Podunkian Music Club

Rush- Spirit of Radio

Tonight’s selection for the Club is Toronto’s Power Trio RUSH, a wall of sound that has been flowing across Canada for almost forty years.

A Canadian dynasty that still rolls along on the A list of venues, still puts out the discs and has become one of the nation’s and world's most recognizable bands. One of the best selling bands in music history with multiple gold and platinum album sales and legion of fans to proclaim them the kings of the progressives.

Made up of Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson, they provided an offering of the full tilt blast, one that continues to come straight at you and is still blazing as though they still in the garages and rec rooms of Willowdale.

From the debut self titled album of 1974, RUSH became one of the few exports from Toronto that found acceptance from sea to sea to sea and beyond.

The early success of Fly by Night and By Tor the Snow Dog announced their arrival on the music scene, combining artistic achievement with commercial success.

Destined to soon find themselves as a long time staple of the FM airwaves, they all but defined the album rock era of radio, by the time they released Exit Stage left in 1981, they were pretty well the house band for many a Canadian radio station.

The most adventurous of their early music was 2112, an album which like many of the era, was long and orchestral in approach (as orchestral as you can get with wailing guitars and pounding drums), but it was the center piece of the concept album era.

Known best for their high energy live concerts, they became one of the early bands to make the most out of the live album concept, the All the World’s a Stage recording from 1976, took many Canadian kids to the show, even if they weren’t near an arena.

Our selection tonight, Spirit of Radio comes from the Permanent Waves recording first released in 1980. It reflected a new vibrancy to the band, a growing appeal world wide and a song that pretty well guaranteed any radio station that had the jams would play the tune until the grooves wore out (the CD version would offer unlimited play in years to come).

There’s much more in the RUSH library, and future sessions of the club will explore the many shifts in the RUSH dynamic. But the trip down the musical lane will stop with that crossroad in the bands evolution from 1980. For the feel of a live RUSH show, we fast forward our journey and take our clip from the Canada Rocks sessions of 2003. It was a day long party to celebrate Toronto featuring some of the biggest names in rock and a homecoming visit for the band from the burbs.

It was a day where they plugged in with the likes of the Stones and AC/DC to name but a few. On a hot Toronto afternoon the band were equals on the stage, but most likely were number one with the crowd.

Artist-Rush
Recording-Permanent Waves