Top 10: Rush Albums

If you told me a week ago that Rush would be an active band come the next Top 10, I’d never in a million years believe it. And yet here we are, mere months away from a year that will see Rush reuniting for their first tour in 11 years and Megadeth saying “farewell”. Make of that what you will. To commemorate this monumental occasion, and the band who first opened my ears and eyes to the glorious world of heavy metal, it’s an honor to present to you our Top 10 Rush Albums. In other words, here are the 10 Rush albums you should brush up on before catching them next year…but be sure to check out the others too!

10. Clockwork Angels (2012)

Rush’s 21st century run in and of itself was nothing short of a miracle. After the tragic 1997 passing of Neil Peart’s daughter in a car accident, followed by his first wife’s demise to cancer, the band went on an indefinite hiatus, and the Professor hitting the road on his motorcycle. Years went by. Even Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson had accepted that the band was most likely finished. And yet come 2001, Neil returned home to his brothers. This culminated in the release of 2002’s Vapor Trails. Snakes & Arrows would follow in 2007, as did the critically acclaimed Time Machine Tour, which saw the band revisit the iconic Moving Pictures.

By the time Clockwork Angels hit shelves on June 8, 2012, much had changed in the lives of our three heroes. Peart was now a husband and a father again, receiving a second chance at life that few ever have. It shows in the lyrics of Clockwork Angels: A rock opera chronicling a dystopian world, albeit cloaked with symbolism, allegory, and introspection. Sonically, we see Rush fully embrace the modern musical and production tropes of the very genre they solidified, progressive metal: A genre that now constituted bands as diverse as Dream Theater, Voivod, and Gojira, just to name a few. It’s a beautiful full circle moment, in which the godfathers of prog metal manage to make a prog metal album in a post-prog metal world, inadvertently validating the genre’s early ’10s explosion and properly capping off their own canon.

9. Caress of Steel (1975)

Caress of Steel: The dark horse of the ’70s Rush catalog. The trilogy of 2112, A Farewell to Kings, and Hemispheres get all the glory. Meanwhile, Caress of Steel gets pushed to the side like the ugly duckling, ignored by the mainstream masses and classic schlock radio. Why? Well, for as great as it is, Caress of Steel is easily the most primal, extreme, and metallic album the band ever did. For those who scream and cry about Rush’s inclusion in the Metal Archives, I regularly point to Caress as exhibit A.

The opening “Bastille Day” rips as hard as any Priest song of the era, while two lengthy epics, “The Necromancer” and “The Fountain of Lamenth”, stand as the album’s cornerstones. “Necromancer” sees Rush fusing their early prog metal maneuvers with a heft and heaviness reminiscent of Sabbath, especially when it comes to Lifeson’s lumbering riffage. The side-long “Lamenth”, on the other hand, serves as a template for Dream Theater and every Rush worship act to follow. There’s a dynamic balance of darkness and light, coupled with picturesque lyricism and sprawling musical passages. Let’s face it: Caress of Steel walked so 2112 could run.

8. Fly by Night (1975)

Imagine, if you will, a world in which Neil Peart never joined Rush. What would’ve become of our favorite Canadians? Well, I have a good idea. They would’ve released one, maybe two more perfectly fine platters of boogie-driven Zeppelin worship, before imploding like every other here today, gone tomorrow heavy rock act of the era. Fast forward 40 years later, their albums would be rediscovered and reissued by Lee Dorrian, subsequently leading to the inevitable reunion set at Maryland Deathfest à la Pentagram, Bang, and various other heavy ’70s curios. Oh yeah, and I’d probably have a much better chance at interviewing Geddy or Alex than I do now. Lucky for us, that’s not what happened.

When Peart joined the fold in late ’74, he completely reinvented the band, inside and out. Gone were lyrics chronicling sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll simplicity. It was onto far more cerebrally enriching matters like personal liberty (“Anthem”), nature (“Rivendell”), and fantastical warfare (“By-Tor and the Snow Dog”). The music accompanying these tales was equally mature, deviating from the power chord-driven ethos of the eponymous debut, while still maintaining the heaviness. Indeed, progressive metal proper begins with Fly by Night, as does Rush’s dynasty as Canada’s single greatest export (sorry Gordon Lightfoot!).

