Mr Milton Banana n Stan Getz

Personal reviews from
Stan and Mr Milton Banana

RUSH - Fly By Night - Caress Of Steel - 2112 - A Farewell To Kings - Hemispheres - Permanent Waves - Moving Pictures - Signals - Grace Under Pressure - Power Windows - Hold Your Fire - Presto - Roll the Bones - Counterparts - Test for Echo - Vapor Trails

RUSH

Stan

This album sure brings back a lot of memories. I listened to it a long, long time ago. My brother (Sir Willie Dick) had a friend called “Mogge”, who was a RUSH fan. I remember they used to hang around and play records all the time at my parent’s house.

While playing guitar in one of my earliest groups called the “Wollrath Hillblom Band”, we used to play “What You’re Doing” as our opening number. We played an instrumental version of it, because our singer (?) couldn’t sing it properly.

A couple of years later in a band called “Strammer Max”, (That’s German for ham and egg sandwich) we had “What You’re Doing” and “In the Mood” in our set list. We had a girl on lead vocals so I can assure you it sounded…different.

I’m quite fond of this album, because of all my childhood memories attached to it.

During that part of my life, I was really into heavy and classic rock. I had no idea about progressive and symphonic rock music. I thought about this album as very “Zeppelin-ish”.

Favourite tracks:

“Finding My Way”, “Here Again”, What You’re Doing” and “Working Man”.

Mr Milton

Not really one of my favourites!
But when I listen to it I must say that "Working man" and "What You´re doing" are quite "proper" songs...

Fly By Night

Stan

I don’t have any particular memories about this album. It was “just Rush’s second album” and it had a couple of good tracks on it.

I do remember that the cover appeared very “corny” to me.

How could a band like RUSH use a big owl in the snow as a front cover…strange?

The sound/production on “Fly By Night” sounded very “dry” to me as well, for the time.

I recently re-discovered “Fly By Night”

The drummer (Fran Zon) in my band made me “see the light” about a year ago, and I do think of that album very differently nowadays.

In fact; it’s one of my favourite albums!

Favourite tracks:

“Anthem”, “Beneath, Between And Behind”, “Fly By Night” and “Making Memories”.

Mr Milton

This is when the magic of the band starts...!

The magic lyrics and the magic music...

My favourite song on this album is "By-Tor and The Snowdog". That lyric is like a real ancient story...

And the lyric of "Making Memories" is nice.

Caress Of Steel

Stan

I was in my early teens and a guy named “Ortlund”, who worked at my school, lent me a VHS copy of “Grace Under Pressure”. He also wanted to sell me a copy of “Caress Of Steel”, which he didn’t really like. “It’s an old and crappy album”, he said.

I bought it for about 3 USD and I fell in love with it. I played “Caress Of Steel” everyday for a long time. The heavy intro riff to “I Think I’m Going Bald” knocked me out, and songs like “Bastille Day” and “The Necromancer” became my favourite, new tracks.

Nowadays, I don’t like it as much as I did back then, but I occasionally give it a spin on my turntable. I still get mesmerized when I hear “Lakeside Park” and listen to the lyrics of the song, “The Fountain”.

“Life is just a candle and a dream must give it flame…"

How true.

Favourite tracks:

“Bastille Day”, “I Think I’m Going Bald” and “Lakeside Park”.

Mr Milton

The second part of the pre-story!

The only memory I have from this is "Think I´m Going Bald".

I do think that Stan thinks of me in that song or it might be his worst nightmare...to get bald ;^)

Don´t have any any real favourite on this album.

2112

Stan

This IS the ONE!

My brother played me this album in his car and I freaked out!
It was magic! How could anyone write/play such music!

Listen to the drummer!

Listen to the immense power of the music!

It was dynamic, heavy and beautiful…it was fantastic!

I fell in love with the whole album, the cover, the story and the music!

I’d NEVER heard anything like “2112”, and I doubt that I will EVER get the same feeling that I got when I heard it for the first time…

“2112” made me a true “RUSHian”!!!

Favourite tracks: All of Them!!

Mr Milton

This is the first album i heard with RUSH.

The first time I heard it I had some problems with that "light" voice but after a few sessions I loved it.

