FYI: By-tor is a play on words. One of their managers? I believe had two dogs. One was white (the snow dog) and the other was a more aggressive type so they nicknamed the dog 'biter' (ie: 'bytor'.

MY GOD! CRASH JUST ATE ANTHONY FANTANO ON CAMERA! (Also your skits are getting REALLY good, man. The same goes for the editing.)

I like Caress of Steel. Also, I hate Caress of Steel.

Something cool for those interested in the Clockwork Angels novel, the audiobook version is actually narrated by Neil Peart, so that's pretty neat. (Wait, why do I hear something like "garden road" being screamed in the distance?)

Wait...Wait...WAIT!!!! Was Geddy Lee the first Canadian rapper?

I lost my shit during the intro, drinking milk and eating honeydew 😂 also xanadu is the best song ever

How in the hell can you diss Xanadu? Holy crap. Xanadu is one of the most epic, excellent rock songs ever written. Way more God Tier than Closer to the Fart.

In the same way Hold Your Fire is your personal favorite that most people give you weird looks mine is Caress of Steel, I really enjoy that album and holds a special place in my heart because I bonded with my dad listening to Caress of Steel.

I have officially begun my dive into Rush thanks to this series. Started with Moving Pictures which was good but I have to say Permanent Waves topped it! Next stop: 2112.

The problem with Roll The Bones and Presto is that the production and mixing is too thin. The songs (even the Roll the Bones song) sound much better live when Alex and Geddy have much more distortion on their guitars.

Update, again, not trying to sound butthurt or arguing with you, as I have enjoyed these two videos so far. I like The Necromancer and the Fountain of Lamneth. But that’s just me. A diehard Rush fan.

Not arguing with you, I’m just saying, as a Rush fan for most of my life, starting at around the age of four, Roll The Bones is the very song that got me started on my unhealthy obsession with Rush to this day. Then again, I blindly cherish all albums. Yes, even....Caress of Steel.

Just getting into 'Rush' but one of the things I feel is that one (two) of the best things about Rush is... 1. Thay are SO tight togather. 2. they have fun togather [see point 1].

I was in 6th grade band circa 1984 and heavy into the guitar and Zeppelin. Naturally my naive self was bragging on Bonham and my friend on the drums says "oh you want to hear a good drummer?" He pops in a cassette of Grace Under Pressure and fast forwards to Red Sector A and my life as well as my understanding of what real music is, was forever and irrevocably changed.

0:58 A Farewell to Kings 8:49 Rush 12:58 Roll the Bones 18:53 Snakes & Arrows 23:00 Clockwork Angels 27:15 Caress of Steel 34:02 Presto 38:12 Vapor Trails 41:36 Feedback

I love Xanadu!!! Yea it’s goofy but The instrumentation kicks ass!! It’s my second favorite Rush song behind Animate.

TIME STAMPS: A Farewell to Kings - 0:57 Rush - 8:48 Roll the Bones - 12:57 Snakes and Arrows - 18:52 Clockwork Angels - 22:58 Caress of Steel - 27:10 Presto - 33:58 Vapor Trails - 38:07 Feedback - 41:33

I for one love the rapping skeleton in roll the bones. It is so goofy and gloriously dumb I can’t help but love it.

That opening joke killed me. 10/10 So glad to see Rush getting such a loving video series.

A Farewell to Kings is their best album period. A Farewell to Kings is my favorite song.

Some HTGI suggestions: - Yellowcard (my favorite band ever) - In Flames - Architects - Machine Head - Jimmy Eat World - Pearl Jam - Iron Maiden - Black Sabbath - AFI - Nine Inch Nails - Avenged Sevenfold

Honorable mention to "The Pass" off of the Presto record. Great great stellar cut.

