Just want to say thanks for watching my crazy reactions! If you enjoy what I do on this channel consider supporting me. 70% of my videos are not monetized. Between setting up the studio daily, filming, editing, thumbnails, and research which all take away from my family, you guys motivate me to put out content daily. Consider buying me a coffee here www.buymeacoffee.com/poloreacts or my Patreon www.patreon.com/poloreacts PEACE!!

@KentBalzer

Жыл бұрын

I recommend you check out Rush La Villa Strangiato the official video. It's the first Rush instrumental that takes you on a journey. If you like The Necromancer, you will love La Villa Strangiato.

@THCya97961

11 ай бұрын

Rush: YYZ live in Rio is AMAZING!! The crowd will blow your mind!!!!

@grandpasurfer

4 ай бұрын

If you like this you will love Jacob’s Ladder 🔥

Haven't seen many people react to this one! Always been one of my favorite Rush tunes, this is prog at its best 🙌🏼

@garya7893

Жыл бұрын

Its my favorite album by them It brings me back to the late 70s as a teen

@David-ng7cr

7 күн бұрын

​@garya7893 Also my favorite. Fan since 76

Yes!!!! Thanks so much for honoring my request!! Neil Peart, the drummer, was one of Danny Carey's heroes. Rush is a rabbit hole just like Tool is. Glad to know you love this song as much as I do. Enjoy exploring their catalog. This entire album is incredible. Check out 2112 from the album 2112. It will blow your mind just like this one.

@christianwilliamson9752

Жыл бұрын

Thank you brother. You know we get giddy for Geddy and you spoke my heart in your words

@debbieplato5107

Жыл бұрын

I also love the Fountain of Lamneth

@clintwood9472

Жыл бұрын

@@debbieplato5107 Oh God yes. Just spectacular stuff.

@RCSkunkWorX

Жыл бұрын

Cygnus X-1 books 1 and 2

@cityhonors1

Жыл бұрын

Shout Out to 🐕 Prince Bit-Tor who I forgot makes an appearance! Hoping for Rush 'Bi-Tor and The Snowdog' Saga reaction. 🥰🐰

You can live and travel for a thousand years and never hear or experience this kind of raw talent from three humans.

@jakeb934

5 ай бұрын

thousand? eternity. There will never be anyone like Rush. It was right place RIGHT TIME in human history and is never possible again.

Bro, you are rolling back the clock on this one! I love it! This was the album that pissed the record company off enough that they essentially gave them an ultimatum to go commercial or lose the deal. They basically gave them the middle finger and made 2112, and the rest is history.

i can't live happy without RUSH, man they rocked my world as a kid in the 70's

Alex Lifeson doesn't get the appreciation he deserves such an underrated guitarist

The track after this, The Fountain of Lamneth is as many parts and is a sort of description of life from birth to death. It is my personal all time favorite and even outdoes the necromancer because it covers so many stages of life..

@clintwood9472

Жыл бұрын

100 percent agree.

@ryanmustain6545

Жыл бұрын

So true. Love Fountain. It's the perfect A to Z.

@pablozee6359

Жыл бұрын

Agreed. The Fountain of Lamneth showcases a little more musical & lyrical diversity and isn’t dated with goofy voiceovers.

@garya7893

Жыл бұрын

The Fountain is by far my fav from them

@lvgelfling72

Жыл бұрын

Fountain is so underrated... such a great story and such a true life story to most humans, right. Obsessed with that mountain in the east... not living in the moment...I guess that was kind of a running theme of Neil's, yeah? Love! Carress of Steel

With eyes closed is exactly how I used to listen to this album in my room in 1981, volume cranked in my wired, over ear headphones 🤘🏼💯

@MaudeWhite-yc6ji

Ай бұрын

Amennn🎉

people used to sit around and just listen to music. They’d put on a record, sit on the floor with the album cover and do pretty much nothing else for the 30-40 minutes it took for both sides. So bands had your attention and could build slowly like this. You weren’t going anywhere, you were here for it.

