Rush:
I’m going through my rediscovery of Rush phase right now.
They were the first concert I ever saw. 1980. Ticket was $7.00.
At the concert I wasn’t impressed at first, but after the first
song, I was in drooling awe. They were so good. And it was just
the three of them with a screen in the back.
I had won the live album Exit Stage Left off some radio
contest and my cousin or someone had sent me an 8-track of Fly By Night.
I liked the music, but I was unsure about the concert, mainly because
I’d never been to one before. Ah, the smell of weed smoke and the
lights and the music sucked me in. I was hooked.
I consider them one of the greatest bands ever, whether you call it prog rock,
rock, or whatever. Each and everyone of them is a master with his instrument(s),
and I am really appreciating that for the first time in twenty-five or so years.
My favorite Rush albums in chronological order are:
Fly By Night
2112
Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Signals
Grace Under Pressure
I agree with my friend Ken who is a tremendous Rush fan, in that they lost
a fourth of the magic when the got rid of Terry Brown, their producer since
their inception. After Grace Under Pressure, I thought they went in a direction
that didn’t feel like the Rush I had loved.
Perhaps I should go back and listen to some of those post-Grace albums with a
more open mind.
Brady's Cellar 