Rush, for all three of you who might not have heard of them, is a Canadian prog rock band (eh?). They formed in 1968, released their first album in 1974, and have been together ever since. This is going to follow the format of the last review, where I review the band members individually, then the band as a whole.
Alex Lifeson (1968-) was the original member of Rush, and is still the guitarist. He has been with the band without pause since they formed, and shows no signs of slowing down. He is one of the better guitarists I've heard, playing fast and cleanly, and gets extra cool points for using a double-necked guitar on several occasions in the 70's, and then more for occasionally wearing a kimino. If he was in any other band, he would probably be the star member. As it is, though, he is overshadowed by his bandmates for being awesome instead of an instrumental god.

Geddy Lee (1968-) joined the band shortly after the original bassist and vocalist, Jeff Jones (who won't be mentioned again, since he left after only three months) left the band. He is the bassist, vocalist, and keyboardist for Rush. His vocal range is quite wide, but he usually sings higher pitched, though he has toned down in recent years. His keyboarding skills are quite good, especially considering all that he is manipulating at the time. But his true strength is his bass playing. He is one part of what I refer to as the "Holy Trinity" of bassists, the other two parts being Les Claypool and Flea. His bass playing is almost unparalleled, and has influenced bassists such as Steve Harris, Les Claypool, Cliff Burton, and John Myung. I don't even think it's much of a stretch to call him the best bass player I have ever heard. He gets more cool points than Alex Lifeson for using a double-necked bass guitar during the seventies, as well.

John Rutsey (1968-1874) was the original drummer for Rush, though he was only on one album before quitting. He was a decent enough drummer, but he wasn't anything special. He did some tricky fills, but that's about it. Awesome mustache, though. Now, why haven't many people, even many Rush fans, heard of him? Because of this man...

Neil Peart (1974-) replaced John Rutsey as the drummer for Rush, and promptly wiped John Rutsey from memory. His drum kit is a thing of legends, with multiple drums, orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, timpani, a gong...you know what? Here's a picture.

And he uses it all during his drum solos. He is one of the best drummers in the world, a designation I only give to him, Mike Portnoy, Nicko McBrain, and Keith Moon. On top of being the drummer, he is also the lyricist for Rush, producing some rather deep lyrics touching upon economy ("Big Money"), ecology ("Distant Early Warning"), and government ("The Trees", working as an analogy). He also has a couple songs depicting his feelings on choice ("Free Will") and religion ("Roll the Bones"). Sadly, he has an 8 month gap away from the band, taking a spiritual journey across Canada in 1998, after losing his daughter and only child in 1997 to a car crash, and then his wife to cancer 10 months later. Despite that considerable double blow, he returned to the band and continues being awesome to this day. No one can deny his skills as a drummer and a lyricist. Well, except for Mirage magazine, who named him as one of the top 40 worst lyricists.

Rush is my second favorite band, with the only thing keeping them back is my love for metal, and thus Iron Maiden. But I have never heard a bad Rush song, and after 34 years with their current lineup, they are still going strong. Rush is definitely something for Canada to be proud of, and more than makes up for Bryan Adams. So, here's to another 20 years of Rush!

Geddy Lee is the coolest motherfucker to ever walk the earth.

Agreed. Especially considering how little success has gone to his head. He hasn't screwed over the fans yet.

you gotta love Neil Pert and his drum set.

You mean his "Oh my God, what the hell is that?!" set.

I agree completely, except for the fact that I also have yet to see a bad Iron Maiden album.

I think I saw Nao from MTH with that dude's drum kit once.

What is MTH? Just out of curiosity.

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
Geddy Lee is the coolest motherfucker to ever walk the earth.

You gotta be to sing that high all the time whilst kicking out those bass riffs. Neil Peart is the true master of the kit. Lifeson is gifted at the strings *Limelight solo, anyone?* as well.

Rush=win, QED. Any Questions?

Not at all. Except for how you feel about John Rutsey.

I didn't really go into the eras of the band and individual albums because I didn't want to make my review a wall of text.

that drumset is the most amazing thing in the whole world.