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What 3 Rush albums are the most overrated?
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AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
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    Posted: June 06 2021 at 16:42
This should probably be in lists. Anyway, for me I'll say:

1. 2112
2. Moving Pictures
3. A Farewell to Kings

All three are still great but I think compared to others they get a little too much exposure(especially the first two I listed here). The title track to 2112 is great but side two is a bit lacking copared to side one. The songs are still good on side two but compared to other rush album sides they pale in comparison imo and just are light on the prog. MP is very played out. There's two or three songs on here that have just been played to death on classic rock radio. So that's my biggest complaint. It's not as adventurous or as prog sounding as the few before it either imo with the exception of camera eye and yyz. AFTK has enough just ok or filler stuff for it to qualify to be on  here, namely madrigal and cinderella man. Even cygnus I think doesn't really hold up that well imo. I like the sound effects and the fact that it tries to be science fictionish though. However, Xanadu and the title track are prime Rush imo.


Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - June 06 2021 at 16:43
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Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Vapor Trails can't be "overrated" just because you don't like it. Wink

I think that’s how most of the people here are using the word, though.....

There are very few, if any overrated Rush albums. I may not like them, but albums don’t get that popular and continue to hold such acclaim if they are overrated. If an album has ever been overrated that usually becomes more obvious as t8me goes on. As a fan of Bowie, it’s easy to see where albums were overrated at the time, as people fell over themselves to claim X was the best Bowie album since Y or Z. But as time has gone by, those albums that were overrated are no longer held in such high esteem. That people still love Moving Pictures, even though it does nothing much for me, says it’s not overrated. Etc. etc. etc.
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I hesitate to use the word "overrated" as that implies a sense of universality that I wouldn't dare claim in this case, but even relative to my declining interest in Rush I've found that I just don't care about 2112 as an album anymore, even though it once served as my entry point into the band (and one of my entry points into prog as a whole). The music on both sides is just fairly standard mid-70s hard rock fare and the production sounds really dull and monotone to me, especially when compared to later albums.
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Vapor Trails can't be "overrated" just because you don't like it. Wink
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The most overrated?

None of them imo. However, if I had to chose I would say vapor trails, 2112 and Moving Pictures. I like the last two though. VT hasn't grown on me yet and maybe never will.


Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - May 21 2021 at 17:28
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Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Signals (Side 1 is brilliant, side 2 is weak, notably New World Man and Countdown which do nothing for me)

Either way, "The Weapon" and "Losing It" are brilliant.
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A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres. 

The songwriting just isn't that good and they can get pretty generic at times, although they have their high points. 

Only those two. Moving Pictures I think is just excellent and 2112 the suite might drag on a bit in some places but it has brilliant moments and side 2 is also very strong.
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2112 (2112 is the weakest of their side long epics IMO)

Signals (Side 1 is brilliant, side 2 is weak, notably New World Man and Countdown which do nothing for me)

A Farewell to Kings (Cinderalla Man, Madrigal & Closer to the Heart, I can happily live without, and the ESL version of Xanadu is far better than the studio version)

I do like all the above, but probably wouldn't list them in my Rush top 5.

Moving Pictures is near enough perfection for me. Only Witch Hunt is relatively weak, and even that has great 'moments'
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Moving Pictures
Moving Pictures
Moving Pictures

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a lot of Rush chatter at the moment.

Up until the 90's I thought they were generally overrated but now would be in my top five favourite bands (maybe No 3) 

The only album I don't connect well with is Hemispheres and that is the one generally considered their best on prog sites. I think there are weaknesses on all their seventies albums and a feeling they were a bit 'after the fact' with making only borderline prog albums. Their success came from being a phenomenal live band in that period not great albums imo. Moving Pictures can never be overrated. Tom Sawyer , Red Barchetta, YYZ and Limelight is about as strong a start to any rock/prog album I've ever heard. 
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Originally posted by Umeda Umeda wrote:

Well, I was gonna say Moving Pictures, but I just listened to it from start to finish today and now I quit.

Maybe Signals. I adore it, but I think it has a relatively high score for... PA stantards.

people keep saying this sometimes, but (no offense) wtf is a "PA standard"? 
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Well, I was gonna say Moving Pictures, but I just listened to it from start to finish today and now I quit.

