes the songs drag on longer than I'd like them to ("Jacob's Ladder" comes to mind) but this doesn't matter in light of awesome tunes like "Spirit Of Radio"(how cool is that keyboard-guitar interplay and those sudden time signature changes??) and the peppy-and-poppy-as-frig "Freewill." "Different Strings" is kind of light and unnoticable, but "Natural Science" and "Entre Nous" are really good, the former in particular being a really neat, monolithic, and hooky song basically the whole way through. Plus, the guitars are way up front for the whole album (which is less than I can say about Hold Your Fire) and the overall sound is a lot neater than almost anything Rush did before or since. I'd recommend it, myself-- Rush is really on top of its game when it's pulling off charmers like this.

sdennin@adelphia.net (Scotty Dennin)
While this album has a lot of good radio highlights and rocks at the same time, it's not my favorite.

Don't get me wrong, Spirit of Radio is a great tune... so is Freewill. However, the rest of it puts me to sleep. Natural Science is the only other good tune on this album that makes me want to pick up a bass and play along with the CD player.

Jacob's Ladder literally puts me to sleep. The guitar solo bassline is to much "The Trees" inspired. There are also hints of La Villa tossed into the mix. Frankly, I just don't care for it.

All else aside I am sure that Jacob's Ladder just taints my experience with this one, but to be fair to myself, I can't give it more then a 6/10.

LandCruiser96@aol.com
Buy this one for Natural Science.....one of the best they have ever done.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
Major change of direction as the band trades in the progressive style of the last three albums for a more mainstream sound, but still far more complicated and creative than your average mainstream rock band. A nice meld of progressive and rock. It works and the two hit singles "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill" brought them to a new level of popularity. And for anymore who thinks the "Spirit of Radio" is a celebration of radio clearly isn't listening to the lyrics closely enough. Sorry to break it to you but the song is a sarcastic indictment of how popular radio forces bands to betray their artistic selves. And the last song "Natural Science" is one of their last full blown progressive suites, and as Linda Richmond would say on Coffee Talk "it's like buttah". The best song on their best album so far, but the best is still yet to come! 9.

clash@iglou.com (Chris Carrier)
I like a lot of Rush songs, many out of nostalgia because I liked their stuff so much when I was younger. I stopped buying albums after Roll the Bones. (Shoulda stopped after Hold Your Fire). Anyway, it needs to be said (for the generation that discovered Rush at a certain age, us geeks) that the best part of this album is that you can see that hot chick's panties... and she doesn't seem to mind.

mbernfeld01@comcast.net
Every song on this album is pure gold. 9/10

DenBlake29@aol.com
even though moving pictures made them stars, i mean mass sale stars, this is really the best rush lp. yes freewill and spirit got radio play but in hindsight they primed the pump for moving pictures' commercial breakthrough. it was nice at the time to have one of your personal cult bands break through to national stardom. i went to the concert in 1981 knowing i was smoking dope to 2112 in 1978. anyhow, permanent waves is a great sounding record. will take spirit of radio over any concept piece from 2112. and waves just sounds better than pictures. and about energy. more life in these grooves than 2112. hem, pictures kings especially. ok la villa still rocks but this lp isn't quite as sludgy. love this record. not brilliant in the grand scheme of 50 years of rock n roll but that doesn't matter when you listen to it and find it so enjoyable.

Reader Comments

ronbevault@prodigy.net (Keith Jones)
The only flaws in Rush Retrospective I were not including "Working Man", a great rock song, and "Passage to Bangkok", my second favorite song from 2112. 8.989/10

