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Rush: A Brief History of Time
Scans Courtesy of Heiko Klages
Presented here is a collection of old Rush articles and interviews which I've dubbed Rush: A Brief History of Time. The items reflected below were provided by long-time reader and site contributor Heiko Klages of Germany. Heiko was gracious enough to share some of these rare glimpses into the beginnings of Rush and I'm certain you'll enjoy them as well.
Part I - Originally published on April 16th, 2009
An article titled Rush: Deadly Serious About Their Music, by John Ayearst, was originally published back on March 21, 1974. This early article is one of the few that discusses the band with late, original drummer John Rutsey. The article is in two parts and can be read here: Page 1 --- Page 2.
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Next up is a very early review of Rush's debut album called Rush Rock Sound Crisp and Strong by Bill Provick which originally appeared in the May 30th, 1974 edition of The (Ottawa) Citizen.
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 Later in 1974, Rush made what was probably their first appearance in Billboard Magazine with this articled titled Rush Hot On Circuit. This uncredited short article appeared in the October 19th, 1974 edition of Billboard and includes a rare picture of the band with Neil Peart. Alongside the band are Joe McHugh and Greg McCutcheon of "ATI"; the organization who booked Rush for their early, New York gigs. Also included in the picture is Rush's first "American" manager Ira Blacker. All three are mentioned in the liner notes from Rush's debut album.
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In March of 1975, the Music Canada Quarterly Magazine published a two-page spread on the band titled A Rush of Sound by Cliff Lorimer. There are a lot of interesting tidbits in this article including how, early on, the band was confused with other bar bands/trios who were also called Rush. Also of interest is the mention that, even back in 1975, Rush was thinking about recording a live album at Toronto's Massey Hall. About 15 months after this article was published, Rush did end up recording their first live album at Massey. We, of course, all know it as All The World's A Stage.
A Rush of Sound can be read here: Cover --- Page 1 --- Page 2.
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Next up is a short article/review simply titled Rush written by Geoff Barton. Mr. Barton is also well known for having penned the "words" behind both the 2112 Tour Book as well as the first volume of Rush: The Words and the Pictures.
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The March 1976 edition of Creem (America's Only Rock 'n' Roll) Magazine included a two-page article called Rush: Pebbles & Bam-Bam in Alphaville by Rick Johnson. Yep, you read that title correctly. Of course, any article that begins with... "The first thing you notice about Rush, according to one observer, is that they're not as gross-looking as Bachman-Turner Overdrive and they have a somewhat lower thud weight than most other Canadian bands.
...has to be, well, interesting. Check out the entire, interesting read here: Cover --- Page 1 --- Page 2.
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Here's an early advertisement for Rush's breakthrough concept album '2112'.
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Next comes an article titled How To Click Without Airplay. Published in the December 22nd, 1976 edition of Variety, this article, sub-titled Canadian Rock Trio, Rush, Brushed Off By Radio Station, But Sells Records is an interesting look back at how Rush, against all odds, did succeed. Apologies for the poor quality of the scanned article.
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Part II - Originally published on May 25th, 2009
Here's a fantastic 7-page article which appeared in the January 1975 edition of The Canadian Composer - a bilingual monthly music magazine. The article, titled Rush: Living the Rock and Roll Lifestyle was written by Richard Flohil and is presented below in both English and French-Canadian.
Rush: Living the Rock and Roll Lifestyle can be read here: Cover --- Page 2 --- Page 4 --- Page 5 --- Page 6 --- Page 7 --- Page 8 --- Page 9 --- Page 10 --- Page 11
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Up next is a short, uncredited article which appeared in the April 17th, 1976 edition of the UK music periodical Sounds. The article briefly discusses the similarities of Rush and Led Zeppelin from a Tolkien perspective. The article can be read HERE.
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 The next article appeared in the April 27th, 1976 edition of Circus Magazine, a monthly American magazine devoted to rock music. The 2-page article, titled Behind Their Space Odyssey `2112` was written by Dan Nooger and, obviously, focuses on the band's quintessential concept album 2112.
Note the caption under the image of the band on the first page of the article. Apparently, ZZ Top refused to let the band play an encore after the "stole the show" in Cleveland. Love it!