@pongosnodgrass7014

Жыл бұрын

Hear ya

@soth1sol

Жыл бұрын

ROBERT FRIPP (king crimson) 26 august 1998 diary entry: The subject of "hearing / listening" involuntarily presented itself to my reflectivity this morning as I was reading the chapter on representation from Roger Scruton's "Aesthetics of Music". This while quaffing a demon brew of Fripp's Monster Cappucino, served in an antique English breakfast cup of alarming proportions. ... Thus fired this Wednesday morning, and having crossed the chapter-divide between Ontology and Representation, "listening / hearing" impinges upon Scruton's critique of Kivy and synapses fire in my cerebellum. What of hearing and listening? From an audient's viewpoint, the issue, interest and concern in listening / hearing is how to move from the outside of music to its inside, where the listener is (really, truly) part of the music: mother to the music: co-creator in the creative impulse's movement into form and limitation. Briefly, this involves moving between four qualitative degrees (or "worlds") of hearing. These are: 1. Passive receptivity, or automatic hearing (actually, "deafness") where we only hear what we think we are hearing. We have no authentic connection with the music. 2. Where we connect with the music: our attention is engaged and directed towards the sound source. This is the beginning of listening, or more properly, active listening. As a result of directing our attention, we connect with / to the music. Our listening / hearing is governed by our attention span, so what we hear is also necessarily limited. As our attention sags, we fall out of an active connection with / to the music and back into "deafness". 3. Where we understand what we hear. This involves: i) A practice of active listening. This implies a volitional attention span of 90 minutes, which is itself the outcome of a well established personal practice (this takes some 21 years). ii) Knowledge, information, study; i.e. we know the structural elements of the music; the time - place - person background: the music's origination in its cultural and historical settings, and the individual/s involved. iii) A "feel" of / for the music. iv) Probably, some functional "hands on" experience (e.g. amateur music making). v) The sense is of "connection": between our feeling, knowing, doing experiencing of the music, and the music. 4. Where we ARE what we hear. How to describe this one? It's where the audient becomes mother to the music. This is something more than "only" active listening. This is where we experience music as coming to us, as we approach music. We are not apart from music: this is communion. The experience is of "instantaneous" listening / hearing, and is nothing like anything we would (could) ordinarily conceive of as "listening". Perception in depth is governed by our "being", or the degree to which we are who and what we are. Fortunately for us music so needs, and wishes, to be heard that it sometimes calls on unlikely characters to give it ears (and voice). So, for this guitarist and aspirant musician, music is an instrument of grace and as close to us as we are to ourselves. So the question is: how close are we to ourselves?

@cityhonors1

Жыл бұрын

🤣 Man if I had a dime for every hand of 'War' I won playing cards while listening to Rush 🤯 I would've been a $Millionaire by the time 😂I got out of HS! 🙄😒 Seriously........ 🤭😁😆

@Cyber.Lynx.

Жыл бұрын

And we were glad to have it! /nod

@mattbaker5757

Жыл бұрын

Used to? Speak for yourself! (And millions if others, but NOT me!) This is what I still do, or if I'm being totally honest, this is what I do again now, since rediscovering Rush about a year ago. Oh I heard the dozen-or-so singles that were radio hits for rush back in the day I knew who Rush was and everything I heard on the radio from them I loved. But for some reason, when it came to buying music, I just chose other groups back in the day. But about a year ago I started watching reaction videos wondering what they were all about. Eventually stumbling across reactions to a few Rush songs that I fondly remembered... And then on to their deep cuts, the long Symphonies that I never heard back in the day because they didn't play them on the radio. And once I had discovered 2112, that was was it for me; I fell in love and was addicted to Rush. A year and thousands of dollars later, I have collected 16 of Rush's studio albums, so far, out if 19 (20 if you count their 60's Rock cover album, feedback) and several live albums and video DVD and Blu-ray is of concerts. On both CD as well as remastered audiophile-quality 200g half-speed mastering and Direct to Metal Mastering double-length LP's. I bought a high-end audiophile turntable, and carefully arranged My speakers to create the best soundstage/soundscape and I dropped a needle on that new Rush album, getting up only to flip the sides of the vinyl and listen to the album straight through... Sometimes two full album straight through, like in the case of a farewell to Kings and hemispheres with the Cygnus X1: books 1 and 2. And I don't listen to el-p's any other way but sitting down relaxing and listening to them straight through. The CDs are for the car where I can skip to the songs I like.

