The Writer

A Farewell To Kings History And this is where it all began, for me. I think the sequence was that I had heard 'Spirit of Radio' (of course), and been intrigued - I was still at school at this point, about to leave home and move to Edinburgh - in between that and 'Moving Pictures' being released, I basically went Rush mad, buying pretty much everything I could lay my hands on. I remember it went something like this - I heard 'Closer To The Heart', probably on the old 'Friday Rock Show' (Tommy Vance, RIP), and then 'Farewell' somewhere (maybe a friend had it on a compilation tape), and so this was what I bought first. Right up until I fell under the spell of 'Grace Under Pressure' (and more about that when the time is right), this was my favourite of them all. (Except for the 6 months or so when I played 'Moving Pictures' to death; but I think I managed to overdo it, and I went back to this.) I remember all of this so clearly; how it all fitted together; how it moved so easily, confidently , from classic song to classic song. I remember thinking there was not a weak moment on this; I think I might not quite agree now; let's find out, shall we?

Oh, I don't think I'd be doing this if I didn't enjoy it! Interesting comment, though. I'd sincerely hope I was being judgemental - that's kind of what I'm trying to do here - in the absence of any current music which excites me the way Rush did when I was younger, I'm trying to find out just what it was that I loved so much, and - as I go along - identifying whether it was all as good as I thought at the time. I had a pretty uncritical ear back then (I owned records by Krokus, for God's sake), so I'm intrigued to see how it stands up now. So far, I've loved the vast majority of it - odd tracks seem to me to have not worn particularly well, but it would be truly staggering if that were not the case. What I hope I'm not doing is being critical for the sake of it; if I find something less than perfect to my 40-odd year old ears, I'll say so, but equally, if something makes me bounce around with excitement still, I'll say that, too. I love many different kinds of music, including a great deal (but by no means all) of classical. I find the distinction odd and sometimes unhelpful, which is why I keep bringing it up, I guess. For instance, I'd say that anyone who loves the musicality and complexity of this period of Rush really ought to try some of the early 20th century symphonies (Shopstakovich, Mahler, Bruckner, etc) - once you get used to listening to it, you'll find a lot that is familiar. Or maybe that's just me. Anyhow, I have A Farewell To Kings still to cover; I really should be doing that.

Thanks, RG - I didn't actually expect anyone to go and look it up for me! That's interesting, then - it seems that the tour was a kind of 'greatest hits' set rather than a plug for the new album, which I suppose makes sense, since most of their live audience will be there on the strength of '2112' - might as well introduce them to the older stuff. It introduces a topic which has always intrigued me - Rush are one of the few bands (in my experience, anyway) who reintroduce material later on which was not played live at the time when it was new or current - I remember there's a song on (I think) 'A Show of Hands' which had not been played live before. Just another way this bank keeps surprising. Might I say at this point that I am thoroughly enjoying this exercise - so much music I had half-forgotten (and one or two I had completely forgotten); I've even been moved to get the guitar out and try to play some of this stuff. Badly.

By-Tor and the Snow Dog OK, so from a technical point of view, how do they do all those effects? At times it sounds like there are about 8 people up on that stage, and this all sounds pretty sophisticated for 1976. I guess it's actually normal for that time - this is the era of Prog, after all, but it still sounds prety accomplished from here. The live version of this is just as riveting as the original, and appears to have even more drums on it, if such a thing were possible. In The End I had actually forgotten this was on here. By now Geddy's voice is sounding a little mellower - feeling the effects of an evening at full stretch, perhaps? The introduction is positively laid-back, and then - "One, two, buckle my shoe" - it's on with the main event. Now, this is definitely slower than the recorded version. It sounds pretty menacing in places - and long, too. A bit of a tour de force, this - I think I prefer it to the original. Working Man / Finding My Way We must be nearing the end, now - round things off with a couple of old favourites which they can play in their sleep by now. Amazing to listen to the drums on this now - Neil's playing takes this into another league - much more of a showcase for the whole band than just a guitar workout. The instrumental passage is bubbling along nicely, then falls over the edge of a cliff into 'Finding My Way' - neatly done, and so is the climb back up into 'Working Man'. It all fits together really well, and just when you thought it was all over... ..."Ladies and Gentlemen, The Professor on the drumkit". I remember the first time I heard this; I was (and remain) blown away - every band has to allow the drummer a solo, none - I mean none - of them come even close to this for musicality and sheer joy of playing. I keep expecting to hear blasts of horn, but this early version of the classic Peart solo has everything else, including the seeming ability to play four different rhythms at once. Short, sharp and to the point, this leaves us wanting more (but then, all Neil's solos leave me wanting more...) Thank you. Goodnight, then (of course there's an encore): What You're Doing Yes, we'd like a little more, thanks - a quick blast through what now sounds like an old blues standard, and it's all over, bar the offstage noises, which make me laugh out loud, because I'd completely forgotten about them. Summary: That was a blast - haven't heard it in ages, but it's a real snapshot of the time; halfway between gigging out of the back of a van, and full-length stadium tours, the guys have all the stagecraft, and seem to be really enjoying their day jobs. Incidentally, I know it's traditional to see this as the punctuation between pahse one and phase two of the Rush career, but I tend to see Rush studio albums in groups of three, so this comes a third of the way through phase 2 for me - I can hear a difference between the '2112' tracks and the others - but either way you look at it, this is a great live album - one of the best.

