The Historical past of Rush in 10 Songs

October 9, 2025

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Listed here are 10 songs that signify Rush’s outstanding profession!

Ask any progressive rock fan to call their favourite artists and Rush is sort of assured to come back up.

In spite of everything, the Canadian trio – comprised of vocalist/keyboardist/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and percussionist Neil Peart – achieved huge success amidst releasing 19 studio LPs (beginning with 1974’s Rush and ending with 2012’s Clockwork Angels). Almost 10 years after their last present – and almost 5 years after Peart’s tragic passing – they continue to be one of many greatest and most influential style bands of all time.

In a nutshell, Rush began as a tough rock/heavy steel act earlier than turning into kings of prog rock by the tip of the Nineteen Seventies. From there, they started leaning into the rising recognition of recent wave/synth-rock/artwork pop because the Eighties unfolded, solely to return to their laborious/prog rock roots in the course of the Nineties and 2000s. In that method, their catalog sort of got here full circle.

Clearly, encapsulating their whole historical past in simply 10 songs is a virtually unimaginable (and inherently controversial) process, proper? Nicely, we wish to reside dangerously, so we’ve tried to do exactly that with the record under.

Remember the fact that this isn’t a rating of Rush’s best songs; in actual fact, there’s a minimum of one tune that represents a profession low. Even so, it have to be included to supply probably the most full overview doable, as that includes solely Rush’s top-tier tracks would imply telling solely a few of their story.

So, take a look at our picks for the ten tracks that finest signify Rush’s historical past, and tell us which songs you’d change (if any)!

The Historical past of Rush in 10 Songs

“Working Man” (‘Rush,’ 1974)

Rush’s debut LP is notable for quite a few causes, with the 2 greatest being that it’s their just one with drummer John Rutsey and it wears the group’s love for artists equivalent to Led Zeppelin, Cream and Black Sabbath on its sleeve. Relatable album nearer “Working Man” (which bought loads of radio play in Ohio and endures a fan favourite) demonstrates that effectively, each when it comes to its instrumentation (agitatedly fuzzy and simple riffs and rhythms) and blue-collar lyricism (“Nicely, I rise up at seven, yeah / And I am going to work at 9 / I bought no time for livin’ / Sure, I am workin’ on a regular basis”).

They’re already excellent gamers – and the music kicks ass – however there’s nearly no hint of the prog rock eccentricities to come back witihn this humble starting.

“2112” (‘2112,’ 1976)

Simply two years later, the trio (with Peart firmly initiated) have been absolutely embracing their prog/area rock proclivities. The seven-part (20-minute) title observe to their breakthrough fourth album is the apex of that interval as a result of it’s their most iconic side-long suite. (Except for Peart’s signature drum solo, the primary two components of “2112” represent Rush’s two most ceaselessly performed items in live performance!) It’s Ayn Rand-inspired futuristic story of “galaxy-wide battle,” political upheaval and banned music was even changed into a comic book e-book.

Certain, some individuals could choose later epics (specifically, one or each of the “Cygnus X-1” ventures), however there’s no denying how addictive and vital “2112” stays. Be it the grippingly intricate “Overture”; the catchy as hell “Temple of Syrinx”; the superbly tranquil “Oracle: the Dream”; or zany “Grand Finale,” it’s a stylstiic traditional that helped 2112 save Rush’s profession. Plus, bands equivalent to Coheed and Cambria, Between The Buried and Me and Dream Theater won’t exist with out it.

“The Spirit of Radio” (‘Everlasting Waves,’ 1980)

Except for having considered one of Rush’s most recognizable openings, “The Spirit of Radio” was the lead single of Everlasting Waves (which arrived in 1980 and kicked off the band’s flip towards extra economical and welcoming compositions). There’s nonetheless a wholesome quantity of prog rock in there, in fact, nevertheless it additionally faucets into new wave and even raggae! Its radio-friendly ethos is symbolized by its material (a mourning of the altering course of FM radio), too, and its worldwide chart victories additional propelled Rush’s recognition within the U.S., U.Okay. and Canada.

