The best right now|The just-released reissues of Rush’s composers’ solo albums make you think about the sum of the parts and the whole, writes HS culture editor Samuli Tiikkaja.
For a long time artists who have made a career have inevitably had to evaluate the direction of their music several times as styles and appreciations change. A classic example is the exuberance of progressive rock, which lost mainstream popularity after punk broke through in the late 1970s, and of course the same happened to the productized and manufactured rock of the late 1980s with grunge.
But even revolution is not forever, as the short-lived heydays of punk and grunge show. So what’s next if you’ve thought about making a life’s work as a musician? Do you stop after five years of peak popularity, do you become a nostalgia artist waiting for the Back to the 2010’s concert tour, or do you continue to do your own thing?
I notice that I greatly appreciate those artists who choose the latter. In recent months, I’ve been listening especially to the 1990s production of the 1970s prog giant Yes. In it, the expansive undertone of prog mixes with catchy hooks and still sounds like Yes. For example The Ladder – album (1999) first track Homeworld (The Ladder) has been playing in my head for weeks because it manages to create the illusion of a continuous rise with its harmony and melody. There always seems to be a new gear.
Continuing a career usually requires renewal and adopting new styles and production methods. That’s what Yeskin did in the early 1980s, like a big hit Owner of a Lonely Heart (1983) shows. In the 1990s, however, the band didn’t start grunge after all.
Geddy Leen My Favourite Headache ja Alex Lifesonin Victoria.
A week or so then in early August reissues by Rush’s composing duo were released Alex Lifesonin and Geddy Leen from solo records. Rush also progressed at their own pace throughout their career, not caring much about chart positions, but still taking influences from others.
It’s interesting to listen to Lifeson Victoria (1996) and Lee My Favourite Headachea (2000) and consider what the parties brought to Rush’s songwriting sessions. Lifeson’s somber Victor is a cornucopia of seemingly spontaneous guitar textures. Characteristic of the time of release, it also includes the influence of rougher Seattle sounds. Lee My Favourite Headache on the other hand, is more thoughtful and balanced in nature.
As interesting as these solo records are, Rush’s songs combined the traits of Lifeson and Lee’s music into the most impressive wholes – especially when there was a third variable in the equation, the drummer Neil Peartwhich raised the songs to a whole new level. There always seemed to be a new gear.