Behind Their Space Odyssey `2112` can be read here: Page 1 --- Page 2
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The next article, titled Rush`s Concept is Rock and Roll originally appeared in the June 3rd-9th, 1976 edition of Scene magazine. Written by Nick Shofar, this article discusses 2112 and how the band attempted to "get away from the stigma of Led Zeppelin".
This article can be read via the following two links: Cover --- Article.
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Finally we have an early Billboard Article on the band called Rush Rushes Into U.S. Prominence which originally appeared in the August 28th, 1976 edition of the magazine. Written by Starr Arning, this short article briefly discusses Rush's early years, their upcoming appearance on the Don Kirshner's Rock Concert television show and how they expect to put "...a lighter part in the middle of [their] show..." after they begin headlining concerts. Definitely an interesting read.
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Part III - Originally published on September 25th, 2009
Georgia Straight, Vancouver's Weekly News Magazine, did a cover feature on Rush back in September of 1977. Titled Rush: Canada's Most Successful (and least recognized) Rock Band and written by Tom Harrison, the article discusses Rush's fifth studio album A Farewell to Kings as well the fact that the band, even within Canada, isn't as well known as it should be. There's also a full page advertisement for all of Rush's albums at that point.
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The February 14th-20th, 1980 edition of Scene Entertainment Weekly (of Northeast Ohio), included a two-page, front cover article on Rush called Rush: Something Special for Everyone. You can read this article via the following two links: Cover / Page 1 --- Page 2.
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This next multi-page article/review comes from the January 1976 edition of the Ontario Entertainment Magazine Cheap Thrills. The article, titled A Solid Gold Rush discusses the bands first four studio albums along with their first live offering. The reviewer seems to enjoy Rush's music but had no appreciation for 2112 at all.
"I hate this one. Non-Rush fans have told me how much they like 2112, so maybe that's the point. Me? I think it's wretched..." Nice.
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The June 11th, 1977 edition of New Musical Express from the UK contained a dual/dueling article on the band called The Rush Phenomenon by Paul Morley and Paul Rambali. This one's an interesting take on the rise of popularity of Rush during the late seventies.
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This next article focuses more on the creation of Anthem Records than it does Rush, but it's an interesting read nonetheless. Titled Anthem Records - Success Spawns New Label, it originally appeared in the June 4th, 1977 edition of RPM Magazine.
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Up next is an interesting advertisement for 2112. Anyone else tired of seeing this particular image of the band? :-) Check it out HERE.
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This next one is for our French (and French-Canadian audience). The article, called Heavy Metal En Serie B - RUSH La Surprise is written in French by Alain Pons and originally appeared in the September 1977 edition of Best - #110. If anyone cares to translate the text I'm sure many of us would be appreciative.
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 This next article, which appeared in the July 23rd, 1977 edition of Melody Maker, a UK publication, focuses on Neil Peart. It's titled Drums & Percussion - Rush Hour and was penned by Chris Welch.
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Up next is a great article by famed Rush fan/author Geoff Barton which originally appeared in the February 5th, 1977 edition of Sounds, another UK publication. Titled Caress Of Steel - Poor Man's Zeppelin? - Or underrated scions of sword and sorcery rock?, Barton "states the case for Rush" in this in-depth look at Rush's career through that point in time. And yes, we're treated once again to that 'image' of the band that always seems to pop up :-)
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Continuing along the Geoff Barton line, this next article, which also appeared in Sounds in July of 1977 is called Rush Judgement - Neil Peart Talks to Geoff Barton. This article, which is sub-titled Tired of the Stress of the city, the Canadian power trio take to the wilds of Wales was written as Rush were in the writing and recording process for their fifth studio album A Farewell to Kings. Of interest is the fact that, according to this article, the album was originally thought to be called Closer to the Heart.
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This next article appeared in the September 17th, 1977 edition of RPM Weekly; a Canadian publication. Called Rush - an International Happening, it discusses, rather briefly, the history of the band from their debut album through All The World's a Stage.
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Up next is a short but very positive review of Caress of Steel which originally appeared in the February 12th, 1977 edition of the Record Mirror; a UK publication. The review, which is simply titled Rush: 'Caress Of Steel' was written by David Brown.
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Finally, we're left with a nice multi-page article from the December 1977 edition of Stagelife. Called Rush: Are They Afraid of Heavy Metal? and sub-titled Rush Reiteration, this article was written by Jymn Parrett who discusses his initial impressions of the band dating back to 'Rush' and continuing through 'A Farewell to Kings'. A very interesting read with a nice picture of Geddy & Alex in action.
