Rush
For best results play at maximum volume. With Special Thanks to Donna Halper of WMMS in Cleveland for getting the ball rolling.
Released Moon Records, March 1974. Re-released Mercury/Polygram, July 1974.
Alex Lifeson - Acoustic & Electric Guitars. Neil Peart - Drums/Percussion.
Produced by Rush and Terry Brown. All songs by Lee/Lifeson except: ‘In The Mood’ by Lee.
- Finding My Way
- Need Some Love
- Take A Friend
- Here Again
- What You’re Doing
- In The Mood
- Before and After
- Working Man
Geddy Lee - Lead Vocals/Bass. Alex Lifeson - Guitars/Vocals. John Rutsey - Drums/Vocals.
Produced by Rush. Remix Engineer: Terry Brown.
Of course it is derivative, like so many debuts. However the solidity of the band’s first album is a testament to how much time had been spent rehearsing the music, both live and in the family basements and rehearsal studios. From the opening guitar riffs and a Geddy-sings-Plant “yeah, ooh, yeah,” ‘Finding My Way’ is an indicator of the band’s ambitions and its lyrical content a statement, a definitive launch into the world of professional music.
It is pointless to spend too much time on the lyrics, as they had been hastily thrown together. While John had previously occupied the role, Geddy scrawled the words for the majority of the songs without due consideration so the functional verses were not likely to win any prizes for literature. With “You’re making me crazy, the way you roll them eyes,” and “You need a friend, someone on whom you can always depend,” as Geddy said much later, “The things I write about are real close to my heart – I can only write if I’m personally motivated by something.” If this were true at the time it would appear he was largely motivated by girls and feeling good.
Nonetheless, the album is a showcase of youthful musicianship. High- energy songs such as ‘What You’re Doing’ and ‘In The Mood’ give Alex an opportunity to demonstrate what he was capable of, but there is little to distinguish them from any other heavy blues songs being touted on the Toronto circuit at the time. The quieter, more considered and structurally more complex songs ‘Here Again’ and ‘Before And After’ offer more of an indication of the shape of things to come. The final song on the album, ‘Working Man’ offers a grunge-filled climax, simple and highly effective, a call to arms for the shape of things to come.
There’s plenty to suggest this was a three-man team, with Geddy, Alex and John contributing in equal measure, though the latter may have been a more reluctant partner at times. The frenetic drumming that opened ‘Take A Friend’ was testament to John’s own versatility, learned on the live stage from his own heroes.
‘Rush’ offers a portfolio of music collated by students of the art, starting to put their own mark on their creations, while remaining linked to the comfort zone of their personal and musical heritage. In all, this is not such a bad thing.