Rush (Remastered)

iTunes Review

Before drummer Neil Peart joined Rush for its second album, Fly By Night, the Canadian trio were rooted in blues-rock not far removed from Savoy Brown, Black Oak Arkansas, or even Led Zeppelin. The band’s 1974 self-titled debut album is a tight, tough collection of hard rock riffs that only resembles Rush in its primordial power. The menacing boogie of "What You're Doing," the 3 A.M. blues moan of "Here Again," and the arena-rock frolic of "Finding My Way" make for solid stadium rock but the songs do lack the conceptual ambitions, the hyena-like screechings, and rhythmic complexities of the trio’s most noted work. In a moment of geographical dislocation, "In the Mood" practically moves the band into southern rock territory — and with cowbell! "Before and After" swells like an early power ballad in the making before turning towards more boogie. "Working Man" resembles Black Sabbath. And on it goes. Drummer John Rutsey was a solid percussionist, but the band was in need of a distinctive song stylist to separate them from the glut of blues-influenced bands of the era. Peart was on the way.