Jeez, you were rough on "Farewell to Kings." LOL I agree that it's a more esoteric and less accessible album in their catalog, but it's really not all that "weird" or "corny" if you're into other progressive acts. Also, I always loved the song "Roll the Bones" and (silly rap aside) don't understand why you have such a huge problem with it. It came out when I was in high school and even then it really caught my ear.

strawman flannel hat dude saying "Neil Peart" looped for 20 hours ASMR

Xanadu has one of the best rock and roll openings in rock and roll history. Come on man! Stargazer is one of the best rock and roll songs too, and I don’t hear everyone saying that “Hey, Ronnie went too far talking about freaking slaves worshiping Wizards!”

Also, 'Closer to the Heart' has one of (if not) the best 12-String riffs you can hear.

disliked who drinks milk and eats melon

1) Presto may actually be your best entry point if you are really considering "accessibility". Depending on who your listener is, Vapor Trails (either version) may be an initial turn-off. Same, perhaps, with Clockwork Angels. Really need to consider your "target" for best entry point. 2) You passed on the live albums, but in my experience a live album has best chance of success. It gets them in the crowd, sells the music. 3) You at best panned the instrumental, but they are some of the best tracks by Rush. Try a playlist with nothing but their instrumental tracks, and you'll get great mileage. First 5 min of Xanadu, same boat. Few successful bands have the stones or chops to do much instrumentally. Leave That Thing Alone, YYZ, Main Monkey Business, MalNar, Villa...that should be the Part 3 video. Another possibly optimal entry point to Rush, depending on your listener.

A farewell to King is my favorite Rush album /shrug

So weave a circle round him thrice, And cast down thine eyes in holy dread, For he on honeydew, hath fed, And drank the milk of paradise. Crash, have you never heard that poem? It's the same one that opens Citizen Kane.

I can see why someone made Caress of Steel a mind-affecting SCP.

Geddy Lee is the greatest rapper of all time. #RollDaBones4Lyfe

oh hell nawwww Xanadu is perfection 😂

Oh man, and I think Presto is my favorite Rush album! Not kidding! I love The Pass, man!

I honestly think Caress is one of there best works. It was really their first concept album (I will admit, with problems and issues) before their classic 2112. Both Necromancer and Lamneth have issues, such as some of it's structure choice and the somewhat goofy lyrics. That is all far. However, there are pieces in both songs that I find shine. Many of Geddy's vocals in Lamneth are fantastic, the instrumental and narrative intro to Necromancer really pulls you into the atmosphere. I honestly think it's the best worst thing Rush did, and in my top three for Rush albums. Only by hairs is it number 3 for me.

Hate to break it to ya, but back in the day, virtually all of the hard core Rush fans I knew (many of them fellow musicians) absolutely loved Xanadu. In fact, that song was a fan favorite at concerts for quite a while. Great presentation, though.

And remember: FOGHAT IS LOOOOOORD!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Xanadu is musically brilliant, and lyrically majestic! BRILLIANT WORK!!!!!

A Farewell to Kings is the best album Rush ever did

I don’t have a problem with Xanadu. I love it BECAUSE it’s goofy. The instrumentation is awesome of course (it’s Rush so it’s bound to be).

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: ... For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise." ~ Kubla Khan - by Samuel Taylor Coleridge It's classic literature they teach you in college, only here, Neil decided to write an entire song about it. And, I have to agree about Clockwork Angels and pretty much their last 3 albums. I end up skipping around to a few good tracks and then forget the albums. I'm ashamed to admit, that despite being a fan for 25 years, I still can't name all the songs off their last 3 albums. But I gotta know who your friends are, to say that Presto is their worst "meh" album?! It is, however, an album that separates the musicians from the casual fans though. A casual listener will just hear it's over-production qualities and ignore it. A musician will hear the musicianship behind it and, moreover, the ability to play the songs without needing 100 synth effects to reproduce it! It even has one of Rush's self-admitted favorites, "The Pass" on it, which is a song any suicidal person absolutely MUST listen to (and I don't mean that as sarcasm)!

