Search Results for "Rush"

Rush – Presto (1989) [Audio Fidelity 2014]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:15 minutes | Scans included | 2,1 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 0,99 GB
Mastered by Kevin Gray | Audio Fidelity # AFZ-182

Throughout their career, Rush have always been a band that you could count on to push the boundaries of what rock was capable of, and their discography contains a laundry list of ambitious albums that helped to bring prog to a wider audience. Having said that, Presto is not one of those albums. On this return to a more guitar-oriented sound after the synth period that dominated the ’80s, the bandmembers emerge from the electronic fog and try to reorient themselves to once again working with their more traditional setup. While none of the songs here are out-and-out terrible, listening to the album definitely gives you the sense that things just aren’t quite clicking, as if the band is just a little bit rusty after stepping away from this kind of songwriting for nearly a decade. This makes Presto a perfectly workmanlike album from a band that made a name for itself with its creativity, containing all the ingredients of a Rush album minus the sense of ambition and fun that ran through the veins of the group’s earlier work. And though this isn’t an album you necessarily need to run from, a brisk walk to their work from the ’70s is advisable.

(more…)

Rush – Hemispheres (1978) [Audio Fidelity ‘2013]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 36:08 minutes | Scans included | 1,11 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 759 MB
Audio Fidelity SACD #AFZ-162 | Mastered for this SACD by Kevin Grey at Cohearent Audio

While such albums as 1980’s Permanent Waves and 1981’s Moving Pictures are usually considered Rush’s masterpieces (and with good reason), 1978’s Hemispheres is just as deserving. Maybe the fact that the album consists of only four compositions (half are lengthy pieces) was a bit too intimidating for some, but the near 20-minute-long “Cygnus X-1 Book II – Hemispheres” is arguably the band’s finest extended track. While the story line isn’t as comprehensible as “2112” was, it’s much more consistent musically, twisting and turning through five different sections which contrast heavy rock sections against more sedate pieces. Neil Peart had become one of rock’s most accomplished lyricists by this point, as evidenced by “The Trees,” which deals with racism and inequality in a unique way (set in a forest!). And as always, the trio prove to be experts at their instruments, this time on the complex instrumental “La Villa Strangiato.” Geddy Lee’s shrieking vocals on the otherwise solid “Circumstances” may border on the irritating, but Hemispheres remains one of Rush’s greatest releases.

(more…)

Rush – Counterparts (1993) [Audio Fidelity ‘2013]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 54:59 minutes | Scans included | 1,73 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,14 GB
Audio Fidelity SACD #AFZ-152 | Mastered for this SACD by Kevin Grey at Cohearent Audio

By 1993, alternative rock had arrived in a big way, and surprisingly, Canadian veterans Rush were game, releasing their most honest and organic rock & roll record in over a decade with Counterparts. Opener “Animate” is straightforward enough, but doesn’t even hint at the guitar ferocity and lyrical angst of “Stick it Out,” a song which undoubtedly polarizes Rush fans to this day. Intellectual melodic rockers like “Cut to the Chase,” “At the Speed of Love,” and “Everyday Glory” are also present (and less shocking), but diversity continues to rule the day with Geddy Lee’s bass taking charge on the amazingly somber “Double Agent” and the giddy instrumental “Leave That Thing Alone.” Pure hard rock resurfaces on “Cold Fire,” but it is the largely acoustic “Nobody’s Hero” which provides the album’s most gripping moment with an impassioned plea for HIV consciousness and understanding.

(more…)