pedroandino@msn.com
XANADU IS THE BEAUTIFUL PROG ANTHEM! HEY GUYS! LISTEN MAN! I DID TAPE AN EPISODE OF ADULT SWIM WELL.. 3 SHOWS FROM ADULT SWIM.. FAMILY GUY. FUTURAMA AND THE NEW SHOW FLCL. I SEEN AN EPISODE WHEN THOSE 3 KIDS LIVE IN JAPAN THEN THE GIRL WALKED INTO THE ALLEY AT NIGHT HAS A PET THAT ALMOST EATS ANYTHING! THEN IN THE MORNING ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! I'M NOT FUCKING SHITTING YOU! IT DOES! THEN A BOY AND THE VESPA RIDING GUITAR BABE COME TO THE RESCUE! THE NAMES ARE TAKUN. A SMALL KID WHO GOT WHACKED UPSIDE DA HEAD BY A GUITAR BABE NAMED HARUKO LIKE I MENTIONED. THE TWO AVOID A DETECTIVE THEN AGAIN ALL HELL BREAKS WHEN SHE HITS HIM WITH A GUITAR THEN THE SHAPE FORMING MUTANT ATE HIM BUT HEY IT DID NOT SWALLOW HIM! BUT IN HIS BELLY TAKUN IS FOUND! BUT THERE IS MORE CRAZINESS A ROBOT GRABS THAT BIG MOUNTAIN AND BLASTS THE RED LIGHT THEN HE IS A MUTATED VERSION OF HIM WITH A RED BODY AND GUITAR THEN THE TWO DUKE IT OUT IN A HYPERKENITC WAY! THEN JUST WHEN IT 'S ALL INSANITY TAKUN JOLTS DOWN BUT DID NOT CRASH THEN THE TWO KISS! AWWWWWWW SWEEET! LOVE ELECTRIC LOVE! BUT FINALLY SOMETHING SPROUTS HIS HEAD A DRAGON AND THE MUTANT IS DESTROYED LEAVING HALF THE CITY IN SHAMBLES ! FUCKED UP AND FUCKIN' COOL! THE VESPA CHICK IS MY FAVORITE. I RELATE TO THE CHARACTER IF ANY OF YA'LL SEE IT LET ME KNOW CAUSE I TAPED IT ! YAHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ITOO TAPED THE XANADU SONG AS A BATTLE THEME IN MY CASSETTE MY HOME MOVIE IS THE BRAIN OPERA! ANYHOW HARUKO ROCKS! MOTHERFUCKERS! GUITARS GUITARS! GUITARS! WHOOOOOOOOO! I LOVE YOU! CIAO!

One other thing to note is that Rush seems to be slowly bringing in more and more of those fuzzy Pete Townshend/Abacab-era Genesis synthesizers. And the music's getting a bit mellow too, which can't possibly taken as a good sign knowing what we now know about such upcoming treasures as Hold Your Fire and Presto. Why the hell couldn't they have had production this strong back when they were doing stuff like "Bastille Day"?

Ah yes, the lyrics. Still a few winners, but not quite as good as the last record. Like "Red Barchetta" is about how much Neil Peart likes driving really fast in his Uncle's car (*twirls index finger mockingly*). And I don't know what the hell he's on about in "Tom Sawyer." Side two covers crazy citypeople blind to history, witch hunts of hatred and fear, and... err... I think "Vital Signs" is about how people need to understand how their brains actually work and how it affects our daily interactions with other people (for example, if you are tired or upset, you are likely to act more like a bastard to somebody you love, so be careful and aware of this fact so you can prevent it from naturally occurring!). It might just be about The Empire Strikes Back though. My favorite one is "Limelight," the normal everyday man's reaction to being a member of a top-selling hard rock act. And what is his overriding emotion? Jubilation like David Lee Roth? Nope. Self-pity like Kurt Cobain? Nope! Neil looks at the phenomenon head-on, as a mature human being would, and tries to see it exactly as it is: "Living on the lighted stage approaches the unreal for those who think and feel in touch with some reality beyond the gilded cage/Cast in this unlikely role, ill-equipped to act with insufficient tact one must put up barriers to keep oneself intact. Living in the limelight, the universal dream for those who wish to seem. Those who wish to BE must put aside the alienation, get on with the fascination - the real relation, the underlying theme. Living in a fisheye lens caught in the camera eye, I have no heart to lie. I can't pretend a stranger is a long-awaited friend. All the world's indeed a stage and we are merely players, performers and portrayers - each another's audience outside the gilded cage." See? Now that's SMART! Every line in that song is thought out carefully, yet somehow it still rhymes. Do you see what he's saying? He's just a GUY, but he accepts that he is part of something that has drawn an audience of appreciators, just as he is an appreciator of other's talents. So he just gets on with it, doing his work - neither getting angry and bitching about the paparazzi nor bragging that showbiz is his life and he's the greatest drummer there ever was. He even admits his weak spots - having to put up barriers and not being able to be "Mr. Cheerful" to excited fans all the time. I like this Peart fellow! Bring him over for dinner or some bullshit.

Reader Comments

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
Rush's masterpiece? Even better than Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures is still one of "Rush's greatest albums." The songs "Tom Sawyer," "Red Barchetta," "YYZ" and "Vital Signs" are superb!! The extended suite, "The Camera Eye" is also superb!! However,"Witch Hunt" is great, but not magnificent! Overall a 9/10 for this one..

dstraub@geosys.com (David Straub)
Hmmm. Rush smoothed out and possibly dumbed-down a little for popular consumption.

