RUSH: LP 1974 uk 1st, debut (with protective bag). Check videos + audio review

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RUSH: S/T

label: Mercury – PRICE 18, Mercury – 9100 011
Format: Vinyl , LP, Album with label inner bag to protect the record
Country: UK
Style: Hard rock
Tracklist
A1 Finding My Way
Written-By – Alex Lifeson , Geddy Lee
A2 Need Some Love
Written-By – Alex Lifeson , Geddy Lee
A3 Take A Friend
Written-By – Alex Lifeson , Geddy Lee
A4 Here again
Written-By – Alex Lifeson , Geddy Lee
B1 What you’re doing
Written-By – Alex Lifeson , Geddy Lee
B2 In The Mood
Written-By – Geddy Lee
B3 Before And After
Written-By – Alex Lifeson , Geddy Lee
B4 Working man
Written-By – Alex Lifeson , Geddy Lee

Pink logo.

The company name used on this release “PolyGram Records Inc. (New York)” Refers To PolyGram Records, Inc. .
Barcode and other identification features
Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout Etched): PRICE 18 A \ 1 11 3
Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout Stamped): PRICE18B // 2 ▽ 420W 1 1 2

 

This album broke the Canadian band in the US when the song Working Manresonated with the blue-collar workers of Cleveland – and jocks at local station WMMS realised the song was long enough for them to take a toilet break. The album inspired Gene Simmons to dub the band ‘Led Zeppelin Jr’. And, listening to the bluesy grooves of Finding My Way and In The Mood, it’s not difficult to see why.

“This was us trying to find a sound,” says Geddy Lee. “Thinking we wanted to be a hard rock band and emulating those bands we thought were cool. I can hear Led Zeppelin in there, and a bit of Humble Pie. I wish I could hear more than just those influences, but I can’t. John Rutsey was very much a Simon Kirke kind of drummer – just hold down the backbeat and let’s rock out. So that’s how the songs came out.

“We recorded the album with a producer named David Stock, but it sounded so shitty we had to redo it with Terry Brown, who became our regular producer. With the second version we added a few more songs, and one of those was Finding My Way, which ended up being one of the most important tracks on the album – a real rocker.

“And the song that really got us noticed was Working Man. There was still radio in America at that time that wasn’t overly programmed, and DJs had the licence to play longer tracks. Working Man was seven minutes long, and the airplay it got led to us signing with Mercury Records. That one song had an incredible impact.”

Track listing:
“”Finding My Way”” – 5:05
“”Need Some Love”” – 2:18
“”Take a Friend”” – 4:24
“”Here Again”” – 7:37
“”What You’re Doing”” – 4:22
“”In the Mood”” (Lee) – 3:33
“”Before And After”” – 5:34
“”Working Man”” – 7:11

Personnel:
Geddy Lee – Lead vocals and bass
Alex Lifeson – guitars and vocals
John Rutsey – Drums and vocals

good-natured Zeppelinesque hard rock romp, with odes to post-labor beer drinking (“”Working Man””), babes (“”Need Some Love””), beer-inflicted depression (“”Here Again””), more babes (“”In the Mood””), and politics-lite (“”What You’re Doing””). The fade-in intro to “”Finding My Way”” is an apt metaphor for how the original Rush lineup (with competent drummer John Rutsey at the time) used an independent-label, DIY approach to gradually gain both US listener-ship and big-label interest.

Rush is the eponymous debut studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1974 Rush first release shows much of the heavy metal sound typical of many of the popular rock bands emerging from Britain earlier in the decade. Rush was a fan of such bands as Led Zeppelin and Cream and these influences can be heard in most of the songs on this début. Original Rush drummer John Rutsey performed all drum parts on the album, but was unable to go on extended tours because of diabetes and left the band after the album was released.He was soon replaced by Neil Peart.

Because of a limited budget, the sessions were scheduled during the late night ‘dead’ time in studios which, because of a lack of activity at those times, had lower rates. Originally the sessions were produced by Dave Stock at Eastern Sound in Toronto. Two of the Eastern Sound recordings, “”In the Mood”” and “”Take a Friend”” were included on the final album.
However, the band was unhappy with the quality of the first sessions. They moved to Toronto Sound Studios and produced the next sessions themselves while achieving a significant improvement in recording quality. The group added new overdubs to existing backing tracks of “”What You’re Doing””, “”Before and After”” and “”Working Man.”” The tracks with the most advanced production were recorded entirely at Toronto Sound, “”Finding My Way,”” “”Need Some Love”” and “”Here Again.”” These new songs took the place of recordings from the earlier sessions. Both studios used 8-channel multi-track recorders which was quite primitive for 1973, but the group quickly learned to make the best use of the technology that was available.


