10 Terrible Rock Albums (That Aren't As Bad As You Think)

Prog rock fans around the world owe an enormous debt to Neil Peart. Though he started out as a typical drummer for Rush, his thoughtful lyrics and enormous musical knowledge helped the band transition from a standard blues band to the prog titans we know today. After Fly By Night, the band were off to the races, but the followup Caress of Steel tends to be looked at as the band's greatest fumble.

With the band just starting to get acquainted with longer material, the emergence of 20 minute epics and elongated story lines may have felt like too much too soon for your standard rock fan. Though it's understandable that the more melodramatic storylines can be a bit hamfisted, but the musicianship on display certainly hasn't gone anywhere, with Alex Lifeson zeroing in on his balance between prog imagination and blues rock brashness.

There is also the common complaint of the band overplaying, but those more extravagant technical moments only enhance the stories they're trying to tell.

Even diehard Rush fans will argue that this is their worst record, but I defy you to listen to something like "Bastille Day" and classify it as mediocre rock and roll. Rush was clearly in a transitionary period at the time, but even Rush unsure of themselves could be considered any generic prog band's masterpiece.