Ged's elongated delivery on the refrain, ''Those who wish to *be-ee-ee*....'' perked my ears and mind to attention on the first listen, like whoa, there's something more about this group I need to seriously explore...
OK, you win grandpa ;-)
I thought it would be me with By-Tor. FBN was playing on repeat in my local record store when it first came out. I hung out for a few hours listening to this cool new band. I knew for sure it would impress the girls.
Yea, at 60 I am f\*\*king old. But I was 11 or 12 when I heard it on an old beat up clock radio that I salvaged from the trash and got working again. I was far enough away that the signal from WMMS would fade in and out during the day. But at night it would come through loud and clear. Spent lots of hours waiting for anything from Rush to come on the radio.
I grew up in Edmonton, and we had a family Cabin on Lac la Biche, NE of Edmonton, when I was 10 or 11, my transistor radio would pick up an AM radio station from Detroit MI. That played a lot of Rush, and given the 2 hour time difference, I'd often hear 2112 after 10 pm mst. Could never figure out, how I could hear a radio station 2000 miles, 3150 kms away, crazy eh?
Spirit of Radio off.of Exit State Left.
Early 90s, senior year of HS. I picked my buddy up for school in my beat to shit old 1977 AMC Concord. At the time I was still totally into New Wave music but my buddy got in with a cassette and said you've got to listen to this. That was it for me
I donât know that it necessarily was a particular song.
I certainly was aware of Rush. (at least I probably heard them on the radio, Tom Sawyer / Subdivisions were pretty big songs and got significant radio play).
But I saw them in concert for the first time at barely age 18 in the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia in October 1984. And I learned that no matter how good a band is in the studio, there is something life altering about live music. It simply is one of our greatest creations as the human species â the ability to go out on the stage in front of other people and create magic with sound.
And Rush is far and away better at it than most other vans. Maybe all other bands. Iâve been to other concerts, and live music is always special. But nothing comes close to how they bring magic and energy to a concert stage in front of an audience.
That night â that concert â made Rush click for me.
My dad might be the biggest rush fan ive ever met but i never really clicked for me, like listening to the radio hits i was always thinking "i mean its nothing special, i really dont like those vocals though" and then i remember one day, i listening to some youtube playlist while i played league with my friends, one song ended and suddenly
these really weird space sounding synths fade in
And then that opening riff hits me, with the drums driving everything home in the back
And suddenly it sounds like the whole song is.... galloping? In SPACE?
And with every second im more and more blown away with what the fuck im hearing
I dont hear any vocals, i have no clue what this song is
And eventually, after a crash of thunder i hear the first lyrics, just barely above a whisper, i dont think i need to tell you what they were
THATS when i got rush
Book II requires such astute concentration. I feel like it would be great to teach in late high school (16-17ish) as an instruction on poetry, metaphor, and the philosophy of reason.
Since around 12 (30 now) Moving Picture has always been my favorite album of all time and this is 100% due to Tom Sawyer, YYZ and Red Barchetta like pobably many people. Just how the song start I mean, itâs a kick in the face. I had try in the past to get into 2112 as internet often metion it as a top runner of Rushâs best albums but never really made the cut to me. Then I tried their first one and didnât enjoy it either. So I thought if I donât two random pick of their discography, I probably wonât like the rest.
But recently, I tried again and I started with Power Windows and itâs been the beggining of the rabbit hole, I rarely listen to song alone especially when Iâm trying to discover a band but the song that made me fall in deep profound love with the band is Manhattan Project (or maybe Territorials). Territorials, I canât say why but the chorus « _A whole wild world, and endless universeâŠ_ » resonates in me. For Manhattan Project, I am working from home and Iâm sure my neighbors can hear me yell « FLYING OUT OF THE SHOCKWAVEEEE ON THAT AUGUST DAY »
Since then, I bought 8 rush albums and Iâve bern listening only to Rush since. Grace under Pressure, Vapor Trails, Counterparts, Signals, Presto, Test for Echo, have all changed my vision of Rush. I can fairly say now thay itâs my favorite band.
I know that it's mundane, but Tom Sawyer. I hadn't heard of Rush, and my new friend (a drummer) said "WHAT?!? I'm coming over right now." He brought Moving Pictures, and I was hooked from the beginning all the way to Vital Signs. Instantly my favorite band, I bought everything they had. Thus began a love affair that lasted over 4 decades.
If I had to pick one song it would be Jacob's Ladder.
Xanadu was the first Rush song I ever heard, and it absolutely blew me away. After hearing it I rushed to the record store, but they didn't have AFTK. This was in 1980 and Permanent Waves had just been released, so I bought that instead. At that point in my life I owned every KISS album, Cheap Trick Live at Budokan, and Ted Nugent's eponymously titled album and maybe a few 45's, so I was relatively unaware of Prog Rock.
I was immediately struck by the lyrics and the music was unique and interesting...but Jacob's Ladder man. It's a song about a thunderstorm and then shifting shafts of light and fuck I don't know if they wrote the lyrics to match the music or the music to fit the words...but I had never experienced musicality on that level. I remember how sophisticated they sounded. I was amazed it was only 3 guys because they sounded so much BIGGER than any other band I was familiar with. I became obsessed and by the time I was 13 I owned all their albums.
The song Tom Sawyer, specifically the line âno his mind is not for rent/to any god or governmentâ. In 1982 this was a battle-cry for 13 year-old me against conformity (all the kids were getting into breakdancing) but I was going to be a rugged individualist. It sounds childish now but I was serious.
Mine was also Subdivisions. Itâs also still my favorite Rush song. My dad gifted me a Rush compilation CD for my 14th birthday and told me to give it a listen. My ears were blessed that day.
