Welcome to another “Album by Album Challenge.” For those that are new here, the “Album by Album Challenge” is where I take a band’s entire discography and listen to every album in order of release from front to back. With my unforgiving and well-aged ear, I call it how I hear it. In some cases, I find that what I once thought was good is actually pretty crappy and sometimes crap manages to age into something pretty kick ass. And in some cases, face melting is still just good ol’ face melting.
Well, it looks like you made it through Part I of my Rush album challenge. Do you agree with me for the most part? Am I braindead? Whatever you feel, you gotta admit that this is some damn good listening. Matter of fact I could probably even say that this has been hands down the most fun and most pleasant challenge I’ve done yet. For part 2 we pick up with 1985’s Power Windows on through the bands as of now most recent studio release Clockwork Angels. I hope you’ll enjoy part 2 as much as part 1 and hell, maybe this will inspire some you to get those Rush albums out, blow the dust off of them and find your favorite jams. Enjoy part 2 y’all and thanks for reading!
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Rush – Power Windows
Release Date: October 29, 1985
The Good: The Big Money, Grand Designs, The Manhattan Project, Marathon, Territories, Middletown, Dreams, Emotion Detector, Mystic Rhythms
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
This album spawned two classic tracks, “The Big Money” and “The Manhattan Project”, which would go on to rightfully secure their place in the hearts of Rush fans. “The Big Money” is such a slap in the face and that fucking bass work that Geddy unleashes just melts my fucking face every time I hear it. “Middletown Dreams” is another one of those songs that I never even knew existed so really listening to it this time around (same goes for “Emotion Detctor”) was like Christmas for me. Both of these songs are so powerful and the lyrics are just so full of depth and imagery. Both of these songs got repeat listens from me. “Mystic Rhythms” closing the album just had me wanting more and feeling like they weren’t even done with the album yet. That’s a really good thing when you can listen to a full album and feel like it shouldn’t even be done. Rush has definitely proven that there is a science to sequencing an album. Up this point each album has a consistent flow that allows you to totally lose yourself in the experience of listening to it. This was a great listen for me and it has me pumped up for what’s to come.
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Rush – Hold Your Fire
Release Date: September 8, 1987
The Good: Force Ten, Time Stand Still, Open Secrets, Second Nature, Prime Mover, Lock and Key, Mission, Turn the Page, High Water
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Tai Shan,
“I hear the passion in music…” What a great and perfect line from the song “Mission.” “Force Ten” which is one of my all-time favorite Rush songs opens this album with such a great powerful force and from there each song just builds on one another. “Time Stands Still” is one of those songs that I never paid too much attention too but I found myself actually repeating this song. “Turn the Page” has to be one of Rush’s most unsung songs. I almost feel like this song is a hint at the more guitar driven path that these guys would eventually start taking. It’s such a great song and I could’ve totally heard this song on Roll the Bones or Presto. I’ve got some friends who hate the song “Tai Shan” but I actually thought it was a pretty decent song. I mean, yeah, it’s a bit cheesy but I can totally hear the sentiment and the emotion to this song. Peart must’ve really been moved by the Chinese culture or something. It’s not their greatest song and while it’s probably the weakest song on the album, it’s still far from the worst thing I’ve ever heard. All in all this is a pretty fantastic album. It is so well produced and there is so much ear candy in there to take in. I love that Rush, especially in the 80’s, put so much thought and effort into really creating a unique and exciting listening experience. At this point in the game, it’s truly easy to see and understand just why these guys are the best at what they do.
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Rush – Presto
Release Date: November 21, 1989
The Good: Show Don’t Tell, Chain Lightning, The Pass, War Paint, Scars (talking heads), Presto, Superconductor, Anagram, Red Tide, Hand Over Fist, Available Light
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
There’s no surprise here that this very album is the one that made and solidified my connection with Rush. This was the first Rush album I ever bought that made me totally understand what they were about. Presto was my “a-ha!” moment and from this point I would buy every Rush studio album that was released. This album is just pure magic for me. I tried hard to put aside my bias for this record but the fact is that this is one of Rush’s most amazing releases to date. Coming off of a get 10 years of keyboard driven music, Rush gives us a more guitar driven masterpiece that takes them into head first out of the 80’s and working toward a new decade with a bold, modern, and exciting sound. There isn’t a single “meh” moment on this record. “Show Don’t Tell” never ceases to melt my face, “The Pass” makes me nearly cry, and “Presto” just may be one of Rush’s most perfect songs. Closing the album with “Available Light” had me with goose bumps and the hairs on my neck standing at full attention. This album is all about feeling, all about emotion, and using music to really reach deep inside of the listener and making them feel something. This is such a moving, powerful album and as of doing this challenge is my favorite Rush album to date. I’m curious to see if that will remain true as we move forward.
