I’m on a really tight work deadline myself (2/3 of the way through it), so I thought I’d better make a Spotify list of the seminal Rush songs that showcase exactly what they were about in each era…because that wouldn’t waste ten minutes of precious writing time, would it?
Anyway, here it is. It’s kind of obvious in that the opening numbers on all of their albums are basically what they were about at the time and they always said that was the case with how they sequenced their albums. I have, however, tweaked my list a little when it comes to two of the concept albums.
So, 2112 has Something for Nothing rather than the Overture from 2112 itself and similarly with Hemispheres I’ve picked Circumstances instead of the Hemispheres Prelude. Both of those tracks are archetypal Rush and contain within them their whole progressive heavy rock ethos with their shifts in mood and style within the songs.
I have one friend who heard a little bit of 2112 when he was a teenager in the 1980s, hated it and has never gone near Rush ever since. I doubt this list would entice him back…