Driven: Rush in the ’90s and “In the End”

Rush Across the Decades #3

by Martin Popoff

The conclusion to the definitive biography of the rock 'n' roll kings of the North. In this conclusion to his trilogy of authoritative books on Canada's most beloved and successful rock band, Martin Popoff takes us through three decades of life at the top for Rush's Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Though this era begins with the brisk-selling Roll the Bones and sees throngs of fans sell out international tours, there is also unimaginable tragedy, with Peart losing his daughter and his wife within the space of ten months and, two decades later, succumbing to cancer himself. In between, however, there is a gorgeous and heartbreaking album of reflection and bereavement, as well as a triumphant trip to Brazil, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and--some say surprisingly--the band's first full-blown concept album to close an immense career marked by integrity and idealism.

Runtime: 13. 04 hours. Unabridged, 11 library CDs.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

413 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 27, 2021

About the author

At approximately 7900 (with over 7000 appearing in his books), Martin has unofficially written more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned approximately 85 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock and record collecting. He was Editor-In-Chief of the now retired Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Canada’s foremost metal publication for 14 years, and has also contributed to Revolver, Guitar World, Goldmine, Record Collector, bravewords.com, lollipop.com and hardradio.com, with many record label band bios and liner notes to his credit as well. Additionally, Martin has been a regular contractor to Banger Films, having worked for two years as researcher on the award-winning documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, on the writing and research team for the 11-episode Metal Evolution and on the ten-episode Rock Icons, both for VH1 Classic. Additionally, Martin is the writer of the original metal genre chart used in Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey and throughout the Metal Evolution episodes. Martin currently resides in Toronto and can be reached through martinp@inforamp.net or www.martinpopoff.com.

Reviews

[Clint Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin "Caveman" Shirley, engineer for the Counterparts album said:

I wanted to get rid of Alex's effects; I wanted to get rid of all of that stuff that smacked of Flock of Seagulls to me.

Alex Lifeson recalls producer Nick Raskulinecz's direction for the Snakes & Arrows album:

You guys forget who you are sometimes. And with this record, you need to remember who you are. Because you have a lot of good things about your history that you overlook or ignore.

Martin Popoff answers these burning questions (and more) in Driven:
• How did Rush release so many poppy, flat-sounding albums in the 90s, but still manage to sneak in a stunner like Counterparts? The quotes above are the quick answers!
• How did Alex's guitar solos grow so increasingly marginalized for so long, practically fading into non-existence?
• What happened with Geddy's voice? It was suddenly so much lower... did he age that fast? It was intentional. Rupert Hine made the suggestion earlier: "Geddy liked that his voice was in these different registers. He understood why I thought it had made a difference". Again Raskulinecz stands up for the correction! "Vocally, it was about getting Geddy up in that high register where he belongs."
• What happened with the godawful cooked sound of Vapor Trails? The band themselves acknowledged it, and later released a remixed version
• How did they find the refreshing new approach for Snakes & Arrows, and even more so for Clockwork Angels, that made their final years so reinvigorating, and something closer the rock sound of their earlier years? Again, the quotes above point directly to the two people who nudged them in that direction.

Each member of Rush was respectful of the others' opinions. According to every source quoted, their musical decisions and disagreements were handled with astounding professionalism and they genuinely liked each other as friends. They grew up together and that bond never changed. Despite their virtuosity as individuals, there were no egos: no destructive, crazy drugged-out, groupie-chasing behaviors. They loved their music and wanted to take their vision as far as they could go. Alex describes a typical recording session:

[T]he dressing room -- is much like a library. It's very quiet. Neil is usually sitting in a corner reading. There is no psych-up. We get dressed, we chat a little bit about whatever, and somebody comes and gets us and we go on. There's no group hug or prayer or anything like that. We just do our thing.

Alex's guitar solos were marginalized because of the intricate evolving bass ends from Neil and Geddy. Also Geddy's keyboards began taking up choruses that Alex could have played on guitar, challenging Alex further to find a musical space where he could fit in.

