Rush - "Presto" & "Roll The Bones" Discussion

[Blackwood]

As someone whose favorite Rush album is Grace Under Pressure, my opinions related to Rush will always be viewed with some suspicion.

But if Roll The Bones had been a CD with only Ghost of a Chance on it, I wouldn’t have complained about the money spent to buy it.

I hadn’t been paying attention to the band for a long time, but a co-worker shared that song right around the year 2000 and it hooked me in a big way. Such a beautifully sung and arranged chorus.

 

[stoopid]

I'd like to ask about best recommendations for official releases of all those albums but it would get my post removed and I'd be scolded not to ask about bootlegs even though I literally asked about official releases.

There's been lists made on Rush fan forums over the years for best boutique remasters from Mobile Fidelity and the like. But it's a subjective topic, some might not care if there's some compression if it brings out detail or pushes an element forward in the mix they prefer, etc.

I've intentionally not gone down the rabbit hole of chasing any popular artist's "best" mixes, as there tends to be a lot of them as you start to dig (Japanese releases, several boutique audiophile releases, and their own remasters released over time, etc). For Rush there's glaring issues on a handful of albums, like Vapor Trails being over-compressed (fan and official re-released versions help alleviate much of that), and what's discussed here. Otherwise I find they had for their time very good engineers and quality sounding albums at release.

 

[stoopid]

As someone whose favorite Rush album is Grace Under Pressure, my opinions related to Rush will always be viewed with some suspicion.

But if Roll The Bones had been a CD with only Ghost of a Chance on it, I wouldn’t have complained about the money spent to buy it.

I hadn’t been paying attention to the band for a long time, but a co-worker shared that song right around the year 2000 and it hooked me in a big way. Such a beautifully sung and arranged chorus.

Agree with both. GUP is a good album, IMO the whole thing has held up better than Signals. Enemy Within is one of my favorite Rush tracks.

I felt like their electronic experimentation started mostly on Signals with some growing pains, peaked on GUP, was overkill on PoW. HYF started them back on the slow road towards guitar based rock that culminated on Counterparts. As Mike has said a few times, Counterparts is one of their (maybe THE) best sounding post Moving Pictures albums. There's a whole back story about why that came to be and who was involved. Sadly they didn't quite carry that forward into Test For Echo, though in the same vein.

 

[Bill B]

Cool. I wasn't going to comment anymore on this topic being that it was a side conversation, but now that it has it's own thread.....
I love Rush. I got to see them lots of time live due to their longevity and willingness to tour regularly, up to the end.

I can listen to any of their songs. When I put on an album I will listen to them all, happily.
However, if I were to rank every album and every song, the songs from those two albums would trend toward the bottom of the list. (I've always assumed it was Rupert Hine's "fault" since they were the only two albums he produced, and I just didn't dig it).

Beyond that, I started listening to Rush about the time AFTK was released. At that point they were considered hard rock (heavy metal in some eyes, but never mine) so the songs I would rate highest are those that fit that template.

I am not an audiophile so some of the things that would bother many of you, don't matter as much to me. There are also some albums that I know I hold in higher regard than many others, for instance, I really like "Hold Your Fire". Every song really.
So I guess that makes me one of the "likes every song" fans. But not all songs/albums are equal. Some are more equal than others.

 

[timbre4]

There are also some albums that I know I hold in higher regard than many others, for instance, I really like "Hold Your Fire". Every song really. So I guess that makes me one of the "likes every song" fans.

I like all their albums; I’m also a big fan of Hold Your Fire as well as Power Windows and those tours. Power Windows (DDD) was the 3rd CD I ever bought. Brand new for late 1985, it was a great demo disc in my Pacific Stereo days selling gear. The dynamic range of Manhattan Project was very effective in the best speakers room.

 

[edisonbaggins]

For my taste, the best HYF songs are also on A Show of Hands. The sound is similar, so good enough for me.

 

[cbmmm3]

Im a big Rush fan. Ive gone down that rabbit hole of best sounding releases. And I am glad I did because it takes my appreciation of their talents to yet a higher level. And @Blackwood - I am complicit with you as I feel Grace is an awesome album. But then again - I really appreciate Test For Echo also

 

[RustyStatic]

Yeah, Presto through Test For Echo hit at a time in my life where these records were really important to me. I remember being fascinated by the cover of Chronicles and took a chance on it as a birthday request—after hearing the name "Rush" for a while from some of the older kids around school. Was immediately taken with that rock-solid collection and grabbed Presto as it was the most recent release and they had just finished touring it. Saw them for the first time on the Roll The Bones tour, a ragtag group of us mulleted outcasts jumping in my buddy's van and heading to Nassau Coliseum—Mr. Big was the opener.

As an A/V student in undergrad I made a short film with excerpts from "The Pass" as the connective tissue throughout a story about losing a friend to suicide. Played the newly released Counterparts to death on my college radio show and spun it almost on repeat for about two years in my dorm room—the soundtrack to our MarioKart tournaments. When I was in grad school in an unfamiliar town and Echo came out, I was living on rice and beans but scraped enough money together to buy that and U2 Pop that year from the little record shop in town, I remember it well.

With a lot more years piled on I have more perspective on those albums as part of a now complete canon—and just like when I spin some Uriah Heep, I can smirk at the things that don't hold up so well, but I love 'em just the same.

