The song Rush thought was never going to work: “It was improvised”
Imagine if making a surefire hit was an exact science. Given that I was useless at science in school, I’d be no closer to being a successful musician than I am now. But for the scientists among us, it’d be the ultimate opportunity. Maybe not the most lucrative, given streaming numbers, but you’d land a headline tour pretty quickly – and that’d be fun. Given how prolific The Beatles were, you’d think someone had cracked the science behind songwriting, but for many bands, including Rush, it was always a stab in the dark.
While they may have played the part of prog-rock dorks, they certainly didn’t have a scientific formula for greatness up their sleeve. Nevertheless, they were a stunning live band who may not have alchemised a formula for chart success but certainly figured it out for live performance. The combination of bassist and singer Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart dazzled audiences with their almost virtuoso-like style.
Like all great artists, they have a calling card song that transcends their own career and captures the ears of any listener, be it a dedicated fan or a wide-eyed newbie. Their 1981 hit ‘Tom Sawyer’ platforms the band’s most cherished asset, Neil Peart’s drum parts, while telling the tale of a modern, free-spirited rebel to become a rousing anthem for 1980s tearaways ultimately.
Despite its overwhelming success, the band’s frontman, Geddy Lee, initially had some reservations. “We always have one song, on every album, that doesn’t quite click,” Lee said. “And we thought that Tom Sawyer was going to be the one. Which just goes to show you we don’t know what we’re talking about!”
Perhaps what endeared it to fans hearts is its unbridled representation of the band’s rhythm section and particularly Peart’s drums. He became somewhat of a prog-rock icon for his unrelenting drumming style that platformed the band’s perform live improvisation.
“The drum is so detailed, but when we go into the middle to the odd time part,” Peart told CBC, “It was improvised. I got lost and I punched my way out of it and somehow came back to the one. And that improvisation became a new part…. It’s one of those key parts that I love and it was absolutely a mistake that I just got lucky and got out of.”
The very fact it straddles the line between improvisational genius and a mistake-ridden recording is perhaps what leaves it a song of conflict in the eyes of the band. Grateful indeed for it being their standout hit but perhaps frustrated something more accomplished didn’t go on to define them as a band.
