Daniel Carroll
The top 10 songs from who I think is the best band of all time.
The 21 minute, 7 part epic with names for parts like The Temples of Syrinx, , and Oracle: The Dream,takes place in the year 2112 chronicling the main character's journeys in this futuristic song.
Part I Overture-a sample of all the parts
Part II The Temples of Syrinx- The main government of 2112
Part III Discovery- The protagonist finds a guitar in a cave and learns how to play it (melody-Lifeson vocals-Lee)
Part IV Presentation-The protagonist shows the guitar to the priests in hopes of fame and glory, but the priests reject it calling it a waste of time
Part V Oracle: The Dream-The protagonist travels home believing it was all a dream
Part VI Solilquy-The protagonist wanders to the cave and broods for days, with spirits low
Part VII Grand Finlae-A hard rock part with "Attention all planets of the solar federation" (three times) and "we have assumed control" (echoing)
Overall rating
21/12
A song about life as an "uncool" teenager in the suburbs, including lyrics like "Be cool or be cast out," show the pressure to fit in in the early 80's. The song features keyboards, beginning a whole controversial era in Rush history. But the keyboards are not controversial enough in this song to keep it off the top 10.
Without a doubt the most popular Rush song, "Tom Sawyer" is rightfully the most well known song for Rush. Even Neil Peart describes it as a difficult song to play and "when I play it right I feel good." Who can blame him? Maybe he is the modern day warrior. Great all around song, once again, a deserving number one.
11 minutes of a song based off "Kubla Khan," and features chimes and double neck guitars. For we surely have dined on honeydew and drunk the milk of paradise with Xanadu.
A song that is about taking chances in life and "rolling the dice," this classic includes various guitar riffs from Lifeson and a mini, two verse rap with Geddy's voice through a machine making his voice lower. In the R40 performances, a video of certain celebrities (most of them with a connection to the band), lip sinking the rap.
The instrumental named after the Toronto air code, YY "Zed" is a jammer for all the song, featuring a beginning that signals morse code for yyz, alternations between Alex and Geddy's guitars, and the usual Lifeson guitar solo.
From the opening drum line to the final guitar strums, the song about the supposed villain in "Clockwork Angels" features (for the 100th time) various different guitar riffs from Lifeson, some cool bass lines from Lee, and the too usual complicated drum lines from Peart.
The hard rocking classic Working Man from the debut album is about the average human, working 9-5, and having a drink when they get home. The actual song's opening riff from Lifeson sets the tone, and the song includes a 5-minute instrumental part the is the three musicians jamming and having fun, and it has been the closing song two of the last three tours.
It is a song so difficult the band had to record it in three parts after trying to do it at once several times. A complicated guitar solo and many different sound and mood changes earn it a spot on the list.
A matter of books and parts and xs, and spread over two albums, Cygnus is clearly an epic worth being on the list. From Book X-1 The Voyage in A Farewell To Kings, to Prelude in the opening of Hemispheres, and from bass riffs to guitar and drum solos. The bass riff from Book 1 was played at the end of Working Man on the Time Machine Tour. All around craziness but in the end a good song(s).