The Necromancer is a Metaphor for the "music business" and the struggle they had to create their own music... THEY WON! and we are all the better for it....

The legendary Rush at their finest. Lifeson's amazing, spontaneous guitar. Geddy Lee's powerful, expressive bass and vocals. Peart's informative, rhythmic drive and next level lyrical narration. The favorite band of your favorite band.

I just clicked on this, so I will be watching the reaction after typing this. Hats off to this man for "going there".

Rush my favorite band ever no one will ever take that away from me, 3 master musicians who makes a 3piece band sound like 6 people are playing RIP PROFESSOR YOU ARE MISSED.

One of their greatest songs- it'll sound awesome in your SUV....Gotta go back to the beginning- RUSH, with Working Man. Pure Rock n Roll.

Amazing that THREE guys made this sound 🤦🏼👏👏👏

VIEWS DON'T MEAN SHIT LOTSA TIMES YOU'RE RIGHT POLO 😊 MOST 18-30 YEAR OLDS HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT RUSH MUCHLESS ( THE NECROMANCER )😟 AND ALSO POLO, PART 1 OF THIS STORY IS OFF THE ALBUM BEFORE THIS ( FLY BY NIGHT ) AND IT'S CALLED : BY TOR AND THE SNOW DOG, AND THEN PART 2 IS THIS OFF OF MY FAVORITE ALBUM ( CARESS OF STEEL ) 😊

@brucedickinson12

Жыл бұрын

Most gravitate to the more popular songs but this is a fav . Of mine .

Prince By-Tor is a character you might hear again in the song "By-Tor and the Snow Dog". It's a name derived by their road manager when they were all at a party - two dogs, a German Shepherd that seemed to bite everyone was By-Tor, and another more nervous white dog (Snow Dog) that skittered around everyone. Both owned by the manager and the rest is Rush lyric history.

@miconis123

Жыл бұрын

Yea that was from the album before this one. This is By-Tor's redemtion

Now THIS RIGHT HERE is what I call “Stoner music.” 😎 Just try to put that onto sheet music, lol.

Love when people find the Greatness of Rush... Always Pay attention to the lyrics in all songs or you will be missing greatness... There is so much knowledge and lessons in them... Peart was a real genius. I confess I used Rush and Peart lyrics as a guide since I was missing a father figure...They cover many issues of society. Peart can mix science, literature, philosophy, mythology, physics, astronomy very coherently in a song... They call him "The Professor" for a reason...

" The song 'The Necromancer' from their following album Caress of Steel (1975) was described by Peart as the "mythological sequel" to 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog.' " 'Bytor and the Snow Dog' should definitely be added to the list. As well as 'Working Man' and 'The 2112 Overture' (Another long, but well worth it, one)

@rogeebundy6002

Жыл бұрын

Side one of 2112 should be next Then by tor and the snow dog

A truly great album...The beginning of what was to become THE Rush. Fountain of Lamneth is the magnum opus of the album

RUSHs song 'Red Barchetta" will give you speeding ticket!

This is definitely a great deep cut by Rush, loved the reaction, now time for more story telling with 2112!!🤘😎🤘

The effect that is being used on the guitar (and voice in the intro I think) is a phase shifter. Specifically, if I remember right, an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone unit. For something Rush that's even more 'outside' try Cygnus X-1 on the "A Farewell To Kings" album.

Nice to see Caress of Steel getting a bit of love. Glad you enjoyed!

Deep cut Rush! You started deep. It only gets better . Rush was one of the best live performances ever. Saw them many times over a 35 year time span.

This tune is such a strange, bizarre, weird song...and I love it! There are parts that take you off guard and make you wonder what the heck is going on, yet you can't stop listening to it! Trippy is a good word to use to describe it.

The guitarist and bassist are 22 years old here BTW. Drummer slightly older. There are about 100 other songs as great as this or better by Rush. Welcome polo....welcome

I hear pink Floyd and black Sabbath influence in this incredible track. Body goosebumps! This one of the greatest rock songs I've ever heard.Great content brother

@fluffyusa

Ай бұрын

Return of the Prince, you heard a lot of The WHO, Baba O'riley melody too!

Spent many nights of my youth after a joint listening too this album. The Holy Trinity of Rock never disappoints.☮️🇨🇦

@lancewilliams4847

Жыл бұрын

oh yeah, def doob material!

