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What was the real reason why John Rutsey left Rush?


YYZumbi
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The band and their inner circle have always been somewhat cryptic about it. I get why that gives some people reason to pause and wonder if there was something more. My sense, though, is the quiet, cryptic nature of their discussing it has less to do with anything malevolent, sinister, or secret, but more the fact the band knows it was a difficult and sad subject. It was something that was not pleasant, but was still probably necessary (similar to the later decision to stop using Terry Brown as producer), and speaking of it in any other fashion would be a bit cruel and disrespectful. Remember, we are talking about Alex and Geddy. At their core, these guys are polite, thoughtful, and reserved.

 

As others have mentioned in the thread, the general story is a mixture of "artistic differences" and "health concerns". The first being Rutsey was more interested in a straight forward rock style, while Alex and Ged were listening to and being influenced by early prog. The second being his situation with diabetes and the party lifestyle. Given that Rutsey never seemed to argue the point(s), it seems reasonable to believe the truth is somewhere along the spectrum between those two ideas.

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Spaghetti Lee rhymes with Funny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone else see the irony?

 

 

Hahaha!

 

No, the irony has passed me by.

 

It's like rain on your wedding day.

Or a free ride, when you've already paid!

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They said the tour would have killed him. His diabetes was pretty bad and he wasn't taking care of himself at home. Road life would have absolutely killed him.

 

He was a very good drummer. They did not have Neil to compare him to yet.

Rutsey? A very good drummer?

 

For what they were doing at the time, yes. Geddy and Neil's playing weren't totally developed yet either. Rush was a very straight forward rock album and he played well on it.

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As Trespass was mentioned i found it interesting recently to read on wikipedia Anthony Phillips left Genesis after Trespass because apparently he was getting stage fright.

 

Just sayin like...

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I could only imagine how he felt watching his buddies become famous, rich rock stars while he was just an average joe.

 

That must have been difficult, especially since it sounds like they didn't keep in touch and basically left him in the dust.

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The band and their inner circle have always been somewhat cryptic about it. I get why that gives some people reason to pause and wonder if there was something more. My sense, though, is the quiet, cryptic nature of their discussing it has less to do with anything malevolent, sinister, or secret, but more the fact the band knows it was a difficult and sad subject. It was something that was not pleasant, but was still probably necessary (similar to the later decision to stop using Terry Brown as producer), and speaking of it in any other fashion would be a bit cruel and disrespectful. Remember, we are talking about Alex and Geddy. At their core, these guys are polite, thoughtful, and reserved.

 

That makes perfect sense.

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They said the tour would have killed him. His diabetes was pretty bad and he wasn't taking care of himself at home. Road life would have absolutely killed him.

 

He was a very good drummer. They did not have Neil to compare him to yet.

Rutsey? A very good drummer?

 

I would say so. Just from a playing standpoint, he's the kind of drummer that a lot of people would want. He had solid time, he could groove, and he didn't overplay. That's like, the trifecta of good drumming traits. I think that he probably could've had a decent career in drumming if he would have kept it up.

He could only groove to the simplest rock music though. I remember reading an interview with Geddy where he said Alex and him tried jamming Anthem with Rutsey and he couldn't groove to it whatsoever. He did play well on the debut, very respectable. But I wouldn't go so far as to say he was "very good". John Bonham is "very good", Rutsey was fine Edited by Geddy's Soul Patch
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They said the tour would have killed him. His diabetes was pretty bad and he wasn't taking care of himself at home. Road life would have absolutely killed him.

 

He was a very good drummer. They did not have Neil to compare him to yet.

Rutsey? A very good drummer?

 

I would say so. Just from a playing standpoint, he's the kind of drummer that a lot of people would want. He had solid time, he could groove, and he didn't overplay. That's like, the trifecta of good drumming traits. I think that he probably could've had a decent career in drumming if he would have kept it up.

He could only groove to the simplest rock music though. I remember reading an interview with Geddy where he said Alex and him tried jamming Anthem with Rutsey and he couldn't groove to it whatsoever. He did play well on the debut, very respectable. But I wouldn't go so far as to say he was "very good".

 

John Bonham is "great", Rutsey was very good.

 

Fixed.

 

I guess I should say very good at what he did. He was 20 years old and his chops were not at the level of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. If he had stuck with music I'm sure he would have been an accomplished drummer. Maybe they just didn't agree on the groove Anthem had.

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I read something recently from an old interview where Alex says that John just gave up drums after he was let go from the band. Plus that he had hard feeling about it for a long time. That's sad.

That breaks my heart, he was a good drummer. It's always sad to see someone give up on a hobby.

