For Rush Bores Like Me...

And let's hope they get the sound balance right this time....

quote:

CD soundtrack version of Grace Under Pressure

Of the later albums I always quite liked Grace Under P. What is a 'CD soundtrack version' when it is at home?

Bruce

I picked up with Rush from "moving Pictures" and lost track with "Roll the Bones". Thought there was some great stuff on "Grace under Pressure", but I've struggled to find a really good version (CD or LP). Not really interested in the DVD's but new CD versions mightbe interesting

Your guess is as good as mine Bruce. In a couple of weeks time all will be revealed no doubt.

Grace always sounded a bit too bright and shiny but this isn't a problem any more. I haven't bothered with the ramaster - maybe I should. It's one of those albums I seem to go back to.

Cheers

I picked them up about the same time Peter. I stayed with them through Presto and Bones with gritted teeth at times, and Counterparts was worth the wait - if a bit polished and poppy. I thought Echo was pretty good in parts too and Vapour Trails has got some very strong stuff on it - although by the band's own admission they buggered up the sound. So much so (it is said) that they probably won't remaster in on the basis that you can't polish a turd. Shame. Maybe one day....

Have you tried any of the Rush Remasters? Kings, Pitcures and Windows seem to have benefited. And if you have, what's the verdict on Grace?

Cheers

Harry
For some reason Rush have always passed me by. Can you recommend a good album or two with which to start? They have a formidable back catalogue!
Thanks.

Hi Chris,

Try Moving Pictures, if you don't enjoy that - etc.... If you do, you might also like 2112, Hemispheres, A Farewell to Kings or Permanent Waves.

I think Grace Under Pressure has some good tracks but IMO things get patchy after that.

The albums prior to 2112 were fairly standard rock fare, IMO.

Steve.

Thanks Steve
Maybe I was mostly hearing pre2112 stuff when I lived in the US in the 80s. I'll check one or two of those out.

quote:

Can you recommend a good album or two with which to start?

Slightly off tack - My very first exposure to hi-fi was mid 1980's in Belfast's Lyric HiFi - a Rega 2; Creek 4040 amp & Heybrook HB1's. Dreadful admission this but my pals insisted I listened to Xanadu and I went along with them expecting to have Olivia Newton John blasting out. That was also my first unexpected introduction to Rush and Farewell to Kings!!

Sounded so good at the time I bought them!

Peter

Signals is my favourite (by a whisker) Chris but their catalogue is so extensive that it's difficult to steer someone into the appropriate era for personal taste. Moving Pictures is "safe bet" for the unfamiliar listener. It’s also well recorded (remastered or not but the former is better) and on some tracks the sound stage is tinglingly palpable. Considering that the album was, from all accounts like pulling teeth to write and record, the end result sounds fresh, confident and rather swaggering. The double Chronicles CD set is quite a good lucky dip and although it's not comprehensive there's something in it for everyone. The problem with a Rush saddo like me is that you can cite almost any album as a possible candidate and I'll say "Yeah - that was a good one". If you get my drift

Cheers

Peter - problem with Xanadu (apart from being a bog Prog Rock standard – albeit a good one) is that it’s been hammered to death. Didn’t it always come third after Awaken and Supper’s Ready in the Friday Night Rock Show listeners’ pole? Even fans like would roll their eyes at the lack of imagination of the voters.

Given it’s rather clichéd disposition I’d largely ignored it – along with Kings for many years. But on the R30 live DVD I actually got to see them play it live for the first time. I was so impressed that I dug out Kings (not listened to on the CDX2) and was bowled over - again. This has happened with a few artists, Yes and Steve Hackett being notable examples. Getting a decent system allows one to fall in love with some music all over again, without actually falling out of love with it in the first place – or maybe it’s just my age…..

OK now I'm rambling. It'll dribbling next - def must be my age...

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:
I stayed with them through Presto and Bones ... and Counterparts was worth the wait - if a bit polished and poppy. I thought Echo was pretty good in parts too and Vapour Trails has got some very strong stuff on it - although by the band's own admission they buggered up the sound. So much so (it is said) that they probably won't remaster in on the basis that you can't polish a turd...

Have you tried any of the Rush Remasters? Kings, Pitcures and Windows seem to have benefited. And if you have, what's the verdict on Grace?

Cheers

I have the remastered "Signals" and it's where I would start for a non believer. After that "Hold Your Fire" and "Power Windows". I have an original US LP copy of "Power Windows" and the sound is very good. I bought "Presto", which I think is really quite decent, on LP and i'm very dissapointed with it, prefer the CD, can't remember now whether I have a remaster or not. "fare well to Kings" not bad.

FWIW my wife could never tell the diffrence between the singer of Clannad and Geddy Lee!

She might have a point. Have they ever been seen in public together?

Rush were one of the first bands I saw live (at Wembley Arena) - I saw the "Hold Your Fire" tour

Around the same time, someone else I knew what to see Michael Jackson - there was trouble outside and police everywhere after it had finished.

Came out after seeing Rush and saw one lone traffic warden.

Must get round to replacing my played to death vinyl - also for Led Zeppelin.

Steve.

The good news Steve - if you're interested - is that there are some CD remasters of Led Zep which do the recordings as much justice as anything else I've heard. I've only got 1 and 2 so far, with 4 on the way. They're paper sleeve editions.

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Kelly:
Harry
For some reason Rush have always passed me by. Can you recommend a good album or two with which to start? They have a formidable back catalogue!
Thanks.

