What was the first Rush song released with Neil Peart?
A Rush concert may have had all the feminine energy of the Battle of the Somme, but you could be absolutely certain of one thing. The three guys on stage, bassist and singer Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart would put on a display of such dazzling technical virtuosity you’d forget that no one around you had showered that month.
Seriously, the Toronto prog-metal dorks had the kind of chemistry together you really don’t see anymore. In an age where musicians are solo artists or playing for solo artists, a band like Rush were a brilliant throwback. Their longevity and unmistakable style make the last two decades of their career arguably their most successful.
It’s no surprise that when Neil Peart retired from music in 2015 due to the health issues that would sadly claim his life in 2020, Rush chose to retire as well. They knew that no one could ever replace the legendary drummer, so they didn’t even try. Throughout their career, Rush always seemed like the kind of band that could only exist with its iconic lineup. But did you know that for their first album, they had a different one?
In fact, the band’s sole founding member is technically Lifeson. He formed the band with two neighbours of his in Willowdale, Toronto, including original drummer John Rutsey. Gary ‘Geddy’ Lee joined the band soon after, making the band briefly a four-piece, until the band stabilised around Lee, Rutsey and Lifeson as a power trio in 1972.
A year earlier, the Canadian legal drinking age lowered from 21 to 18. This meant the band, barely out of high school, could start playing the Toronto bar and club circuit and focus on the band full time, playing shows six nights of the week. When the band started writing songs of their own to fill out their covers set, divisions started to form between the trio.
The three of them were all die-hard rockers, obsessed with Cream and Led Zep. However, Lifeson and Lee were getting increasingly fascinated by prog bands like Yes and were writing increasingly complex material that the more down-to-earth Rutsey had no interest whatsoever. Their self-titled debut album reflected Rutsey’s taste, though; what do you expect from a record that has a song on it called ‘Working Man’?
It was a hit, too. It was not critically acclaimed, but it was enough to get them noticed. Just as the band signed their first major label record deal, a bigger problem would strike before the tensions between the band could take their toll. Rutsey had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and Rush’s intense show schedule was taking its toll on his health.
Something had to give, and smartly, Rutsey stepped away from the band amicably. This led to the band recruiting the man who’d arguably become their chief creative force going forward. Not content with being an absolutely staggering drummer, Neil Peart was also just as much, if not more, of a nerd than his bandmates.
Sharing their passion for progressive bands like Pink Floyd and Genesis, while his voracious appetite for reading made him eagerly take up the lyric writing duties that Lee and Lifeson were too busy noodling to put much effort into. Thus, on July 29th, 1974, the core lineup of Rush that would spend the next 41 years playing together finally solidified. Fittingly, the opening track of their second album, Fly By Night, bridged the gap between these two lineups.
‘Anthem’ started life as a composition that Rutsey had worked on before leaving, with most of the music handled by Lee and Lifeson. Once Peart joined, he added a new lyric and thus, the band wrote one of their first genuine classics. A number they’d be playing live right up until their very last concert in 2015.