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Part IV - Originally published on February 28th, 2010
 Let's travel back to March of 1977 for the first article to start off the fourth segment. Titled Rush & Foghat, by Richard Hogan, this Circus Magazine article discusses the touring duties of both bands as they travel across the United States. A rare, color reproduction with some great shots of the bands.
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Up next is an interesting article/review of Rush's 2112. Titled Rush to Judgement, this Creem Magazine article from June 1977 was written by Darcy Diamond who, along with his/her sister, take in a Rush concert that neither seem to enjoy all that much. A nonetheless interesting and humorous read along with some nice color shots of the boys.
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Up next is a triple-treat from a January 5th, 1978 edition of Circus Magazine. Though the magazine was scanned in black & white, it contains a brief review of 'A Farewell to Kings' by Michael Bloom, a nice article called 'Recognition is Only Half the Fun' by Max Thaler and a two-page Rush Tour Poster. There are also a few upcoming Rush tour dates listed. Of course, I included the cover of the magazine just to remind you all of the hairstyles that were mainstream back in the late 70's :-)
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This next lengthy article appeared in the January 28th, 1978 edition of the French-Quebec magazine called 'Pop Rock'. The article, titled Rush A Chicago was written by Marie-France Remillard and includes an interesting painting of the band. The article is written in French so I'm not entirely sure of the content.
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Continuing through 1978, the next article originally appeared in February 11th, 1978 edition of the UK music magazine 'Melody Maker'. Titled Heavy Side of Rush and written by Simon Kinnersley, this well written article has Simon slowly learning to appreciate Rush, to a degree. The article also touches upon Rush touring duties and the early history of the band.
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Next we have a short but positive article from the March 4th, 1978 edition of the UK music magazine 'Music Week'. Titled Is The Canadian Rush On?, this article discusses the success of 'A Farewell to Kings' in the United Kingdom and the growing popularity of the band and Canadian music in general.
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More from the UK, we have Power Pop?, a brief article written by Robin Smith who 'gets in amongst the faded denims and greatcoats to see Rush'. I particularly enjoyed the description of the band as 'an all Canadian earthquake band'. Apparently the boys played a song called 'Kanadu' though I can't imagine what that might have been :)
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 This next Netherlands article from the March 22, 1978 edition of 'Muziekkrant OOR' is called Rush Met Voetversnelling and features an interesting picture of Geddy that no doubt got him in hot water with his wife :) Written by Kees Baars with photos by Anton Corbijn, this lengthy article appears to discuss the early days of Rush and their touring prowess. If anyone can translate the text, please do let us know what else this article may reflect.
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Up next is a nice tribute to the then fifth anniversary of SRO/Anthem; Rush's production and management company. Click HERE to view the entire publication which includes some nice write ups about Rush and Max Webster, a hand-written and signed congratulatory note from the band as well as a brief biography of the band.
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Sticking to 1978, this next article, titled Rush'n Around, written by Peter Douglas, takes an in-depth look at the band's touring gear. This article originally appeared in the April 1978 edition of the UK magazine 'Beat Instrumental', hence the deep dive into the band's instruments.
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Moving back to the states, this next color article came from the May 11th, 1978 edition of Circus Magazine. The article, titled Rush Relive Their Early Years was published in connection with the band's release of Archives. Also included are some nice candid and concert shots of the boys along with some upcoming tour dates.
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Continuing along the 'Archives' theme, this next article also reviews the 3-album release. Titled Rush's Valuable Triple Echo, this short and fairly positive review was written by Michael Oldfield and originally appeared in the May 13th, 1978 edition of the UK's Melody Maker. Unfortunately, this next review of Archives, titled The Rush Problem was obviously less than positive. Written by Paul Morley, the author does seem to recognize the power (both musically and lyrically) of Rush.
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Up next is a somewhat famous (or should that be infamous) article/review written by long-time Rush fan Geoff Barton. Up until the release of 'Hemispheres', Mr. Barton was a tremendous supporter of the band. But as this article, titled It Could Be A Meisterwerk (but it's more like a terrible mistake) reveals, Barton's appreciation for the band is fading. Barton seems torn in this review; both praising and condemning the band for their musical direction. He also seems to be confused about the order of the tracks, placing Cygnus X-1 Book II as the b-side to the album. To each his own I guess. The article originally appeared in the October 20th, 1978 edition of the UK 'Sound' magazine.