This is RUSH. With capitals RUSH...

If You guys were to get stars in heaven I would give You all of mine...

The Temples of Syrinx... Listen to the Drums... Listen to the Lyrics...Listen to that voice... Listen to that guitar...

I have a very special memory of this album..

I had a friend that also were really fond of this album and I remember coming up in my apartment hearing him singing "We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx" with a terrible voice, but i remember the energy the commitment he sang with.

2112 is a milestone in music.

A Farewell To Kings

Stan

I bought “A farewell to Kings” rather late in my career as a “RUSHian”.

It’s a GREAT album but not one of my absolute favourites.

Favourite tracks: “Xanadu”.

Mr Milton

"A Farewell..." is one of my early favourites.

I have many favorurites on this album.

The intro on "A Farewell..." is magic.

The lyrics and the music on "Closer to the Heart" - "You can be the Captain I will draw the Chart" oh it´s just pure magic, "Xanadu" and "Cinderella Man" are "a final flash of glory"

The album are still one of my favourites...

Hemispheres

Stan

This is one of my all-time favourite RUSH albums.

I’ve already told you about my brother (Sir Willie Dick) and his friend (Mogge), right?

I remember them playing this album at my grandmother’s house in the late 70´s or early 80´s. It sounded very “weird” to me, and the music was “strange and scary”. I couldn’t stand the singer’s voice and the absurd cover...

These days…I really love it!

Fantastic music, great cover and fascinating lyrics!

“Hemispheres” is a true masterpiece! GET IT NOW!

Favourite tracks: All of them!

Mr Milton

I got to like "The Trees" quite soon but the rest of the album came in the shadow of "2112".

On later days I have learned to love it .

Permanent Waves

Stan

Fantastic album!

I remember playing this album to death, listening to it with an old friend of mine who was the bass-player in “Strammer Max”. He owned a copy of it and I didn’t. The absolutely brilliant “Natural Science” is one of the last epic and lengthy tracks RUSH has recorded.

Favourite tracks: “The Spirit Of Radio”, “Jacob´s Ladder”, and “Natural Science”.

Mr Milton

"Natural Science" is one of the best songs ever written.

The whole album is great but "Natural Science" i GODESS.

"Time after time We loose sight of the Wave
Our causes can´t see the effects"

The intro of "Spririt of Radio" is superb I even got in on my mobile phone ;^)

Moving Pictures

Stan

It just doesn’t get any better than this!
I’ll never forget when I heard “Tom Sawyer” for the first time. It knocked me out! My brother, (Sir Willie again…) owned a copy of the single “Limelight/YYZ”, and I had worn it out. “Limelight” became my favourite RUSH song , and it still is to this day. Listen to Alex’s solo on this one! Listen to Neil’s superb drumming and Geddy´s excellent bass lines!
True magic!

Favourite tracks: All of them!

Mr Milton

“Moving Pictures”
If I have to pick one album, and only one I would be choosing between Moving Pictures and Vapor Trails. And I probably would have to flip a coin to be able to pick only one.
“Tom Sawyer” A classical song, 23 years old and it is still “worthy” to be the intro on Rush in Rio. What a song.
“Limelight” Will always be one of the top ten songs ever made.
“The Witch Hunt” A very scary song, it even gave us the idée of this very scary website.
“Vital Signs” Still one of my all time favourites.

Signals

Stan

I got very confused when I listened to this album.
Where’s the guitar?
What a bunch of strange and weird lyrics!
What are these “reggae-beats” doing here?
What about all those synthesizers?
It took me some time before I started to get into this recording, but it’s a really good album.
The song “Subdivisions” is a favourite of mine, and I still get very emotional when I listen to and read the lyrics of “Losing It”. “Chemistry” and “Digital Man” are two forgotten gems. Give them a listen! They’re great!

Favourite tracks:
“Subdivisions”, “Chemistry”, “Digital Man”, and “Losing It”.

Mr Milton

“Signals”
The first album when the synthesizers took a little more space.
“Subdivisions” Another great song, the lyric and the music will hold on for a long, long time.
“Chemistry” I do believe it’s the only song written by the three guys together.
“The Weapon” Oh listen to that synthesizer… and look at that guy he is scary too.

