Transcript: "Exit...Stage Left (album review)" - Circus, February 28, 1982

With a new tour upon us, many of us are also looking forward to the obligatory live album (coming this fall or next spring, perhaps?).  I've just transcribed Circus magazine's review of the Exit Stage Left album from their February 28, 1982 issue, the live album which many Rush fans at one time deemed to be their best. The review is written by John Swenson, who would later write the Chronicles linernotes essay; he concludes "If you haven't listened much to the group, Exit is a perfect place to start. If you like Rush already this is the record you've been waiting for."

Transcript: "Anthem's Rush Receive Gold, Platinum, Plaque" - RPM Weekly, January 27, 1979

It's been some time since I have added a new transcript.  From the Hemispheres tour, here is a transcript of "Anthem's Rush Receive Gold, Platinum, Plaque" which appeared in the January 27, 1979 issue of Canada's "RPM Weekly". The article documents Rush's receipt of the U.S. Gold and Canadian Platinum album awards for Hemispheres, and includes news of fellow touring bands Wireless and Max Webster.

Transcript: "Bookends: Rush's Neil Peart And Geddy Lee" - Musician, August 1984

My latest transcript is from the August 1984 issue of Musician magazine - their Bass & Drum special. The issue included the interview "Bookends: Rush's Neil Peart And Geddy Lee", and not surprisingly, when Neil talks about the rhythm section, he adds "I don't limit it just to myself and Geddy. Because often when he's playing keyboards I have to interact together with our guitarist, Alex Lifeson, in the way that a rhythm section would. That's something that we explored a lot on Signals, our previous album."

Transcript: "Rush Won't Rush Into Style Fads Of Moment" - Billboard, March 1, 1980

Permanent Waves was released 35 years ago today, and to celebrate I've transcribed "Rush Won't Rush Into Style Fads Of Moment" from the March 1, 1980 issue of Billboard magazine.  An interview with Neil Peart following the success of Permanent Waves, Neil explains why the band isn't trendy or commercial, and states why he doesn't consider himself political.

Transcript: 'A Show Of Hands Gives Band A Rush' - Toronto Star, January 23, 1989

A Show Of Hands was released 26 years ago today! My latest transcript addition is 'A Show Of Hands Gives Band A Rush', from the January 23, 1989 issue of the Toronto Star. Published the week after the album's release, Neil recounts how excited the band were with the live album's release the week before, how they were just beginning work on their next studio album (Presto) and looking forward to a fresh start after the difficult Hold Your Fire tour.

Transcript: "Closer To The Heart: Alex Lifeson...With His First Independent Journey, Victor!" - Access, January/February 1996

Alex Lifeson's solo project Victor was released 19 years ago today, and to commemorate the event I have transcribed a rare Victor feature story from the January/February 1996 issue of Access - The Rock Radio Magazine.  In "Closer To The Heart: Alex Lifeson Dances Dangerously Close To The Senses With His First Independent Journey, Victor!", Alex talks about the reasons he created Victor, the musicians, details on the instrumentals, and how after creating Victor when he reunited with Geddy and Neil for the Test For Echo sessions, "I wasn't sure during our first week that I wanted to continue. I was still disillusioned by what I just accomplished with my record and I didn't know if I wanted to get back into the same old thing that Rush represented." - Thanks to Joe Pesch for the original article!

Transcript: 'New World Man' - PROG #52, January 2015

Today PROG #52 hit newsstands and includes a new interview with Neil Peart titled 'New World Man' where Neil talks about his latest book, Far And Near: On Days Like These, the upcoming Clockwork Lives project, as well as touring past and future. Also included is the the full feature 'R40', where PROG asks 40 famous Rush fans for their favourite Rush song. - Thanks to Reed Lover for providing the original article!

Transcript: "Alex Lifeson: Rushing Ahead" - Hit Parader's Guitar Gods, Winter 1984

My latest transcript is from the Winter 1984 "Guitar Gods" special edition of Hit Parader magazine.  That issue included numerous guitarist spotlights including "Alex Lifeson: Rushing Ahead", where Alex discusses how his role had changed over the years as the band had written more succinct songs, his solo album aspirations, and his thoughts on the then current state of Rush's music.

Transcript: "Rush'N Around" - Beat Instrumental, April 1978

My latest transcript is an extensive article from late in the Drive Til You Die tour. From the April 1978 issue of the UK's Beat Instrumental magazine, "Rush'N Around" includes all three members of Rush interviewed to discuss their touring equipment setup. Note this comment: "Alex too has been out shopping for guitars. His original Gibson double-neck was smashed in transit to New York, and he now sports a bright new white version of the guitar. His beloved 335, which he has owned since the beginning of the band in 1968, was damaged in the same accident, which is why Alex was playing his 355 instead for most of the tour." The article includes the sidebar "Rush Equipment List - European Tour 1978". - Thanks to Joe Pesch for the original article!