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 This next article, from the December 1978 edition of the Canadian magazine 'The New Music', is a feature and interview with Geddy Lee. The color article, titled Rush: Canadian Rock 'n' Roll Success Story was written by Kirk LaPointe and contains a nice color photo of Geddy and his cat. It's also a nice, albeit somewhat short, look into Rush from Geddy's personal perspective.
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Up next is one of my favorite early articles about Rush. Coming from the December 5th, 1978 edition of 'Circus Weekly' and titled Rush's Music of the Spheres, this article/interview with Geddy lee, which written by David Fricke, discusses Geddy's growing frustration with the critics view of the band. 'If an album is good", Geddy says, "people will find out about it on their own." An enjoyable read with some nice color and black & white images of the band.
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Still holding to 1978, we have a brief, meandering and largely positive review of 'Hemispheres'. The review, which appeared in the December 9th, 1978 edition of the UK's 'New Musical Express' periodical, was written by Ian Penman who attempts to decipher the meaning behind the lyrics from the album. You be the judge if Ian was on point or not.
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Continuing with another review of 'Hemispheres' is the article/review titled Rush: Into the Global Village which was written by J.J. Linden and appeared in the December 9th, 1978 edition of 'RPM Weekly', a Canadian Music magazine. More than just a review of 'Hemispheres', this article takes a look back and the progression of Rush and their music. A nice read indeed.
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Closing out 1978 is one final, largely unfavorable review of Hemispheres which appeared in the December 12th, 1978 edition of 'Circus Magazine'. Written by Bart Testa, this review does point out some positive aspects of the album, its message and the band in general, but then again Testa also believes there may be some internal turmoil with the band due to the sub-title of La Villa Strangiato (an exercise in self-indulgence). I disagree with that assertion , but it is an interesting observation nonetheless.
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Moving on to 1979, this January 27th, 1979 'RPM Weekly' article titled Anthem's Rush Receive Gold, Platinum, Plaque talks about Rush's 'Hemispheres' going Gold in the U.S. In addition, Rush was awarded a plaque from the Canadian Consulate in Chicago in recognition of their contribution to music on an international basis. Some grainy but nice images of Rush (and the awarded plaque) are included.
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Up next is a nice, lengthy article titled Rushing Around by the late Maurice Rotheroe. I'm not certain where this article originally appeared, but it seems to have been written after Rush completed touring in support of 'Hemispheres'. Maurice talks to the band about their gear and their musical direction in this well-written four-page article. Make sure you read the last few closing paragraphs of the article which are rather enlightening.
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Let's time-warp to the 1980's with this next article/interview, simply titled Alex Lifeson. This originally appeared in the June 1984 edition of 'Free Music' magazine and was penned by long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan. The discussion centers around the release of 'Grace Under Pressure' and the upcoming tour in support of the band's album.
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It's unclear where this next item originated, but it appears to be a legitimate list of '20 Questions with Geddy Lee' and was put together back in June 3rd, 1996.
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Shooting into the 21st century, this next article came from the now-defunct www.themusician.ca. The article/interview with Alex Lifeson, titled Rush: R30 and Beyond was written by Ken Kucharic back in mid-2004 after Rush completed their R30 tour and began work on releasing the concert on DVD.
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Moving closer to the era of 'Snakes and Arrows' is this next short interview with Geddy Lee from 'More Sugar' and written by Christopher Alo.
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 In a bit of a change of pace, this next article take from the June 2006 edition of 'Ontario Golf' magazine focuses on Alex Lifeson's love of the game as well as his hand in developing a new golf course called Coppinwood in Uxbridge located in Toronto. The article, titled What A Rush was written by Robert Thompson with photos by Chris Gallow.
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Continuing on the Alex Lifeson theme is this next article/interview which originally appeared in the July 2006 edition of 'Guitar World'. Click HERE to read about what songs had the most impact on Alex's life, both in the past and today.
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Finally, we end this lengthy entry with a 'Dear Superstar' segment out of the April 2009 edition of 'Blender Magazine'. Titled simply Geddy Lee and written by Rob Tannenbaum, this humorous and often interesting question session with Geddy is actually quite revealing.
Look for more additions to this section in the coming months Again, many thanks go out to Heiko and Eric from Power Windows for their generosity...
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