I'm 16 and I decided that being a huge fan of Rush for 3 years and not having listened to a lot of their other work overshadowed by the mainstream, I would binge each and every LP, front to back, in order. It's like the lyrics have a heart to heart with you, especially Signals through Hold Your Fire. While I know and love the epics of their earlier prog work, and the ska elements and groove to Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, there's this kind of catharsis that is felt listening and reading to the lyrics, like on Subdivisions, Afterimage, The Enemy Within, Marathon, Middletown Dreams, Time Stand Still, Open Secrets, Mission, and High Water. It's taught me that while the Rush I already knew is ingrained into my memory and is very nostalgic, all of this genius went unnoticed. Their albums seamlessly evolve into new sounds, and the trio maintain their own in doing so, no matter which direction it takes them. This band is like a best friend to me, someone that knows me very well and I love deeply.

There is no way Rush stays retired. They'll do at least 1 farewell tour, even if it's just in Canada.

why do you hate the trees crash haha, yes its a heavy handed metaphor but like its still a great socially aware tune

I forgive Roll The Bones for its bonkers title track simply because of Dreamline. It's got one of my favorite riffs in their catalog and the lyrics make me very happy. It's easily in my top 3 rush songs.

My List: 1) Grace Under Pressure 2) Moving Pictures 3) Hemispheres 4) Signals 5) Permanent Waves 6) Power Windows 7) 2112 8) Hold Your Fire 9) A Farewell to Kings 10) Presto 11) Fly By Night 12) Roll the Bones 13) Counterparts 14) Vapor Trails 15) Caress of Steel 16) Rush 17) Test for Echo 18) Snakes & Arrows 19) Clockwork Angels 20) Feedback I really like Presto because of Scars, Chain Lightning, the Title Track, and The Pass. To me, Vapor Trails, S&A, and Clockwork Angels are all similarly structured: 3 or 4 great tracks plus 6 or 7 forgettable tracks. Vapor Trails best songs: One Little Victory, Secret Touch, Ghost Rider, Earthshine S&A best songs: Far Cry, Malignant Narcissism, The Larger Bowl, Spindrift Clockwork Angels best songs: Headlong Flight, the Anarchist, Carnies, Title Track And just for the hell of it, these are my most listened to Rush songs: Manhattan Project, The Enemy Within, Natural Science, The Camera Eye, Limelight, The Spirit of Radio, The Analog Kid, Territories, Force Ten, Scars, Animate, Totem, Earthshine, Red Tide

I waited years for Rush videos like this. Hell I waited years just to hear you mention Rush. (Other than your top 10 and quick mentions in the green day videos) And we finally got it! Thank You Crash. I've been a Rush Fan Forever, now i'm a rock critic fan forever.

Presto was the new release when I discovered Rush. It was all we had! There is an element of the times, as well as a certain middle-aged complacency about it. Despite that, it had a kind of refinement to it... classy in its own dated way.

My rankings are like this 5. Grace Under Pressure 4. Hemispheres 3. Caress of Steel 2. 2112 1. Permanent Waves

Next how to get into Alkaline Trio or The Smiths next

Call me a weirdo but I think a farewell to kings is better than 2112.

He obviously never heard of Samuel Coleridge the poet. He wrote Kublah Khan. Xanadu is based on this.

0:00 Hey, everyone. Crashthony Thomptano here.

I forgot to mention Feedback! Man, what a trip that was. I gotta say that I liked that album, but for different reasons. My life partner had just passed away and I was fighting grief every hour and day. On one day, I was feeling a bit better one day and driving along and turned on the radio. "Summertime Blues" (I didn't know they released the album) started playing and I remember actually looking at the radio, turning it up, and thinking "Man, those guitars and bass and drums sound familiar. Who is this?". And then Geddy started singing and I almost crashed my car. There was a new Rush album for me to buy! It was a dark period for me where everything in my world changed, but then Rush went and released Feedback and did their R30 tour, and suddenly I was hearing stuff that hadn't changed. It was like a soothing balm.