@allanperry6507

Жыл бұрын

I hear ya, just smoke a joint and lay your head back with your eyes closed and just take in the full greatness of the best band in the world 🌎 that is 🤘RUSH🤘🇨🇦. Smiles 😃 from Ontario Canada 🍁

@Mark-po6ng

Жыл бұрын

still do

First time I heard Rush was in 1979 when I would go to my friend's house. We would play pool and listen to bands like Rush, Scorpions, Van Halen and Judas Priest. Thank you Todd Hall for introducing me to some awesome bands

No idea why this track doesn’t get more love as an all time classic. Magical composition and performance. As you say, it should have 30 million views at least.

Best song on this album imo is lakeside park. Really nostalgic and sweet memory from Neil, and now Neil is just a memory too. 😢

@crazyfingers19

Жыл бұрын

Couldn’t agree more. My first album was All The Worlds A Stage (Columbia House record of the month. Imagine that!) and Lakeside Park transitioning (very smoothly) into 2112 literally changed my life. (For the better, I think)

@Vinnywell

Жыл бұрын

"Tho it's just a memory, some memories last foreverrrr" so good

@stevefuegner1876

Жыл бұрын

Xanadu!!! The ultimate Masterpiece from Farewell To Kings..

@williamdemerchant7295

Жыл бұрын

All The Worlds a Stage - My first Rush album. RIP NP 🥁😍

Crazy how Neil sound like his older self with that effect on his voice. 😁

Although they had already shown glimpses of greatness with their song "Bytor and the Snowdog" from the album "Fly By Night", also released in 1975, I think Rush really hit their stride with "Caress of Steel", cementing their style with "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth", and kept on going through 2112 (1976), A Farewell to Kings (1977), Hemispheres (1978) and Permanent Waves (1980). They started to morph into a totally different creature after Moving Pictures (1981) - not better or worse, just different. But 1974-81 was their heyday, and I'm lucky to have been raised listening to them and going to a half-dozen of their concerts during that period. Together with Yes, Pink Floyd and a couple of other bands, Rush was a ground-breaker that spawned entire generations of bands that took the prog torch and went on to establish and even develop other genres (or subgenres if you will) like progressive metal. It all started with this...

They were discovering what they could do to mix noise with musical exploration with integrity. And fun to listen to over and over

La Villa Strangiato is a must. I swear I listened to that song every day on my ride home from work for a month and never got tired of it. It took them longer to perfect and record that song than it did the entire “Fly by Night” album

To me this song was really a prelude to “2112” with the various parts and telling a story…that should be your next reaction the eighteen minute opus that launched their career to the big time

@gregkurkey789

11 ай бұрын

Yes please.

The Rush army will be here with you I'm certain

YYZ this one needs to make your list to check out. Rush has been around a long time with Neil the newest member some 40 years ago. He does most of the lyric writing. They are Canada's Pink Floyd with long themed albums until the late 70's. Doing more commercial songs allowing Americans a chance to love them.

"By-tor and the Snowdog", a most epic Rush classic

Oh, man. I haven't heard this in decades. So sweet. Thanks!

I thought I was a big Rush fan but I can say I don't ever remember listening to this song before. Just goes to show you how huge their catalog is.

@dcmanuel7232

11 ай бұрын

This album, Caress of Steel is widely considered their "worst" album (when it's actually, IMO one of their best). Many fans of Rush from Moving Pictures era have never even heard it because of it's bad publicity in the fandom. This was also the album that made 2112 their "make or break" with the label as it was a commercial flop.

@michaelmiceli9889

7 ай бұрын

​@@dcmanuel7232 one of mine also.

3 dudes. 3 men made that sound. Rush. Another great Canadian band or artist being exposed on your platform. ❤

An absolute classic, if you like this you will absolutely love La Villa Strangiato, a masterpiece!

Man I can’t wait for you to get to the live version of La Villa Strangiato from the 70s or Xanadu live from Exit Stage Left. You’re in for a treat.

