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Well, I looked around, and I saw that there was seemingly no thread dedicated to one of the greatest bands of all time. RUSH!

Since I'm not the greatest Rush expert on the planet, and also because I'm one of the laziest people on the planet, I shall give a history and explanation of the band, Wikipedia style:

Rush
Rush is a Canadian progressive rock band comprising bassist, keyboardist and vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart (IPA: [pɪɹt]). Rush formed in the summer of 1968, in Willowdale, Ontario (now part of Toronto) by Lifeson, Lee, and John Rutsey. Peart (from St. Catharines, Ontario) replaced Rutsey on drums in July of 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour, to complete the present lineup. Since the release of their eponymous debut in 1974, the band became well known for their instrumental virtuosity, complex compositions, erudite lyrics, and inspirational camaraderie. Rush's three decades of continued success under their current lineup of Lee, Lifeson, and Peart has earned the band the respect of their musical peers, and their supporters are often cited as one of the most intensely loyal fanbases in the history of rock. Rush have also had a profound musical influence on such artists as Dream Theater, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Primus, Soundgarden, Symphony X, Shadow Gallery, Tool, fellow Canadian rockers Triumph, The Tragically Hip and Barenaked Ladies.

Rush has been awarded the Juno Award[1] several times and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994[2]. They have also been nominated four times for a Grammy Award. (Complete list of awards.) Additionally, Lee, Lifeson, and Peart are all Officers of the Order of Canada[3], the first rock musicians so honored. Over the course of their career, the individual members of Rush have been recognized as some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments. Each member has won several awards in magazine reader's polls[4]. As a whole, the band boasts 23 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records making them one of the best selling rock artists in history. Rush currently place fifth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, KISS and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold and platinum albums by a rock band[5].

Contents [hide]
1 Band members
2 Musical style
3 History
3.1 The early days (1968?1976)
3.2 The Progressive Rock era (1977?1981)
3.3 The Synthesizer period (1982?1989)
3.4 Returning to their roots (1989?1997)
3.5 Hiatus and comeback (1997?Present)
3.6 Future plans
4 Reputation
4.1 Geddy Lee
4.2 Alex Lifeson
4.3 Neil Peart
4.4 The Band
5 Discography
5.1 Studio albums
5.2 Other studio records
5.3 Live albums
5.4 Videos
5.5 Compilations and interviews
5.6 Solo efforts
6 Books
7 References and notes
8 See also
9 External links



[edit]
Band members
Geddy Lee - Bass guitar, Mini-Moog, Oberheim Polyphonic, Taurus Pedals, synthesizers, lead vocals (1968?present)
Alex Lifeson - Six and twelve string acoustic and electric guitars, mandola, bass pedals, backing vocals (1968?present)
Neil Peart - Drums, electronic and acoustic percussion (1974?present)
John Rutsey - Drums (1968?1974)
[edit]
Musical style

The "starman" logo (by artist Hugh Syme) first appeared on the back cover of the 1976 album, 2112. Neil Peart explained in 1982, "All it means is the abstract man against the masses. The red star symbolizes any collectivist mentality."Rush's musical style has changed substantially over time. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock: an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Over the first few albums their style remained essentially hard rock, with heavy influences from The Who [6] and Led Zeppelin[7], but also became increasingly influenced by the British progressive rock movement[8]. In concordance with the traits of progressive rock, Rush concentrated heavily on writing songs comprising protracted length, odd meters, and fantasy inspired lyrics, all the while maintaining a hard rock ethos at the core of each composition. This fusion of hard and progressive rock continued until the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, Rush successfully merged their trademark sound with the trends of this period, experimenting with New Wave music, reggae, and pop rock[9]. This period included the band's most extensive use of instruments such as synthesizers, sequencers and electronic percussion. It is largely agreed that the culmination of this era of Rush was in 1987 after the release of Hold Your Fire[10]. With the approach of the early '90s and Rush's character sound still intact, the band transformed their style once again to harmonize with the alternative rock movement[11]. The new millennium has seen them return to a more rock-n-roll roots sound, albeit with modern production[6].

[edit]
The Band
Over 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography as well. Like many bands known for experimentation, such changes have inevitably resulted in strong dissent among critics and fans. The bulk of the band's music has always included synthetic instruments in some form or another, and this, more than anything else, is a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially in regards to the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s[39] [40]. Still, many saw this as nothing less than artistic growth and support for the band remained unwavering through each transitional phase[10].