A Farewell To Kings is godly.... how dare you! Amazing amazing album.

7 Cities of Gold, Headlong Flight, and Caravan are must listen songs...

41:45 I didn't know rush released children's board games

Haha love the intro gag with the honeydew and a sip of milk (of paradise)

This is a late comment I know, but god I have to thank you crash for getting into now one of my favorite bands of all time. I absolutely adore farewell to kings, 2112, hemispheres and I even picked up moving pictures on vinyl at a pawn shop the other day (it sounds so good by the way). Thank you so much Mr. Crash Thompson.

Loved this series, Crash! I do disagree on a few things, but that's only to be expected. You did a great job breaking down my favorite band's catalog. Also, here's my ranking for good measure. 1. 2112 2. A Farewell To Kings 3. Moving Pictures 4. Clockwork Angels 5. Permanent Waves 6. Power Windows 7. Signals 8. Hemispheres 9. Counterparts 10. Grace Under Pressure 11. Presto 12. Snakes And Arrows 13. Vapor Trails 14. Fly By Night 15. Hold Your Fire 16. Roll The Bones 17. Rush 18. Caress Of Steel 19. Test For Echo

I completely understand where you're coming from with Snakes & Arrows. I do like several tracks on it, but none of them come close to my all-time favorites. Like Vapor Trails, it gets off to a racing start with its opening track, "Far Cry", then hits a stone wall... It should be noted that S&A was written at a time when Alex was going through a heavy folksy-period and couldn't put down the acoustic guitars. Consequently, the album definitely has a 'round-the-campfire reservation to it. I suppose it stands on its own well enough, though. By the way, regarding Presto, there is one track on there that got me through a very intense suicidal period: "The Pass". Even Neil himself admitted to getting very emotional when playing it live. I'm in complete agreement with the bulk of your analysis, but I would encourage anyone going through a rough time to give it a go. It's among the greatest songs they've ever written. That's one of the things I love most about Rush; even in their weakest albums, there's still plenty of gold to mine.

Ok, so this is by far the closest list to my personal tastes as I've ever found from another Rush fan. That said, I'm a bit surprised that The Pass didn't get a mention on Presto. I totally get the apathy factor that comes with that album. Thanks for the great double header!

"Xanadu" is the song that made a younger me a fan of Rush's music and Coleridge's poetry. By the way, the reason its lyrics are so flowery is because they are lifted from Kublai Khan, a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, British Romantic poet from the early 19th century. Rush were using his poetry as inspiration before Iron Maiden made it cool (he wrote Rine of the Ancient Mariner)

no insult to all those who do get it! Rock on!

Honestly I find tracks like The Necromancer, Xanadu and Gardens of Lamenth are great to put on the background when working. They have enough going on so you can listen to em when they get interesting and are long so you get some good time

Dammit, I'm glad SOMEONE else gets that Roll the Bones wasn't THAT bad... Great videos, like 2hrs of my life I hadn't REALLY planned to spend on KZfaq, but hey, it was entertaining!

Presto: The Pass, Show Don't Tell, Presto, Scars, Available Light. These are solid, even great songs. The Pass is lyrically brilliant and poignant, Show Don't Tell has a great riff and feel, Scars has a great drumming performance, Available Light has an especially great vocal by Geddy...

Oddly I hear the Feedback versions of songs in restaurants and stores all the time. Just walking through the store, and Geddy's bass and voice cut through the hustle and bustle. Takes me a minute to put my finger on it.

