Rush And The Weird Rise Of Prog Metal By Malcolm Dome, Metal Hammer, March 2013, transcribed by John

Patuto The Facts YEARS ACTIVE 1968-PRESENT MEMBERS GEDDY LEE (bass/keyboards/vocals) ALEX LIFESON (guitar) NEIL PEART (drums) JOHN RUTSEY (drums, 1968-1974) JEFF JONES (bass/vocals, 1968) STUDIO RELEASES RUSH - 1974 FLYBYNIGHT - 1975 CARESS OF STEEL - 1975 2112 - 1976 A FAREWELL TO KINGS - 1977 HEMISPHERES - 1978 PERMANENT WAVES - 1980 MOVING PICTURES - 1981 SIGNALS - 1982 GRACE UNDER PRESSURE - 1984 POWER WINDOWS - 1985 HOLD YOUR FIRE - 1987 PRESTO - 1989 ROLL THE BONES - 1991 COUNTERPARTS - 1993 TEST FOR ECHO - 1996 VAPOR TRAILS - 2002 FEEDBACK - 2004 SNAKES & ARROWS - 2007 CLOCKWORK ANGELS - 2012 WEBSITE WWW.RUSH.COM THE PLAYLIST THE FIVE TRACKS YOU NEED BY-TOR & THE SNOW DOG (Fly By Night, 1975) 2112 (2112, 1976) CLOSER TO THE HEART (A Farewell To Kings, 1977) TOM SAWYER (Moving Pictures, 1981) CARAVAN (Clockwork Angels, 2012) Since forming 44 years ago, Rush have become one of the biggest progressive rock bands in the world, with an impact on metal that can't be overstated. Frontman Geddy Lee talks us through the years.

Geddy Lee has a knowing smile. We're sitting in the lavish surrounds of a room a t one of London's more exclusive hotels. And the subject that's come up is how R ush are continuing to influence succeeding generations of metal bands. "It's nice to know there are young musicians who like what we've done," says the bassist/vocalist. "It's flattering that these people are taking what we once di d and developing it for the modern age." When it comes to the birth of progressive metal, Rush have strong claims to be s een as the true pioneers of a style of music that has been taken by Dream Theate r, Machine Head, Meshuggah, Cynic and Tesseract, to name but a handful. "I can't say I'm familiar with the new crop of bands coming through, but all I can hope is that they enjoy the sort of career we've had. And stick to what they believe in as much as we've always done." For Rush, it all started rather unpromisingly in Toronto during August 1968. Gui tarist Alex Lifeson put together the first Lineup with bassist/vocalist Jeff Jon es and drummer John Rutsey. Within a few weeks, Jeff was replaced by Geddy. "I was a school pal of Alex's and he asked me to come into the band," explains G eddy. "But it wasn't plain sailing back then. We went through a lot of different lineups over the next couple of years, with people coming and going. I don't th ink we quite knew what we were doing. In our minds, we were the Canadian Led Zep pelin. In reality, we were probably seen as a bit sad. But at least we got to pl ay regularly in local bars and at high-school dances." In May 1971, Geddy, Alex and John stabilised, and Rush were born as a power trio . Two years later they released their debut single. It was a cover of the Buddy Holly classic Not Fade Away, with the Geddy/John song You Can't Fight It on the B side. "It wasn't a success," laughs Geddy. "We didn't get much radio airplay, and the media in general was indifferent to it. In fact, such was the lack of interest i n us that we couldn't even get a record deal. We were forced to start our own la bel in conjunction with our manager, Ray Daniels." By 1974, the band had released their self-titled debut album, which got noticed by one radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. "We got little support at home. But WMM S in Cleveland picked up on the song Working Man. Donna Halper, one of the DJs a t the station, gave it a lot of airtime, for which we shall always be grateful." As a result of this exposure, Rush got signed by Mercury, though this breakthrou gh was dampened by John leaving the band. "John had health problems; his diabetes meant he wasn't very much into touring. So there was no falling out; he simply felt it was in all our best interests for him to bow out." John made his last live appearance with the band on July 25, 1974 in London, Ont ario. He died on May 11, 2008, from a heart attack brought on by his diabetic co ndition. [Webmaster note: July 25th was not John's last show, as he performed at least one show after that date.]