Due to this ongoing controversy over Rush, they have yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The members of Rush have themselves noted that people "either love Rush or hate Rush", resulting in strong detractors and an intensely loyal fan base. Rolling Stone has often been blamed for their inability to enter the Hall[41]. To this day fans earnestly clamor for the band's inclusion into the hall by citing noteworthy accomplishments including longevity, proficiency, and influence, as well as commercial sales figures and RIAA certifications. Also, despite having completely dropped out of the public eye for five years after Test for Echo and the band being relegated almost solely to classic rock stations in the U.S., Vapor Trails shot up to #6 on the Billboard Chart in its first week of release in 2002. The subsequent Vapor Trails tour grossed over $24 million and included the largest audience ever to see a Rush show ? 60,000 fans in S㯠Paulo. The following year, the band released Rush in Rio, which the RIAA has certified gold, marking the fourth decade in which a Rush album had been released and certified at least gold. Moreover, in 2004, Feedback cracked the top twenty on the Billboard 200 chart, in addition to receiving radio airplay.

Pictures

















(Pretty much everything above was taken off of wikipedia.org)


I find it kind of sad how few people have heard of them nowadays. I was lucky enough to come across them while sifting through my dad's old music. The first album I ever heard by them was 2112, and I remember it like it was yesterday.

Like Geddy Lee said himself, Rush is,"A band you either like or you don't like."


Are there any other Rush fans out there?

[edit]
History
For more details on this topic, see History of Rush (band).
[edit]
The early days (1968?1976)
"Working Man" (file info)
"Working Man" from Rush.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.
The original lineup formed in September 1968, consisting of Jeff Jones on bass and vocals, John Rutsey on drums and Alex Lifeson on guitars. Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson, quickly replaced Jones. After this point the band experienced rapid personnel changes and lineup reformations before finally settling on its first officially recognized incarnation in May 1971, comprising Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and John Rutsey. The band was managed by local Toronto resident Ray Daniels, a frequent attender of Rush's early shows.

After gaining stability in the lineup and honing their skills on the local bar/high school dance circuit, the band came to release their first single "Not Fade Away", a cover of the Buddy Holly song, in 1973. Side B contained an original composition, "You Can't Fight It", credited to Rutsey and Lee. The single generated little reaction and due to record company indifference the band formed their own independent record label, Moon Records. With the aid of Daniels and the newly enlisted Terry Brown working in an unofficial capacity, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1974. Highly derivative of Led Zeppelin[7], Rush had limited local popularity until the album was picked up by WMMS, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Donna Halper, a DJ working at the station, selected "Working Man" for her regular play list. The song's blue collar theme resonated with hard rock fans and this new found popularity led to the album being re-released by Mercury Records[12] [13] in the US.


Rush (1974)Immediately after the release of the debut album, Rutsey resigned due to his affliction with diabetes and a distaste for touring. Rush held auditions and eventually selected Neil Peart as Rutsey's replacement. In addition to becoming the band's drummer, Peart assumed the role of principal lyricist as Lee and Lifeson had very little interest in writing, contributing to only a handful of song lyrics over the rest of the band's career. Instead, they focused primarily on the musical aspects of Rush. Fly By Night (1975), Rush's first album after recruiting Peart, saw the inclusion of the band's first mini-epic tale "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes after the addition of Peart due to his love for fantasy and science-fiction literature. However, despite these many differences most of the music still closely mirrored the style found on Rush's debut[14].

Following quick on the heels of Fly By Night, the band released Caress of Steel (1975) a five track hard/art rock album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth". Caress of Steel was considered an audacious move for the band due to the placement of two protracted numbers back-to-back, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and story-telling, a large deviation from Fly by Night. Intended to be the band's first "break-through" album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations and the promotional tour consisted of small venues which led to the moniker the "Down the Tubes Tour"[15]. In light of these events, Rush's record label pressured them into molding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion. However, in spite of such urges, the band ignored the requests and developed their next concept album, 2112. It was the band's first taste of commercial success and their first platinum album [16]. It is widely considered to be the pinnacle of early period Rush. The lyrics of this time (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction and, in a few cases, the writings of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112[17]. After the breakthrough of 2112, the band released their first US Top 40 album, a double live album titled All the World's a Stage in 1976.

[edit]
The Progressive Rock era (1977?1981)

After the highly acclaimed and well-received 2112, Rush followed up and delivered 1977's A Farewell to Kings (which became the band's first US Gold selling album) and 1978's Hemispheres. These albums saw the band pushing the prog rock envelope even further than before by expanding their use of progressive elements. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions. In order to achieve a broader, progressive palette of sound, Alex Lifeson began to experiment with twelve- and six-string classical guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Mini-Moog. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood-blocks, cow-bells, tympani, gong and chimes. Beyond instrument additions, the band kept in stride with the progressive rock movement by continuing to compose long, conceptual songs with science fiction and fantasy overtones. However, as the new decade approached, Rush gradually began to dispose of their older styles of music in favor of shorter, and sometimes softer, arrangements.

