This past month I’ve covered a lot about Rush. To close out this month, and to usher in Christmas Day, I thought it would be a fitting conclusion to share some of my thoughts about Rush to me as a musician and to me as a bass player. Between the ages of 14 and 16 most of us become ‘musically aware’. It’s a once in a lifetime period were we start to separate, what we think … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Rush – An Introspective Look
25 Days of Rush
25 Days of Rush: Rush in Pop Culture (abridged)
Seeing Rush in pop culture is one of the things that has given me more child-like enthusiasm than anything else. One of the things that gets me absolutely excited is when I hear a Rush reference come out of nowhere. To this day, I’m not sure what it is. Maybe it’s the feeling that there are people in higher places that ‘get Rush’ and got some kind of pleasure from dropping a … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Rush in Pop Culture (abridged)
25 Days of Rush: Live Rush Albums
Rush's live albums are an anomaly in live recorded music. Few bands have live albums that perfectly capture the energy of the band performing and the crowd loving every moment of the performance. The live albums have also served as a valuable time stamp of sorts, capturing the band’s sound and ambitions at a particular point in their history onto a single disc. Rush live … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Live Rush Albums
25 Days of Rush: Solo Rush Projects
Though it doesn’t happen often, Rush’s members take on solo projects. In 1996 Alex Lifeson put out a solo album titled Victor. In 2000 Geddy Lee put out a solo album titled My Favorite Headache and in 2005 Neil Peart released his must-watch lesson in drum solo craft titled Anatomy of a Drum Solo. The Rush's solo projects have been few and far between and only really captured … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Solo Rush Projects
25 Days of Rush: Time Stands Still Music Video (1987)
The late 80s were not kind to Rush (depending who you ask). From 1985 to 1994 with the release of Counterparts, the band was neck deep in synthetic sounds, lush arrangements and veering far away from their rock roots and alienating fans in the process. While the band ultimately learned what they didn’t want to sound like and came back to their rock roots, it was a time of … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Time Stands Still Music Video (1987)
25 Days of Rush: Clockwork Angels (2012)
Rush’s latest effort aims to rekindle the spirit of 2112. Does it? Rush fans knew that there was something new brewing after the band’s extensive Snakes and Arrows Tour. In the buildup to the release of what would later be called Clockwork Angels, the band teased the imminent release of new material during their Time Machine Tour from 2010 to 2011. The singles ‘Caravan’ and … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Clockwork Angels (2012)
25 Days of Rush: Snakes and Arrows (2007)
What more does Rush have to prove with 2007’s Snakes and Arrows? Snakes and Arrows let the world know that Rush was back - for good. Vapor Trails let the world know that the band could overcome tremendous personal obstacles and come back as strong as ever, but Snakes and Arrows showed the world that not only is the band back in action, they’re pushing themselves again, … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Snakes and Arrows (2007)
25 Days of Rush: Vapor Trails Remixed (2013)
I mentioned before in my Vapor Trails review that Vapor Trails had 2 key problems with it. The first was a perceived sameness from song to song and the second was a mixing and mastering issue. The 2002 version was mixed by David Leonard, masterd by Howie Weinberg and David Lian and produced by Paul Northfield. The resulting mix that listeners were presented with in 2002 when … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Vapor Trails Remixed (2013)
25 Days of Rush: Vapor Trails (2002)
2002’s Vapor Trails: Rush’s answer to being faced with adversity. In the time between Test for Echo and Vapor Trails a lot happened in Neil Peart’s life. Soon after the conclusion of the band’s Test for Echo Tour in July 1997, Peart's first daughter, 19-year-old Selena, was killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario, on August 10, … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Vapor Trails (2002)
25 Days of Rush: Test for Echo (1996)
Eh. Kinda. Test for Echo means well. Oh, how it sounds like it means well. But for me, this album is the poster child for an album that blended too much and should have just kept the good stuff going just for one more album. At the end of the day, on the spectrum of 90s Rush albums, unfortunately, this one falls closer to Roll the Bones than it does Counterparts - and even … [Read more...] about 25 Days of Rush: Test for Echo (1996)