The National Midnight Star #15

Errors-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Reply-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Sender: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Precedence: bulk From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu To: rush-list-all Subject: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/23/90 (#15)
RUSH Fans Digest, Number 15 Monday, 23 July 1990 Today's Topics: P/G and a question. Triumph Favorite/Least Favorite Rush More p/g "Territories" drum part (none) Re: Least Favorites ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Jul 90 17:10:33 EDT From: crossman@ghoti.LCS.MIT.EDU (Paul Crossman) Subject: P/G and a question. I have been a fan of rush since New World Man hit the air waves. I was 12 then and if you do some simple arithmetic I was 14 when P/G came out. I am 20 now and I look back on my teen years and think that 1983 and 1984 were great years for my musical tastes. I liked P/G but did not have a passion for Distan Early Warning. In fact I practically hated the song. Like all rush albums. P/G began to grow on me and I eventually started to like DEW. I think that everyone has to let a rush album grow on them. I don't know if that made any sense at all, but here is my question. What is the deal about Rush changing record lables? Why did this happen? Also does anyone have a song list of the greatest hits package coming out in October? Ciao babe... Paul ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Triumph Date: Thu, 19 Jul 90 18:08:03 MDT From: Doug Grumann <dougg@hpptc16.hp.com> >Triumph. Anybody else listen to them? Great stuff, super guitarist (Rik Emmett) Great band. I'm into their earlier stuff. Rock 'n Roll Machine and Just a Game are incredible albums. Evidently they've broken up, huh? >RUSH, love 'em or hate 'em, but don't spoil anyone's enjoyment over the issue >of P/G being rotten. Ouch! I didn't know I was spoiling anybody's enjoyment! At least it picked up the volume of the newsletter! :-) BTW: I am now fully Peter Gabrielized. Thanks to all! dougg. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Jul 90 20:27:51 EST From: Digital Man <cse2002%eve.wright.edu@RELAY.CS.NET> Subject: Favorite/Least Favorite Rush I really found it amusing and somewhat enlightening to see the discussion about p/g. Some people hate it, some people defend it even though it's not their favorite and for some it seems to be their favorite Rush. I got started into Rush with the release of a Farewell to Kings, so even though I wasn't with them from the beginning, I've seen a great deal of their evolution. And as the Dead say, "what a long strange trip it's been". I'd have to say that Rush has something for every mood. At some time or other, I could honestly say that each of their albums has been my favorite (including the recently maligned Rush Rush). Let's face it, the Boyz just plain have it all, something for everyone. By the way, my current favorite is Moving Pictures and my current favorite song is Overture/Temples of Syrinx. Digital Man ...He knows changes aren't permanent...but change is... ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 20 Jul 90 14:24:48 EDT From: warsaw@cme.nist.gov (Barry A. Warsaw) Subject: More p/g I've got a little extra time this morning so I let me give you my thoughts on p/g. Like many of us on the list, new Rush albums tend to have to grow on me and p/g was no exception. One of the songs I liked the least at first was Afterimage because 1) there's no bass; 2) I couldn't relate to the chorus lyrics and their repetition bugged me. Then a couple of months after the album's release I saw the Afterimage video on MTV. Boy did that make a *huge* difference. To see the frustration and pain in Neil's face at the end of the song, when he just sits there at his kit -- its one of the most powerful things I've seen Rush do. Needless to say, I now think that song is one of their best, because it is *so* personal and intimate. How many other bands could open so deep a wound for their fans to see? But we all know that, eh? As to other songs on the album. I always loved Between the Wheels. The music is so cool, especially the opening and closing keyboard chords, the piano at the end, the drums and bass work throughout and the guitar solo. I'd put this song in the classic Rush start-intense-and- subversive-building-ever-so-surely-to-a-huge-emotional-cresendo type song. If you've ever come close, as I have, to actually running over a rabbit or cat in your car (but mercifully missed), you can really literally relate to the line "Know how that rabbit feels, going under your speeding wheels", and the whole song in general. Enemy Within is a great song to play, as is Kid Gloves (5/4, yeah!) definitely in my "hack-along-with-Rush" repetoire. Red Lenses was so *different* for Rush at the time. Kid Gloves is such a cool song -- I love Alex's solo in that song (one of his best IMHO). Also, p/g was the album that was soon to be released when I saw them at Radio City. The album not having come out yet, they played Red Sector A, Kid Gloves and Body Electric the night I saw them and I remember turning to my drummer when they played Kid Gloves and saying "hey, they ripped off our song!", since we had written a song that had a part that sounded like one of the parts in KG. We were jokingly pissed but flattered that Rush would steal our tape and rip off one of our songs :-). Body Electric is so full of rebellion and triumph in the face of inevitable tragedy that it really uplifts me, even