A1. Finding My Way

Background and Commentary“‘Finding My Way’  is a prime example of early 1970s hard rock, with prototype Rush guitar and bass attack. It features a highlight in Geddy’s screeching, ‘Sang some sad songs.’” The song “is the most Led Zeppelin-like of the debut album’s composition, Geddy trying out the odd “ooh yeah” over a drumless verse.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

“The first track on the first album, this is the recording the band chose to give first impressions.”—John Swenson, “Rush Chronicles”

“Dave Marsden [whose influence at radio station CFNY in Toronto inspired the Rush hit ‘The Spirit of Radio’] used to play ‘Finding My Way’ before the rerelease, as the Moon record.”—Alex in Contents Under Pressure

The song was the first one the band heard played on the radio. “Geddy said he will never forget hearing himself on the radio for the first time. ‘It really freaked me out when DJ David Marsden played ‘Finding My way’ on CHUM-FM.’ Marsden got an unusual phone call that day. ‘My request lines were ringing and I believe in talking to the people, so I picked up the phone with Rush playing and the voice said, “David, how are you doing? It’s Alex calling.” My reply, “Okay, Alex, what do you want to hear?” and Alex said, “No, I just wanted to thank you for playing our record. It’s the very first time I’ve heard it on the radio.” CHUM-FM continued to play the dsc. It also got air time in Montreal, but that was about it for radio.”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

After the release of the debut album, Rush opened for ZZ Top at the Allen Theater in Cleveland. “We opened with ‘Finding My Way’ and the crowd went crazy! They obviously knew the material. We got an encore, and before we could go back up for a second encore, somebody ordered te lights turned up.”—Alex in Rush Visions

Lyrics

Yeah, oh yeah!
Ooh, said I, I’m comin’ out to get you.
Ooh, sit down. I’m comin’ out to find you.
Ooh, yeah. Ooh yeah. Findin’ my way!

I’ve been gone so long I’ve lost count of the years.
Well, I sang some sad songs,
Oh yes, and cried some bad tears.
Look out! I’m comin’. Whoa, whoa. Look out! I’m comin’. Whoa, yeah.

I’m runnin’, finding my way back home.
Oh yeah! Yeah, oh yeah!

Ooh, said I, I’m comin’ back to look for you.
Ooh, sit down. I’m goin’ by the back door.
Ooh, yeah. Ooh yeah. Findin’ my way!

You’ve done me no right, but you’ve done me some wrong.
Left me lonely each night while I sing my sad song.
Look out! I’m comin’. Whoa, whoa. Look out! I’m comin’. Whoa, yeah.

I’m runnin’, findin’ my way back home.
I’m comin’. Ooh, babe, I said I’m runnin’.
Whoa, babe, I said I’m comin’ to get you, mama.

Said I’m runnin’. Ooh, babe, I said I’m comin’ for you, babe.
I said I’m runnin’. Ooh yes, babe, I said I’m comin’ to get you, babe.
I said I’m comin’. Ooh, yeah. I’m findin’, I’m findin’ my way back home.

Well, I’ve had it for now, livin’ on the road.
Ooh, yeah. Ooh, yeah. Findin’ my way!
Findin’ my way!


A2 Need Some Love

Background and Commentary

“‘Need Some Love’ . . . [is] a bit more dated [than some of the other songs on the debut album], something closer to what U.K. and U.S. boogie rockers of the day might have written.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

The piece was one (along with “Finding My Way,” “Here Again,” among others) that had to be re-recorded.

Boogie rock is a music genre which came out of the hard heavy blues-rock of the late 1960s. It tends to feature a repetitive driving rhythm in place of instrumental experimentation found in the more progressive blues-rock bands of the period. Boogie rockers concentrate on the groove, working a steady, chugging back beat, often in shuffle time. Boogie rock can be considered the upbeat form of blues-rock. One of the first bands to popularize the genre worldwide was Canned Heat. The band that came to become synonymous with the term was Status Quo. The genre reached the height of its popularity in the mid to late 1970s.—From the Wikipedia Boogie Rock page.

