Rush announced last month that they will be releasing a Rush 50 Super Deluxe Box Set compilation anthology in celebration of the band's 50th anniversary this Spring. Although we've known about the set since early December, Rush made it officially official two weeks ago on January 28th, along with a few more details and an unboxing video. From the announcement:
On March 21, UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records label groups celebrate the half-century milestone marker for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame icons with RUSH 50, a wide-ranging 50-track super deluxe anthology that encompasses the entirety of the band's long and storied career for the first time across all the band's label groups, bookended with the first ever reissue of their debut 1973 single and a live recording of the last song they ever performed together as a band at their final concert in 2015 at The Forum in Los Angeles. ...
"50? Is that all?...seriously...it's a cool collection...but look at all those songs - I'm exhausted just reading the effin list!" - Geddy Lee ...
The set will be available in five distinct configurations, including the (1) Super Deluxe Edition ($374.98), (2) Rush Store Exclusive Super Deluxe Edition, (3) 7-LP Deluxe Edition ($249.98), (4) 4-CD Deluxe Edition ($99.98), and (5) Digital Edition ($26.49). The Rush Backstage Store exclusive edition includes an additional four bonus lithos showcasing Rush through time, newly illustrated by FANTOONS from the characters created for the graphic novel depicting the band in the '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000s. As mentioned above, Rush 50 will be officially released on March 21st, and it can be pre-ordered via Amazon and other retailers. You can view all the details regarding the different configurations and what they include, along with the full tracklist at Rush.com.
Back in late 2023 in the lead up to his My Effin' Life book tour, Geddy Lee released 2 tracks from the My Favorite Headache sessions for streaming. The release was dubbed The Lost Demos and included the previously unreleased tracks Gone and I Am ... You Are. Last week it was revealed that an exclusive 12" vinyl release of The Lost Demos would be made available for Record Store Day on April 12. From the RSD website:
For Record Store Day 2025, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee and Rush lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist Geddy Lee releases The Lost Demos, two previously unreleased solo songs. Lee originally recorded this pair of demos, "Gone" and "I Am... You Are", during the writing sessions for his 2000 solo debut, My Favorite Headache. With the help of producer/engineer David Bottrill, he has unearthed them for the first time, properly mixed and mastered. Commenting on the project, Geddy said "I'm excited to see these two "lost demos" released - I loved the songs when they were written and in some ways they feel as fresh and perhaps more relevant all these years later." Both songs conjure the spirit of the classic My Favorite Headache, which originally arrived on November 14, 2000.
The release will be available at participating stores on Record Store Day 2025 on Saturday, April 12th. To find a store near you, visit recordstoreday.com.
Rush's Moving Pictures album turned 44 this past Wednesday, prompting a number of online articles in tribute to the album. One of which was this Music Radar piece on Tom Sawyer and how the classic track came about, including some quotes from past interviews.
Tidal's Tony Gervino posted an article this morning in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Rush's Fly By Night, which was released in mid-February of 1975:
... From the album's opening notes, it was clear that Peart was Rush's secret weapon, as crucial a drummer to a band's sound as Stewart Copeland was to the Police. The newfangled band sounded more nimble and experimental, kicking things off with the opening track "Anthem" (named after a super-depressing Ayn Rand novel. Hello, Neil.) But it wasn't until the audience got a load of the eight-part "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" that they started to get a sense of Peart's headspace. ... The album's title track was the perfect marriage of the original Rush and the 2.0 version of the band, and is the closest thing they had to an actual single - until their opus Moving Pictures six years later. The other highlight was "Rivendell," a twee song based upon an elvish enclave in The Hobbit. (It would not be the last time the band ventured into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.) ...
In addition to being a hockey legend and Hall-of-famer, Steve Schutt was also childhood friends with both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, having introduced the pair back in junior high school. Schutt was a recent guest on The Overtime Podast with Gino Reda podcast and spoke at length about how the introduction came to be, his friendship with the guys, and more (thanks RushFanForever). You can listen in below or on YouTube, with the Rush bit coming in the first 5 minutes or so.
On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable on the Rushfans YouTube channel (episode #263), the panel continues thier Snakes & Arrows discussion with The Way the Wind Blows:
That's all for this week. Happy Valentine's Day and have a great weekend!!