If you like Zeppelinesque stuff then "Fly by night" and "Caress of steel" might take your fancy. I lost touch after "Power windows"

I lost touch with Rush after Power Windows. They became very boring IMHO.

I'm surprised no-one has pushed Permanent Waves. I agree it is difficult to select a single recommendation but this contains the track that Rush could nearly say was a standout single - The Spirit of Radio and is one of their best loved tracks. The whole album is fab.

The triple alliance (roughly 1979-1981) of Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving pictures I believe give you Rush at their best.

As an aside I played Permanent Waves the other day after about 2 years worth of upgrades (from Rega 3 to LP12 - ARO - and a Hi-cap on preamp etc) and was stunned my how good it sounded. Yes its still a gritty recording but the level of music is incredible. I played it for about half a dozern times for the next 3 days thereafter).

After getting those 3, A Farewell to Kings and Signals are also noteworthy. 2112 maybe.

b

quote:

Originally posted by Brucie:

As an aside I played Permanent Waves the other day after about 2 years worth of upgrades (from Rega 3 to LP12 - ARO - and a Hi-cap on preamp etc) and was stunned my how good it sounded. Yes its still a gritty recording but the level of music is incredible. I played it for about half a dozern times for the next 3 days thereafter).

b

I can relate. Similar story here. The music doesn't change (much) but a better appreciation of how it was played adds ro the enjoyment. It's difficult for me to single out what I consider the best album - most of them are good for what they are. I would steer away from Presto and Roll the Bones - but many wouldn't. That's why I suggested Chronicles.

My desert island choice would include Signals, Power Windows, Moving Pictures, Farewell To Kings, Counterparts and Permanent Waves – in that order. With the exception of Signals and Moving Pictures, none of the others sound remotely similar to me, so which would I recommend to a stranger? If in doubt I guess it has to be Pictures.

Going into full bore mode with another analogy to your Waves experience Brucie: I always liked the songs on Power Windows but I had difficulty listening comfortably. It got played a lot because I liked the music, but not the sound. The presentation was rather bright, spitty and relatively bass light -or so I thought. My appreciation warmed on the CDX2 but with the addition of the XPS2 the truth arrived. It’s spacious, complexly arranged and contains a myriad of textures and effects that in now seems were tripping up players that didn’t have the grip and resolution to portray it in all its glory. It’s now a feast for the ears with no fatiguing effects. The music sounds as good to me as it ever did, I just never knew how well it had been recorded. This has happened more than once with many albums over successive upgrades, Rush’s Power Windows being the most striking example.

\bore


Cheers

The sound on my copy of Moving Pictures is superb, I also think it their finest achievement as a whole album.

I looked forward to the Exit Stage Left live set, having seen them on the MP tour. What a disappointment that was (vinyl).

I don't know if there has been any re-mastering of that but it sounded truly awful.

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:


Going into full bore mode with another analogy to your Waves experience Brucie: I always liked the songs on Power Windows but I had difficulty listening comfortably. It got played a lot because I liked the music, but not the sound. The presentation was rather bright, spitty and relatively bass light -or so I thought. My appreciation warmed on the CDX2 but with the addition of the XPS2 the truth arrived. It’s spacious, complexly arranged and contains a myriad of textures and effects that in now seems were tripping up players that didn’t have the grip and resolution to portray it in all its glory. It’s now a feast for the ears with no fatiguing effects. The music sounds as good to me as it ever did, I just never knew how well it had been recorded. This has happened more than once with many albums over successive upgrades, Rush’s Power Windows being the most striking example.

\bore


Cheers

I'll have to have another listen to Power Windows, it's been so long. Some recordings I have, I know there's great music and great sounds, but I keep them for special occasions, I son't know how to explain it, so I don't listen as often as I might.

Yes Steve. It's been remastered. I've also just heard that Vapour Trails has been remastered, contradicting my earlier commet, which was in good faith but turned out to be wrong. If ever any Rush album needed doing again that one did. I wonder how it turned out? Only one way to find out....

I don't have Exit remastered so I can't offer any comment. On the strength of what I have heard with the rest of the back catalogue I'd say it is worth a punt. FWIW.

Cheers

I get yer drift Peter. This isn’t supposed to sound crass or condescending – every time I swing one in is a special occasion. The system now sounds so good that familiarity hasn’t led to indifference. I feel very smug and not a little privileged to have such jaw dropping music on tap. The only issues are prising The Lovely Hell off it for long enough to get a go, and the fact that good as my system is, I made the mistake of spending an afternoon with a CDS3 - stupid stupid stupid…. Still, I can’t afford one at the moment, so back to the music

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:
I made the mistake of spending an afternoon with a CDS3 - stupid stupid stupid…. Still, I can’t afford one at the moment, so back to the music

I listen to more music on my iPod than on my Naim system, I get to hear a lot more Rush (& Zappa, for example) that way than I could find the time for at home.

I've been lucky enough to hear a CDS3/555PS/552/250 based system, and lucky for me I wasn't impressed enough to want to change, soon, my own system. If you get mains and supports sorted all Naim gear sounds really good :-)

Same here Peter, but in my situation it's the car.

I've been doing a bit of reading between work things: seems the Grace Under Pressure sound track CD is the concert (or parts thereof). The Vapour Trails remaster seems to be an Atlantic urban myth which has been on the cards, off the table, ready for release and withdrawn more times than something I've done a lot of times. A shame, because VT is the closest thing yet to a "Rush Reborn" album, has some very strong material on it and is among the worst mastered records currently on sale. "You'll believe a CD can clip....!" should be the ad slogan.

Cheers