Lyrics

I’m runnin’ here,
I’m runnin’ there.
I’m lookin’ for a girl.
‘Cause there’s nothin’ I need,
There’s nothin’ I want more
In the whole wide world.

Well, I need it quick
And I need it now,
Before I start to fade away.
That’s why I’m searchin’,
That’s why I’m lookin’
Each and ev’ry day.

Oo, I need some love.
I said I need some love!
Oo yes, I need some love
This feelin’ I can’t rise above.
Yeah, yeah!

Well I been hustlin’ here,
I been hustlin’ there.
I been searchin’ for about a week.
And I started feelin’
This strange sensation.
My knees are startin’ gettin’ weak.

Well I need what keeps
A young man alive;
I’m sayin’ I need it now.
I’m gonna get the message
Across to you
Someway, somehow.

Oo, I need some love.
I said I need some love!
Oo yes, I need some love
This feelin’ I can’t rise above.
Oo, yeah yeah!


A3 Take a Friend [Background and Commentary]

The song can be taken in one of two ways: either as a straight-ahead ode to the value of friendship or as a come-on, albeit one in which the narrator uses good English: “Well, you need a friend / Someone on whom you can always depend.”—Rob Freedman, Rush Vault

“Most of the lyrics we had [on the debut album and prior] were just what rhymed.”—John Rutsey in Rush Visions

“The song starts quiet until it gradually makes it way to full gear. Geddy’s voice sounds especially good on this track, and there is some great guitar work on this song by Lifeson. This song is a bit more laidback compared to the previous two songs [‘Finding My Way’ and ‘Need Some Love’]. Take A Friend is a very good song, but doesn’t stand out, just keeps the flow of the album going.—Sputnik Music

Lyrics

Well, I’m lookin’ at you
And I’m wond’rin’ what you’re gonna do
Looks like you got no friends
No one to stick with you till the end

Take yourself a friend
Keep ’em till the end
Whether woman or man
It makes you feel so good
So good

Yes, you think you’re all right
But now you’re lonely ev’ry night
Well, you need a friend
Someone on whom you can always depend

Yes, you need some advice
Well, let me put it to you nice
I said you need a friend
Someone who’ll stick with you to the end


A4 Here Again [Background and Commentary]

“Here Again,” a 12-bar blues piece that closes the first side of the debut album, “shows the band trying to stretch out a bit. A slower tempo and an effort to bring the dynamics of the song up, down, and then up again. It’ s a sign of things to come.”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

Alex wrote the lyrics. “The funny thing was, John [Rutsey] was the lyricist in the band, and he wouldn’t submit the lyrics for any of these songs [in preparation for recording the debut album] . . . I wrote the lyrics [for this song], but everything else was just sort of thrown together.”—Alex in Contents Under Pressure

Lyrics

I said I played this song so many times before
That the melody keeps repeating
Growing new ideas, flowing chords and notes
Like a mountain river bleeding

Well, I say as I look back at all the thoughts I’ve had
They reflect just what I’m learning
Yes, you know that the hardest part, yes, I say it is to stay on top
On top of a world forever churning

Well, you say you can laugh, but I can see that your eyes are glass
Well, do you see, can’t you see, what I’m feeling?
Yes, I’ve seen your face before
Why, I’ve seen it everywhere
Showing up to me without a scent revealing

Well, I said will it ever change?
Will it stay the same?
I’d surely like to know before it’s over
Well, I said I played some
I said it won’t be long
Won’t be long before I stop and play it over

You know I’ve, I’ve seen your face before
Is it ever gonna, ever gonna change again?
Oh, oh, I’ve, I’ve been in one place too long
Is it ever gonna, ever gonna change again?


B1 What You’re Doing [Background and Commentary]

“Side two [of the debut album] opens with ‘What You’re Doing,’ a strong all-out rocker. The lyrics sound as if they were written in 15 minutes, but that’s part of the fun.”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

“‘What You’re Doing’ pulverizes Zep-like, housing the album’s most combative celebrations of red-hot riffery.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

“For me the one which stands out [on the debut album] is the scorching ‘What You’re Doing,’ a powerhouse rocker built around a reworked version of Zeppelin’s ‘Heartbreaker’ riff. Pass me an air guitar!”—The Lone Groover, Progressive Ears

Lyrics

Well, I see you standin’ there
With your finger in the air
Everything we do, you wanna leave it up to you

Who do you think you are?
You think you are a star?
Tryin’ to run the town
Always tryin’ to put us down

Well, you think that you’re right
You think you’re out of sight
Tell me something, mister
Why’d you have to make us so uptight?