The man chosen to replace him was Neil Peart, who had just returned from living in England, where he'd hoped (but failed) to make his mark as a drummer. He was a member of Hush, another Canadian band, when he was persuaded to audition for R ush. "He turned up wearing shorts and driving a battered old car. He also had hi s drums stored inside trash cans. It was all very amusing, but I was very impres

sed with his drumming technique, and also liked him as a person straight away. A lex was a little less sure, but I managed to talk him round." Neil officially joined the band four days after John's farewell performance. On August 14, he played his first gig with Rush. It was also the trio's debut show in America, as they opened for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in Pittsburgh. Neil quickly assumed the role of writing lyrics for second album Fly By Night, r eleased in 1975, and he immediately made his presence felt. There was a definite shift towards fantasy and science fiction, as was showcased on the band's first epic track, By-Tor And The Snow Dog. This move, which was also mirrored by a mo re complex musical vision, was even further in evidence later the same year when Caress Of Steel was released, which featured two more examples of their growing connection to sophisticated and imaginative ideas, namely The Necromancer and T he Fountains Of Lamneth. This was supposed to be Rush's big break-through album but it was a commercial f ailure. Tickets sales on the subsequent tour were poor enough for it to be blunt ly labelled the Down The Tubes Tour. "We'd turn up at venues and sometimes they didn't even expect us. Other times, there was no publicity at all, so we never p layed in front of big crowds. It was as if everyone - record company, management - had given up on us. Nobody seemed happy with what we were doing musically, an d wanted us to return to the simpler blues-rock on the first album. We were brac ing ourselves to be dropped by Mercury." However, going against the grain and showing they were ready to ruffle feathers in the process, Rush refused to listen to the business heads, instead going even further than they had done on Caress Of Steel. The result was the landmark 2112 album, which had the first side totally dedicated to the 20-minute-plus title t rack, which has a theme of freedom against tyranny in the year 2062. [Webmaster note: the author misunderstands 2112; the priests took over in 2062...the album takes place in 2112.] The album captured the imagination and was the first from the band to chart in t he Top 100 in America. It got to No.62, while in Canada it was a chart topper. T he UK also took serious notice of what Rush were doing, even if they didn't make the mainstream charts. "It was an important moment for us because we'd shown that we did know what to d o, and there was a growing audience out there for Rush music. We weren't arrogan t enough to think we were suddenly the most important band in the world. We just knew we were - ha! But if you look at what we were wearing back then...we had n o fashion sense!" Over the years, 2112 has come to be regarded as a standard-bearer for progressiv e metal, and Geddy recognises its appeal. "To us this is just another album on t he way, albeit one that made a difference. But so many fans and musicians see it as some sort of turning point. All we can do is be grateful for the way it's co ntinually received." However, the album led to controversy surrounding the band. When Neil publicly s tated that his lyrics were inspired by the 'genius of Ayn Rand', some parts of t he press labelled them Nazis. This is because of novelist Ayn's own right-wing t endencies. But it was a fallacious claim, and Geddy is still confused and puzzle d by such attacks. "We had to endure a lot of interviews where the journalist wa s out to prove we were Nazi sympathisers. Nothing could be further from the trut h, and anyone who took the time to study Neil's lyrics could never make such a c onnection. The good thing was that our fan base was expanding, and we saw no sig ns of Nazis turning up at our gigs."

The release of the double Live album All The World's A Stage in 1976 saw the ban d finally make their debut on British stages. They did seven shows in June 1977 on the tour to support this first live record. "It was incredible to finally hav e the chance to play in the country which had so influenced our music. At the ti me, we were on the way to Rockfield Studios in Wales to record the album A Farew ell To Kings, so grabbed the opportunity to play live. We also introduced keyboa rds on this tour, and it was our last one where the setlist was varied every nig ht. We became boring after that and generally stuck to the same songs for each g ig." A Farewell To Kings was released in 1977 and became the first Rush album to sell over 500,000 copies in the States. It was also the first to make the UK ch arts, getting to No.22. This album, and 1978's Hemispheres, marked a turn toward s introducing keyboards and synthesisers. "I was really interested in all the developments in that area of music. Things w ere moving very fast and I liked what it might do for our music. Alex wasn't at all enthusiastic. Well, he was the guitarist, so felt we should still be focused around that. But I really believed that if we were to have anything to offer in the new decade, then what we needed to do was explore different sounds. "We'd also discovered more progressive bands like Yes, Van der Graaf Generator a nd King Crimson. They inspired us to think about making music more complex and c hallenging. The trick was to find some way of combining these influences with ou r own personalities, so what you got was definitely still about us." Just how much Rush had moved forward became clear n they introduced elements of reggae and new wave shorter songs, they enjoyed their biggest success adio proved they had much to offer at a time when ruggling to come to terms with the changes in the on 1980's Permanent Waves, whe into the music. Going back to yet, as songs like Spirit Of R some established bands were st musical landscape.

