All opinions are respected here…we won’t judge you (mostly😏😂)
Totally agree
Even SiriusXM plays the same 3 Rush songs
Unless it’s changed since my membership ended, Tom Sawyer, The Spirit of Radio, and Limelight?
Freewill too.
I will never tire of hearing, Time Stands Still. That song is musical and lyrical perfection.
I've caught Red Barchetta every now and then.
Lucky duck!
They play Subdivisions a lot too.
Depends what station I guess. I've seen Classic Rewind play Freewill, Subdivisions, New World Man and Closer to the Heart as well. Ozzy's Boneyard plays Fly By Night, though I'm not sure if they play anything else.
Edit: I saw that The Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, Limelight, Fly by Night, and Working Man were all recently played on Ozzy's Boneyard, so definitely a decent variety of the hits.
Boneyard has some deeper cuts, and Classic Vinyl has been better lately as well. I'll hear me some Trees, Bangkok, Red Barchetta, stuff from Signals.
Disgusting.
I've heard Fly by Night once on the radio.
Sadly, "playlists" are still a thing for radio stations.
Ya they got a lotta great trax that can fit the radio format, don’t need to do Tom Saywer Limelight and Red Barchetta on repeat (great songs but rush have many rock-radio-ready prog anthems, it’s one of the things they do best)
It's been like that on the radio for decades. "Tom Sawyer" or "Limelight".
Lifeson has two videos on YouTube that take you all the way through how he plays them.
After following along and managing to make noises resembling the songs, I have a new appreciation.
You listen to the radio?!
I made a cassette and left Tom Sawyer off.
Tai Shan. It isn't a bad song per se, but it just feels like a last minute inclusion.
With Hold Your Fire having such a focus on emotions and empathy an ending song that says "I went to China guys, it was fuckin' beautiful" just makes me inclined to skip it
Tai Shan is like a special gem from the late 80s. It’s cheesy, but it has a certain charm.
I recall that being Geddy's least favorite track. I think he said, "what were we thinking"?
Neil’s lyrics and prose sometimes had a tendency for him to gush about things that impressed him. As a matter of fact, if I had to point out one negative aspect of his writing, that would be it. But that’s about the only thing I could ever point to.
Nobody’s Hero. Nothing against the subject of the song, but the song in general never did it for me
Same thoughts. It was an album track but it just wasn’t Rush.
Can't really get into it... and I'm prob gonna get crap for this but the lyrics and the vibe are a little too schmaltzy... Or maybe "sappy" is the better word
I love that song.
Rivendell
Can’t agree with you. It’s totally different from everything else, I’ll give you that, but I still love it.
Fine by me. To me it’s just the least Rushiest of all Rush songs, and that includes anything in their debut album.
Huh, to me it sounds like a 2112 precursor
It's also boring as shit.
Yeah.
To each their own. I wish they'd done more songs like Rivendell.
Dog Years
Damn, I love Dog Years. I understand the criticism, but I really enjoy it.
Good. I wish I liked it more.
Agreed. Similar lyrical territory is much more effectively explored elsewhere.
Precisely
I live TfE but dog years man
Yeah I love TFE, but I always skip Dog Years.
Agreed. This is the only one that makes me cringe and apologize to those around me.
Yep, probably the worst Rush song of all time. It’s like shockingly bad, almost like they wrote it as a parody of themselves if they were awful songwriters debuting in the 90s.
We're livin' in the dog ears. This and Tai Shan are the worst imo
Dog Years.
I just can't. The lyrics are horrid, and Geddy doesn't sing them any good either.
The instrumental is good, but not the best.
Worst Rush song I've heard imo.
Agreed. Times ... seven?
The after listening to the Top songs for like a year straight just get skipped now like Tom Sawyer, Subdivisions and most of Moving Pictures
I’m not much of a fan of their first album
Haven't found one yet for me anyways. Sure some are better than others. But I love them all...
I second this opinion
That's a great question, there are some songs that I'm not crazy about. But that said, I've come to enjoy every song for some reason or another.
The Larger Bowl
I despise almost everything on that album
I never paid it much attention but after watching the making of that album there's a couple of keepers for me that stand out. The rest, nah.
Mission. I think it is well written lyrically, and is overall a good song...but it just never hits with me.
I think for me it just sort of sets the bar for the furthest Rush ever was from being a rock band. I just find it a bit slow and sappy. I don't dislike it but it definitely isn't my favourite. I did like the live version from Snakes and Arrows a lot more though.
The outro solo is pretty tasty tho
Agreed! I actually think it's a good song and there genuinely aren't any Rush songs I dislike and I never skip any. Mission is just one that doesn't click with me as much as a lot of others.
My dad swears by Kid Gloves being the best song off Grace Under Pressure but tbh I'd put it at C-Tier at best.