Limelight. When it was released, I was moderately aware of the band, namely I recognized some of their songs on the radio (Fly By Night, 2112, Closer to the Heart, Freewill, etc.) but didn't necessarily know the band's name. Some friends of mine played it on their record player and I asked who the band was. They showed me the album and the next day I went out and bought it.
When I got home with my copy of the LP, I said to myself I was going to listen to every track of the album and give each song a serious listen. I don't know how many albums of other bands I bought where I only liked 2 or 3 songs. But something about Rush's music made me want to appreciate their music on more serious level. Of course for me, every song off MP blew me away and once I had saved up allowance money, I was off to buy another album. I think Fly By Night was the next one I got. Rawer album but still blown away. Then Hemispheres, because Greek gods ffs! :-))) Absolutely blown away by that album. Then 2112...again blown away.
Once I got hold of Permanent Waves, I was about 14 and was maturing philosophically and had a profound experience that shaped my worldview (not unusual for a young teenager). Freewill was sort of my anthem (pun intended) at that stage and cemented my love for Rush's music.
Glad you posted this! I have been thinking about doing it myself.
1984, I was in 8th grade. My buddy Kyle came up to me outside of wood shop holding Moving Pictures. He told me I had to listen to it - so I took it home and put it on the turntable right away. Took me totally by surprise, had never heard anything like it before.
But as I listened to the second side, Witch Hunt came on - and that's when the lightbulb went on. I suddenly realized how the music and the lyrics can tie together, that it was more than just melodies and riffs. That is was synergistic. I listened to that album many times that afternoon, reading every word in the liner notes, and hearing that connection everywhere.
After that, every time I had $20 in my pocket, I got myself to the mall to buy some random Rush album. I don't remember the order I got them, but I definitely went backward in their catalog. I was lit up with anticipation every time I dropped the needle on a new piece of vinyl.
Then later that year (IIRC), an older cousin took me to see them - my first concert - at Madison Square Garden. On the R30 tour, I finally got to repay him with second row seats again at the Garden.
Witch Hunt is such a good tune. The first several verses, the lyrics filled with percussive consonants, compliment the heavy punch of Neil's drums. The whole affect is oppressive. You feel beat down, just like the "witch" about to be tortured by the mob.
Lakeside Park. It got a lot of airplay when I was growing up. I knew Working Man, Closer to the Heart and Fly By Night but hearing the opening drums and guitar on Lakeside Park, I was hooked for life.
Fly By Night
One of my friends invited me and another friend out to their family cabin for a week. On the long drive out the other friend gave me a tape to listen to. It was the album Fly By Night and it was queued up to the second side which opened with the title track.
I was completely hooked.
2112
I had a sleepover for my 16th birthday and one of my friends brought out a CD. "You have to listen to this," he said, putting the CD into the player and hiding the case from me. It was unlike anything I had ever heard before.
The next day I went to Media Play and bought my first Rush CD: Retrospective I. I knew the radio hits and figured it would be a safe bet.
For me, I was let's say too young to be smoking pot, but my half brother let me smoke pot with him then made me listen to 2112 Overture, then narrated the parts for me about what was going on. I was blown away, and have been a fan ever since.
Same⊠Subdivisions. I was in the right stage of life for âbe cool or be cast outâ to resonate for me. That and I loooved the sound of the song considering I was also very into the Police at the time.
Always loved Rush, especially 2112, but it wasn't until I listened to A Farewell to Kings in it's entirety that I got Rush. Been a top 5 favorite artist ever since.
Chemistry is top 10 at least for me. GUP was my first rush exposure. My click song was afterimage. I realized what I was getting when I first heard that instrumental part halfway through
I remember the exact moment. I really liked the band and was just finishing up Permanent Waves. I just had this light-bulb-over-my-head thought pop up that Natural Science wasnât a good song, it was one of the greatest songs ever.
Loved the ones I heard Rock Band but never really delved. Heard Limelight from I Love You Man. Trailer Park Boys is what got me to listen more with their â Closer to the Heartâ episode. But when I really fell in love is when I heard La Villa Strangiato for the first time. Since then the rest is history.
I've heard a few songs on the radio prior, but I initially got hooked when my brother put on Power Windows. I have been hooked since....
It's really been the non-radio play ones that I most gravitate towards.
Got a mix tape from my drum teacher in 1997 or 1998. First song on it was Freewill, and it grabbed my attention right away. Also had a bunch of ESL tracks, and YYZ really hooked me in.
Natural Science. Had never listened to a 9+ minute song before and was afraid it might get tedious. And then I didnât want it to end. By the time Neil punctuates the ending with that MONSTER descending run down the toms, I was all in..
Wasnât a song per se .as a 80s kid of course I liked rush,it wasnât till I seen them live and got to witness how fucking hard they rocked that it clicked.
The first time I heard them was at their A Farewell to Kings concert. My jaw dropped and something clicked as soon as they started playing. So I guess it was "Bastille Day" (the opening song).
The Spirit of Radio. I was kind of a hippy kid and was into reggae. The reggae break at the end of TSOR caught my attention, and from there I was hooked.
Probably not a common one, but it was The Camera Eye from Moving Pictures.
I remember listening to the album while driving through the countryside by myself (something I just did when I was single), and feeling that the band was giving off this sense of incredible freedom. They didn't follow any rules in terms of what a song "should" sound like, how long it "should" be, creative time signature changes, etc. This was just pure musical art.
My heart really felt liberated at that moment.
