Bbobby Rush Rawer Than Raw

While such albums as 1980's Permanent Waves and 1981Moving Pictures are usually considered Rush's masterpieces (and with good reason), 1978's Hemispheres is easily as deserving and acts as a hinge piece between the band's early hard rock material and more progressive later offerings. The album consists of four compositions (half are lengthy). The 18-minute-long "Cygnus X-1, Book II Hemispheres" is arguably the band's finest extended track, and a sequel to "Cygnus X-1" from the previous year's A Farewell to Kings. While the track's labyrinthine storyline isn't as comprehensible as "2112" was, it's much more consistent musically, twisting and turning through five different sections that contrast heavy rock sections against more sedate pieces…

In 2002, after a six-year layoff from the recording studio, Canadian prog rock heroes Rush returned with the album Vapor Trails, the group's first album of the new millennium, and a return to the business of making music after drummer Neil Peart struggled with the death of his wife and daughter. While the group's loyal fans embraced this new batch of songs, not everyone was happy with the way the album sounded - including the members of Rush. Bassist Geddy Lee told a reporter in 2013, "We overcooked it…the mixes were really loud and brash. The mastering job was harsh and distorted." When Rush released the compilation Retrospective, Vol. 3 in 2009, they included newly remixed versions of two tracks from Vapor Trails, "Earthshine" and "One Little Victory"…

Not only is 1981's Moving Pictures Rush's best album, it is undeniably one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time. The new wave meets hard rock approach of Permanent Waves is honed to perfection – all seven of the tracks are classics (four are still featured regularly in concert and on classic rock radio). While other hard rock bands at the time experimented unsuccessfully with other musical styles, Rush were one of the few to successfully cross over. The whole entire first side is perfect – their most renowned song, "Tom Sawyer," kicks things off, and is soon followed by the racing "Red Barchetta," the instrumental "YYZ," and a song that examines the pros and cons of stardom, "Limelight."

Hold Your Fire is the twelfth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 8, 1987. It was recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, Air Studios in Montserrat and McClear Place in Toronto…

Bobby Rush and Kenny Wayne Shepherd were born about 44 years and miles apart. Several decades later after the two forged their own path in music and the blues, it seemed like an idea that had been waiting to happen. For over 100 years, blues music has inspired, comforted and spoken to the truth. Young Fashioned Ways has managed to accomplish all of that and more. Shepherd notes, “Once Bobby and I got together, it felt like going home," with Rush adding, "I've been waiting a long time for something like this to come knocking.” Kenny Wayne Shepherd is a multi-platinum recording artist with five Grammy nominations, several Blues Music awards, among many other awards and accolades. Bobby Rush is a 3x Grammy winner and Blues Hall of Famer with his most recent Grammy win for his last album All My Love For You.”

Recorded and filmed over two (sold-out, of course) evenings at Toronto's Air Canada Centre in the midst of the band's 35-date North American R40 tour, the aptly named R40 Live finds Rush at a crossroads. On the one hand, it's a festive affair that sees the stalwart trio performing a lethal mix of classics, deep cuts, and recent triumphs with the gusto of men many years younger, but that carnival atmosphere is tempered by the fact that after 41 years, the band may be finally exiting stage left. Neil Peart's chronic tendonitis may be the biggest contributing factor to the band's retirement from the road, but one would be hard-pressed to find any flaws in his performance. In fact, R40 Live may be the band's most dynamic live LP to date.

By 1993, alternative rock had arrived in a big way, and surprisingly, Canadian veterans Rush were game, releasing their most honest and organic rock & roll record in over a decade with Counterparts. Opener "Animate" is straightforward enough, but doesn't even hint at the guitar ferocity and lyrical angst of "Stick it Out," a song which undoubtedly polarizes Rush fans to this day. Intellectual melodic rockers like "Cut to the Chase," "At the Speed of Love," and "Everyday Glory" are also present (and less shocking), but diversity continues to rule the day with Geddy Lee's bass taking charge on the amazingly somber "Double Agent" and the giddy instrumental "Leave That Thing Alone." Pure hard rock resurfaces on "Cold Fire," but it is the largely acoustic "Nobody's Hero" which provides the album's most gripping moment with an impassioned plea for HIV consciousness and understanding.

Since Neil Peart joined the band in time for 1975's Fly by Night, Rush had been experimenting and growing musically with each successive release. By 1980's Permanent Waves, the modern sounds of new wave (the Police, Peter Gabriel, etc.) began to creep into Rush's sound, but the trio still kept their hard rock roots intact. The new approach paid off – two of their most popular songs, the "make a difference" anthem "Freewill," and a tribute to the Toronto radio station CFNY, "The Spirit of Radio" (the latter a U.K. Top 15 hit), are spectacular highlights. Also included were two "epics," the stormy "Jacob's Ladder" and the album-closing "Natural Science," which contains a middle section that contains elements of reggae.