Guitar Hero World Tour (initially referred to as Guitar Hero IV) is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was launched in North America in October 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles, and a month later for Europe and Australia.

While the game continues to feature the use of a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of rock music, Guitar Hero World Tour is the first game in the Guitar Hero series to feature drum and microphone controllers for percussion and vocal parts, similar in manner to the competing Rock Band series of games. The game allows users to create new songs through the "Music Studio" mode, which can then be uploaded and shared through a service known as "GHTunes".

World Tour received generally positive reviews with critics responding positively to the quality of the instrument controllers, the customization abilities, and improvements in the game's difficulty compared with the previous Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. However, some reviewers have commented on issues with poorly laid-out note tracks, the limited Career modes, and the difficulty of the music creation tool and the poor quality of the resulting songs.

Gameplay

Guitar Hero World Tour builds on the gameplay from previous Guitar Hero games, in which players attempt to simulate the playing of rock music using special guitar-shaped controllers. World Tour expands beyond the core guitar-based gameplay by introducing the ability to play drums and sing vocals, and supports the ability for up to four players to play together in a virtual band through these different instruments. Successfully hitting notes increases the player's or band's score, as well as increase the "Rock Meter" that represents the song's performance. Missed notes are not scored and negatively affect the Rock Meter. If the Rock Meter drops too low, the song ends prematurely, with the virtual audience booing the band off stage. Completing a consecutive series of notes successfully will increase a scoring multiplier for that player up to 4x. This multiplier is doubled when the player activates star power. Similar to Rock Band, the band shares a common score, scoring multiplier and band performance meter while each player has their own performance metric; the band also shares the same "Star Power" meter, though any player may activate it at any time. A player that performs poorly and reduces their performance meter to zero can still continue to play, but they drain the overall performance meter for the band, requiring the other players to make up for this.^[1] Successfully completing a song garners a three to five-star rating based on the accumulated score, and rewards such as in-game money that can be used to buy new guitars and outfits for characters.

The guitar interface remains relatively unchanged in World Tour. As with previous Guitar Hero titles, the guitar and bass player must hold down the correct fret button(s) on the controller while strumming in time with the notes as they scroll on-screen. One addition to the guitar gameplay is the ability to play notes while holding a sustained note. Additionally, the bass guitar player will be required to play notes representing an open E string, which is shown on-screen as a solid line across their note track. To play these notes, the bass guitar player strums the controller without pressing any fret button keys.^[2] The drum interface is similar to the guitar's interface, with each on-screen note track equivalent to a colored drum head on the controller, with the bass drum indicated by a line across the note track. The drum player only needs to hit the correct drum pads simultaneously to the note gems to successfully play their track. There are also marked sections on the drum part wherein the player may play any notes they wish in a 'solo' to gain points. The vocal track requires the player to match the pitch of the notes in a manner similar to Karaoke Revolution to be successful. Special sections of each players' note track are marked with glowing notes, which, if completed successfully, builds up Star Power. Once enough Star Power is accumulated, it can be released via various means to double the band's current score multiplier. For guitar and bass, this is done by lifting the guitar controller vertically or (though not in bass) by pressing a button on the guitar face; for drums, by striking both cymbal pads on the controller at the same time; for vocals, by tapping the microphone or making a similarly quick sound.^[2]

In addition to the standard four difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert) for each song and instrument, a new Beginner level has been added in World Tour.^[3] This difficulty is aimed for younger and unskilled players; notes are generally simple straight lines in time with bass drum beats, and allowing any fret button to be held while the note is strummed (for lead and bass guitar), any drum to be hit (for drums), or any sound to be made (for vocals).^[4]

Game modes

The primary single-player game mode is Career mode, which can be played on either the lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, or vocals. Career mode has been slightly altered from previous Guitar Hero games. After creating a band, selecting or creating an avatar, and then selecting an instrument, the player is then presented with one of several gigs containing two to five songs each. Most gigs end with an encore song that is not revealed until the other songs are completed. Two of the lead guitar gigs feature "boss challenges" with Zakk Wylde and Ted Nugent; these boss challenges, featuring original songs by Wylde and Nugent, are different from Guitar Hero IIITemplate:Infobox musical artist Template:Portal Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired heavy metal on their first albums, then encompassing hard rock, progressive rock, a period dominated by synthesizers and, more recently, modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists, including Metallica,^[5][6] The Smashing Pumpkins^[7] and Primus,^[7] as well as progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater^[5] and Symphony X.^[8]

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales with 25 million units.^[9] Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.

