Rush - the epics 1975-1981 POLL

2112

we will call you "cygnus" -- the god of balance you shall be

2112 then La Villa.

Snow Dog! is victorious...

I was thinking about the development they showed on the three side-long epics they did... like, 'The Fountain of Lamneth' has some great moments, but is easily the least tight of the three compositionally, it's basically a series of several different songs shoehorned together in the hope that a reprise and the lyrical theme will be enough to cohere them into a whole. It isn't. I always hear it as a series of songs rather than as a complete thing.

By the time they got to 'Cygnux X-1 Book II: Hemispheres', they'd managed to create a 20 minute side that plays like it's a complete piece. '2112' sits in the middle, like 'The Fountain of Lamneth', each different part is its own thing, but it's all tied together more expertly, with the overture setting the scene and the musical and lyrical themes gelling better.

*Cygnus

Xanadu gets my vote. Peak '70s Rush right there, a perfect mix of subtlety and power.

2112 ftw

'Xanadu' is incredible - even now, hundreds of listens later, that track doesn't feel like it's 11 minutes long.

by-tor no question

Tempted to cast a contrarian vote for The Camera Eye, which is beautifully structured, but yeah By-Tor duh

At the very least, "By-Tor & the Snow Dog" might be the least cool song ever recorded, which itself is pretty cool.

let the fray begin

gut reaction is 2112. gonna go listen to these again, it's been a while

What would be contrarian about a vote for 'The Camera Eye'? It's great!

it is but Alex and Neil had short hair by then and they'd ditched the kimonos

idk it's a bit like voting for Marquee Moon in a general epics poll simply due to running ti- oh wait

They didn't have the kimonos for that long!

I voted for "La Villa Strangiato", although the ending is not 100% satisfying imo. The harmonics riff is beautiful, the groove in 7 is slick, the solo yearns. Always makes me think of skating on the canal for some reason. I want to revisit those Permanent Waves epics, though. Iirc, Kris once compared "Natural Science" to a mash-up of Yes and Afrika Bambaataa.

I love the playing in the middle section of 'Natural Science', just incredibly tight.

I didn't give a shout-out to that main riff-based ensemble passage in 4 in "Strangiato" but obv it's unforgettable too.

And I'm actually reconsidering that the inconclusive ending might be really clever.

This is a tough one. The Camera Eye is one of my favorite Rush tracks, but it is structured more like a very long conventional song than a multi-part epic, so I feel like italmost doesn't count. I also really love the Different Stages version of 2112. Xanadu and Hemispheres are close contenders as well. Decisions, decisions.

I've finally settled on one - all I'm gonna say is that it's not 'The Necromancer', a track that nobody seems to talk about aside from the absolute hardcore.

set-list for that show i saw in 1980 and that i mentioned on the other rush thread. epic after epic.

2112
Freewill
By-Tor And The Snow Dog
Xanadu
The Spirit Of Radio
Natural Science
A Passage To Bangkok
The Trees
Cygnus X-1: Book I: The Voyage
Cygnus X-1: Book II: Hemispheres
Closer To The Heart
Beneath, Between And Behind
Jacob’s Ladder
Working Man
Finding My Way
Anthem
Bastille Day
In The Mood
Drum Solo

Encore: La Villa Strangiato

opening with all of 2112 is truly inspired if you ask me.

Amazing

Holy shit, what a setlist! And of course, this is before Moving Pictures and concert staples like 'Tom Sawyer', 'Limelight' and 'YYZ' etc. were a thing.

Some of those were abridged versions, surely? Else that would be one seriously long gig.

I saw them on that same tour! (First rock band to play Joe Louis Arena.) 3 of 4 epics to start! Still, my sweet spot is the last batch of tunes, before the drum solo.

new haven 1980 bootleg on youtube has 2112 and xanadu at 13 minutes each. i was so happy to hear xanadu and jacob's ladder live.

Speaking of which, shouldn't "Working Man" be in the poll? It clocks in at 7 minutes plus.

No, because it came out in '74 ;)

I know I'm in the minority here, but that first Rush LP is my favorite. Nothing against Peart, and sure, they were Zep copyists at that point but they were good at it.

I like the debut, but for me the band really begin with Fly by Night and even then they were just warming up for a couple of LP's!

i just played that first live double album over and over and over when i was a kid. 1979 and 1980 was just non-stop rush, sabbath, and priest for me. until kings of the wild frontier came out. (which i bought on october 1, 1980. a very definite before/after for me.)

I had that same rotation going, with Blue Oyster Cult thrown in for comic relief.

I saw Rush a bunch of times in those days - the opening act was always some kind of April Wine/Max Webster/Triumph combination.

I played that Rush Live LP over and over too, to the point where I was shocked when somebody mentioned that corny part at the end where you hear the band going "aw man, what a show!"...For whatever reason I never noticed it!

Listening to Hemispheres this morning is reminding me just how awesome this band were when they were firing on all cylinders.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I haven't listened to any of these in probably a decade or more, but voted La Villa.

I ended up voting for Hemispheres because that's what I'm feeling right now. It's the moment they went from really good band to Godhead.

I saw Primus the other night and they tossed out the opening riff of Cygnus X-1 at one point.

Yeah, I voted for 'Hemispheres' too... my favourite of all the side-long epics.

Although the 'No One At The Bridge' section of 'The Fountain of Lamneth' is all-time for me... love the guitar solo on that.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Top 2 OTM

Aww, I feel bad for Camera's Eye, it's nearest to my heart.

Xanadu's a pretty good jam, but I never got down with that "for I will dine on honeydew" stuff. Honeydew melons? Yech! Like that's supposed to be a big deal? Honey Dew donuts, maybe.

I always liked honeydew melon but tbf it was Coleridge who made a big deal about it in the first place.

Maybe honeydew melons taste fabulous while on opium.

0 votes for 'Natural Science'!

"natural science" (and "jacob's ladder"!) are in my top 4

Would buy a 7-sided LP set consisting of all these tracks.

Agreed - they were untouchable.