They were to ride even higher the following year when Moving Pictures gave them their biggest album to date, selling over four million copies in America alone. It appeared that their reinvention had been a triumph. They were now accepted as doyens of a new hard-rock approach, and they'd done it without disenfranchising their diehard fans. "It was a gamble, and we could have ended up with no audience, losing the old-sc hool ones without getting any new faces. But thankfully that didn't happen. I th ink it's because those who'd been following us for so long knew we'd always adap ted our style, yet we still sounded like Rush." In 1981, the release of Exit... Stage Left, yet another double live album, marke d the end of another chapter in Rush's diversifying career. By 1982's Signals, s ynthesisers were almost the dominant instrument in the band, and this continued throughout the decade. For 1984's Grace Under Pressure, long-time producer Terry Brown, who'd worked with them since Fly By Night, was no longer involved. "We n ever fell out with Terry, but it was decided by all parties it was in everyone's best interests to move on." At the end of the 80s, Rush had left Mercury and signed to Atlantic, and this sa w a return to a more guitar-oriented approach on the albums Presto (1989) and Ro ll The Bones (1991). "By the time we did Presto, I was getting sick of technology and wanted a return to a more basic approach. We were lucky that our producer, Rupert Hine, agreed, so that's why it's more about the vocals than anything else. However, I have to say that the album didn't turn out the way we hoped. If there's one album we'd love to do all over again, this is it. The songs are so much stronger than the w

ay they came out. I'm not blaming anyone in particular, it's just a statement of fact." By 1997, when the band had augmented their credibility and success with the albu ms Counterparts (1993) and Test For Echo (1996), Rush were forced to take an ext ended break, as Neil suffered a double tragedy. His daughter Samantha [sic] died in a car crash in August 1997, and 10 months later, his wife Jacqueline passed away from cancer. "Neil needed time to himself to grieve and reflect on what he wanted to do. Alex and I gave him as much time as he needed. There was never any question of putti ng him under pressure to return." In 2001, Neil said he was ready to go back to work, the result being 2002's Vapo r Trails. The first album since the early 1970s not to have any keyboard or synt h parts, it was also unusual because Alex refused to play any conventional guita r solos. "Again, this was us moving on. But it was a tough album to make, and probably to ok something like 14 months in all. I'm not sure why we appeared to find this on e so hard to make. Possibly because of what Neil had been through, and also beca use we had stripped so much away from our sound. But we never turned our back on technology because computers were extensively used in the writing and arranging of the songs. It's just we decided it was time to move on from keyboards." After celebrating their 30th anniversary in this current incarnation in 2004, wi th the release of the covers EP Feedback, Rush returned three years later with S nakes & Arrows. Chart-wise, this was their most successful album in America sinc e Counterparts, reaching No.3. The subsequent tour saw the band returning for th eir first shows in the UK since the Roll The Bones tour in 1992 - a gap of 15 ye ars. "It wasn't our choice to avoid coming over to the UK. Promoters kept telling us that nobody was interested in seeing Rush. We believed them and stayed away. Ima gine our surprise when gigs sold out quickly!"

Always regarded as reticent public figures, Rush surprised many when the documen tary Beyond The Lighted Stage was released in 2010. This saw the band open up li ke never before, giving people a significant and unprecedented insight into who they are. "I think what shocked a lot of people is that we showed we have a keen sense of humour, and we interact with each other by sending ourselves and everyone else u p. We don't take everything so seriously, as most of our fans probably believed we did. We're not po-faced professors of philosophy, but rock'n'roll musicians. And these days we're probably more about being comedians who play some music, ra ther than vice versa." The release of Clockwork Angels in 2012 again showed the band were able to bend the rules and move into hitherto uncharted territory, as they brought steampunk influences into their world. Moreover, a novel written by renowned steampunk aut hor Kevin J. Anderson (a friend of Neil) was published to coincide with the albu m's release. It was based on the story that runs through the songs, and was more proof that Rush are always looking for ways to push the envelope. "We still don't want to stand still and repeat ourselves. Even at our advanced t ime of life it is all about making the right choices, so we keep everyone - espe cially ourselves - on our toes."