"... particularly with Power Windows and Hold Your Fire," says Alex. "I mean, they were so layered on, and the keyboards were done before the guitars were done, so I had to find areas to poke in and out of, by separating the guitar parts. I was never comfortable with doing that. It almost felt like the guitar was becoming a secondary instrument to what all the keyboards were doing...

Alex's guitar rehabilitation was sparked during Counterparts album. Here he describes the situation. It's almost as if he gaslighted himself:

It gave me more of a sense as a rhythm guitarist, certainly. And I think that's a strength of mine.

"Neil set his drums up in a big room and recorded, as he always does. Geddy might have an amp setup that is direct, but he's sitting in the control room, and there is immediate contact and communication, and that's a good way to work. Generally, I work the same way. I set up a rack in the control room, I sit behind the engineer, and I play all my parts, overdub my parts, from the control room, with a long cable going into the studio with all the amps."

Kevin Shirley put an end to that arrangement. He recognized how it streamlined hasty criticism (constructive and friendly as it might be).

Because normally in the control room, after he had played something, there would be the discussion about, you know, was that good, what do we need to redo and blah blah blah. But if he's out in the studio, he wasn't party to all the discussions about his performance. He could just read a book, wait until he was asked to play again. And he didn't have to deal with all the critiquing of his work. It was difficult initially, but he grew to really enjoy it, and certainly on Test for Echo we did it that way as well, even though Kevin wasn't engineering."

Kevin Shirley was a bit too ham-fisted for Rush's sensibilities. He probably would've been happy making an album that sounded as bare as AC/DC. Rush generally took his advice, though and released an album that had a cutting edge -- something that was missing for a decade.

And [Alex] gave up his PRS guitars for a while. I said to him, 'They're pretty guitars; they should be like coffee tables. Why don't you play the Les Paul? Why don't you play the Telecaster again?' And so he'd pull out these old guitars and he really enjoyed it. He would take the Les Paul, plug it into a Marshall and turn it fucking loud in that room, in Quebec, and he'd play, and I think he had a blast.

Shirley's desire for a pared back rock sound extended to Geddy and Neil as well:

So we recorded the bass on this whole album with this little Ampeg amplifier that was destined for the garbage.

[Shirley] wanted Geddy to use an amp as well, because Geddy had quite a bright, active sort of sound, very direct, less amp... He just wants that crunch out of the speakers, and that oomph, that air moving into the microphone, and he's right.

... Neil grooving like he hadn't for years, allowing himself out of his cozy matchbox so that he and his fans could breathe again.... Peart's drums sounded expensive but less precious, throaty like one of his hot cars rather than fingers tapping on the jewelry case, idly shopping for watches.

That's why Counterparts became such an important record because it was back to the past in a way. And also back to the future--a lot of that coincided with what was happening in Seattle at the time, where rock bands were thriving again. That was such a delicious thing to see happen, to suddenly go from such a weird period to rock bands all over the place. I loved it; it was great.

They didn't keep Shirley around, and their music went back to a more familiar sound with Test for Echo, but he did have an impact.

So what happened with Vapor Trails? Their producer, Paul Northfield noticed it:

... the mixes sound very compressed -- it doesn't sound right.

Dave Leonard was brought in to mix it... but ironically at the end of it all, the very criticisms we had at my mixing in the beginning, which was too compressed, ended up the problem with the album overall.

Alex was interested in a more intense and aggressive approach to mixing than ... Geddy [and Peart himself] ... So mixing became difficult, and the decision was made that they would get somebody else in to do mixing, someone who hadn't been involved.

For every person who was concerned about the sonic quality, there was a whole bunch of other people who were very excited about the energy of the record...

Neal Peart explains:

It seemed that all of us, Paul included, had become too deeply immersed in the material, and we could no longer step back and hear the songs whole.