Bastille Day "Would you please welcome home..." That always sounded cool to me - imagine coming back to your hometown, triumphant, selling out huge venues where you used to play to a handful of friends and family. First impressions - it's tight, well-practiced - good opener, you need something to grab people from the off, and this will do nicely. The balance of instruments is good live - just as I suspected it would be when I reviewed the studio version - I'm sure there are effects and so on to come, but this is just three guys doing their thing. One thing - why do all crowds everywhere always feel the need to yell out into any silence? Just asking. Anthem Woah; Geddy speaks! I remember this being the first time I'd hear his speaking voice. Now, I'm not sure whether I prefer my live performances to be full of chat to the audience or not; I think that in Rush's case, the music kind of speaks for itself, but it's good to hear some information about a song sometimes. Must be hard, though, to play shows for months on end and still find something interesting to say about anything. The song is fluid and pretty faithful to the original - I imagine this is a point of pride for these guys at this stage. Fly By Night / In The Mood Barely a pause for breath here - straight on with the show. What I'm hearing here is the bass sound - I wonder how difficult it is to concentrate on those bass lines while singing. Even by this point, I suppose Geddy's had enough practice! Abrupt change for In The Mood - somehow, it works, but the juxtaposition is a little awkward - these two songs are not exactly natural bedfellows, are they? Of course, the drumming stands out as different from the original, but not hugely so - it just couldn't be anyone else. Something For Nothing And the contrast with this is quite dramatic - I'm trying to hear if this feels a little less well-rehearsed than the others, but it doesn't. I remember seeing bands in the past who were playing tracks from their new album which they seemed to be barely familiar with, but this just feels like an old friend. It's been pretty full-on up to now; the question is, how do they handle the change of pace which must be coming? Lakeside Park My previously documented ambivalence to this aside, this is pretty much the perfect song for this point in the proceedings - taking the pace down a little, using the introduction to let the audience as well as the band catch their breath, and it works better than I'd have thought - I think that the solo sounds more spontaneous than on the studio version, and the audience seem to be well into it. I didn't skip it this time, must be a good sign. And at the end, I want it to go into Xanadu... 2112 ... but obviously, it doesn't. How I remember the disappointment of realising that this was not the full version - no Discovery? At least, that's how I remember it. The overture is damned impressive; boy, these guys can really cut it live! Syrinx is a lot less strident than the recorded version - you couldn't really do that to your voice night after night, I suppose - and for me it's all the better for it. The segue into Presentation works pretty well, although the narrative loses quite a bit - it would all sound a bit odd if you hadn't heard it before. The vocal contrasts are handled well - is Geddy leaning away from the mic as the priest, lending a sense of distance to the proceedings? Whatever, it works. "The sleep is still in my eyes.." - listen to that rich baritone! Another section has been skipped, but with less damage to the story this time. the final lyric is pure Robert Plant - never noticed that before. And then the Finale, which seems slightly faster than I remember it - always a danger when playing live, I suppose - but it's as creative and complex as ever, and really works in the live context. Did they take a break in the show at this point? I suppose they were young and fit back then; maybe there was no need... I'm going to take a break, though - back in a moment.

All The World's A Stage History I love live albums. I think I tended to buy live albums rather than compilations, since they were at least different versions of songs, and - to my mind, anyway - a better indication of what a band could actually do. Also, there tended to be interesting stuff on them which you couldn't get elsewhere - I'm a completist, remember? This was the first live Rush album I owned (by the time Exit Stage Left came out, I already owned everything else), and for a time, it was my favourite Rush album. After a while, though, I noticed that I didn't play it much at all - probably because I preferred the newer stuff, but also possibly because I think this is an uneven selection. Looking at it now, it seems to me to be a record company-driven exercise in getting people to buy the back catalogue. (at the same time, I'm not sure that's true, because I imagine this is a pretty faithful representation of the live show at the time.) I'd love to know (yeah, I know - it's on the web somewhere!) how much of the recorded show never made it on to vinyl; interesting to know what the full show was like. Or maybe this is the full show - sets would have been shorter in those days, I guess. Anyway, I've been debating with myself how to approach this - I've only just finished talking about most of these songs, so I think this will be slightly more cursory than usual. I've got plenty to say about A Farewell To Kings, though, so that should make up for it.

A Passage to Bangkok Yeah, I remember this. Can I say straight off that the little 'shorthand for being in Asia' fill is about the cheesiest thing Rush ever recorded, but it still makes me smile. Apart from that, I remember this well - one evening in Edinburgh, I was pub-crawling my way home and found myself in the Southern - not a pub I visited often, but it was known for having a decent rock juke box. I think I was looking for some Warren Zevon or something (I had a bit of a reputation in those days for putting odd things on jukeboxes), but I saw the word Rush. Abandoning my beer goggles for a moment, I managed to focus enough to put it on. It was this, a live version, and presumably the b-side to something; I don't know what. Whenever I heard it after that, I smiled to myself at the thought of the unsuspecting punters in the Southern being subjected to the Rush stoner's anthem. And that's another thing - how long did it take me to work out what it was about? I'm not saying, but I lived a sheltered life. So, once you get chopsticks out of the way, what is there to say about this? Not a huge amount, really - it's the ideal light relief after the storms of side 1, and it's just a simple riff and a pleasant melody. Kind of sticks in the brain, though. Just to reiterate that the production values are superb now - even something as light as this feels solid and crafted. The Twilight Zone A little descending figure, and we're straight into it. If (unlilkely, I know, but work with me here) you were listening to this without knowing about the TV show, you'd be a little lost, I think. I love the way we transition to the chorus - that fluid bass still gets me. What's interesting about it now is its gentleness - this is almost an acoustic number - at least until we get to the solos, and then there's something I had never before noticed - the whispering! I wish I'd been able to listen to all this stuff through crystal clear headphones when I was 20 - I'd have been in transports... Lessons I don't remember this at all, and I'm not sure if it's going to stick with me after this, either. I detect the hand of a guitarist here - it's a real guitarist's song. In a way, this feels like the last gasp of the old Rush - there's a more basic, blues-based feel to this. I have to say that it all fits together perfectly well, with the possible exception of the screeching of the end of the chorus - not sure that's entirely neccessary, but it is what it is, I guess. It has its moments, but not too many of them. Tears And so does this. A little oasis of calm in the midst of all this, it has one of the great guitar intros - I can't tell you how astonished I was one day to discover that it's just a transposed C chord, and it's another of those little figures that I play whenever I pick up a guitar - once you know it, you don't forget it. So, I can't work out if this is all orchestrated, or if it's just synth work - I suspect the latter, but it's good enough to make me wonder. In the end this is not what we think of when we think about Rush, is it? It's a song which would have been perfectly acceptable if done by someone else, but just doesn't quite seem to fit with the rest of what's here. Odd. Something For Nothing But this is much more like it! Just listen to that bass - there's so much going on in the introduction that I'm lost in the music when I'm suddenly assaulted by those so-famuiliar 'Rush' chords and swept up into the sheer enthusiasm of the thing, irresistibly so by the time the solo comes along. So hard not to air guitar along... I also still love the lyrics - how often do you hear this kind of philosophical sentiment expressed in a four-minute rock song? There's aeven a full-blooded scream in the middle of all this pondering on the responsibilities of the individual in the modern society. Ah, I love this band sometimes. Summary Well, it's legendary. That in itself is enough to make it difficult to talk about, and familiarity just adds to the difficulty. But I'm hooked all over again. I think I had forgotten that side 2 does have its weaker moments, but overall, this is a fine package. It's easy to see why things just took off from heere - here's a mature band of excellent musicians, doing what they do so well. It rewards careful listening, and how many 29-year old albums can you say that about?