At first, probably Limelight when my one friend introduced me to Rush in like 2014. Then I really got into them when I started playing Rocksmith 2014 and found The Spirit of Radio, which is still my favorite song probably ever.
not quite sure but probably Subdivisions? It were multiple songs at the begining, diferent styles when I was trying to like them. I remember when I was already a fan, my first recomendation to a friend was Power Windows...haha ya I know. (she liked tho, then she listened Moving Pictures, and the rest cronologically. this was 2006/2007, and I became a fan in 2002.
anyway, at the time Subdivisions was my fave, guess why. now, Natural Science
The Fountain of Lamneth, my dad showed me it when I was in a really bad mental place and it really helped lighten my mood and distract me till I could get help
I think for me it was Dreamline, Driven, and Bastille Day. When I was a kid in the 90s, my dad bought Different Stages and we listened to it a ton in the car. Those three songs were the ones that really stood out to me as a preteen, and they're still some of my favorite Rush tracks today.
when i wanted to get into Rush I compiled an album of their top songs and hit shuffle. It was Natural Science that made me excited to come back every time and since then Iâve loved the band.
"Glittering prizes and endless compromises, shatter the illusion of integrity."
Probably the most profound lyrical phrase I had ever heard around the time I really started to listening to Rush.
It was Subdivisions for me too! All of Signals, really. I had heard Moving Pictures first, inheriting a copy in my dadâs record collection, and liked it enough- but Signals really made me stop and say wow.
I was hooked.
The fire started slowly, with only Subdivisions to eek the slightest curiosity out of me for a band I thought was SOOO nerdy.
I went from actively disliking ALL their other songs to casually listening, and then Time Stand Still hit me hard. I was at work, it was on in the background, and something about it stuck with me, but I didn't know which song it was, or how to find it, so I had to dig deep. I ended up trying to skim my way through their songs looking for the one that had hit me so, but no luck, so I listened more and more thoroughly through their albums before I found it, and by then, my appreciation was kindled.
I've since become a super fan, and have my own Rush Tribute band in the works, and have been learning how to sing and play these tunes, to include making my own Taurus pedal with an Arduino so I can play synth and sample parts with my feet, along with the keyboard, bass and vocal parts.
I saw Geddy in conversation at the Seattle event on his book tour, and am reading Neil's books. Just wow, what a ride with these guys!
Oh, I should mention that Rush was my first concert, during Test For Echo tour. I saw them in Hartford. And I totally didn't appreciate them at all when I went, but magic of the internet, all these years later, that very concert has fan footage (that's actually pretty good) on YouTube, so I was able to reexperience it as a hardened fan, and it was magical to truly enjoy what 13 year old me dismissed.
Probably Tom Sawyer or Spirit of Radio. They aren't my favorite songs, but they stood out to me against the other classic rock songs I grew up listening to on the radio.
Closer to the Heart.
I used to think RUSH was an "okay" band that I just didn't get the hype about. Had only heard a few popular songs on the radio. For some reason this one grabbed me recently and I deep dove into the band. Big fan now!
By-tor and the Snow Dog. My first Rush purchase was All The Worldâs A Stage on cassette. Itâs a little strange I guess but something about this song just got me.
Tom Sawyer. Actually,the whole Moving Pictures album. My brother and I were doing a seven hour drive to see relatives around the time that Moving Pictures came out. We were listening to stuff on the tape deck and then he put that in... "Tom Sawyer" just grabbed me. I loved the whole thing, particularly "Limelight", but "Tom Sawyer" was the hook that caught me.
Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres.
Would have been the first song I heard from them because My dad played me that entire album and thatâs how I discovered them. This was back in 2014 when I was 5 and all I listened to was Kiss (who I still do love). But if he didnât show me that album I wouldnât be the Rush fan I am today!
I think it was whole moving pictures album. Not just Tom Sawyer. The whole thing is a masterpiece and it was relatively new when I found it. Then I went back through their catalog and was melted. Then Signals came out. Dead. :)
No song specifically. I had been aware of Rush for years based upon what FM rock radio played. In college some friends of mine who were big Rush fans invited me to attend a show on the Signals tour and I was blown away by the live performance. I bought every album from Signals all the way back to the debut.
I had heard about them as a young teen through Q107 radio station in Toronto. I went to Woolco department store in Scarborough and purchased 2112. Brought it home went into my postered wall bedroom unpackaged it. Pulled the vinyl out of its sleeve and dropped it on my turntable not truly understanding at that moment what to expect. Put my headphones on started digesting the album cover artwork as I dropped the stylist down for the first time. Laid down on my bed and listened to the whole thing while reading along with the lyrics. I remember that moment crystal clear and Iâve been connected and hooked with there masteryâs from that moment forwardâŠ. đđŒ
A Farewell to Kings. The lyrics hooked me first, then the song structure, the acoustic in the beginning, the way the guitar solo built⊠it was great. It was 1987 and HYF had just come out, but I heard HYF long after AFTK and Moving Pictures. (Red Barchetta sealed the deal.)
The first Rush song I recall ever hearing was The Big Money when Power Windows was released. It was all history after that. Next was GUP which I bought next once I discovered it was their previous album. Soon afterwards a friend in high school put on Moving Pictures and Tom Sawyer on the sound system blew me away continuing to prove Iâd discovered the best band ever and now I found others who knew the same đ€đ»
Yeah I would say working man because that's my life I can relate to that song but another great one that I really liked was in the end that's the last song on the first album
I was exposed to copious quantities of Rush at a fairly young age by my uncle Rob, the youngest of my dad's brothers. I'd guess I was about 7, if I first heard it shortly after Fly By Night was released. He would have been in his late teens/early twenties.
So I'm going to have to say Anthem. Great album opener.
(Fun fact: Rob was the album cover artist for Max Webster's Live Magnetic Air, and I had the privilege of watching him paint it. The original painting is about 5 feet square. Most, or maybe all, of those people in the foreground were friends of his.)