The songs are buried by Geddy's vocals, even on the vastly improved remix version. The music just coasts along with non-stop vocals and chords. Popoff critiques the title track. I'm not sure whether he's being complimentary, but to me his comparisons are decidedly unflattering:

Waterboys meets Big Country meets Midnight Oil ... a sad and almost Sabbatharian groove ... Alex adding REM-like picked electrics

Next Rush brings on Nick Raskulinecz. Popoff's book explains that Nick happens to be an ardent Rush fan, and he wasn't afraid to point out to them: "you need to remember who you are." He helped Rush to finish their career with a very good album in the somewhat acoustically-inclined Snakes & Arrows, and especially their astounding Clockwork Angels finale. Martin Popoff himself relishes writing about Clockwork Angels:

Stacks of reconstituted and repackaged Rush stuff obtained and piled aside, space would have to be made to sit comfortably -- brandy snifter in hand -- and digest the epic, full-on concept album to come.

Alex describes how they switched things up for one of the tracks:

... that's how we ended up writing ["The Wreckers"], with [Geddy] on guitar and me on bass.

I play bass totally different to him. So the whole song had a different feel, which was very revealing to us.

Popoff deserves special recognition for the way he handled Peart's death. He keeps it brief but honorable rather than dwelling on it. He lets the band present it themselves through their interviews -- Peart's lifelong friends and colleges. What they choose to tell and how provides a fitting tribute.

There are some fascinating quotes from Neil Peart about his own playing:

But there is an internal place I'm at when I'm playing, and the outside is a luxury. When I'm concentrating, I'm in such an internal world of milliseconds and shades and expression and all of that, and exertion. You know, working at an intense physical ability as well as mental.

I compare playing drums for Rush to running a marathon and solving equations at the same time. When you're solving equations in real time and in future time also, it's not pleasant, you know?

You'll find a Les Claypool interview. He opens a small window into Rush's 'rowdier' side, and this great tidbit:

... And Alex coming in and grabbing a guitar and playing it with a tortilla chip for a pick.

I'm sure other Rush fans also think similarly about their earlier music, but Claypool sagely brings things into focus:

I remember just sitting there after having a few drinks. 'You guys have got to play "By-Tor," gotta play "Cygnus," you know?' Because it was the Roll the Bones era and they were stepping away from some of those old tunes. And I can relate; some of my own tunes, it's like your high school haircut. You go, what was I thinking?

[David]

It is a good sequence, and interesting to Rush-fanatics (self-included) who are content to read about how their heroes breathe, which toothpaste is most popular backstage, and when is considered the best time to change drumheads. But Popoff could have easily cut c.200 pages from the entire trilogy by lowering the amount of time spent on the guys explaining how they co-operate and negotiate their preferences with each other – which largely never changed in the course of their career, apart from one or the other of the three occasionally being ‘in the ascendant’ re what went on a record – and replaced it with three quotations that cover the whole career:
“Yes, we marvel after those who sought the wonders of the world”
“Changes aren’t permanent, but change is”
“Roll the bones.”
That’s it in the proverbial Hamlet-originated nutshell: we admire some of what went before us, we accept the necessity of change, and we accept the random.

[David Cavaco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice final volume on the career of Rush in the 1990's until the bands ending following the tragic passing of Neil Peart in 2020. Would have been nice to see more personal photos instead of repetitive stock concert photos and more emphasis on the band as people instead of long minutiae on each album's recording process. No mention of Alex Lifeson's television appearances? No Trailer Park Boys citations? A good book but not fully complete.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book in a series covering Rush's legendary career.

Popoff - as always - offers meticulous attention to detail and brilliant writing, showcasing the bands career from the Roll the Bones era through Neil Peart's personal tragedies and into the bands blistering returning to form with Vapour Trails, culminating in their final album - and career highlight - Clockwork Angels. Not for the casual fan, Driven is packed full of details, anecdotes and quotes which give an interesting view towards the thought process behind various songs and albums as a whole.

Interesting, insightful, well researched and written, A must for any serious Rush fan.

Thanks to ECW Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Jeffrey Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Only thing missing was more information on the Feedback EP.

