Alright, let's try something new. I'm going to post a five part RUSH discography. Four posts will rank their 19 studio albums and the fifth will be a top 20 songs list. Since 19 is an odd number, I will rank 5 albums at a time for three posts, then a final four. For this series, I'm going to reveal the rankings up front, then have a free form discussion of that group of albums. If this works out, I may attempt this with other discographies. By the way, if anyone is interested in my album rankings in general, I have a Rate Your Music account under tompaine88. If you would like to request a discography or propose a topic, my email is soundmindblog@gmail.com.
19. Hold Your Fire ( 2.5 )
18. Caress of Steel ( 2.5 )
17. Test For Echo ( 3.0 )
16. Presto ( 3.0 )
15. Roll the Bones ( 3.0 )
Typically, when discographies are ranked, the newer releases are rated poorly and the early albums get rave reviews. With RUSH, I'm all over the place. They had a long career with different phases. For instance, they had a controversial keyboard phase that culminated with 1987's Hold Your Fire, my lowest rated RUSH album. While I didn't have a huge problem with this era, Hold Your Fire was a bridge too far and Alex Lifeson finally put his foot down.
This marked a major transition for the band. They left Mercury for Atlantic and the guitars were coming back. However, the first Atlantic release, 1989's Presto, was a mixed bag. It rocked more than Hold Your Fire, but the songs were quite uneven. My favorite song on Presto is the down-tempo number "The Pass", which is a song Neil Peart wrote about suicide. The big single was "Show Don't Tell" and it featured some muscular guitar parts, but otherwise the tracks on Presto are weak. I did see them live, for the first time, on this tour, so that's something.
At the dawn of the Grunge Era, RUSH released 1991's Roll the Bones. The first single, "Dreamline", is one of RUSH's best songs. However, the title track has that goofy rap section and detracts from the album. Roll the Bones was a slight improvement over Presto, but this was a difficult transitional period for the band. Their "Grunge" Era ended with 1997's Test For Echo, which included RUSH's worst song, "Dog Years". I saw them for the second time on this tour. Unfortunately, after this album, Neil's daughter died in a car accident and his wife died of cancer. He got on a motorcycle and disappeared for five years. You can read the story in his book, Ghost Rider.
I should also address my other 2.5 Star RUSH album, Caress of Steel. Although it's not very good, apart from "Bastille Day", it was an important transitional record that led to 2112. It's here where they attempt a side-long epic for the first time. RUSH had an unusual start. Neil Peart wasn't on the debut album, but joined right before the tour. He took over songwriting on the next album, Fly By Night, and they had some modest success. Caress of Steel was a step back and the record label was threatening to drop them. Defying demands for a hit from Mercury, they recorded 2112, with another side-long epic, and it was a huge success. RUSH had secured their artistic freedom.
It's a testament to RUSH that their fans have stuck with them through the transitions from the 70's to the MTV era, and then through the keyboard era to the Grunge era. They have always been a musician's band and virtuoso players. This has created a dedicated fan base that has survived the end of the band. I am one of them. Peace.
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