Maybe Signals. I adore it, but I think it has a relatively high score for... PA stantards.
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Originally posted by nick_h_nz nick_h_nz wrote:

Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by Steve Wyzard Steve Wyzard wrote:

And can someone explain why Counterparts is ranked higher on this site than Power Windows?

That just means not enough people have chimed in on PoW. I, myself, love Counterparts, but I don't know anyone who thinks it's better than PoW. Btw, the Counterparts concerts was a helluva show!

I shall just restate then, in case you missed it, Power Windows is easily my least favourite Rush album. I didn’t realise it was a highly rated album until now. So it didn’t surprise me that Counterparts was rated higher. I thought (perhaps wrongly) that most people weren’t great fans of ‘80s Rush (with the exception of Waves and Pictures). 🤷🏻‍♂️

Everyone likes what they like. We just like it a little (or a lot) more or less than the next person.

Btw, I never listen to the first album. I don't own it. And I listen only to live versions of the songs from FBN.
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The Pain Trane has rolled in! LOL
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Signals,
Power Windows,
Grace under P
and Clockwork Angels.

Except for the relatively OK (but hardly great) S&A, anything between Pictures  and CA cannot be overrated since it's mostly crud


Edited by Sean Trane - May 20 2021 at 15:32
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Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by Steve Wyzard Steve Wyzard wrote:

And can someone explain why Counterparts is ranked higher on this site than Power Windows?

That just means not enough people have chimed in on PoW. I, myself, love Counterparts, but I don't know anyone who thinks it's better than PoW. Btw, the Counterparts concerts was a helluva show!

I shall just restate then, in case you missed it, Power Windows is easily my least favourite Rush album. I didn’t realise it was a highly rated album until now. So it didn’t surprise me that Counterparts was rated higher. I thought (perhaps wrongly) that most people weren’t great fans of ‘80s Rush (with the exception of Waves and Pictures). 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Originally posted by Catcher10 Catcher10 wrote:

I don't understand the question.......Confused

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I don't understand the question.......Confused
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Originally posted by Steve Wyzard Steve Wyzard wrote:

It was another thread entirely that started me thinking about this topic.

As of 2021, I will be a 40-year Rush listener. Even before I discovered this site, I noticed when discussing the band with other fans that certain albums have almost become sacred cows. My top 3 most overrated Rush albums are:

1) 2112
2) A Farewell to Kings
3) Moving Pictures

Which is not to say these are bad albums, but I've just never understood why others like them so much. 2112 and A Farewell to Kings have fabulous "side 1s", but there is a HUGE drop-off in quality on their respective "side 2s".

Different strokes. Some people may agree, but I wager most will not.

But I'll say right off the bat that Hemispheres is their best '70s album. That record rages from start to end.

Originally posted by Steve Wyzard Steve Wyzard wrote:

Moving Pictures is an average Rush album (except for "Witch Hunt", which is awful)

I've not heard such a thing in 35 years! LOL It's hard to find anything "wrong" with that album.

Originally posted by Steve Wyzard Steve Wyzard wrote:

And can someone explain why Counterparts is ranked higher on this site than Power Windows?

That just means not enough people have chimed in on PoW. I, myself, love Counterparts, but I don't know anyone who thinks it's better than PoW. Btw, the Counterparts concerts was a helluva show!
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Originally posted by Steve Wyzard Steve Wyzard wrote:

I knew when I started this thread that some people are offended by the idea of "overrated" and "underrated". It's not a way of denigrating anyone or their opinion, but just a way of saying, "I've never understood why so many people like/dislike this band/album," or, "Why is this band/album so popular/revered or unpopular/unappreciated?" We're all different, and raising the issue is just an attempt to make sense of differences of opinion.

If that’s the case, maybe using the term “overrated” was the wrong choice? Because the way you’ve defined it is probably not how most people understand the term.

I definitely don’t really understand why Moving Pictures is as popular and revered as it is, but I’ll never call it overrated.

Had you asked which Rush albums seem universally popular, but don’t strike a chord with you, then it would probably get the same answers, without needing to resort to using the term overrated?

I like Test For Echo, Tai Shan and Signals, so I guess I like what the band doesn’t. For me Signals is everything Moving Pictures was trying to be, but didn’t quite get there. If I had to choose only one ‘80s Rush album, I would have no hesitation in choosing Signals.
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