On a shelf, above my desk, in my “office” sits four boxes filed in like books. The Rush Rediscovered box set, and the 40th anniversary super deluxe editions of A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres and Permanent Waves. I opened them … Continue reading Album Review: Rush – Moving Pictures 40th Anniversary
Rush released their self-titled debut album in 1974 and today retains legions of fans who remain devoted to their music. The biggest cult band in the world, routinely dismissed by mainstream music critics, seemed to finally get the respect they … Continue reading Rush Albums Ranked Worst to First
Merry Christmas! The penultimate Weekly Playlist. Such an odd word to describe the second to last of something. Well, I digress. Not a huge week of listening to music but got in some all-time favorites and broke in a new speaker. Metallica – (various songs) Night 2 of Metallica’s 40th Anniversary show occurred Sunday which I tuned in for with nearly the same amount of excitement as attending a concert in person. Seriously. Night 1 was awesome and Sunday did not disappoint with another two-hour, 15 song setlist of classic and deep album Metallica cuts. The livestreams were very well … Continue reading The Weekly Playlist – Dec. 19 to Dec. 25
The reviews of all the albums reviewed this year continue to pile up. The Top 10 Best Albums of 2021 has been finalized, I think, with the final album added this week but some shuffling around of those picked has started the second-guessing. Oh! I also got a new Rush album. Don’t get too excited, see below. Merry Axemas – (album) I told you Merry Axemas would remain on The Weekly Playlist for a few weeks. Mammoth WVH – Self-titled (album) Wolfgang Van Halen’s debut album. Read the review. Duran Duran – Future Past (album) Still going after 40 years, Duran … Continue reading The Weekly Playlist – Dec. 5 to Dec. 11
If there was ever a question about the role of Rush in my life, 30 years ago today removed all doubts. Just a few days earlier I withdrew from college. But Rush book-ended this abysmal time of my life first … Continue reading Concert Review: Rush – Roll the Bones Tour Dec. 9, 1991
A busy week as December rolled in with lots of listens for the forthcoming Top 10 Best Albums of 2021. The new releases have slowed down for the year as nothing has peaked my interest in recent weeks but just to mix it up I listened to a remixed album. But tis the season… 1. Merry Axemas (album) Expect this one to appear on this list for a few weeks. A fun guitar oriented approach to classic Christmas songs. “The Little Drummer Boy” my favorite for some obvious reasons. You can check out the artists and what they contribute here. … Continue reading The Weekly Playlist – Nov. 28 to Dec. 4
A plague of Rush dominated the personal airwaves this week starting with the second and longest leg of our tour south for Thanksgiving on Sunday. I continued with the three men from Willowdale during the week and 90s influenced our trip home today. Rush – various albums Hold Your Fire and Test for Echo helped pass the time on Sunday along the 5 freeway in California and when we got in range of 95.5 KLOS, classic Rock for Southern California, I tried the station and Metallica’s “One” was playing! We left KLOS on for a bit switching back and forth … Continue reading The Weekly Playlist – Nov. 21 to Nov. 27
A busy week of listening with concert prep (should be there upon this post going live) and the laborious effort of deciding the best albums of 2021. Everclear (various) Everclear concert tonight! Hopefully better than last time. Refreshed with some of their hits, some deeper cuts like “Portland Rain” which would make complete sense if played, and listened through their last album just in case they played some off it. Not looking forward to the venue or heading downtown, but I got someone else to drive. Woo hoo! Wheatus – Teenage Dirtbag and A Little Respect (songs) So, Wheatus opens … Continue reading The Weekly Playlist – Nov. 7 to Nov. 13
A pretty deliberate attempt this week to getting in some listening, the whole point of The Weekly Playlist. Some new music, one of them a surprise, and a favorite album from the past escorted me across the border into Washington. Let’s take a look: Athey Music – Goodness & Mercy (album) A new group or “collective” as they put it, out of Portland, OR, released their first album yesterday. A very nice collection of songs that were written as a result of the pandemic and lockdowns. Check out the review of Goodness & Mercy. Rush – Signals (album) Earlier this … Continue reading The Weekly Playlist – Oct. 31 to Nov. 6
All albums this week no individual songs. It doesn’t seem like much, just the four entries, but I listened to Duran Duran’s latest multiple times as well as No Doubt’s first album. Takes a lot of work sometimes to write something fair and accurate, at least from my point of view, and even then, some doubts (not no doubts) can creep in. Thus, the debut album series I started earlier this year returned after a few months off and an anniversary brought out the vinyl, a far better experience than streaming. Rush – Counterparts (album) The highest-ranking ever Rush album … Continue reading The Weekly Playlist – Oct. 17 to Oct. 23
Drew's Reviews 