I'll be watching this thread all the way up to Clockwork Angels. If I get the urge, I may do some writeups on the material from Moving Pictures thru Counterparts as that's my favorite run of albums. I'll try to interject on some of my fave tracks from the rest of the discography here and there too.
Geddy Lee OC (Officer of The Order Of Canada) Geddy Lee Weinrib born July 29 1953 in Willowdale, (North York) Toronto, Ontario. His parents were holocaust survivors and were in Auschwitz when they were thirteen. "It was kind of surreal pre-teen ****," says Lee, describing how his father bribed guards to bring his mother shoes. After a period, his mother was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and his father to Dachau. When the war ended four years later and the Allies liberated the camps, Morris set out in search of Mary and found her at a displaced persons camp. They married there and eventually emigrated to Canada. Lee's parents gave him a Jewish education, with a bar mitzvah at age 13. His father was a skilled musician, but died the year before from medical problems resulting from his imprisonment. Lee feels that not having parents at home during those years was probably a factor in his becoming a musician: "It was a terrible blow that I lost him, but the course of my life changed because my mother couldn't control us." He said that losing his father at such an early age made him aware of how "quickly life can disappear", which inspired him from then on to get the most out of his life and music. He turned his basement into practice space for a band he formed with high-school friends. After the band began earning income from small performances at high-school shows or other events, he decided to drop out of high school and play rock and roll professionally. His mother was devastated when he told her, and he still feels that he owes her for the disappointments in her life. "All the **** I put her through," he says, "on top of the fact that she just lost her husband. I felt like I had to make sure that it was worth it. I wanted to show her that I was a professional, that I was working hard, and wasn't just a *****n' lunatic." He started playing music in school at around 10 or 11 and got his first acoustic guitar at the age of 14. His early influences included Jack Bruce of Cream, John Entwistle of The Who, Jeff Beck, and Procol Harum. "I was mainly interested in early British progressive rock," said Lee. "That's how I learned to play bass, emulating Jack Bruce and people like that." Bass Hall of Fame – Guitar Player magazine Six-time winner: "Best Rock Bass" – Guitar Player magazine 1993: "Best Rock Bass Player" Bass Player readers' poll 1994: With Rush, inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame 1996: Officer of the Order of Canada, along with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart Best Album for Bass (Snakes & Arrows) – Bass Player magazine "Coolest Bass Line in a Song" (for "Malignant Narcissism") – Bass Player magazine "Best 2007 Cover Feature" for "Northern Warrior" – Bass Player magazine 2010: With Rush, "Living Legend" – Classic Rock Magazine 2010: With Rush, Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2013: With Rush, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee 2014: Awarded an honorary doctorate from Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario (along with Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson)
I like the debut single for what it is. I wish it had been re-released on the any of the reissues to date. I’ve only ever heard a so-so needle drop. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be re-released by the band by now. I like pre-Peart Rush on its own merit, and would love to have more material from the formative years like Garden Road and Fancy Dancer. I enjoy the pure raw energy of early Rush.
It's certainly representative of the pre-historic Rush bar songs, although perhaps not as interesting as either "Fancy Dancer" or especially "Garden Road". While we're on the pre-1st album cuts, I'll put both up.
Here's "Garden Road." This performance also has Peart on the drums, from August 1974. He'd been with the band for less than a month at this point.
For the record. While we are sort of waiting to start up properly. If anyone has any interest we have been through these albums on the surround thread over the last few months, and if you have any input, it is certainly welcome. A Farewell To Kings (Wilson mix) Hemispheres and Moving Pictures. Bear in mind, our main focus is on the mix, not particularly the quality of the album, because all these albums are essential Rush, and rock/prog-rock albums. Today we are running through the 2112 album, and again please feel free to comment on anything regarding the mix or album, as you see fit. Cheers Mark
That's fair. If you feel like joining in at all, think of it as celebrating Neil's life, rather than commiserating his departure
And there is so much to celebrate. He achieved such a high level of accomplishment in his life and leaves a singular, impressive and positive legacy.
A very important document of early Rush that only surfaced in the past 10 years or so. It includes John Rutsey and several songs that were not included on the debut, and wouldn’t remain in the repertoire after the year - I’ve been runnin and The Loser. I hope more discoveries like this surface in the next few years. Rush Setlist at Laura Secord Secondary School, St. Catharines Neil grew up in St Catharines. "'A Port Boy's Story' by Neil Peart" - St. Catharines Standard, June 24 & 25, 1994
I'm hoping that the songs will get reissued for the debut's 50th anniversary. They're nothing too special, but I think they're definitely good enough that they deserve to be officially available.
In this proto-Rush period, it’s important to include the 1970 demo for one of Neil’s pre-Rush bands, JR Flood. Like the St Catharines concert, I only heard this done for the first time in the past 10 years or so. Makes you wonder what other early treasures are still out there unknown and unheard.
The great @mark winstanley starting up another thread -- and for such a brilliant band as well. I admire your enthusiasm, my friend!
lol We are only here once may as well do as much of what you love as you can Not so sure about the great lol ... fair to middling
John Rutsey John Howard Rutsey July 23, 1952 – May 11, 2008 As a founding member of the band John really did play some good drums. Lee and Lifeson have each acknowledged that during the writing and recording sessions for the band's debut album, Rutsey was given the role of chief lyricist. When the time came to start recording, however, he did not deliver any lyrics. In interviews, Lee and Lifeson have both said that Rutsey was dissatisfied with what he had written and had torn up the lyric sheets. Lee hastily wrote the lyrics to all the songs before recording the vocal tracks. Soon after Rush released its debut album, Rutsey left the band, due to musical differences and health concerns related to diabetes. His drinking may have posed potential problems with extended tours. Rutsey's final performance with the group was on July 25, 1974, at Centennial Hall in London, Ontario. He was replaced by Neil Peart. On May 11, 2008, Rutsey died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack, related to complications from diabetes.
I may be in the minority but I'm not much of a fan of this earlier work and the songs that have been largely undocumented. I supposed if pressed I like the Holly cover best. Never grabbed this on vinyl, just as a bonus on a boot CD. Mostly for the historical curiosity of how far they traveled, I only listened to this once or twice every few years. I kind of understand why this mostly gets disavowed. Don't think it even comes close to playing to whatever their strengths were in those years.
Mark!!! You know I love your threads; I will definitely follow, but more to learn versus participate, as I am not very well versed in the band...how unpatriotic! Rush has been a fixture of Canadiana on the radio & TV, & Neil Peart's death was on the national news. My brother had All The World's a Stage & the three record set, Archives, of the first albums, but I wasn't allowed to listen. I still haven't heard them. I did steal his cassette of A Farewell to Kings. Exit...Stage Left was my first Rush record I owned when I was 13 or 14, then I picked up Grace Under Pressure. Later, Permanent Waves & Moving Pictures. Outside of the singles, that is all I know, so I look forward to learning from the sages here.
Other than the historical significance (which seems to be a bit less important than it used to be for me,,) They were just a bar band at that point slogging their way through the early '70s. That said, I'd be more interested in Neil's work from this period. It's more jazz-fusion (which I dig) and the musicians he played with sound much more accomplished that what Rush was doing in those years although the comparison is really apples and oranges. That said, the first single should have been included in the first album reissue box because I think thst'd where it belonged. But who knows if those tapes are even around or what the kind of shape they may be in. They might even be too embarrassed by it to want it to be reissued at this point even though it might make for a cool Record Store Day release.
