Nice to hear from other Rush fans! Being that I was merely in diapers during Rush's halcyon days of the late seventies, I came upon the band much later than many other Bottleheads, it would seem, around the time of Counterparts (1993). So, I'm equally a fan of their newer stuff as well as old, and have been picking up their albums since the 90's (naturally, this included their entire back catalog, excepting Caress of Steel and Exit Stage Left, which I still haven't gotten around to buying).
Those of you buying their new stuff after not having listened to them since the late 70's or 80's might be in for shock, as their sound has progressively evolved away from the helium-tinged, "nerd rock" of 2112 towards something a bit more approachable, if not radio friendly. This new album, I think, is probably the best place to start, as it seems to blend their 70's work with more contemporary sounds. On some songs (the title track and Headlong Flight, for example), one may forget that this is an album cut in 2012, whereas some songs (such as the Daphne Du Maurier-inspired maritime tale of The Wreckers, not to mention the melancholy final track, The Garden) break new ground for the band. Some are calling this Rush's magnum opus, which I feel is incredibly premature to say about an album out for just a week, let alone from a band with things like 2112, Permanent Waves, and Moving Pictures in their back catalog. However, this appears to be the best rated and best received album of theirs in many, many years - far better than Vapor Trails (2002) or Snakes and Arrows (2007), in my opinion.
Can't wait to hear some Rush on my new Stereomour, which I've started slowly assembling in the past few days!