Thus, “The Spirit of Radio” (and Everlasting Waves as a complete) set the stage for the place Rush would go commercially and creatively simply as they approached a brand new decade and a brand new period of music tastes and tendencies.

“YYZ” (‘Transferring Footage,’ 1981)

“YYZ” wasn’t Rush’s first wordless voyage (Hemispheres’ “La Villa Strangiato” was), nor was it their final (Snakes & Arrows’ “Malignant Narcissism” was). Nevertheless, while you consider a Rush instrumental (and a progressive rock instrumental usually), you consider Taylor Hawkins’ favourite Rush piece: the Grammy Award-nominated “YYZ.”

Its mysterious percussive prelude – primarily based on the IATA station code of the Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport – and mixing of prog rock and jazz fusion offers it a really distinctive an exhilarating taste. On that observe, it’s among the many best examples of the trio performing with a shared thoughts, as they typically mirror one another’s patterns in between taking part in creative counterpoints. Better of all, it’s extremely dynamic, with the joyfully difficult and vibrant first half abruptly giving approach to a significantly calmer and sadder synth-laden interlude.

It is a particularly enjoyable experience that – unsurprisingly – has been coated by everybody from formidable kids to achieved steel masters. Past that, it’s been featured in a number of Guitar Hero video games, making it a small however important a part of a complete technology’s upbringing.

“Tom Sawyer” (‘Transferring Footage,’ 1981)

If any file goes to have two spots on this record, it’s Transferring Footage because it’s Rush’s signature LP. Likewise, if there’s one Rush music that everybody is aware of – no matter in the event that they’re a fan of the band and even the style – it’s “Tom Sawyer.”

In spite of everything, it’s subsequently appeared in lots of motion pictures and TV reveals, together with Small Troopers, MacGyver, The Waterboy, Futurama, Aqua Teen Starvation Power and I Love You, Man. Moreover, it marked the primary time Lee switched from his Rickenbacker 4001 bass to his now-trademark Fender Jazz Bass, and it marked the band’s first collaboration with lyricist Pye Dubois.

Selecting up from the place Everlasting Waves and “The Spirit of Radio” left off, the observe’s central motif might be (and deservingly) the most well-known keyboard riff in all of prog/traditional rock. Equally, it homes Rush’s hookiest melodies and a few of their most fulfilling playful songwriting. Clearly, Lifeson’s guitar solo is famous, as is Peart’s comparatively easy syncopation.

Actually, what else must be stated? It’s an absolute traditional.

“Lock and Key” (‘Maintain Your Fireplace,’ 1987)

Maintain Your Fireplace was primarily the apex of Rush’s dive into synth rock/new wave, and regardless of receiving some reward upon launch, it fell under gross sales expectations. (It’s little marvel, then, why they returned to guitar-driven rock with 1989’s Presto.) Right now, Maintain Your Fireplace is generally seen as their worst Eighties LP (if not their worst LP up to now), with “Lock and Key” sometimes being seen as considered one of their worst songs.

It is easy to listen to why, because the smooth promotional single (impressed by Carson McCullers’ The Coronary heart is a Lonely Hunter) is overly schmaltzy and processed, missing the sophistication, creativeness, catchiness and humanity of Rush’s superlative work. True, it’s not as unhealthy because the worst ‘80s stuff from, say, Genesis and Sure, and lyrically, it’s a good ode about mankind’s violent/animalistic instincts.

Nonetheless, “Lock and Key” embodies what’s arguably Rush’s worst interval.

“Ghost of a Probability” (‘Roll the Bones,’ 1991)

Rush reunited with Presto producer Rupert Hine (Tina Turner, Saga, Kevin Ayers) for the pop rock/laborious rock of Roll the Bones; collectively, they achieved an enjoyably streamlined, trendy and guitar-oriented aesthetic that additional distanced itself from their Eighties keyboard-based persona. Romantic ballad “Ghost of a Probability” is a robust instance of their revised sound, and its recognition (No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart) restored a few of Rush’s industrial success.

