Think it was actually the other way around for Neil Peart and Rush fans. The fans knew Neil was uncomfortable with any adulation, he d or meeting fans and accepted that the deal was Alex and Geddy were available but Neil was off limits and that was a deal they were happy to accept.Bit late to the party on this one, but agreed MP is a great album. Not as good as Signals, p/g or Power Windows to my ears, but fabulous nonetheless. I could chime in about what makes it so great, but tbf, OB1 and others have done a great job on that already.
The other 3 albums I mentioned every track is top drawer, but I think this one is let down by the ten minutes spent on the track at the start of side 2. Just underwhelming in every respect. It’s the last long form track they ever put out, and seems to have been the death knell for them with that approach. There is a very good and obvious reason why they didn’t play it live for 30 years.
His lyrics on Limelight have also always jarred with me, particularly the line “I can’t pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend”.
Neil, you made a fortune out of your fans, and no one was asking you to go that far, but a reticence to engage with the fans (and to leave it to the other two) - and to basically moan about it publicly - which that track does, doesn’t sit well with me. It’s part of “the deal” I’m afraid, imho.
Oops, yes for sure pal - hmm, I think I would suggest 8/10 for this.No. I’m not one who believes that hi-if quality is any better than, say, MP3 ripped at 256 Mb/s. The human ear isn’t good enough to detect the difference - certainly not mine!
Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know. Do you think they are better than Spotify etc?
I know OB1 also said that he loved Signals. Had a listen again on Friday, but “Subdivisions” aside, I’d put it much lower on a ranked list of Rush albums.
Agree on “The Camera Eye”, although I think “Headlong Flight” from Clockwork Angels clocks in at over 9 minutes and is a great track.
Are you going to offer up a score for MP?
Fair enough, though I can only speak for myself not for all other Rush fans. If I’d ever met Neil I would have loved to had a conversation with him, however brief, to maybe have an item autographed etc. My feeling on this is not a Rush-specific one, it would apply across all rock stars. I wouldn’t want to be misconstrued; I’m not taking about going bothering someone out with their family having a meal for example, level of intrusion etc, but for an artist to basically write a song saying poor famous me, the fans who buy my records are a bit of a pain, has just always felt jarring for me.Think it was actually the other way around for Neil Peart and Rush fans. The fans knew Neil was uncomfortable with any adulation, he d or meeting fans and accepted that the deal was Alex and Geddy were available but Neil was off limits and that was a deal they were happy to accept.
I can guarantee that you would hear the difference between Spotify and the two I mentioned on your set up and I’m half deaf in my right ear :-).No. I’m not one who believes that hi-if quality is any better than, say, MP3 ripped at 256 Mb/s. The human ear isn’t good enough to detect the difference - certainly not mine!
Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know. Do you think they are better than Spotify etc?
I know OB1 also said that he loved Signals. Had a listen again on Friday, but “Subdivisions” aside, I’d put it much lower on a ranked list of Rush albums.
Agree on “The Camera Eye”, although I think “Headlong Flight” from Clockwork Angels clocks in at over 9 minutes and is a great track.
Are you going to offer up a score for MP?
Might give it a go sometime, but how’s not the time to be adding £9 to the monthly outgoings!I can guarantee that you would hear the difference between Spotify and the two I mentioned on your set up and I’m half deaf in my right ear :-).
edit
Amazon HD edges it and is the cheaper of the two. They used to give free trials for a month too.
I know what you mean but 30 days free to see.Might give it a go sometime, but how’s not the time to be adding £9 to the monthly outgoings!
Very similar to my feelings mate. I think I also used the phrase ‘less is more’. I went a little further with the lyrics though. They are quite dreadful on a couple of tracks.I was listening to very different stuff when Moving Pictures was released and despite broadening of my tastes over the years, Rush have never really made it in there so was determined to give this a good few spins. I spent the majority of time appreciating what I was hearing but trying to work out why it wasn’t floating my boat. I think it’s a number of things:
All that said I am impressed by how as a trio they can make such an expansive sound and replicate that live too. But I think that’s the issue for me, I’m impressed but not moved.
- Sometimes, the combination of Geddy Lee’s vocal style and the Peart’s lyrics leave me cold. I don’t have an issue with Lee’s vocals per se but depending on the song when combined with the way Peart expresses himself, they sometimes tumble towards cliché for me.
- It made me realise just how much I value economy in song writing, particularly lyrically. Though they are capable of this musically and lyrically, a ‘less is more’ approach isn’t really their core philosophy!
- I think there is sometimes a weird disconnect where the three of them are playing brilliantly but to me it just doesn’t come together singularly in service of the song. Can’t articulate it any better than that.
- It also made me realise that when I am in the mood for some virtuosity or complexity, for reasons I’m not entirely sure of, I tend to gravitate more towards jazz or classical rather than rock.
I’m giving it 5/10 on the basis it would be churlish to score the level of talent on show any less but I’m going to stick to listening to the half dozen or so tracks from their catalogue that I enjoy.
I think it depends on how you're listening to it. If you're listening on high quality speakers on higher volume (not blasting) and set up there is a huge difference between Spotify (which is notoriously bad) and FLAC. or a CD.No. I’m not one who believes that hi-if quality is any better than, say, MP3 ripped at 256 Mb/s. The human ear isn’t good enough to detect the difference - certainly not mine!
Even though I scored it higher, I can see what you're saying and that's an excellent review.I was listening to very different stuff when Moving Pictures was released and despite broadening of my tastes over the years, Rush have never really made it in there so was determined to give this a good few spins. I spent the majority of time appreciating what I was hearing but trying to work out why it wasn’t floating my boat. I think it’s a number of things:
All that said I am impressed by how as a trio they can make such an expansive sound and replicate that live too. But I think that’s the issue for me, I’m impressed but not moved.
- Sometimes, the combination of Geddy Lee’s vocal style and Peart’s lyrics leave me cold. I don’t have an issue with Lee’s vocals per se but depending on the song when combined with the way Peart expresses himself, they sometimes tumble towards cliché for me.
- It made me realise just how much I value economy in song writing, particularly lyrically. Though they are capable of this musically and lyrically, a ‘less is more’ approach isn’t really their core philosophy!
- I think there is sometimes a weird disconnect where the three of them are playing brilliantly but to me it just doesn’t come together singularly in service of the song. Can’t articulate it any better than that.
- It also made me realise that when I am in the mood for some virtuosity or complexity, for reasons I’m not entirely sure of, I tend to gravitate more towards jazz or classical rather than rock.
I’m giving it 5/10 on the basis it would be churlish to score the level of talent on show any less but I’m going to stick to listening to the half dozen or so tracks from their catalogue that I enjoy.