The Rush song the entire band struggled to get right: “We rewrote that song”
While they might be the equivalent of musical Marmite, no one can doubt that Rush wasn’t fully committed to their craft. The band have become a byword for polarising music taste, as they either delight or depress listeners in equal measure.
But what isn’t up for debate is how dedicated the band was to their work. Each member of the group brought a special sense of themselves to the proceedings. Neil Peart was the dynamite drummer, as precise as he was powerful. Geddy Lee might not be a conventional frontman, but he certainly has a sense of power that is undeniable, and Alex Lifeson might well be the most underrated guitarist of a generation.
This meant that even when the going got particularly tough, the Canadian trio were able to pull it out of the bag and move into a new, more refined area, triumphing against the odds.
This dedication to their craft also meant that Rush stayed in their lane despite the changing of the zeitgeist. For instance, they became a prog-rock band with the disaster of 1975’s Caress of Steel, just as the genre was on its way out, with punk not far on the horizon, and made the blueprint their own. Elsewhere, the group experimented with a host of different musical palettes as they saw fit, ranging from metal to pop, with primary lyricist Neil Peart even drawing upon the controversial works of Ayn Rand to establish the group’s distinctive sound.
A law unto themselves, Rush were acutely aware of their limitations, which underpinned all of their most outstanding achievements. The best example of this is what transpired with Caress of Steel. Stylistically, the album saw the group break off from the more rudimentary rock of their early years and move into a more memorable prog area. However, it was too ahead of its time and was panned by critics and fans alike.
The LP was such an immense flop that Rush’s label, Mercury, even considered dropping them, with guitarist Alex Lifeson admitting years later that he was even debating quitting during this chapter. Yet, in a show of their mettle, the trio banded together and created the album that would start their most lauded chapter: 2112. An exemplary display of dedication to their art and the right attitude, most bands would surely have buckled in the face of such pressure.
This kind of ethos would continue to carry Rush throughout their career, with their attention to detail and refinement, one of their most commendable feats. According to frontman and bassist Geddy Lee, it would also give way to one of their finest later songs, ‘Cold Fire’, from 1993’s Counterparts. On the album’s world radio premiere, he revealed that the band “rewrote the song quite a bit” to get it right. It serves as a stellar example of artists striving to bring excellence to life.
Lee explained: “We rewrote that song quite a bit. And thankfully, I think Peter Collins’ presence really pulled that song together. He came in and he pointed out certain strengths in the previous versions of the songs that we had, and he really helped us reorganise that song.”
“I was having trouble with the verses, you know, it’s a tough song, when you’re dealing with this issue of male/female relationships, which is such a foreign subject for us to deal with, in a song,” he continued. “You want to make sure it doesn’t sound trite or hackneyed or you’re not just doing yet another — who needs another song about relationships? It took us a while to get the right mood, and I was really happy with the mood we ended up with in the verses, and I think, oddly enough, as much as it was a nightmare, that song for me, when I hear the record now, I think the verses are one of the strongest parts of the album, in that song.”
Neil Peart said of the track: “In ‘Cold Fire’ I have the woman speaking to the man and she’s smarter than he is. It was a difficult technical challenge lyrically, but those are the kind of things that now, after all these years, you start to feel you have the craft to take on. I don’t mind writing about love now, where I would have avoided that in the previous years just because of the inability to get beyond clichés.”
The song’s exploration of inner turmoil, human desires, and the quest for understanding makes ‘Cold Fire’ a compelling addition to Rush’s repertoire, showcasing their evolution as musicians and their ability to resonate with listeners through profound themes and expert musicianship.
Listen to ‘Cold Fire’ below.
