Too many albums to choose from here’s a Buyers Guide to…
RUSH

Since their recording debut back in 1974 Canada’s greatest band Rush, (and let there be no argument here as the Bare Knuckled Ladies and the Tragically Dull don’t even come close) have released 18 studio albums and a whole shelf full of compilations and live shows. As with all artists such a large back catalogue can be a daunting affair some are better than others, some are essential and some tend to end up in yard sales.

Rush found the first few years of their career pretty tough going. The first 3 albums might have yielded such radio staples as Working Man, In The Mood, and Fly By Night, but the albums themselves didn’t sell too well and with lots of record company pressure it would need something special to put them on the map.

Released in 1976, their salvation came in the form of 2112. It was the start of the golden age of Rush. It helped lift the band into the bigger concert halls and within a year they would hit the UK where a swiftly growing fan base would be rewarded with a fantastic display of musician ship and double necked guitars. The side long title track is to many the bands greatest achievement. Drummer Neal Pearts lyrics deal with a society where music is banned and freedoms questioned, bassist/singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson’s music ranged from sublime acoustics to some of the heaviest riffs in the bands career.

A Farewell To Kings followed in 1977. It saw a growing use of keyboards and contained three more signature songs. Closer to the Heart with its gentle acoustic intro giving way to a more familiar electric surge, the epic Xanadu inspired by a Samuel Coleridge poem and overflowing with exotic percussion and powerful guitars. And the simply startling Cygnus X-1, a speaker rattling space saga with some stunning use of sound dynamics.

The start of a new decade saw the band hit peak form with a brace of releases that stand as their finest hour, 1980’s Permanent Waves is perhaps the best of their career. It opens with a bona fide hit single in The Spirit of Radio the classic opening riff to the reggae tinged ending made this a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Natural Science is another candidate for the Rush hall of fame, nine minutes of breathtaking effortless playing weaving a tale of man’s battle with science using the analogy of a coastal rock pool to create some wonderful lyrical imagery.

Moving Pictures from 1981, like its illustrious predecessor contained another radio hit and another mini epic, Tom Sawyer with its lazy 4/4 beat swirling synths, and that drum fill that has everyone wishing they could play like a certain Mr. Peart, more that helped the album reach multi platinum status. The Camera Eye with its New York and London settings allows the band to stretch out musically and gives Lee a chance to show what a great bassist he is. YYZ is a dazzling instrumental, which is still a high point in the current live set.

The run of creativity continued with Signals, its lead off track Subdivisions rattles along on a wash of keyboards and crunching guitars, New World Man was a minor hit and still sounds fresh all these years later. The increasing use of keyboards divided a lot of fans into two camps, those who liked the music to develop and grow, and those who couldn’t handle anything that didn’t have six strings.

Each chapter of the band’s development was usually marked with a live album so mention must be given to the first of these All The Worlds a Stage released just after 2112 sees the band at there early best - a 3 piece never sounded so big. Lifeson steals the show here with some guitar heroics that match the greats.