RUSH's 10 best songs

For rock legends RUSH, artistic integrity and commercial success went in the same direction.

Formed in Ontario in 1968, the band began as Canada's answer to Led Zeppelin, with a dense, blues-based hard rock sound. In 1974, RUSH's classic lineup was intact: singer-bassist Geddy Lee and his recognizable falsetto voice; guitarist Alex Lifeson and his deft ability to play anything; and drummer Neil Peart, a virtuoso behind the kit and also the band's main lyricist.

The first era of RUSH would score a couple of hits, but the band would quickly ditch the simpler power-trio approach for the distinctive progressive rock sound they would become known for. This was best exemplified by the inclusion of long, multi-movement compositions that would fill an entire side of an LP. Many of RUSH's classic albums from the '70s, such as 2112 and hemispheresincluded a side epic.

But the band was smart enough to balance those decidedly non-commercial long songs with quick-hit songs that could still exist on the radio, which RUSH would come to dominate in the late '70s and '80s. It was part of their genius: for every “2112,” there was “A Passage to Bangkok,” a shorter, more hook-focused tune. This is also a credit to each band member's world-class mastery of their instrument, allowing them to dial in both stadium-ready rockers (“Tom Sawyer”) and progressive workouts (“YYZ”) on the same slab of wax (moving images).

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group has earned 23 gold albums and 14 platinum LPs (three multi-platinum). Less empirically speaking, the Canadian trio's influence extends far and wide, specifically in the realms of progressive rock (where they have god-level status) and heavy metal, with Metallica and many others citing the compositions, concepts RUSH's lyrical and technical skills at the core. influences.

RUSH essentially disbanded in 2015 when Peart decided to stop touring, and the drummer would sadly pass away in January 2020 after a private battle with brain cancer. Since then, there have been questions about the possibility of a RUSH reunion (Lifeson seems hesitant, while Lee is more hopeful), although the remaining members have expressed interest in making music together in some capacity.

As we reflect on RUSH and their iconic career, we take on the difficult task of choosing the band's 10 best songs. For newcomers, it's a crash course in RUSH's ability to simultaneously handle artistic progressive rock and FM rock; and for loyal fans, another excuse, as if we needed one, to revisit these enduring and timeless songs.

–Jon Hadusek,
Senior Editor