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Rush – Roll the Bones
Release Date: September 3, 1991
The Good: Dreamline, Bravado, Roll the Bones, Where’s My Thing?, Big Wheel, Heresy, Ghost of a Chance
The Bad: Face Up, Neurotica
The Indifferent:, You Bet Your Life
Opening up with such a stellar song as “Bravado” really sets the tone for this album and follows up with a one two punch of “Bravado” and “Roll the Bones.” That title track just never gets old and every time I hear it I just jam it all the way through. Then all of the sudden we happen upon “Face Up.” Oh my. All I can say is that up to this point, this is the first Rush show I just had to say, “Wow. This is just bad.” Face Up? More like face down in a steaming pile of fail. The album totally picks it back up with “Where’s My Thing” which joins the ranks in the Rush instrumental family and has since become a fan favorite and live staple. “Big Wheel” and “Heresy” are both gorgeous songs in their own right but it’s “Ghost of a Chance” that proves to not only be the best song on the album but one of Rush’s best songs period. From here we go into the warm waters of indifference with “Neurotica” and “You Bet Your Life.” “Neurotica” has to be one of the single most annoying songs. I mean, thanks Neil for letting us know how many times you can rhyme the word “Neurotica” but you know what? I could care less. This song is just lame. It’s got some great playing on it but lyrically, c’mon. This is bad. The same thing goes for the closing of “You Bet Your Life.” I really wanted to like this song as I find it kind of a bummer to close the album out with such a vulgar display of “meh”. Oh well. All in all, this album isn’t horrible but
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Rush – Counterparts
Release Date: October 19, 1993
The Good: Animate, Stick it Out, Cut to the Chase, Nobody’s Hero, Between Sun & Moon, Alien Shore, The Speed of Love, Double Agent, Leave That Thing Alone (inst), Double Agent
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
Coming off the heels of an album that spawned some of Rush’s not so great material, the band was firing on all cylinders for Counterparts. The overall vibe of the album seems to me much more mellow than previous albums but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There isn’t a single bad song on this album. While this is true, there are some songs that stand out far above the pack as far as making a huge impact on me. The opening song “Animate” proves the point that Rush never opens up an album with a weak song. This song is so fucking good and heading right into “Stick it Out” is absolutely mindl blowing. “Nobody’s Hero” is a really touching song about a close friend of Neil Peart’s who lost his battle with AIDS and about how knowing this guy changed his life. It literally brought a tear to my eye and made me love the face that Rush can have this kind of effect on me. “Between Sun & Moon” is another stellar song that I feel is sadly ignored by the band along with “Cold Fire” which I feel is one of their best moments. “Leave That Thing Alone” is another classic added to their family of instrumental tracks and the album’s closing track “Everyday Glory” just closes the chapter perfectly. While I wouldn’t say that this album is one of my favorites, I have to say that this album is fucking solid from front to back and even presented me with some new favorite songs. They really put a lot into this album. It doesn’t have all the ear candy that previous albums have presented but this album has solid songwriting and that’s a really cool thing to hear. Loved this one.
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Rush – Test for Echo
Release Date: September 10, 1996
The Good: Test for Echo, Driven, Half the World, Color of Right, Time and Motion, Totem, Dog Years, Virtuality, Limbo,
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Carve Away the Stone
Wow. Test For Echo man. That song just fucking kills my face and going right into “Driven” is another classic Rush one/two punch to the dome. I really loved the diversity of this album quite a bit. It’s got that classic melodic goodness but Rush also seems to have dipped a bit more into the “heavy” waters with songs like “Dog Years” and the rifftastic “Virtuality.” “Resist” is another absolutely gorgeous tune with lots of ear candy in there. Speaking of ear candy, the instrumental track “Limbo” is really fucking awesome and yet another addition to the Rush instrumental family. As a whole, this album seems to have brought back some of those really subtle layers and sounds that really come to life while listening with headphones. This album for some reason gets some hate but upon my listening to this album I didn’t find one single song on here that I thought was a bad song. The only song I felt a bit indifferent to was “Carve Away the Stone.” This was a pretty weak closing song as I felt that this would’ve been better suited in the middle or something where I could forget about it. Closing the album out with a weak track like this just kinda killed the mood for me. I had to go back and relisten to “Test for Echo” so I could feel like I closed out with greatness. I would probably revisit this album but I’d make sure to end it with “Limbo” and save myself the disappointing ending. This album is kinda like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It’s totally awesome all the way until the end comes and kills the whole thing.
