OFF: Re: More Prog Rock Babble

John Majka flossbac at WCIC.ORG
Sat Feb 8 18:53:09 EST 1997


>I've never heard Rush being described as a "progressive" band before. I
>always thought they were hard rock.

Really?  You must only be familiar with the earliest Rush material.  Most
fans will tell you that the band underwent a pretty big metamorphosis around
the time of "A Farewell To Kings" (1977) which led them to become what is
termed progressive rock.  Their first several albums basically were hard
rock as you describe, but "Hemispheres" (1978) is undoubtedly a prog-rock
classic with its ridiculous mythological references/metaphors in the lyrics,
bizarre time changes, complex parts etc.  I still think "La Villa
Strangiato" (the last track on Hemispheres) is just about the apex of
prog-rock instrumentals.  Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures had songs
which were more concise and even radio-friendly, but the innards are 100%
prog.  I'd say the band definitely took a dive sometime in the mid to late
eighties... hard to say when exactly.  I like "Grace Under Pressure," and
"Power Windows" has actually stood the test of time (IMHO) and sounds better
today than it did in 1985, "Hold Your Fire" has some good points but also
some bad ones, and then the highlights become more and more sporadic... I
think Rush has gone off course.  It's pretty obvious from listening to the
more recent stuff that the band's heart isn't into it anymore.  It seems
like they must regard music making as a job they do because they can.  The
lyrics are all topical, not personal, indicating a severe lack of interest
and involvement.  The music is generally flat and dull.  Please don't flame
me.  Just an opinion, you know.  I was a Rush fan for a long long time and
it wasn't easy for me to admit that one of my favorite bands was letting me
down, but as the band got more indifferent to music, so did I.

John Majka



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