Transcript: "Q Reissues: 2112 Deluxe Edition" - Q, February 2013

Two years ago today, the 2112 Deluxe Edition was released.  What did you think of the overall reissue and repackaging?  Here's a transcript of a short review of the 2112 Deluxe Edition, from the February 2013 issue of Q magazine. You'll note the author has likely not read any Ayn Rand...

Rush R40 Desktop Wallpaper and Desktop Theme

Rush's R40 40th Anniversary Collection was released November 11th.  It has taken some time, but I've finally added 37 new wallpaper images to "The Rush Art Gallery" page, and in addition, I have put all the images together into one downloadable wallpaper pack and added it to the Desktop Themes for Windows page. - A huge thanks to John Patuto at Cygnus-X1 for sharing his raw scans!

Transcript: 'An Ongoing Evolution In The Rush Forward' - Hartford Courant, December 12, 1991

23 years ago today, Rush played the Hartford Civic Center on the Roll The Bones tour. My latest transcript was published the day before; 'An Ongoing Evolution In The Rush Forward' is a long lost interview with Neil Peart where he talks about some of the themes of the album, i.e. fate and chance.

Model Maker Scott Alexander comments on the Hold Your Fire street scene

A big thanks to reader Wayne Bryan who sent along this exchange with Scott Alexander, model maker of the street scene from the Hold Your Fire linernotes:

"The street scene for that cover was close to 4 feet wide. The foreground was 1:12 scale and the background, on the right, was 1:24 scale. I can't remember how long it took to build, but I built most of it in the very tiny apartment I had at the time. The foreground building was made of thin plywood and doll-house brick material that came in sheets. The diner and the building it was part of were made from standard architectural modeling materials. The car was a kit, with tail-lights lit up. The alley to the left of the foreground building was actually some other 1:12 scale fronts that had been made for a poster promoting Yamaha musical instruments. Hugh cut out the cat from some black paper and sanded the edges to give it some fur that would catch the light! The wet surface of the street was simply paint thinner poured onto the model. I really enjoyed working with 'Glugh' (Glen [Wexler, photographer] and Hugh [Syme] - pronounced "Glue". They made it up, not me!) They are both very pleasant, creative guys who only work to get the job done in the most professional way. I think they were unique in using miniatures to achieve these album covers and the results were always interesting and very striking. I miss working with them." - Scott Alexander, January 14, 2009

Transcript: "Guitar Heroes - Alex Lifeson" - Circus, January 2, 1979

Today's transcript addition is from the January 2nd, 1979 issue of Circus Weekly, which included a story featuring various "guitar heroes", including this one page segment on Alex Lifeson written by David Fricke.

Transcript: "Geddy Lee On 'The World's Most Popular Underground Band'" - Faces, May 1986

My latest transcript addition is a part one of an interview with Geddy Lee promoting Power Windows. In "Geddy Lee On 'The World's Most Popular Underground Band'", from the May 1986 issue of Faces magazine, Ged talks about the improvements made since Grace Under Pressure, and what a great experience they had recording Power Windows.

Transcript: "Rush Test For Echo Tour Resumes In May" - MTV News, May 1, 1997

Here's an interesting news update from MTV News published just six days before the second leg of the Test For Echo tour resumed on May 7, 1997: "Rush Tour Resumes In May" explains that the band was in rehearsals in San Bernadino, California, and also announces the remaining tourdates and that the Mercury Rush Remasters were to be released on May 6th.

Transcript: 'Hard Rock Cafe Glows' - Toronto Star, November 27, 2001

Thirteen years ago today, honored guest Geddy Lee threw the switch to light up the giant electric guitar outside the newly renovated Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto's Dundas Square.  City leaders hoped the renovation would be the dawn of the revitalization of Toronto's busiest intersection. Read more in my latest transcript, 'Hard Rock Cafe Glows', from the November 27, 2001 edition of the Toronto Star.

Transcript: 'Rush's Long Road To Triumph In Rio' - London Independent, December 12, 2003

12 years ago today, Rush performed at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - lovingly remembered as "Rush In Rio". Following the release of the concert film the following year, London's "Independent" newspaper published my latest transcript, 'Rush's Long Road To Triumph In Rio', which recounts the band's history from August 1997 through that amazing night in Rio five years later.

Transcript: 'Rush Climbs Rock Of Ages' - Washington Post, May 4, 1990

Rush's Presto was released 25 years ago today, and to celebrate I've transcribed "Rush Climbs Rock Of Ages", an interview with Neil Peart from the May 4, 1990 issue of the Washington Post. Peart discusses Rush's then-15 year career, as well as the tour in support of Presto.

Transcript: 'Clockwork Angels Tour - Review' - Modern Drummer, April 2014

It has already been a year since the release of Rush's Clockwork Angels Tour live video and album.  To mark the occasion I have transcribed a short review of the 'Clockwork Angels Tour video from the April 2014 issue of Modern Drummer. Critic Asif Khan gives it 4 out of 5 stars. - Thanks to Heiko Klages for the original clipping.