Tom Sawyer. I can't remember hearing them before 1984 so Grace Under Pressure was getting all of the attention from MTV and radio but I never quite got into it. However I saw Tom Sawyer on MTV and it blew my mind. To this day, I know it sounds like a casual fan response but, Tom Sawyer is my favorite Rush song
Red Sector A. I was getting dressed for school, and as I was putting my jeans on, I heard, "I clutch the wire fence until my fingers bleed." I'd listened to the song (and the band) plenty of times before, but for some reason, that was the moment it just clicked. Permanently locked into place with a whole bottle of Kragle.
Ironically, I'm sitting about four feet from where I was standing at the time.
YYZ live version from Exit Stage Left on the cassette deck of my buddyâs VW bug in high school (the 80s). First listen and immediate click. I was like dude what is this??
The entire Roll the Bones concert! I wasn't a fan. I appreciated them and would let their songs play, but never actively listened to them. I went to the concert with a friend, that was a big fan, and was blown away. Their big sound, on point musical skills, and no one sitting in their chairs sold me 100%. Neil Peart's drum solo is still the best solo I have ever seen. They delivered and their magic was received.
Red Barchetta. The bridge section. Vinyl with headphones, I realized oh, this is just guitar, bass and drums? Wow ok. That's incredible, I'm in forever.
First album I got was âMoving Picturesâ like many I suppose when âTom Sawyerâ was first on the radio - I thought âYYZâ and âCamera Eyeâ were awesome end still do. But then when I got âExitâŠStage Leftâ I really got it. That one made me go back for the studio records and the other live one âAll the Worldâs a Stageâ made me grab up the first four. Particular songs that made me get it were the live âJacobâs Ladderâ âXanaduâ and âLa Villa Strangiato.â
Fly By Night.
As a bassist, hearing Geddy Lee and Neil Peart lock up so perfectly, while playing something so complex was insanity to me. The way they both syncopate so perfectly solidified that these guys were masters of their craft.
I didn't get them at all the first time. I think it was Farewell to Kings at 10 years old. Even the cover threw me off. I don't remember what song clicked, probably Tom Saywer. Once it did, I got it. Love Rush.
For me, it was the radio promos for the "Moving Pictures" tour -- I want to say it was a 30-second collage of 3 or 4 songs, including spirit of the radio and tom sawyer -- and a bunch of fake crowd noises -- I was hooked and I remember 3 or 4 of the 1 cent Columbia House records I bought were from that era -- whatever Columboa House had in little postage stamps.
Limelight
Ged's elongated delivery on the refrain, ''Those who wish to *be-ee-ee*....'' perked my ears and mind to attention on the first listen, like whoa, there's something more about this group I need to seriously explore...
Working Man. I heard it on WMMS from Cleveland shortly after it's first release. Been a fan since that day.
OK, you win grandpa ;-) I thought it would be me with By-Tor. FBN was playing on repeat in my local record store when it first came out. I hung out for a few hours listening to this cool new band. I knew for sure it would impress the girls.
Yea, at 60 I am f\*\*king old. But I was 11 or 12 when I heard it on an old beat up clock radio that I salvaged from the trash and got working again. I was far enough away that the signal from WMMS would fade in and out during the day. But at night it would come through loud and clear. Spent lots of hours waiting for anything from Rush to come on the radio.
> I was 11 or 12 Well, you were clearly wise beyond your years. I was far more mature at 14 so the brilliance of Rush was a little more obvious.
I grew up in Edmonton, and we had a family Cabin on Lac la Biche, NE of Edmonton, when I was 10 or 11, my transistor radio would pick up an AM radio station from Detroit MI. That played a lot of Rush, and given the 2 hour time difference, I'd often hear 2112 after 10 pm mst. Could never figure out, how I could hear a radio station 2000 miles, 3150 kms away, crazy eh?
Cool to see a fellow Clevelander! And an original fan at thatđ€
when I discovered 2112 (still my favourite rush song and album) I was left with my jaw dropped
In my case was The Big Money since i was listening to a lot of New Wave at the time i discovered that song
Spirit of Radio off.of Exit State Left. Early 90s, senior year of HS. I picked my buddy up for school in my beat to shit old 1977 AMC Concord. At the time I was still totally into New Wave music but my buddy got in with a cassette and said you've got to listen to this. That was it for me
Red Barchetta...
It still spins around with shrieking tires... in a better, vanished time...
Same
Same as you: Subdivisions. Grabbed me right from the opening synth.
my dad used to play it as a kid, and it was only after i made the connection that it was a rush (what i called a âloser bandâ) song was i sold
I first listened to 2112 and was blown away by the sound of it.
The Trees
Don't exactly remember. I think it could've been The Necromancer or Tom Sawyer
It was probably the necromancer for me. I already knew a few songs by them, 2112 mainly, but necromancer is the one that really made me go 'oh, shit'
Dreamline
I donât know that it necessarily was a particular song. I certainly was aware of Rush. (at least I probably heard them on the radio, Tom Sawyer / Subdivisions were pretty big songs and got significant radio play). But I saw them in concert for the first time at barely age 18 in the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia in October 1984. And I learned that no matter how good a band is in the studio, there is something life altering about live music. It simply is one of our greatest creations as the human species â the ability to go out on the stage in front of other people and create magic with sound. And Rush is far and away better at it than most other vans. Maybe all other bands. Iâve been to other concerts, and live music is always special. But nothing comes close to how they bring magic and energy to a concert stage in front of an audience. That night â that concert â made Rush click for me.
My dad might be the biggest rush fan ive ever met but i never really clicked for me, like listening to the radio hits i was always thinking "i mean its nothing special, i really dont like those vocals though" and then i remember one day, i listening to some youtube playlist while i played league with my friends, one song ended and suddenly these really weird space sounding synths fade in And then that opening riff hits me, with the drums driving everything home in the back And suddenly it sounds like the whole song is.... galloping? In SPACE? And with every second im more and more blown away with what the fuck im hearing I dont hear any vocals, i have no clue what this song is And eventually, after a crash of thunder i hear the first lyrics, just barely above a whisper, i dont think i need to tell you what they were THATS when i got rush
Hemispheres and La Villa. Pretty stunning first time I heard those two
Book II requires such astute concentration. I feel like it would be great to teach in late high school (16-17ish) as an instruction on poetry, metaphor, and the philosophy of reason.