[Ross Dunbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan I enjoyed this last book in the series. I read the others in 2022. Very detailed, almost too much at times, and with a sad ending of course. Extremely thoroughly researched and written.

[MB KARAPCIK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so absolutely thrilled to receive a copy of this book to review because the author's first and second volumes on Rush were great reads and perfect for the consummate Rush fan. Since my childhood, I've held a fascination with this band and still listen religiously to many of their recordings. Plus, Martin Popoff is the premier writer of rock music, and, unless I'm not a fan of the band, I'm right there waiting to get my hands on a copy of one of his books. In fact, I just saw that he's coming out with a gigantic visual biography of the group Yes, which I would LOVE to read (hint, hint to anyone listening who can hook me up).

Back to the topic at hand, the third volume of history of Rush, chronicles their albums starting with Roll the Bones, which spawned several great tunes including one of my favorites, Dreamline. It moves through the rest of the catalog, each chapter focusing on another album. Even Rush in Rio was touched upon in its very own chapter. A final chapter ties up the loose ends and shares the bittersweet ending of Rush as we fans know it with their highly lauded and amazing drummer, Neil Peart, passing away.

For a fan, this is a must-have because the author goes deep into the recording process and how the band members conquered whatever challenges they may have at the time or new paths they sought to forge. While I found most of that interesting, I'm not a fan of Counterparts, Test for Echo, or Vapor Trails.

Of course, like every album, there are standout tracks, so when those were covered like
Test for Echo, Driven, One Little Victory, or Secret Touch (another favorite), I relished the information. But most of those chapters fell flat, which could be because I rarely if ever listen to those albums--I listen to Different Stages instead, which gets its own chapter as well.

I thoroughly loved hearing about Snakes and Arrows because that was such a turning point, and I remember going to see them in Camden with friends and Philly with my husband (incredible seats, BTW--we literally felt the warmth of the pyrotechnics, an older fan had the BEST jean jacket with tons of Rush patches, and my husband insisted that Geddy Lee smiled at him), which brings up great memories.

The chapter on Clockwork Angels held no real interest for me either because I only like a few songs on that. If you were a fan of that album, maybe you would be more interested in that chapter.

While most chapters provide a ton of information and inside knowledge, I wanted to know more about the documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage. That was an excellent documentary even if you're not a Rush fan, and I thought a chapter on that seemed fitting, so that's one of my issues with the book. Also, the last chapter felt a little rushed (no pun intended) and too wrapped up. I also felt that a chapter focusing on their cult-like status resulting in events like RushCon or the final, really depressing documentary, Rush: Time Stand Still, could have been covered.

Other than those minor items, and because I just do not love some of their later albums, this final volume while incredibly bittersweet, serves as a good final chapter for the Rush canon.

I highly recommend all three volumes if you're a Rush fan who cannot get enough. I felt this series delved in way deeper than most Rush bios. Kudos to Martin Popoff!

Thank you NetGalley and ECW Press for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!

[Zachary Houle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the day, I was a huge Rush fan. How big of a Rush fan was I? Well, I almost got kicked out of journalism school as a result of putting the band first! This happened back in the fall of 1996 when I was in the third year of my undergraduate journalism studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. I was supposed to attend a meeting for a journalism course that involved putting out a community newspaper, but that meeting corresponded with the day Rush’s Test for Echo album was released. I put my priorities around Rush and was one of the first in line to buy that record. Later on that week, I went to school and was called into an office for a session with the professor of the journalism course/community newspaper I was to work on and another student who had missed the meeting, which turned out to have been a very important meeting that I had missed as I was essentially read the riot act over not showing up. So that’s my big Rush fandom story of how the band impacted me, and perhaps not positively.

