Listening to prog-rock in the 21st century is a strange thing to do. An obviously evolving and progressive genre is so deeply rooted in the past that it can now feel a little old-fashioned. But if there is one band desperately worth revisiting, no matter your age, then it is Rush.
The band have transcended the genre and the musical blockades of style and generational taste to become a group that almost everybody can agree makes prog-rock just that little bit better.
Listening to Rush music without warning feels like putting one's brain through a blender. As much as the band may have made catchy songs throughout their tenure, going through their entire discography is enough to leave even the most experienced prog-rock fans feeling fatigued. While Rush's music may seem like it's coming from another planet, Geddy Lee claimed that one band taught them everything they knew.
Before Rush had even settled on becoming prog rockers, they would almost be lost in the mix of thousands of blues musicians that came before them. On the band's self-titled debut, most of their material revolved around songs that took a little too much influence from Led Zeppelin, from the massive licks of Alex Lifeson to Lee singing in a trademark screech that sounded close to what Robert Plant had been doing.
When the band took to the road, though, it became clear that John Rutsey would not cut it as their drummer. Having complications with diabetes, Rutsey was not equipped to take on an entire tour, leading to them parting ways and bringing in Neil Peart. With the stamina of John Bonham and Keith Moon combined, Lee was shellshocked by what Peart brought to the table from the first time he heard him play.
On their sophomore record, however, the band started to change their tune in more ways than one. Rather than the trademark boogie of their first album, there was a greater emphasis on complex musical figures, with the song 'Anthem' bringing in complex time signatures and Peart playing soon-to-be iconic drum fills.
While Lee and Lifeson had the idea of reaching for different influences, he thought one album stood out as one of the most significant influences on the group's sound. Years before they had any idea about forming a band, Genesis had already been making waves on the English music scene as one of the premiere progressive rock acts.
Following in the footsteps of other iconic prog rockers like King Crimson and Pink Floyd, the Peter Gabriel-fronted version of the band was known to indulge in vast sonic stories that would last for colossal running lengths. While Rush would eventually make their epics with 2112, Lee thought that the album Nursery Cryme had a massive effect on what they would do afterwards.
When talking about honing their craft, Lee said the band would always reference the album, saying, "It is a very playful and compelling record. I fell in love with the sound of it. I was totally entranced by it and wanted to know how they had done it. This is part of the roots of Rush. The creation of a flexible concept. The parallels are obvious."
Outside of making grand concepts, the way Tony Banks weaved in different textures on the keyboard would become a foundational part of Rush's music, with Lee adopting the role of the keyboardist on later albums like A Farewell to Kings. Rush may have been able to create vast sonic landscapes with just three people, but without Genesis laying the groundwork, they would have never gotten past their initial conceptual works.