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Prototype
for Alternative Hard Rock

Posted by: cosmic on Monday, November
10, 2003 - 10:41 PM

RUSH -- The Prototype For Alternative
Hard Rock
By Maurice Doubleday

The
days of Alternative rock being exclusively punk oriented died
when Jane's Addiction came out of LA's urethra in the late
80s. With spacious arrangements and fairy like vocals, it was
American art rock 15 years late.
But American art rock already existed. In
Canada. Rush, a power trio formed in 1968 by Junior High chums
Alex Lifeson(guitar)and Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), really
arrived artistically and commercially with the album
2112(1976). It was a breakthrough album in hard rock -- as it
included a 20 minute suite a la British art rock.
From
there, the band began to expand their instrumentation
and lyrical content on its successors A FAREWELL TO KINGS
(1977) and HEMISPHERES(1978) -- incorporating Black Sabbath
grunge with Genesis' penchant for odd time signatures, these
albums are like a mint for what ensued in the 1990s. As the
band got older they strayed from the harder material in favor
of synthesizer experimentation. But albums like PERMANENT
WAVES (1980) and SIGNALS (1982) still have moments of rhythmic
and melodic experimentation that should be played for Tool
fans. Critic Bob Mack wrote that "in suburbia in 1987 Rush
were alternative in a world of hair-metal." Poor Rush though
-- they never seemed to get the credit they deserve. Some
glimmer of hope included their inclusion in the Hasty Pudding
Club at Harvard in 1993 as Musicians of the Millennium. That's
a millennium that included Mozart. And in numerous interviews
by young musicians born in the late 60s and early 70s, Rush
were continually being cited as a musical influence. From
Primus to The Smashing Pumpkins, Rush fans were suddenly
dominating the college airwaves -- leaving to rest the hip
hatred for the band with the high pitched singer. But as 1999
approached, the year Rush reached eligibility for the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, it was apparent that they wouldn't be on
the ballot. Granted, it would be difficult to watch the band
jam with Bruce Springsteen and Paul Schafer, but they have
contributed significantly to rock music and deserve it as much
as fellow Canadians The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner
Overdrive. A listen to alternative rock radio demands it.
(...more)

Of
course, Rush is no island and have been influenced by everyone
from Led Zeppelin to Devo over their 20 albums. To really pick
a representative song is a difficult task. The album PERMANENT
WAVES(1980) presents two astonishing compositions -- "Jacob's
Ladder" and "Natural Science". Two concise examples of the
bands virtuosity and heart. "Jacob's Ladder" is a segmented
tone-poem about an approaching thunderstorm and its eventual
dissipation as the sun shoots through the parting clouds. This
image is presented lyrically and musically with a meshing of
symphonic guitar solos to gentle synth explorations as Geddy
Lee's voice is passed through slight chorus and delay.
"Natural Science" is a short suite (9 minutes) about the
band's favorite topic, musical integrity. It builds up like a
staccato "Stairway to Heaven", an acoustic intro that shakes
the foundation to an arpeggiated chorused guitar to an almost
punk exploration in 7/4. And that’s just the first three
minutes. I was riding in my wife's car and was playing radio
tag when I heard the chords to "Natural Science" on WBCN --
but it wasn't Rush, it was Tool's "Eulogy" (AENIMA, 1996). It
was eerie. I later bought the album and have since found a ton
of other Rush-like moments that I'll spare the reader. Tool
isn't alone in pilfering the Rush format. Jane's Addiction
stunned many fanzine cynics with epic songs like "Three Days"
and "Then She Did" from 1990's glorious RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL.
These 2 compositions testify to the influence art rock has had
on the band -- and with their chops finely tuned more than one
critic began to compare the most important band in alternative
rock(with Nirvana) to Rush -- the suburban nerd band that
punks and girls hated as part of their DNA.

Alex
Lifeson (who was the only member of Rush not abused by CREEM’s
J. Kordosh in a 1981 interview that severed the relationship
between the band and the magazine for years), a unique
guitarist since his recorded debut on Rush's first self-titled
album (RUSH, 1974), has bled into the indie scene by way of
alt-rock's more adventurous guitarists. The "Lifeson sound", a
combination of big open chords and textural solos going
through delays and phasers is a trademark to the enlightened.
The Smith's Johnny Marr to The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan
have all explored this region of Rush aesthetics. Geddy Lee,
considered to be amongst Paul McCartney and John Entwistle in
the rock bass world, is a gifted composer as well. His bass
lines warrant a textbook -- throughout their 30+ year career
he has maintained a love and curiosity for the instrument that
shows well on live albums like EXIT...STAGE LEFT (1981) and
DIFFERENT STAGES (1998). Drummer Neil Peart, noted in concert
for his long solos is actually much more interesting within
the context of a song. A bizarre mix of Keith Moon and Bill
Bruford, Neil can stop on a dime and go into 11/8 like
nobody's business. He joined the band on its first tour and
made his recording debut on the 2nd album FLY BY NIGHT (1975).
His drumming and Tolkien lyrics gave the band a different
direction and the rest is history. As his artistic ambitions
grew so did Rush. There would be no Rush without Neil Peart.
In that light, Neil has influenced the drumming of the 90s to
a near sickening degree. The man who launched a thousand
drummers or something.