Tool to Rush is a logical progression and I'm happy to see you taking this journey. If you listen to 2112, an endeavor from which you can only gain the benefit of perspicacity into what makes Rush so great, I would suggest the video version with the accompanying illustration. I personally think it was incredibly well done and only adds to the experience. Either way, enjoy the ride, and welcome to another staunchly faithful collection of fans. kzread.info/dash/bejne/qWme2dqrhNTVdaQ.html

This was a favorite album to fire up while playing D&D. The band is the three men from Willowdale. Great reaction, you totally get it!

@billhobbs7077

2 ай бұрын

erm thats two men from Willowdale and one professor from St Catherines

@grandwazoo870

2 ай бұрын

@@billhobbs7077Duly noted! Thanks!

@billhobbs7077

2 ай бұрын

@@grandwazoo870 a grand wazoo replying to an Apostrophe avatar? who'da thunk it

Would love to see you react to Natural Science, one of their greats. A real showcase of their incredible talent. Glad you’re enjoying them.

@FreeBrainChannel

Жыл бұрын

I always say Neil Peart is like Charles Darwin in that one. A great observer... Peart was a real genius. I have no doubt! People need to pay attention to the lyrics with the music to see the full greatness.

@rogeebundy6002

Жыл бұрын

Agreed

@miconis123

Жыл бұрын

I love songs where the music tells a story on its own

Led zeppelin, rush, and tool are my 3 favorite bands all time so I guess I shouldn't be surprised KZread keeps recommending your videos to me lately.

Side 2 is one of my favorite songs of all time

Bro I love your reaction choices....very broad spectrum my friend

Canadian here. Polo, Rush has been the soundtrack of my life since the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's and beyond. The thing that 'you hear' but can't describe about Rush, is the same thing every hardcore Rush fan feels too. It's the reality of the lyrics, the delivery of the vocals, the absolute cohesive musicianship that pushes the boundries and imagination . I hope to see more vids from you. Check out their live album "Rush: Exit Stage Left".

Alex Lifeson tour de force. 🎸

Thinking this was the first album that had Neil’s full affect and influence on the direction the band went into. A very underrated album. But what came after cemented Rush as legendary. Love the fact that you have jumped around with them to explore them, keep hitting that piñata and the more goodies will fall in your lap.

@crazyfingers19

Жыл бұрын

The piñata reference is spot on!

Lyrics are definitely needed for this one

You could listen for a minute and think it’s Pink Floyd before Geddy starts singing

Polo Rush is a 3 man band. Mind Blown. Enjoy the ride. Seen them many times as I've grown up listening to the greatness for the last 40 years. Rush is Timeless

From a favorite, and often forgotten album. This may be a favorite album for you, too. Great tracks. Thanks.

This is the music that shaped my early understanding of all other types of music. I learned to play the drums by attempting to do what Neil Peart was doing. Alex Lifeson's guitar tones were exquisite, and the way he touched that guitar made the melodies he played get way down inside my brain. Geddy Lee taught me what counter melodies are for. And so much more I learned from them over the years. I've never met these guys, but I love all three of them for what they gave us all......... You are sorely missed, Neil........

The best reaction on KZread to one of the greatest bands of all time. The Necromancer by Rush in their youthful prime.

They were like the original Tool with a different style. Only 3 guys that were serious musicians and just Genius!!!!!

You are going to love 2112 title track. There's no bad Rush songs.

I am sure other RUSH fanatics like myself have added some songs you need to listen to, RUSH has so many epic long songs, I'd personally add the following to your driving list: Xanadu, Hemispheres, La Villa Strangiato & my personal all time favorite RUSH song: The Camera Eye. there are so many songs to pull from their deep catalog, I have listened to them since the early 80s and their music is interwoven to the soundtrack of my life. I have seen them more times than I can recall LIVE in concert and am so grateful for their creativity, kindness and music. I cannot imagine life without RUSH. I am enjoying getting to see your journey, "discovery" of RUSH.

@thebassclef626

Жыл бұрын

Natural Science is one of my favorites of the longer songs, as well;)

@cityhonors1

Жыл бұрын

😂 I go back and forth over the decades, for a few years it was NS, then CE, then back again! 😏 Still not over having to wait until the next Album to find out what happened after entering the Black hole. 😒 We all knew Neil wouldn't leave us hanging and finished "the story" in Hemispheres. 😳 Seriously, who does that? 😉🐰

@jimrupe9991

Жыл бұрын

Well said.