1980's Permanent Waves shifted Rush's style of music dramatically via the introduction of reggae and new wave. Additionally, although a hard rock style was still evident, more and more synthesizers were introduced. Moreover, due to the limited airplay Rush's previous extended-length songs received, Permanent Waves included shorter, more radio-friendly songs such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", two songs which helped Permanent Waves become Rush's first US Top 5 album. Both songs continue to make appearances on classic rock radio stations in Canada and the United States to this day. Meanwhile, Peart's lyrics shifted toward an expository tone with subject matter that dwelled less upon fantastical or allegorical story-telling and more heavily on cerebral topics that explored humanitarian, social, emotional, and metaphysical elements.


Rush
(Permanent Waves session photo 1979)Rush's popularity reached its pinnacle with the release of Moving Pictures in 1981. Moving Pictures essentially continued where Permanent Waves left off, extending the trend of highly accessible and commercially friendly pop-progressive rock that helped thrust them into the spotlight. The lead track, "Tom Sawyer", is probably the band's best known song, while "Limelight" also received satisfactory responses from listeners and radio stations. Furthermore, Moving Pictures was the very last album to feature an extended song, the 10-and-a-half-minute "The Camera Eye". Incidentally, the song also possessed the band's heaviest usage of keyboards and synthesizers up to that point hinting that Rush's music was shifting directions once more. Moving Pictures reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[18].

Following the success of Moving Pictures (and the completion of another four studio albums) Rush released their second live recording, Exit...Stage Left, in 1981. The album delineates the apex of Rush's progressive period by featuring live material from the band's successful Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures tours. As with their first live release, Exit...Stage Left identified the margin of a new chapter of Rush's sound. The band underwent another radical stylistic transmutation with the release of Signals in 1982.

[edit]
The Synthesizer period (1982?1989)

While Geddy Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 70s, 1982's Signals arguably represented Rush's most drastic stylistic transformation up to that point. Keyboards were suddenly shifted from a contrapuntal background to the melodic frontlines[19] [20]. Traditional guitar solos also became less of a focal point as seen in both "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions," the latter track featuring a short solo using natural harmonic accents for minimalism.


Rush
(The Body Electric Music Video, 1984)Signals contained Rush's only US top-40 pop hit, "New World Man"[21], while, musically, other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk[22]. More specifically, Alex Lifeson's guitar tone and playing style on Signals were very reminiscent of contemporary acts of the time who were well known for incorporating such rhythms into their music. Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, they felt dissatisfied with long-time producer Terry Brown's studio treatment of Signals and parted ways with him in 1983. These diverse styles would come into further play on their next studio album.

The style and production of Signals were patently augmented and taken to new heights on 1984's Grace Under Pressure. Although Geddy Lee's use of sequencer and synthesizer remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Neil Peart's adaptation of electronic drums and percussion?a sonic evolutionary step similar to A Farewell to Kings. Alex Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced to act as an overreaction to the minimalistic role he played on Signals [23]. Even still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms; "Red Lenses, "Red Sector A", and "The Enemy Within" serving as prime examples. Grace Under Pressure also featured several popular MTV music videos, including the anti-nuclear anthem "Distant Early Warning." "The Body Electric" would prove a staple of AOR and classic rock radio.

1985's Power Windows was followed by Hold Your Fire in 1987, both of which were produced by Peter Collins. The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Geddy Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work. However, Power Windows still builds somewhat upon the momentum from Grace Under Pressure, even as it involves more sophisticated usage of sequencers and guitar minimalism. Alex Lifeson's presence is still palpable on "The Big Money," (the album's modest-charting single) with spotlights on "Grand Designs," "Middletown Dreams," and "Marathon." Hold Your Fire represents both a modest extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and the culmination of this era of Rush. Lifeson, like many guitarists in the late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord colorings and razor-thin leads. Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in 1987. This would convince the group to change record labels from Mercury to Atlantic in 1989.

A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the 80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favorite power trio as "the holy trinity" [24]. Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark. After Rush's departure in 1989, Polygram also released a gold-selling two-volume compilation of their Rush catalog, Chronicles (1990).

