Can't Rush Greatness

When Rush issued Vapor Trails in 2002, they revealed that – even after Neil Peart's personal tragedies in the 1990s had cast the group's future in doubt – they were back with a vengeance. The sound was hard-hitting, direct, and extremely focused. Lyrically, Peart went right after the subject matter he was dealing with – and it was in the aftermath of 9/11 as well, which couldn't help but influence his lyric writing…

British power trio Strife debuted with 1975's Rush, a quirky, progressive-tinged hard rocker that could draw some stoned comparisons to early Budgie and Hawkwind…

2008 digitally remastered two-fer from the Canadian power trio led by the exceptional guitar playing of Frank Marino. Mahogany Rush IV was originally released in 1976 and was the band's first album for Columbia. World Anthem followed one year later.

From a lyrical perspective, 1991's Roll the Bones is quite possibly Rush's darkest album (most of the songs deal with death in no uncertain terms), but from a musical point of view, the record treads territory (highbrow melodic hard rock) similar to its recent predecessors, with only a few surprises thrown in for good measure…

Although keyboards dominated Rush's 1989 double live set A Show of Hands, it's a definite improvement over its somewhat flat predecessor, 1981 's Exit…Stage Left. The band's music isn't as hard rock-based as it previously was, evidenced by the more modern-sounding compositions selected for this third live album (the first Rush album to be produced completely by the band)…

While virtually unknown in the U.S., pop singer Jennifer Rush achieved superstar status as an expatriate in Europe, selling millions of records and releasing a string of hit singles notable for their booming, dance-rock arrangements and Rush's powerful voice. Born Heidi Stern in New York City, Rush's father was an opera singer and her mother was a pianist. At the age of nine, she moved to Germany with her family, returning in her teens to the States.

Instead of playing it safe and writing Moving Pictures, Pt. II, Rush replaced their heavy rock of yesteryear with even more modern sounds for 1982's Signals. Synthesizers were now an integral part of the band's sound, and replaced electric guitars as the driving force for almost all the tracks…