Rush

Top 5 Rush Albums/Next Band

  • Total voters
    87
Caress of Steel (1975)
Bastille Day - 8/10
I Think I’m Going Bald - 1/10
Lakeside Park - 6/10
The Necromancer - 4/10
The Fountain of Lamneth - 5/10

Album rating - 4.8/10

Easily Rush's weakest album, and even the band thinks so. There is simply no cohesion to the album at all (sometimes even within the songs themselves) and it just feels like a giant drug trip.
  • Bastille Day is the only worthwhile song here. All around a solid tune.
  • I Think I'm Going Bald is the dumbest song in their catalog. Yes, it's worse than Dog Years. Yes, it's worse than Tai Shan. The lyrics are atrocious and the music is incredibly pedestrian.
  • Lakeside Park is fine, but it mostly just drifts on by. It is pleasant enough, I suppose.
  • The Necromancer has a very cool middle section full of heavy, proto-prog metal riffing and jamming, but the song itself is a disjointed, lame mess. The spoken word bits are absurd, the story is not a story (for some reason By-Tor is back and he's a good guy now?), and the musical sections just don't really gel together.
  • Lamneth gets points solely for allowing the band future confidence. As a song, it's not good. The parts fade in and out of each other with poor transitions, it's way, way too long and verbose for a story that boils down to "you're born, you live, you die", and there's just way too much of the samey acoustic sections throughout. It allowed the band to write much, much better epics going forward, though, and for that we are thankful.
  • Really, really bad album.
 
MrK said:
Caress of Steel (1975)
Bastille Day - 8/10
I Think I’m Going Bald - 1/10
Lakeside Park - 6/10
The Necromancer - 4/10
The Fountain of Lamneth - 5/10

Album rating - 4.8/10

Easily Rush's weakest album, and even the band thinks so. There is simply no cohesion to the album at all (sometimes even within the songs themselves) and it just feels like a giant drug trip.
  • Bastille Day is the only worthwhile song here. All around a solid tune.
  • I Think I'm Going Bald is the dumbest song in their catalog. Yes, it's worse than Dog Years. Yes, it's worse than Tai Shan. The lyrics are atrocious and the music is incredibly pedestrian.
  • Lakeside Park is fine, but it mostly just drifts on by. It is pleasant enough, I suppose.
  • The Necromancer has a very cool middle section full of heavy, proto-prog metal riffing and jamming, but the song itself is a disjointed, lame mess. The spoken word bits are absurd, the story is not a story (for some reason By-Tor is back and he's a good guy now?), and the musical sections just don't really gel together.
  • Lamneth gets points solely for allowing the band future confidence. As a song, it's not good. The parts fade in and out of each other with poor transitions, it's way, way too long and verbose for a story that boils down to "you're born, you live, you die", and there's just way too much of the samey acoustic sections throughout. It allowed the band to write much, much better epics going forward, though, and for that we are thankful.
  • Really, really bad album.
Click to expand...
I'd give Necromancer a higher score here, especially for the latter portion of the song. I do love the proto-prog metal riffing (I like your description here), then after a short bit of inane spoken word blather it launches into a heavy, blues-drenched solo that continues through the song's fade out. I love it when that final solo gets stuck in my head for a while.

But yes overall they needed to put the bong down for a bit longer when they were putting this album together.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrK
mtmccox said:
I was only reading your reviews for days and days and so, but today I was raised from my chair. Only 4 to Superconductor?! How very dare you.
Click to expand...
It’s got some get-up-and-go but it’s incredibly lame, especially those chorus backing vocals.