2112 Overture Right, let's get this out of the way first. It's absolutely not (in my view, of course) pretentious to use words or concepts like 'Overture' in rock music. I know I'm preaching to the converted here - at least, I hope I am - but this kind of thing can spoil perfectly good friendships, you know. So we have an overture. A proper one, just the way Mozart or Wagner would have done it - weaving in the themes from the whole work, and prefiguring the whole thing, while at the same time playing the oldest trick in the book - the one that modern-day pop song writers imagine they invented: letting us hear the melody of the chorus up front, so that when it comes around, it's already familiar, and you are even more predisposed to liking it. Just as Mozart previewed the big arias, so Rush here give us snippets of the big riffs and themes, softening us up for the main event. When it starts, I'm immediately whisked back to my little room in Edinburgh. It doesn't matter how long it is since I heard this, I'm never going to mistake that synthesised swirl for anything else. Immediately, I can see that all the lessons learnt over the last 3 albums have been put to work here; the arrangement is tight, the production awesome. At times the bass leads the way, at others the guitar dances a jig; at all times it sounds like the mature Rush sound. This is where it all falls into place. I'll even forgive the explosions. Temples of Syrinx A seamless segue from the cataclysmic end to the overture, and we're straight into an anthem which is meant to sound like - well, an anthem. Here's the strident voice used to its proper effect - there's no mistaking what's going on here, and for all the joyful bounce of the melody, we're under no illusions that this is a facade, and the manufactured happiness is just that - manufactured. The lyrics deserve a mention here - sinister without there being anything you could put your finger on; I always loved "Oh, what a nice, contented world" - chilling in it's naive simplicity. As we move along, I'm struck by a Rush trademark, which I must have overlooked earlier - suddenly guitar and drums are the rhythm section, while the bass does its thing, and the sound created is unmistakeable. I'm strangely pleased at having put my finger on something I'd always taken for granted. Discovery Possibly the boldest thing they've tried so far; I have always loved this. The spare, picked opening is utterly convincing (although it is a rare talent indeed who can pick up a guitar for the first time, and never hit a bum note) and if the development to harmonics and then structured melody is rather rapid, let's not forget that this is a narrative device, not a literal guitar lesson. The melody is still highly effective, and the sound is possibly unique in all of Rush music - is this the only track which features only guitar and voice? Presentation The crux of the whole thing; the pivotal moment, and it doesn't disappoint. The melody flows logically from the previous section, and the narrative voice blossoms from the earllier uncertainty to the strong, true sound - we can hear he has right on his side - Which is why the contrasting voice (Father Brown; an odd resonance for me - I somehow doubt that G K Chesterton was high on Neil's reading list, but you never know) is so devastating. "Yes, we know; it's nothing new" is possibly the single most crushingly dismissive line in all of recorded music. So much so that the remainder of the song is a kind of anti-climax; just going through the required motions (which is what the characters in the story are doing) until we can reach the devastation of the breakdown, and the pained howl of the guitar solo. Oracle: The Dream (How many song titles have a colon in them? Never mind.) Putting aside for a moment my initial reaction (a male Oracle?); what strikes me about this is the way the vocal line leads the rhythmic pattern. This is unusual for Rush, and it stands out for me; more usually, the voice serves the rhythm and is emphasised by it in return; this is odd, prompting me to wonder if it was compsed differently to normal. Or maybe I'm just hearing things. Soliloquy Sparsely orchestrated, here the music tells the tale just as well as the words. This is ultimate despair, and the breakdown is complete - as the music boils over, so the voice is lost, becoming in its final agonies almost a caricature of the Priests' voices - the irony, I am sure, is entirely intentional. The abruptness of the end still seems a little shocking, but there are time constraints here, and we do understand that this was the only course which seemed open to him. It's just a little - sudden. Grand Finale If you're going to have an Overture, you'd better have a Finale, and this is a beauty - satisfying the classical geek in me with its two competing themes, cleverly intertwined with the darting guitar solo. If I have a quibble, it is that the ending is obscure, but then I realise that it may well be deliberately so; who wins this battle? Just who has taken control, and of what? You can read it both ways and the music doesn't help, either. I think that, as a younger man, I assumed that the good guys had won, that the Elder Race had come back to sort everything out. Now, I'm older and more cynical, and I'm not so sure - my feeling is that the music tips us the other way, that the nascent revolution caused by this suicide has been brutally stamped on. But I could be wrong. What's not to like here? A song cycle, properly constructed, with themes and counterpoints, narrative tension and an unresolved ambiguous ending. No wonder I like Mahler... In the end, am I amazed? No, not quite, but it's still pretty damned good, and I am happy to have found new things in something which I knew so well.

Yup, still here. Lost my notes is all. Found 'em now, though.

2112 History: I've been scratching my head over this, I really have. I feel like I've owned this forever, so it must have been my first Rush album, yet I know it wasn't. I know I owned it before 'All The World's A Stage', because I remember getting that home and being disappointed by '2112' being edited highlights. It wasn't first, then, but it was close to it. A thousand years have passed me by since then, and although I have heard most of this relatively recently (I own a copy of 'Different Stages', remember, and I had two tracks from side 2 on my mp3 player months ago), I wonder if the original version still has the power to amaze? Because that's what I really remember about this - being amazed by it; I was a big ELP fan as a teenager, and I wasn't new to sprawling epics, and concept pieces (although I can't honestly say that the lyrics of Pete Sinfield prepared me in any way for the Solar Federation) but I was blown away by this. Wonder if I still am?