After the live album Different Stages was released in 1998, I kind of drifted away from Rush. I was getting more into alt-country at the time, and Rush — with its emphasis on technique and musicianship — started getting the short shrift from me, unfortunately. I had also had drinks with a few journalism school peers at the time where one of them indicated to me after my love of Rush had turned up in conversation that the band was “boring.” I had to kind of agree with this assessment after thinking about it — some of their albums were so pristine that there wasn’t much life to them. (Sacrilege, possibly.) However, I remained enough of a casual fan that I saw them play live in 2010 here in Ottawa. And, I, of course, was heartbroken when drummer Neil Peart died of brain cancer in January 2020. So when Martin Popoff’s third (and final) biography of the band each covering a decade of the band’s existence (the ’70s, the ’80s, and, this one, the ’90s to present) came across my desk, I snatched it up to read it. Since the book starts at 1991’s Roll the Bones, the album that was released just as I was becoming a fan, I was curious to see if the book would take me back to being 16-years-old all over again.

Read the rest of the review here: https://zachary-houle.medium.com/a-re...

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and ECW Press for an advanced copy of this work.

"From first to last, the peak is never passed..." Neil Peart.

Driven: Rush in the ’90s and “In the End” by Martin Popoff Is the third volume in the Rush Across the Decades Trilogy, a history of the Canadian rock trio whose music I have loved since high school when I first heard the Grace Under Pressure album. The book is a mix of prior interviews from magazines and television and new interviews with in-depth tour and recording session notes and reviews. Mr.Popoff doesn't go to deep into the band members, focusing more on the music and how and why the songs became what they are. Yes there are discussions on differences of view on songs, and especially the mixing of albums, but seems the most dissent the band after such a long period together seemed to have. The book does cover the dark period faced by the drummer Neil Peart, a situation known to all fans that I won't go into.

The music are what this trilogy is about, why was this song chosen, why played in that style with that instrument. Those sections are quite interesting, and Mr. Popoff is very honest in his appraisals. Mr. Popoff is a good music writer, I will have to look for more works by him. Getting a naturally reticent band like Rush to open up about things must have been difficult.

There is a sadness also with this book. Mentions of songs being in rotation for all future tours, tours which will never take place. Knowing what happens to characters is sometimes a burden in writing and reading. It is no different here. A really great read and a real gift for fans. I've not stopped listening to my collection of Rush albums and ahem bootlegs since finishing this book. I thank Mr. Popoff for reminding me how much I love the music.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of this series of books. Martin Popoff has done every hardcore Rush fan a huge service by compiling these books together. They are quick and fun reads, and great for all Rush geeks like me.

Out of the three, this was my least favorite, probably because of the material. I know this is an extreme hot take to many Rush fans, but to me, the last great Rush album was Test For Echo. And it became apparent to me that my least favorite albums from 1991 to 2012 were Martin's favorites, and vice versa. The amount of time spent on the albums in the book often correlates with Martin's interest in that particular album (and you can't really blame him either; I would have done the same thing had I written these books). But, still, he spent too much time on Counterparts for my personal taste.

I did like the insights into the personal lives of the band in this book, as opposed to the other two books. It can get tiring in these books to hear the wonky details about recording from the recording engineers and mixers sometimes--too much space is dedicated to this part of the Rush story. For musicians and recording artists, it's fantastic, but it can be a little much for your casual fan. But since there are very few *casual* Rush fans, I suppose it fits.

In some ways, it's hard to find much wrong with any of these books, since Rush has often been passed over by journalists in the 40 years of their existence. So, really, any book we can get about these three goofy Canadian guys is a treasure. Recommended for any Rush fan.

[Lance Lumley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third writing in the series from Martin Popoff on covering the band Rush from each decade. I had not read the other books, and growing up with two buddies who were die hard Rush fans, I am somewhat familiar with the band (even seeing them live twice). However, most of the tales I know about the band was either through my friends or a few of drummer Neil Peart's books, so a die hard fan may know the tales in the book, but I did not.
Each chapter covers the album that was released, in the years where the band was putting out fewer releases and taking their time when they did, along with solo records from two of the members.
Popoff's writing flows nicely, and is not just dates like a history book, but adds nice interviews and comments by band members, studio people, and managers via his own contact with the band or other sources. Although i will disagree with his opinion on the record Presto (personal opinion), he seems to go back several times to that record when it was released in the '80s (spoiler: he was not a fan of it).
Other than that, the book was a nice read , and especially since Peart passed away, it is a nice writing for the fans of the band.
For an in depth review, visit my blog at : https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/202...

