Mix Six: “Rush Through Time, 1974-2008″
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 by Py Korry
Rush is probably a band I’ve seen perform live more than any other band. They’ve lasted this long as a recording and touring rock band probably because they don’t do the stupid stuff other rock stars do — and then end up on “Behind the Music” 20 years later. Their primary focus is the music, and all the other stuff that goes with being a popular rock band is fluff that they would rather not dabble in. Indeed, they keep rather low profiles — despite the fact that they have a large and loyal fan base that would probably love it if they were the “I want to touch the people who by my records” kind of guys. But they are not, and when people come to their concerts (or listen to their records) they do so because they want to see and hear three guys who are very accomplished musicians perform in a manner that clearly demonstrates after 34 years of recording and touring, this band has not rested on his laurels.
The older Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart gets, the more they put into their shows. Since the mid-’90s, Rush has performed three hour shows that give fans a lot of value for their money. They play their long-form songs like “Natural Science,” “2112,” “The Trees,” and “La Villa Strangiato” and then push the energy level higher with drum solo that spans a number of musical genres (rock, African, electronic, and jazz). I took my wife and daughter to a Rush show the other night (both of whom have never seen the band play live), and they loved it. My wife commented that she had never seen someone’s hands move that fast during a drum solo. And indeed, Peart’s drum solos have evolved into fully formed musical pieces that transcend the stereotype of the self-indulgent drummer who just bangs away at a kit without an ear for musicality.
So here we go with a live mix of songs that showcase the band through the decades!
Rush at the Sleep Train Pavilion, Concord, CA 5/4/08Taken with my cell phone — hence the lousy quality.
“Working Man/Finding My Way/Drum Solo”
One of the things that makes this 1976 recording interesting to listen to is the drum solo in the middle of the tune. Peart was a young drummer whose technique was clearly impressive in the context of the songs, but as a soloist, his ability to surprise the audience with interesting drum work at it nascent stage. Some of the patterns he displays here survived into future solos that grew in complexity.
“Red Barchetta”
In 1981, I saw my first Rush show in Oakland, CA and only knew a couple of songs (”The Spirit of Radio,” “Tom Sawyer,” and “Freewill”). When they played “Red Barchetta” it was one of those “Oh, wow” moments where you hear a song for the first time and are completely transfixed by the awesomeness of it.
“The Enemy Within”
By the mid-’80s, Rush had evolved from a hard rock sound to a more synth-based form. Many of their older fans were not impressed by their foray into New Wave, but stuck with them nevertheless. And truth be told, while I was a fan of New Wave, I found that Rush had kind of lost their way as their synth-drenched tunes became a little too sterile for my taste. However, this song from their Grace Under Pressure album was a nice change because it showed that the group could groove.
“Resist”
In the mid-’90s Rush slowed the recording and touring cycle because of a few things: 1. After recording and touring in support of their Counterparts CD, some friction developed between Geddy Lee and the other two members. Nothing earth shattering, but they clearly needed a break from one another. 2. Peart decided to completely re-train as a drummer with the help of Freddy Gruber and needed a good year to master some new techniques. 3. After the release of Test for Echo and subsequent tour, Peart’s wife and daughter died, and he quit the band. Geddy and Alex had to release something to fulfill their recording contract, and they released Different Stages as a kind of swan song to commemorate their career. There was no official announcement the band had broken up — and it wasn’t revealed until Peart mentioned it in his book Ghost Rider — but the release of this CD certainly made it seem like the band had closed up shop. This version of “Resist” is noted because the Test for Echo Tour is the only tour in which they performed the song with full instrumentation. The last two tours (Vapor Trails and R30), Geddy and Alex have done “unplugged” versions with just acoustic guitars.
