Rush (band)

Rush is an award-winning Canadian rock band comprised of bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer Neil Peart (pronounced: 'Peert') that has been consistently touring and recording since 1973. John Rutsey played drums for Rush on the first album, but resigned for health concerns shortly thereafter. Since Peart joined in 1974, they have remained intact. Interestingly, while Lee does all the singing, almost all lyrics of the band's work have been written by Peart.

Their musical style has changed greatly over the lifetime of the group. Albums prior to 1980's Permanent Waves are a mix of heavy metal and progressive rock similar to Yes or Genesis, and visually sometimes demonstrating their birth within the short-lived era of glitter rock[?] bands, such as Iggy Pop or Ziggy Stardust, wearing flashy (or ridiculous, depending on your point of view) costumes and stage shows. The lyrics of that time were heavily influenced by science fiction, as exhibited most prominently by 1976's 2112.

Permanent Waves changed things dramatically. Although the music was still based on heavy-metal style, more and more keyboards were introduced. The themes of the songs changed dramatically, and became far more in common with alternative rock than prog-rock. One song in particular, Spirit of Radio (named for the Toronto-local groundbreaking radio station, CFNY), went on to become a huge hit on the alternative circuit. Another favorite on American "Classic Rock" stations to this day is Tom Sawyer from 1981's Moving Pictures[?]. From that point on their albums of the 1980s tended to follow this lead, although recordings in the later 80s and 90s have sometimes been derided as boring, or mainstream.

Each of the three individual artists has successfully produced & released work independent of the band's structure.

After a six-year hiatus (the longest in their career) mostly induced by tragedies in Peart's personal life, the band returned in 2002 with a surprisingly heavy Vapor Trails album, the first entirely without keyboards in a over twenty years.

Discography:

• Rush (March 1974)
• Fly by Night (February 1975)
• Caress of Steel (September 1975)
• 2112 (February 1976)
• All The World's a Stage - Live w/ mat'ls from 1st 4(September 1976)
• A Farewell To Kings (September 1977)
• Archives[?] (April 1978) - Repackage of the first three albums (Rush, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel)
• Hemispheres (October 1978)
• Permanent Waves[?] (January 1980)
• Moving Pictures[?] (January 1981)
• Exit...Stage Left[?] - Live (October 1981)
• Signals (September 1982)
• Grace Under Pressure[?] (April 1984)
• Power Windows[?] (October 1985)
• Hold Your Fire[?] (September 1987)
• A Show Of Hands[?] - Live (December 1988)
• Presto[?] (November 1989)
• Chronicles[?] (September 1990) - Essentially a "Greatest Hits" release
• Roll The Bones[?] (September 1991)
• The Story of Kings - Interview[?] (1992) - Interview with Alex Lifeson
• Counterparts[?] (October 1993)
• Burning for Buddy, Volume 1[?] - (Solo), Peart, et al (1994)

• Burning for Buddy, Volume 2[?] - (Solo), Peart, et al (1994/-5?)
• The Interviews - Vol 2[?] (October 1995) - Interview with Geddy Lee
• Victor - (Solo), Lifeson, et al (1996)
• Test For Echo[?] (September 1996)
• Retrospective I[?] 1974-1980 (1997) - Repackaging of best songs from the First Decade[?].
• Retrospective II[?] 1981-1987 (1997) - Repackaging of best songs from the Second Decade[?].
• Different Stages[?] - Live (November 1998)
• My Favorite Headache[?] - (Solo), Lee, et al (November 2000)
• Vapor Trails - (May 2002)

External Links

• [1] (http://www.rush.com)