I bought the remixed version of Vapor Trails when it came out, it sounded great at first but I noticed something wasn't right about it after a few listens, it sounds fine and technically it is a better mix, but the original had this aggression and rawness that really just drove home those songs. The remix also really cut the low end out of the mix as well, I level matched both versions of the album as to not be fooled by a difference in volume between the two mixes and AB'd them back to back. In the end I preferred the original mix because the mix sounded more full range oddly enough, normally hypercompressed masters are much leaner in the lows than more dynamically mastered tracks, Vapor Trails is the exception to this rule (I guess Rush are always the exception of the rule). The other problem with the remix is that the source tracks of Vapor Trails were distorted and clipped to begin with, so even with the remix the artifacts of digital clipping can still be heard, granted they're not as pronounced, but they're still there, the only solution would be to rerecord, remix, and remaster the entire album properly, which obviously is super impractical and change the vibe of the record since you wouldn't get the same performance out of Dirk, Lerxst, and The Professor. I really what I'm trying to say is that love it or hate it, the overcompression and distortion of the original mix is just a part of that record and to take that out of the picture is changing the whole album, it's nice to have a less fatiguing version to listen to, but look at the history of this record and the subject matter of the songs, it wasn't a "comfortable" time for Rush with Peart only recently coming to grips with the passing of his wife and daughter and getting back to a normal life, and all three members of Rush trying to get back and gel with each other as a band again, there is a certain level of frustration in the sound of that record and the mix and master reflects that.

How I got into Rush: had a drummer friend (of course!) who lent me his cassette of 'Exit Stage Left'. Ended up loving it, as it's a good summation of the golden era. The second Rush record I heard was 'Presto'. Was such a large leap stylistically, that I couldn't handle it. Glad I checked everything else out, and became a huge fan. For me, from 2112 to HYF is the best period. Thanks for these videos, just watched them both back to back!

A farewell to kings was the first rush album that I listened to straight through and got me deeper into their catalogue

Totally get that this is just your opinion, but I wonder if the Clockwork Angels snub is ore a reflection of it being newer? IMHO it’s their best album since MP. It’s deep, with all the feels of anything they’ve done, the musicianship rocks, and the tunes are both diverse and memorable. And don’t get me started on The Garden - you may not be old enough for that song but as someone who’s kids are out of the house (and a big fan of Voltaire) it slays me every time.

As weird as The Necromancer and The Fountain Of Lamneth are, I actually really like them. At first, I thought the album was two disjointed, and to be fair, it is really disjointed, but once you get past the fact that they were still getting a hold of putting different sections of songs together, I think the separate parts are actually really strong. The last section of The Necromancer is actually my favorite part of the album. Alex's solo is really cool.

lol, I still have my Caress of Steel Tee Shirt, and wore it (though it was very tight) when I saw Rush in 2012. I’m 60 and I guess it must have been some substance that made me love this album.

Yes! It is time for part 2! Thanks so much, Crash! As an Indiana boy myself, and hearing YYZ when I was 8, I was instantly hooked, and these videos say everything I wanted to! Thanks, man! Keep the quality content coming! PS, props for the Green Day Retrospective videos! Really enjoyed those!

ROLL THE BONES IS MY FAVORITE RUSH SONG OF ALL TIME I SWEAR (btw great video Crash)

Thanks for all your hard work Crash. I enjoyed the hell out of the first part. Really looking foward to this part.

That rap in Roll the Bones is still better than any mainstream rap I've heard this decade

I’ll be honest with you, snakes and arrows is the rush album that got me into rush. After that I listened to moving pictures and then I listened to 2112 and now I’m a rush fan for the rest of my life

You wound me to the core with your attack on Presto. I love this album. War Paint, Scars, Presto, Red Tide...This whole album is full of bangers. It's a bit heavy on the synths, sure, but Geddy's voice is on point, Neil's drumming is crisp and pristine as a newly minted bill, and some great noodling by Alex. Perhaps it's because it was one of my first Rush albums in high school, but I'll fight anyone who says this is boring.

The Necromancer is the song that convinced me to listen to Rush and to deepen their discography. Hell yeah!