Hey, feel free to comment, agree, disagree, call me pretentious, whatever. Like I said, this is just an exercise for me (although it's one I'm thoroughly enjoying); I put it here because I thought you guys would like to see it. If I don't get any feedback, I'll still keep doing it; if I do, it makes it all the more enjoyable. And, yeah, maybe some of it comes across as pretentious, but I like to think I'm applying a little more thought to it than your average rock review. I won a prize once for reviewing a classical concert, and I don't really see why this music should be treated differently; it has the same effect on me, after all. (Well, almost: I don't think I've ever played air guitar to any Shostakovich - although air drum is a different matter) And no, as far as I know, I don't know anyone on here. Don't got no sidekick, don't got no manager. Jest li'l ole me.

The Fountain of Lamneth I: In The Valley I have no idea what to expect, here. There must be a reason why I don't remember listening to this - I generally give everything a fair listen, but this is all (with one short exception) completely unfamiliar to me. I'm afraid my heart sank when I heard the opening; why would they do a Stairway to Heaven track? However, it very quickly redeems itself, and resolves into a terrific Rush riff, and a veritable mini-epic. The two vocal styles really clarify the story (we're going to hear that device again, as I recall) and the story is clear - the tale of a life, the 6 ages of man. Love the ending - crisp, clear chords, very Rush, very effective. My spirits are suitably uplifted. II: Didacts And Narpets (Presumably 'parents' is not a cool word). Wow. All together now: Heeeere's Neil! This puts a huge grin on my face - fills and rolls which still get an airing 30 years later, originated here. Fantastic, if a little too King Crimson. III: No-one At The Bridge Part three is the 'troubled twenties'; unsure of what life will bring, our hero feels adrift and aimless - gone is the certainty of youth, to be replaced by a nameless dread. Ditch the sound effects, and this will be a great song. It's interesting that there was obviously not enough confidence in the ability of the music to give the nautical feel, so we have seagulls and waves, just in case we don't get it. But I love this, and not just because it's a tightly put-together song. Long, long ago, in a flat in Edinburgh, I taught myself to play this: the rippling low-end arpeggio, and the sudden shift to chords. It took me ages to transcribe from sheet music, but was (and is - I still play it whenever I pick up a guitar) deeply satisfying to play. The weird thing is that I barely remember the recorded original, but of course I know it intimately. To hear it again after all this time is shocking - I thought the chorus had more power chords in it, and the voice more panic - probably that's just the way I did it. Now I hear it again, I notice two things - it's just fine the way it is, and my left hand is unconsciously fingering the 'sea swell'. Cool. As we near the end, the bass goes practically subsonic, a very powerful effect, and Alex lavishes a glorious solo all over it. Love it. IV: Panacea OK, I gots to know: is this the Canadian pronunciation of 'panacea'? 'Cause it set my teeth on edge, and I needed three listens to appreciate that this is actually a mighty fine song. The redemptive power of love is a hackneyed concept, but this is beautifully done, from the 'Farewell to Kings' opening to the sumptuous chorus, I'm right there with it, and find myself humming it for days afterwards. At this point, I should mention that the production on this whole album is excellent. I hear it particularly here, where the mix of instruments and voice is just about perfect - the drums are almost inaudible in places, subsumed to the common good, and it's a little jewel of a song as a result. V: Bacchus Plateau (or: Days of Wine and Roses - so much of this whole side has been done before, but it all sounds fresh. Impressive work, guys) I'll ignore the fade in (as you know, I'm not a fan), and concentrate on the song. Take this section in isolation from the rest of the song, and - although it's very much a Rush song - you could just imagine someone like The Byrds having a hit with this - all 12-string and harmonies. The first time the chorus hits, it's a wondrous resolution of the early tension (like all the best music), and because it feeds on Neils middle-age wannabe status, it's probably the strongest of the six parts here. Quite exceptional bass and guitar work, too - once again, I love the solo. We're firing on all cylinders here, but I have to deduct a mark for fading out. Sets up the finale beautifully, both lyrically and musically. VI: The Fountain And here we are - journey's end; life's end and it appears we go out the world backwards. Part 6 is, of course, part 1 in reverse, but where 'In the Valley' was a little cumbersome lyrically, this has been well-tempered, and flows nicely - musings on spirituality, even a hint of Buddhist reincarnation. Certainly the drum fills have been reincarnated from the first section, although I think that's a different solo. Nice staccato ending again. And then we complete the reverse journey with a recapitulation of the opening, followed (to my surprise, as I was about to switch off) by a reverse chord. Neat. You know, if this was split into six songs, and didn't suffer from a ) being on 'Caress of Steel', or b ) being a 'concept', this would be some of the best-loved early Rush stuff. 'Panacea' and 'Bacchus Plateau' in particular are really strong songs, and deserve a wider audience. Much to my surprise, this is probably my favourite so far. Summary: I always thought this was the weakest Rush album. I think I was wrong (although don't ask me to make that call just yet) - I'm going to have this in the car from now on, principally because I love the whole sweep of 'Fountain of Lamneth'. If you haven't heard this, or have forgotten about it, do yourself a favour. If you have, and you don't like it, try just listening to side 2 - there are definite weaknesses in side 1, but they are easily compensated for by 'Fountain.' As always, just one guys opinion. Your mileage (kilometrage?) may vary.

Hey, it's OK - I'm here - horribly jetlagged, but I'm here. Will try to post tomorrow - asuming I can work out when tomorrow actually is...

I'm going to interrupt myself at this point to explain that I'm not going to be around for a while. I've said all along that his will move at its own pace, and that pace is going to slow for a bit. Essentially, we're all off to Canada for 2 weeks, and I'll almost certainly not have time to update this while I'm away. What I will have time for, though, is to listen - I hope to get reasonably far ahead by listening and taking notes as I go. Then when I'm back, I'll probably flood this place with my observations. I had really hoped to get 'Caress of Steel' finished, but packing for a family of four is taking longer than planned, and I still have to go to work now and then... Still, I can tell you that I've listened once to side 2, and I was more than a little surprised by it... Try not to lose this thread while I'm away, will you? Thanks.

