Rush

	Sign In Sign-Up



	Rush Rush 1974 Mercury Records		Finding My Way Need Some Love Take a Friend Here Again	What You're Doing In the Mood Before and After Working Man
Initially, Rush was just another hard rock band trying to make it with working class, blue collar rock songs that were very straightforward. Not that that's bad or anything, it's just that the only thing distinctive about Rush at this time was Geddy Lee's unique voice.

	Rush Fly By Night 1975 Mercury Records		Anthem Best I Can Beneath, Between & Behind By-Tor & the Snow Dog .....i. At the Tobes of Hades .....ii. Across the Styx .....iii. Of the Battle .....iv. Epilogue	Fly By Night Making Memories Rivendell In the End
With the addition of Neal Peart (drums, lyrics), Rush quickly joined forces with the prog rock scene, with their mythical lyrics and their (sometimes) over-the-top arrangements. I mean, come on . . . 'Rivendell'? Blatantly right out of Lord of the Rings. But, it was fun so who cares, right?

	Rush Caress of Steel 1975 Mercury Records		Bastille Day I Think I'm Going Bald Lakeside Park The Necromancer .....i. Into Darkness Ii Under the Shadow Iii Return of the Prince	The Fountain of Lamneth .....i. In the Valley .....ii. Didacts and Narpets .....iii. No One at the Bridge .....iv. Panacea .....v. Bacchus Plateau .....vi. The Fountain
Delving even further into mystical subject matter and prog rock arrangements. Ya gotta love this stuff!

	Rush 2112 1976 Mercury Records		2112 ... i. Overture ... ii. The Temples of Syrinx ... iii. Discovery ... iv. Presentation ... v. Oracle: The Dream ... vi. Soliloquy ... vii. Grand Finale	A Passage to Bangkok The Twilight Zone Lessons Tears Something for Nothing
The pinnacle of Rush! At least as far as the 70s went. A mythical science fiction mini-opera that still holds up today. In a cheesy sort of way that is, but is still really cool!

	Rush All the World's a Stage 1976 Mercury Records		Bastille Day Anthem Fly By Night In the Mood Something for Nothing _______________ By-Tor and the Snow Dog In the End	Lakeside Park 2112 ... Overture ... The Temples of Syrinx ... Presentation ... Soliloquy ... Grand Finale _______________ Working Man Finding My Way What You're Doing
The first of cleverly titled live albums from the Canadian trio. God, I love a literate band! This covers the first phase of Rush, from the hard rock, blue collar tunes of the first record to the more elaborate prog rock of 2112. Plus this was obligatory live offering from a band as ensconced in the 70s as Rush was.

	Rush A Farewell to Kings 1977 Mercury Records		A Farewell to Kings Xanadu	Closer to the Heart Cinderella Man Madrigal Cygnus X-1
Okay, a little pretentious, a little heavy-handed. Still, it has 'Closer to the Heart' and the prog rock stuff IS pretty cool. Plus it lays the groundwork for their next album . . .

	Rush Hemispheres 1978 Mercury Records		Cygnus X-1 Book II / Hemispheres .... I. Prelude .... II. Apollo / Dionysus .... III. Armageddon .... IV. Cygnus .... V. The Sphere	Circumstances The Trees La Villa Strangiato
Pretty cool idea. Let's have a sequel, of sorts. "Cygnus X-1," the last track on A Farewell to Kings, tells the story of a rocket ship that gets sucked into a black hole. "Hemispheres" continues the tale of when the ship comes out the other side of the black hole. Then on the second side you have the classic "The Trees." At times like these, the 70s were very, very cool.

	Rush Permanent Waves 1980 Mercury Records		The Spirit of Radio Freewill Jacob's Ladder	Entre Nous Different Strings Natural Science
The beginning of radio dominance for the Canadian trio. A fantastically brilliant album that still stands up today. Every song a classic!

	Rush Moving Pictures 1981 Mercury Records		Tom Sawyer Red Barchetta YYZ Limelight	The Camera Eye Witch Hunt Vital Signs
If there were only one Rush album to own . . . 'Nuff said.

	Rush Exit . . . Stage Left 1981 Mercury Records		The Spirit of Radio Red Barchetta YYZ _______________	A Passage to Bangkok Closer to the Heart Beneath, Between & Behind Jacob's Ladder _______________
			Broon's Bane The Trees Xanadu	Free Will Tom Sawyer La Villa Strangiato
Another souvenir, this time from the Moving Pictures tour. Not as cohesive as All the World's a Stage. In fact, the only really interesting thing about this is the cover artwork, where several Rush covers are personified. Now THAT'S cool.

	Rush Signals 1982 Mercury Records		Subdivisions The Analog Kid Chemistry Digital Man	The Weapon New World Man Losing It Countdown
Ah, progress. More synthesizers, more social commentary, less mythical pretentiousness. Still don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

	Rush Grace Under Pressure 1984 Mercury Records		Distant Early Warning Afterimage Red Sector A The Enemy Within	The Body Electric Kid Gloves Red Lenses Between the Wheels
Geddy with a mullet haircut. I think this was one of the signs of the apocalypse. Rush's music was becoming more bad 80s science fiction than bad 70s mythological fare. They also tried to get political with 'Distant Early Warning' - imminent nuclear war. Major subject matter for countless 80s bands. Don't get me wrong; I love Rush and always will, it's just that their 80s decline started right here, despite some good songs.

