Rush going back on tour in 2026

[Floss]

A band i have never heard a single note of, but i know are massively respected. Whats they're best album to check out?

[Trev]

A band i have never heard a single note of, but i know are massively respected. Whats they're best album to check out?

I'd say their two "big" ones are probably 2112 and Moving Pictures, probably the best ones to start off with

Farewell to King's and Hemispheres would be my favourites, they lean more heavily into the prog side of things

But there's something to enjoy in nearly everything they've released, could always start at the beginning and work your way through

[Ducky]

A band i have never heard a single note of, but i know are massively respected. Whats they're best album to check out?

Personally started with Permanent Waves - Freewill from that hooked me and is still my favourite song of theirs.

Like Trev my two personal faves are A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres. And agree that there's something worthwhile on all the albums (the run from 2112 to Signals is immense).

If you do start at the start, be aware that the debut is a grand blues rock album in the vein of Cream or Zeppelin, but fairly derivative and not indicative of what they became. It's also their only one not to have Neil Peart on drums (original lad John Rutsey was grand, but nothing amazing).

Their second album Fly By Night is more like it, though the second side is effectively an acoustic album and destroys the pacing. Third album Caress of Steel is a bit of a stinker and almost finished them, but opener Bastille Day is a banger.

[OpenSores]

Yeah Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and 2112 be my picks to start with Hemispheres is class, I love Clock Work Angels which I must give a blast.

[open face surgery]

Moving Pictures was my intro but plenty of top tier albums. The gig here back whenever it was, playing Moving Pictures in full in the second half is still one of my top gigs. Unreal. Yer wan is an exceptional drummer.

[Carnage]

I'm relatively new to them myself but so far Moving Pictures is the one. I can't take to 2112 at all. Tbe first three make a nice trilogy, more straightforward than what followed but good for what they are when you're in the mood. I haven't gone past Power Windows yet, I gather they hit a slump for a while from the mid '80s to the mid '90s.

[Ducky]

in the mood.

I see what you did there     

The only album that I can't listen to is Presto. The production is just too clean, and the songs were meh. Pretty sure they had Voivod (who were promoting Dimension Hatross at the time!) supporting them at some point on that tour.

Counterparts (from 1993) is a somewhat return to form as they went back to being a rock band and jettisoned the synths. Their three albums this century are bangers.

[Ducky]

Moving Pictures was my intro but plenty of top tier albums. The gig here back whenever it was, playing Moving Pictures in full in the second half is still one of my top gigs. Unreal. Yer wan is an exceptional drummer.

That gig was such a treat. The lesser-know tunes on Moving Pictures (basically side b) are just as good as the famous ones, and hearing Witch Hunt followed by Vital Signs was the highlight of the gig.

[Trev]

That gig was incredible. I've been looking at trying to get tickets for somewhere on their European run, but to be honest if I don't I'd be just as happy having that show as my only experience of seeing them live

Their three albums this century are bangers.

Absolutely, can't really think of many other bands keeping the quality so high that late into their career. Although if you're just checking them out go for the remix version of Vapor Trails, the original is brickwalled to shit, remix fixes most of the problems and sounds much better

[Sworntothecans]

A band i have never heard a single note of, but i know are massively respected. Whats they're best album to check out?

And watch the documentary that Sam Dunn made a few years ago too. After you've checked out the albums.
Beyond The Lighted Stage. Pretty much sealed the deal for me with them.

[Carnage]

Seconded, that was great:

There was another one around the same time about their farewell tour, that was also pretty good. Time Stand Still it was called:

Another good primer is Rush In Rio, I really enjoyed that and it covers a lot of ground:

[Bürggermeister]

Rush In Rio is what opened the door for me. I had been in several bands over the years with Peart-obsessed drummers and their insistence on overplaying every single bar really put me off giving Rush a fair chance. When that DVD came out, the scuzzier sound of it really clicked with me. It's a great overview of their material up to that point and I started picking up the albums based on my favourite songs from that set.

These days I love them all, there are no bad albums, and their continuous evolution makes them all interesting for their own merits. Right now, I'm really enjoying the 80's stuff in a big way. Savage stuff.

I was in Tower last weekend and saw they have a box set for very reasonable money. The CD in a slipcase type of thing. That's where I'd start.

[DaveG]

Back in the CDR burning days I had Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres back to back on one 80 minute CD.  Cygnus X-1 Book 1 straight into Book 2 was, and remains, the absolute business.  The run of 2112 to Moving Pictures, at a minimum, is pure gold.

[londonleatherboy]

Power Windows was my introduction and remains the best to my ears.. Enjoy all the era's they did.. la villa strangiato is one of the greatest songs of all time

[Floss]

Thanks for the suggestions chaps