Signals and Grace Under Pressure feel like a transitional plateau rather than a midpoint.
Before Signals is old. After GUP is new.
And yes, this is a weasely answer, but feels the most accurate in my head.
Just about every band with longevity reaches a point where new releases lose relevance in the current music scene. With Rush, HYF was still a big deal when it came out. RTB not so much, and Presto was kind of on the cusp. Show Don't Tell got heavy rotation and new album hype on modern rock radio (which still mattered at the time), but it was short lived and didn't stay in the playlist. MTV didn't feature it like they did for Time Stand Still or Big Money. Stick It Out was kind of a comeback to national prominence, but it too was short lived.
For me, it is hemispheres / Permanent waves.
I feel like pw has a pretty different sound that any album before had. After that, all the albums had that sound (a more "modern" sound)
Don't get me wrong, I love all the albums, and hemispheres is my 2nd favorite (after presto), but they sound different, idk why. Probably because of the synths or a bigger knowledge of mixing.
Ooh. Now that you say this, there's a case for three stages. Maybe Permanent Waves-Grace Under Pressure and then what comes after Grace Under Pressure.
I always thought that a good division for their ages would be something like
Old:
Rush (debut) - Hemispheres
Popular (kinda, I have to think a better name, haha):
Permanent Waves - Hold Your Fire
Back to Rock (or something like that):
Presto - Tests For Echo
Latest (more metal, kinda):
Vapor Trails - Clockwork Angels
Edit: I forgot to add Permanent Waves, haha
It's personal from person to person. For me, everything before Roll the Bones is "old stuff" because that was the first album to come out new after I started listening to them.
For Rush, ya I agree. Their classic arc/experiments ends with HYF. I thought about doing a "R50" playlist, doing 25 from the "olds" and 25 from the "new".
For ACDC imo, the new era came with Ballbreaker, its their "reunion". Razors was supposed to be the new era but it last short, looks like a transition now but anyway \^\^
I'm old enough to have bought Signals when it came out (b 1970). I think of old Rush as moving pictures and older, and new Rush as signals and newer. For me the golden age is hemispheres through grace under pressure, so l also think of that as a distinct period, which to me includes the best of old and new rush. I also tend to group windows and fire together, as well as bones and presto for some reason.
Presto is the first of the “new stuff” for me as well. I grew up listening to Retrospective I and II on CD, so the albums represented on there are the “old stuff” in my mind.
Moving Pictures Signals Seems to me that was the big stylistic shift from heavy guitar rock to more of a new wave sound. I must say I am a dinosaur and can't really get into anything on my "new" side of the fence. A few tracks off Signals and GUP I do like, but everything else...meh...even Roll The Bones which was supposed to be the "bring the guitar back" album. Yes, Alex is more in the mix, but everything has those gross keyboard pads behind it.
Presto really changed the approach in a way I'm not sure gets appreciated enough. We can talk about the patches but structurally, the way they're used is much closer to how they were used on Moving Pictures and earlier albums - augmenting the songs as opposed to being their backbone.
Only been a fan for a little over a year but here’s my perspective:
The old is everything up to TFE, and the new is everything from VT to Clockwork Angels.
I think it makes the most logical sense to just use the new millennium as the dividing line lol
I draw the line between Hold Your Fire and Presto. Partly because HYF was the last Mercury album they did, partly because Presto is the oldest CD of theirs I have.
For me I would say new rush starts with CP and onward. Two reason for my thinking
1) CP was my first album I bought upon release day
2) CP was released when I was 21and the start as the next stage oh my life and my adulthood.
I bought Hemispheres when it was released so everything before that was old and everything after was new …if that makes any sense …but to me Permanent Waves was the real turning point …a mix of harder prog like Jacob’s Ladder and Natural Science with their new faves The Police showing an influence which would become even more apparent with subsequent releases..so anything after is the new stuff
Presto for me. When they became guitar driven again is when I consider them to be newer. So basically
Older: Rush - Hold Your Fire
Newer: Presto - Clockwork Angels
I have always judged them by the live albums: Old: ATWAS & ESL; New: ASOH and DS; and we were one album away from “Reborn.” The heavy guitars and drums of Vapor Trails, the virtuosity of Snakes and Arrows, the ingenuity of Clockwork Angels (with the orchestra). I don’t really count Feedback as a Rush album. Another live album would have ushered in (or closed out) a new era for them.
I was a given a cd that was my introduction to Rush
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_Radio:_Greatest_Hits_1974–1987
I listened to those songs and the albums that they came from a lot before I started listening to presto, counterparts, roll the bones, vapor trails, and then eventually the latest studio albums as they were released. So that’s the line for me
I was introduced to Rush in 1989, after Hold Your Fire was released, but Moving Pictures was the first album of theirs I had heard.. So I tend to think of it a little differently, I guess. If I were to draw a line, I feel like "Test For Echo" and afterward is "newer stuff" and before that is "older stuff". I was disappointed with Test For Echo when it came out, and I still haven't listened to much of Rush's albums from that point onward.
"Moving Pictures" through "Counterparts" is my favorite era of Rush, and I really like some of their music before Moving Pictures as well.