It says much for Rush that as they approach the 40th anniversary of this lineup, they are once again seen as being at the cutting edge of music, and are influen cing so many in the world of metal. "I don't think about things like the 40th an niversary. We have no plans to celebrate it. We did enough for the 30th. So, if anything is being planned, it will be without our involvement. We are still look ing forward, not back." So, just what is the secret behind Rush's enduring career, and how have the trio managed to stay together for so long without killing each other? "It's not been easy! Of course, there are moments when we've fallen out. But the trick is that we all know how well we work together. We have also become very g ood at giving each other space to breathe. Ultimately, we are three individuals who can come together and create something special. But it doesn't take over our lives. And at the end of the day, we can still have a good laugh about anything . Perhaps that's the secret to longevity: learn to laugh!" THE DELUXE EDITION OF 2112 IS OUT NOW VIA UNIVERSAL. RUSH BEGIN THEIR UK TOUR IN MAY Essential Listening: The Albums Every Metalhead Should Own [2112] 2112 (Mercury, 1976) The album that laid down the essentials for progressive metal, it was the first classic album from Rush. A tour de force of complex and intricate music, it stil l packs a massive punch. The first side is conceptual and tells the story of a f uturistic battle for freedom against the mythic Priests of the Temple of Syrinx. Its depth and breadth is staggering. But the second side never pales by compari son. All the songs are well constructed and thought through. Rush managed to cap ture the imagination with an inventive epic, while proving through the likes of A Passage To Bangkok that they could also make shorter songs work. A titanic alb um. [A Farewell To Kings] A Farewell To Kings (Mercury, 1977) Following up 2112 was never going to bean easy task. However. Rush rose to the o ccasion by refusing to merely repeat the blueprint that had made the previous al bum so successful. But there's still the complement between lengthier songs and shorter ones. So, Closer To The Heart and Cinderella Man proved the band were ad ept at conjuring pop-rock melodies to delight and beguile. Yet they also offered the closing raptures of Cygnus X-1 Book 1: The Voyage, which was not only an ep ic tale of mythology and space travel, but the first part of a story that was co ncluded on the next album, Hemispheres. A cunning device. [Grace Under Pressure] Grace Under Pressure (Mercury, 1984) Musically, yet again Rush were ready to test the boundaries of what they could d o, even introducing ska and reggae. But what might have ended up as a misplaced determination to experiment succeeds admirably. It proves that if you have the v ision and the will, then anything can be incorporated into your sound. Songs lik e Distant Early Warning and Red Sector A are Rush masterpieces. This is not amon g Rush's heaviest records, but proves they were still very much a modern hard-ro ck band in development. [Clockwork Angels] Clockwork Angels (Roadrunner, 2012) The latest album from the band, and perhaps their finest in 20 years. It all loc ks together beautifully. A return to heavy basics suits the material and the ste ampunk attitude throughout. There's a sense of bravura and brilliance here that

cannot be denied. The songwriting is peerless, the playing is extravagant, yet a lso tight, and the production enhances every nuance of what the band set out to achieve. At a time when many others would be happy to settle back and rake in th e plaudits, Rush are still intent on turning their - and our - world upside-down . The Final Word By Mike Portnoy Ultimately, Rush's appeal comes down to their superb musicianship. All three guy s are at the top on their respective instruments. But also everything they do, f rom composition to production to artwork, always maintains an incredible level o f class and quality that always sets them above most bands. Neil's influence on me as a drummer when I was a teenager was enormous. Up until discovering Rush, my drum heroes were Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and John Bonham. Then when I heard Neil, it opened my world up to a whole new level of drumming. Progressive composition with odd time signatures, lengthy instrumental passages and unorthodox arrangements...it was all so new to me and Neil was my teacher. N ot to mention the mammoth drum kits that I would stare at and dream about for ho urs!