Rush

Buy at Amazon.com Finding My Way* (5:06) Need Some Love* (2:19) Take A Friend† (4:24) Here Again* (7:35) What You're Doing*† (4:22) In The Mood† (3:34) Before and After*† (5:34) Working Man*† (7:10)

Notes:

• Certified Gold by RIAA: February 1, 1995 - Highest Billboard Chart Position: 105
• "The funny thing is, John was the lyricist in the band at the time, and he wouldn't submit the lyrics for any of these songs. So Geddy had to quickly put some lyrics together for it. I wrote the lyrics to 'Here Again,' but everything else was just sort of thrown together. And I think John probably regrets that, you know, to this day." - Alex Lifeson Contents Under Pressure
• "I was going through a real struggle at this time with the band. I said to myself, 'I feel like quitting.' I was just a mixed-up kid and I began writing all sorts of additional lyrics for the songs, because most of the lyrics we had at the time were just whatever rhymed, whatever fitted in, 'cause we never really spent much time at all on the lyrics. So then finally we said, 'We've got to get some decent lyrics. This is silly, just saying whatever pops into your head and then trying to remember it the next night.' So we made a conscious effort and I started writing some lyrics. I was really having a hard time with myself and what I wanted to do with the band. I was very mixed up, I'd written a lot of lyrics and then I tore them up and never presented them. So when we went in and did the album all the old lyrics were sung. It's funny, because to this day I still can't remember why I did that. All I can attribute that to was that, at the time, I was just very confused about what I wanted to do. I really regret it because it was an incredibly selfish. stupid thing to do. But when you are young, unfortunately you do things like that. My mood would change from day to day, I had spent a lot of time on them and some of them were decent. Anyway, that's what happened." - John Rutsey, Visions
• "'Finding My Way', 'Need Some Love' and, I think, 'Here Again' were the songs that we rerecorded for the record. So we dropped 'Not Fade Away', 'Can't Fight It', and there may have been another one*...'In The Mood' was probably at least two years old, if not three, when we recorded the first record." - Geddy Lee, Contents Under Pressure
  [*The third song Geddy mentioned as being dropped from the original tracklist may have been "Fancy Dancer", an original Rush composition performed in the early '70's which during a performance on Nov. 19, 1974, he introduced as "one that will probably be on our next album". In the 1988 "Rush Backstage Club Newsletter", when asked why Fancy Dancer and Garden Road were never officially released, Neil replied, "... two original songs written before I joined the band... Well, why do you think we never recorded them?"]
• Rush's founding drummer John Rutsey, who performed on the debut album, passed away on May 11, 2008. John passed away peacefully in his sleep from an heart attack due to complications from his lifelong affliction with diabetes.

  "RUTSEY, John Howard - It is with deep sadness that John's family announces his untimely passing due to complications from his lifelong affliction with diabetes, at age 55. Donations may be made in John's memory to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 7100 Woodbine Avenue, Suite 311, Markham, ON, L3R 5J2 (online: www.jdrf.ca, by phone: 905-944-4631). Online Condolences: newbiggingfh@rogers.com. Published in the National Post on 5/15/2008."

  "Our memories of the early years of Rush when John was in the band are very fond to us. Those years spent in our teens dreaming of one day doing what we continue to do decades later are special. Although our paths diverged many years ago, we smile today, thinking back on those exciting times and remembering John's wonderful sense of humour and impeccable timing. He will be deeply missed by all he touched." - Alex & Geddy, Rush.com, May 16, 2008

• Originally released for Rock Band on July 8th, 2008, on July 21st Rush released the "Working Man" (Vault addition) on iTunes.
  

  "The version features a never before heard guitar solo that Alex Lifeson did during the original recordings back in the 70's. The song was re-mixed by Rich Chycki who is known for his work on R30 and Snakes & Arrows. A great addition to the Rush song library!" - Rush.com, July 21, 2008

• Rush had been performing original songs on the Toronto bar circuit for over five years before releasing their debut album in 1974. Alex Lifeson has discussed the possible existence11:24 AM 4/2/2009 of some recordings of these early songs, which may be released in the future:

  "I was up at my studio…I'm upgrading and changing my control room around a little bit. Rich [Chycki] and I have sort of "moved in together" in there. And I was cleaning up the back room...and I just found a case that was way up on the top shelf, and at the bottom of this box were a bunch of reel-to-reel, unlisted, unmarked, recordings…and I can only imagine that they're pre-'74. So, they would probably be from between '70 and '73...recordings from that period. So, they would probably have songs like "Run Willie Run," and "Slaughterhouse," and "Garden Road," and all of those early songs that we wrote and played during our bar days...I'll see what sort of shape they're in. I know a couple of the reels were...you know those small reels, and I've got to think that even spooling them might be a problem, never mind me playing them. Anyway, I just discovered them, so who knows? There may be something in the near future." - Alex Lifeson - Modern Guitars Magazine, Jan. 23, 2009