The Best of Rush - The Keyboard Era (IMHO)

[Scott]

Time to switch eras...  There are two albums in between the transition from hard-core progressive to keyboard.  We'll leave them for another list.

The keyboard era is the most controversial in Rush's storied history.  Most fans dislike this era the most, but for some reason we all own everyone of these albums as well.  Because the reality is that Keyboard Rush is still better than 95% of the music on the market anyway. 

This era covers the albums Signals through Hold Your Fire.  Some would say Hold Your Fire was the album they restored guitar, and they did, but to me, the keyboard still dominates Hold Your Fire so I lump it in this era because it fits well.

Lets extract 10 of these keyboard favorites and see if we stir up some conversation...

SIGNALS / 1982

Subdivisions

Still a concert staple and one of their all time best

Chemistry

Well crafted and played, just a real nice Rush track.

New World Man

This was a radical departure when I first heard, it was like being shocked!

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE / 1984

Distant Early Warning
Seeing this performed Live really brought this track alive.  It took me awhile to warm up to this album

Red Sector A
This one quietly became one of my all time favorite Rush tracks period.

POWER WINDOWS / 1985

Manhattan Project
This album took me the longest to warm up to, this track helped me get there.

Territories
Little off the more well known path, but I like this one.

Mystic Rhythms
Watching Peart play this is very cool, he's like a machine!  Perfection!

HOLD YOUR FIRE / 1987

Force Ten
If you listen close enough you can hear the guitars.  hahaha.

Time Stand Still
A hit song, with Aimee Mann.


Heres the Playlist link..
http://www.podsnack.com/published-players/details/?list&hash=ec...

[RJhog (Admin)]

Cool, but it may take me a bit to listen to both lists...so don't think I'm not gonna if my comments don't show up soon.

[Scott]

tis the holiday season, go enjoy family! I'm not worried about whether my posts get comments or not, they are too much fun to think about and pull together anyway! I've just been holding onto these two lists for awhile and wanted to get them out of my queue so I could finish some Ive got half done and start some other cool ideas...

[RJhog (Admin)]

I wonder how many Kiss songs I'd have to put on the list to get to 88 minutes??? :-)

I think Jungle from Carnival Of Souls is their longest, clocking in at a whopping 6:49...

[Jon]

I'm with Rjhog, I see the list AND I WILL LISTEN...just have to find a timeframe to do so, even though I have al the Rush studio albums. Not a big fan of the three after "Signals" (which is a GREAT album) but maybe this will change my mind.

[Niels (Mod)]

"Red sector A" is one of my favorites too, if not THE favorite RUSH-song!! I love the lyrics in that song: "All that we can do is just survive. All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive" and "For my father and my brother, it's too late, But I must help my mother stand up straight". That last line allways "sends shivers down my spine"!! It's like a scene from "Schindlers list" or something like that!!

The first RUSH-album I bought, was "Hold your fire" in 1987, and I read somewhere, that the first RUSH-album you buy (or listen to) will allways be among your favorites. It's true in my case. I guess, it's not one of their strongest albums, but I love it!!

[RJhog (Admin)]

It's Saturday morning and I'm at work, so what a great time to listen. I'll just make it a Rush morning by heading over to Scott's other list as soon as I finish writing this.

I've made it no secret in the past that I'm not a big fan of Geddy Lee's vocals. But I've made a decision. I'll no longer expect his vocals to be anything other than what they are. Once I accept that, I can see that they aren't nearly as bad as I've always thought. When I sit back and think about it, they really do fit this band. That being said, I enjoyed this playlist Scott.

Two songs in particular really stand out to me. The first is New World Man. I've always kind of liked it, and lyrically, it's exceptional. One of the smartest lines I've ever heard is "he's old enough to know what's right and young enough not to choose it". That is so spot-on. You can tell a kid a hundred times what to do and what not to do, and how many times do they choose what's not right? Just a perfect line.

The second is Red Sector A. This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite Rush tracks as well. I heard it on the radio yesterday and I was hoping it was on one of these two lists. I don't know Rush well enough to guess which one it would have been on, but Scott didn't disappoint. This just has an overall great sound and is right behind Tom Sawyer for me now.

Outstanding playlist Scott!!

[Scott]

Thank you Sir!

[Jon]

Another good list but I would have made a couple different choices for "Grace Under Pressure", with those being "The Body Electric" and "Kid Gloves".

I'm proud of you for not including "The Big Money" from "Power Windows", the song just seems forced or something. I would have picked "Marathon" though.

As for "Hold Your Fire"....other than "Force Ten" it's a pretty bland album. I have tried and tried to get into it but this album and the next two just can't hold my interest.