“Secret Touch”
In 2002, Rush reformed and recorded Vapor Trails. They toured and found that their fans had not abandoned them — indeed, they were one of the top grossing bands that year. Additionally, they found that they had a huge fan base in Brazil. So, they packed up their gear and did a three city tour of Brazil. Of all the live albums Rush has produced, I think this one is my favorite. The crowd is clearly pumped, and in turn, it made the band play more aggressively. Plus, the crowd sings along to almost every song - including the instrumental, “YYZ.”
“Far Cry”
While I was really excited when I heard the news that Rush was recording and touring with a new CD, I was ultimately disappointed with the results. Snakes and Arrows has a lot of good qualities, but many of the songs are very plodding and dull. “Far Cry” is the exception because they didn’t over-think the song. It was written very quickly and the music came together after a really great jam. It took me a few listens to get into the song, but once I did, it has become a favorite. Alas, for some reason, the band decided to “dial down” the tempo on this tour and powerful songs like “Far Cry” sound a bit laconic when performed live.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Popdose represents the coming together of a veritable Who's Who of music bloggers and and an ever-expanding roster of writers who have made it their mission to experience the best and worst in pop culture — from music to movies to books, with a dash of current events thrown in for good measure — so you don't have to. Popdose delivers coverage both in-depth (the all-encompassing 
Saw them live for Hold Your Fire, Presto, Roll The Bones and Counterparts. Probably love the keyboard era more than most. Frankly, I gave up on them after the last of these, as I found the songwriting fairly uninspired -- at least from a pop hooks point of view. A great concert draw, though. Even thought they did stick to studio arrangements, it was always magic to me to see them replicate the sounds – without benefit of (too many) recorded tracks or (any) extra musicians.
I saw them in Houston once when Peart's drum mics went south. Geddy and Alex donned cowboy hats and did a cheesy, 2-minute acoustic number to cover the sound tech's furious cobbling – complete with two-steppin' and drawls. Hilarious, and perfect for the moment.
I've seen Rush -- let's see ... Grace Under Pressure tour, Power Windows tour, sometime in the early 90s and then on the Vapor Trails tour.
I like the "post-breakup" albums better than "Test for Echo," but the production really dragged down "Vapor Trails." It's a pity those songs aren't getting more of a live run-through (even on that tour, they played half the album at most) because the songwriting was solid.
"Snakes and Arrows" has two great songs, three terrific instrumentals and a bunch of so-so songs that just don't quite rise to the level I'd like.
All of which I covered in my labor-intensive guide to Rush a while back, available both on my old blog and the new one.
Great band, awesome musicians! I used to sit by the cassette player boom box for hours listening to The Fly By Night album or Permanent Waves and be amazed at Peart's drumming, or just the complexity of the music. My friends and I would have arguments over who's the best drummer, Peart, Moon, or Bonzo. But, after seeing them live in the 80's, I saw their flaws. They played the songs exactly like they were on the album, note for note. While I appreciate the amazing musicianship needed to replicate studio magic live, it makes a concert experience less than ideal for me. I realize others may actually like that, but I love it when an artist changes songs up during a concert, jams them out, re-does them, adds extended choruses, or throws a cover-tune medley into the middle of a song. If I wanted to hear an exact replication of the music I'd put my headphones on and grab some beers.
I heard later live releases from them and they added a 1 minute 'jam' onto the end of Closer To The Heart, but they started playing that exact same jam at every concert from what I heard. I'd love to see a band like them just improvise up there and feed off each other instead of being so rehearsed.
But still great music and memories!
One of my top ten bands, Rush is, by God. And the kind of ambivalence some hold for Test For Echo and Snakes And Ladders I reserve for Vapor Trails (unfocused to the Nth).
My first album of theirs was Signals. Ah, Signals! Love that album. While Bon Jovi and Scorpions and AC/DC and Ozzy and all the other hard rockers were singing about getting screwed, drinking t'il barfing, and going to Hell for drinking and screwing, Rush was always cryptic and slightly political. And who else wrote a song as cool about being an outsider from Teen Nation as "Subdivisions"?
