Saturday Afternoon Rock Roots: Rush

While 2112 isn’t my favorite album, there’s this. I like the whole thing surrounding The Temples of Syrinx, and here it is, in two parts; 1976, B&W, and when they were all still long-haired hippies. I like Part II a little more, which I’ll explain after the show. Oh, and watch Lifeson tune his guitar mid-solo at about 6:10 or so on Pt 2.

They say that The Blues is the root of rock (true), and that Folk is the root of country (true too). But I think that this sort of themed album-rock is a bit different. One goes from hard-driving rock to some tender moments (especially in Pt 2) and I have often thought that for Rush and a few others — even Led Zep at times and certainly Pink Floyd — what really prefigures their music is Classical music. I have a lot of classical that I listen to often, love, and I can never escape wondering what the fuck Mozart could have done with an electric guitar, bass, & a drum set.

Remember, Rush has always been a 3-man power band, never more that I’m aware of. They ought to go down as the greatest rock 3-man power band in history.

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Richard Nikoley

I started writing Free The Animal in late 2003 as just a little thing to try. 20 years later, turns out I've written over 5,000 posts. I blog what I wish...from diet, health, lifestyle...to philosophy, politics, social antagonism, adventure travel, expat living, location and time independent—while you sleep— income by geoarbitrage, and food pics. I intended to travel the world "homeless," but the Covidiocy Panicdemic squashed that. I became an American expat living in Thailand. I celebrate the audacity and hubris to live by your own exclusive authority and take your own chances. ... I leave the toilet seat up. Read More

2 Comments

  1. Unamused Mouse on March 14, 2010 at 07:46

    I thought you had to be Canadian to understand/get/appreciate Rush. 🙂
    This is my favourite song of theirs.

  2. Patrick on March 16, 2010 at 21:59

    Awesome – great to see a confluence of two of my main passions: Rush and nutrition.
    Rush is in the studio and about to announce a summer tour. Lifeson has tried low-carb dieting in the past but I don’t know if he’s into it now.

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