It literally took years for Kid Gloves to grow on me. I don’t even know what resulted in my opinion shifting, I just remember having had your exact same thoughts on it my first few listens of P/G
Completely understandable. Kid Gloves is my favorite off P/G but it is a very non Rush sounding song. I like how it's different and sounds like it belongs in a John Hughes film.
Oh I love Kid Gloves! Love the playful sounding guitar
Rivendell. I don’t hate it. It just bores me every time!😴
That’s my only Rush song where I would absolutely skip it!😂
Time Stands Still. In my mind I just see that goofy video.
Time Stands Still has grown a lot more on me since I’ve become more of an adult - I used to see it as probably the least Rush-y Rush song that I could think of, and even liking it more now, I still think that’s true, lol.
The arrangement is more pop than rock, which makes it something I don’t enjoy. I’m weird that way I guess.
There aren't any I hate, but I'll skip Big Money when listening to Power Windows
I skipped it for like 20 years due to overplaying it when it came out, but it now it is one of my favorites again, the bass and guitar solo are amazing. Solo actually makes it a "must listen" just by itself!
Closer to the heart but it more a case of hearing it too much and getting sick of it
Need Some Love.
Nobody's Hero Stick It Out Come to think of it, most of Counterparts.
Counterparts is one of my favorite albums. I really like the harder edge and the back to basics sound. Nobody’s Hero is, well, nobody’s favorite, but I loved Stick It Out.
I never got into Lock and Key.
Roll the Bones
great chorus, shame about the rest of the song
Pretty much the entire first record
"The Larger Bowl" from Snakes and Arrows.
"such a lot of pain on the Earth".... ugh
Snakes & Arrows has a very negative feel overall.
I agree, I love Far Cry and the 3 instrumentals. The rest of them all mean something to me for memories, but it can be a tough listen if you’re in good mood.
I don't know if I'd go that far, but it's not their best.
I just can't get over the terrible grammar. Especially coming from Neil.
That's one of the reasons I really don't like it.. every lyric is Neil cynically whining about the state of the world or religion or some combination of ...basically the same themes that he already went through on the previous Vapor Trails which at least had energy and passion to it.
Neurotica
SNAP!
I really like it, almost doesn't fit the album's concept but it's a bop, the bass really sells it (that could be said about any questionable Rush song though...)
There are parts of it that I like, but the lyrics in the chorus are to me, not Neil’s usual quality.
Heavily agree
Geddy referenced that song as a "what was I thinking?!?" tune awhile back
I Think I’m Going Bald
I find this song hilarious, but not one I want to bump, especially with the rest of their catalogue
My favorite rush song by far
I can't believe this was released as a single..
Nobody's Hero
Between Sun and Moon is almost always a skip for me.
Aahh aaahhh no to no.
Love the instrumentation on this one but yeah the lyrics leave a bit to be desired
To each their own! I can see how this one wouldn’t be everyone’s favorite. I enjoy it, but get how someone wouldn’t
Second Nature, I just can’t do it.
That's easily one of Rush's wussiest songs ever🤮
It’s not fun at all
Face up, and Kid Gloves
Face Up would have been SO much more powerful if they held it over to the Counterparts sessions. The wimpy RTB sound just sucks any of the power out of it
Dog Years and Necromancer…
Distant Early Warning
Everyday Glory doesn’t really do it for me. I find that whenever I listen to Counterparts on vinyl, I stop the record before that song can even finish.
I enjoy that song but lyrically it doesn't seem to fit the rest of the album, it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb to me that way. It was also completely recorded analog which is why if you are listening to it, you might find yourself turning the volume down because it's noticeably louder than everything that came before it.
A Larger Bowl, Neurotica. Pretty much any song with too much ‘whoa, whoa…’
Half the World. I like the sentiment of the lyrics, but I think the execution was bad. I've always thought it was the cheesiest sounding Rush song. I just hate the vocals.
A lot of fans seem to hate that song but I really like it for what it is and sadly the lyrics are more relevant now than they ever were in 1996 when that came out
There are a lot of them. The entire Snakes & Arrows album, for example.
Far Cry and Malignant Narcissism are the only two songs on the entire damn album that even sound like 'Rush'
The Speed of Love. Terrible song.
That's the very first Rush song I straight up disliked when I was first getting into the band in the early 90s
“Countdown” — some of the lyrics are just so cringey. I love the subject matter and the way the song is structured but “excitement so thick …” I won’t complete it because it’s such a clunker.
This would be a really good album:
Distant Early Warning
The Enemy Within
Kid Gloves
Between the Wheels
Manhattan Project
Marathon
Middletown Dreams
Mission
You can have the rest of the synth era (which does not include Signals).
Synth Era Rush is objectively their best era. Like there is no competition. Every single one of those songs competes for their best. You're wrong here.
