Album Review: “Permanent Waves” — Rush (1980)

I don’t think Rush ever had such a clearly-defined demarcation point — as a band/creative entity — as their 1980 landmark release Permanent Waves. After the arduous process of recording their previous album, 1979’s Hemispheres, the band felt they were ready to move on from their signature longer pieces, filled with virtuoso musicianship, multiple stylistic…

Album Review: “The Monkees Present” — The Monkees (1969)

By 1968, The Monkees had passed their zenith as a commercial entity. Their April album release The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees earned considerable success (although less successful than their previous five albums), selling over a million copies and featured their hits “Valleri” and “Daydream Believer”. From that point on? Things weren’t quite so rosy. NBC…

Album Review: “Instant Replay” — The Monkees (1969)

Delving into an album like Instant Replay is a really strange exercise for Monkees faithful, and I’m specifically using the phrase “Monkees faithful”, because heck knows, nobody else would be ostensibly interested in this record. That’s not a criticism, either. Just an exercise in outright pragmatism. The album has no big hits on it, no…

Album Review: “2112” — Rush (1976)

After the commercial failure of 1975’s Caress Of Steel and the ensuing disappointment of the resulting “Down The Tubes” tour, Rush was teetering on a precipice. Their album sales, pre-COS, were respectable but not exactly lighting up the stratosphere. Now with their first commercial dud, the label was on the verge of dropping the band…

Album Review: “Moving Pictures” — Rush (1981)

Think of those instantly iconic albums. You know the ones I’m talking about, right? Given a band with a pretty vast catalog of recorded work, there is always at least one album that new fans, who have recently ‘discovered’ the band, gravitate towards for an ‘introductory’ or ‘statement-defining’ experience, beyond the standard “greatest hits” collection. For an act as…

Album Review: “Caress of Steel” — Rush (1975)

Rush produced a low-key but respectable debut with their 1974 self-titled album, emerging as an energetic (if slightly derivative) blues-hard rock power trio from the Great White North. With the departure of original drummer John Rutsey, the band thrived with drummer/primary lyricist Neil Peart joining guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee, following up their debut…