The band recently finished promoting their latest album, Snakes & Arrows with an intercontinental tour. The second leg began in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 11, and ended on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana.^[10]

History

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The early years (1968–1976)

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The original line-up formed in the neighbourhood of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario, by Lifeson, front man Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsey. Within a couple weeks of forming, and before their second performance, bassist and lead vocalist Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson. After several lineup reformations, Rush's official incarnation was formed in May 1971 consisting of Lee, Lifeson, and Rutsey. The band was managed by local Toronto resident Ray Danniels, a frequent attendee of Rush's early shows.^[11][12]

After gaining stability in the lineup and honing their skills on the local bar/high school dance circuit, the band came to release their first single "Not Fade Away", a cover of the Buddy Holly song, in 1973. Side B contained an original composition, "You Can't Fight It", credited to Rutsey and Lee. The single generated little reaction and, due to record company indifference, the band formed their own independent record label, Moon Records. With the aid of Danniels and the newly enlisted engineer Terry Brown, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1974, which was considered highly derivative of Led Zeppelin.^[13] Rush had limited local popularity until the album was picked up by WMMS, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Donna Halper, a DJ and music director working at the station, selected "Working Man" for her regular play list. The song's blue collar theme resonated with hard rock fans and this new found popularity led to the album being re-released by Mercury Records in the U.S.^[14][15] Image:Starman.png

Immediately after the release of the debut album, Rutsey resigned in July 1974 due to his affliction with diabetes and a distaste for touring. Rush held auditions and eventually selected Neil Peart as Rutsey's replacement. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. They performed their first concert together, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann with an attendance of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14. In addition to becoming the band's drummer, Peart assumed the role of principal lyricist as Lee and Lifeson had very little interest in writing, contributing to only a handful of song lyrics over the rest of the band's career. Instead, they focused primarily on the musical aspects of Rush. Fly by Night (1975), Rush's first album after recruiting Peart, saw the inclusion of the band's first epic mini-tale "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes after the addition of Peart due to his love for fantasy and science-fiction literature.^[17] However, despite these many differences some of the music and songs still closely mirrored the blues style found on Rush's debut.^[18][17]

Following quickly on the heels of Fly By Night, the band released 1975's Caress of Steel, a five track hard rock album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth." Caress of Steel was reported by some critics to be unfocused and an audacious move for the band due to the placement of two protracted numbers back-to-back, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and story-telling, a large deviation from Fly by Night.^[19] Intended to be the band's first "break-through" album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations and the promotional tour consisted of small venues which led to the moniker the "Down the Tubes Tour."^[20] In light of these events, Rush's record label pressured them into molding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion. However, the band ignored the requests and developed their next album, 2112. It was the band's first taste of commercial success and their first platinum album in Canada.^[21] The supporting tour for the album culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, which the band recorded for the release of their first live album titled All the World's a Stage. Allmusic Guide critic Greg Prato summarily reminds listeners and fans of how the album demarcates the boundary between the band's early years and the next era of their music.^[22][23]

The progressive rock era (1977–1981)

After 2112, Rush retreated to the United Kingdom to record 1977's A Farewell to Kings and 1978's Hemispheres at Rockfield Studios in Wales. These albums saw the band members expanding their use of progressive elements in their music. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended-length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions. To achieve a broader, more progressive palette of sound, Alex Lifeson began to experiment with classical and twelve-string guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Minimoog. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood blocks, cowbells, timpani, gong and chimes. Beyond instrument additions, the band kept in stride with the progressive rock movement by continuing to compose long, conceptual songs with science fiction and fantasy overtones. However, as the new decade approached, Rush gradually began to dispose of their older styles of music in favor of shorter, and sometimes softer, arrangements. The lyrics up to this point (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction, and the writings of novelist Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112.^[24]

