With my favorite Canadian rock band back on the road — approaching 60 years old, each of them — I am back into a groove of listening to Rush. I’ve been listening to Rush since 1980. I wrote about it extensively when they played in Baltimore in April 2011.
And since I’ve always presented my favorite songs by my favorite musical artists, today I present my Top 50 songs – in a very specific order.
These are some liner notes and odes to my favorite lines in my favorite Rush songs. And if you’re a casual Rush fan, here are some “new” songs for you to check out. I didn’t include any songs from Clockwork Angels simply because it’s too young to be put into perspective against the rest of the catalog.
I love me some Rush…
MY Top 50 RUSH SONGS
50. The Pass – Something has to be last in line and I really like this song. “Rebel without a conscience, martyr without a cause…”
49. Grand Designs – I love most of this album. “So much style without substance, so much stuff without style.”
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48. The Body Electric – Always loved the drum and bass intro to this one. Old school, underappreciated.
47. Digital Man – “He picks up scraps of information, he’s adept at adaptation. Because for strangers and arrangers, constant change is here to stay…”
46. The Enemy Within – “It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance…”
45. Mystic Rhythms – “The more we think we know about the greater the unknown. We suspend our disbelief and we are not alone…”
44. Earthshine – A beacon in the night.
43. By-Tor And The Snow Dog – They busted this one out a few years ago and the crowd went nuts.
42. Roll The Bones – “Why are we here?”
841. Fly By Night – Overplayed on the radio, I know you’ll think I have this one a little low but it’s never been my favorite.
40. Working Them Angels – Best of the more recent material for me.
39. Working Man – Another one that classic rock seems to like and this was the song that made them a viable U.S. band.
38. Nobody’s Hero – Took a lot of courage to write this one. I like musicians with courage. I like this song.
37. Driven – Incredible bass lines in this one that’s a hard charger.
36. Overture (2112) – Classic, timeless, spacey.
35. Temples of Syrinx – Love the crowd reaction to this one.
834. La Villa Strangiato – Some say the hardest song in rock and roll to play.
33. Stick It Out – “Don’t swallow your anger, don’t swallow the lies…”
32. Witch Hunt – “Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand. Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand…”
31. Big Money — Got no soul.
30. Jacob’s Ladder — “The clouds prepare for battle…”
29. Middletown Dreams – “Dreams transport desires, drive you when you’re down…”
28. Manhattan Project — Dropping the big one.
827. In The Mood — “Hey baby it’s a quarter to eight…”
26. The Analog Kid — “When I leave I don’t know what I’m hoping to find and when I leave I don’t what I’m leaving behind…”
SEE PAGE TWO FOR TOP 25
