History & Biography Rush, the quintessential Canadian progressive rock band, was formed in the Willowdale suburb of Toronto in 1968 and became one of the most influential and best-selling acts in rock history. The band is considered the most articulate of its cohorts. The trio - Geddy Lee (vocals, bass and keyboards), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart (drums and lyrics) - are defined by the technical brilliance of the three musicians, meaningful lyrics and a Canadian ethos of understatement. Their music was described as mixing Led Zeppelin and Cream initially, but fused progressive rock complexity with hard rock power, which became the fountainhead for countless bands from Dream Theater, Metallica, Diamond Head, Manilla Road and Tool to Fates Warning, Loudness, Leeway and Voivod. Two members of In Flames even opened a restaurant called 2112 in Sweden in 2011.
The band formed with Rutsey on drums, Lifeson on guitars and Jeff Jones (later in Red Rider) on vocals and bass, but after a first concert, with an audience of 35, in September of 1968 Jones left (uninterested and more committed to his other band) and was succeeded by Jones' acquaintance Lee. The trio played Hendrix, Cream and other covers. Lindy Young (also of Judd) on keyboards in early 1969 and Mitch Bossi on second guitar in early 1971 came and went. Geddy's brother-in-law was in the band as Geddy had married Lindy's sister. It is here that Alex literally translated his Serbian name to Lifeson. The band hired teeanger Ray Danniels as manager. The man would start Moon Records and then Anthem Records later and go on to manage the likes Of Van Halen and Extreme. Regardless, the new manager was not an early fan of Geddy Lee and helped push him out. In his place, Lifeson and Rutsey had singer and bassist Joe Perna, Lindy Young on keys and guitar and then a chap called Bob Volpi and became Hadrian. A gig with the new singer did not go well and Geddy was invited back. The trio was called Rush and whole again as of March 1972.
The recording journey began with the debut 1973 single, Not Fade Away, a Buddy Holly song, through Moon Records. The band's self-titled debut featured drummer John Howard Rutsey who was a hard rock fan, as opposed to Alex and Geddy who were bigger fans of Pink Floyd and Genesis. Rutsey had pushed the band to organize and to pursue a glam/hard rock direction. In fact, Rutsey's brother Bill came up with the name Rush during a rehearsal in the Rutsey family basement in mid 1968. The band had obtained its first gig (in a church's basement) and needed a name fast. The trio had been school-mates at Toronto's St. Patrick’s School and the drummer and the guitarist lived across the street from one another. John and Alex were members of Lost Cause, which became The Projection. This band had a member whose older brother Ian Grandy would become a Rush roadie. Rush began playing professionally in 1969 and later opened for bands like New York Dolls in Toronto. A mini-tour featured Rush, Bullrush and Mahogany Rush in the summer of 1974. Presumably, promoters have a sense of humour too.
The debut record, produced by British expatriate Terry Brown, who had worked with Jimi Hendrix, was released in March 1974. The album was remixed after an initial version by David Stock did not make the cut. London Records out Of Montreal picked up the expense of pressing the vinyl. The band was accused of ripping off Led Zeppelin. In fact, the trio had attended a Led Zeppelin concert in Toronto together. Nonetheless, the band did chart in Canada and an American radio station, called WMMS, gave the song Working Man a push. Rutsey was grappling with diabetes and a temporary live drummer called Gerry Fielding had played with the band for six months. Rutsey left due to musical differences and health issues related to diabetes precluding his ability to tour. Musically, he liked more straightforward music. The band opened for Kiss.