Grace Under Pressure

Stan

This one wasn’t heavy enough for me, although I liked a lot of the tracks. I remember sitting in my room at my parent’s home, trying to figure out what Alex was playing on “Red Sector A” and the funny intro of “Kid Gloves”…tricky business…
Not one of my favourites but it contains a lot of good tracks.

Favourite tracks:
“Distant Early Warning”, “Red Sector A”, and “The Enemy Within”.

Mr Milton

“Grace under Pressure”
I remember one of my friends who got a hold of the VHS from Toronto 1984. I remember us playing that VHS over and over again.
And when we didn’t played the VHS we listened to the cd.
Best songs on the album are: “Distant Early Warning”, “Red Sector A” and The Enemy Within

Power Windows

Stan

This was the “worst” album I’ve ever heard from RUSH!
I really hated this one for a long time. I couldn’t stand it!
The synthesizers were very dominant, typical mid 80´s-production, Alex’s guitar sounded very thin and way too “clean and clinical”. I started to lose my faith in RUSH.
In the late 90´s when “Power Windows” was over a decade old, something strange happened.
I decided to give it another chance and started to play more than I’ve ever done in the past. “Power Windows” really grew on me! It’s now one of my favourites! Strange, isn’t it?
For a while I listened to “Mystic Rhythms” everyday. That particular track was very enigmatic. Another song that really grew on me was “Middletown Dreams”.
Give “Power Windows” another chance!

Favourite tracks:
“The Big Money”, “Manhattan Project”, Middletown Dreams”, and “Mystic Rhythms”.

Mr Milton

“Power Windows”
I remember buying this album living in the USA. It was quite easy to appreciate. I don’t really have any song on this album that I like better then the rest. If I have to pick one it will be “Marathon”.

Hold Your Fire

Stan

To me, RUSH was getting more and more into pop music, albeit “clever pop music” and I labelled this album as too “lightweight”.
Once again; a lot of synthesizers and that horrible “clean and clinical” guitar sound were all over the place. There are a lot of nice tracks on “Hold Your Fire” but the best things about it were the lyrics. Absolutely brilliant!
Unfortunately the production is too “thin, clean and clinical” on otherwise some very good material.

Favourite tracks:
“Lock and key”, “Prime Mover”, “Force Ten”, “Turn The Page”, and “Time Stand Still”

Mr Milton

”Hold Your Fire”
“Second Nature“ and “Prime Mover”. What deep lyrics. I just love them. “Today is different, And tomorrow the same” ooooh deep, very deep….”The Point of the Journey is not to Arrive”….me and Stan often quote these songs.
“Time stand Still” a friendly lyric “To pass an evening with a drink and a friend” ;^) just have to love it.
The whole album is super.

Presto

Stan

There is no such thing as a “no good” RUSH album!
They’re ALL great in their own special way.
No matter how much I’ve tried during the years, I’ve never been able to come to grips with this album. “Presto”, is even more “clean and clinical” than “Hold Your Fire”.
Sure, there are some great tracks on here, and one of my all-time favourites “The Pass” is on this particular album. I don’t know why I really don’t like it. Perhaps it’s the Rupert Hine production? I just don’t get “Presto”, and I seldom listen to it, except for “The Pass” and a few other tracks. I get very emotional when I listen to “The Pass”. Don’t know why…it just touches me very deeply.

Favourite tracks:
“The Pass”, “Show don’t tell”, “Anagram (for Mongo), and “Scars”.

Mr Milton

“Presto”
An album that took me quite some time to appreciate. I got more fond of “Presto” after the adventure of “Rush in Rio”. “The Pass” is a very emotional song.

Roll The Bones

Stan

The title track itself is a sole reason for buying this album!
Once again produced by Rupert Hine, this album was a (very) small step back to a more “non-clinical” sounding RUSH. A lot of great tracks, and as usual brilliant lyrics!
“Fate is just the weight of circumstances”.
To me, “Roll The Bones” is the last (?) album to sound “clinical” and if YOU don’t have a copy of it in your collection…get out there and ROCK and roll the bones!

