The Rush song Neil Peart called “probably one of our best”
Rush was always a band that was unafraid to try new things, whether contemporary genres, technologies, or musical movements. The Canadian group always seemed to be throwing out new ideas and finding out what worked.
With 19 studio albums and 14 platinum records, this variety in their sound is perhaps unsurprising. The progressive rock trio were known in the early years for their long, epic songs incorporating a hard rock influence to prog, characterised by the undeniable drumming of Neil Peart, who replaced the group’s original drummer, John Rutsey, shortly after the release of their self-titled debut album in 1974.
From that point onwards, the band stayed true to their prog-rock roots but began incorporating different musical styles, too. Classic rock, synthesisers, and even new wave eventually crept into the way Rush created music. This wide range of influences were most prevalent on the track ‘The Spirit of Radio’, meant to imitate switching through radio stations in a car.
There seemed to be one sound in particular that stuck with Peart, though, and that comes in the form of ‘Red Barchetta’ from the 1981 album Moving Pictures. The album itself was a smash hit, reaching number one in Canada and remaining the band’s best-selling album in the US, but it is the second track on the album that sticks out to Peart as “probably one our best”.
‘Red Barchetta’ was named after a red Ferrari, and the song itself was inspired by a short story written by Richard Foster entitled ‘A Nice Morning Drive’, published in the early 1970s. Speaking to CBC Music in 2014, Peart explained, “My friend [Richard Foster] had published this story in Road and Track magazine, and it was set in a dystopian future where certain cars are outlawed. He used an MGB in the story, but I used my dream car, this red Ferrari”.
Talking about how the making of this track impacted on the band’s future songwriting, the drummer continued: “It was so cinematic for us, and we were learning to be concise, but also making soundtracks. It’s probably one of our best in that sense being a short movie, and every section is a cinematic accompaniment to the lyrics”.
Rush played their final tour in 2015, and Peart sadly passed away in 2020, leading to the end of Rush as we know it, although Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have played two notable shows together since his passing. His legacy and that of the band certainly lives on through the music, which is still being enjoyed by countless fans across the globe.