The trio's sound and lyrics evolved dramatically after Neil Peart (later nicknamed "The Professor") joined in 1974. The man was from St. Catherines, Canada and had recently returned from a stay in England where he had tried to find a career as a musician. He'd been in a minor band called Seventh Wave, worked at a shop to make money and had an operation on his hand. An audition facilitated by Rush's co-manager Vic Wilson had brought Peart, who was also in Hush, to Rush. He joined in July 1974. His intricate drumming, including trademark rolls, and profound lyrics added to multiple bass lines per song and high-pitched vocals by singer Lee elevated Rush to new heights. Peart's first act was playing live on tour for the band where they would open for the likes of Uriah Heep. Fly By Night was the band's first record with Peart on drums. It sold 100,000 copies in Canada and reached position number 9 in the charts. A song called Rivendell was obviously influenced by Lord Of The Rings. It was during this period that Peart's solos found a home both on album songs and during Rush's concerts. He was heralded as one of the best in the world. Caress Of Steel was less successful. One side was dedicated to a track named The Fountain Of Lamneth. Dates included ones with Nazareth, Ted Nugent, Styx and more. The band was undeterred and marched forward with its sci-fi themes and longer songs. Albums like 2112, Hemispheres (European tour opener: Max Webster) and Signals blended riffs with complex time signatures and socio-political and philosophical themes. The band's nod to proto-fascist writer Ayn Rand was worrying and regretful, yet Peart’s lyrics often explored science fiction, fantasy and libertarian ideals, which was a reflection of the band's intellectual depth if not always moral stance. The support for the heavier 2112 took the band to Europe for the first time. Stray opened for the band there. 2112 was inspired by author Ayn Rand and her Anthem novel. This book raged against the common man and advocated against charity. The album itself partly tells the story of a Solar Federation in the 22nd century where music is banned and banished. An earlier song, called Anthem, was also influenced by the same author. 2112's red Pentagram artwork represents the tyrannical Solar federation. Humanity is represented by the Starman or Naked Man resisting. Rush's early live performances were best captured in albums such as All The World's A Stage (a reference to Shakespeare) and Exit... Stage Left. A Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres were recorded at Rockfield in Wales. The band would return to recording in Canada after those two LPs. The song Cygnus X-1 was a two-part song. The first part, Book I: The Voyage, is the last song on A Farewell To Kings while the second part, Book II: Hemispheres, was the first song on the album that followed, namely 1978's Hemispheres. Interestingly, while Cygnus is an actual black hole, British serial Blake's 7 featured a prison planet called Cygnus Alpha in January of 1978.
Permanent Waves was easier to digest and more mainstream. The arrangements remained complex and progressive, but the songs incorporated pop, and even a reggae element. The Spirit Of Radio was a hit single.The song Tom Sawyer from Moving Pictures became a bona fide classic. Signals went even more pop, but the song and video for Subdivisions was socially articulate and conscious. New World Man was an even bigger hit single. The band's style veered to the mainstream and pop. In fact, the music was synthesizer-oriented now. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who had worked with U2, was hired to produce Grace Under Pressure, but backed out in order to work with Simple Minds. Rush hired Peter Henderson who had worked with Supertramp instead! Touring included one with Y&T opening. Other concerts had Red Rider, Gary Moore or Marillion opening. The band toured with Steve Morse in 1986. Touring for Hold Your Fire included opener Chalk Circle, Tommy Shaw, McAuley Schenker Group and more. Presto of 1989 re-introduced an edgier sound to Rush. The music was still merely rock however. The group rented Chalet Studio in Canada for over two months to write Roll The Bones. Recording was back at Le Studio in Morin Heights. Contrast this with an album like 2112 that was recorded in just ten days. The title was inspired by a Fritz Leiber story called Gonna Roll The Bones. The album included a rap segment. The band toured until 1997 when it went on a hiatus that would last five years. Lifeson had a solo project called Victor, which was not well-received. Its album was released in 1996 and featured Les Claypool of Primus on bass. Peart's daughter and then wife had died in a car accident in 1997. Peart would subsequently ride his motorcycle throughout the Americas and publish a book called Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road. He had told his band-mates that he was in fact retired. The other two members worked on the 3-CD live record Different Stages.
The three regrouped in 2001 and worked for a year to write Vapor Trails. It was a stripped-down outing. The group toured the world mostly solo. There was a festival participation at the Molson Canadian Rocks alongside AC/DC, Sass Jordan and others in Toronto in the aftermath of the SARS crisis. The act appeared on American talk show The Colbert Report in 2008. The band would play at Sweden Rock Festival in 2013 and report it was the act's first festival appearance in 30 years. The band went on another hiatus in 2014 before embarking on the 40th anniversary tour and issuing R40 Live. Lifeson suffered from psoriatic arthritis and Peart from tendinitis. The band's retirement was de facto.
