Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.   

To start off this week, Classic Rock Music Monday presents the Canadian band, Rush. 

From Wikipedia:

Rush was a Canadian rock band formed in 1968 in Toronto, that was comprised primarily of Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitar), and Neil Peart (drums, percussion, lyricist). The band was formed in Toronto in 1968 by Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bass guitarist/vocalist Jeff Jones, who was immediately replaced by Lee. After Lee joined, the band went through several line-up configurations before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their 1974 self-titled debut album; this line-up remained intact for the remainder of the band's career.

Rush achieved commercial success in the 1970s with Fly by Night (1975), 2112 (1976), A Farewell to Kings (1977) and Hemispheres (1978). The band's popularity continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with albums charting highly in Canada, the US and the UK, including Permanent Waves (1980), Moving Pictures (1981), Signals (1982), Grace Under Pressure (1984) and Counterparts (1993). Rush continued to record and perform until 1997, after which the band entered a four-year hiatus due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. The trio regrouped in 2001 and released three more studio albums: Vapor Trails (2002), Snakes & Arrows (2007), and Clockwork Angels (2012). Rush ceased touring at the end of 2015, and Lifeson announced in January 2018 that the band would not continue, which was cemented by Peart's death from glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on January 7, 2020, at the age of 67.

In 2015, Rush hit the road with their R40 tour, which ended up being their final tour. I attended the tour's last concert at The Forum on August 1, 2015, thanks to my daughter. Sadly, drummer Neil Peart's death from brain cancer made it the final concert of their career. I am glad to have been able to attend this concert to see Peart's virtuosity.(he has been consistently named as one of the top ten rock drummers of all time).

Above, Rush performing at The Forum on August 1, 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Here's a video of a 2012 concert performance of one of their hits, "Subdivisions":

 

As an added video bonus, "Limelight" from their younger days (1981):