Geddy and Steinberg?

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:53 pm

Oh, like I said, after Counterparts, I feel they have been back on the right track. Just felt like a little of that energy was missing, at least to my ears. The live versions of the VT songs are very good!

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:13 pm

I love Counterparts.. it fights for number 1 for me. The harder edge came back.. but the wussed out again on T4E. T4E it like a harder edged RTB.. good, but sterile and boring. Vapor Trails was good, but the first time I listened to it I was waiting for it to end. "Is it over yet?" I'm not very familiar with the T4E and VT songs.. but I know they're good, cuz they're Rush... just a little boring.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:33 pm

Especially if you are familiar with the "older" Rush, the changes in time signature and the more challenging arrangements seem to be a thing of the past. Not saying there isn't great playing on there, no doubt there is! But they used to get really nuts on time signatures and really challenge the listener a little more than they do now.
They haven't done anything like "Jacob's Ladder", "Natural Science" or "The Camera Eye" for a long time now. I get that they are growing and changing, I just love that kind of stuff.

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:46 pm

I wish they would write another epic again. Not this every song is 5 min stuff. We need another 10 minute rock out or something. I want something like another "La Villa".. if they can do it once.. they should be able to do it again.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:41 pm

Rush was best in the late 70s thru early 80s ... I like all of their stuff but that was their best era ... but they still put on a cool concert ... they are like Nolan Ryan ... old guys who can still throw high heat at 95 miles an hour whereas some of the other bands from that era are more like a pitcher who learned to throw knuckle balls and curve balls to keep pitching ...

I like some of Geddy's keyboard work ... but I like his bass playing better ...

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:41 pm

I think a lot of those longer songs came from soundchecks, the little bits and pieces they would play around with and put together into songs. Since they don't tour as much as they did back in the day, with a 5-year break and all, they don't have that to draw from. Just a hunch?

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:01 pm

Touche` Steve. Touche`. Very good point.. but before that they lacked the epics after "Moving Pictures". Sure, they were probably sick of them by then, but they should've brought 'em back. Neil is an excellent writer.. I'm sure he could come up with a great story for a long song. I know Ged and Al have it in them... but I just think they're splitting all the good ideas into seperate songs. Those seperate song are great though. I wonder if they're cooking something up... they released a 'covers' album in '04 and they're going to work on something in '06... I hope they were working on a long song in that time.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:17 pm

Perhaps after they became commercially successful, they changed their focus into something more "radio friendly"?

An aside, I heard "Ghost of a Chance" the other day and forgot what a good song that was!

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:34 pm

I love that song.. I think Neil contradicts himself on that album though. In "Ghost of a Chance" he says he doesn't believe in angels.. but in "The Big Wheel" he's looking for an angel to forgive his sins.. maybe I'm being too picky.

Again, good point.. I need to send you a medal or something to reward you fer being so smart.

I prefer "Presto" to "Roll the Bones". RTB has a few good songs.. the one that you mentioned included.. but Presto has more. Although Stupidcondutor does ruin the album for me.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:29 pm

There are very few Rush songs that I dislike. Even the songs I don't like are still written and played very well, but to each his own. I would say my least faves are: Tai Shan, Hand Over Fist, Roll Away the Stone, and everything off of their debut except Working Man. Then again, their debut was the only "bad" album they ever did . . . even with Geddy and Alex, it's still just blah.

"Hold Your Fire" is a good album. It's not my favorite, but it's got a few of my all-time favorite songs ("Force Ten", "Turn the Page", and "High Water"), and the rest of it is good. It's just not "Power Windows" or "Presto" or "Grace Under Pressure". Now that you say it, though, it does strike me as better than "Roll the Bones", though I like that album too.

I still say "Vapor Trails", content-wise, is one of their all-time best.

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:41 pm

The first album is funny! I like some of it.. but "Take a Friend" has got to be one of the worst Rush songs ever! Well that, "Superconductor" and "Dog Years". Those are the worst for me.

"Need Some Love" is great! I told a friend of mine that I think of her when I play that song.. she thought it was hilarious. "Working Man" is great. "Finding My Way" is ok.. not good but not god awful. And the others? Well they're ok.. but not that great.

I listened to HYF today. Great album. "Tai Shan" and "High Water" gave me goosebumps.

I have T4E on now.. it's good.. but lacks feeling. "Resist" is the best thing there and I prefer the "unplugged" version on "Rush in Rio". That has feeling. BTW it's "Carve Away The Stone".

I agree about PoW.. it's pretty much flawless. Although "Grand Designs" is a little lame, it's still damn good.

Rush bothers me sometimes. they come up with a great opener and ruin it with the rest of the band. "Grand Designs" and "Kid Gloves". The guitar into on "Kid Gloves" is great, but when the rest of the band comes in... it just dosn't seem right. I love "Kid Gloves" though. "Grand Designs" has the same problem.. good keyboard intro, but the rest of the song doesn't seem like it should go with that. Oh well...

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:56 am

Whoops, "Carve Away the Stone" . . . I don't listen to that song at all, so I guess I forgot what it was called.

I actually really like "Dog Year", except it's pretty silly. The music is great though. And "Virtuality" is good too. But you're right, "Test For Echo" is very good, but it really just feels like they're going through the motions. I must say, though, that the title track is brilliant.

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 4:05 pm

Funniest thing I've read all day.

Ged's spot from the VT tourbook.

"Hi There, This is the space where I'm supposed to list my, er ... equipment ... It's not very long, but it's terribly exciting to look at ... I'm talking about my equipment of course, so get your mind out of the gutter and get ready for the ultra compelling 2002"

LOL!!!

Back to what we were talking about before...

"Dog Years" is complete ****! I think it's funny they ever bothered releasing that!

T4E title track is good, but it has no feeling.
"Virtuality" is actually very hard for me to play.. seeing how I gave up after spending 20 minutes trying to learn that main riff thingy.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:57 pm

I like "Dog Years"! It is quite . . . um . . . atypical for Rush . . . I disagree about "Test For Echo", at least, the song. I think it has a great deal of feeling. I think that the studio version of "Driven" is very lacking in feeling on the other hand, whereas, live, it sounds brilliant.

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:22 pm

Driven is boring without the bass solo. It's amazing with it. That made the song.

The T4E song is pretty good.. just a little boring in the studio version. The version on Different Stages is amazing. I love how Ged sings/yells "EECCCHHHO" at the end. That alone makes it better then the studio version.

The songs from T4E are better live for me. The two I stated and "Resist" acoustic. Resist acoustically has a better arrangement and has plenty of life.. it brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. His voice is haunting.

I've heard a bootleg of "Half The World". It was a little better live.. it had some life.. not much though. But it's still better than being dead.