Permanent Waves (1980) shifted Rush's style of music dramatically via the introduction of reggae and new wave.^[25] Although a hard rock style was still evident, more and more synthesizers were introduced. Moreover, due to the limited airplay Rush's previous extended-length songs received, Permanent Waves included shorter, more radio-friendly songs such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", two songs which helped Permanent Waves become Rush's first U.S. Top 5 album; both songs continue to make appearances on classic rock radio stations in Canada and the United States to this day.^[26] Meanwhile, Peart's lyrics shifted toward an expository tone with subject matter that dwelled less on fantastical or allegorical story-telling and more heavily on cerebral topics that explored humanistic, social, emotional and metaphysical elements. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush's popularity reached its pinnacle with the release of Moving Pictures in 1981. Moving Pictures essentially continued where Permanent Waves left off, extending the trend of highly accessible and commercially friendly pop-progressive rock that helped thrust them into the spotlight. The lead track, "Tom Sawyer", is probably the band's best-known song^[27] with "Limelight" also receiving satisfactory responses from listeners and radio stations. Moving Pictures was Rush's last album to feature an extended song, the ten-and-a-half-minute "The Camera Eye". The song also contained the band's heaviest usage of synthesizers up to that point, hinting that Rush's music was shifting direction once more. Moving Pictures reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[28]

Following the success of Moving Pictures and the completion of another four studio albums, Rush released their second live recording, Exit...Stage Left, in 1981. The album delineates the apex of Rush's progressive period by featuring live material from the band's Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures tours. As with their first live release, Exit...Stage Left identified the margin of a new chapter of Rush's sound. The band underwent another radical stylistic transmutation with the release of Signals in 1982.^[29]

The synthesizer period (1982–1989)

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While Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 70s, keyboards were suddenly shifted from the contrapuntal background to the melodic front-lines^[30][31] as evidenced by songs such as "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions". Both feature nimble lead synthesizer lines with minimalistic guitar chords and solos. Other previously unused instrument additions were seen in the song "Losing It," featuring collaborator Ben Mink on electric violin.^[29] Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Signals also represented a drastic stylistic transformation apart from instrumental changes. The album contained Rush's only U.S. top-40 pop hit, "New World Man",^[32] while other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk.^[33] Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, they felt dissatisfied with long-time producer Terry Brown's studio treatment of Signals and parted ways with him in 1983. These diverse styles would come into further play on their next studio album.

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The style and production of Signals were augmented and taken to new heights on 1984's Grace Under Pressure. It was Peart who named the album, as he borrowed the words of Ernest Hemingway to describe what the band had to go through after making the decision to leave Terry Brown. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who gleaned fame with successful productions of Simple Minds and U2, was enlisted to produce Grace Under Pressure. However, he backed out at the last moment, much to the ire of Lee, Lifeson and Peart. Lee said "Steve Lillywhite is really not a man of his word....after agreeing to do our record, he got an offer from Simple Minds, changed his mind, blew us off,..so it put us in a horrible position." Eventually Rush hired Peter Henderson to co-produce and engineer the album in his stead.^[34]

Musically, although Lee's use of sequencers and synthesizers remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Peart's adaptation of Simmons electronic drums and percussion. Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced to act as an overreaction to the minimalistic role he played on Signals.^[35] Still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms; "Distant Early Warning", "Red Lenses", "Red Sector A" and "The Enemy Within" serve as prime examples.

