Geddy Lee on the golden years of Rush: “That was my happiest time in the band”
Every iconic band usually has that period where it feels like they are untouchable. Whether it’s in the studio pumping out records or being second to none when they took to the stage, nothing could really match what they did once they decided to throw down a handful of tunes. The Rolling Stones had that period at the end of the 1960s, and Stevie Wonder had it when first working on Music of My Mind, but for Geddy Lee, the best period of Rush came right after Vapor Trails.
Then again, one of the best parts about Rush’s catalogue is how much variety they have in the mix. While they started off as the typical boogie-woogie band that anyone would fawn over in a blues bar, adding Neil Peart to the mix turned them into progressive rock juggernauts in one fell swoop.
Throughout their work from 2112 to Hemispheres, fans usually got their fill of iconic prog-rock movements. Although many aficionados would consider that era the best, the group were just getting started. On both Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, the Canadian icons turned themselves into amazing hitmakers, somehow managing to make a song in 7/4 palatable for the mainstream on ‘Limelight’.
And even if you have a weak stomach for the kind of synthesiser sounds on records like Grace Under Pressure, they have earned their place as either emotional heavyweights or glorious cheese, depending on the song. Nothing seemed out of the question for Rush, but Peart experiencing two personal tragedies in a row put their career in jeopardy.
After having to deal with the loss of both his daughter and wife within a few months of each other, it didn’t look like the band would ever play again until they made Vapor Trails. Discounting the awful initial production, this was the album where Rush felt rejuvenated again, finally getting the chance to play music after they were certain they were done for good.
Looking back on that period, Lee thought that record up until the band’s final performance was the sweet spot of their career, telling Louder, “I would say that the period from coming back after Neil’s tragedy to the very end were really the golden years for me. I felt like I appreciated every gig, every note that we played. The camaraderie that the three of us had, I never took it for granted, not one day. So I would say that was my happiest time in Rush”.
That period also coincided with one of the most interesting career resurrections a band has ever made. Outside of making great music, the endorsements from everyone from Billy Corgan to Paul Rudd to Trey Parker and Matt Stone made the band usually reserved for nerds actually seem pretty damn cool in their old age.
It’s not like they had lost their touch, either. Throughout those “golden” years, albums like Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels are amazing pieces of music that saw them expanding even further, whether that was lyrically on ‘Faithless’ or musically on tracks like ‘Caravan’. Rush probably could have retired after Neil’s tragedy and still done alright, but that meant missing out on some of the greatest rock and roll of any classic rocker’s twilight years.