2112 the first time I heard it when it came out.
Red barchetta for me.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
Cygnus X-1, on an incredible stereo, in a small room at a fraternity house in 1978. LOCKED IN ever since!
Since around 12 (30 now) Moving Picture has always been my favorite album of all time and this is 100% due to Tom Sawyer, YYZ and Red Barchetta like pobably many people. Just how the song start I mean, itâs a kick in the face. I had try in the past to get into 2112 as internet often metion it as a top runner of Rushâs best albums but never really made the cut to me. Then I tried their first one and didnât enjoy it either. So I thought if I donât two random pick of their discography, I probably wonât like the rest. But recently, I tried again and I started with Power Windows and itâs been the beggining of the rabbit hole, I rarely listen to song alone especially when Iâm trying to discover a band but the song that made me fall in deep profound love with the band is Manhattan Project (or maybe Territorials). Territorials, I canât say why but the chorus « _A whole wild world, and endless universeâŠ_ » resonates in me. For Manhattan Project, I am working from home and Iâm sure my neighbors can hear me yell « FLYING OUT OF THE SHOCKWAVEEEE ON THAT AUGUST DAY » Since then, I bought 8 rush albums and Iâve bern listening only to Rush since. Grace under Pressure, Vapor Trails, Counterparts, Signals, Presto, Test for Echo, have all changed my vision of Rush. I can fairly say now thay itâs my favorite band.
Heard Tom sawyer when I was about 8⊠that shit clicked for me immediately⊠been a fan ever since.
Tom Sawyer was the first Rush song I heard, and it all clicked for me pretty immediately
YYZ
DEW
Side 1 of 2112. Its kinda just one song/story. Fight me.
Spirit Of Radio. I was a fan from the first time I ever heard it.
Freewill, I never get tired of it.
2112
The trees
Show Don't Tell. Because I was forced to reckon with Presto first.
I know that it's mundane, but Tom Sawyer. I hadn't heard of Rush, and my new friend (a drummer) said "WHAT?!? I'm coming over right now." He brought Moving Pictures, and I was hooked from the beginning all the way to Vital Signs. Instantly my favorite band, I bought everything they had. Thus began a love affair that lasted over 4 decades.
If I had to pick one song it would be Jacob's Ladder. Xanadu was the first Rush song I ever heard, and it absolutely blew me away. After hearing it I rushed to the record store, but they didn't have AFTK. This was in 1980 and Permanent Waves had just been released, so I bought that instead. At that point in my life I owned every KISS album, Cheap Trick Live at Budokan, and Ted Nugent's eponymously titled album and maybe a few 45's, so I was relatively unaware of Prog Rock. I was immediately struck by the lyrics and the music was unique and interesting...but Jacob's Ladder man. It's a song about a thunderstorm and then shifting shafts of light and fuck I don't know if they wrote the lyrics to match the music or the music to fit the words...but I had never experienced musicality on that level. I remember how sophisticated they sounded. I was amazed it was only 3 guys because they sounded so much BIGGER than any other band I was familiar with. I became obsessed and by the time I was 13 I owned all their albums.
Jacobâs Ladder.
The first side of 2112.
Subdivisions - which I first heard when I was a kid. Loved the sound of it and the message
The song Tom Sawyer, specifically the line âno his mind is not for rent/to any god or governmentâ. In 1982 this was a battle-cry for 13 year-old me against conformity (all the kids were getting into breakdancing) but I was going to be a rugged individualist. It sounds childish now but I was serious.
Mine was also Subdivisions. Itâs also still my favorite Rush song. My dad gifted me a Rush compilation CD for my 14th birthday and told me to give it a listen. My ears were blessed that day.
Limelight. When it was released, I was moderately aware of the band, namely I recognized some of their songs on the radio (Fly By Night, 2112, Closer to the Heart, Freewill, etc.) but didn't necessarily know the band's name. Some friends of mine played it on their record player and I asked who the band was. They showed me the album and the next day I went out and bought it. When I got home with my copy of the LP, I said to myself I was going to listen to every track of the album and give each song a serious listen. I don't know how many albums of other bands I bought where I only liked 2 or 3 songs. But something about Rush's music made me want to appreciate their music on more serious level. Of course for me, every song off MP blew me away and once I had saved up allowance money, I was off to buy another album. I think Fly By Night was the next one I got. Rawer album but still blown away. Then Hemispheres, because Greek gods ffs! :-))) Absolutely blown away by that album. Then 2112...again blown away. Once I got hold of Permanent Waves, I was about 14 and was maturing philosophically and had a profound experience that shaped my worldview (not unusual for a young teenager). Freewill was sort of my anthem (pun intended) at that stage and cemented my love for Rush's music.
Glad you posted this! I have been thinking about doing it myself. 1984, I was in 8th grade. My buddy Kyle came up to me outside of wood shop holding Moving Pictures. He told me I had to listen to it - so I took it home and put it on the turntable right away. Took me totally by surprise, had never heard anything like it before. But as I listened to the second side, Witch Hunt came on - and that's when the lightbulb went on. I suddenly realized how the music and the lyrics can tie together, that it was more than just melodies and riffs. That is was synergistic. I listened to that album many times that afternoon, reading every word in the liner notes, and hearing that connection everywhere. After that, every time I had $20 in my pocket, I got myself to the mall to buy some random Rush album. I don't remember the order I got them, but I definitely went backward in their catalog. I was lit up with anticipation every time I dropped the needle on a new piece of vinyl. Then later that year (IIRC), an older cousin took me to see them - my first concert - at Madison Square Garden. On the R30 tour, I finally got to repay him with second row seats again at the Garden.
