Y’all better not say NOTHING bad about Rush!!!

Seriously though, I’ve been a Rush fan for more than 40 years. They have a sound unlike any other band out there. Geddy Lee (bass, keyboards and vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitars), and the late, great Neil Peart (drums) are about as good as it gets on their instruments. It’s no wonder they sold out arenas and other venues worldwide.

Rush has one of the greatest fanbases of any band out there. Many fans have been onboard since their inception in 1974, when the band released its self-titled debut. From there, it seemed like each successive album (Fly by Night, Caress of Steel, 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, and Permanent Waves) brought with it a new legion of followers.

Rush debuted with a bluesy, heavy metal sound that slowly got the attention of Album Oriented Rock (now most often called Classic Rock) radio stations. Peart replacing original drummer John Rutsey saw the band take its foundation and stretch into a more progressive rock-oriented thought process. To more than a few, it was a revelation.

Rush’s biggest moment seems to be when they released Moving Pictures in 1981. Anyone hearing “Tom Sawyer” felt the world undergo a seismic shift. The band had a sound recognized by fans and newcomers everywhere.

After that album and tour, everything began to change.

What happened? In a word, synthesizers.

Mind you, Rush had been using keyboard sounds since 2112. But it was most often for augmentation, an added layer for Lee to use along with his bass. But in the eighties, the synth came roaring to the front. Lee loved the new dimension. Lifeson, on the other hand, did not share the same level of enthusiasm.

More than a few hardcore fans agreed with Lifeson and hopped off the bandwagon. They simply couldn’t abide Rush’s stylistic change. I understand … it was a pretty drastic shift. For “classic” Rush fans, this was going to be a tough decade.

I’m in the midst of reading Lee’s autobiography, My Effin’ Life. He speaks a little more highly of the eighties era than many fans do. That’s not really surprising, given that he was the one having all the fun. But over time, he’s obtained the objectivity that’s enabled him to understand what Lifeson and the fans were unhappy about. That’s growth, and I respect it.

I thought I’d take a little time to check out the Rush albums of the eighties once again, which I haven’t done in earnest since Peart passed away. Since Moving Pictures is immensely popular, I won’t be including that album here. Once you take that out of the equation, Rush albums of the decade are bookended by live releases. Seems like a good place to start and end.^

What follows are my opinions. As folks like to say online, your mileage may vary.

EXIT … STAGE LEFT (1981)

The purge. To me, it feels like Rush was looking to free itself of the seventies. First step: give the fans a full dose of what was, then prepare to move into what will be. This album is all wheat and no chaff. There are no weak tunes, and the band is playing in top form. My personal complaint has always been that the mix sounds a little muddy. This was somewhat fixed in the remastered edition, but the album could still use a little more top end. That being said, it’s still great way to say goodbye to the past, as it were.

SIGNALS (1982)

Revenge of the synth. Lee appears to have switched the roles of bass and synthesizer, now favoring the latter over the former. But for the most part, it works. While “New World Man” was Rush’s “big hit single” (making it all the way to number 21 on the charts), I’ve always preferred the power of “Subdivisions” and “The Analog Kid.” On the downside, Lifeson’s guitar is both thin in tone and buried in the mix. No wonder he was disgruntled! I remember seeing him play a Fender Telecaster onstage for “New World Man.” It wouldn’t surprise me if he used it in the studio. The Tele is not necessarily known for its heavyweight tones. He should’ve used something beefier.

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE (1984)

The march of metal. Lifeson’s guitar comes back in a big, crunchy way, now overwhelming the keyboards in some places. Fans who hated the synth sounds were no doubt pleased. I, too, like the heavier sound even though I was more than pleased with Signals. I’m still working toward playing “Afterimage” and “Between the Wheels” on my guitar because I love the way it sounds. The album does date itself a little via Peart’s use of Simmons electronic drum pads. Then again, who wasn’t using those damn things in the eighties? It’s still a solid record. It probably gets the second most airplay at home behind Signals.

POWER WINDOWS (1985)

The tightrope. The synths and guitars finally feel like they’re on equal footing. The balance is delicate, and there are near stumbles. Lee loves this album, as the band also decided to create a bigger sound via the use of a choir and symphony orchestra in select places. I have to agree … this album is a lot better than I remember. The songs are really sophisticated, putting the consistent growth of Rush on full display. “The Manhattan Project” comes to mind. Kudos to them for never deciding to spin their wheels and stay in place.

HOLD YOUR FIRE (1987)

The beginning of the end. It’s starting to feel like Lee has taken the synthesizer just about as far as it will go. The same can be said for Peart’s Simmons pads. I remember thinking highly of this album when it was released, but progressively less as time went on. It’s not a bad album, per se. It just didn’t grab me the way it used to. That being said, as I listen to it again, the album has regained a bit of my respect. Bringing Aimee Mann aboard for some nice backing vocals on “Time Stand Still” was a great touch.

A SHOW OF HANDS (1989)

The second purge. Rush was in the verge of changing musical directions in the nineties, so it was time to document the previous decade before moving on. I remember Rolling Stone magazine absolutely blasting this record, to the tune of one and one-half stars. The band was never really popular with the magazine to begin with, but damn! In retrospect, I’m guessing the critic was someone who was used to the seventies sound, which can be found on just two of the album’s 15 tracks. I could be accused of feeling the same way, albeit not quite as brutally. Still, I’ll pull just about any other live Rush release off the shelf before I grab this one. It’s probably the most dated of the live releases, just ahead of All the World’s a Stage, where you can almost smell the weed coming through the speakers. And this was the beginning of Peart’s drum solos actually having titles as they continued to get more intricate. Works for me.

PRESTO (1989)

Back to the beginning again. Rush appeared to return to their classic form, shoving the synths aside a bit in order to make room for guitars and bass. I seem to recall it being a welcome change. I also recall playing this album quite a bit and then … stopping with the band altogether. Other musical forms (prog, jazz, college rock) were tugging hard at my elbow, demanding my attention. I didn’t stop liking Rush. We were just taking a little break.

Rush was off toward the sounds of albums like Counterparts and Test for Echo. I was brought back onboard by the live release Rush in Rio, which supported the album Vapor Trails. The live album (which I bought on a whim) reminded me why I loved the band so much in the first place. I declared myself a born again Rush fan and stayed with them until the end.

Moving forward, I can’t say I’ll be wearing out my eighties Rush albums. But I have regained a healthy degree of respect for them. I think that’s more than enough for now.

^I put Lee’s book down immediately after I decided to write this piece. I didn’t want his words influencing my thoughts any more than they already had.

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