Battle of the Bands: Rush vs. Genesis

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

Big prog rock battle tonight.


Rush

Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario; presently comprised of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974; two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental virtuosity of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired heavy metal on their first album, then encompassing hard rock, progressive rock, a period dominated by synthesizers and, more recently, modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists such as Metallica, The Smashing Pumpkins and Primus, as well as notable progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater and Symphony X.

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. These statistics place Rush fifth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kiss and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold and platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units. Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.

Genesis

Genesis are an English rock band formed in 1967. With approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time.[1] In 1988 the band won a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video. Genesis' members have included Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Ray Wilson and Phil Collins, all of whom have achieved success as solo artists.

Genesis began as a 1960s pop band playing moody, simple keyboard-driven melodies. During the 1970s they evolved into a progressive rock band and began to incorporate complex song structures and elaborate instrumentation, while their concerts took on a more theatrical tone. This second phase was characterised by lengthy performances such as the twenty-three minute "Supper's Ready" and, in 1974, the concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The 1980s saw the band produce more accessible pop music based on melodic hooks; this change of direction gave them their first number one album in the United Kingdom, Duke, and their only number one single in the United States, "Invisible Touch".

Genesis have changed personnel several times. Collins, previously the band's drummer, replaced Gabriel as lead singer in 1975, and was replaced by former Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson for the 1997 album Calling All Stations. Due to the commercial failure of that album, the band announced an indefinite hiatus. However in June 2007, Collins, Banks, Rutherford, and touring members Stuermer and Thompson reunited for a world tour.

"Working Man" - Rush
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"Tom Sawyer" - Rush
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"Turn it On Again" - Genesis
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"No Son of Mine" - Genesis
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Vote now!

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

Going with Genesis on this one.

[Rockbandfan23467]

Rush are going to win.
^Who did you vote last time?

[BhindBluEyes430]

I was going to stay out of this because I dont care for either but after listening to Turn it On Again Im definatly going with Genesis. Because his voice is 100X better to listen too the Gettys. I still find both bands boring tho.

Heres a little joke

"Evangelical christians Belive everything Genesis says, I dident even think Phil Colins was that good a drummer" -Jimmy Carr

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

Rush are going to win.
^Who did you vote last time?

Thin Lizzy.

Voted for Neil Young for a sympathy vote.

[NX013]

I dont understand why rthin lizzy lost to AC/dc, despite the fact more people wanted Lizzy to win.

Anyway this is tough, I love both bands, and the vids were good enough choices, however for longevity of prog I vote Rush, I like Hackett as a guitarist better, but Rush stayed prog longer than genesis, and Collins turened them into crap

[Rockbandfan23467]

Heres a little joke

"Evangelical christians Belive everything Genesis says, I dident even think Phil Colins was that good a drummer" -Jimmy Carr

What about Jews? And Muslims/Moslums?

And Give Phil props for being one of the few drummers who can sing well.

[BhindBluEyes430]

I really Don't Like phil Collins. but he is a better singer than getty.

More people "Posted" About Thin Lizzy but more people voted than posted.

[Rockbandfan23467]

I was the first to vote for Rush!

Rush are the 3rd best at playing their respective instruments. Only The Who and Led Zeppelin were better.

[RedSkyReborn]

Rush, with nary a second thought.

I like Genesis, but the ability that Geddy, Alex and Neil have to play their instruments is, simply, better than that of most bands, old and new.

[clostor]

lmao so you bill this as a prog rock battle yet you put up vids of genesis went they completely left all traces of prog behind them??

at least post vids of dancing with the moonlit knight, the knife, watcher of the skies, or the musical box :\


btw rush is obv better

[Vittorio E]

I voted for Rush because I think Neil Peart is a better drummer than Phil Collins. Oh, and also because Phil's solo stuff sucks.

...well, I guess there was this:

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[RockBandRocker]

I had to go with Rush on this one. Although I like Genesis, Rush seems to have better songs. The problem is I like both bands for what they have to offer. I like Neil Peart's drumming and Alex Lifeson's guitar parts, but then again, I enjoy the fact that not only can Phil Collins drum, but he can also sing. This is a tough battle.

I also noticed nobody mentioned Genesis with Peter Gabriel. Are we only going to consider Genesis post Peter Gabriel? :confused:

[Rockbandfan23467]

Goux Rush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jhail83]

I was the first to vote for Rush!

Rush are the 3rd best at playing their respective instruments. Only The Who and Led Zeppelin were better.

Rush are better than both the Who and Zep technically. Neil Peart is the best Drummer of the 3, Geddy is the best Bassist of the 3, and Alex is arguably just as good as the other two guitarists.

