20 Rush Albums in 20 Days: Feedback

DAY TEN: Rush, Feedback, running time 27:08, released June 29, 2004

There are only two legitimate reasons to record a cover song: play it better than the original (The Pretender’s version of “Stop Your Sobbing”) or play it completely differently from the original (Manfred Mann’s covers from Springsteen’s debut album).  On Rush’s cover album, Feedback, they achieve neither of these objectives, as they plow through high-energy versions of songs by The Who, Buffalo Springfield, Edie Cochran, The Yardbirds, Loves and Cream (doing a cover of Robert Johnson).  The best of the lot is “The Seeker,” but it adds little, if anything, to the original by The Who. 

Kudos to Rush for trying something different, something that flies in the face if what many consider a pretentious band, but ultimately the question must be asked: what’s the point?

Tomorrow, I’ll be listening to…drum roll, please…number 11, Power Windows, the pinnacle (or low point?) of Rush’s use of synthesizers.