 

Here's the link I was talking about.

 

http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/prog-04.2013.php

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I read something recently from an old interview where Alex says that John just gave up drums after he was let go from the band. Plus that he had hard feeling about it for a long time. That's sad.

That breaks my heart, he was a good drummer. It's always sad to see someone give up on a hobby.

 

Here's the link I was talking about.

 

http://www.cygnus-x1...rog-04.2013.php

 

Thanks for the link. That was an interesting read.

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I read something recently from an old interview where Alex says that John just gave up drums after he was let go from the band. Plus that he had hard feeling about it for a long time. That's sad.

That breaks my heart, he was a good drummer. It's always sad to see someone give up on a hobby.

 

Here's the link I was talking about.

 

http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/prog-04.2013.php

 

Great article, thanks for posting it!

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I read something recently from an old interview where Alex says that John just gave up drums after he was let go from the band. Plus that he had hard feeling about it for a long time. That's sad.

That breaks my heart, he was a good drummer. It's always sad to see someone give up on a hobby.

 

Here's the link I was talking about.

 

http://www.cygnus-x1...rog-04.2013.php

 

Thanks for the link. That was an interesting read.

 

I thought that was interesting how had had such up and down moods. Probably due to his diabetes and blood sugar. Interesting how things work out. If John hadn't been sick, Neil would probably have never joined the band...etc.

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They said the tour would have killed him. His diabetes was pretty bad and he wasn't taking care of himself at home. Road life would have absolutely killed him.

 

He was a very good drummer. They did not have Neil to compare him to yet.

Rutsey? A very good drummer?

 

I would say so. Just from a playing standpoint, he's the kind of drummer that a lot of people would want. He had solid time, he could groove, and he didn't overplay. That's like, the trifecta of good drumming traits. I think that he probably could've had a decent career in drumming if he would have kept it up.

He could only groove to the simplest rock music though. I remember reading an interview with Geddy where he said Alex and him tried jamming Anthem with Rutsey and he couldn't groove to it whatsoever. He did play well on the debut, very respectable. But I wouldn't go so far as to say he was "very good".

 

John Bonham is "great", Rutsey was very good.

 

Fixed.

 

I guess I should say very good at what he did. He was 20 years old and his chops were not at the level of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. If he had stuck with music I'm sure he would have been an accomplished drummer. Maybe they just didn't agree on the groove Anthem had.

 

Yeah, being able to naturally groove to Anthem is not really what I would call a litmus test for drumming quality at all. That song is right in Neil's wheelhouse. Not a whole lot of conventionally good drummers, especially in the 70's, could have cut it on a track like that.

 

Besides, simple rock is what most people want. Look at AC/DC! In a band like that Rutsey would've done just fine.

Edited by Dscrapre
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I read something recently from an old interview where Alex says that John just gave up drums after he was let go from the band. Plus that he had hard feeling about it for a long time. That's sad.

That breaks my heart, he was a good drummer. It's always sad to see someone give up on a hobby.

 

Here's the link I was talking about.

 

http://www.cygnus-x1...rog-04.2013.php

 

Thanks for the link. That was an interesting read.

 

I thought that was interesting how had had such up and down moods. Probably due to his diabetes and blood sugar. Interesting how things work out. If John hadn't been sick, Neil would probably have never joined the band...etc.

 

I had always questioned why he left too and didn't buy the official story. But, after reading this, I see there is a lot more to it. It sounds like he had other issues. Also, I had to laugh about Geddy getting the boot from the band. Good thing they brought him back.

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I read something recently from an old interview where Alex says that John just gave up drums after he was let go from the band. Plus that he had hard feeling about it for a long time. That's sad.

That breaks my heart, he was a good drummer. It's always sad to see someone give up on a hobby.

 

Here's the link I was talking about.

 

http://www.cygnus-x1...rog-04.2013.php

 

Thanks for the link. That was an interesting read.

 

I thought that was interesting how had had such up and down moods. Probably due to his diabetes and blood sugar. Interesting how things work out. If John hadn't been sick, Neil would probably have never joined the band...etc.

 

I had always questioned why he left too and didn't buy the official story. But, after reading this, I see there is a lot more to it. It sounds like he had other issues. Also, I had to laugh about Geddy getting the boot from the band. Good thing they brought him back.

 

Yeah no kidding. Also interesting to read about Alex and his acid trip and how he could be a bit of an ass too.

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^Not to mention Alex's 80's coke problem when Ged basically took over the band as well as the live sound. MP was so bass heavy live, but maybe it needed to be.
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