Neil Peart on the album Rush perfected: “We nailed it”
Rush remain one of the biggest power trios that have ever taken to music. Regardless of how complex they made their sound, how many instruments they used, or the different arrangements that made up songs, they continuously stayed as a three and were always adamant about being a trio. The result is one of the tightest musical outfits ever taken to the stage.
“Every rehearsal, I was screaming, ‘I can’t do it!’” said Geddy Lee when talking about introducing new instruments into the band, “But it just felt wrong to have another dude onstage with us. We talked about it all the time – we still talk about it! But it’s a no-go zone; can’t do it.”
The band’s size means that when it comes to writing music, there are fewer brains available to contribute ideas, yet Rush’s music is some of the most exciting available. They had a sound that could be bent, so they inserted various genres into what they did, and they had an attitude towards music that meant they would spend hours in the studio until they got it right.
One of the biggest moments for the band was when punk and new wave music became popular. They adopted the use of synthesisers and a sound that was a lot more raw. Because of the versatility that already came with their sound, it didn’t sound like they were reacting to a musical movement when new wave became popular; instead, it sounded like they were adapting their sound, which they did with each album anyway.
During this period, the band created an album that Neil Peart particularly holds in high regard. “When punk and new wave came, we were young enough to gently incorporate it into our music, rather than getting reactionary about it – like other musicians who I heard saying, ‘What are we supposed to do now, forget how to play?’” he said, “We were fans enough to go, ‘Oh, we want that too’. And by Moving Pictures, we nailed it, learning how to be seamlessly complex and to compact a large arrangement into a concise statement.”
Moving Pictures was released in 1981 and ushered in a version of the group that continued to be musically expansive but also radio-friendly. The songs were tight and much shorter than those on some of their earlier records. The overall reception of the album was equally positive, as both fans and critics welcomed Rush’s new angle.
Now, it is still viewed as one of the band’s better albums as it showed their adaptability within music while still being true to what people liked about them. This is the sound that Peart says they nailed and it would seem that as time has passed, fans agree with him.