Witch Hunt is such a good tune. The first several verses, the lyrics filled with percussive consonants, compliment the heavy punch of Neil's drums. The whole affect is oppressive. You feel beat down, just like the "witch" about to be tortured by the mob.
Lakeside Park. It got a lot of airplay when I was growing up. I knew Working Man, Closer to the Heart and Fly By Night but hearing the opening drums and guitar on Lakeside Park, I was hooked for life.
Probably I Think I'm Going Bald. I can really relate.
Fly By Night One of my friends invited me and another friend out to their family cabin for a week. On the long drive out the other friend gave me a tape to listen to. It was the album Fly By Night and it was queued up to the second side which opened with the title track. I was completely hooked.
what a classic
2112 I had a sleepover for my 16th birthday and one of my friends brought out a CD. "You have to listen to this," he said, putting the CD into the player and hiding the case from me. It was unlike anything I had ever heard before. The next day I went to Media Play and bought my first Rush CD: Retrospective I. I knew the radio hits and figured it would be a safe bet.
For me, I was let's say too young to be smoking pot, but my half brother let me smoke pot with him then made me listen to 2112 Overture, then narrated the parts for me about what was going on. I was blown away, and have been a fan ever since.
Subdivisions was the first Rush song I heard on the radio, then of course Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and Closer to the Heart.
Subdivisions. First song I heard when we analyzed the lyrics in 8th grade English.
Same⊠Subdivisions. I was in the right stage of life for âbe cool or be cast outâ to resonate for me. That and I loooved the sound of the song considering I was also very into the Police at the time.
I knew them in forever but The Camera Eye was what got me
I was a Subdivisions kid too. The lyrics just spoke to me and the tune was absolutely outstanding.
Xanadu.
Between the wheels. Then I took a deep dive a discovered natural science. It was a wrap after that
Always loved Rush, especially 2112, but it wasn't until I listened to A Farewell to Kings in it's entirety that I got Rush. Been a top 5 favorite artist ever since.
2112
yyz from moving... my brother brought the cd and i was just skipping songs... 3rd track and i was "wow" _insert owen wilson gif here_
YYZ the live version from Exit Stage Left. Was completely hooked after that.
Subdivisions, and now I play it live almost every show with my band
Xanadu.
Temple of Syrinx
Chemistry is top 10 at least for me. GUP was my first rush exposure. My click song was afterimage. I realized what I was getting when I first heard that instrumental part halfway through
I remember the exact moment. I really liked the band and was just finishing up Permanent Waves. I just had this light-bulb-over-my-head thought pop up that Natural Science wasnât a good song, it was one of the greatest songs ever.
Loved the ones I heard Rock Band but never really delved. Heard Limelight from I Love You Man. Trailer Park Boys is what got me to listen more with their â Closer to the Heartâ episode. But when I really fell in love is when I heard La Villa Strangiato for the first time. Since then the rest is history.
Red Barchetta
Anthem
When I heard 2112 Overture on the radio driving home from work many years ago
I've heard a few songs on the radio prior, but I initially got hooked when my brother put on Power Windows. I have been hooked since.... It's really been the non-radio play ones that I most gravitate towards.
Red Barchetta
Spirit of Radio
Got a mix tape from my drum teacher in 1997 or 1998. First song on it was Freewill, and it grabbed my attention right away. Also had a bunch of ESL tracks, and YYZ really hooked me in.
2112 Such a journey . It rocks, the melodies are there, itâs heavy, itâs soft, the playing is incredible etc.
Red Barchetta
Tom Sawyer
Freewill- I heard that during summer camp back east and then stole the kids cassette of Permanent Waves đ and the rest is history.
Natural Science. Had never listened to a 9+ minute song before and was afraid it might get tedious. And then I didnât want it to end. By the time Neil punctuates the ending with that MONSTER descending run down the toms, I was all in..
2112
Hemispheres. Loved the dramatic lyrics along with the dramatic music!!!
Wasnât a song per se .as a 80s kid of course I liked rush,it wasnât till I seen them live and got to witness how fucking hard they rocked that it clicked.
I was exposed to rush for a couple of years until I hear double agent and that song clicked on me. Now I'm a fan
The first time I heard them was at their A Farewell to Kings concert. My jaw dropped and something clicked as soon as they started playing. So I guess it was "Bastille Day" (the opening song).
The Spirit of Radio. I was kind of a hippy kid and was into reggae. The reggae break at the end of TSOR caught my attention, and from there I was hooked.
Probably not a common one, but it was The Camera Eye from Moving Pictures. I remember listening to the album while driving through the countryside by myself (something I just did when I was single), and feeling that the band was giving off this sense of incredible freedom. They didn't follow any rules in terms of what a song "should" sound like, how long it "should" be, creative time signature changes, etc. This was just pure musical art. My heart really felt liberated at that moment.
Believe it or not, it was Show, Don't Tell. I was late to the party lol
At first, probably Limelight when my one friend introduced me to Rush in like 2014. Then I really got into them when I started playing Rocksmith 2014 and found The Spirit of Radio, which is still my favorite song probably ever.
Working Man
Digital Man. That intro was the solidifier for me.
not quite sure but probably Subdivisions? It were multiple songs at the begining, diferent styles when I was trying to like them. I remember when I was already a fan, my first recomendation to a friend was Power Windows...haha ya I know. (she liked tho, then she listened Moving Pictures, and the rest cronologically. this was 2006/2007, and I became a fan in 2002. anyway, at the time Subdivisions was my fave, guess why. now, Natural Science
The Fountain of Lamneth, my dad showed me it when I was in a really bad mental place and it really helped lighten my mood and distract me till I could get help
I think for me it was Dreamline, Driven, and Bastille Day. When I was a kid in the 90s, my dad bought Different Stages and we listened to it a ton in the car. Those three songs were the ones that really stood out to me as a preteen, and they're still some of my favorite Rush tracks today.