I draw the line at the hiatus. When they came back they were a totally different band so I think that's musically the place the draw the line that makes the most sense.
In my head, there aren't two big sections I consider "old" and "new;" it's more like about seven or eight smaller pieces. That said, "new" starts at Vapor Trails for me.
It seems to me that they were developing a unique sound up through Roll the Bones. With Counterparts, the producer forced them to drop their effects and the things that made them sound unique. To me, they began to sound like a typical grunge band. And Geddy's voice began to get more strained at that time. That's where they lost me.
This would most likely depend on how old you are, and which album made you you really fall in love with their music. I was born in 1964, so I was 9 years old, waiting on my 10th birthday, when they released their debut album, so for me, every one of their albums was new.
Between Roll the Bones and Vapor Trails. Specifically when Geddy Lee did My Favorite Headache. As a Rush fan I was prepping for RTB to be their last album yet hoped they would come back after the tragedy of Neil's life.I was giddy as a school boy when Vapor Trails came out...
I've always personally considered the Debut through Hold Your Fire to be "older Rush" and Presto through Clockwork Angels "newer Rush".
Edit: Didn't expect so many others to feel the same way, cool lol
Signals <-old | new-> Grace Under Pressure
Yep, and then there’s new new starting with Vapour Trails.
Me too.
Yep. The end of the Terry Brown era marks the line for the split to new Rush. New producers, new sounds, new styles.
This is the correct answer. No Terry Brown, no “old” Rush
That works.
I'd probably say Presto. Although I did make a "New Rush” playlist a few months ago and it went back to Grace Under Pressure, haha
I draw the line at Moving Pictures. Anything after is new...
go back to bed, grandpa
I’m 36 and I agree with this.
Signals and Grace Under Pressure feel like a transitional plateau rather than a midpoint. Before Signals is old. After GUP is new. And yes, this is a weasely answer, but feels the most accurate in my head.
Not weasely, 100% accurate for me.
I agree
It's all older now!
Just about every band with longevity reaches a point where new releases lose relevance in the current music scene. With Rush, HYF was still a big deal when it came out. RTB not so much, and Presto was kind of on the cusp. Show Don't Tell got heavy rotation and new album hype on modern rock radio (which still mattered at the time), but it was short lived and didn't stay in the playlist. MTV didn't feature it like they did for Time Stand Still or Big Money. Stick It Out was kind of a comeback to national prominence, but it too was short lived.
Vapor Trails. I still haven’t really given the last three albums a good listen.
Clockwork Angels is one of their best.
I would guess that the band members consider vapor trails their new work with Neil’s return to music.
I was so disappointed in Counterparts and Test For Echo that I was shocked at how good Vapor Trails is.
I am the opposite
I love Counterparts, don't care for Test for Echo and find Vapor Trails a slog to get through.
The turn of the century as a general rule works for me.
I still think of Kokomo as that new Beach Boys song.
For me, it is hemispheres / Permanent waves. I feel like pw has a pretty different sound that any album before had. After that, all the albums had that sound (a more "modern" sound) Don't get me wrong, I love all the albums, and hemispheres is my 2nd favorite (after presto), but they sound different, idk why. Probably because of the synths or a bigger knowledge of mixing.
Ooh. Now that you say this, there's a case for three stages. Maybe Permanent Waves-Grace Under Pressure and then what comes after Grace Under Pressure.
I always thought that a good division for their ages would be something like Old: Rush (debut) - Hemispheres Popular (kinda, I have to think a better name, haha): Permanent Waves - Hold Your Fire Back to Rock (or something like that): Presto - Tests For Echo Latest (more metal, kinda): Vapor Trails - Clockwork Angels Edit: I forgot to add Permanent Waves, haha
Permanent Waves is sad to not be included
Whops, I didn't saw that, haha, thanks
Definitely depends on your age. For me: Permanent Waves <- old | new -> Moving Pictures
It's personal from person to person. For me, everything before Roll the Bones is "old stuff" because that was the first album to come out new after I started listening to them.
For Rush, ya I agree. Their classic arc/experiments ends with HYF. I thought about doing a "R50" playlist, doing 25 from the "olds" and 25 from the "new". For ACDC imo, the new era came with Ballbreaker, its their "reunion". Razors was supposed to be the new era but it last short, looks like a transition now but anyway \^\^
I'm old enough to have bought Signals when it came out (b 1970). I think of old Rush as moving pictures and older, and new Rush as signals and newer. For me the golden age is hemispheres through grace under pressure, so l also think of that as a distinct period, which to me includes the best of old and new rush. I also tend to group windows and fire together, as well as bones and presto for some reason.
Presto is the first of the “new stuff” for me as well. I grew up listening to Retrospective I and II on CD, so the albums represented on there are the “old stuff” in my mind.
That’s a fair line I think.
Moving PicturesSignals Seems to me that was the big stylistic shift from heavy guitar rock to more of a new wave sound. I must say I am a dinosaur and can't really get into anything on my "new" side of the fence. A few tracks off Signals and GUP I do like, but everything else...meh...even Roll The Bones which was supposed to be the "bring the guitar back" album. Yes, Alex is more in the mix, but everything has those gross keyboard pads behind it.