Bastille Day No problem here - this is another of those well-loved Rush classics. Great riff, fantastic drumming, creative instrumentally, and those lyrics - just your average rock 'n' roll song about the social implications of the French Revolution... If I had to find fault with it, it would be nit-picking - the king has knelt, Neil - we have a perfectly good past tense in English; no need to invent your own one - but that's it, really. An observation, though - they're getting really good at these dramatic staccato chords, something which is one of the real early Rush hallmarks, but there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing. No problem here, but it would be easy to get carried away. Hm, another observation - I'm finding it hard to find interesting things to say about songs which are extremely familiar to me - I really like this song, but there are only so many ways I can say that. Still, this album's off to a cracking start; where next? I Think I'm Going Bald Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. All I remember of this is that it's terrible. A ridiculous title, and I seem to remember that the song's not much better. What were they thinking? Still, before I criticise it any more, I suppose I'd better listen to it... Wrong, Writer, wrong. If I might be permitted a little advice from 30 years in the future? Guys, this is a pretty damn good song - a little too 'early Rush' for some, I fear, but a good thing to have on an album where you stretch the boundaries of the 'new Rush' - it kind of bridges the gap, and will help to bring people with you. Just one thing - change the title. Call it, oh, I don't know 'Peace of Mind' or 'Tempo Fugit' [sic] or 'The Terrible Revenge of the Green Slimy Thing'. Call it anything; just don't call it that. Please. There truly is nothing wrong with this song - heard in the context of the first album, it would be a fine thing indeed - still showing those Zeppelin- and Who- based influences; perhaps trying a little too hard to be witty (witty is not something this band does well - at least not yet), but honestly, it's pretty good. Listen to it someday; you might be as surprised as I just have been. "I'll still be grey my way". Amen to that, brother. Lakeside Park Sentimental; nostalgic - how old are you, Neil? 50? 60? Come on, keep this stuff in the notebook and bring it out when you need to boost the retirement fund. Frankly, I used to like this song; it's kind of inoffensive, and has some nice lines, but listening to it now, I get the vision of a man who can't wait to be middle aged (see song with ill-advised title above). And it doesn't feel right. This song does not go with this album. It might have fit better on the second side of 'Fly by Night', but I'm not even sure about that. And here's a thing - how easy is it to sing something like this, when it's not your memories? I had never thought about this before, but I reckon Geddy doesn't sound all that convinced by what he's singing. I may be wrong, but I just get some odd feelings about this. I've been listening to these on average three times through before committing my thoughts to keyboard. Third time through, I skipped this one - first time I've done that. I realise some of you may love this song to death. Sorry. The Necromancer I really had to scratch my head to work out what I was going to say here. Musically, this is teriffic stuff - Alex' solos are quite breathtaking in places, and the whole thing more or less hangs together - I'll come back to that 'more or less' in a minute, if I may. So what was wrong? Why did I come to the end of this and still feel unsatisfied? I'm actually delighted to have rediscovered it, because there are musical ideas in here that I hadn't remembered, and I can really see where the seeds of '2112' are. And the problem isn't that some of these ideas get reused in other, later, songs - that, to me, is one of the marks of greatness; the ability to learn from your earlier efforts, and improve on them. No, the problem is only clear to me when I pay closer attention to the lyrics - in fact, to the way the lyrics interact with the music. It just doesn't work. It doesn't work on two levels, possibly three. Firstly there's the treated voice introducing each section. It took me a while, but eventually I realised where I had seen it before. It's 'Winnie the Pooh', isn't it? 'Chapter One. In which our Heroes set off to find the Necromancer, but it doesn't look good for them' I can't figure out the purpose of having this spoken - it just removes all the drama from the sung lyric. Secondly, the sung lyric just doesn't bring anything to the party. We already know what's going to happen, and then Geddy sings it to us. This is bad enough in the first two sections, but it's the third where this really doesn't work. After we're told about Prince By-Tor's victory (and incidentally, is this the same By-Tor? Or is it a common enough name in Ontario?) we hear it set to music, and that leads me neatly to... Thirdly, the music does not fit the lyrics at the most crucial point of the song - and this is what I meant by 'more or less' earlier; we hear the three heroes despair and sorrow; the music is perfect for this, then suddenly, there appears to be an almighty battle going on. Where did that come from? What's going on? Have they escaped and are battling their way to freedom? Once the exhilaration of the battle is over, we're told that a mighty deus ex machina has swooped in from another song entirely, and won the battle for them. Then Geddy sings about it, by which time we're struggling to remember what it sounded like. Don't get me wrong, there are some teriffic things going on here, and as a dry run for what came after, this is extremely useful - the idea of the introductory passage is properly relegated to the lyric sheet by the time we get to '2112' (as I recall), and the music is allowed to help the lyrics tell the story. In the final analysis, this is a fascinating piece of Rush history - a bit like growing up in public - and I'll happily listen to it again, but I'll try not to pay too much attention to the lyrics.

Caress of Steel History: Not much to add, really - I owned this as the third part of 'Archive'; I played it least, and I'm not sure why. I know it has a reputation as the weakest of the early albums, and perhaps I agreed with that - perhaps I just went along with what people said. I know that 'Bastille Day' and 'Lakeside Park' apart, I have not heard any of these since the mid Eighties (but I can still play part of another of them on the guitar - more of that later.) I'm looking forward to finding out why I didn't like it.

