Five songs that Rush need to play on their reunion tour
Recently, the world of prog rock received some of the best news they could possibly imagine: Rush is reuniting for new shows.
When drummer Neil Peart passed away, there were a lot of people who thought that the band may have played their last gig, including bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee, who described him as the perfect man behhind the kit and hence that the idea of finding someone who could fill his shoes felt like a non-starter, noting, “I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances. And how do you replace someone who’s irreplaceable?”
While Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee never stopped jamming together, to honour their fallen drummer and friend, they skipped playing the Rush songs; however, those tracks eventually crept in, bringing with them a novel realisation. Yes, they missed their friend, but their catalogue was a celebration of him and his life, triggering happy memories rather than sad ones, so it made sense to start playing them again.
Now, since we don’t know what the setlist is likely to contain, with plenty of different tracks to choose from that will invite much debate, we will look at the top five songs that should be non-negotiables on it for these additional shows.
Five songs that need to be in Rush’s setlist
‘Closer to the Heart’
Simply put, you can’t have a Rush setlist without ‘Closer to the Heart’ on there. Amongst the backdrop of classics that the band and fans so happily celebrate, this track remains one of the best things they’ve ever put out. Imagine the atmosphere in that room the moment this classic begins, and you’ll be hard-pressed to disagree.
Released in 1977, the song stands out against the complicated backdrop that is Rush’s catalogue. It also feels oddly fitting in today’s society, given the theme involves problems that can occur within the government and how people in positions of such power should initiate harmony among themselves. That’s the kind of message that the whole world can get behind during such high periods of volatility that persistently plague the news.
‘2112’
Okay, this one’s a bit of a given, seeing as Rush have played this live more than any other; however, it’s such a great number that its importance must be emphasised. ‘2112’ is widely considered an entry-level song for anyone who may not have listened to the band before, and when a song is championed as such by fans, it needs to make its way onto every single setlist, regardless of how many times it’s been played already.
The idea of getting to see these great musicians take to the stage together, but not have them perform what isn’t just one of their best songs, but is one of the best songs in prog rock, would be a travesty so great I’m afraid of putting it into words. Let’s just call a spade a spade: ‘2112’ is a classic, and it needs to be heard.
‘Red Barchetta’
I’ve always been a huge advocate for the song ‘Red Barchetta’, not only because it’s a great one, but I argue that it highlights what it is about prog rock that listeners are so often drawn to. It takes the classic elements of rock and expands upon them, giving listeners something exciting and mind-bending that it’s impossible to turn away from.
In this instance, the classic rock theme is the idea of freedom lying in the engine of a good car, which in this case was, you guessed it, a Red Barchetta. However, Rush expands upon these ideas of freedom by placing the car in a world of science fiction and developing a whole story around it. The result is an intense narrative that perfectly highlights the merits of the genre, and the appearance of which on a definitive setlist makes perfect sense.
‘Tom Sawyer’
Taken from the 1981 album Moving Pictures, ‘Tom Sawyer’ is one of Rush’s biggest hits, and while I hate to simply draw on the classics, this is Rush at their very best, and it’s a song that people need to experience in the live environment.
It highlights Rush’s great storytelling ability once again, as a lot of the themes that they write about, as you may have guessed, surround the famous story of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The lyrics were put together by Neil Peart and Pye Dybois, so it would be a great tribute as well, playing one of the most famous songs he put the words to for the world to see.
“Tom Sawyer was a collaboration between myself and Pye Dubois, an excellent lyricist who wrote the lyrics for Max Webster,” said Peart, “His original lyrics were kind of a portrait of a modern-day rebel, a free-spirited individualist striding through the world wide-eyed and purposeful. I added the themes of reconciling the boy and man in myself, and the difference between what people are and what others perceive them to be, namely me, I guess.”
‘Limelight’
Finally, the song that needs to be at the centre of everyone’s attention is named after the idea of being the centre of attention. ‘Limelight’ sees the band talk about the pressure that comes with success, but also acts as a celebration of how they have survived despite that burden. With such a vulnerable theme at its heart, this seems like the perfect song for a reunion.
“Success puts a strain on the friendship and it puts the strains on your day-to-day relationship, and it’s something that we did go through, you know, we’re not immune to it,” said Peart, “But we were able to overcome it just through our closeness and we were able to help each other with difficulties like that and then we could deal with the pressures and things and that.”