I’ve recently come to appreciate the synth era, there is some great music in the period, but saying it’s their best era is just wrong and here’s why. Up to Moving Pictures three of the top rock musicians were maxing their abilities. Starting with Signals one of these awesome musicians was diminished, pushed to the back for the synth. This went on to the point Alex was going to leave the band. How much better would their music have been if the synth accentuated the music, instead of overtook the guitar, like it did up to Moving Pictures?
Really? Interesting take.
Spindrift.
Wow. Spindrift is one of my favorites from S&A.
I enjoy the song but there is something awkward about the melody and overall poppy construction
There’s a shift halfway through he song that throws me off every time.
Starting with Test for Echo and onward, Rush was having problems constructing songs that didn't sound disjointed or scotch taped together from random parts that didn't mesh well with each other.
The Big Wheel and The Larger Bowl have never connected with me
Most of Grace Under Pressure
<runs away>
You are wise to run. It's probably a top five album for me. The body electric is an absolute banger.
YES IT IS
Relevant username!
This makes my heart hurt. Grace is my favorite album. However, if you are not a fan of the synth era I can see where I might not be for you.
I’m with you. I’ve never been able to love that one the way I do the others. Maybe it’s because it came along at a hard time in my young life, and the album is such a “downer.” (I still look at the tracks and think, side one, apprehension, grief, holocaust, fear. Side two, isolation, angst, paranoia, existential crisis.) Maybe it’s production — the instruments still sound like they’re fighting each other to me. There’s still music on it that I like, but it’s not an album I reach for very often.
That’s a great synopsis. GUP is a top 5 album for me, but it is bleak and the production was not up to par. I love it but understand why it doesn’t work for others.
I agree, the production is not the worst thing in the world, except if compared to the super clean-sounding albums that came before (pretty much all of them with probably the exception of the debut). It sounds pretty tiny and thanks God they did the exact opposite in Power Windows (my favorite synth period album and it sounds super loud, emotional and heavy, as well as the one of this era with most balance among guitars and synths, more synths than Signals and more guitars than Grace). Also, now I see how much this album is dark lyrically, because musically it sounds weirdly upbeat, contrasting quite a bit. The last 2 songs on the album have more of the grandness and fitting lyrics/ music (tho both are pretty good on the album so I don’t care that much) and are my favorites but overall this album is not as strong as its predecessor or the one that would come after.
If interviews regarding those recording sessions are anything to go by, the band themselves might agree with you
I'm the guy running next to you.
I just don't get all the love around here for GUP. 🤷♂️ I think it has some decent songs, but the album as a whole is very dark and depressing.
Another thing that sucks about GUP for me is the production of this one. Everything is somewhat tinny, and it sounds like they're playing inside a paper bag. I am also not a big fan of all the synth, so I can see how that is influencing my decision.
p/g is a top fiver (to me) I bought this album that day it came out and rode my moped(!) in the rain to the music store. This album turned the rock world upside down when it was released. Similar to Moving Pictures. The guitar tones and textures were not like anything else at the time. Andy Summers had a similar-ish sound, but not in the way Alex did. That famous Alex “schlaaaang” guitar sound was phenomenal. Anyway, it’s a personal fave and guitar fave of mine.
Objectively incorrect. It's their second best album
From a technical and creative standpoint it's a great album, but I personally find a lot of the synth sounds on that record unpleasant.
I know GUP is super popular around here, hence the <runs away>. I'm not sure why, but I've never been able to get into it, and I've tried many, many times. Maybe because it's so dark.
Ironically, Enemy Within is in my top 10 favorite Rush songs, possibly top 5.
I could never get into "New World Man". It's not a bad song, it just pales next to all the other songs on the album.
Dislike. Wrong answer. New World Man is top 10 all-time
Agreed. And it gets so much radio play compared to much better tunes.
Where at? Ive never heard it on the radio! :P
Red Lenses
Faithless
Me too! Sounds like a whiny 13 year old
Neil was beating a dead horse lyrically at that point with yet another song about how he's not religious. He should have stopped with Ghost of a Chance which was a much better song.
Fountain of Lamneth, I probably have to give it another shot but I'd say its the main reason Caress of Steel is my least favorite Rush album
Oh my God, you need to give it another listen. I didn't listen to Caress Of Steel side 2 as much because I had to be in the right mood to listen to Necromancer, but I listened to it again about 5 years ago and just LOVE Fountain of Lamneth now. I find myself singing it all the time. Give it another shot.
I agree. Caress of Steel has some great moments, but it feels like a rough draft of better things to come. I know older Rush fans love CoS, but I just don’t connect with it at all.
I would agree
The entirety of Hold Your Fire.
I respectfully disagree. It’s my favourite album but I see why some don’t resonate with it! The vibe is an acquired taste for sure.
