Rush 1973 to 1982 On Track - Richard James

Rush. In their own words, 'The World's Biggest Cult Band', started from humble beginnings: three suburban teenagers. Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and John Rutsey formed a Led Zeppelin-influenced trio, eventually scratching a living playing the bars and clubs of their native Toronto. A hard work ethic, no small amount of talent, and a slice of good fortune enabled their first, self-financed and distributed album to gain a foothold in the American market. And then, on the eve of their first American tour, drummer Rutsey quit. Fortune smiled on them again when auditions for a replacement shed builder produced Neil Peart, who could not only drum like a demon but was adept at lyric writing. Sharing a love of the then emerging progressive rock scene, the trio embarked on crafting a series of albums from the 'second' debut, Fly By Night, to the career-defining and best-selling masterpiece Moving Pictures; records which would secure them a permanent place in the rock hierarchy. This book reviews all these albums up to Signals, their 1982 release, which saw the band embracing keyboard technology and severing their connections with long-time producer Terry Brown, the unofficial fourth member of the trio.