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Rush – Vapor Trails
Release Date: May 14, 2002
The Good: One Little Victory, Ceiling Unlimited, Ghost Rider, Peaceable Kingdom, The Stars Look Down, How it Is, Vapor Trail, Secret Touch, Earthshine, Sweet Miracle, Nocturne, Freeze Pt IV of “Fear”, Out of the Cradle
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
I found myself really enjoying this album way more than I remembered. For this challenge I listened to the remixed/remastered version and it’s amazing what a difference that made in the overall listening experience of this album. “One Little Victory” is such a heavy fucking song and I loved how it opened the album with a fucking bang. “Ghost Rider” is a song that I really came to appreciate even more after reading Neil Peart’s book of the same name. “The Stars Look Down” is pretty much on my ever growing list of favorite Rush songs as is “How it Is.” The greatness of these two songs really was sadly overlooked by me the first time around and the title track is so fucking good. Rush has this way of writing really catching and goose bump causing choruses and this one is no different. “Secret Touch” features one of my all-time favorite Lifeson guitar intros and the way it slams into this almost metal groove with Geddy’s bass just flying all over the place had me re-listening to this song a few times. “Earthshine” is a song that has pretty much become a fan favorite that the band has pulled out quite a few times live since its inception and rightfully so. Vapor Trails was such an important album for Rush. Coming off the heels of a string of tragic events in the life of Neil Peart, this album was all about healing and optimism. I was really able to feel the emotion behind each and every song and I was able to connect with its importance. This is a really powerful record and I’m so glad I gave this one the attention it deserves.
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Rush – Feedback
Release Date: June 29, 2004
The Good: Summertime Blues, Heart Full of Soul, For What It’s Worth, The Seeker, Mr. Soul, Seven and Seven Is, Shapes of Things, Crossroads
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
What a fucking awesome album! This is the kind of album that I always kind thought they should make. For all those Rush fans who are big proggies, I wonder if this album was a real mindfuck for them. It’s so great to hear Rush paying their respects to the bands that inspired them and formed them into the band that we would all grow to love and hold in such high regard. I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall in the studio when they made this. It sounds like they were having so much fun and I can just imagine Ged, Al, and Neil sparking up a fatty and passing it around going, “Hey! Let’s try ‘7 & 7 Is!” Every song is played with so much heart and you really can hear the passion and respect that they have for these songs. For me, the big surprise here was their take on the Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth.” That was a real treat but the real facemelts for me are their take on the Blue Cheer version of “Summertime Blues”, the Yardbirds’ classic “Shapes of Things”, and capping it all off with Robert Johson’s “Crossroads.” This was such an outstanding listen and this is one I can’t wait to blast in my car once the weather gets warm enough for me to roll down the windows and open up the sunroof.
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Rush – Snakes and Arrows
Release Date: May 1, 2007
The Good: Far Cry, Armor and Sword, Working Them Angels, The Larger Bowl, The Main Monkey Business, Hope, Bravest Face, Good News First, Malignant Narcissism, We Hold On
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Spindrift, Faithless
I remember not really loving this album when it was released but after giving this album another go ‘round I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The material on this album is very reminiscent of the stuff on Vapor Trails so in some ways hearing these two albums back to back seemed to kind of have a loss for me. In my opinion, these are the only two consectutive albums that Rush has released where I felt like they sounded like they could just be one long album. “Far Cry” is a fucking stellar song as is “Working Them Angels.” Boasting a whooping three instrumental tracks, I found myself really enjoying these and asking myself, “Why doesn’t Rush just put out an instrumental album sometime?” So much of what I love about Rush is Geddy’s voice and those infectious choruses and hooks so maybe that would be totally lost within the scope of an instrumental album. “Spindrift” and “Faithless” didn’t suck but both of these songs just kinda left me with that “meh” feeling. Closing with “We Hold On” was a great idea as it is such a fucking great song! There were a lot of good songs on this album but I can’t say that this album is one of my favorites as a whole. That being said, Snakes and Arrows did boast three of my favorite songs (Far Cry, Working Them Angels, and We Hold On). If anything I can see just pulling those three songs into a play list just so I’d always be reminded of their greatness.
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Rush – Clockwork Angels
Release Date: June 12, 2012
The Good: Caravan, BU2B, Clockwork Angels, The Anarchist, Carnies, Halo Effect, Seven Cities of Gold 1, The Wreckers, Headlong Flight, BU2B2, Wish Them Well,
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
With Clockwork Angels, Rush really broke the mold and made an album that was so different from anything else they’d ever done. This album sees Rush really dipping into a more metal sound at times with Alex really crunching down on the guitars and Geddy’s voice being pushed to the max like never before. In all honesty, the only thing I’m not really happy with is the production quality. Neil’s drums sound so compressed and lifeless which is such a shock to me. I’m so used to Rush’s albums having some really spectacular production and even some really subtle layers of ear candy. The sound over all on this album so flat sounding but with that aside, the songs are some of Rush’s strongest material in years. “Caravan” is such an awesome song as is the title track but for me, the real magic happens on “Halo Effect” and the absolutely amazing “The Wreckers.” I really found a connection to this album’s songs as they are so imaginative as they chronicle a young man’s quest to follow his dreams. This is obviously a concept that I can relate too and I instantly found myself connecting and loving each and every song. “The Garden” is such a meditative dreamy close that I found myself making this song one of my daily “wind down” songs as a way to disconnect from the day. With Clockwork Angels, Rush solidified their place in my life as a band that means the world to me and they also proved that even after 40 years they are nowhere near out of ideas.
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