It's not a bad thing! The hits still sound relatively fresh. "Red Barchetta" zings by like the car it describes. "YYZ" can get pretty tiresome, but the full-ensemble playing in it is good enough to let the wanking slide. "The Camera Eye" tries to combine lyrics with the instrumental oomph of "Natural Science" and in my mind doesn't quite gel, despite some of Neil's better writing. The lesser tunes toward the end don't do it for me the way the lesser tunes toward the end of Permanent Waves did. Still, it's another enjoyable Rush album, awarded an 8 by me.

charles.carlino@prudential.com (Charles Carlino)
AIDS humour is simply not funny, Prindle. You are an idiot.

csdtemp.temp@sun.com
another great album cover. album covers- a lost art! a dense, heavy release. a murky, overlooked 2nd side. certainly alex lifeson's last gasp in terms of aggressive, memorable guitar. synths and digital recording techniques will combine to sap the raw vitality from rush's sound in the 80's. still, Signals and grace under pressure (less so) are fine albums.

Stryker120@aol.com
I give a 10. In my opinion it's Rush's best album. Only Witch hunt is a detraction and really not that much of one. While most would disagree, I would have to say Red Barchetta is the best song on the album, and probably one of Rush's best writings ever.

Trashsurfr@aol.com
Am I insane, or were the sides flip-flopped on this album? Doesn't The Camera Eye sound like it should be the first song on the album? And doesn't Limelight sound like it should be the last song? I know I can program my CD player however I want but dammit, that's work!

ayoungno1@hotmail.com (Alex R)
Moving Pictures is without a doubt the most popular album in the entire Rush catolog. And for good reason because Side 1 is perhaps the greatest side on any Rush album. But I don't think that it's any better than Permanent Waves, because side 2 is not as exciting. " The Camera Eye " is too long and " Vital Signs " just bores the hell out of me, but I like " Witch Hunt " a lot thanks in part to the great synthesizer work by Geddy. Overall this album gets an 8.5/10 on the Prindle scale.

And for those of you who think that Rush should of quit after this one, here's a gigantic FUCK YOU.

richbunnell@home.com
Though I'm not a fan of Rush, I have to admit that this is a GREAT album. Pop masterpieces like "Limelight" and "Tom Sawyer"(which is like a bunch of catchy melodies rotating around a big, pompous synth crescendo), cool crunchy tunes like "Red Barchetta" and "YYZ," and epics like "The Camera Eye"(my favorite on the album) make this album well worth listening to. Plus, the band's playing is probably the best that it ever got before the great playing went over the edge and started to sound prosthetic and calculated (i.e. Power Windows). The album drifts off after the epic ends on the second side, but those two songs are still pretty good. I never thought I'd say this about a Rush album, but I'd give this a 9!

And, uh, the AIDS thing was a joke, Charlie.

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
Another disappointment for me...I got this album for the radio hits, which were excellent as expected, but the last three songs totally let me down! Especially "Camera Eye," which absolutely defies explanation as to why it is over ten minutes long. "Barchetta" is OK, and "YYZ" is an interesting song, although once again done much better on E:SL. Pretty much the only reason to own this is for "Limelight," although granted that may well be reason enough. I give it a 7 too.

sdennin@adelphia.net (Scotty Dennin)
I'll step away from the pack and say that Witch Hunt is the song that effects me the most lyrically speaking. I just love the opening to it, dark and murky, you can picture the lynch mob with torches.

However, YYZ does rock the house! I do think the melody is a bit repeated throughout, but musicians admit - the drum / bass licks (along with Alex's cool style changes) totally rock. As an amature bassist, these are the licks that God wrote. (although hearing Stu Hamm play them on Working Man is like watching McGuire pop number 72).

The overall feeling of the album is darker then Permanent Waves, but this is an excellent effort by Geddy and Crew. I give it a 9.

Amgreenberg@aol.com
BAM! This album kicks complete and total ass, devastating everything in its path. Never has rock, progressive, and pop been melded into a seamless whole the way it is on this album. Everyone knows "Tom Sawyer" and for good reason, it's a fucking knockout blow. Everything about that song works, especially Neil's drumming, which may defy some laws of physics. "Red Barchetta" succeeds admirably in conveying the feeling of being in a speeding car. "YYZ" is quite the instrumental. "Limelight" is incredibly beautiful, featuring a fantastic lyrical Alex Lifeson guitar solo. And perhaps the most underappreciated song on this album is the reggaeish closer "Vital Signs". Sure it's kind of inaccessible and hard to get into at first, but once you give it a few listens and let it sink in, it grows on you like cancer. I absolutely love it now. Just like I love this album. Without question a 10.

Dan804935628@aol.com
Commercial,very listenable,I give it a 9!

