On January 7th, 2020 the world lost an amazing musician, Mr. Neil Ellwood Peart, drummer of the rock band Rush. In memory of Peart's passing, and for my own musical education I took on the task of listening through the entire Rush discography. I've heard the hits here and there, but I've never done the deep dive. Over this last weekend, I had the pleasure of taking in the final album and completing that journey.
It was quite a ride. With 19 studio albums and 2 extended plays under their belts Rush's career spanned a whopping 50 years. The trajectory of artistic growth was largely visible, but being the creative minds they were and are, some moments were surprising. Even these surprises were enjoyable.
Were you to look up a ranked list to two, you'd find that collectively Moving Pictures was ranked their best album, with most other lists ranking 2112 a close second. While great albums, I wouldn't put these at the top of my list. This is one of the great things about Rush's career, they have something for everyone. These ranked lists also reflect this because you start seeing the lists diverge from each other from the number three slot forward (except for Snakes and Arrows, which consistently landed near the bottom of lists much to my surprise).
It's easy to see why Moving Pictures lands at the top of the list. It comes out swinging with what I'd argue is their most popular song, "Tom Sawyer". It's got a killer riff, excellent synth parts, and quality, infectious lyrics. You get a small break with "Red Barchetta" before heading into two more powerhouse songs "YYZ" and "Limelight". Not only are these catchy songs, but they also used new-for-the-time tech and had spent 13 years developing a reputation for excellent live performances.
2112 also makes sense as far as the overall history of Rush and why it would land in the second slot in most ranked lists. It was a bold album and an extremely bold move for the band to release it especially after the critical (and in my opinion, with the benefit of hindsight, unwarranted) panning of the previous release Caress Of Steel. Caress Of Steel was not well received due to two concept pieces featured on the album, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth" both running 10+ minutes in length. It took a lot of guts to look in the face of the potential flop and go on to write one of the most well-received concept pieces ever penned, 2112. It featured the self-titled track on the first side of the record with a run time of 20 minutes and 34 seconds. It's got a great story, a mysterious ending, dynamic sound, and excellent songwriting. 2112 was a smashing success and put Rush on a path of conceptual prog albums that still are highly enjoyable to this day.
I believe most hardcore fans would be a bit bewildered with my picks if you bumped into me on the street and asked me to pick my top 5 favorite Rush albums. Honestly, I haven't listened to all of them enough to make a truly informed decision, but having just gone through the whole list I'd suggest, in no particular order: Fly By Night, Hemispheres, Clockwork Angels, A Farewell To Kings, and Snakes & Arrows. They're great albums full of great songs and great riffs and are definitely worth your time to listen to.
However, there really isn't a bad album in the list. If you're not a fan of synths I'd possibly skip over the mid-career offerings, but I'd encourage you to give them a try anyway. They took a lot of risks in that period and it was exciting to take it in, especially since they're a trio. Big sound for a small group. If you're not into the harder rock sound, I'd suggest you stick to the earlier two-thirds of their career.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to Mr. Neil Peart for sharing his talents with me and the rest of the world. From the research I've done, you lead an interesting, and at times a very difficult life. So many drummers have been inspired to pursue music and I've been inspired to pay more attention to percussion when I'm listening because I learned how textured they can be. The world is lesser now that you're gone, but you will be remembered for many years to come. Rest easy and Rock on!
You can find tons of merch, lyrics, and much more at Rush's website found
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