That's totally fair, different strokes for different folks. Hemispheres is my favourite and HYF feels like the polar opposite of that album. From a guitar point of view I find HYF to just be kind of boring.
That's just my opinion, though. That's what's so cool about Rush they made so much great music that there's a little something for everyone.
Mostly agree with the exception of mission. The way the A minor hits in the verse is masterful
Yeah that's fair, Mission is probably the song I like the most on that album too.
Virtuality sucks
Net boy, net girl..... I cringe every time I hear "put your message in a modem" It's so bad
Ironic that you "put your message in a modem" to post this
Most of snakes and arrows
Tai Shan and a-lot of the synth era stuff sounds like a movie sound track. I always wondered if the shift was truly musical or intentionally trying to shift to radio friendly at the time. When it largely failed they went back. I don’t hate any of it but I hit skip more often. Lol
If didn’t fail, though, Rush sold more albums through the 80s (including the late 80s) than at any other time in their career. The reason the sound changed is because they wanted it to.
I absolutely love 80s Rush, but I respect the critique and opinion, but to say it “failed” just isn’t the case. That said, the synth forced Alex to really explore a lot of new sounds and craft a tone that would sit well in the mix, and he became a much better guitarist for it. IMO, Power Windows has some of the best guitar in their entire discography.
Faithless. The lyrics are just… lazy.
I don’t understand the question.
Scars
Humbly disagree. But to each their own
I love Rush but have always been underwhelmed by the last few songs on Moving Pictures
Camera Eye and Witch Hunt just don't do it for me
I Think I'm Going Bald and Tai Shan are two I tend to skip.
Tai Shan and hold your fire
Lessons
Think im going bald
Yog Dears
I think I’m going bald.
Rivendell Bravado Tears
Fly By Night.
Closer to the heart..not a bad song but I’ve never really liked it
So many. Each decade Rush challenged us by taking a new direction. Like a Scotch, a new album was often a learned taste. "Grace Under Pressure" went down smooth for me when I gave it a chance, but it was jarring compared to the previous. "Test for Echo" was probably the hardest to swallow. "Vapor Trails" was so muddy when it was released I was embarrassed to play it for friends. There's so much cringe in Rush. They've always been for nerds. Clockwork Angels, after listening to them play a few songs at concerts over and over, watching people break for the restrooms, is surprisingly my favorite.
The Trees
There’s no Rush song that just isn’t for me dude. Plenty of Live songs that just suck though.
Tears
I Think I'm Going Bald
Tears, Countdown
Something for Nothing
Almost all of "Grace Under Pressure", "Power Windows" and "Hold Your Fire". I was 9-13yo when these were released. It was exactly the type of music I was trying to avoid at age 15. It turns out I was waiting for grunge to arrive.
Dog Years.
The Speed of Love never did anything for me.
Dog Years (obviously)
You Bet Your Life
Heresy
Carve Away The Stone
Rivendell
I Think I'm Going Bald
Maybe it just hits too close to home...
All the Rush songs I routinely skip are ones that, if I actually sit and listen to them, I go "oh -that's actually kind of good." But my current must-skip is Wish Them Well. It's bothered me from the moment the album came out.
I’ve lost the plot with Rush since the big comeback. Something about Neil’s losses changed the music for the worse in my mind along with Geddy’s voice changes
Tom Sawyer. The radio overplay had ruined it for me. Overplayed on the radio when Rush had 100,000 better songs to choose from.
There's a lot of songs from the three most recent albums that just don't do it for me. I feel like those 3 albums are overproduced and suffer from loudness-war production. (Although I do like most of the songwriting on Vapor Trails, the later two are sorta bland sometimes)
"Rivendell" is my one that most people won't get uptight if I say "meh".
The one that people look at me like I grew an extra head when I say "Meh" is "Limelight."
All of them 😂
I am not a huge fan of the songs on Snake and Arrows. Never really got into them like I did songs from other albums.
Roll the Bones
Pretty much everything after grace under pressure. It’s not that it’s bad music, but the stylistic change by that time just didn’t do it for me anymore.
Freewill & Limelight. Played too often on the radio when I was growing up. I’d say Tom Sawyer also, but I do like hearing it live on stage.
I think I’m going bald - Makes me fear for my lions mane.
The first 3 records…
All their ‘hits’ like Tom Sawyer. Also, I’m so tired of hearing Side 1 of 2112, give me Side 2 any day of the week along with AFTK and Hemispheres albums.
Tom Sawyer. It’s a great song, but radio has made that song kinda annoying to me.
Pretty much everything on Snakes with the exception of Far Cry and Malignant Narcissism. It's almost like the band went out of their way to record bland uninteresting forgettable songs with shitty lyrics that don't fit the music.
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I’m not saying Tom Sawyer isn’t a great song (it absolutely is), but dang I wish my local rock stations would discover the rest of Rush’s catalog as well