	Rush Power Windows 1985 Mercury Records		The Big Money Grand Design Manhattan Project Marathon	Territories Middletown Dreams Emotion Detector Mystic Rhythms
Y'know, there was a very good reason why Queen's 70s albums boasted the disclaimer 'No synthesizers were used on this album.' Too bad Rush didn't join that bandwagon. By 1985, the Canadian trio had fallen so deeply into synthesizer hell that no one thought they'd ever get out. Unfortunately, it would be another 6 years before they could crawl out of the dismal hole they dug for themselves and return to making great music (see Roll the Bones)

	Rush Hold Your Fire 1987 Mercury Records		Force Ten Time Stand Still Open Secrets Second Nature Prime Mover	Lock and Key Mission Turn the Page Tai Shan High Water
Hitting rock bottom. I can't think of anything good to say about this record.

	Rush A Show of Hands 1989 Mercury Records		Intro The Big Money Subdivisions Marathon Turn the Page Manhattan Project Mission	Distant Early Warning Mystic Rhythms Witch Hunt The Rhythm Method Force Ten Time Stand Still Red Sector A Closer to the Heart
In almost a parody of themselves, Rush released yet another live album (this makes 3 so far). My allegiance to bands hardly ever wanes, and this release proves it. This is a totally unnecessary album, yet I still bought it and own it to this day. Go figure.

	Rush Presto 1989 Atlantic Records		Show Don't Tell Chain Lightning The Pass War Paint Scars	Presto Super Conductor Anagram (for Mongo) Red Tide Hand Over Fist Available Light
Well, at least they tried. You could tell with this record that Rush was trying to crawl out of their 80s hellhole. A little further and they would make it . . .

	Rush Roll the Bones 1991 Anthem / Atlantic Records		Dreamline Bravado Roll the Bones Face Up Where's My Thing .. (Part IV, "Gangster of Boats" Trilogy)	The Big Wheel Heresy Ghost of a Chance Neurotica You Bet Your Life
After some progressively (pardon the pun) lackluster albums in the 80s, Rush regrouped and attacked the 90s with a newfound purpose. Or so it seemed. This album brought Rush back to the foreground with wonderfully played, exquisitely written rock songs - the kind Rush always used to be able to do. This album is the best they've done in a decade.

	Rush Counterparts 1993 Anthem / Atlantic Records		Animate Stick It Out Cut to the Chase Nobody's Hero Between Sun & Moon	Alien Shore The Speed of Love Double Agent Leave That Thing Alone! Cold Fire Everyday Glory
Stumbling a bit here, this sounds more like Roll the Bones II. Still, a good song here and there is better than none at all.

	Rush Test for Echo 1996 Anthem / Atlantic Records		Test for Echo Driven Half the World The Color of Right Time and Motion	Totem Dog Years Virtuality Resist Limbo Carve Away the Stone
WHY?!?!?!? WHY?!?!?!? WHY?!?!?!?

	Rush Different Stages 1998 Anthem / Atlantic Records		Set One Dreamline Limelight Driven Bravado Animate Show Don't Tell The Trees Nobody's Hero Closer to the Heart 2112	Set Two Test for Echo Analog Kid Freewill Roll the bones Stick It Out Resist Leave That Thing Alone The Rhythm Method Natural Science The Spirit of Radio Tom Sawyer YYZ
				Set Three Hammersmith Odeon, London 1978 Bastille Day By-Tor & the Snow Dog Xanadu A Farewell to Kings Something for Nothing Cygnus X-1 Anthem Working Man Fly By Night In the Mood Cinderella Man
Since the deaths of Neal Peart's wife and daughter were still incapacitating Peart, Anthem / Atlantic Records put out yet another live album by Rush. The difference with this was that it felt nostalgic - too nostalgic, which usually indicates that a band is defunct, especially so due to the inclusion of a bonus disc, recorded in 1978. It would take four years to disprove that, though.

	Rush Vapor Trails 2002 Anthem Records		One Little Victory Ceiling Unlimited Ghost Rider Peaceable Kingdom The Stars Look Down How It Is	Vapor Trail Secret Touch Earthshine Sweet Miracle Nocturne Freeze - Part IV of "Fear" Out of the Cradle
FINALLY, a new Rush album! Although better than Test for Echo, this really wasn't what I was expecting from Rush. Harder, louder, edgier . . . if I didn't know better, I would have thought they were trying their hand at speed metal or something. Jury's still out on this one.

	Rush Feedback 2004 Anthem Records		Summertime Blues Heart Full of Soul For What It's Worth The Seeker	Mr. Soul Seven and Seven Is Shapes of Things Crossroads
When done well, it's exciting to hear cover albums by established artists. You get to hear where they came from, what their influences are, and if you're lucky, you get a sense of what they were like as a struggling act trying to make their way before they got famous. Rush accomplishes all of these feats and more with this release. Plus the production is immaculate: it sounds like this record was released between their first two albums, contributing even more to that wave of nostalgia coming from the speakers.

	Rush Snakes and Arrows 2007 Anthem Records		Far Cry Armor and Sword Workin' Them Angels The Larger Bowl Spindrift The Main Monkey Business The Way the Wind Blows	Hope Faithless Bravest Face Good News First Malignant Narcissism We Hold On
I grew up loving Rush, and I want to keep on loving them, but y'know . . . all good things . . . . . I mean this album has some good things going for it. Maybe it's just a tad too long. 13 songs on a Rush album does seem to be a bit much.


		Ya like? Check these out! Geddy Lee or return to the Catalog Index