Rush was celebrated at home in Canada, being a mainstay of FM Radio and concert halls receiving the Order Of Canada in 1997 and induction into Canada's Walk Of Fame in 1999. The band was also successful in the USA and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world and even received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2010. Alex Lifeson was arrested after what deputies described as a drunken and violent outbreak at a Florida hotel on New Year's Eve in December 2003. Lifeson was put on probation and had suffered a broken nose. His son Justin and daughter-in-law were also arrested as part of the incident. The guitarist denied all charges and stated he may be suing the police department. Rush was not immune to cliches either. Rush would later cover The who's The Seeker, Neil Young's Mr. Soul, The Who and Blue Cheer's rendition of Summertime Blues, and more, on one of those cover version EP, called Feedback, in 2004. Peart disowned Ayn Rand in 2012 telling an interviewer he had grown out of the philosophy. The band accepted an induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013. Rutsey died of a heart attack in 2008. He was 55. Neil Peart’s drum kit, which he used from 1974 to 1977, was auctioned off as part of a contest in 2020. Neil Peart died on January 7th, 2020 after three years grappling with brain cancer. Rush's final performance before disbanding was in 2015. This itself was a rare outing as the band had largely become inactive and ceased touring for years. Lee performed in place of late bassist Chris Squire with the progressive rock band Yes at that band's Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2017. Rush announced the release of a 50-track, career-spanning anthology for March 21st 2025, which was entitled Rush 50. It marked the first time that music the band had released across different record labels would appear on the same album.
Rush joined other returning acts when it officially reformed in 2025 with an eye on touring Canada, Mexico and the USA in 2026. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, both 72, recruited female drummer Anika Nilles whom they had known from her performance with Jeff Beck. She also was a member of a band called Nevell. Rush’s last concerts were for a 40th anniversary tour in 2015. This return was billed as a 50th anniversary or rather "Fifty Something." The limited run was unsurprisingly expected next.
Rush's influence remains monumental. The band has sold over 40 million records. Artist Hugh Syme has given depth and additional meaning to many Rush albums through his deep artwork for the trio. Being a threesome, the band has made use of digital samplers on the road. There have been Rush fan clubs, Rush conventions and numerous bands covering the Canadian trio. The band has won multiple Junos.
Reviews RUSH - 2112 - ANTHEM 
2112 was released by Canada’s progressive hard rock icons in 1976 and has not been matched since. An album like this could have only emanated from the Toronto-based power trio, in the '70s and after the digestion of a lot of philosophy, namely Ayn Rand and her Anthem novella.
The album’s cover alternately depicts a naked man facing a pentacle or the pentacle hovering alone in space. The band itself is dressed in retro-futuristic garb and could be the representation of the priesthood it will shortly condemn on the album. With the senses finely attuned and the man’s nakedness representing purity and vulnerability the album’s artwork emphasizes the individuality of music, freedom and creativity juxtaposed against authority, society and a contempt for the arts. The red star is clearly infernal and organized, while the lone man stands before a greater power, if not force. The original side-A, called 2112, is a 20-minute rock opus condemning the evils of oppression through the story of a man of the future stumbling upon a guitar and consequently music.
Ushering the story is the instrumental Overture’s futuristic synthesizer effects. Then come the blasting and rumbling drums and guitars, which rollick through progressive metal and hard rock before ending with a quotation from the Bible. The band really hits its stride with The Temples Of Syrinx where singer Geddy Lee screeches an angry and powerful narrative. The music is incredibly strong. The bass-lines are a tour-de-force of runs, changes and sounds. Discovery is slower and features tentative strums as the unsullied man learns to handle his newly discovered musical instrument. By the time the priests vent their anger at their shocked subject it is clear that Rush has created a timeless piece of art that rises above what even Ayn Rand could have imagined. Think of this as 1984 put to stormy rock music. Grand Finale features the voice of the band’s lyricist drummer Neil Peart. The story and the music on 2112 are both timeless and timely.