Fly by Night This one's tricky. A thousand memories wash through me as I hear the opening bars - this is a song which has always been with me. It seems to have spoken to me throughout my life, and it still does. Without giving too much away here (there are plans as yet unmade, and people as yet untold), we are planning the kind of life change which fits well enough with 'Fly by Night'; not an escape, but my ship isn't coming, and I'm tired pretending. When I first heard it (I'm assuming it's on 'All the World's a Stage; I haven't checked), I had not long left home. All alone in the big city, I bought Rush albums to keep me company, and 'Fly by Night' helped me realise that I was doing the right thing (I do find that what I'm after is changing every day; that's OK). Two years ago, I was back in Edinburgh for the day, but Phoenix Records on the High Street is long gone, sad to say, and everything has changed. Listening to this again should make me feel warm and nostalgic; instead it makes me want to get up and do something about my life. Time to move on again; it's been 4 years in this one place, and we're coming to the end of it. When I write the story of our experiences, some of the chapter headings will be lines from songs, and one of them will surely be: Change my life, again... Making Memories On the other hand... Nope, don't remember this. It's kind of, well, acoustic, in feel - I can imagine it being busked on a street corner, or late at night in a packed Grassmarket pub - there's a folkishness to it which surprises me a bit at first, but then I remember Zeppelin's 'Gallows Pole', and I suppose that it's not such an unusual sound for its time. (Not that I think it sounds a lot like 'Gallows Pole', but there's a certain vibe to it.) Second time round, I pay more attention to the lyrics. It's already registered with me that this surely isn't one of Neil's, and now I suddenly realise that it's that staple of the repertiore, a tour song! Man, life on the road is so tough; lucky we've got good memories to sustain us. Oddly, for a song I am not that impressed with, it stays with me; the chorus - such as it is - has a neat hook, and I'm humming it all day. Rivendell Ah, yes. Tolkien. Now, I've done my share of reading, and I've ploughed through Lord of the Rings more than once, but I think that my interest in it is more academic than imaginative. By which I suppose I mean that I've never felt inspired to write a song from the perspective of one of the characters. But I do understand people who are inspired like that - I have felt like living in many other books (I'm currently immersed in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, and there's a series which could inspire all sorts of creativity. Incidentally, I keep conflating Stephenson and Peart in my mind; they seem somehow similar people; I wonder if they've met?) All of that notwithstanding, I'm not sure about this song. I remember it, sure - as a full blown acoustic ballad, it kind of stands out in the Rush repertoire - and I thought I knew what to expect, but I'm still slightly unnerved. Partly this is because I'm listening through headphones, and Geddy appears to be perched on my left shoulder, which is very disconcerting. Partly, I'm trying to work out what the background sound is - eventually, when I hear that some of it sounds like some of the guitar work in 'Xanadu', I realise it's Alex being creative. I'm also wondering who wrote the melody line which causes Geddy to rupture himself reaching the highest notes. Out of context, this is a lovely song. In the context of the whole Rush oeuvre, this is a bit of an oddity. In the context of this album, it kind of works, but I'm glad this wasn't the path they followed. In the End Remember that stuff about me loving songs which begin quietly and build? Well, this was for a long time, my favourite Rush song of all. I fondly imagined being in a rock band of my own, and doing a cover of this. (Oh, come on, we've all done that. Haven't we?) On listening to it now, I see it very much as the bridge between old and new; even allowing for the fact that this band is only 2 albums old, this is a long way ahead of where they used to be. There's a consistency to this song, and it closes the album off perfectly. To dive straight into something raucous would have been too much after tha pastoral idyll of 'Rivendell'; instead we are led gently down the garden path, and set up so that the eruption into the body of the song seems inevitable and welcoming. Summary: This was always one of my favourites, and I can see why: great tunes (I still think 'Fly by Night' could have been an excellent pop song); variety; cohesiveness; even a kind of 'concept' feel to the thing - especially with the way the second side (it'll always be the second side to me, even on CD) has a different sound, a different feel, to the first, only to be rounded off by 'In the End' bringing us full circle. It's the first album with that true 'Rush' sound, where you can hear all the elements, and understand how three guys can make such a full sound. Once this exercise is over, this is one of the albums I'll keep coming back to.

Good doctor, I'm flattered. If people want to keep this stuff, then please feel free. Otherwise: otherwise.

Anthem I know things are going to be a bit different now- it's a given, isn't it? So what exactly am I looking for? Of course I hear the drums immediately (and I'll come to the lyrics in a moment), but what I hear most of all is tone and structure. From the start, this is a song performed by a three-piece. Each strand of the music is clear (and all four parts are given equal weight - no more drowning everyything in multi-tracked guitars). This is a clean sound, and the song really benefits from it. The structure is instantly more interesting than anything on 'Rush' - the various sections hang together, the instrumental parts are there for a reason, and the music works with the words, not just as a rhythmic device to distract you from their banality. Words. I'd better declare my position up front, because I'm going to deviate from it often enough. I don't believe Neil Peart to be a poet. I actually don't even think that he's the greatest wordsmith in modern music - and I don't think he's ever tried to be. What I believe he is, is the most consistently interesting, thought-provoking and musical lyricist in rock music. And the most important word in that list, for me, at any rate, is 'consistent'. This may not be the first song he ever wrote; it may not be the first Rush song he ever wrote, but straight off the bat you notice two things: 1. He's on the arrogant side of thought-provoking ("Don't let them tell you that you owe it all to me"? Er, hello, Mr Peart; I don't believe we've been introduced. Who are you , exactly?) From 30 years away, it's a familiar and somewhat wry comment on the perils of fame, but just think for a minute about the fact that it's the first time anyone's heard a Peart lyric. Wow, that's confident. 2. You don't understand it first time out. He doesn't use words like 'baby', does he? How many other rock lyrics include the word 'wrought?' I'm going to have to go back and listen again to figure out what's going on here. The first time I heard this, I was studying the metaphysical poets. This made me think almost as much to figure it out. How can you not love something like that? Best I Can Woah, hold on there, guys. Where did this come from? One song into the new era, and we're right back among the dinosaurs. It must be a hangover from the first album, and I suppose you might as well put it here to draw in those who loved that, and haven't quite got over the shock of 'Anthem'. However, you do notice all that drumming poured all over it, which kind of raises it up the scale a bit, and there's a nice breakdown section. But it's not the best thing on this album, is it? Another 'last' - is this the last time we hear Geddy sing the words 'Rock 'n' Roll'? Beneath, Between and Behind Two things straight off. When I heard this again for the first time in twenty or so years, I thought it was the riff to 'Lakeside Park', only to be brought up short. It'll be interesting to hear how similar they actually are when I get there. Then I thought I was getting 'Bastille Day', thanks to that initial yelp. I'm not sure if that says more about my memory than it does about the song. Actually, now I listen more carefully, it does seem to be a dry run for 'Bastille Day' - all that stuff about 'noble birth' and a certain briskness to the structure. Considering I only dimly remembered the title, and thought it was two other songs, this has since stuck in my head quite pleasantly. As someone might say, it's nifty. By-Tor and the Snow Dog Before I even start, I'm looking forward to this. It's the first of the really extravagant songs, and I remember it well - there's something orchestral about it in my memory, and although I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy lyrics, there's something comforting about this because it is still, after so long, utterly familiar. Incidentally, I was never a big fan of fantasy writing either. Then I was introduced to Guy Gavriel Kay. Trust me, you should try him. He is Canadian, after all. So, for an eight-minute epic, this doesn't hang about. Two quick verses, fairly traditionally structured, and suddenly we're off. Now I can see why Neil's writing works so well. The complaints I had about the instrumental sections in 'Working Man' have all been addressed here - this is integral to the song, and all this musical sparring serves a narrative purpose. How tedious it could have been to write (and listen to) "Then By-tor leaps at the Snowdog's throat, but with one swipe of his mighty paw...' Yawn. Instead we get thrilling musical battle, the greatest countdown in all of rock (6...5...4...3...2...Bang!. The timing is perfect, and the metre is maintained throughout), a wonderful funereal lament - mists slowly clearing over the battlefield, that sort of thing - a drum roll and a liquid bluesy solo, followed by the scrambled resurrection back into the verse. It's a lot shorter than 8 minutes, I swear. I'd write more, but I'm going to listen to it again instead.

