THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: rush

RUSH – Moving Pictures

November 29, 2021 /

I’ll admit to being an early Rush fan, especially 2112, but over time I have come to think that this album was the pinnacle of Rush. I know people will disagree with that as there was a lot of music that came after this release. It’s amazing how many times I have walked in front of that building and thought how immortal it has become in Rush folklore. You will see people trying to capture that exact shot any day you visit.

I think it’s fair to say that there is not one second that I do not like about this record. It has definitely been an inspiration for tons of bands – just listen to Dream Theater for example. Opening with Tom Sawyer, which surprisingly was a huge hit everywhere, the album just explodes. Red Barchetta is a killer track and the instrumental sections are just superb. YYZ, which is the reporting tag for Pearson Airport, follows and how much more Toronto does this have to be. One of the best instrumental tracks ever put to wax. All of the band have their spots and it’s not just a guitar sausage fest. Limelight closes out Side 1 and was the second single released. It’s the little things to me that make this song like the picking of chords with the chorus peddle – I just love. A pretty awesome side 1!

The Camera Eye opens up Side 2 and is the one song on this album that points to the future for the band. Keyboards are quite prominent, but the groove and instrumental pieces in this track are just awesome. Witch Hunt, which I think is the most forgotten track on the album, is next and I think it’s one of the heaviest sounding pieces that the band ever did. The album closes out with Vital Signs where keyboards meet reggae.

They were never afraid to experiment mixing all styles, which is what I loved about Rush. If you were to only own one Rush album, this would be it.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

MONSTER TRUCK – Sittin’ Heavy

July 30, 2021 /

Monster Truck are Hamilton Ontario’s contribution to the whole revisiting of retro rock – and a mighty fine rock n roll band they are. This is the band’s second album, and a continuation from their first album, Furiosity. Formed back in 2011, the band’s rise as been quick – mainly due to the fact they write great songs that rock hard with big hooks and melodies.

The opening salvo of Why Are You Not Rockin’ and Don’t Tell Me How To Live will have you bouncing round your room of doom singing along. Great stuff!!! She’s A Witch has a very heavy Sabbath vibe going down at the intro, and then it breaks into an almost southern groove with a great old school solo and a killer ending. For The People has a guest appearance from Big Wreck’s Ian Thornley, and is another visit to southern territory with an almost underlying country vibe. A big shout out to Jon Harvey who has such an amazing powerful voice that really carries the tunes along.

Black Forest opens up Side 2 and slows the pace right down with a killer soulful ballad. Another Man’s Shoes has a big fat riff that grooves hard. Things Get Better is driven by the bounce of the opening piano, and again the southern vibe is very strong. If your from the GTA, then chances are you will be a Maple Leafs fan, and to have your track played after every goal the Leafs score must be an awesome event – that’s what happened with their track The Enforcer. The big sing along whoa whoa’s lend themselves to any sporting event.

Over to Side 3 we go with To The Flame, the huge fat riff gives way to a slow almost funk groove – with a vocal that reminds me of Chris Cornell. Midnight (which is a bonus track to this version) is next and has a choppy heavy riff and groove. New Souls follows and is a great modern rock song that drives and pounds hard. Enjoy The Time is the last track and has a heavy Black Crowes vibe as Side 4 is given up to the dreaded etched side – and we all know how I feel about those!

A really good record that just rocks hard and has a couple of nice slow moments that breaks up the pace nicely.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

RUSH – Grace Under Pressure

July 30, 2021 /

I’ll admit to not being the world’s biggest Rush fan – I can take them or leave them. For me, this was the last album that held my interest (up until Clockwork Angels), as I thought they had lost the thing that made them interesting – all because they were hell bent on changing for changes sake. For some bands and artists, this can be a good thing, as it inspires them to new heights of creativity (Steven Wilson), However, Rush lost me completely after this record.

This album was a departure for them as well, and I remember Rush fans falling over themselves to hate this record when it came out. You can identify the time this album came out by just listening to it. It’s full of all the things that were popular at the time, keyboard heavy, lots of guitar effects, spacey vocals, and it sounded almost poppy in places – it even has a bit of fast reggae with The Enemy Within. The band also wanted a change from long time producer Terry Brown, and went with a modern producer in Peter Henderson. The emphasis is more on the song than the big instrumental sections, even though there are still moments of brilliance from Lifeson on guitar. There are quite a few highlights for me on this record, the opener Distant Early Warning, The Body Electric and Kid Gloves all hit the spot. It’s quite sad that they will no longer be around as it’s another part of my youth that is no more.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

RUSH – Permanent Waves

February 12, 2021 /

I’ll admit to not being the world’s biggest Rush fan, but I do recognize they had a period where the quality of their tunes was top notch and this album is prime period Rush. Along with Hemispheres and Moving Pictures, for me, was Rush at their peak. All three are great musicians but the master of them all, Neal Peart. was at the peak of his profession and he wrote seriously interesting lyrics.

What a way to start an album off with Spirit of Radio, which ended up being your most well known song around the world. At the time this was about as close as Rush would come to commercial success. Freewill follows, and this is more of what I expect from them, a more progressive tune with lots of instrumental sections and some serious over playing. The one thing about Rush is that you can always recognize the sound. Whether it be Lifeson’s guitar, Peart’s drumming, or more obviously Geddy’s vocal, they are instantly recognizable. Side closer the epic Jacobs Ladder, has all of the trade mark Rush ingredients, cool time and key changes, and a big instrumental section. Over on the flip side, and Entre Nous, which by Rush’s standards is a normal song. Different Strings is the slow track on the album before we get to album closer Natural Science with its 9 minute progressive workout.

There are sections in this that Dream Theater have lifted to use on their own songs. The albums they record are definitely of their time, as the effects and instruments they used date them, especially on this and Grace Under Pressure being the other one that springs to mind. Anyhoo you may be thinking I don’t like this all that much, but I do, and I appreciate them as artists.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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