Last year, the top artist on my Spotify Wrapped was Rush (I’m a top 0.5% listener). If you aren’t familiar with Rush’s music, I urge you to give them a listen. Founded in 1968, Rush was a Canadian prog rock power trio comprised of Geddy Lee (vocals, keyboards, bass), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart (drums).
In 2025, the band celebrates the 50th anniversary of Peart’s arrival and establishment of the legendary lineup with a 50-track anthology album, “Rush 50.” As a fan, I’m thrilled about this release. While many tracks featured on the album have been released prior, there are a few new songs — i.e., various demos and concert recordings. It’s exciting to have new content, given that Rush was disbanded several years ago.
While Neil Peart is Rush’s most famous drummer, when the group was founded, John Rutsey was on drums and recorded for the band’s debut album, “Rush.” However, due to health complications, Rutsey was unable to tour and left the band. After an audition process, Lee and Lifeson hired Peart, and he debuted on their first North American tour and stayed until his passing in 2020.
Peart’s addition brought lyrical and stylistic changes. Lee and Lifeson weren’t too interested in writing lyrics, passing that responsibility to the well-read and poetic Peart. Rush is known for their epic progressive (prog) rock tracks. Progressive rock lyrics often reference science fiction, fantasy, history and philosophy — all topics that interested Peart. Examples include the “Lord of the Rings”–inspired “Rivendell” from “Fly by Night,” “Natural Science” from “Permanent Waves” or “Manhattan Project” from “Power Windows.”
In total, Rush has released 19 studio albums and 11 live concert albums. Their early albums, beginning with their self-titled debut, were heavily influenced by British blues and rock. With Peart, the group divulged from this style and began experimenting with prog motifs and sounds. “Fly by Night” is an interesting album as it bridges two styles, featuring the band’s first story song, “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” but also the hard rock anthem “Fly by Night.” The prog rock era is best seen in albums from the 1970s like “A Farewell to Kings,” “Caress of Steel” and, my personal favorite, “Hemispheres.” The dawn of the 1980s brought new instruments to experiment with: synthesizers. 1981’s “Moving Pictures” is one of Rush’s most famous albums, featuring “YYZ” — named for their hometown Toronto’s airport and rhythmically built on its morse code — and “Tom Sawyer.” “Moving Pictures” presents a good blend of prog rock, synthesizer and guitar — an instrument the band would tone down throughout the 1980s. The follow-up, “Signals,” indicates the stark shift to heavy synth immediately with its opening track “Subdivisions.” It wasn’t until the 1990s that Rush would return to their guitar and hard rock roots with albums like “Roll the Bones” and “Test for Echo.” However, in their final album “Clockwork Angels,” Rush reintroduced their iconic prog rock touch.
With their studio albums, Rush toured many times. One of their signatures was putting humorous set pieces, like washing machines, on stage. Their 40th anniversary tour, “R40,” saw Rush work backward in time through their music. As the decades rolled back, so did the set decorating and technology used on stage. At the show’s end, the stage resembled a high school gym, calling back to their roots. Unfortunately, Peart passed away from glioblastoma in January 2020. Lee and Lifeson decided, out of respect, not to tour under the Rush name again.
All members of Rush have had their own respective solo careers. For Lee, his highest charting song was not with Rush but was the single “Take Off” from Bob and Doug McKenzie’s comedy album “The Great White North” (which was released under Rush’s record label, Anthem).
I was exposed to Rush at an early age, thanks to my dad. I remember, back in the age of CDs, asking him lots of questions about the songs and the CD cover art. Suffice to say, their music has been constant in my life. It wasn’t until last year, however, that I truly began to appreciate their work from a musical standpoint. Rush doesn’t have a bad album — they excel in every genre they attempt, and Peart’s lyrics are poetry that could stand even without the music. If you want to get into the band’s discography, the new “Rush 50” album is a perfect opportunity as it offers a survey of their work through the years. With the ease of the age of streaming, I highly recommend you give Rush a listen!
