The Retrospective - Rush!!

36   7.3  

1974

Produced by Rush

The very first Rush album sounds like Led Zeppelin and doesn't sound anything like the better-known Rush material (moody and complex). Rush LP is straight-forward rock, but it has it's share of great tracks!
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1. Finding My Way 9/10
2. Need Some Love 6/10
3. Take A Friend 8/10
4. Here Again 7/10
5. What You’re Doing? 10/10
6. In The Mood 6/10
7. Before And After 7/10
8. Working Man 10/10

Tuomas's rating:

29   7.3  

1975

Produced by Rush + Terry Brown

Neil Peart joins to the band and the Rush saga is ready to start. Fly by Night is their first flirt into progressive rock! Album is better than their first but kept us waiting for better.
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1. Anthem 10/10
2. Best I Can 7/10
3. Beneath, Between And Behind 7/10
4. By-Tor And The Snow Dog 10/10
(I. At the Tobes of Hades / II. Across the Styx / III. Of the Battle: Challenge and Defiance, 7/4 War Furor, Aftermath, Hymn of Triumph / IV. Epilogue)
5. Fly By Night 8/10
6. Making Memories 7/10
7. Rivendell 8/10
8. In The End 9/10

Tuomas's rating:

31   7.1  

1975

Produced by Rush + Terry Brown

Third album sounds unfocused but it's still quite good.
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1. Bastille Day 9/10
2. I Think I’m Going Bald 5/10
3. Lakeside Park 7/10
4. The Necromancer 8/10
(I. Into the Darkness / II. Under the Shadow / III. Return of the Prince)
5. The Fountain of Lamneth 7/10
(I. In the Valley / II. Didacts and Narpets / III. No One at the Bridge / IV. Panacea / V. Bacchus Plateau /VI. The Fountain)

Tuomas's rating:

88   8.2  

1976

Produced by Rush + Terry Brown

Album starts with 20minute dystopia story "2112", in which the world is leadered by the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx, who determine the content of all reading matter, songs and pictures! - Rush taked the rock music into the new level of songwriting.
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1. 2112 10/10
(I: Overture / II: The Temples of Syrinx / III: Discovery / IV: Presentation /V: Oracle: The Dream / VI: Soliloquy / VII: Grand Finale)
2. A Passage to Bangkok 10/10
3. The Twilight Zone 10/10
4. Lessons 10/10
5. Tears 9/10
6. Something for Nothing 9/10

Tuomas's rating:

54   8  

38   8  

1978


Produced by Rush + Terry Brown

Underrated classic! By the time of Hemispheres Rush was already a giant in Canada and the popularity was getting bigger and bigger. Hemispheres is a massive and epic ending for the decade. The opening track "Cygnus X-1 Book II" is a sequel to Book I from the A Farewell to Kings. Sequel is about intergalactic civil war in the black hole called Cygnus X-1.
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1. Cygnus X-1 Book II 10/10
(I: Prelude" / II: Apollo Bringer of Wisdom / III: Dionysus - Bringer of Love / IV: Armageddon - The Battle of Heart and Mind / V: Cygnus - Bringer of Balance / VI: The Sphere - A Kind of Dream)
2. Circumstances 10/10
3. The Trees 10/10
4. La Lavilla Strangiato (An Exercise In Self-Indulgence) 10/10

Tuomas's rating:

53   8.3  

1980


Produced by Rush + Terry Brown

If somebody comes to ask me: "Rush? What the hell is that?" - I'd put Permanent Waves to my player and skip to the track number 3. "Jacob's Ladder" is THE Rush song that defines the Rush legacy. Then i'd play the whole CD because this album is just that awsome. I have little to say about this album - it's classic all the way. I'm not that keen to "Entre Nous".

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1. The Spirit of Radio 10/10
2. Freewill 10/10
3. Jacob's Ladder 10/10
4. Entre Nous 8/10
5. Different Strings 10/10
6. Natural Science 10/10

Tuomas's rating:

76   8.5  

1981

Produced by Rush + Terry Brown

I personally love the 80's and Moving Pictures is one of the finest LP's of that decade. Lyrics are rich, themes goes from Science Fiction racing (Red Barchetta) to literature adaptation (Tom Sawyer). Rush new, Syntherizer-heavy, sound isn't so polished yet! One of the better tracks of the album, Vital Signs, is heavily influenced of reggae music and brings diversity to the LP.
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1. Tom Sawyer 10/10
2. Red Barchetta 8/10
3. YYZ 9/10
4. Limelight 8/10
5. The Camera Eye 8/10
6. Witch Hunt 8/10
7. Vital Signs 9/10

Tuomas's rating:

43   8  

1982

Produced by Rush + Terry Brown

My favorite Rush album from the "synthesizer-era". Opening track "Subdivisions" is an epic Rush classic that's on heavy rotation in my foobar. Song is a trademark Rush song that encourages youth to think themselves and not to be fitted to "the mass production zone" like Geddy sings. This was their final album with co-producer Terry Brown.

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1. Subdivisions 10/10
2. The Analog Kid 9/10
3. Chemistry 7/10
4. Digital Man 7/10
5. The Weapon 7/10
6. New World Man 7/10
7. Losing It 7/10
8. Countdown 8/10

Tuomas's rating:

28   7.8  

1984

Produced by Rush + Peter Henderson

Tuomas's rating:

29   7.2  

1985

Produced by Rush + Peter Collins

Lyrically Rush is as sharp as ever. The Big Money has a strong message on economy and capitalism. What becomes to the sounds, I’m not impressed. Over-polished synthesizer-sounds just irritates me. This was recorded at the Abbey Road studios.
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1. The Big Money 6/10
2. Grand Designs 5/10
3. Manhattan Project 7/10
4. Marathon 6/10
5. Territories 5/10
6. Middletown Dreams 7/10
7. Emotion Detector 4/10
8. Mystic Rhythms 4/10

Tuomas's rating:

27   7.4  

21   7.2  

1989

Produced by Rush + Rubert Hine

Tuomas's rating:

31   7.1  

27   7.9  

1993

Produced by Rush + Peter Collins

Rush always amazes me! They re-invented themselves with Roll the Bones and now they just add new elements into the fireplace. Counterparts is a solid straight forward rock album without progressive songs but the melodies are still bigger than life and extremely descriptive. I'm not feeling all the songs, but as a whole Counterparts is a strong rock album from the early 90's.

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1. Animate 10/10
2. Stick It Out 10/10
3. Cut To The Chase 8/10
4. Nobody's Hero 10/10
5. Between Sun & Moon 9/10
6. Alien Shore 7/10
7. The Speed of Love 7/10
8. Double Agent 10/10
9. Leave That Thing Alone 10/10
10. Cold Fire 8/10
11. Everyday Glory 8/10

Tuomas's rating:

28   6.9  

1996

Produced by Rush + Peter Collins


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1. Test for Echo
2. Driven
3. Half the World
4. The Color of Right
5. Time and Motion
6. Totem
7. Dog Years
8. Virtuality
9. Resist
10. Limbo
11. "Carve Away the Stone

39   7  

26   7.6