though the fate of the android is not happy. Red Sector A and Distant Early Warning are actually my least favorite songs on the album, I'm not sure why. Its not like I don't like them, but I rarely put them on my compilation tapes, which is how I usually judge which songs are my current faves. Maybe because, again MHO, these songs, while just as dark as the others, don't really give me the glimmer of light or hope or relief that the others do, not just lyrically but musically as well. Hmmm, I don't know. Oh, one last thing. P/g was a really turning point for the boyz after the dismally produced Signals and Exit Stage Left (Brown did his best work for Rush on PeW and MP) and for that you've got to give the album lots of credit. It was obviously an extremely difficult album to do, perhaps more of a release (primal scream?!) than anything else. Anyway, that's it for p/g. It doesn't get a lot of play on my CD player these days, but its just because lately I've been getting really into Power Windows and Caress of Steel (who says COS is their worst album -- no way!). POW is certainly their best from that period, I think. -Barry ORQ: "Thinking about the overfed, the underread." ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Jul 90 02:10:11 EST From: Jeffery Bacon <BACON%MTUS5.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> Subject: "Territories" drum part To break off on new things...I just stopped to listen to the "Territories" drum part a bit more than usual...and...well, I noticed that at times, Neil's beating out 16th's on (hi-hat? na, too bright for that...?) AND a rhythm on (roto-?)toms...is that possible? (NO, I know nothing abour drums. I'm a bass player by trade. But I've spent enough time having to listen to drummers to be curious about such things...) (OK, enough making a fool out of myself in public for now.) [ Hey, it's encouraged here! :-) :rush-mgr ] Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 20 Jul 90 08:33:49 EST From: Snow Dog <spotter%eve.wright.edu@RELAY.CS.NET> Since everyone (or at least most everyone) is cutting P/G, I thought I'd jump in and defend it. P/G is the albom that got me hooked on Rush. I had heard a few of their songs in the past, mostly when some friend said 'Hey, listen to this drum/bass/guitar solo' I admit, I liked their stuff, but had no idea who they were. When P/G came out, I was living about 60 miles from civilization and about 20 miles from any real people (being 12 or 13, I also had no way of getting to civ.) One night QFM 96 (Columbus, Oh) played an hour of Rush live for no particular reason. Most of what they played consisted of P/G, and I said 'Hey, this is some really good stuff, especially this one with the con- centration camp stuff' You see, I was growing up Jewish (yes, I'm cured now) and having no understanding of their stuff at the time, I thought that they were do a song about the Nazi Prison Camps. I was wrong, but hey it got me hooked. Since then, I've heard almost all of their other stuff, and while P/G is not my favourite album (at least not today) it still holds a very dear place in my heart. And even if it is 'red' and a real downer type album, it is genious lyrically, and musically. About a week ago, Adam (orion@desire.wright.edu) asked us to pick what they thought was the best album for each of the boyz. I'm going to take a try and say for Geddy it is the new one Presto. I'll even explain why. Geddy's voice has changed on this album. It's alot easier to listen to, and I think it makes him a much better performer overall (if that's possible). Also, he uses a mix of keyboards and bass, the likes of which we have never heard on one of their albums. Sure there are shining examples of albums where he playes killer bass or outrageous keyboards, but I don't think there is an album that shows both of his skills anywhere near as good as Presto. For Neil, I have a hard time picking one for his playing. He is so good on all of them. But lyrically I put hands down to Presto. This is the best example of lyric writing I have ever seen, by anyone. Everytime I hear some of his songs, I get shivers up and down my spine. And Anagram (for Mongo) [which my desire account is named after] is absolutely terrific. For Alex, I probably would have to pick Signals. He has some absolutelyparts in this album, and he has a few really boss solos. Damn, this is hard with so much good material to choose from. Well, I think they are all their best. Makes this job much easier. Gotta fly (by night?) Presto spotter@eve.wright.edu (but preferably: ANAGRAM@desire.wright.edu "Drawn like moths we drift into the city...." ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Mark S. <mserda%hydra.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu> Date: Sun, 22 Jul 90 18:02:41 MDT Subject: Re: Least Favorites I may have not listened to Rush for very long but I seem to have heard a lot of criticism from people on the Signals album. What is so bad about that album? I've read comments where fans have said that their favorite song is Subdivisions. Don't tell me that is the only good song on their. I've also heard that Alex does his best on the p/g album, but what about Analog Kid on Signals. Personally, I think that is pretty awesome solo by Alex in that one. Signals is not my least favorite; in fact, it is my second favorite- first being MP. I think their is way to much criticism on this album. The same goes for p/g. -Mark ----------------------------------------------------------
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