With new producer Peter Collins, the band released 1985's Power Windows and 1987's Hold Your Fire. The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work. While fans and critics took notice of Lifeson's diminished guitar work, his presence was still palpable on "The Big Money", (the album's modest-charting single) with spotlights on "Grand Designs", "Middletown Dreams" and "Marathon." Lifeson, like many guitarists in the late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord bursts and razor-thin leads. Hold Your Fire represents both a modest extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and, according to Allmusic critic Ed Rivadavia, the culmination of this era of Rush.^[36] Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in November 1987, although it managed to peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200.^[37]

A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the 80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favourite power trio as "the holy trinity".^[38] Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark, reaching number 21 on the Billboard 200.^[39] At this point, the group decided to change record labels from Mercury to Atlantic. After Rush's departure in 1989, Mercury released a double platinum two-volume compilation of their Rush catalogue, Chronicles (1990).^[40]

Returning to their roots (1989–1997)

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style with the albums Presto and Roll the Bones. Produced by record engineer and musician Rupert Hine, these two albums saw Rush shedding much of their keyboard-saturated sound. Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums. Although synthesizers were still used in many songs, the instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions. Continuing this trend, 1991's Roll the Bones extended the use of the standard three-instrument approach with even less focus on synthesizers than its predecessor. While musically these albums do not deviate significantly from a general pop-rock sound, Rush stuck to their creative approach of incorporating traces of more exotic musical styles. "Roll the Bones", for instance, exhibits funk and hip hop elements, and the instrumental track "Where's My Thing?" features several jazz components.^[41] This return to three-piece instrumentation helped pave the way for future albums in the mid-90s, which would adopt a more straightforward rock formula.

The transition from synthesizers to more guitar-oriented and organic instrumentation continued with the 1993 album Counterparts^[42] and its follow-up, 1996's Test for Echo, again both produced in collaboration with Peter Collins. Musically, Counterparts^[42] and Test For Echo are two of Rush's most guitar-driven albums. Although the music in general did not meet the criteria for "progressive rock", some of the songs could be considered more adventurous than what one might expect from a standard modern rock band.^[43] For instance, "Time and Motion" possesses multiple time signature changes and organ usage, while the instrumental track "Limbo", consists of several relatively complex musical passages repeated throughout. Musically, Test For Echo still retained much of the hard rock/alternative style already charted on the previous record. Lifeson and Lee's playing remained more or less unchanged; however, a distinct modification in technique became apparent in Peart's playing due to formal Jazz and Swing training under the tutelage of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber during the interim between Counterparts and Test For Echo.^[44] In October 1996, in support of Test For Echo, the band embarked on an extensive and successful North American tour, the band's first without an opening act and dubbed "An Evening with Rush." The tour was broken up into two segments spanning October through December, 1996 and May through July, 1997 with the band taking a respite between legs.

Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005)

After wrapping up the tour promoting Test for Echo in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus mainly due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in an automobile accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey. In this book he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."^[45] On November 10, 1998 a triple CD live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it contained three discs packed with recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the fourth officially released live album by the band. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end After a time to grieve and reassemble the pieces of his life, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000. In early 2001 he announced to his band mates that he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music. With the help of producer Paul Northfield the band returned in May 2002 with Vapor Trails, written and recorded in Toronto. To herald the band's comeback, the single and lead track from the album, "One Little Victory" was designed to grab the attention of listeners due to its rapid guitar and drum tempos.^[46] Vapor Trails marked the first studio recording not to include a single synthesizer, organ or keyboard part since the early 1970s. While the album is almost completely guitar-driven, it is mostly devoid of any conventional sounding guitar solos, a conscious decision made by Lifeson during the writing process. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took approximately 14 months to finish, by far the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album.^[46] The album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career.

A triple CD live album and dual Rush In Rio DVD was released in late October 2003 featuring an entire concert performance recorded on the last night of their Vapor Trails Tour, November 23, 2002, at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP recorded in suburban Toronto featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream, The Who and The Yardbirds, bands that the members of Rush cite as inspiration around the time of their inception.^[47] Also in the summer of 2004, Rush hit the road again for the very successful 30th Anniversary Tour, playing dates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. On September 24, 2004 a Frankfurt, Germany concert was recorded at The Festhalle for DVD (titled R30: Live in Frankfurt), which was released November 22, 2005.