Permanent Waves (1980)
The Spirit of Radio - 10/10
Freewill - 10/10
Jacob’s Ladder - 9/10
Entre Nous - 8/10
Different Strings - 7/10
Natural Science - 10/10

Album rating - 9/10

Rush begins their peak era with an absolute banger!
  • The Spirit of Radio and Freewill is maybe the single best 1-2 punch in the discography. Two absolutely perfect songs launching us into Rush’s two best albums. There is not a moment wasted or faltered on either track. Absolutely peak Rush at their most creative and joyous.
  • Jacob’s Ladder is a beautiful tone poem set to music. This one has grown on me immensely over the years. I can literally see them playing this song on the R40 tour in my minds eye and that performance significantly raised the bar. It could stand to lose 30-60 seconds, but still a beautiful work of art.
  • Entre Nous is fun and well-written, but definitely can’t measure up to the other greatness on the album. Still a great song!
  • Different Strings is easily the best Geddy lyric in the discography. It’s a very nice piece. Honestly, I’d rate it the same as Entre Nous if it weren’t for that terrible fade out.
  • Natural Science might be the heaviest and proggiest thing they ever did. Obviously the production can’t live up to the more modern records, but this song is just so damn powerful. A masterpiece.
  • Fucking kudos, boys.
 
Snakes and Arrows (2007)
Far Cry - 10/10
Armor and Sword - 8/10
Workin’ Them Angels - 8/10
The Larger Bowl - 7/10
Spindrift - 4/10
The Main Monkey Business - 9/10
The Way the Wind Blows - 8/10
Hope - 5/10
Faithless - 3/10
Bravest Face - 8/10
Good News First - 2/10
Malignant Narcissism - 8/10
We Hold On - 9/10

Album rating - 6.8/10

A bloated late stage album that has some true gems and some true misses.
  • The band was definitely in a much better place and hired a much better producer here: the album sounds great! Instrumentally, the guys seem to be playing with a ton of exuberance, while lyrically, Neil was in his peak "old atheist yelling at clouds" phase.
  • Far Cry is easily the best song the band released since Counterparts and also better than a lot of what came before! It's just such an incredibly energetic and ballsy tune. Apparently it was one of those lightning in a bottle songs that just came out of them during a jam - these compositions are almost always a gift (not from God, definitely not from God, don't you believe in science, you fools?!).
  • We Hold On is a lovely capstone to the record. A ton of energy after the bloat of the album. I love the experimental sounds and tones Alex is working with here (and on other parts of the album).
  • Armor and Sword has an amazing chorus and pre-chorus (though really tuneless verse vocals), Workin' Them Angels is another late-stage catchy tune, and Neil's great lyrics push The Way The Wind Blows and Bravest Face a point or two higher. I really enjoy all these songs. The Larger Bowl is also pleasant.
  • Having 3 instrumentals certainly feels like padding, even if The Main Monkey Business is phenomenal (and recorded live!). Home is beautiful, but throwaway, Malignant Narcissism is incredibly funky and fun, but way too short. I wish both had been expanded into full songs as they have more life than some of the actual tracks with lyrics.
  • The remaining tracks are straight up bad for one reason or another: Spindrift has the heaviest moments on the album but shoves a completely bland song in between those moments, Faithless has a great message but lyrics that lack nuance or catchiness and a nonexistent melody, and Good News First just really sucks.
  • All in all: a massive upgrade from Vapor Trails but falls victim to the "aging band doesn't know how to edit themselves" trap.
 
Counterparts (1993)
Animate - 10/10
Stick it Out - 8/10
Cut to the Chase - 8/10
Nobody’s Hero - 10/10
Between Sun & Moon - 7/10
Alien Shore - 7/10
The Speed of Love - 3/10
Double Agent - 7/10
Leave That Thing Alone - 10/10
Cold Fire - 10/10
Everyday Glory - 8/10

Album rating - 8.0/10

A rare bright (and heavy) spot in the 90s era of Rush!
  • First and foremost: I don't think Alex Lifeson has ever had more consistently great and weighty guitar tones! Whatever Kevin Shirley did while recording and however this was mixed and mastered, he sounds absolutely massive. I love how prominent the guitar is throughout the album and yet it never drowns anything out. This may be my favorite overall production on any single Rush album.
  • Animate is a stone cold classic, a driving tour de force of a song. Nobody's Hero is a beautiful power ballad that somehow works despite the thick, immense layers of cheese. Cold Fire is another masterpiece of their songwriting. So catchy and powerful.
  • Leave That Thing Alone has, IMO, the single best moment of guitar and bass interplay in their history and probably my favorite Geddy bassline. What an absolute beast of a riff and melody!
  • Some other tracks get up there with some great musicality (they were really on fire throughout this album) and mostly good lyrics, such as Stick It Out, Cut to The Chase and Everyday Glory.
  • For some reason the bizarre experiments this time around don't bug me in the overall sense, but they do lower the scores of some songs (here's looking at you weirdo post-modern chorus of Between Sun & Moon or awkward Geddy poetry in Double Agent).
  • The Speed of Love really tanks the album score, though, as it is just woefully lame. The only thing that saves it is Geddy's cheeky porno bass in the bridge.
 