 

[Bill B]

Yeah, Presto through Test For Echo hit at a time in my life where these records were really important to me. I remember being fascinated by the cover of Chronicles and took a chance on it as a birthday request—after hearing the name "Rush" for a while from some of the older kids around school. Was immediately taken with that rock-solid collection and grabbed Presto as it was the most recent release and they had just finished touring it. Saw them for the first time on the Roll The Bones tour, a ragtag group of us mulleted outcasts jumping in my buddy's van and heading to Nassau Coliseum—Mr. Big was the opener.

That is something I've noticed about Rush fans. The albums that came out directly around the time they got into the band, are always amongst their favorites. Another trend, fans that got into the band before Moving Pictures, when they were a hard rock band have diminishing love for their post MP albums. This is a testament to the band's longevity, always evolving sound and never putting out the same album twice like many other bands do. To me this is what made them one of the best ever.

 

[edisonbaggins]

That is something I've noticed about Rush fans. The albums that came out directly around the time they got into the band, are always amongst their favorites.

RtB was my "new" album. I nearly despise it.

 

[Blackwood]

That is something I've noticed about Rush fans. The albums that came out directly around the time they got into the band, are always amongst their favorites. Another trend, fans that got into the band before Moving Pictures, when they were a hard rock band have diminishing love for their post MP albums. This is a testament to the band's longevity, always evolving sound and never putting out the same album twice like many other bands do. To me this is what made them one of the best ever.

That’s me. I had friends who were into Rush way earlier than I was, but it was seeing Distant Early Warning on MTV that hooked me. Not the video of course... that was a bit lacking in my mind. But the song was great. And that’s probably why the keyboard heavier era that some fans dislike aren’t a big deal to me as it was a part of my jumping on point and seemed natural to me.

 

[Bill B]

That’s me. I had friends who were into Rush way earlier than I was, but it was seeing Distant Early Warning on MTV that hooked me. Not the video of course... that was a bit lacking in my mind. But the song was great. And that’s probably why the keyboard heavier era that some fans dislike aren’t a big deal to me as it was a part of my jumping on point and seemed natural to me.

LOL,, they did have some cheesy videos. I'd say the cheesiest IMO was "Time Stand Still". Who thought them floating around was a good idea?

 

[Bill B]

RtB was my "new" album. I nearly despise it.

Wow, I had you pegged as getting into them in the MP era. So you discovered their earlier music late and felt duped when you got RtB. I'd say you are definitely an exception. So what made you notice them in 1990 and not prior?

 

[cbmmm3]

LOL,, they did have some cheesy videos. I'd say the cheesiest IMO was "Time Stand Still". Who thought them floating around was a good idea?

well, there was Aimee Mann running the camera in the video. so it wasnt ALL that bad..............

 

[cbmmm3]

here is a great read

https://progarchy.com/2015/04/11/testing-for-echo-rushs-odd-but-1996-brilliant-masterpiece/

 

[timbre4]

For my taste, the best HYF songs are also on A Show of Hands. The sound is similar, so good enough for me.

Yep, had the laserdisc and then the DVD. The performance of Mission came from the San Diego show I attended,

 

[edisonbaggins]

Wow, I had you pegged as getting into them in the MP era. So you discovered their earlier music late and felt duped when you got RtB. I'd say you are definitely an exception. So what made you notice them in 1990 and not prior?

Sheer coming of age timing. I would have been around 12 yo. Just newly listening to radio for myself, just beginning to "borrow" albums from friends and family.
I recall that I heard Subdivisions on the radio, but didn't know who performed it until much later. Maybe when I finally discovered Signals or ASoH.

I liked RtB fairly ok, at the time. It hasn't aged well, for me. That goes for many Rush records, unfortunately. But, I'll always have the core albums I really love.

I "discovered" Rush via an unmarked cassette on my buddy's bedroom floor. We popped it on his boom box during mandatory room cleaning. We were both gobsmacked. The rest is history!

Talk about an outlier: other than CP, for which I often skip 3 tracks (5 - 7, conveniently), Feedback is my favorite later Rush release. All great songs. The boys having fun. Short and sweet. Very good sound, IMO!

 

[jimfisheye]

I got turned onto Rush late too. Junior high around 1980. Someone played me 2112 and I just had to have it and listen to it all the time! Probably picked up All the Worlds a Stage next. Signals just confused me. I probably just thought "Crap, another band I got turned onto too late and they've already run their course!" A pattern for me.

In hindsight, there are some gems throughout the "later years" and the band is sure kick ass! The mastering on all that stuff just pushes me farther away though.

 

[stoopid]

In hindsight, there are some gems throughout the "later years" and the band is sure kick ass! The mastering on all that stuff just pushes me farther away though.

If you haven't heard the remix of Vapor Trails and are sensitive to compression and oversaturation, you might like it. While not devoid of compression, the treatment in the mix is more spacious.

https://www.amazon.com/Vapor-Trails-Remixed-Rush/dp/B00E9P959O
My favorite VT mix was the fan generated one, using a set of tools and instructions (DIY) to remove the clipping/distorted peaks. Once the chainsaw buzz is gone, the heaviness of the album is clear. It could be their hardest rock album (Counterparts would be another example/candidate). The remix from 2013 neuters some of the edge from the album in a way I feel steals from its impact musically, but sonically there's no doubt the 2013 remix is better overall.

 

[Bill B]

here is a great read

https://progarchy.com/2015/04/11/testing-for-echo-rushs-odd-but-1996-brilliant-masterpiece/

Very interesting. I had never seen that one.
I think my unhappiness with Presto and RtB are the reason I like CP and TFE so much, the heaviness and rock aesthetics were back and that made me appreciate them even more. I was relieved that my guitar centric favorite band was back.