Neil
Peart's lyrics are as much of a band facet as his drumming.
The aforementioned PERMANENT WAVES (1980) and SIGNALS (1982)
are truly his best poetry. "The Weapon" from SIGNALS is an
excellent observation of the cold war (which was at its peak
in Reagan's 80s). Citing the FDR maxim "we have nothing to
fear but fear itself", Neil explores the new realities that
Roosevelt may never have imagined. These lyrics, none with the
word "baby" and barely a love song amongst them have
influenced the sincerity in grunge. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden
owe a great debt to Neil's dour perception of the world.
Starting his lyrical career as an Ayn Rand fan -- he had all
but dropped her by SIGNALS. In fact SIGNALS wasn't even
dedicated to her memory -- he had graduated to the early
left-wing writings of John Dos Passos and 50s era science
fiction. He was concerned about the world and his family,
things that Rand never addressed in her sterile cubicle. Rage
Against the Machine are also indebted to the mix of political
poetry and hard rock that Rush presented so well on GRACE
UNDER PRESSURE (1984) and POWER WINDOWS (1985). Neil has also
written two books that have accepted excellent criticism. A
real survivor, he managed to emerge from the deaths of his
wife and daughter within a year of each other as an even more
creative artist. Rush will never be on a Lollapalooza tour --
but their spirit lingers in serious rockers like Alice in
Chains and Tool.

Rush's
artistic redemption began in the early 90s when hip bands were
suddenly acknowledging the William Shatner of rock bands.
Everyone from Fishbone to Beck was talking about their love
for this much-maligned trio. As the decade progressed, Rush
fans suddenly came out of the closet. It was a great time to
be alive if you were a Rush fan. Chicks were suddenly going to
shows with you -- the guy beside you was wearing a Cure
t-shirt. It wasn't a pariah anymore. This jump start kept Rush
in the modern rock scene and songs like "Test for Echo"(TEST
FOR ECHO,1996) and "Dreamline"(ROLL THE BONES, 1991) pump out
of rock radio despite the fact that the band is 30 years
old.

Consciously or not,
alternative hard rock is a direct descendent of Rush. In the
early 80s Rush were revered like the Pope in the suburbs where
the members of Live and Bush lived. In 1983, I knew a 34 year
old man that had the Man and Star logo so familiar to Rush
fans painted on his garage door. While Eddie Vedder may not
know he's a new Neil Peart, it sure sounds like Rush to
me.

DISCOGRAPHY

RUSH –
1974 FLY BY NIGHT – 1975 CARESS OF STEEL – 1975 2112 – 1976
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE – 1976 A FAREWELL TO KINGS – 1977
HEMISPHERES – 1978 PERMANENT WAVES – 1980 MOVING PICTURES –
1981 EXIT…STAGE LEFT – 1981 SIGNALS – 1982 GRACE UNDER
PRESSURE – 1984 POWER WINDOWS – 1985 HOLD YOUR FIRE – 1987 A
SHOW OF HANDS – 1989 PRESTO – 1989 ROLL THE BONES – 1991
COUNTERPARTS – 1993 TEST FOR ECHO – 1996 DIFFERENT STAGES –
1998 VAPOR TRAILS – 2002

Solo
Albums:

GEDDY
LEE

MY
FAVORITE HEADACHE – 2000

ALEX
LIFESON

VICTOR
– 1995

NEIL
PEART

BURNING FOR BUDDY – 1995
BURNING FOR BUDDY VOL.II – 1998

BOOKS
BY NEIL PEART:

THE
MASKED RIDER - 1996 GHOST RIDER – 2002

http://www.rush.com/

http://www.2112.net/

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Re: Prototype for Alternative
Hard Rock (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Nov 11, 2003 - 07:18 AM

Alex Lifeson influenced Johnny
Marr?
Not arguing. Just an interesting theory.

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to this ]

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