So, as Rush is my favorite group, I'll pitch in my thoughts. I could probably go on for pages analyzing every last song and where I think it rightfully belongs in the Rush hierarchy, but we all have lives and schedules, so I"ll throttle back a bit (but not too much):
164: Roll the Bones. Placing this one this low is the generic, typical thoughtless slam on "Rush trying to do rap." But if you set aside your preconditions of what a rap should sound like, this fits well in the song. And oh, by the way, the "rap" is just a brief interlude, not so long enough to detract from the song even if it's not your thing. Overall, this is an excellent song reasonably well delivered. Not upper echelon, but certainly better than #164.
163: I Think I'm Going Bald. C'mon, this is a fun song! No, it doesn't have particularly deep meaning, but it doesn't try to. It's just a fun little tongue-in-cheek musical romp, and as such it succeeds pretty well. It sit's well along the likes of Zep's Candy Store Rock or Hot Dog. Not great songs, but plenty fun if you're not taking life too seriously.
156/155: The Big Wheel/Face Up. Two more easy and standard bashings of tunes off the oft maligned and badly underrated Roll the Bones. These songs groove and have a clever lyric here and there as well. This Roll the Bones hate just needs to stop.
142: Turn the Page. Of all the mindless Hold Your Fire hate this list puts out, this is by far the worst. This relatively short Rush song packs a lot into it both lyrically and musically. Even if the lyrics were as banal as the list tries to paint them, the music on this one, including one of Geddy's best bass performances, alone warrants a much higher rating for this one.
139: BU2B. I was surprised to see this one so low, but I completely agree. This is one of Pearts many treatises against organized religion, but he had done it before many times, and usually better. Nothing new or interesting to hear here.
137: Emotion Detector. Missing the point entirely here. The review line "Emotion Detector" is the sonic equivalent of a prog fan weeping as he gets his "2112" tattoo removed.makes no sense given that the list later badly undersells 2112 itself. And they totally ignore that this song has one of the most beautiful choruses in music let alone just the Rush Catalog.
136: Seven Cities of Gold. The list complains of being generic and to prove it they include a link... which kicks off with Geddy totally kicking it on the bass. This is a great song in every way.
131: War Paint. 131 is pretty low... but not low enough. Peart often takes heat for his lame portrayals of adolescent angst. Sometimes I disagree, but this song is definitely the most egregious example of that. This is soooooooooo far from Subdivisions.
129: Before and After. More complaints of generic blues rock here, but they're not listening. This one has a powerful groove to it. It carries fantastic momentum in ways no typical blues rocker could. This is one of the finest achievements in the genre.
125: Nobody's Hero. Good to recognize the saccharine platitudes of this one, but not nearly to the extent necessary. This could be number 166 on the list of 167 and it'd still be too high.
118: Lessons. Waaaayyyyyyy too low!!! This is Geddy at his peak, both vocally and on the bass. Innovative and positively KILLER bass line weaving in and out of his very best early period shriek. If you aren't banging your head hard to this one, you're stone deaf.
104: Available Light. Also way too low. Beautiful song, and showcases the period in which Geddy truly gained control of his more nuanced vocal capability that he would need when he outgrew (lost) the powerful shriek.
98: Something for Nothing. Another 2112 slight. This is easily one of the greatest Rush songs ever, from any period. All elements of the very best of early Rush are fully on display here. Great riff, killer bass and vocals, raw power to spare, and even a great message many need to hear. Perfection.
87: Driven. The best song on Test for Echo needs to be higher. One of Rush's best riffs in fully modern and updated form and sound.
83: Hand over Fist. This is another often but badly underrated song. Great metaphor set to some very clever music that glides and grooves along simultaneously with momentum and ease.
76: Cold Fire. Appropriately placed. Great lyrics. Great solo. Other than the instrumentals, much of Counterparts is repetitive and uninspiring, but this is a nice exception.
72: 2112. I think someone already said it, so I'll just add my own WTF????
64: The Trees. Wayyyyyyyy too low. The greatest metaphor ever put to music and done so exceptionally well too.
63: Witch Hunt. I can see putting this one this low since it's one of Rush's simplest songs, musically speaking. But the dark, eerie mood is so effectively, perfectly conveyed, and so perfectly mixes with the lyrics, which are positively brilliant, that it should be much higher despite the musical simplicity.
40: Manhattan Project. I'm quite surprised to see this one so high. Pleased, but surprised.
32: Rivendell. Not sure how this one sits this high. Maybe the reviewer is just a big Tolkien fan? This song is the very demonstration of how Geddy had not yet learned to sing slow, soft, or balladlike early in his career.
24: The Pass. Another example of Neil's less than stellar angsty proclamations. Brought forth with some of his least imaginative drumming and the horrendous production that plagues the entire Presto album, this should be a bottom 10 entry.
22: YYZ. One of the best, if not the very best, progressive rock instrumentals of all time and it's all the way down at #22? Please.
18: Natural Science. Too low, but that's because it's my personal #1.
17: Jacob's ladder. Not a bad song, but rather plodding and repetitive. Wears out it's welcome a la Kashmir. Great song compared to many bands, but within the Rush catalog, definitely bottm 25%.
16: A Passage to Bangkok. I said Nobody's Hero would be too high if it was 166 out of 167. Well, here's your 166. A whole song devoted to a road trip to find better drugs. Stupid. Musically nothing to write home about either. Dumb song. Dumb execution.
8: Vital Signs. Shocked to see this one so high. Really. But it is a lot better than most give it credit for, so I won't complain. A nice unexpected surprise.
3. Red Barchetta. Also shocked to see this one this high, but it has such a cool atmosphere and groove, I'm not gonna' argue here either.
2. Limelight. Despite having one of Alex's tastiest, and most tasteful, solos, I always found this one to be overrated. It actually gets more airplay in my neck of the woods than Tom Sawyer. Overall, it's too mainstream for #2.
1. Tom Sawyer. No, it's not my number one, and it is certainly the "safe" or "obvious" choice, so it would be easy to mock the choice (as has already been done on this thread). But as much as I complain about much of the list and what it tries to pass off as criticism, it actually makes a pretty good case for this, even beyond it's iconic status and popularity.
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