Great video....9 concerts and a fan since 1981

Here's how to listen to Caress of Steel. Listen to 2112, then listen to Fly by Night. Caress of steel is the slow process of them become a real prog-rock band. You hear the ideas and concepts that they would later evolve into 2112. Caress of steel is very similar to how Animals is in the Pink Floyd catalog. It has interesting ideas and concepts it wants to construct and eventually turn into an amazing next Album.

Caress of Steel is a top 5 Rush album. Change my mind.

YESSS I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR PART 2 😍😍

That bit ten minutes in where you turn into the mean Southern guy had me rolling on the floor!!!

There are some songs on "Presto" that i i like... 3 or 4 max. The Pass, Presto, Show Don't Tell and Hand Over Fist(more like a guilty pleasure to me... but i can see why most ppl skip that record.

I loved these 2 video's and it's funny to see how opinions and tastes can differ from eachother. A lot we can agree on but somethings we don't. Caress of Steel is in my top-5 albums, and A Farewell Kings is too. Bastille Day? Top-3 with Red Barchetta and 2112. And I think Closer To The Heart is the absolute worse from AFtK. But, hey does it matter? Nope. Rush is great! Gr from The Netherlands!

I feel like the original Vapor Trails is more for your stereo or car, not your headphones, while the remix is for headphones and not for stereo or car. Because if you listen to the original first, the remix will sound very weak, until you plug in headphones, while the original with blow your head off if you have headphones.

Caress of Steel is one of their best albums. If you don't like The Necromancer, you have bad taste.

The way you feel about Xanadu is the way I felt about book 1 of Cygnus the very first time I heard it.

Presto - I 'liked' every song and would fall asleep to it almost every night... But I feel the same about the lack of memorable moments - lol...

Roll the Bones (title track) wasnt that bad, was just different, like how most of Rush music is different lol. Either way good video!

I love rush and glad they retired.... THEY DESERVE IT AND WENT OUT AT THE TOP.... I have to admit I am a casual Rush fan (but wore out the few albums I had in high school) compared to the true fans. I had no idea.... of their whole catalog. Great video. It took me time to get though...

I recently came back to Rush after giving up on them after Signals. They just weren't the band I wanted them to be anymore, so I just indulged ad infinitum on their back catalogue. I am now mature enough to handle their synth era and appreciate it. But going through their "new" albums, the one album that truly blew me away was Snakes and Arrows--all 61 minutes and three instrumentals of it. I'm surprised Rush fans don't defend that one more. To me it's more consistent than Vapor Trails and more accessible than Clockwork Angels.

Despite the fact that Presto is in my top 5 Rush albums... you've done a really great job! Nice one man :)

Rush is at their best to me when they indulge the right amount of their goofy nerdiness. Not too much or too little.

An American with an Our Lady Peace album cover. I'm intrigued already.

Pink Floyd would be awesome for one of these vids!!!

Great video as usual, I'm glad to see you give Rush the long-form video treatment. Such a delight to see you go over their whole discography in one long video like that. Would be cool to see you do something similar for Bad Religion..... granted their discography is a massive undertaking as well lol. Only real criticism I have is that I would argue Caress of Steel is actually REALLY impressive for how quickly they were able to go from the debut album's "stupidity" to crafting a 20+ minute Prog epic in "Fountain of Lamneth". Sure it's not quite as sturdy or impressive as 2112, but I don't think it's insanely far off either. Despite the weird subject matter of much of this album I don't think that brings down the musical accomplishments too much. I also like how Fountain of Lamneth doesn't jump out at you as quickly as 2112. It's much more of a grower which helps with it's staying power. I listen to it much more than 2112 these days because it's a "tougher" listen. But that being said, I understand we all have different opinions and it would be pretty dull if you just blew sunshine up their ass the whole video. So thanks again for the quality content man! Best Rush "documentary" next to "Beyond the Lighted Stage"!