This is RUSH. Most overlooked album in their discography and certainly a favorite of mine. Thanks for the reaction!

Prince Bytor appears in a previous album as Bytor and the Snow Dog . That is one to check out as well along with The Fountain of Lamneth which is also off of Caress of Steel. 2112 is epic either the cartoon or lyric version. The song is one side of the album. Along with Cygnus book 1 and Cygnus Book 2 each so ng is on a different album but together they tell a complete story. Neil Peart the drummer was also the main lyrist and an avid reader. He read a lot of sc-fi back in the 70's as we all did back then. Cheers

Old Time!! It's GREAT that you got sent back to the early days so soon in your RUSH experience. As you said 'Tells me who they are'. I'm guessing you'd get a kick out of the STORYBOOK version of 2112 - from their next album after this one. It's another 'sci-fi' themed piece in 7 'movements'. Their evolution over the years was great to live through in real-time.

Great reaction to the world’s best band. You will LOVE “The Fountain Of Lamneth”. It’s on the same album. Should be your next reaction. 🤘❤️

Remember that this was also only their second album with this lineup. You should check out the lead up to this story, By-tor and the Snow Dog, from the Fly by Night album.

Again a great reaction to the music that has been the soundtrack to my life and times. Thank you for sharing your journey and explorations into rock and roll. This is '70s Prog (progressive) rock at some of it's best. I LOVED the entire CoS album including the side two epic "The Fountain of Lamneth". I have never understood why it was so badly received when it was released. Of course they used the experience to build on and the result was their follow up to Caress Of Steel, the breakout LP 2112. Tioraidh an-drasta 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Isn't it great to watch a new Rush fanatic being born? If he listens to the first 30 seconds of necromancer and is blown away by that, that says something right there.

I know you've also been checking out Primus. Look closely at the headstock of Les Claypool's bass, and you'll see Geddy Lee's autograph.

@JimiBurleigh

Жыл бұрын

I saw Primus open for Rush (T4E tour, I think) That must've been surreal for Les Claypool.

Wow, this is a deep cut. I had no idea this album even existed. This is why I love this channel. What better way to find a hidden gem? If you want a suggestion of where to head next there are so many possible options. For KZread, YYZ would be the next logical step on your journey. If you want to get really crazy you could check out 2112, but that album needs to be heard in it's entirety. Probably not a great fit for a quick vid, but perhaps a Livestream?

it's alex lifeson using volume and wah and reverse on his guitar.He reinvented guitar like eddie van halen.He was guitarist of the year several times in guitar player magazine which meant something.

Awesome reaction! And what a great album! Another reactionist had a take that the "three men from Willowdale" was a representation of the band fighting the pressures of the industry to conform to become something they were not. Their release of 2112, in which I'm sure you'll hear, was make or break with the record company. You see how that turned out! I was lucky enough to see them many times (13). I was/am a true fan. Everything pre Moving Pictures is my Rush wheelhouse!!! Keep it up!!!!

Dude, you are diving deep! I love this song. My favorite by them though is “A farwell to kings” still relevant to todays times.

Fountain of Lamneth from the same album....... CRAZY good. Lovin' your reactions BTW.

Has always been one of my favorite Rush songs .Long before the internet .I used to feel like I was one of the only people I knew that loved it so much .

Willowdale is a town outside of Toronto where Alex and Geddy are from

put on your seatbelt son! the greatest album in their discography IMO

I think this is one of their best stories , 2112 was good but this is a new level of their talent.

Welcome to the magical world and music of Rush........many more epic tales to come my friend.

Played this entire selection to my high school English class as an example of how classic literature influences contemporary music. We were reading Beowulf & it turns out that J. R. Tolkien was a Beowulf scholar who wove much of its influence into his trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Did a search & discovered an actual movie trailer of the movie set to Necromancer! Check it out. Led Zeppelin also took inspiration from Tolkien & the Lord of the Rings. Go Beowulf & classic lit.!

Alex laying down three guitar tracks that weave in and out each other in the first pat makes me smile every time I hear it.