I got a bit to unpack here!

MrK said:
Presto (1989)
Click to expand...
My new scores only really readjusted which songs were 8's:

Show Don't Tell - 7/10
Chain Lightning - 8/10
The Pass - 8/10
War Paint - 7/10
Scars - 7/10
Presto - 7/10
Superconductor - 7/10
Anagram (for Mongo) - 6/10
Red Tide - 8/10
Hand Over Fist - 4/10
Available Light - 8/10

Total: 70%

This is an album I like living within when it's on, but there's not a whole lot that actually breaks free of that passive state. "Hand Over Fist" is pretty banal, but at least Alex's guitar in it is pretty cool. "Red Tide" is easily the most exciting song on the album.

MrK said:
Available Light - 10/10
Click to expand...
My criticism of this one is that unlike so many other Rush songs of their later work, they don't fully expand "Available Light" to its full potential. I want every pre-chorus to get that second repeat like the first one does. I want the instrumental section to transport me away fully. They have such a beautiful, powerful song, but it's too short.

MrK said:
Counterparts (1993)
Animate - 10/10
Stick it Out - 8/10
Cut to the Chase - 8/10
Nobody’s Hero - 10/10
Between Sun & Moon - 7/10
Alien Shore - 7/10
The Speed of Love - 3/10
Double Agent - 7/10
Leave That Thing Alone - 10/10
Cold Fire - 10/10
Everyday Glory - 8/10

Album rating - 8.0/10
Click to expand...
Finally our overall takes align, although the individual scores are once again so fucking different:

Animate - 9/10
Stick It Out - 7/10
Cut to the Chase - 7/10
Nobody's Hero - 9/10
Between Sun & Moon - 10/10
Alien Shore - 10/10
The Speed of Love - 7/10
Double Agent - 3/10
Leave That Thing Alone - 8/10
Cold Fire - 9/10
Everyday Glory - 10/10

Total: 81%

The biggest score change by far for me. I feel like I've connected emotionally with this album in a way I hadn't back when I wrote my review. I love how thematically each song plays off each other within a larger puzzle, how the record flows, how big this sound is. Even something that should be lesser like "Speed of Love" is boosted because there's a place for it within the album.

"Double Agent" though... what the fuck were they doing here. It has good ideas but it's just a jumbled mess. Straight up bad song structure and a blight on an otherwise killer record.

MrK said:
Caress of Steel (1975)
Bastille Day - 8/10
I Think I’m Going Bald - 1/10
Lakeside Park - 6/10
The Necromancer - 4/10
The Fountain of Lamneth - 5/10

Album rating - 4.8/10

Easily Rush's weakest album, and even the band thinks so. There is simply no cohesion to the album at all (sometimes even within the songs themselves) and it just feels like a giant drug trip.
Click to expand...
You're killin' me man. I agree it's not cohesive, but "Bald" has a cool riff, "Necromancer" has some great guitar work, and "Fountain" to me feels more cohesive as a song than "2112" (although having marinated in my thoughts the latter is the stronger song overall).

You wanna talk about a bad album? Test for Fuckin Echo.

Test for Echo - 7/10
Driven - 6/10
Half the World - 4/10
The Color of Right - 3/10
Time and Motion - 3/10
Totem - 4/10
Dog Years - 4/10
Virtuality - 8/10
Resist - 6/10
Limbo - 7/10
Carve Away the Stone - 5/10

Total: 52%

Some scores went up - "Resist" and the title track have grown on me - but most of it went down. "Virtuality" remains the only great cut on the album. This record is bloated, mostly pointless, a band so much on autopilot that I can't believe it's the same band that did Counterparts let alone wrote some of the greatest rock back in the '70s and '80s. Even the production is worse. I love Neil but these lyrics make the critics seem justified. Their worst album by a fucking landslide. I wish I was listening to Caress of Steel.
 