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

DRIVEN is the final installment in this trilogy of RUSH across the decades. Though I have yet to read the other two books that came before this one I really enjoyed DRIVEN. Popove does an comprehensive job detailing the bands later years. Chronicling the Roll The Bones period, into Neil Pearts personal family tragedies, the making of Vapour Trails and Rush In Rio, their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and into their final album. It was entertaining to read about so much behind the scenes stuff.

RUSH is one of my favorite Canadian bands! Their songs are like no one else's. I was fortunate enough to see them during their "Snakes and Arrows" tour. And even though the seats weren't great it was an amazing concert I will never forget! It was fun to read about the making of this album in DRIVEN.

A great read for RUSH fans or anyone looking to learn more about this awesome hardworking Canadian band that earned their place in rock and roll history.

DRIVEN will be available in April.
Thank You to @ecwpress for sending me a copy.
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For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong

[evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Rush. I enjoyed reading quotes from the band members or people closely associated with the band. One of my complaints from the first book of this series was that there were so many quotes that we heard the same story over and over again because the book was largely just quotes and in need of some editing. Well, I think that may have gotten better with the 2nd, and now 3rd volume of the series, but it is replaced with an even bigger one: the author does not like the 2nd half of Rush's career and he adds his snarky comments all over the place. I love a lot of these albums and it was entirely frustrating to have his dismissive comments mixed in. There was even one moment where a band member said "this is what we were going for" and the author says "well, that clearly didn't happen" and I disagreed. There was no need for the author to add their negative opinions to a 3 volume biography. If those comments had been edited out these books would still be largely just be compiled quotes/interviews and it wouldn't be so alienating to fans who clearly like the band enough to read this many pages about them.

[Joe B · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The End” and the last book of Popoff’s trilogy of Rush through the ages. For some reason this book took me a lot longer to read than the first two. I do not know what my problem was reading this final edition, but I finished. I can say that the detail of this book was not like the first two in respect to the inside story. This book seemingly was contrived as a replication of many interviews that culminated through the years. Yet, it was a satisfying read all in all. Rush is forever over, but always will be in our memories. They were an enigma to Rock and Roll. They stayed together for 41 years and did so originally until death did they part. Truly a Three Musketeers mentality “all for one and one for all”. Sorely missed they are.

[Jeffrey (Akiva) Savett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, for fans only.

Tremendously enjoyable. As the last book in this series history of the band, there is definitely a bitter-sweetness to completing it, knowing what we know about Neil’s untimely death and suffering.

In this one of many possible worlds
All for the best or some bizarre test?
It is what it is and whatever
Time is still the infinite jest
The arrow flies when you dream
The hours tick away, the cells tick away
The Watchmaker keeps to his schemes
The hours tick away, they tick away
The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

[Rodrigo Llamozas · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 pushed to a 5.

A nostalgic, lovely end to the bio trilogy, as we see the band aging and adapting their lifes to family, changes and "fame".

It's sad as it progresses, because you know the end is coming, and not just in the "not playing anymore" way.

To enter into the band's way of thinking and decision making processes is a true gift.

Of course, it gets into very heavy technical issues at points (thus the half-star taken away), but that's more of a gift for real musicians (so, half a star back in) than us, regular fellas.

It was a beautiful ride. All three books are highly recommended. Read them with accordingly created playlists.

Rush's music will never die. This was effin' beautiful.

