Album title: Rush
Artiste: Rush
Genre: Hard rock
Year: 1973
Label: Anthem/Moon/Mercury
Producer: Rush
Chronological position: Debut album
Notes: The one and only Rush album not to feature longtime drummer Neil Peart
Album chart position: 105 (US)
Singles: “Finding my way”, “In the mood”
Lineup:
Geddy Lee: Vocals, bass
Alex Lifeson: Guitar, vocals
John Rutsey: Drums
Review begins
Although Rush would go on to become identified with the emerging progressive rock movement, this, their first album, is far more on the Zep/Purple side of hard rock, and you can hear Geddy Lee channeling Robert Plant in the opening lines of “Finding my way”, which would find its own way into their live set for years afterwards. Already though you can hear their particular sound being created, and it would be hard to hear this song and not realise it was Rush playing. It's a punchy and rocky opener, with great work from Alex Lifeson, and “Need some love” keeps everything hopping along nicely, even if it's hardly inspired lyrically, but at least it's short, then the first kind of smatterings of prog rock come through in the fade-in to “Take a friend”, though the song itself seems more a CCR or Steppenwolf idea. However there's really not too much to talk about until we hit “Here again”, where the boys break out their best blues chops, and at over seven minutes there's plenty to enjoy. Whether I'd call this a ballad or not I'm not quite sure, but it's slower than anything that has come before it anyway. This is the first track where it becomes clear what a guitar god Lifeson is going to turn out to be. Standout so far for sure.
Some more great guitar histrionics in “What you're doing”, with very much a Zep vibe but again the proggy influences were creeping in there, while “In the mood” is, surprisingly,
not a cover of the Glenn Miller standard (!) but a decent rocker which nods towards songs like “Something for nothing” and “Bastille Day”. Nice gentle intro then into “Before and after”, and it sounds like it might be a proper ballad, maybe. Actually, I think now it might be an instrumental. Hmm. No to both. Vocals just came in and the tempo kicked up in the third minute of the five it runs for. I guess the “before” in the title was the laidback guitar instrumental part and this is the “after”. Odd, though. “Working man” then closes the album, going back to the Zep/Free sound but slower than much of the rest of the album. Some very good guitar work on it, certainly. Great jam there at the end and a powerful conclusion. Again, I can hear little progressive elements leaking in.
TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS
Finding my way
Need some love
Take a friend
Here again
What you're doing
In the mood
Before and after
Working man
Afterword: Not, to be sure, an album to set the world on fire, and it didn't. In fact, it would take three more albums before their genius would finally be realised and Rush would be on the way to proper stardom. To achieve that, they would basically leave the blues and rock influences prevalent on this and their next album to one side, and concentrate on the burgeoning progressive rock themes beginning to surface here, and which would also come through on
Fly by Night, as Neil Peart joined and pretty much took over writing the lyrics. With a big progressive suite on that album, this would be the direction Rush would follow for the next three years as they produced classic albums like
Hemispheres,
A Farewell to Kings,
Caress of Steel and of course
2112.
Rating: 