Rush

Listen for free or download any Rush track for just 12 cents per song!

The Canadian band Rush first formed way back in 1968 in Toronto, Ontario. The trio initially consisted of members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and John Rutsey (Neil Peart would replace John as drummer in 1974 due to John's health issues). Initially, Rush covered the Buddy Holly song "Not Fade Away" and released it as a single in 1973, but it garnered little fain fare. For their self-titled debut in 1974, Rush decided to operate as their own record label. Locally they did not receive air play, but after a couple of radio stations began playing the hit song "Working Man" from this album in the USA, Mercury records re-released the album in the USA. You may also remember "Finding My Way" from this release.

With things looking up for the band, Rush released Fly By Night in 1975, which featured the hit title track. It was also the first release to feature a "mini-tale", which is best described as a very, very long song that tells a protracted story (Kansas was also known for this). Caress of Steel, also released in 1975, was considered to be somewhat of a departure for the band, and it did not fair as well (it featured two back to back mini-tales). It did, however, bring us the great Rush songs "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park". In 1976, Rush released 2112, which is considered by many to be their greatest album. They bucked the recommendation from record execs and created another mini-tale on the album (called "2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx"). "A Passage to Bangkok" is another song from this album you may remember.

For Rush's next two albums, they decided to move to the United Kingdom and began expanding their eclectic musicianship by adding a variety of new instruments to their repertoire and additional fantasy centric lyrics. A Farewell to Kings, released in 1977, featured the title track as well as "Closer to the Heart". The band's 1978 release, Hemispheres, featured the song "The Trees". By 1980, Rush decided it might be a good idea to release a few more radio friendly songs that the previous mini-tales that were too long for radio, and Permanent Waves featured the radio friendly songs "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill". This album was the band's first US top 5 release. It was 1981's Moving Pictures that brought Rush its greatest success. You may remember the songs "Tom Sawyer", "Red Barchetta", "XYZ", and "Limelight" from this album (charted at no. 3 on the Billboard Top 200). Other songs from the 1980's that you might remember from Rush include "Subdivision" and "New World Man" from Signals (1982), "Distant Early Warning" and "Red Sector A" from Grace Under Pressure (1984), "The Big Money" from Power Windows (1986), "Time Stand Still" from Hold Your Fire (1987), and "Show Don't Tell" from Presto (1989).

By the 1990's, Rush began moving back towards a more rock oriented sound. Since then, they have continued to produce new material and tour. Rush has had so many great songs over the years, we recommend the 2 CD set called Chronicles or one of the other boxed sets. At the time of this writing, the Rush Discography was as follows:

Listen for free or download any Rush track for just 12 cents per song!