[Graeme Blaikie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a Rush fanatic so I'll read anything related to them. As a researcher for the Beyond the Lighted Stage doc, Martin Popoff has access to many interviews that may never have seen the light of day. That was my primary reason for buying this as well as his other two books on Rush. Certainly a number of interesting nuggets throughout but I find he is basically reviewing each album. Some things I agree with, some I don't. As will you most likely. For a Rush fan it's worth the read but I'm not racing out to get his other stuff.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

And so it ends. Three books to cover the story of Rush - that seems about right for The Godfathers of Progressive Metal and one of the most interesting bands in Rock history. It still blows my mind that the guys went out by releasing one of their best albums, 'Clockwork Angels', in 2012. And it being their first actual concept album to boot. (And the closing track of the album, "The Garden", might just be the most fitting and poignant song of which an act ended their recording career. (Even more so in the wake of Neil Peart's passing last year.)

[Debbie Darnell-kielman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read all three in this series about Rush. I’m kind of a ‘fanatical’ stalker-type of Rush nerd. Can’t get enough of this band. These books describe each album and how the songs were put together and give precious insight from these three band mates, their producers, and engineers. It made me want to listen to each song at the same time I was reading about its fruition. I love their lyrics and happen to believe these three musicians and best friends are the best rock/Prog in the history of the world. Rush on, Rushians!!! Much love and respect to our holy triumphiant!!!

[Dutch Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in Martin Popoff's trilogy on the history of Rush, an incredible project.
Unfortunately, this volume amplifies the problems encountered in "Limelight: Rush in the 80s": it's
over-repetitious and very heavy on quotes (producer Peter Henderson goes on and on and on), making it seem rather long-winded at times. Popoff ties things together nicely at the end, but this one was a bit more of a slog for me -- and I like Vapo(u)r Trails!
2.75 stars rounded up to 3 for Popoff's handling of the end of the band.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent final book in this set. I am pretty much in line with the author on what albums I like more than others that are discussed. Some great information that I never knew about (and the highly technical aspects of music will always go over my head, haha). All of these books I would recommend to any Rush fan.

I’d also like to mention that I bought these from the author directly and the turnaround time was great and having them personally signed is cool also.

[T TAYLOR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

If you have all 3 boks in the collection you will know how exhaustive these great books are interestingly but not surprisingly my favourite reads are from my favourite Rush periods mid 70s to mid 80s I found the last book a much harder read as although I own pretty much everything the band did if I reach for a Rush record it tends to be from the 70s just like if it's Deep Purple! That said it was still an excellent read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the decade by decade Rush books, I liked this one the most. This one seemed to have a bit more in the way of new insights that I wasn't previously aware of than the other two volumes and didn't seem to have quite as much of the extremely detailed technical information about the recording process that, as a non-musician, I find to be too far into the weeds. I think this book ended the series on a good note.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's RUSH. Martin Popoff pulled off a solid trilogy of books which, of course, this is the third. Having become a fan during Grace Under Pressure, I had to read the second volume first. And this one doesn't disappoint, starting with Roll The Bones through the passing of The Professor. A band that is sorely missed.

[Brian Brantley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice end to the trilogy of books on Rush. Of course it's sad because you know about the death of Neil Peart but it's sad because you won't be able to hear more music from this trio of amazing musicians. It really is a story of three friends, who are more like brothers, who formed a band and it lasted for 40 years.

[Phil Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent entry in Popoff's impressive canon. Like the others in this series, he draws heavily from previous interviews—many of which I had either previously read or heard. Regardless, it's great to be able to read them in one place and in a historic context.

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fine Finish

Popoff rounds out his superb Rush trilogy with an informative look at the latter part of the band's career. His handling of the loss of Neil Part was the most tasteful and tactful I've read. This series makes me miss my favorite band even more.

[Yves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this trilogy. I rediscovered some Rush tunes along the way and thought back to where I was in life when I discovered the albums or in the general time periods.

One of the most influential artists for me, this trilogy is a must for any fan.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last, in a three book set, of a career spanning biography of the rock group Rush from famed rock writer Martin Popoff. Martin, THANK YOU!!! These books were wonderful. All of them interesting and engaging...and so well written.

[Tim Shanahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came to the end of this series. I will probably re-read this down the road. For anyone with any knowledge of the band, you know there is some tragedy from this era through the end of the band. I became of fan of these guys 35 years ago and saw them live 13 times and this was still tough to read.