I too love Rush. I have virtually all their studio albums from 2112 on, minus Test For Echo (a major turd), and the latest one (which exhibits some of the same flaws as Test For Echo, though not as bad).
I really cannot recommend their live albums or videos, with the exception of "Rush 30," a concert taped in Germany, I believe. That's the only one that was done right, sonically and visually. They are great performers, without a doubt. If only they would pay as much attention to the recording and mixing of their concerts as they do to their instrumental technique... If only.
Rush in Rio? Have not seen the DVD, but the album is plagued by crowd noise. It's almost as bad as the Beatles at Shea Stadium. If I was at the Rio concert I would have been furious. Because I go to a concert to hear music, not excited fans who rudely scream and yell to the point of making a constant roar that obscures the musicians. Then again, I am from Iowa, and we are super-polite here, saving the majority of screaming and clapping for the breaks between songs. Some have said that the Rush in Rio DVD is not too bad if you choose the stereo mix on the DVD setup, instead of the 5.1 surround mix -- that this de-emphasizes the crowd noise. I can't vouch for that, but if you get a chance to see the disc, it is worth a try.
I've seen Rush live once. I enjoyed it, but again the sound was pretty bad on an objective basis. You sort of got an impression of what they were capable of, but if you can't hear the finer details, what is the point?
Great drum solos. I totally agree. Peart plays just about the only drum solos in pop/rock music worth listening to. Even the bad recordings can obscure that.
Few will agree with me, I suppose. But if you have even moderate audiophile sensibilities, take note.
Yeah, Test for Echo was a disappointment, and Snakes and Arrows is lacking, too. The DVD of Rush in Rio is actually really great BECAUSE of the crowd. I probably would have hated it if I was in the audience in Rio because it would have been tough to hear the band with all that singing.
However, the CD has some of the same problems that plagued Different Stages (i.e., the sound mix was muddy).
Given all that, however, I think Rush is able to do a very good job trying to bring some of the sonic subtleties to a live venue -- which are more often than not pretty unforgiving for the kind of music they play.
pardon the lanuguage, but i F*CKING LOVE RUSH! BEST BAND EVER. the end.
I'm glad you didn't hold back.
That was indeed an awesome concert...totally fun. :)
It was a blast! And they certainly worked hard for the money that night.
Whoa, Rush. That takes me back.
What's interesting is that the concert was attended by people of all ages. There were quite a few kids (and I'm talking 5-7 year olds) as well as teens, and 20 somethings. So, it looks like their fan base is diversifying.
I took my 10-year old son to his first "real" concert the other night in Concord. He loved it. I was pleasantly surprised how good they were. I saw them back in the early 80's when I was in high school, but not since then. (Nor have I really kept up with anything they've done the past 15-20 years or so). But wow! A good mix of old favorites and new material. And a solid 3-hour performance. I complained about the tickets being so expensive (though mostly that's stupid Ticketmaster fees), but I feel like they gave me my money's worth (and then some). Even into their late 50's, Alex, Neil and Geddy sure can play! Their musicianship is really unparalleled. Granted, Geddy can't quite hit the high notes like he used to, but that's to be expected. One thing that came as a surprise to me though, was how much of a sense a humor they have about themselves - that really came across in the stage show - movies, props, etc. I'm really glad my son provided the impetus for me to go ('casue i wouldn't have if it wasn't for him). But Joe, it was pretty much the same show as last year (I looked at set lists online), so don't feel you missed too much.
Glad you got to go! Yeah, the setlist changed a bit from 2007.
Out: "Entre Nous," "Secret Touch," Circumstances."
In: "Red Barchetta," "Ghost of a Chance," and "The Trees."
Damn! Iw as onthe fence about seeing that show, as I saw them last year. Sounds like I missed a good one.
When I was in high school (1994) the Rush concert was THE show to go to.
Man, by 1994 I thought Rush was a band that really only appealed to late 20-somethings and older. Nice to know I was wrong.
They didn't appeal to me - I was too busy chasing two-toned skirts around at ska shows.