Rush. 1974 Canada-Ontario

Like with many debut's, Rush's entrance into this world was much different than who they became and what they were known for. Though some do not like that I linked Ontario with the American Midwest for my RYM list, the fact remains that the landscape was very similar throughout the 70s. And Rush was very much part of that scene, playing clubs and small venues. Straight up hard rock was the best game in town, and interest in the band was nominal at best. Along with their management, they were able to scrape together just enough scratch to record and release both an album and a 45 on their own. One of those scarce copies managed to get to Cleveland's WMMS, and a female program director by the name of Donna Halper placed the song 'Working Man' into their regular rotation, figuring it would appeal to their blue collar fan base. Imagine that? She also was able to get the attention of Phonogram, based in Chicago, and the rest is history as they say.

Drummer John Rutsey was not just a tagalong member, but rather he was one of the 2 founders (along with Lifeson) and was a major part of their original sound. He wanted to stay the course with the driving hard rock the band had established a small reputation for. But Lifeson and Lee (nee Weinrib) wanted to add prog rock elements and go a different direction. Along with Rutsey's health problems, it was decided a change was needed. Auditions were held, and they selected brainiac Neil Peart as their new drummer and lyric writer. The die was cast.

As a listener, it helps to put your mind into the 1974 landscape (which I did last night resulting in a +1 listen). Wet T-Shirt night and jammin' guitars was the name of the game. The cheaper the beer - the better. More for the merrier, that is to say. In that light, the great tracks here are opener 'Finding My Way', 'What You're Doing', and 'Before and After'. Best of all is the track that Ms. Halper thought would appeal to Cleveland's hard working industrial base: 'Working Man'. This song would remain as the sole representative the band took forward for their live set from their debut. If you don't go in expecting 2112 or Hemispheres, and you like hard rock, then there's a good chance to you might really enjoy Rush's debut.

Ownership: LP: 1976 Mercury. Single sleeve. Recent acquisition from a store in the Atlanta area (2023) for half of going rates. After close inspection that Atlanta copy was from 1979. A few short months after that I got an earlier press from JL (2023), that I'm keeping. Letting go of the CD, but see below for my history with the album.

CD: 200? Mercury. Commodity jewel case release, with zero add-ons other than being "remastered". What a lost opportunity. While Sony was moving forward with their awesome Legacy series, adding excellent historical liners along with bonus tracks and archive photos, Phonogram was still acting like it was 1987 and just dumping product into the marketplace, As such, these CDs are worthless.  So why do I own it then? Believe it or not this is the only copy I've ever owned of the album (purchased new in 2011 for like $5). A buddy had this in high school but I didn't like it much (see above) and I just never bothered to pursue. From a financial standpoint, that was a bad move. Even 80s black label commodity Mercury pressings go for more than many rare imports of prog albums. So imagine what the original Moon pressings go for (including the 45)? Holy Moly. As a private press, one has to admire the cover. Very striking and of its era. Mercury made the right decision to maintain it all these years. In any case, I'll replace this CD with any nice condition LP I find at a reasonable price. It will happen. It's still a commodity, so it's not a case of supply. It's a matter of beating the competition to it (2023 update: mission accomplished).

2011; 8/14/22 (new entry); 3/18/23 (LP acquire); 7/9/23 (LP upgrade)