I'm going to my first Rush concert next month with a self-confessed Rush nerd so I have been busy educating myself about the band. My friend gave me this highly entertaining and informative documentary about them.
It is a quite conventional documentary. The band members tell the story of how they met and how the band was formed. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were High School friends in Toronto with similar backgrounds with European immigrant parents. Even now it is clear that they are very close and they jokingly still refer to Neil Peart as the "new guy".
Rare footage is included of the band at a Toronto high School gig with original drummer John Rutsey.
The replacement of Rutsey with Peart is discussed, followed by unexpected success in the mid seventies. They talk about their various albums, admitting some were better than others. The notoriously reserved Peart also discusses the death of his daughter and wife in a very short period of time and how he recovered enough to be able to rejoin the band. Various musicians such as Jimmy Corgan and Jack Black explain why they like Rush.
There are also interviews with fans, explaining how the band appeals to them. The DVD special features include live songs from various concerts throughout their career and Lee and Lifeson revisting some of their old haunts in suburban Toronto.
Although Rush never seems to have had great credibility in the mainstream rock & roll media they have a huge number of fans. This movie tries to explain that and I think it succeeds. It also gives us an insight into the life stories of three serious but down to earth musicians. The band members are refreshingly honest and apparently lacking in ego so it is easy to like them.
It is a quite conventional documentary. The band members tell the story of how they met and how the band was formed. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were High School friends in Toronto with similar backgrounds with European immigrant parents. Even now it is clear that they are very close and they jokingly still refer to Neil Peart as the "new guy".
Rare footage is included of the band at a Toronto high School gig with original drummer John Rutsey.
The replacement of Rutsey with Peart is discussed, followed by unexpected success in the mid seventies. They talk about their various albums, admitting some were better than others. The notoriously reserved Peart also discusses the death of his daughter and wife in a very short period of time and how he recovered enough to be able to rejoin the band. Various musicians such as Jimmy Corgan and Jack Black explain why they like Rush.
There are also interviews with fans, explaining how the band appeals to them. The DVD special features include live songs from various concerts throughout their career and Lee and Lifeson revisting some of their old haunts in suburban Toronto.
Although Rush never seems to have had great credibility in the mainstream rock & roll media they have a huge number of fans. This movie tries to explain that and I think it succeeds. It also gives us an insight into the life stories of three serious but down to earth musicians. The band members are refreshingly honest and apparently lacking in ego so it is easy to like them.