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.