7. Signals (1982)

Although Signals was Rush’s 9th studio album, and they were now “seasoned veterans” by industry standards, I think it escapes many just how young and impressionable the members were upon the album’s writing and subsequent recording. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were 28. Neil Peart was 29. These were young men, very conscious of the contemporary music scene around them, and eager to pick up on its flavors. By the early ’80s, they became diehard fans of another budding power trio, The Police, whose influence is more than evident on Signals. That said, Signals “does” The Police better than Sting and the gang ever could.

Gone are the hard rock riffs and prog rock technicality that made Rush who they were in the first place. In its place, a collection of songs straddling the line between AOR and new wave, peppered with reggae flavored rhythms and rather a progressive atmosphere. Like every Rush album before it, Signals is a lot to process, but stands on its own as yet another undisputed masterpiece in the band’s canon. There are many who argue “Subdivisions” to be the greatest Rush song of all time, and sometimes I tend to agree. For as effortlessly as this band could pen a 20 minute prog metal rollercoaster in which Peart hits every bell and whistle on his kit at least twice, they could also pen a deeply emotional, synth-driven opus touching upon the awkwardness of youth better than any band before or after.

6. Grace Under Pressure (1984)

What is the greatest album of Rush’s synth era? As a child, I was convinced it was Power Windows, which would’ve made this list if it weren’t for Clockwork Angels. Come high school and college, my gears shifted towards Signals. Now, as a grown man, I have to give the honor to Grace Under Pressure. While Signals marked a dramatic shift for Rush, the beginning of a new era, Grace Under Pressure is the sound of a band now fully confident in their ways. The musical kinks or naivety that may have shown on its predecessor (i.e. “Digital Man”) are invisible to the naked eye.

Even more compelling than Grace Under Pressure‘s music is its lyrics. There are themes on this album that, at 12 years old, I couldn’t have fathomed relating to. At 26, songs like “Afterimage” and “The Enemy Within” hit much closer to home than they should. I’m not sure what Peart was going through when writing this album, but I applaud his vulnerability. Again, if this was Rush’s “Police” era, I dare you to point me to a Sting lyric with a fraction of authenticity as those on this album. Case closed.

5. Permanent Waves (1980)

Billed as “the first major musical event of the ’80s”, Permanent Waves served as the first of two mediators between the band’s ’70s prog metal era and impending ’80s synth era. For the first time in Rush’s history, we’re presented songs that are melodic, polished, and *gasp* radio-friendly, even AOR in demeanor. Indeed, songs like “The Spirit of Radio”, “Freewill”, and “Entre Nous” quickly found themselves in regular rotation on FM rock playlists, sharing the airwaves with the likes of REO Speedwagon and Styx, and introducing Rush to whole new demographic of listeners.

For the metallists and prog-heads, suites like “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Natural Science” almost served as a musical farewell to the prog metal years. These epics are pure classic Rush, surpassing the 5 minute mark and rife with the band’s usual trademarks. Lifeson’s riffs and solos wail a storm, Peart toes the line between technical precision and brute force, and Lee, now as busy behind the keys as on bass and vocal duties, remains urgent as ever, elevating these compositions to the next level of musical intensity.

4. 2112 (1976)

Please, don’t come at me with your torches and pitchforks just yet! I’m well aware that, to the vast majority of you, 2112 is THEE Rush album the same way Paranoid is thee Sabbath album. And while both albums are undoubtedly iconic in every aspect, I’m here to argue that both bands would go on to achieve further musical greatness on subsequent releases *braces for assault*…greatness that couldn’t be achieved WITHOUT albums like 2112 and Paranoid as a springboard.

Upon the commercial failure that was Caress of Steel, Mercury gave Rush an ultimatum: Give us a hit, or it’s game over. So of course, being the good boys that they were, Rush turned in an album with a 20+ minute rock opera that took up the entire A side, and a B side of equally inaccessible tracks ranging from scorching ’70s prog metal (“Something for Nothing”) to dazed and confused stoner romanticism (“A Passage to Bangkok”). That album was 2112, and against all odds, it was a hit. A BIG hit! Overnight, Rush went from a struggling opening act to bonafide arena headliners. The rest, as they say, is history.

