A Simple Kind Mirror: The Lyrical Vision of Rush

By Leonard Roberto Jr.

With over 35 million albums sold in their thirty-year career, the Canadian rock trio Rush clearly has been embraced by discerning music fans around the world. The band's musical and lyrical depth and complexity has inspired everything from comic books to novels. Fans on all levels extract varying degrees of meaning and emotion from the band's extensive and ever-changing catalog.

This book is one fan's labor of love; an exploration of how the band's lyrical panorama changed from the fantastic to the realistic, from sci-fi adventures to gritty portraits of how humans face the modern world. This is by no means a definitive work exposing what the band's implicit messages and themes convey-that is beyond anyone's scope save that of the band itself. Rather, A Simple Kind Mirror is a song-by-song journey through Rush's 1980 to 1996 offerings, placing the social commentaries covered within.

The beauty of this band is that fans can identify with them on many levels and process their messages in personal and individual ways. In A Simple Kind Mirror, Len Roberto explores the foundation of hope and inspiration Rush carries throughout its portfolio.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 7, 2002
• ISBN: 9780595724222

Leonard Roberto Jr.

Len Roberto has read everything available on Rush in print and online. This book is a personal and open attempt to record honestly what this music has meant to him and to share it with other fans. Len resides in Connecticut and is married to a wonderful companion. No doubt his daughter will be exposed to Rush?s music from an early age!

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All Rights Reserved © 2000 by Leonard Roberto, Jr.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Writers Club Press an imprint of iUniverse, Inc.

For information address:

iUniverse, Inc.

2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100

Lincoln, NE 68512

www.iuniverse.com

Lyrics and cover art used with permission of Rush.

Cover image courtesy of Eric A. Hansen of www.2112.net/powerwindows/

ISBN: 0-595-21362-6

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Permanent Waves (1980)

3 Moving Pictures (1981)

4 Signals (1982)

5 Grace Under Pressure (1984)

6 Power Windows (1985)

7 Hold Your Fire (1987)

8 Presto (1989)

9 Roll the Bones (1991)

10 Counterparts (1993)

11 Test for Echo (1996)

12 The Return of Rush—2002

Sources Quoted/Consulted

About the Author

1

Introduction

I cannot remember the exact circumstances, but I do recall that I was in my first car, an old Duster with a beat up stereo. I was seventeen and probably heading to work after school when Tom Sawyer by Rush came on the radio. Of course, I had heard of the band before, but I had never really listened to their music, with the exception of the few snippets I’d heard on the radio or at my friend’s house. I knew that one of my buddies was a fan but I was firmly entrenched in my classic rock phase, listening almost exclusively to Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Bad Company, and similar bands. My narrow musical tastes were about to be broadened.

Tom Sawyer overwhelmed me. Even through my used, static-riddled speakers, the music was turning my cautiously-formed and carefully-chosen musical preferences around. Puttering to work in my car, my insides were screaming, This is what it’s about! The thundering drums, thick bass lines, and virtuosic guitar riffs were searing themselves into my young musical consciousness. When the song ended and my adrenalin high ebbed, my mission was before me: find out more about Rush and get my hands on their albums as fast as I could. I called my buddy up and asked him to record as much as he could for me from his albums and tapes. I went to a record store that week and purchased Moving Pictures, the album that featured Tom Sawyer.

Listening to that song on the way to work was the start of my appreciation for Rush and their music. Soon, after amassing an impressive catalog of recordings, I had plenty of music to explore. The discoveries continue to this day. The music of Rush has much to offer to anyone looking for something deeper in the rock genre. My years of listening to, reading about, and discussing the band’s work have revealed a depth and honesty that I’ve found lacking in most other artists.

The thing that makes Rush so appealing to me—and I assume, to most of their fans—is the unique combination of musical artistry and thought-provoking subject matter. In my early discoveries, I was attracted not only to interaction of the musical elements—the drums, guitar, and bass—but also to the profound and stimulating quality of the lyrics. That is their genius in a nutshell.

In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, I became very cynical about the music available in record stores. I did not want to listen to songs about partying all night, joining a gang, or getting laid, and I didn’t want to hear artists whining about how pathetic and futile life is. I became sick of the formulaic garbage that was being shoved down my throat by radio DJs, performed by people who obviously didn’t share my sensibilities and feelings. As Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for Rush, stated in a 1994 interview: Almost every piece of rock music, especially through the 80s, was made specifically to a formula, usually with the A&R man sitting in the studio telling the band how to make it radio-friendly. (Seconds, Issue 25, 1994) I wanted and needed music on a higher plane. I was drawn to music with integrity and virtuosity, songs that inspired and celebrated the wonders of the world and the people inhabiting it. For me, to the appreciation of music is all about the mood I am in and the emotions I am feeling at the time. Rush’s music provides stimulation and inspiration, sonic pleasure and cerebral exercise, in equal measure.

As with any work of art, the Rush experience can be absorbed on many levels. In talking to other fans of the band on the Internet, at concerts, and in my own circle of friends, I have learned that my interpretations of their songs may not match those of others. Some simply enjoy the music. This is quite understandable since, no matter what genre you put Rush in, they rarely fail to impress with their musical chops. The three members of the band, Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson, are undoubtedly great musicians who have had a tremendous musical influence over the past thirty years. Others latch on to certain themes in the lyrics. Others realize that there is something about Rush that transcends the norm, but don’t feel the desire to investigate any further. Some, like myself, try to enjoy Rush from all angles, reading as much information as they can find and listening closely to what Rush has to offer, both musically and lyrically.

The following is a discussion of Rush’s music and lyrics: how they are a reflection of the time in which they were created and how I interpret the lyrics of certain songs. I will focus on albums released in the period from 1980 to 1996. I have chosen this period because 1980 marks a turning point in Rush’s career; it seems this is the moment when contemporary issues and sensibilities began to manifest themselves in their music, whereas in their