A Farewell to Kings (1977)
A Farewell to Kings - 9/10
Xanadu - 10/10
Closer to the Heart - 9/10
Cinderella Man - 7/10
Madrigal - 4/10
Cygnus X-1 Book 1: The Voyage - 8/10

Album rating - 7.8/10

Rush verges on their classic period with another mixed bag full of genius potential and lots of weed.
  • The first 3 tracks on the record do everything right in different directions: the title track a heavy, wacky prog rock song with a lasting message, Xanadu a perfect and ambient epic with pure artistry in every performance (and it was recorded live in studio!!!) and Closer to the Heart a classic little pop rock nugget.
  • The final 3 tracks veer off into the wrong direction: Cinderella Man a decent enough funky song with some actually alright Geddy lyrics that just never really goes the extra mile, Madrigal is pretty enough but barely a song, and Cygnus part 1 getting so close to something great but drowning a bit too much in wackiness, shouting vocals and, well, drugs.
  • The heavy bass and drum parts on Cygnus are amazing, though.
  • Anyone who thinks Geddy’s voice is annoying should listen to the Dream Theater cover of Xanadu. Holy shit.
 
Diesel 11 said:
My criticism of this one is that unlike so many other Rush songs of their later work, they don't fully expand "Available Light" to its full potential. I want every pre-chorus to get that second repeat like the first one does. I want the instrumental section to transport me away fully. They have such a beautiful, powerful song, but it's too short.
Click to expand...
I adore the song but I can see your point. I think this actually happens a lot on later Rush albums. The bridges just kind of coast. They don’t go where you want them to and I feel like it’s usually Alex just kind of hanging back when he should let loose.

Diesel 11 said:
Finally our overall takes align, although the individual scores are once again so fucking different:
Click to expand...
This feels like the mission statement for all Rush fan opinions. “Hell yeah we love Rush!…oh wait we love Rush for different reasons…Hell yeah we love Rush!”

Diesel 11 said:
The biggest score change by far for me. I feel like I've connected emotionally with this album in a way I hadn't back when I wrote my review. I love how thematically each song plays off each other within a larger puzzle, how the record flows, how big this sound is.
Click to expand...
The production is really spectacular and feels incredibly full. I wish Clockwork Angels had this production.

Diesel 11 said:
“Double Agent" though... what the fuck were they doing here. It has good ideas but it's just a jumbled mess. Straight up bad song structure and a blight on an otherwise killer record.
Click to expand...
It IS a weird and messy song, but for some reason it interests me.

Diesel 11 said:
You're killin' me man. I agree it's not cohesive, but "Bald" has a cool riff, "Necromancer" has some great guitar work, and "Fountain" to me feels more cohesive as a song than "2112" (although having marinated in my thoughts the latter is the stronger song overall).
Click to expand...
“A cool riff” that could’ve been in any rock song from the era. I stand by this being my least favorite aspect of Rush.

Diesel 11 said:
You wanna talk about a bad album? Test for Fuckin Echo.
Click to expand...
Diesel 11 said:
Some scores went up - "Resist" and the title track have grown on me - but most of it went down. "Virtuality" remains the only great cut on the album. This record is bloated, mostly pointless, a band so much on autopilot that I can't believe it's the same band that did Counterparts let alone wrote some of the greatest rock back in the '70s and '80s. Even the production is worse. I love Neil but these lyrics make the critics seem justified. Their worst album by a fucking landslide. I wish I was listening to Caress of Steel.
Click to expand...
It’s a very bad album, but I never wish I was listening to Caress of Steel.
 
MrK said:
A Farewell to Kings (1977)
Click to expand...
The only album (so far) with no change in the scores whatsoever:

A Farewell to Kings - 8/10
Xanadu - 10/10
Closer to the Heart - 10/10
Cinderella Man - 7/10
Madrigal - 8/10
Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage - 8/10

Total: 86%

This for me is the start of Rush's peak. 2112 and Caress had missteps, but this album is consistent from start to finish and while not perfect, does have some of the best material in the discography. I can see the title track rising higher with time, too.

