Rush - a musical confession

Rush

So much to dislike about them, where to start...

From the early lumpen sub Led-Zep heavy metal, via dodgy concept albums, self important prog-metal to dubious proggy-synth-pop-rock, they have always been derided by many and rightly so. Geddy Lee's helium-fuelled vocals (no normal human male sings like that) are, to say the least, an aquired taste, and the lyrics generally veer from pretentious to embarrassing! And yet...

...despite years of listening to all sorts of music, much of which is more agile, imaginative, dynamic or beautiful than this trio of Canadians could manage, I am strangely fond of these old dinosaurs. Admittedly the early stuff is generally dire, but from 1977 to 1989 they made some cracking records - Permanent Waves probably being their most successful musically and commercially. Some of the later stuff is OK too.

So whilst I stand by my opening comments, it has to be said that whilst Lifeson is not a great guitarist, he is a good one and has a style as distinctive in his own way as, say, The Edge is for U2. The other two are also very decent musicians, and they have an ear for a melody and a feel for the dramatic.

So yes, whilst it is a bit embarrassing to admit it, I quite like a bit of Rush now and then.

Ah, it feels better to get that off my chest.


Are there any other bands that folks enjoy, but feel a bit sheepish about admitting to liking? Like Hawkwind... ah but that's a whole different level of shame. Still like them though...

Have a look at THIS THREAD HERE where you can find out about some of our guilty pleasures.

As well as Hawkwind and Rush you will also find I'm a fan of Mike Oldfield (but not all of it....just the good bits)

Hey, Rush ain't a Guilty pleasure! I like them a lot and maybe that what Mr. Lifeson has not his bandmates have double! Ever seen another one playing bass and keyboards at the same time and singing? Geddy is one of the greatest bass players! And Neil Peart plays drums like a instrument and not like he's an ape
I saw them live once and it was unbelievable how much power those three ones have on stage!

I used to have Farewell to Kings which at the time I really enjoyed but haven't listened to for ages, so can't say whether or not I feel about it these days. But hey, no dissing Hawkwind or Mike Oldfield (at least his first three albums), I don't feel guilty about liking either of those.

Rush rock! Though I haven't explored much so I can't give a definitive opinion. I bloody love 2112, even if I can't defend it from it's critics... it is hilariously pretentious. But the music's so damn good! And that's what matters.

Glendarian wrote:

I used to have Farewell to Kings which at the time I really enjoyed but haven't listened to for ages

I heartily advise you to revisit that album. It's brilliant. I still listen to it regularly.

I'll have to dust off the old turntable...

One of my all time favourite bands.

Although on first hearing Geddy Lee's vocals...I thought he sounded like a strangle parrot !! Grew to like it though and he did mellow over time !!

I have almost all their albums ( and there are a lot of them), hard to pick the best but Moving Pictures has to be one of the best.

Fortunate to see them in Birmingham in 2007. Brilliant

yesman wrote:

Although on first hearing Geddy Lee's vocals...I thought he sounded like a strangle parrot !! Grew to like it though and he did mellow over time !!

I joked once, he sounds like Robert Plant and Doro Pesch had a Kid...(yea, absurd according the age... )

One of my favourite bands I've seen live. So professional!

Agree w/everyone who raves about their live shows. I'm not one who tends to listen to their albums, to be quite honest, but I will always go to their shows because they are a powerhouse group on stage.

Rush at Manchester Apollo was the very first gig I ever went to; it was my special treat after my O Levels (yes, I am that old!). The second gig I ever went to was also Rush at Deeside leisure centre, where the crowd had to stand on a frozen ice rink covered with rubber matting. This meant that by the end of the evening, you were a hot and sweaty rock fan from the knees up, but totally frozen from the knees downwards. The third gig I ever went to was Rush, too: this time at the NEC. After this, I came to realise that I had got the Rush thing out of my system and my musical tastes began to diversify. Still got a soft spot for the cheeky Canadian progsters, though. Happy memories .

What a brave brave admission, personally speaking I would find it easier to admit to say er arson on a major scale, a fondness for the musical theatre of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a sexual attraction to Ann Widdecombe, being a reader of the Daily Express, having a secret collection of German WW two memrobelia, or greatly admiring Margaret Thatcher, but to admit to...... Jesus I cant even say it, Im shuddering, but at least dont feel to bad about my copy of Brain Salad surgery anymore