As an unabashed Rush fan I appreciate Mac's reference and yet I also understand that their sound (particularly Ged's voice) is not for everyone. That said, their musicianship and live shows are terrific, and Neil is just plain ridiculous. Ironically as hell, I was listening to Rush in Rio when I came across this thread, and the fans in Brazil not only know the words to all the songs (remember, their home tongue is Portuguese), but they were even "singing" along to YYZ. I've been to a dozen Rush shows here in the states (including the Horizon which really rocked) and I've never heard a crowd do that, and apparently neither had the band according to the interviews included on the DVD version.
Other things I like about the band include that Neil writes lyrics that actually require some thought to grasp, they have managed to focus on the music instead of being rock stars over the 30+ years (i.e. not much for "Behind the Music" to work with other than Neil's personal tragedies), and they have good sense of humor about it all (see clips on their appearance on the Colbert Show earlier this year including the three of them attempting Tom Sawyer on Rock Band backstage on Colbert's show (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78KWIRpjKwU).
Plus, thanks to 2112 they gained enough traction to go on doing the music they wanted instead of what the labels wanted. Like it or not, they've forged a very successful 30+ year career as a band without
any lineup changes after Neil joined up for Fly By Night. Very few (any?) bands can say that.
Bottom line, they struck a chord for me back in junior high and high school, and I'm still enjoying their work to this day.
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