Fly By Night History: When I bought 'Archive' (I just realised that I called it 'Anthem' back there. Old age, it's a terrible thing...) this was what I was buying. I already had 'All The World's A Stage', and so I knew that all my favourite older songs were on this album. The fact that it came chained to two others was just a bonus, really. So, I look at the tracklisting, and realise that the problem I had with 'Working Man' is going to be true for most of this album; I can still remember most of these; I can remember lyrics from 'By-Tor', and I have absolutely no idea when I would last have listened to it. These songs were part of my youth (for want of a better word; I was late teens - early twenties, I was living away from home for the first time; I had few ties, if any; I could spend all my money on Rush LPs if I wanted to) and they have stayed with me since then. Also - another confessional, folks - these are the songs I tried to teach myself to play. I even bought sheet music, and earned the callouses I still carry on the fingers of my left hand trying to play these songs. If the 'Rush' album was about rediscovery for me, then this one will be about remembrance.

What You're Doing The first thing I notice, before the song has even started, is that it's not called " What You're Doin' " - it's a small thing, but it's indicative of a certain class, I feel. We plunge straight into a familiar riff - do I remember this, or does it remind me of something else? I can't pin anything down, so perhaps my memory is still pretty good. Odd, random things occur to me as we go along - that drumming is actually pretty damn good; this is a song assembled in sections, and I can hear some of the joins; are Geddy's vocals going to be echoed all the way through? Turns out they are. Not sure that Im too fond of that effect. Still, I like the song. In The Mood The first song I've heard more recently than 1984, this was one of the ones I put on my original selection, mostly because it is absolutely the perfect rhythm for powerwalking to. It's a lovely riff and a great middle eight, just don't take the lyrics too seriously. Actually, there's a thing: Another of those things which bother me: The word 'baby'. I mean, please. Last taken even remotely seriously around the time of The Beatles' "Drive My Car", all it is by 1974 is a placeholder for those moments when you can't work out how to fill those two beats - goodness knows what purpose it serves now. I suppose it's probably gone through the ironic, 'Austin Powers' thing, and is now a kind of post-ironic cool thing to say. I wouldn't know; I'm middle-aged. Still, with any luck that will be the last time we hear Geddy singing 'baby' to anyone. Before and After Before and after what, I wondered to myself. Then I got about halfway through the song, and all became clear. I have absoultely no memory of this song, yet it is exactly of the type that the 20-year-old me would have loved - a lyrical instrumental gradually building to flat-out rock. I was a real sucker for that kind of thing back then. Thing is now, I can't hear the charms for all the thoughts crowding in on me. Firstly, that lyrical beginning; it takes three listens to work out what's bugging me - the skipped beat in the repeated measure at the beginning. They do it something like eight times, and it sounds odder each time I hear it. It's quite a good idea, because otherwise that repeated phrase might sound a bit bland, but it's a little unsettling to listen to at first. This is not a bad thing, you understand. Secondly, the two halves don't seem to gel - I don't hear the relationship of the second to the first really. That's probably from listening to too much classical music, where every theme is developed, and all the strands seem to relate. These two sound a bit too much like two half-finished songs glued together in the studio. I don't think they were two half-finished songs; but they sound a bit like it. Also, more doubled guitars, and now I realise what it reminds me of. Wishbone Ash. No, really - I wonder if there was any conscious or unconscious influence there? Also, guess what? Back there, that wasn't the last time Geddy sang 'baby'. Let's hope this one is... Working Man This is the first track which is difficult to sort out in my mind. First of all, I have heard it many times over the years; it's kind of a standard; part of the mental furniture. Also, it's a genuine classic, isn't it? So what can I bring to it save for some idle speculation about the mid section. Well, what the heck. Let's do that: I may be old and cynical, but this seems to me to be a triumph of expediency over intention. The record needs to be in the vicinity of 40 minutes long (20 per side, kids) and here's a song which, without the middle - it's not a middle eight, really, more a sort of middle sixty-four - would be a simple, one-riff plod. So this extended jam got shoehorned in; once again it doesn't really fit the rest of the song, but it doesn't half show off the musicianship of these three guys, and when we get back to that Black Sabbath-like riff, its an old friend. Having said that, it works superbly well; much better than it ought to. Summary: Well, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed time-travelling back to 1974. That album which I didn;t play all that much even in my Rushaholic phase turns out to be a fine example of its time - wearing its influences on its sleeve, to be sure, and lacking a certain something in the lyrical invention department, but if you're in the mood (sorry) for a little ealy seventies bluesy rock, you could do a lot worse than this. Baby.

OK, I'm back. I probably ought to say that I don;t know how often I'll be updating this - it depends on many factors, including how frustrating a day I've had and whether I have made enough time to listen properly. This will happen at its own pace, I think. Still, I'm here now - might as well post.