Snakes & Arrows (2006–present)

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Game modes 2 History 2.1 The early years (1968–1976) 2.2 The progressive rock era (1977–1981) 2.3 The synthesizer period (1982–1989) 2.4 Returning to their roots (1989–1997) 2.5 Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005) 2.6 Snakes & Arrows (2006–present) 3 Single Player Setlist 3.1 1. Starting Out Small 3.2 2. Your First Real Gig 3.3 3. Making The Video 3.4 4. European Invasion 3.5 5. Bighouse Blues 3.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 3.7 7. Live in Japan 3.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 4 Co-Op Setlist 4.1 1. Getting a Band Together 4.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 4.3 3. Overnight Success 4.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 4.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 4.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 5 Bonus Tracks 6 Downloadable Content 7 Singles 8 Track Packs 9 Musical style and influences 10 Band members 10.1 Former members 11 Reputation 11.1 Geddy Lee 11.2 Alex Lifeson 11.3 Neil Peart 11.3.1 Music 11.3.2 Lyrics 12 Sales 13 Live performances 14 Philanthropy 15 Discography 16 Single Player Setlist 16.1 1. Starting Out Small 16.2 2. Your First Real Gig 16.3 3. Making The Video 16.4 4. European Invasion 16.5 5. Bighouse Blues 16.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 16.7 7. Live in Japan 16.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 17 Co-Op Setlist 17.1 1. Getting a Band Together 17.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 17.3 3. Overnight Success 17.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 17.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 17.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 18 Bonus Tracks 19 Downloadable Content 20 Singles 21 Track Packs 21.1 Studio albums 22 See also 23 References 24 Further reading 24.1 Books 24.2 Scholarly articles 25 External links 25.1 Characters and customization 25.2 Instruments 25.2.1 Instrument compatibility 26 History 26.1 The early years (1968–1976) 26.2 The progressive rock era (1977–1981) 26.3 The synthesizer period (1982–1989) 26.4 Returning to their roots (1989–1997) 26.5 Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005) 26.6 Snakes & Arrows (2006–present) 27 Single Player Setlist 27.1 1. Starting Out Small 27.2 2. Your First Real Gig 27.3 3. Making The Video 27.4 4. European Invasion 27.5 5. Bighouse Blues 27.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 27.7 7. Live in Japan 27.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 28 Co-Op Setlist 28.1 1. Getting a Band Together 28.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 28.3 3. Overnight Success 28.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 28.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 28.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 29 Bonus Tracks 30 Downloadable Content 31 Singles 32 Track Packs 33 Musical style and influences 34 Band members 34.1 Former members 35 Reputation 35.1 Geddy Lee 35.2 Alex Lifeson 35.3 Neil Peart 35.3.1 Music 35.3.2 Lyrics 36 Sales 37 Live performances 38 Philanthropy 39 Discography 40 Single Player Setlist 40.1 1. Starting Out Small 40.2 2. Your First Real Gig 40.3 3. Making The Video 40.4 4. European Invasion 40.5 5. Bighouse Blues 40.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 40.7 7. Live in Japan 40.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 41 Co-Op Setlist 41.1 1. Getting a Band Together 41.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 41.3 3. Overnight Success 41.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 41.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 41.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 42 Bonus Tracks 43 Downloadable Content 44 Singles 45 Track Packs 45.1 Studio albums 46 See also 47 References 48 Further reading 48.1 Books 48.2 Scholarly articles 49 External links 50 Development 51 History 51.1 The early years (1968–1976) 51.2 The progressive rock era (1977–1981) 51.3 The synthesizer period (1982–1989) 51.4 Returning to their roots (1989–1997) 51.5 Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005) 51.6 Snakes & Arrows (2006–present) 52 Single Player Setlist 52.1 1. Starting Out Small 52.2 2. Your First Real Gig 52.3 3. Making The Video 52.4 4. European Invasion 52.5 5. Bighouse Blues 52.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 52.7 7. Live in Japan 52.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 53 Co-Op Setlist 53.1 1. Getting a Band Together 53.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 53.3 3. Overnight Success 53.