Shnate McDuanus Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I know we've got a few Rush fans on here. I just wanted to share my fondness for their debut album, their self-titled 1974 release: Their first album was somewhat different from the rest of their seventies output, and fairly more different from the rest of their output afterward. It was more along the lines of hard rock from that period, although (I believe) one could still easily hear what was to become of their music. The album had John Rutsey on percussion, instead of Neil Peart who would become the band's full-time percussionist. Rutsey was a fine drummer with a good sense of rhythm--hard to compare to Peart, but still a good guy who did his job well. It would have been a very different band if Rutsey hadn't left (he had some health problems that made it hard for him to tour,) but this is a Rush album the whole way through, and it's one of my favorites. For one thing, it demonstrates the songwriting abilities of Lee and Lifeson, who prove themselves to be more than capable on this album, and it also demonstrates Lifeson's abilities as a lead player. His solos and riffs are definitely more conventional-sounding (as if Rush were ever conventional) and the blues and hard-rock influence is more clear here than (IMO) on any of their later work. There are two songs on here which I think are generally considered classics, hits, what have you. "Finding My Way," and "Working Man." These are by no means the only good songs on the album, however. I've listened to it many times, and found that, on its own merits, it's a great hard rock album. Every track on it has its own appeal, there are some solid rockers on here, a couple of seven-minute epics, and a slow one that's really worth listening to. Overall, there was nothing on here that I felt like skipping, ever. In all, it's a good album. It's not A Farewell To Kings or Roll The Bones or Presto or 2112 or Caress Of Steel or Fly By Night. It's an album of its own kind, and it was really a great way to start off a career in rock and roll. I give it an 8/10, and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard it. Oh, and AXE, I'm truly sorry if Alex, Geddy, Neal or John killed your hamster/kitten/parents. My condolences to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Well being a huge Rush you won't get any disagreements from me. Just to add about Rutsey, he passed away in 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 Well being a huge Rush you won't get any disagreements from me. BTW' date=' Rutsey passed away in 2008. [/quote'] Hm, yeah. I had heard about Rutsey's passing back then--it's a real shame at that, but it happens to everyone. According to Lifeson, John had apparently stopped playing after he left Rush, and went into amateur bodybuilding for a period of time? I must say, especially listening to "Working Man," (which I'm doing again now,) one can really hear Rutsey's fantastic rhythmic playing abilities coming through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Here Again was one of the first songs I leaned on guitar. It's still one of my favorite Rush songs. I prefer early Rush and can't stand anything they did after A Farewell To Kings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 I'm not going to lie here: I love all of it. My least favorite Rush album was Vapor Trails and I still kinda liked that one. One of my favorites (beyond their first five albums) was actually Presto, with "Scars," "Presto," and "Show Don't Tell." But yeah, I can understand why you'd hate their post-Farewell work--it's different stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I will always be a Rush fan, but im not crazy about anything after Signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I was a huge RUSH fan back then. I'd have to say my fav would be a toss-up between this one and 2112. I have this one in the basement somewhere, in bad shape no doubt. My fav song on it was In The Mood. I had a friend back then who played bass and he taught me the bass on some of the songs but I can't remember it now. That was a long long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 RUSH, couldn't live without them. Love everything from the beginning to the current. There was a little lul in my following of them probably somewhere between Signals and Roll the Bones. But I've picked up heavily now. I currently have the RUSH CD in my car alternating between that and Exit Stage Left and All the World's a Stage. My kids thought it was too funny when they found out my Parental Code on our cable TV was 2112. Of course I changed the code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 My kids thought it was too funny when they found out my Parental Code on our cable TV was 2112. Of course I changed the code. lol!...I use the same code. Its something easy for me to remember. Thats funny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 ...I use the numeric sequence 2112 for more things than I'd like to admit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 ...I use the numeric sequence 2112 for more things than I'd like to admit. One more post and you'll have a dislexic 2112. I too am very aware of 2112. My kids call me a geek. When I buy something that rings up to 21.20' date=' I tell the clerk it's .08 cents too much. When my checking account balance got to 2112, I pointed it out to my wife and kids. Again, I'm a RUSH geek. To bad I won't be living in the year 2112, I'd re-discover my Les Paul all over again. OK that's enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 One more post and you'll have a dislexic 2112. I too am very aware of 2112. My kids call me a geek. When I buy something that rings up to 21.20' date=' I tell the clerk it's .08 cents too much. When my checking account balance got to 2112, I pointed it out to my wife and kids. Again, I'm a RUSH geek. To bad I won't be living in the year 2112, I'd re-discover my Les Paul all over again. OK that's enough... I was loving it. You'll hear no complaints from me. By the way, I'm going to stop posting here when I reach 2112 posts, so...my days are numbered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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