Well, you say you’ve been tryin’
You know that you’re lyin’
I think you need some groovin’
Who do you think you’re foolin’, now?

Well, you better start changin’
Your life needs rearrangin’
You better do some talkin’
Or you better do some walkin’ now

Yeah, you think that you’re right
You think you’re out of sight
Tell me something, mister
Why’d you have to make us so uptight?

I know what you’re doing
All that you been doin’ wrong
I don’t know what you’re feelin’
Oh, but you been feelin’ long

Well, you think that you’re right
Tell me something, mister
Why’d you have to make us so uptight?


B2 In the Mood [Background and Commentary]

“In the Mood” became the band’s second Canadian single. “When performed as part of the band’s encore, it still gets the crowd to its feet. The great hook was a little too rough to become a hit, but with a line like ‘Hey, baby, it’s a quarter to eight and I feel I’m in the mood,’ how could you go wrong?”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

“The song is sometimes said to be the first song Geddy ever wrote [in 1970] but perhaps it’s more like his first significant song) . . . . It would last long into the band’s live sets.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

It “was probably at least two years old, if not three, when we recorded the first album.”—Alex in Contents Under Pressure

On its writing, “Ged came in and said, ‘I’ve got a good idea for a song’ and played it from beginning to end.”—Alex in Rush Visions

Lyrics

Hey, now, baby
Well, I like your smile
Won’t you come and talk to me
For a little while?

Well, you’re makin’ me crazy
The way you roll them eyes
Won’t you come and sit with me?
I’ll tell you all my lies

Hey, baby, it’s a quarter to eight
I feel I’m in the mood
Hey baby, the hour is late
I feel I’ve got to move

Well, hey, now, baby
Don’t you talk so fast
I’m just tryin’ to make these good times
I’m tryin’ to make it last

Everything’s getting hazy
Now honey, where’d you go?
I just want to find out, baby
Where’d you learn what you know?

Well, hey, now, baby
I said I like your style
You really got me, baby
Way down deep inside

Ooh, you drive me crazy
Baby, you’re the one
I just want to rock and roll you woman
Until the night is gone


B3 Before and After [Background and Commentary]

“‘Before and After’ is the key song on the debut album to understanding where Rush would go next. What sounds like an acoustic guitar dominates a long instrumental introduction, before Geddy and Alex have some fine moments together. That and the extended introduction show a different side of the band, even if the song is a great Led Zeppelin rip-off.—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

“‘Before and After’ is a solid track which begins with a somber guitar riff and a slow tempo. Lots of harmonics and clean chords. Distortion kicks in at about a minute, and once the verse kicks in, the song shifts tempo up a bit. Geddy’s vocals are varied, and the simple chorus (yeah . . . yeeeeaah) is quite effective. Alex unfolds another fantastic solo, which sounds perfectly in place with the rest of the song.”—Rush Appreciator XIII

Lyrics

Love won’t see me comin’
On a Sunday noon today
Still don’t believe we’re fadin’
But now the world should wait

And now you’re finally listenin’
To what I have to say
Well, the time is right
And it is today

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Maybe we could talk about it
And try to get it straight
After all these years, baby
Maybe it’s too late

But I really need to
Have you by my side
And that’s the only feelin’
Baby, I can’t hide

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Well you aren’t listenin’
I ain’t talkin’
We ain’t gettin’ nowhere

I keep tryin’ to get through to you baby
All you do is stare

I don’t wanna see that
I need you by my side
Well, I don’t want to be your lover
Babe, I wanna be your man

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Well, now my story’s over, baby
And I ain’t gonna tell it twice
Well, you better start listenin’
Or get out of my life

Or you’re gonna be left out
I said left out in the cold
Yeah, before you get my lovin’
Babe, you’ll be too old

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Well, I’m talkin’ to you baby
Well, I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah


B4 Working Man [Background and Commentary]