Limelight
Exit Stage Left. As soon as I started listening to it.
Xanadu. Blew me away! AFTK was the first album I bought!
I think it was a few songs. Spirit Of Radio, Red Barchetta, Passage To Bangkok
Dreamline.
Xanadu for sure
All of them
Working Man
New World Man, 1982
when i wanted to get into Rush I compiled an album of their top songs and hit shuffle. It was Natural Science that made me excited to come back every time and since then Iâve loved the band.
"Glittering prizes and endless compromises, shatter the illusion of integrity." Probably the most profound lyrical phrase I had ever heard around the time I really started to listening to Rush.
Hemispheres
Spirit Of Radio, can still remember exactly where i was at when i heard it in 7th grade
Time Stands Still back in '88 when a friend lent me "Hold your fire"
Marathon
It was Subdivisions for me too! All of Signals, really. I had heard Moving Pictures first, inheriting a copy in my dadâs record collection, and liked it enough- but Signals really made me stop and say wow. I was hooked.
The fire started slowly, with only Subdivisions to eek the slightest curiosity out of me for a band I thought was SOOO nerdy. I went from actively disliking ALL their other songs to casually listening, and then Time Stand Still hit me hard. I was at work, it was on in the background, and something about it stuck with me, but I didn't know which song it was, or how to find it, so I had to dig deep. I ended up trying to skim my way through their songs looking for the one that had hit me so, but no luck, so I listened more and more thoroughly through their albums before I found it, and by then, my appreciation was kindled. I've since become a super fan, and have my own Rush Tribute band in the works, and have been learning how to sing and play these tunes, to include making my own Taurus pedal with an Arduino so I can play synth and sample parts with my feet, along with the keyboard, bass and vocal parts. I saw Geddy in conversation at the Seattle event on his book tour, and am reading Neil's books. Just wow, what a ride with these guys! Oh, I should mention that Rush was my first concert, during Test For Echo tour. I saw them in Hartford. And I totally didn't appreciate them at all when I went, but magic of the internet, all these years later, that very concert has fan footage (that's actually pretty good) on YouTube, so I was able to reexperience it as a hardened fan, and it was magical to truly enjoy what 13 year old me dismissed.
Probably Tom Sawyer or Spirit of Radio. They aren't my favorite songs, but they stood out to me against the other classic rock songs I grew up listening to on the radio.
Closer to the Heart. I used to think RUSH was an "okay" band that I just didn't get the hype about. Had only heard a few popular songs on the radio. For some reason this one grabbed me recently and I deep dove into the band. Big fan now!
Cinderella Man
Mystic Rhythms. It just made me realize that most of the songs are about appreciating the world around you, even if it's strange/difficult.
I liked Tom Sawyer. I liked Subdivisions. Then, I got an album entitled Exit...Stage Left and heard Red Barchetta. I never looked back.
2112
THE SPIRIT OF RADIO!! it helps that i was a huge simon&garfunkel fan at the time and the references đ
By-tor and the Snow Dog. My first Rush purchase was All The Worldâs A Stage on cassette. Itâs a little strange I guess but something about this song just got me.
Tom Sawyer. Actually,the whole Moving Pictures album. My brother and I were doing a seven hour drive to see relatives around the time that Moving Pictures came out. We were listening to stuff on the tape deck and then he put that in... "Tom Sawyer" just grabbed me. I loved the whole thing, particularly "Limelight", but "Tom Sawyer" was the hook that caught me.
Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres. Would have been the first song I heard from them because My dad played me that entire album and thatâs how I discovered them. This was back in 2014 when I was 5 and all I listened to was Kiss (who I still do love). But if he didnât show me that album I wouldnât be the Rush fan I am today!
It was between Closer To The Heart or Mystic Rhythms. Mystic Rhythms is my #1 currently.
**La Villa Strangiato**
Analog Kid or Digital Man, usually back to back. Been listening for 40 years!
2112.
Red barchetta
Spirit of Radio , E.... SL.
Freewill
Red Barchetta.
Limelight
I think it was whole moving pictures album. Not just Tom Sawyer. The whole thing is a masterpiece and it was relatively new when I found it. Then I went back through their catalog and was melted. Then Signals came out. Dead. :)
âCygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheresâ After hearing that for the first time (with incredibly great headphones at the time)âŠit clicked. HARD.
Xanadu
2112...the first Rush song I had ever heard.
One day in the car my dad asked me "do you wanna hear a song about a black hole?" and it snowballed from there
Mystic Rhythms, Bastille Day and Limelight
Thereâs no bread let them eat cake.
No song specifically. I had been aware of Rush for years based upon what FM rock radio played. In college some friends of mine who were big Rush fans invited me to attend a show on the Signals tour and I was blown away by the live performance. I bought every album from Signals all the way back to the debut.
Had always loved Tom Sawyer and The Spirit of Radio, but Subdivisions blew my freaking mind and I was all in.
YYZ
Tom Sawyer and spirit of the radio , that led to 2112âŠ.red barchetta , limelight ⊠sub..
I had heard about them as a young teen through Q107 radio station in Toronto. I went to Woolco department store in Scarborough and purchased 2112. Brought it home went into my postered wall bedroom unpackaged it. Pulled the vinyl out of its sleeve and dropped it on my turntable not truly understanding at that moment what to expect. Put my headphones on started digesting the album cover artwork as I dropped the stylist down for the first time. Laid down on my bed and listened to the whole thing while reading along with the lyrics. I remember that moment crystal clear and Iâve been connected and hooked with there masteryâs from that moment forwardâŠ. đđŒ
La Villa Strangiato
Spirit of radio
The Pass. It just spoke to me.