3. Hemispheres (1978)

*takes an epic bong hit* “Alright guys, so here’s the idea: A war between the two hemispheres of the mind using ancient Greek symbolism.” “Woah, dude…that’s fuckin’ awesome. Let’s do it!” I’m not saying that’s exactly how the A side of Hemispheres, “Cygnus X-1 (Book II: Hemispheres)” was conceived, but I wouldn’t be surprised either. Referred to by Geddy Lee as the band’s farewell to near 20 minute compositions and his iconic eardrum-shattering high register vocals, Hemispheres caps of Rush’s progressive metal era with true class and sophistication.

Of all the lengthy songs in the Rush catalog, I might go so far to argue “Hemispheres” as the greatest. Its ebb and flow remains untouched to this day, often imitated by the likes of Fates Warning and Dream Theater, but never duplicated. Equally as brilliant is the album’s B side, consisting of a crushing headbanger (“Circumstances”), dramatic prog metal conflict (“The Trees”), and a self-proclaimed exercise in self-indulgence (“La Villa Strangiato”). Oddly enough, what’s always struck me most about this album is Lifeson’s heavy, flanged-out guitar tone. If Grace Under Pressure boasts Peart’s finest lyrics, then Hemispheres boasts Lifeson’s finest guitarwork. Tone aside, the riffs and solos on here are absolutely next level. Alex, if you care to drop your tone secrets with us, feel free to do so at defendersofthefaithmetal@gmail.com.

2. A Farewell to Kings (1977)

Admittedly, ranking A Farewell to Kings this high might showcase a personal bias. After all, it was this album that began my love affair with Rush, and subsequently heavy metal, nearly 20 years ago at the tender age of 9. But you know what? I will gladly argue that of Rush’s ’70s trilogy, AFTK is the strongest of the bunch. The A side of the title track and “Xanadu” masterfully expand upon the epic songwriting of “2112” in their own singular way, the latter another cut that’s regularly namedropped amongst the band’s finest songs.

While the B side is a bit all over the place, it’s nothing to scoff at. “Closer to the Heart” and “Cinderella Man” are perhaps Rush’s earliest attempt at progressive AOR, foreshadowing the direction we’d hear perfected on Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, while the delicate “Madrigal” serves as an apt palette cleanse. The closing “Cygnus X-1” is the album’s tour de force, as harsh and metallic as anything on Caress of Steel, but with an even stronger conviction than before. Put it all together and you’ve got Rush’s greatest album behind…

1. Moving Pictures (1981)

Yes, it is their biggest album. Yes, it is the one classic schlock has played ad nauseam. And yes, it is Rush’s magnum opus. Of all the album’s in Rush’s iconic catalog, it’s Moving Pictures that stands head and shoulders above the rest, providing a snapshot of the power trio at arguably the most integral moment of their career. The radio-friendly fare of Permanent Waves laid down the foundation for songs like “Red Barchetta” and “Limelight”, equally as melodious and anthemic in their delivery. “YYZ” was yet another show of technical prowess, and “Vital Signs” serves as a sort of prologue to the synth era.

Ironically, the album’s biggest hit, and subsequently the biggest hit of Rush’s career, is anything but commercial, but isn’t that the story of Rush’s life? “Tom Sawyer” is dark, brooding, and confrontational, boasting anti-authoritarian lyrics, gut-churning synths, and metallic textured guitars. And yet in a crowded playing field of sappy power ballads and by the numbers radio rockers, “Tom Sawyer” broke the mold entirely, catapulting Moving Pictures to unparalleled commercial and creative heights. Overplayed as it may be, it’s for good reason.

If someone said to me, “Joe, I’ve never listened to Rush before. Where do I begin?”, I’d point you to Moving Pictures. It’s not Rush’s heaviest or most technical or most emotional or most over the top, but it is their best, encapsulating the past, present, and future of Dirk, Lerxst, and Pratt into a 7 song platter of musical perfection. I’ve never asked for much in the lifetime, so allow me this one wish: When I die, bury me with my vinyl copy of Moving Pictures. Thanks.