Side two begins with what might arguably be the band’s finest work ever. A Passage To Bangkok is the ultimate fusion of catchiness and hard rock craftsmanship. The travelogue sung by Lee, strummed by Alex Lifeson and drummed by Peart can both be heard and imagined as the song progresses. The rest of the album does not quite reach the same height as what preceded, but by now the damage is done and the world of music has a higher bar to attain to stay relevant. Lessons, in particular, is simpler and even radio-friendly to some extent. Having said that, the album ends with Something For Nothing and a torrent of soloing and screaming metal.
2112 is a whirlwind journey through time, earth and space and quite possibly immortalizes Rush at its peak. The album’s strength is even further amplified remembering the dominance of disco and New Wave punk circa 1976. To discover 2112 may take months, but it is a ride as amazing and relevant today as it were upon launch. - Ali “The Metallian"
RUSH - PERMANENT WAVES - ANTHEM
Permanent Waves is the entry to and epitome of Rush’s third phase. While the band’s debut, simply called Rush, featured a drummer other than Neil Peart and most of the '70s was spent producing spectacularly astounding epic hard rock opuses, the advent of the '80s ushered a new age for the Canadian trio. Permanent Waves signalled a new era marked by shorter songs, shorter hair, use of synthesizer prominently and a more condensed sound less in tune with the epic or the spacey, but more determined than ever to address social malaise to a wider audience. Permanent Waves sits next to 2112 as one of the band’s must-have albums. The album is relatively short, given an approximate length of 35 minutes, but finds space to include a nine-minute long piece called Natural Science. The album’s infectious melodies, astounding musicianship, articulate lyrical stance and topics and sheer intelligence render it the ultimate progressive rock album.
Permanent Waves’ first song is the ever popular hit The Spirit Of Radio, a name the band had borrowed from Toronto radio station CFNY. The song begins with a wobbly guitar rhythm that will propel it to becoming a solid classic. The power trio is in very fine form and clearly confident in its abilities. The band does not hesitate in using a reggae rhythm four minutes in followed by a fake live audience sample and a boogie-esque piano piece. A drum roll ends the song but not before the band adds its voice to the general disdain for materialism and annoyances created by “salesmen". The chugging bass guitar presence of Geddy Lee and the noisy lead parts on The Spirit Of Radio are also hallmarks of the album.
Freewill is again intelligent, a staple and serious. The vocals of Geddy Lee will barely get more forceful or better than on the song. The music could be described as pompous, but the tracks comes across as deep nonetheless. Coincidentally, the lyrics are not dissimilar to another progressive song, Yes’ Owner Of A Lonely Heart and the line, “Give your free will a chance
You’ve got to want to succeed".
If a guitar riff can be personified as thoughtful and reflective then it surely is the one on Jacob’s Ladder. The guitars are back and forth and back and forth again on the track and the chugging bass runs add to the wailing and screeching six-stringer. The song though is not what is traditionally known as loud, but there certainly are a couple of hard beats and heavy drums the song amidst the synthesized core of the track.
Entre Nous could be a love song, or it could be a metaphor. The song’s catchiness belies Rush’s progressive and advanced song writing talent. The breathless vocalizing and the fantastic drumming are second to none. What a song!
Different Strings is up next and is relatively quiet. The track might have been designed by the power trio to offer a dream-like quality and, at less than four minutes, set up the album’s finale, Natural Silence. The song, before we move on, is the rare instance of lyrics, which are written by Geddy Lee.
As mentioned, Rush serves up a lesson in Natural Silence next. At over nine minutes, the song has it all including three waves or segments. It begins with strings and a wistful sequence that reminds one of 2112. It veers and meanders, is up and down and is certainly played with care, craft and creativity. The rare vocal and drum interaction is incredible and worth the price for the album alone. When Geddy screams about “The most endangered species/ the honest man" one notes that he has not let the materialist salesman off the hook.
Permanent Waves features a serene and unaffected young girl strolling amidst natural and unnatural chaos and that is what this album reflects. Musically, it is hard and it is so soft, lyrically it is serene and is angry and it showcases Rush (once again) forging its own path amidst a scene that inevitably follows trends and patterns. - Ali “The Metallian"
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