Favourite Tracks:
“Dreamline”, “Bravado”, “Roll The Bones”, “Ghost Of A Chance”, and “Neurotica”.

Mr Milton

“Roll the Bones”
When I first heard this album I thought it was a little bit “light”.
The only exciting song was “Roll the Bones”. After listening to the album a couple of times I found more great songs. “Bravado” and “Neurotica” are two more favourites.

Counterparts

Stan

The only good thing that the whole “Grunge-crap-thing-from-Seattle” brought to this world was (maybe) to inspire RUSH to get heavy and rocking again.
During the “Seattle-craze” RUSH released “Counterparts” in ´93, and it knocked me off my feet! The album is very guitar dominated and the tracks are absolutely amazing! “Counterparts” is one of my all-time favourite albums and it really ROCKS!
This one is a masterpiece!

Favourite tracks:
All of them!

Mr Milton

“Counterparts”
Oooooooooooooh!
The intro on “Animate”, RUSH is back. Bigger and better than ever were my first thought. “Cut to the Chase”, “Between Sun and Moon”, “Double Agent” and “Cold Fire” are other great examples from this great album.
Finally I have to mention “Nobody’s Hero”, the most emotional song ever.

Test For Echo

Stan

When Mr. Milton and I became acquainted with each other in the mid 90´s, his birthday coincided with one of my first visits. I bought him “Test For Echo” as a birthday gift.
This is a really heavy album with lots of interesting lyrics. Just listen to “Resist”, “Virtuality”, “Half the world”, “Test For Echo” and “Totem”.
Get it now!

Favourite tracks:
“Test For Echo”, “Virtuality”, “Resist”, “Driven”, “Totem”, and “Half the world”.

Mr Milton

"Test for Echo"
Stan gave this album to me on one of my birthdays. Thank you very much Stan. Listened to it, loved it but putted it on the shell. I was to busy with flashbacks from the earlier albums. During the time Stan and me designed the Mr Milton Banana web site I dusted it of and I have been listening to it very much now. “Resist” is a true favourite. It was the right song to do acoustic. Other great song on this album is: “Test for Echo” and “Driven”.

Vapor Trails

Stan

I remember Mr. Milton and I downloading a couple of tracks from “Vapor Trails” in early 2002.
I know that I’ve been “complaining” about previous albums sounding too “clean and clinical”, but this one was completely the opposite!
Where are the keyboards?
That’s a lot of guitars, right?
It sounds like a mess and isn’t the production very “raw”?
Too heavy?

Like “Power Windows”, this album really grew on me. It’s absolutely brilliant!
In fact; Mr. Milton realized what a superb album this was some time before I did.
I really love “Vapor Trails”. It’s very heavy and a bit “TOOL-ish”.
This album comes across as very aggressive, fresh and up to date.
Turn up the volume and “Vapor Trails “will make you feel like a road kill! It tears you a part!
This is a killer!

Favourite tracks:
“One Little Victory”, “Ghost Rider”, “Peaceable Kingdom”, “The Stars Look Down”, “Vapor Trail”, “Earthshine”, “Sweet Miracle”, and “Nocturne”.

Mr Milton

"Vapor Trails"
One of the two best albums ever made.
I said that if I ever had to choose between “Moving Pictures” and “Vapor Trails” I probably would have to flip coins to be able to pick one.
This album is full of great songs: “One Little Victory”, “Earthshine”, “Sweet Little Miracle”, “Vapor Trails”, "Ghostrider" and "How It Is"to mention a few.
I remember the days before the release of VT. Of some mystic reason “Earthshine” and “One Little Victory” were out on the Internet. Stan and I spent several of hours to get a hold of these songs. When we finally got hold of it we played them over and over again and longing for the album.
If I had to choose between the two albums and Stan on a lonely island I would have to think twice ;^) Stan is almost as deep as these two albums together. I probably would choose Stan! He can bring his guitar and I can play on some coconuts. And we probably would be playing/singing all the albums from the beginning to the “end”. From "RUSH" to "Vapor Trails".

Thank You for bringing me so much deep thoughts during the years. Hoping to get more...

Looking forward to see you guys in Birmingham, Manchester and Stockholm.

If you want to say hello, maybe take a beer or two, You just give us a call.