To be clear, it doesn’t equal their more difficult and distinguishing materials, nevertheless it nails what it’s going for with out bordering an excessive amount of on bland cheesiness. Moderately, Lee’s deeper voice – a minimum of in comparison with how he sang 15 years prior – brings soulfulness to his earnest singing, and the standard rock association is sort of becoming. Furthermore, Lee’s subtly divine synths and Lifeson’s delicate strums add soothing nuance that elevates “Ghost of a Probability” above what lots of their pop rock friends have been doing on the time.

“One Little Victory” (‘Vapor Trails,’ 2002)

The six-year hole between Take a look at for Echo and Vapor Trails was the biggest Rush ever had between studio collections; clearly, the 1997 dying of Peart’s daughter, Selena, and the 1998 dying of his spouse, Jacqueline, performed main components within the trio’s hiatus.

As soon as Peart was able to get going once more, he and his bandmates reteamed for what would – in a couple of respects – be their comeback LP. Regardless of being underwhelming in hindsight, the keyboard-less and rambunctiously simple Vapor Trails bought effectively and really unfolded like an invigorated assertion of goal.

Symbolically titled opener “One Little Victory,” specifically, permits Peart to reclaim his crown from the bounce through thunderously attribute syncopation. Lifeson and Lee comply with with fierce guitarwork and resolute singing, and even Peart’s phrases encapsulate Rush’s reflective mindset (“A sure measure of righteousness / A specific amount of power / A sure diploma of dedication / Daring on a unique course”). On no account a traditional, “One Little Victory” is an admirable declaration {of professional} and private rebounding.

“Far Cry” (‘Snakes & Arrows,’ 2007)

The successor to Vapor Trails, Snakes & Arrows is among the many group’s most divisive outings, because it’s normally ranked anyplace from the very backside to the precise center of their catalog. Whereas it’s actually album, it discovered Rush sometimes – and to various levels –dropping their identification to extra mainstream tendencies, too. (Producer Nick Raskulinecz, who’d beforehand labored with Foo Fighters, Stone Bitter and Velvet Revolver, undoubtedly helped steer them in that course.)

That’s not at all times a foul factor, however with regards to lead single “Far Cry,” the stability is a tad off. In different phrases, it’s a stable music, however tonally/structurally, it additionally looks like a music that numerous different mid-2000s rock teams might’ve crafted if not for Peart and Lee’s recognizable rhythmic chemistry. Simply because the broadest strokes of recent wave overtook a few of their late-80s work, the broadest strokes of recent millennium laborious/different rock overtook a few of their mid-2000s work.

“The Backyard” (‘Clockwork Angels,’ 2012)

“The Backyard” is the ultimate observe on Rush’s last studio file, so it’s solely proper to finish right here. Plus, it (like Abbey Highway‘s closing “medley” in relation to the Beatles) capped of the profession of its creators with tear-jerking meaningfulness. Whether or not deliberately or not, “The Backyard” performs like a self-aware farewell that commemorates all Rush and their followers had shared over the prior 4 many years.

Generally, Clockwork Angels returned to the conceptual centerpieces and prog rock foundations of Rush’s Nineteen Seventies heyday. Though it’s not “difficult,” “The Backyard” nonetheless harkens again to the grand manufacturing and scope of these information because it decorates what’s essentially a easy acoustic ballad with attractive strings, bittersweet piano chords, and all types of different pretty ornaments.

Regardless of if he’s reflecting on a steampunk-inspired fictional world or the actual one, Lee’s singing has by no means been extra gut-wrenchingly genuine, both. That’s doubly true as a result of how poignantly common and sobering the lyrics are, particularly when he remarks: “The arrow flies while you dream / The hours tick away, the cells tick away / The Watchmaker retains to his schemes / The hours tick away, they tick away.”

You possibly can’t assist however be moved to tears by it, and Rush fan or not, you may’t deny that “The Backyard” is a stupendous approach to memorialize considered one of progressive rock’s superlative bands.

The Historical past of Rush in 10 Songs