20 Favorite Rush Songs
It's hard to just pick 20 songs out of their 19 albums, especially when there's a Rush fanboy out there that will swear each album is the best. Here's a pretty run of the mill favorites list that has not been tampered with to appear more elite, mainstream, etc. |
| 20 |  | Rush
Signals
"The Analog Kid" - This song defies the misconception that after Moving Pictures Rush was no good. It's energetic, catchy, and synthy. That guitar solo with Geddy laying down some sick bass while the keyboard raises everything higher is fantastic. |
| 19 |  | Rush
Moving Pictures
"Witch Hunt" - Great moody track. It just goes to show how much Rush had matured since their early days and could write some serious tunes. |
| 18 |  | Rush
Fly By Night
"Anthem" - Heavy riffs! |
| 17 | | Rush
Signals
"Subdivisions" - Though they'd get carried away with that synth in the 80s, this song heavily utilizes it and very well for that matter. |
| 16 | | Rush
Moving Pictures
"Red Barchetta" - This song gives you a real rush (hehe); like you're really in that sweet car Geddy sings about. |
| 15 |  | Rush
Rush
"Working Man" - Though it does sound like Sabbath meets Zeppelin, "Working Man" is a great song in its own right. Rush needed a catchy song like this to get them through their early years and into their more successful prog era. |
| 14 |  | Rush
Permanent Waves
"Jacob's Ladder" - Of the two proggiest songs on PW, I always preffered this one to "Natural Science." Though both have great heavy riffs, "Jacob's Ladder" really shows off that keyboard and flows a bit better. |
| 13 |  | Rush
Hemispheres
"The Trees" - Great lyrics that can be taken any way the listener wants. I personally think those maples need to stop complaining and be thankful they're the national tree of Canada! |
| 12 | | Rush
Moving Pictures
"Tom Sawyer" - I honestly don't get how this became Rush's #1 hit. I wouldn't say it's extremely catchy, the lyrics are fairly cryptic, and it just has a off-putting mood to it. Anways, the keyboard riff is awesome and the solo is one of their best. It just goes to show how Rush was always overcoming the odds. |
| 11 |  | Rush
A Farewell to Kings
"Closer to the Heart" - Every rock band in the late 70s and 80s needed that great power ballad. "Close to the Heart" was that song for Rush. It's probably just the lyrics, but it reminds me of "Come Sail Away" by Styx which came out the same year. |
| 10 |  | Rush
Clockwork Angels
"The Garden" - At this point in their career, the only thing Rush hadn't pulled off already is that really great ballad (excluding #11). "The Garden" delivers and then some and shows Rush can be masters of subtlety as well as technicality. |
| 9 | | Rush
Moving Pictures
"YYZ" - Just Rush at the top of their game...without Geddy Lee's singing. |
| 8 | | Rush
A Farewell to Kings
"Xanadu" - A great song that is based on that one poem about Kublai Khan. Now that is prog. It's also has the best use of keyboards from their 70s output. |
| 7 | | Rush
Permanent Waves
"Spirit of the Radio" - How does Peart write such perfect lyrics for the new season the band was in? That riff is awesome, and this marks their first adventure into reggae. |
| 6 | | Rush
Hemispheres
"La Villa Strangiato" - Again, probably the best place for new Rush fans to start if they haven't yet warmed up to high-pitched shrieking. |
| 5 | | Rush
Permanent Waves
"Freewill" - How can a song with this many tempo changes be so catchy? How about that solo? Can I get an amen? Only if you want to give me an amen, of course. It's your choice :) |
| 4 | | Rush
A Farewell to Kings
"Cygnus X-1" - Some awesome heavy bass and drum playing is closed with Geddy's most piercing shriek and heavy metal riffs to make one early prog metal classic. |
| 3 | | Rush
Hemispheres
"Cygnus X-1 Book II" - Like "2112", this follow up to the final track on AFTK is divided into parts but flows quite nicely and ends with a pretty refrain from Alex on the acoustic and Geddy Lee singing, "With the heart and mind united in a single, perfect sphere." Wow. |
| 2 |  | Rush
2112
"2112" - This song put Rush and Canada on the prog map. The story of a man who wants to rock against all odds still speaks to new Rush fans to this day. Like ELP's "Tarkus", this song completely overshadows the rest of the album. Good thing Rush got more consistent afterwards. |
| 1 | | Rush
Moving Pictures
"Limelight" - Yes, I picked a radio single for #1. Oh no! Then noobs will think they know Rush! Whatever. I just love this song. Great riffs, chorus, drumming, and emotional solo. It's almost prophetic how the lyrics fit perfectly with where the band was at that time with their most commercially successful album. |
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