Jhensy2001@aol.com
Alright, Rush generally blows the cock of a sizable Canadian moose, but fer crissakes Witch Hunt is FAR AND AWAY the best thing they ever did. I suffered a younger brother in the next room who was a Rush fanatic for years, and know all their stuff just through osmosis through our bedroom walls. And ONLY Witch Hunt gave me that lean back, close your eyes, blast the headphones, double bong hit visions of ROCK HEAVEN I got from my Zeppelin/Genesis/ELP records.

opeth1213@yahoo.com (Eric D.)
like a lot of folks I started with Rush here, and while it's there most popular it's probably my favorite. All great songs... and I like Geddy's voice too. Much more than Robert Plant's actually... must be why I have 14 Rush albums and just have Zeppelin's best of double CD, but that's just my opinion. Probably my third favorite prog band after Jethro Tull and Porcupine Tree (But do I still like Yes? Yes.) Anyone my favorites on here in include the 3 hits, Witch Hunt and Camera Eye. That leaves Vital Signs and YYZ. Love to those too. 10/10.

s/t - 6
FBN - 8
CoS - 7
2112 - 8
FtK - 6
Hemispheres - 10
PW - 9
MP - 10*
Signals - 10
GoP - 9
Power Windows - 6
HYF - 4
Presto - 6
RtB - 5
Counterparts - 8
Test for Echo - 8
Vapor Trails - 8

ddickso2@uccs.edu
Eyyyyyyyy! Check it out! Now I'm ddickSO. Instead of SON. Meant to emphasize my growing nonchalance, not too mention becoming more than the son of Dick. Amen.

Ick. But wait--the album. Agree quite, Prindle--there's just not enough good songs and/or decent production on this overrated simply-written bore-disc that's not as good as Permanent Waves. In fact, I don't even think "Tom Sawyer" is that great a song. Limelight is, though. Ohhhhhh, "Limelight" is. Though. Though it is, "Lime". I give it an identical 7.

I say all this because I joined the dark side (or, in technical terms, the "dock side") today and listened to THREE POMPOUS PRETENTIOUS PROGRESSIVE METAL ALBUMS IN A DING DANG ROW. For the record, Dream Theater's Images and Words is pretty good but only just so, Dream Theater's Train of Thought is ass-kicking but only just such, but Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime is OH MY CRAP THE BEST CRAPPING ALBUM THAT EVER CRAPPED OF ALL CRAP (IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING)!!!!! At least in its genre. Damn that '80's hair metal. Why did it have to go and get itself a diamond in the rough?? Because it's permed and curly and has no moustache, that's why. Get that album.

Oh sorry, this is a double-live album, featuring three tracks each from Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, two each from A Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres, one each from 2112 and Fly By Night and a BRAND NEW minute-and-a-half instrumental somber guitar arpeggiator called "Broon's Bane" just for you! But who picked this SHITTY song list? "Red Barchetta"? Ooo, there's a real pulse-pounder. "YYZ"? Oh yeah, a drum solo will sound GREAT two songs in! "A Passage To Bangkok"? Yeah, if fuckin' Lifeson had just played the tough hard rock lick CORRECTLY instead of fucking it up with his "art stylings." Which he did in the studio version too, incidentally. Why ruin an awesome riff by dicking around with it? Just play the fuckin' riff! What are you, afraid you'll sound too much like Aerosmith? Believe me, that'd be a GOOD thing (if we're talking about '70s Aerosmith). And "Beneath, Between & Behind"!? It's got potential, sure, if you want to hear a shuffly cover of that cool fast part in Led Zep's "Heartbreaker." Otherwise, THANKS but NO THANKS.

On the other hand, the remaining nine songs are FUCKING THE GREATEST FUCKING SONGS EVER - HAVE YOU FUCKING HEARD "XANADU"?!?! "FREE WILL"!?!?! "THE SPIRIT OF RADIO"!?!?! "TOM SAWYER"!?!?! JESUS FUCKING ASS FUCK MY ASS FUCKED JESUS!!!

So if you don't own any Rush albums and you just want a quick sampling of the band at their commercial peak, you'll probably be able to find this muffled prick-basket in any dollar bin in the nation. But hey, don't take my word for it - look how much Keith Davis loves it!

Reader Comments

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Keith Davis)
Rush's masterpiece!! Quite simply, even though this is a live album, this is Rush's best work, every single person on the planet Earth (who can afford this) should own this remastered cd. There never has been a better "art-rock" album ever released!! This album borders very close to perfection. If I were on a desert isle and could only take one album with me, this would be it!! The songs "The Spirit Of Radio," "Red Barchetta," "A Passage To Bangkok," "Beneath,Between & Behind,"(even though, this doesn't belong here) "Tom Sawyer" and "Freewill" are superb. "Jacob's Ladder" and "YYZ" are also superb!! However, the true presence of perfection is found in that piece de resistance-- which begins with "Broon's Bane," (an instrumental introduction to "The Trees") segues into "The Trees" and concludes with Rush's magnum opus, "Xanadu." Ah, nev