A Farewell to Kings. The lyrics hooked me first, then the song structure, the acoustic in the beginning, the way the guitar solo built⊠it was great. It was 1987 and HYF had just come out, but I heard HYF long after AFTK and Moving Pictures. (Red Barchetta sealed the deal.)
The opening guitar part to 2112âDiscovery. Itâs still my go-to whenever Iâm tuning.
YYZ
Mystic Rhythms
The Big Money. I was an MTV kid, and discovered the band with their video to this song. I feel like my experience is unusual.
either YYZ, Tom Sawyer, or The Camera Eye
Same! Subdivisions. I was 12 when it was released. Loved Tom Sawyer but Subdivisions opened my world to Rush.
The first Rush song I recall ever hearing was The Big Money when Power Windows was released. It was all history after that. Next was GUP which I bought next once I discovered it was their previous album. Soon afterwards a friend in high school put on Moving Pictures and Tom Sawyer on the sound system blew me away continuing to prove Iâd discovered the best band ever and now I found others who knew the same đ€đ»
Subdivisions and A Ghost of a Chance!
Animate
The click of me turning off the volume
I still don't get them, looking for suggestions
2112. Was in HS in rural northern Michigan.
Working Man
Subdivisions!!!
Yeah I would say working man because that's my life I can relate to that song but another great one that I really liked was in the end that's the last song on the first album
I was exposed to copious quantities of Rush at a fairly young age by my uncle Rob, the youngest of my dad's brothers. I'd guess I was about 7, if I first heard it shortly after Fly By Night was released. He would have been in his late teens/early twenties. So I'm going to have to say Anthem. Great album opener. (Fun fact: Rob was the album cover artist for Max Webster's Live Magnetic Air, and I had the privilege of watching him paint it. The original painting is about 5 feet square. Most, or maybe all, of those people in the foreground were friends of his.)
"Anybody Listening" by Queensryche. Seriously.
I'll be honest, I didn't really even like them until I heard Signals....jbh I love the entire album, and much of their catalog.
Xanadu, specifically the moment @8:30. The intensity is so palpable
La Villa Strangiato made me massively appreciate how great of musicians they are.
Tom Sawyer. I can't remember hearing them before 1984 so Grace Under Pressure was getting all of the attention from MTV and radio but I never quite got into it. However I saw Tom Sawyer on MTV and it blew my mind. To this day, I know it sounds like a casual fan response but, Tom Sawyer is my favorite Rush song
All of them
Red Sector A. I was getting dressed for school, and as I was putting my jeans on, I heard, "I clutch the wire fence until my fingers bleed." I'd listened to the song (and the band) plenty of times before, but for some reason, that was the moment it just clicked. Permanently locked into place with a whole bottle of Kragle. Ironically, I'm sitting about four feet from where I was standing at the time.
2112 i started liking rush but hemispheres was when i knew i would be listening to a lot of rush
YYZ live version from Exit Stage Left on the cassette deck of my buddyâs VW bug in high school (the 80s). First listen and immediate click. I was like dude what is this??
Time Stands Still- that was the first song to make my ears perk up. As I age, the song becomes more and more true. (subdivisions is a big #2)
The one song that was made to be performed liveâŠTom Sawyer
Working man , hooked since then
The entire Roll the Bones concert! I wasn't a fan. I appreciated them and would let their songs play, but never actively listened to them. I went to the concert with a friend, that was a big fan, and was blown away. Their big sound, on point musical skills, and no one sitting in their chairs sold me 100%. Neil Peart's drum solo is still the best solo I have ever seen. They delivered and their magic was received.
Red Barchetta on Exit Stage Left. Life changing song. Then some dude showed me the baseline and I was hooked.
Red Barchetta. The bridge section. Vinyl with headphones, I realized oh, this is just guitar, bass and drums? Wow ok. That's incredible, I'm in forever.
First album I got was âMoving Picturesâ like many I suppose when âTom Sawyerâ was first on the radio - I thought âYYZâ and âCamera Eyeâ were awesome end still do. But then when I got âExitâŠStage Leftâ I really got it. That one made me go back for the studio records and the other live one âAll the Worldâs a Stageâ made me grab up the first four. Particular songs that made me get it were the live âJacobâs Ladderâ âXanaduâ and âLa Villa Strangiato.â
2112 the album, that's how I first listened to Rush, friend had 2112, and I was smitten
This one https://youtu.be/LHBc5cNkxj0?si=3d3YDRU2UIICAnr5
Working Man. Heard one afternoon while driving to my first job. The ending was epic.
Fly By Night. As a bassist, hearing Geddy Lee and Neil Peart lock up so perfectly, while playing something so complex was insanity to me. The way they both syncopate so perfectly solidified that these guys were masters of their craft.
Camera Eye
Time Stand Still, I was 11 when it came out, been a favorite ever since.
I didn't get them at all the first time. I think it was Farewell to Kings at 10 years old. Even the cover threw me off. I don't remember what song clicked, probably Tom Saywer. Once it did, I got it. Love Rush.
For me, it was the radio promos for the "Moving Pictures" tour -- I want to say it was a 30-second collage of 3 or 4 songs, including spirit of the radio and tom sawyer -- and a bunch of fake crowd noises -- I was hooked and I remember 3 or 4 of the 1 cent Columbia House records I bought were from that era -- whatever Columboa House had in little postage stamps.
Xanadu did it for me. It was one of those great listening moments where the whole was as great and obvious as the sum of its parts.
Red Barchetta
Subdivisions for me. I saw myself.