(By the way - I don't intend to post at this pace all the time; it's just that I have some spare time now, so I'm using it. Things will calm down; I promise) Finding My Way I wonder how many people there are who bought this when it first came out? How many of them stayed the course, and are still here, endlessly rocking? What can it have been like to know nothing about this other than what you can read on the sleeve, to put the needle carefully down on Side 1, Track 1 and hear this riff? What I hear now is the stereo separation - I realised, as I was powerwalking around the village earlier, that I had probably never really heard this through stereo headphones before. I genuinely didn't know that the guitar sound wanders from channel to channel at the start. It's really rather effective, and means that the entrance of the rest of the band is particularly satisfying, having been prefigured like that. (look, I'm going to try not to be pretentious, but sometimes it'll just come out. Sorry.) Pretty much all the Rush ingredients are right there: the voice, the bass, the guitar sound, the- Oh, hang on. What's the one thing we know about this record? That's right - it's The One Without Neil. Well, you know what - the drumming is just fine. Not pyrotechnic, but all things considered, it's more than just OK. The lyrics - well, that's a whole other story, quite literally. But, actually, on this track, there's nothing wrong. It feels right, it rocks along very nicely, and it stops. Personal quirk no.1 in a series of way too many: Why can't people write endings to songs? If you're going to play it live, you're going to have to work out an ending, so why not do it right from the start? Where did this practice of the fade-out come from? And why does it irritate me so much? I think I'm going to like this project - first track, and I'm ready for more. Of course, that's how it always used to work, wasn't it? The strongest track goes at the start of Side 2; the next strongest at the start of Side 1, and the complex, difficult one goes at the end. Do bands still do that? Need Some Love The first track I really don't remember, and it's really not what I was expecting at all. Now I've heard it again, I still don't remember it, but I can easily fit it into the time and place - here's a bunch of guys who have been listening to lots of British music, and extrapolating from it. I think this is what they used to call a 'fast-paced rocker' with a nice changedown into the chorus. Doesn't really do much for me - maybe it's the lyrics - but I have a clear vision of a sweaty club, and this song getting everyone bouncing. And are those guitars double-tracked? How did this sound live? Take A Friend Hoo, you're trying to annoy me aren't you? Fade - in? Eep. All together, boys and girls - can we say Led Zeppelin? I think that the ambience of hearing this on a mono record player with a dusty needle would have improved the lyrics no end; they really don't need to be heard in clear stereo, piped directly into my ears. Meanwhile, it's gradually dawning on me that the production on this is pretty damn fine, considering the time and place it was done. It's fun, but it's not going to be in the top ten personal favourites at the end of this, I can tell. Here Again Ah, yes - that's the other given, isn't it? The obligatory 'slow-burner' at the end of Side 1 - look; we don't just rock out, you know. Actually, this is pretty odd, hearing Geddy's voice over an instrumental track which could have been laid down by - I don't know, Mountain? Time I paid a bit more attention to the guitar solo, I think. And that just reinforces my first reaction to hearing this all again - musically, Geddy and Alex hit the ground pretty much fully formed, didn't they? That bass sound is already distinctive, and the lead is derivative, sure, but full of ideas. You can't help seeing this through the lens of 30 years of music, but they've definitely got something. Well, that's Side 1; think I'll call it a day for now. More when I get the time.

Rush History: Not the first Rush I heard, this has always felt like an oddity to me. I often wonder what would have happened if I'd picked this up instead of Deep Purple's 'Burn' when I was trying to impress my friends at school - would I have been disappointed by everything that came after, and pined for the rough, raw sound of this? Would it have led me to Led Zeppelin and all that clearly influenced this? I'll never know. What I do know is that I am a completist. I had several Rush albums, and I had to have this. Then I found it in a record shop in Edinburgh in the 'Anthem' triple-set, so I bought it, and instantly completed my Rush collection. This must have been early Eighties - I owned pretty much everything Rush had released in the UK, including copies of 'Battlescar' and 'Take Off'. I can't honestly say that I listened to it much - I was much more of a 'Moving Pictures' kind of guy, but it was there. I would have last listened to it all the way through about 20 years ago - probably more. I remember three tracks here, but I have absolutely no idea what any of the others sound like. I'm ready; let's go.

Introduction I first stopped listening to Rush sometime after 'Power Windows'. I don't really know why; I haven't stopped to analyse it too much; it's just one of those things that happened. Life went on; time failed to stand still; I got married, moved house, moved house again, changed jobs, lived life. One day I was contemplating the tediously pointless daily car journeys I was making, and decided to buy myself a Rush album to while away the hours. So, I bought 'Hold Your Fire' on cassette tape, and I got right back into it all again. I bought 'Presto' on tape, too. Then... Then, nothing. I stopped again - this must have been about 1990. After that, Rush was just this band I used to listen to. My musical tastes changed, and for more than ten years now the only concerts I have gone to have been classical ones: I heard a magnificent Grieg Piano Concerto on Friday night; remind me to tell you about it some time. Then I saw 'Different Stages' in a Virgin Megastore in Brent Cross one New Year - in the sale, it was, and I thought 'Why not?' And I was off again - it lived in my car CD player (I've moved on and - I like to think - up in cars since the 'Hold Your Fire' days) for months, and I grew to love all these old songs again. I even grew to love some of the new ones - that bass solo on 'Driven' is terrific, and I can't resist -er, 'Resist', being Scottish. Then - you're probably getting the idea of this now. Last Christmas, my family gave me an mp3 player. It's a nice one - a Creative Zen Touch - and it has room for lots of Mahler symphonies. And the odd bit of rock music. I loaded some things on there I hadn't heard for years - all that long-haired, sweaty music I loved 25 years ago - and I tried to pick just one representative Rush track to put on it. And, of course, I couldn't. So I loaded up representative tracks from all the Rush albums. And then I realised that wasn't enough; I needed more. At the same time, following an intense period of work, I felt the need to get back to writing again, and needed a project to stimulate me. So I hit on this utterly stupid idea of 'Rediscovering Rush'. I have been intrigued and fascinated these last few months to realise that these three guys mean more to me than anything else I listened to all those years ago. I'll be honest with you - they don't mean as much to me as some classical music does - please don't engage with me on the topic of Mahler's second symphony unless you want to be bored rigid by my private enthusiasms - but there is something special in their music, and I'd like to find out what it is. So, here's the plan. Over the next - well, however long it takes, to be honest - I am going to listen to the entire Rush back catalogue on my little Zen Touch - while I'm exercising; while I'm flying to Italy (or Canada, soon); while I'm sitting here browsing while I should be working, and I'm going to write about it all. I'm going to try to find out just what connects so strongly with me, and I'm going to try to find out what I think of all this music now - am I more critical now? Am I still excited by it? Will I fall in love all over again with something I'd completely forgotten? Will I make it to the end of 'Feedback' with my sanity intact? Tune in and find out. I don't really know where this will go, but I aim to have at least a little fun finding out.