Actually, this Rush album ('Caress of Steel') was their 3rd album in 1975 and it was the worst-selling record of their career... Neil Peart (drums) was contributing more lyrics from fantasy literature, and the band (Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson) were jamming more complicated musical pieces. In hindsight, Lee admitted that they weren't in the best mind space (They were rather high on recreational drugs it seems... 😂) The band's musical ambitions seemed to go w/ their prog influences of early Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, etc... Years later, Rush wondered if they even got that record. Despite the ambitious music and a strong single ('Bastille Day')... the album 'Caress of Steel' was a commercial flop... Their music was just not resonating w/ rock fans at the time... Rush claimed that they ended 1975 playing empty bars w/ Ted Nugent on tour, deeply in debt and penniless... They had toured w/ Kiss as well, and despite the fact that Kiss was selling out shows in the Midwest, the band could not sell records and were penniless on the road, until their live album 'Alive!' broke big by late 1975. Rush's record company wanted a more commercial record or the band would not get a 4th album. Working on a 4th album w/ producer Terry Brown in 1976, Rush decided to go for a make-or-break w/ the album '2112'... but refused to cater to the record company or the critics. '2112' was more focused and visceral at times because they were angry about their bleak situation... It was literally them against everybody, and that was the theme of the record. When their label heard '2112', they were just shocked ("They looked at us like they had ordered steak and we served them salmon..."), but the album was released in 1976 and as Rush toured, the '2112' album sold by word of mouth and by 1977, it sold platinum in the US. It gave Rush their future career, which 'Caress of Steel' could not (it eventually sold gold after Rush became a success).

Alex Lifeson (Rush guitar god) has so many Jimi Hendrix references in his playing, in this song. And more than that: VERY strong vibes of "The Who" - which all members of Rush have been on record stating are "their" idols, literally. Geddy Lee once met Pete Townsend and was thoroughly star-struck. Speaking of Star-struck: Alex Lifeson (Rush guitarist) once waved at me, at Sweden Rock 2013 (june), long before the show was on. This was like 4 PM. The stage was empty. They were gonna be playing around 8 PM. Me, my brother and 2 musician friends (who all played Rush songs growing up, and me being the witness to all of that), saw someone blonde-haired black-clad with sunglasses on the stage checking some speakers. I hesitantly recognized him as Alex, but I couldn't really believe it. I waved really *awkwardly* to him. Everyone else had their back to him, just waiting the sunny day outside. Alex then waved back to me. I was wearing my Rush t-shirt and geddy lee sun-glasses. XD Me, my drummer-brother, my brother's friends, were all ALL star-struck from this dumb experience.

The growling sound reperesents By Tor which is carried over from Fly By Night's By-Tor and the Snow Dog track. It's one of Geddy's basses mixed with some wah pedal and flanging and of course some left right panning.

A very underrated Album If you'd like to see how these three musicians can create sound like this I suggest watching Xanadu live exit stage left from 1981.

This is their best jam.

I'm surprised I never blew out the speakers in my car, or was pulled over, while listening to this masterpiece. 👍 The guitar work is next level stuff. Particularly at the end.

Great track telling a story of 3 Travellers from Willowdale which is a neighborhood in Toronto Canada which is where Geddy and Alex are from (Neil was from the other side of the city). Neil inserts the band in the narrative with a masterful story telling prowess. He was a great drummer and may have been an equally good lyricist. RIP Neil Perth.

Excellent reaction!!! This is a great song, a hidden gem. As amazing as this song is, there are still a lot of people that just don't like Rush, for one reason or another. They are my all-time favorite band and I have enjoyed your experience, discovering Rush. They have quite a few epic songs...The Fountain of Lamneth, By-tor and the Snow Dog, 2112, Cygnus X-1: Book 1 and 2, La Villa Strangiato, Natural Science and Camera Eye. You should check these out...see what you think.

I had this on 8-track back in the day and played it so much I wore it out.

What a wonderful song is this, I love it!

And its a great song to play guitar with!!

This was my favorite Rush song for years...for some reason it changed one day to another song. This is just absolutely beyond masterpiece. Before and After for a spell) now it just changes depending on mood.

Alex guitar work on this track is epic

I have the “god” like figure as a tattoo on my right forearm. Huge Rush fan, met them in 81 (briefly) flew from U.K. to Toronto for what ended up as their last tour. This is my favourite Rush track. R.I.P. Neil.

48 years ago ?? Talent is TIMELESS…….