OFF: Re: More Prog Rock Babble

[RJ]

couldnt agree with this more.ive been a fan in passing,but my wife was a
major fan,and
assures me your statements are all accurate.............rj

> 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