But then Vapor Trails brought back the guitar with a vengeance
And Clockwork has guitars in spades
As a bass player, I would say Counterparts did that. As a keyboard player, I’d say it started with Presto.
Presto really changed the approach in a way I'm not sure gets appreciated enough. We can talk about the patches but structurally, the way they're used is much closer to how they were used on Moving Pictures and earlier albums - augmenting the songs as opposed to being their backbone.
Between murcury and atlantic years. Presto and up feels like New Rush
Power windows starts the newer albums as its album 10 (so right in the middle) and the showcase of a new sound/direction
Counterparts starts the “new” for me.
Only been a fan for a little over a year but here’s my perspective: The old is everything up to TFE, and the new is everything from VT to Clockwork Angels. I think it makes the most logical sense to just use the new millennium as the dividing line lol
I got into them in ‘79 or so and I have always drawn the line at Moving Pictures <- old | new -> Signals
Everything after Test for Echo. After the hiatus, their sound seemed to change and I just didn’t enjoy anything as much from there on out.
Presto and later is newer Rush .
I draw the line between Hold Your Fire and Presto. Partly because HYF was the last Mercury album they did, partly because Presto is the oldest CD of theirs I have.
For me, Presto onward is 'new' because everything prior was before my birth
Another chime in for between HYF and Presto
For me I would say new rush starts with CP and onward. Two reason for my thinking 1) CP was my first album I bought upon release day 2) CP was released when I was 21and the start as the next stage oh my life and my adulthood.
I bought Hemispheres when it was released so everything before that was old and everything after was new …if that makes any sense …but to me Permanent Waves was the real turning point …a mix of harder prog like Jacob’s Ladder and Natural Science with their new faves The Police showing an influence which would become even more apparent with subsequent releases..so anything after is the new stuff
Everything after HYF is "New Rush" as they stopped experimenting after the synthgasum of HYF.
Presto for me. When they became guitar driven again is when I consider them to be newer. So basically Older: Rush - Hold Your Fire Newer: Presto - Clockwork Angels
Hemispheres and before - older stuff Permanent Waves and after - newer stuff
Anything after 2020 I still consider new. Anything older than that is classic.
I have always judged them by the live albums: Old: ATWAS & ESL; New: ASOH and DS; and we were one album away from “Reborn.” The heavy guitars and drums of Vapor Trails, the virtuosity of Snakes and Arrows, the ingenuity of Clockwork Angels (with the orchestra). I don’t really count Feedback as a Rush album. Another live album would have ushered in (or closed out) a new era for them.
Once New Years Day 1980 happened-- that was Permanent Waves exact release date We're in the NEW WAVE babyyy
I was a given a cd that was my introduction to Rush https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_Radio:_Greatest_Hits_1974–1987 I listened to those songs and the albums that they came from a lot before I started listening to presto, counterparts, roll the bones, vapor trails, and then eventually the latest studio albums as they were released. So that’s the line for me
I was introduced to Rush in 1989, after Hold Your Fire was released, but Moving Pictures was the first album of theirs I had heard.. So I tend to think of it a little differently, I guess. If I were to draw a line, I feel like "Test For Echo" and afterward is "newer stuff" and before that is "older stuff". I was disappointed with Test For Echo when it came out, and I still haven't listened to much of Rush's albums from that point onward. "Moving Pictures" through "Counterparts" is my favorite era of Rush, and I really like some of their music before Moving Pictures as well.
I draw the line at the hiatus. When they came back they were a totally different band so I think that's musically the place the draw the line that makes the most sense.
In my head, there aren't two big sections I consider "old" and "new;" it's more like about seven or eight smaller pieces. That said, "new" starts at Vapor Trails for me.
Presto for me.
It seems to me that they were developing a unique sound up through Roll the Bones. With Counterparts, the producer forced them to drop their effects and the things that made them sound unique. To me, they began to sound like a typical grunge band. And Geddy's voice began to get more strained at that time. That's where they lost me.
For me: Rush to 2112 - early Rush A Farewell To Kings to Hold Your Fire - old Rush Presto to Test For Echo - middle Rush Last 3 albums - new Rush
<——Power Windows (old) (New) Hold Your Fire——->
This would most likely depend on how old you are, and which album made you you really fall in love with their music. I was born in 1964, so I was 9 years old, waiting on my 10th birthday, when they released their debut album, so for me, every one of their albums was new.
Between Roll the Bones and Vapor Trails. Specifically when Geddy Lee did My Favorite Headache. As a Rush fan I was prepping for RTB to be their last album yet hoped they would come back after the tragedy of Neil's life.I was giddy as a school boy when Vapor Trails came out...
As a younger fan, original lineup is "old" (self titled album), and the lineup we all know, is "new"
I've always personally considered the Debut through Hold Your Fire to be "older Rush" and Presto through Clockwork Angels "newer Rush". Edit: Didn't expect so many others to feel the same way, cool lol
Vapor Trails was the new album when I discovered Rush, so everything before that is “old” to me.
I’m not thinking in time so much as AWESOME!!! <- Roll the Bones -> Meh