“The song centers on the repetitious drudgery of working a day job and describes how work gets in the way of living. The traditional working-class separation of labor from life is dramatized: work is an economic necessity but a personally meaningless, alienating activity, while leisure provides meaningful personal space. The end of each verse makes clear the desire for escape from the workaday lifestyle, when Geddy sings, “It seems to me I could live my life / A lot better than I think I am,” delivered during the song’s most intense dynamic build-up. The song presents hope for upward mobility or a more personally satisfying way of spending one’s time, though without a great deal of certainty or expectation. Isolation is a key theme in the song as well, as the ‘I’ persona comes home, pours himself a beer, and wonders ‘why there’s nothing goin’ down here.’ The home context seems removed from life as well; working is not living in this song, and leisure time at home is an inadequate respite, empty and inactive.”—Christopher McDonald, Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class

It’s “the only song the band ever recorded [as of the late 1980s] which deals with blue collar workers . . . When Rush returned to contemporary characters many years later, they wrote about the suburban kids they once were. But no matter what you do for a living, ‘Working Man’ is a great song to play loud after a bad day at work. It was always popular with audiences and stayed in the live set for many years.”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

If the song is an anomaly lyrically, it’s not musically. It “looks forward to what Rush would become, a fast-fretting power trip carried by Lifeson’s lightning-fast guitar leads. The jam-session format of this 7-minute workout showed just how exciting the band could be live.”—John Swenson, “Rush Chronicles”

“‘Working Man’ was the weapon of choice [for Donna Halper of WMMS-FM in Cleveland, who helped introduce the band to the United States by giving the song airplay and telling music tastemakers about it].” After she debuted the piece, “the phone lines were summarily flooded [about 50 callers], many fans under the impression they had just heard fresh Zeppelin music.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

“‘Bob Roper, who was an A&M of Canada representative, sent me this record by a group that had never heard of,” said Halper . . . I dropped the needle down on the longest cut and I knew immediately that it was a Cleveland record.’ Halper told one of her DJs to play the song that night on his show to see how it went over. Denny Sanders (the DJ) found that ‘Working Man’ stirred quite a reaction from the blue collar audience . . . ‘They were asking about where they could get the record, and of course they couldn’t—there was only one copy.’ Halper phoned Ray Danniels and Vic Wilson [of the band’s management agency]. They worked out an arrangement to have a box of Rush records sent south to Cleveland. The albums were placed in the local Record Revolution store. The box sold out in a few days.”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

“Cliff Burnstein, a Mercury A&R rep, after receiving a copy of Rush, called Donna Harper, who said the record was getting a great response and that ‘Working Man’ is the song. ‘I hung up the phone, put it on, and sure enough, it was a motherfucker.’”—Robert Telleria, Merely Players

“Our parents were hard-working,” Lee explains. “Life was a struggle for most people, no one was wealthy. You thought a lot about your future, and what kind of life do you want to live? Is it going to be enough for me to have that kind of life, where it’s all about work, and a beer at the end of the day and a hug from your kids, and do it all again? So, it’s kind of an ode to that guy who we worked so hard not to be, in a sense. We wanted to be musicians, and that was our ticket out of there. That was our escape for what was sort of inevitable for all of our friends and the world that we came from. . . . It’s hard to hear the record without going back in time. Your first record is such a milestone. It’s like the impossible feat: you never think you’re going to get signed, you never think you’re going to get to make a record . . . The first version of our first record was really crappy, and that’s when we met the guy who really changed our lives, which was Terry Brown. And he became our producer for the next 10 years and taught us so much about making records. . . He saved that album, when I think of that album, I think of him, I think of that first session, when we took those poorly recorded versions of those songs, and he decided what was salvageable and what we should just re-record.”—Geddy, Radio.com, March 27, 2014

Lyrics

I get up at seven, yeah
And I go to work at nine
I got no time for livin’
Yes, I’m workin’ all the time

It seems to me
I could live my life
A lot better than I think I am
I guess that’s why they call me
They call me the working man

They call me the working man
I guess that’s what I am

I get home at five o’clock
And I take myself out a nice, cold beer
Always seem to be wonderin’
Why there’s nothin’ goin’ down here

Well, they call me the working man
I guess that’s what I am


Check the www.yperano.com site for more RUSH vinyl records, CDs (and T-shirts, tour programs)

Check the www.yperano.com site for more RUSH vinyl records, CDs (and T-shirts, tour programs)


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