No writing for 2 weeks, I think that's just about a record for me. When you get out of it, it's tough to get back in. These are words that 'World of Warcraft' addicts should heed, the memories of 2009 are stark and clear.
...'lock them in a room for a fortnight and daily quests are no longer required'
HIVE authors feel like they are missing out on the pot, and they are! I feel the same so it's time to get my fingers moving, that's if there's something to write about.
1980, was the year I was self-inducted into progressive music indirectly and mostly alone. One bearded 70's bloke I knew who suffered from quite bad BO did influence me a little in the ways of Genesis, but when it came to Rush it was 'Spirit of Radio' that got my attention.
It's a distinctive 'non-progressive' radio-friendly track but it did the job of pulling me to the group and adding me as their latest fan.
So why 'Ominous Rush'? Some of my favourite tracks at the turn of this decade had a very dark sound and these are the ones I will present today.
Rush - Tom Sawyer (Moving Pictures – 1981)
Their most famous song? If so, I don't hear it played anymore... like ever!
…'add some keyboards to mix in with the guitars and you get that magic'… - @slobberchops
The character created by Mark Twain was a mischievous soul, always getting into trouble and tricking those 'adults', yet this song portrays a brooding lyrical mix of individualism and liberation.
Is there some kind of connection besides being non-conformist? I don't tend to interrogate lyrics much but when I hear rhymes such as this:
…'and what you say about his company is what you say about society…'
...I tend to think the song is politically motivated.
...'My Effin' Life - a interesting read, er.. listen' - Source...
I am listening to Geddy Lee's... 'My Effin Life' as of now and learned that this epic was almost ditched due to it being a pain in the arse to record.
Could you imagine 'Permanent Waves' without Tom Sawyer?
I do wonder if Gavin Harrison could pull this one off in the same way as the incredible Neal Peart does. Watch the video and look at the work he's putting into it. It looks truly fearsome to pull off.
The styles of these two do seem quite similar; two of the best drummers you will ever see.
Rush - Jacob's Ladder (Permanent Waves – 1980)
One year before came 'Permanent Waves', this one always makes me shiver. Ominous is most definitely an attribute that could be assigned to 'Jacobs Ladder'.
Just like Genesis in 1980 with 'Duke', Rush were writing shorter songs, but not all were so. At 7 and a half minutes this hard rock song of war (that's what it sounds like to me), stuck out like a shining gem, and I took it in instantly.
Once Geddy stops singing, and the 'ladder climb' starts we are treated to one of the finest Alex Lifeson guitar parts I have heard, starting low and soaring into the stratosphere.
This song does not seem to be talked about much, and it was bypassed in Geddy's Autobiography. Typical me, liking the stuff that seems bland to everyone else; they don't know what they are missing.
…'The clouds prepare for battle, in the dark and brooding silence'…
Lyrics are sparse in Jacob's Ladder. It doesn't need much, just a smatter before it takes off.
Rush - Witch Hunt (Moving Pictures – 1981)
'Outlander' the series; this one reminds me of it.
In 1743 witches were real and Witchfinders loved burning them at the stake and to a gloating enthusiastic public audience.
In 1980, I was always interested in the start of this song and how they managed to get an authentic angry mob to jeer over the menacing-sounding introduction.
Geddy's book says tells me the 'mob' was all the sound engineers, the band, and the production team all pissed and recorded one late night in the open air. I wonder if there was a burning stake to make it more authentic.
Witch Hunt is a track on 'Moving Pictures', which was Rush's most commercially successful album, but it's far from my favourite. By 1981, the songs were getting even shorter, but not necessarily worse.
In contrast, Genesis released 'Abacab' in the same year with shorter songs, which at the time I hated. Rush did better, but change was in the air and for the most part, progressive music of the long epic style was on hiatus.
For the record when it comes to 'Rush' I prefer '2112' and 'Hemispheres'. Those long 20-minute compositions always gelled with me, but these shorter (in some cases) pieces should not be overlooked.
'Spirit of Radio' is not a foreboding, gloomy song, but as I mentioned it above and it was my introduction to the band, I had better include it. It's probably the easiest gateway to the band. That reggae section at the end of this extended version... so out of place and yet it works.
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