Rush: 1984 - 2015

This book is the companion volume to Rush 1973 – 1982 On Track. 1982’s keyboard-heavy Signals album was to be the beginning of Rush’s ‘synth era’ and albums including Power Windows and Hold Your Fire split the fan base, with the old guard resenting the changes in both instrumentation and song-writing style. New followers joined the fold, however, and the band’s popularity in album sales and concert receipts continued to grow. Rush were never ones for treading water, as subsequent releases into the 1990s showed a gradual return to the guitar-centric power-trio format.


A double family tragedy for drummer Neil Peart seemed to signal the end of the band, with a sign-off triple live album, Different Stages, appearing in 1997. But five years later, a reformed Rush began to release a series of new albums, culminating in the magnificent concept record, Clockwork Angels.


This book reviews all the band's studio and live releases from 1984’s Grace Under Pressure to the final, farewell live album, R40, in 2015. Peart’s subsequent retirement and tragically early death in 2020 seemingly closed the annals of this unique band, before the shock announcement in 2025 that the band would reconvene in 2026 with drummer Anika Nilles.

Richard James immersed himself in music as soon as he got his first real six-string at the age of ten. Previously chained to a desk for a living, he broke free, armed with a music degree from the Open University and a Licentiate Diploma in Classical Guitar from the Royal School of Music, and proceeded to roam the East Midlands, UK, as a freelance guitarist and music teacher. He lives with his wife in Leicestershire, UK, and when not involved with music, he enjoys foreign travel and playing chess badly.