RUSH

This is the first album that Rush came out with. Rush is also the first progressive rock band that I got into. This album is more hard rock but the few progressive elements are great. The Led Zeppelin influence is easily heard on this album. Geddy's bass lines have always been strong, and this album proves it. This album also shows Alex's great guitar skill as he is free to play anything that fits, whether it is hard rock or prog. The only thing that is missing is Neil Peart's great lyrics and drumming. I must say that John Rutsey's drumming is great, but lucky for us Rush fans he left to allow Neil Peart to be in the spotlight. The lyrics, mostly by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, are good, but sometimes are a little lacking.

The highlights of the album have the distinctive Rush sound. "Finding My Way" starts the album off with a great tone. Geddy's voice is good for this song and shouldn't scare off too many listeners. The next few songs (Need Some Love, Take A Friend, Here Again) are very hard rock. Alex shows his guitar ability while Geddy sadly doesn't get to play his bass in the spotlight. The lyrics are lacking on these songs. "What You're Doing" is another one of the proggy songs on this album. The lyrics are better on this song than the previous ones. The guitar solo from Alex shows his skill. "In The Mood" and "Working Man" are also some proggy songs on Rush's debut. "Before And After" is a good song and is closer to prog-related than prog. "Working Man", "In The Mood", and "Finding My Way" are the highlights for any progressive rock fan, "Working Man" being the most proggy and the best song of the album with its great bass and guitar playing. The other songs are good but are hard rock.

I highly recommend this album (as any obsessive Rush fanatic like me should), I will give it 3/5 stars. This album has the potential to coax people to listen to prog. It certainly did it for me. I listened to this album a lot after borrowing it from a friend. It was the second Rush album I listened to. It is good but not essential. 3/5 stars.