MrK said:
Xanadu a perfect and ambient epic with pure artistry in every performance (and it was recorded live in studio!!!)
Click to expand...
It's the best Rush song by far. Nothing else is as Rush as this song is Rush. So much flair and pizzazz and each of the three band members gives pretty much the best performances in their whole careers. The fact that they recorded it live and then could go out and play it live every night blows my mind. And no one has ever looked as cool as Alex and Geddy with matching double-necks.
MrK said:
  • Cygnus part 1 getting so close to something great but drowning a bit too much in wackiness, shouting vocals and, well, obviously drugs.
  • The heavy bass and drum parts on Cygnus are amazing, though.
Click to expand...
I still just wish this song had some more cohesion. I actually like Geddy's screech at the end because they feel like what you'd expect from being torn apart by a black hole.
 
MrK said:
“A cool riff” that could’ve been in any rock song from the era. I stand by this being my least favorite aspect of Rush.
Click to expand...
I dunno man, a cool riff is a cool riff. And to be clear, I don't love the song, it's easily the worst on the album, but even then it's only a 6/10 for me. I think the big thing with Caress is that it still sounds like classic Rush to me. And I love classic Rush.
 
Grace Under Pressure (1984)
Distant Early Warning - 10/10
Afterimage - 10/10
Red Sector A - 10/10
The Enemy Within - 10/10
The Body Electric - 8/10
Kid Gloves - 7/10
Red Lenses - 5/10
Between the Wheels - 10/10

Album rating - 8.7/10

One of my truest Rush loves remains just that - a haunting, yet fun, synth-driven album with some of their absolute best songwriting.
  • Side A of P/G is easily my favorite 4 song stretch in Rush's entire history. Distant Early Warning and Red Sector A were the first two songs where Rush actually clicked for me. I think it was the darkness of the lyrics paired with the dreamy 80's instrumentation (and that incredibly bombastic, almost Trans-Siberian Orchestra bridge of DEW).
  • Afterimage is a beautifully simplistic lyric from Neil wrapped into the perfect song. The Enemy Within is a candidate for best Geddy bass of all time (and stands out even more considering this album favors synths over bass pretty often). His bass is the main riff, guys!
  • Side B, admittedly, falls off for the most part but it's still pretty good! The Body Electric feels a bit samey and lame, but it's still a fun song, Kid Gloves sounds like the guys are really enjoying themselves and sounds the most like older Rush, and Red Lenses is pretty dumb but groovy as all hell and the drums 'n' bass are just delicious.
  • Between The Wheels returns to the heights of Side A with some incredibly poignant lyrics and a killer vocal delivery from Geddy.
  • I think Alex cuts through a lot more on this album than the other synth records. He seems to have more weight and pick moments better.
 
I love Grace Under Pressure but I probably love it the least of the classic album run from Hemispheres to Power Windows.
Yes, including Signals. Still GUP has been in my rotation ever since it was released and there's a lot of great music there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrK
There we have it, my random Rush speed run is complete!

Final rankings (stealing @Jer's idea here since I think it's nice):

01. Moving Pictures - 9.2 >
02. Permanent Waves - 9.0 >
Excellent​
03. Grace Under Pressure - 8.7 >
04. Clockwork Angels - 8.5 >
05. Hemispheres - 8.5 >
06. Signals - 8.1 >
07. Counterparts - 8.0 >
Great​
08. A Farewell to Kings - 7.8 >
09. Power Windows - 7.8 >
10. Hold Your Fire - 6.9 >
11. Snakes & Arrows - 6.8 >
12. 2112 - 6.6 >
Good​
13. Roll the Bones - 6.4 >
14. Fly By Night - 6.2 >
15. Presto - 6.1 >
16. Vapor Trails - 6.0 >
17. Test for Echo - 6.0 >
OK​
18. Rush - 5.7 >
19. Caress of Steel - 4.8 >
Not Good​
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top