Even though I voted For Rush, I feel Genesis isn't being properly represented.

Vids.

Dancing with the moonlit knight
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The Knife
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Firth of Fifth
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[G-virus003mx]

Tough one... Patrick Bateman enjoys Genesis.

Personally Geddy Lee's voice takes the cake, along with Lifeson's amazing guitar work and, of course, Neil's unmatched drum mastery.

[JukeBoxHero]

I respected both Rush and Genesis for the music they have created but in this case it's definitely Rush. I prefer Geddy Lee singing over almost anyone else's vocals, so this a bias vote for me. Although, like I said above, I appreciate what Genesis did as a progressive rock band, not their pop work.

[sonicnerd23]

Rush. Hands. Down.

Neil Peart is perhaps one of the best drummers out there.

[clostor]

I also noticed nobody mentioned Genesis with Peter Gabriel. Are we only going to consider Genesis post Peter Gabriel? :confused:

if you would take a gander at my previous post you would see that i only mentioned songs that had peter gabriel since that was the only time that genesis was a pure prog band (yes ik collins-led genesis had two prog albums but we'll discount those for now :))

[Rockbandfan23467]

Rush are better than both the Who and Zep technically. Neil Peart is the best Drummer of the 3, Geddy is the best Bassist of the 3, and Alex is arguably just as good as the other two guitarists.


HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!

The Ox is the best dead Rock bassst cruently!!
Alex is better than Pete, but he's not even close to Page!
Neil is the best drummer. He's also smarter than the other two *******s.
I can't decide who I like best singing.

Wonder why Fogey isn't here yet?

[OldFogey]

HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!

The Ox is the best dead Rock bassst cruently!!
Alex is better than Pete, but he's not even close to Page!
Neil is the best drummer. He's also smarter than the other two *******s.
I can't decide who I like best singing.

Wonder why Fogey isn't here yet?

Well -- I'm sitting this one out. My ambivalence about Rush is on record. I'm not that much keener about Genesis with Gabriel, and after I'm just not a fan.

My favorite prog rock band was Yes. Not that they didn't have their flaws, especially Anderson's lyrics. But: Wakeman, Howe, Squire, Bruford later White. I'll take that lineup over these others. And I like the songs better, lyrics excepted. Looks like they're not in the BotB.

[polishdog90]

Well -- I'm sitting this one out. My ambivalence about Rush is on record. I'm not that much keener about Genesis with Gabriel, and after I'm just not a fan.

My favorite prog rock band was Yes. Not that they didn't have their flaws, especially Anderson's lyrics. But: Wakeman, Howe, Squire, Bruford later White. I'll take that lineup over these others. And I like the songs better, lyrics excepted. Looks like they're not in the BotB.

OLD FOGEY HAS SPOKEN!

[Jhail83]

HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!

The Ox is the best dead Rock bassst cruently!!
Alex is better than Pete, but he's not even close to Page!
Neil is the best drummer. He's also smarter than the other two *******s.
I can't decide who I like best singing.

Wonder why Fogey isn't here yet?

Alex isn't that far from Page in terms of technical ability, and I think Alex is alot more creative.

Also I think Geddy is better than the Ox. Creativity wise and technically. Not that the Ox isn't amazing. When Geddy Passes away (hopefully not anytime soon!) the Ox will still be top 2 in dead rock bassists! ;)

[Jhail83]

Well -- I'm sitting this one out. My ambivalence about Rush is on record. I'm not that much keener about Genesis with Gabriel, and after I'm just not a fan.

My favorite prog rock band was Yes. Not that they didn't have their flaws, especially Anderson's lyrics. But: Wakeman, Howe, Squire, Bruford later White. I'll take that lineup over these others. And I like the songs better, lyrics excepted. Looks like they're not in the BotB.

Speaking of Bruford...His solo stuff is awesome as well!

[OldFogey]

Speaking of Bruford...His solo stuff is awesome as well!

You're very correct, my friend.

[clostor]

everyone knows bruford's best moments were in King crimson come on lets be honest here people

as far as line-ups go classic yes demolishes almost any other line-up rock has ever seen. the only lineup that bests classic yes woudl have to be the millions of different band ensembles that zappa had

[Rockbandfan23467]

everyone knows bruford's best moments were in King crimson come on lets be honest here people

as far as line-ups go classic yes demolishes almost any other line-up rock has ever seen. the only lineup that bests classic yes woudl have to be the millions of different band ensembles that zappa had
What about Rush, The Who, and Led Zeppelin?

[JiggMaster]

Does anyone know who Genesis' bassist is? I don't. I know very little about what the hell genesis is but rush is one of my favourites so I doubt that genesis'll beat them.

