Organic innovation: the lyricist Neil Peart claimed “gave a certain edge” to Rush
Before Neil Peart made an even bigger name for himself as the drumming superhuman in Rush, he left his signature touch in various bars across Canada. When he was finally invited to meet Geddy Lee and show off everything he had been working towards, Lee wasn’t entirely convinced… at first. “He went behind this small kit, and because he’s quite a tall guy, he just looked huge. Then he started playing these drum rolls with his feet, and it just blew me away,” the musician recalled.
Of course, Rush was much more than just Peart’s technical drumming; Alex Lifeson’s complex guitar work and Lee’s unmistakable vocals also contributed to the band’s distinctive sound, creating a unique blend of progressive rock and hard rock that resonated with a wide audience. This collaborative energy allowed them to explore complex musical journeys, resulting in groundbreaking albums like 2112, Moving Pictures, and Hemispheres.
Moving Pictures was a particularly intriguing chapter for the band, as they decided to focus more intensely on creating radio-friendly music that was significantly shorter and more condensed than their earlier material but didn’t stray too far from what drew audiences to them in the first place. Because enduring hits like ‘Tom Sawyer’ sit on this record, it’s no surprise that Lee once regarded it as the optimal project to start with when getting into Rush for the first time.
Creating the album was also like experiencing an unexpected burst of energy. After scrapping the idea of making a second live album and getting to work on new material, Peart couldn’t wait to get into the studio and work on the new sounds they had been thinking of, and Lee and Lifeson soon caught the same level of enthusiasm, lost in the feeling that this would be one of their most career-defining decisions to date.
Working with lyricist Pye Dubois also injected the work with a newfound flavour, particularly considering that one of his suggestions was the genesis of what would become ‘Tom Sawyer’. According to Peart, Dubois was paramount to much of what ended up forming the entirety of Moving Pictures because, often, he would have ideas that Peart would then transform into sounds and songs.
“He had a strange way of writing in these exercise books that were just laden with this street edgy kind of lyricism imagery,” Peart explained to George Stroumboulopoulos. “[His ideas] were kind of formless, but I’m kind of good at imposing form, so it made it a good combination where I could extrapolate really good passages and give them shape into a song.”
Regarding Dubois’ impact, Peart added that it gave the band a certain edgy quality that wasn’t prominently present before. He explained: “It affected us musically. The first time we collaborated with Pye like that, it gave us a certain edge to the music and a certain Max Webster influence in a way, too, that pushed us in a different way.”
Creating the album may have seemed like a monumental task, but working collaboratively while keeping up an organic, pressureless atmosphere meant that semi-accidental masterpieces like ‘Tom Sawyer’ could thrive. In a way, it’s this level of openness that allowed Rush to flourish, embracing various ideas and the willingness to stumble upon musical territory never before explored, resulting in a band that truly believed in the power of creativity and innovation.