[edit]
Returning to their roots (1989?1997)

Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style with the albums Presto and Roll the Bones. Produced by record engineer and musician Rupert Hine, these two albums saw Rush shedding much of their keyboard-saturated sound. Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums. While synthesizers were still used in many songs, the instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions. Continuing this trend, 1991's Roll the Bones extended the use of the standard three instrument approach with even less focus on synthesizers than its predecessor. While, musically, these albums do not deviate too much from a general pop rock sound, Rush stuck to their creative situation. During this abeyance of activity as Peart recuperated, a triple CD live album entitled Different Stages was released in 1998. It contained two discs packed with recorded performances from the band's Counterparts and Test for Echo tours, marking the fourth officially released live album by the band.


Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart of Rush

After sufficient time to grieve and reassemble the pieces of his life, Peart married photographer Carrie Nuttall in September of 2000. In early 2001 he announced to his band mates that he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music. The band returned in May 2002 with Vapor Trails. In order to herald the band's comeback, the single and lead track from the album, "One Little Victory" was designed to grab the attention of listeners due to its rapid guitar and drum tempos[26]. While mostly heavy rock, the album displayed a fair share of musical eclecticism ranging from standard modern-riff rock and poppy numbers to songs that display a fresh smattering of progressive flavor. Vapor Trails also marks the first studio recording not to include a single synthesizer, organ, or keyboard part since the early 1970s. While the album is almost completely guitar-driven, it is mostly devoid of any conventional sounding guitar solos, a conscious decision made by Alex Lifeson during the writing process. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took approximately fourteen months to complete, by the far the longest the band has ever spent writing and recording a studio album[26]. The album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career

A triple CD live album and dual DVD, Rush in Rio, was released in late October 2003, an entire concert performance on the last night of their Vapor Trails tour, recorded November 23, 2002, at Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In order to celebrate their 30th anniversary, June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream, The Who, and The Yardbirds, bands which the members of Rush cite as inspiration around the time of their inception. This marks the first official studio release of the band covering the music of other artists. That same summer, Rush again hit the road for a very successful 30th Anniversary Tour, playing dates in the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. On September 24, 2004 a Frankfurt, Germany concert was recorded for DVD (titled R30: Live in Frankfurt), which was released November 22, 2005.

A new DVD box set, called Rush Replay X 3, was released on June 13, 2006. It consists of the three original home videos (Exit...Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure and A Show of Hands) completely remastered on DVD. Also included is a previously unreleased soundtrack CD to the Grace Under Pressure disc[28].

[edit]
Future plans
During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band confirmed their intention to return to the studio in early 2006 with a view to releasing a new album later in the year, with yet another tour to follow. Lifeson has confirmed that the writing and recording processes for the new album are being executed differently than how they were in the past. Instead of writing all of the songs first followed by recording, mixing and mastering sessions, small groups of songs will be written and recorded in procession. Recently at his restaurant, The Orbit Room, he had leaked information to a few fans that 6 songs had been completed on the new album.

In a January 20, 2006 post on his own website, Peart stated that "the actual work" of recording a new album "is sure to take most of 2006 to accomplish," and that "any tour dates in 2006 are unlikely ? maybe next year". In a further post on April 26, 2006 Peart wrote of a meeting the band held at his house in Quebec in March. Neil had given Lee and Lifeson lyrics for five songs in January, which was put to music during the interim. Pleased with what his fellow musicians had come up with, Peart described the songs as having a "spiritual" feel[29].

Snakes & Arrows (2006–present)
Main article: Snakes & Arrows
During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006. While in Toronto, Lifeson and Lee began the songwriting process in January 2006. During this time, Peart simultaneously assumed his role of lyric writing while residing in Southern California. That following September, Rush chose to hire American producer Nick Raskulinecz to co-produce the album. The band officially entered Allaire Studios, in Shokan, New York in November 2006 in order to record the bulk of the material. On February 14, 2007, an announcement was made on the the official Rush web site that the title of the new album would be Snakes & Arrows. It was released May 1, 2007 in North America, where it debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with approximately 93,000 units sold in its first week. The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007. The Rush website, newly redesigned on March 12, 2007 to support the new album, also announced that the band will embark on a tour to begin in the summer. The website now has North American and European tour dates listed. To coincide with the Atlantic Ocean Hurricane season, "Spindrift" was released as the official second radio single on June 1, 2007.

BANNER

And with that, let the discussion commence!

Yeah, it's a remake.

I want it to be official, but unfortunately nobody likes Rush anymore so it never gets popular enough to be official... cry

Well, it's more well-organised than most threads dedicated to bands... stare

Do you have any idea how long it took me to find all those cover arts? gonk

(Sigh) What should I change?