[KillBox]

man comparing Rush to Zeppelin is hard...here's my take:

Page > Lifeson (overall) but Lifeson is more creative than Page IMO though
Plant > Lee (Vocals)
Lee > JPJ (close call)
Peart > Bonham (super close) Achilles Last Stand comes to mind for Bonham

both are great bands but overall Zeppelin was the better of the two IMO

[OldFogey]

What about Rush, The Who, and Led Zeppelin?

Howe > Lifeson > Page > Townsend
Bruford is best for my tastes and style, but I'd take Peart second, then Bonham then Moon. I can understand a different ranking with different tastes.
Wakeman > ??????
Lee > Squire > Entwhistle > Jones
Daltrey > Plant > Anderson > Lee, but none of 'em are close to the top

Howe is one of only two guitarists to be permanently enshrined in Guitar Player's HOF because they won the player of the year five years in a row. The other is Steve Morse.

The only fair comparison to Yes might be Deep Purple (I don't really know Dream Theater so I can't compare)

Howe > Blackmore
Wakeman > Lord
Bruford > Paice (more flexible, certain rhythms Paice never quite got the hang of)
Gillian > Anderson, but again neither is near the top for me.

But really it's about songs. For me, the Who has the best songs, followed by Zepp, Yes, then Rush.

One man's view...

[Jhail83]

man comparing Rush to Zeppelin is hard...here's my take:

Page > Lifeson (overall) but Lifeson is more creative than Page IMO though
Plant > Lee (Vocals)
Lee > JPJ (close call)
Peart > Bonham (super close) Achilles Last Stand comes to mind for Bonham

both are great bands but overall Zeppelin was the better of the two IMO

I'd put Lifeson over Page or at least equal.
The vocals are subjective. Lee is technically very good at vocals, but whether or not the sound is likeable is dependant on the person.

I'd also give creativity and longevity to Rush. I mean Zeppelin blatantly ripped off alot of work, and they didn't last through 4 decades like Rush, granted their Drummer died, but would they have been able to change their sound and still maintain success without selling out like Rush has? Not too many bands have done that.


Now technical ability aside (which it should be, because the music is what matters.)
Here are my favorites bands based on number of albums I like/Love by each artists.

1.Rush - 19 Good to Great albums! call me biased but I like every one of their albums...I don't necessarily like all their albums over every other album, but they all have good things about them! The only two I feel that weren't great are Test for Echo and Vapor Trails. Vapor Trails only because of the Mixing Job done on it. And Test For Echo is still a good album.

2. Pink Floyd - 14 Good to Great Albums. They have more, but a couple of them are just ok.

2. David Bowie - 14 Good/Great Albums Havem't heard a few of his albums, so I didn't include them.

3. Yes - 13 Good - Great Albums. They made a few stinkers in the 90's, but their recent Magnification was pretty good imo! I bought it brand new for 3 bucks at FYE! lol Apparently it didnt sell well....Shame.

4. King Crimson - 12 Good/Great Albums. A few albums by them I haven't heard yet, but The dozen I have are great.

5. The Who -10 good/great albums. I didn't count Live CDs for any band so I'm not going to here. I haven't heard their newest album so I can't judge that one. Also I didn't include soundtracks, because most of it is just songs from albums.

5. Genesis - 10 Good - Great Albums. - Their later stuff wasn't all bad, but I didn't include anything after Abacab. Also didn't include their debut.

6. Led Zeppelin - 7 Good - Great Albums.

[NX013]

nice opinion there fogey, in my opinion Hackett is better than Howe, but thats like comparing close to the edge to Heart of the sunrise. Although as most people know, Queen is IMO the greatest band ever!

edit: Im actually glad that zeppelin broke up after Bonham died, they're last album In Through the out door was them trying ther hardest to get a radio hit, and it was just awful. Imagine them trying even harder with one of their band members dead!

[Rockbandfan23467]

Wakeman > ??????
Geddy Le, JPJ and either Entwhistle or Townshend (can't remember which) play keys in those bands.

[OldFogey]

Geddy Le, JPJ and either Entwhistle or Townshend (can't remember which) play keys in those bands.

Not really a fair comparison, tho', is it?

Townshend did the organs on Won't Get Fooled Again. Not sure about anything else.

[Rockbandfan23467]

Bump beacuse Julio PM.

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

1. Not until round 1 is over. I need all the bands to be done with round 1 to work with a new roster.
2. No.

[Rockbandfan23467]

1. Not until round 1 is over. I need all the bands to be done with round 1 to work with a new roster.
2. No.Why not?

(Added to legenthen message)

[Jhail83]

Not really a fair comparison, tho', is it?

Townshend did the organs on Won't Get Fooled Again. Not sure about anything else.

A bit off topic, but who do you think is the better keyboardist?

Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman?

Now that is a good comparison!

[KillBox]

I'd put Lifeson over Page or at least equal.
The vocals are subjective. Lee is technically very good at vocals, but whether or not the sound is likeable is dependant on the person.

I'd also give creativity and longevity to Rush. I mean Zeppelin blatantly ripped off alot of work, and they didn't last through 4 decades like Rush, granted their Drummer died, but would they have been able to change their sound and still maintain success without selling out like Rush has? Not too many bands have done that.


their drummer died= end of band....in fairness you can't really compare them in longevity or # of albums produced...imagine if peart had died suddenly...the band would have never been the same if they chose to keep on going...i'm glad Zeppelin chose to call it quits...it just wouldn't have been the same w/o bonham

they've sold way more records than Rush (260,000,000 more) and Rush has been making new music this entire time...that has to count for something

whose work did they "blatantly" rip off?

[Rockbandfan23467]

whose work did they "blatantly" rip off?

Old, dead, and probably black guys like Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf etc.

Also, they listed traditional songs as if they had written them their own.

"There's Jimmy Paige, the greatest thief of American black music" -Homer Simpson.

[OldFogey]

A bit off topic, but who do you think is the better keyboardist?

Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman?

Now that is a good comparison!

Yeah -- and I think it's a virtual toss up. I like more of the songs Wakeman plays on, but that's probably because of others' contributions as much as Rick's. I'm not a fan of Rick's solo stuff.

I'm impressed with what I've seen of Jordan Rudess' keyboard skills, just not sure how big a fan I am of the music.

I actually really like Bill Payne of Little Feat -- it just bugs me a little that for a period of time there he seemed to think he was the second coming of Joe Zawinul. When he just settles into being a funk rock player instead of trying to be a fusion god, he's great.

I've also gone on record about how great I think Jools Holland, most famously of Squeeze, is a sensational player.

[Jhail83]

their drummer died= end of band....in fairness you can't really compare them in longevity or # of albums produced...imagine if peart had died suddenly...the band would have never been the same if they chose to keep on going...i'm glad Zeppelin chose to call it quits...it just wouldn't have been the same w/o bonham

they've sold way more records than Rush (260,000,000 more) and Rush has been making new music this entire time...that has to count for something

whose work did they "blatantly" rip off?

I acknowledged that their drummer died, so we will never know...but odds say that they wouldn't last 4 decades selling gold records.

As for record sales, that will win them a popularity contest....but record sales doesn't = Greatness necessarily. I'm not saying Zep isn't great , but it's not a very good argument to why band "a" is better than band "b".

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

Why not?
BECAUSE! Now make me a sammich. :mad:

[Rockbandfan23467]

BECAUSE! Now make me a sammich. :mad:
BECAUSE WHY!? *Throws Sandwhich in Julio's face*

And bump because this is the current battle.

[m00p]

Rush

Neil Peart for the f****** win

[Gianthogweed]

Damn, didn't get a chance to vote Genesis. But this post made me mad because your choices for Genesis sucked. Why not The Musical Box, or if you wanted Phil led Genesis at least use Dance on a Volcano.

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Genesis was a huge influence on Rush very early on. Neil Peart was a huge fan of theirs when he joined Rush, and he introduced them to Lee and Lifeson who also really dug it. This accounts for the change in sound towards prog after Peart joined. I love Rush, but I'll take any pre 1978 Genesis album (besides Revelation) over any Rush album simply because they wrote better songs that had a lot more emotion and depth.

This is the REAL Genesis
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Also from a technical standpoint Genesis also wins:

vocals: Gabriel > Lee
guitar: Hackett > Lifeson
keybards: Banks > Lee

however

drums: Peart > Collins (but only by a bit)
bass: Lee > Rutherford

However, it's not really fair since Genesis had 5 members and Rush only has 3. But if you're pitting trio Genesis against Rush:

vocals: Collins = Lee
guitar: Lifeson > Rutherford
bass: Lee > Rutherford
keyboards: Banks > Lee
Drums: Peart > Collins

Rush clearly wins. But trio Genesis was barely prog and doesn't count in my book.
Also, here's a bit of Supper's Ready for those who don't believe Collins and Bruford can outdrum Peart.

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As it stands this post was pretty much biased towards Rush from the start so I don't really acknowledge the results (especially since I didn't get to vote).

[RockBandRocker]

Holy S**t!! Younger Peter Gabriel & Phil Collins :p I have never seen that video. That had me laughing at first, but it shows that Genesis was good with Peter Gabriel. I would download anything from Genesis though. I like both Rush and Geneis, so it doesn't matter who wins "the battle".

[Steef]

Rush won! Take that Phil Collins!