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 53.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 53.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 54 Bonus Tracks 55 Downloadable Content 56 Singles 57 Track Packs 58 Musical style and influences 59 Band members 59.1 Former members 60 Reputation 60.1 Geddy Lee 60.2 Alex Lifeson 60.3 Neil Peart 60.3.1 Music 60.3.2 Lyrics 61 Sales 62 Live performances 63 Philanthropy 64 Discography 65 Single Player Setlist 65.1 1. Starting Out Small 65.2 2. Your First Real Gig 65.3 3. Making The Video 65.4 4. European Invasion 65.5 5. Bighouse Blues 65.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 65.7 7. Live in Japan 65.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 66 Co-Op Setlist 66.1 1. Getting a Band Together 66.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 66.3 3. Overnight Success 66.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 66.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 66.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 67 Bonus Tracks 68 Downloadable Content 69 Singles 70 Track Packs 70.1 Studio albums 71 See also 72 References 73 Further reading 73.1 Books 73.2 Scholarly articles 74 External links 74.1 Bundling and promotion 75 Soundtrack 76 Single Player Setlist 76.1 1. Starting Out Small 76.2 2. Your First Real Gig 76.3 3. Making The Video 76.4 4. European Invasion 76.5 5. Bighouse Blues 76.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 76.7 7. Live in Japan 76.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 77 Co-Op Setlist 77.1 1. Getting a Band Together 77.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 77.3 3. Overnight Success 77.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 77.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 77.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 78 Bonus Tracks 79 Downloadable Content 80 Singles 81 Track Packs 81.1 Custom songs 82 History 82.1 The early years (1968–1976) 82.2 The progressive rock era (1977–1981) 82.3 The synthesizer period (1982–1989) 82.4 Returning to their roots (1989–1997) 82.5 Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005) 82.6 Snakes & Arrows (2006–present) 83 Single Player Setlist 83.1 1. Starting Out Small 83.2 2. Your First Real Gig 83.3 3. Making The Video 83.4 4. European Invasion 83.5 5. Bighouse Blues 83.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 83.7 7. Live in Japan 83.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 84 Co-Op Setlist 84.1 1. Getting a Band Together 84.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 84.3 3. Overnight Success 84.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 84.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 84.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 85 Bonus Tracks 86 Downloadable Content 87 Singles 88 Track Packs 89 Musical style and influences 90 Band members 90.1 Former members 91 Reputation 91.1 Geddy Lee 91.2 Alex Lifeson 91.3 Neil Peart 91.3.1 Music 91.3.2 Lyrics 92 Sales 93 Live performances 94 Philanthropy 95 Discography 96 Single Player Setlist 96.1 1. Starting Out Small 96.2 2. Your First Real Gig 96.3 3. Making The Video 96.4 4. European Invasion 96.5 5. Bighouse Blues 96.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 96.7 7. Live in Japan 96.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 97 Co-Op Setlist 97.1 1. Getting a Band Together 97.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 97.3 3. Overnight Success 97.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 97.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 97.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 98 Bonus Tracks 99 Downloadable Content 100 Singles 101 Track Packs 101.1 Studio albums 102 See also 103 References 104 Further reading 104.1 Books 104.2 Scholarly articles 105 External links 105.1 Downloadable content 106 Single Player Setlist 106.1 1. Starting Out Small 106.2 2. Your First Real Gig 106.3 3. Making The Video 106.4 4. European Invasion 106.5 5. Bighouse Blues 106.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 106.7 7. Live in Japan 106.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 107 Co-Op Setlist 107.1 1. Getting a Band Together 107.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 107.3 3. Overnight Success 107.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 107.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 107.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 108 Bonus Tracks 109 Downloadable Content 110 Singles 111 Track Packs 112 History 112.1 The early years (1968–1976) 112.2 The progressive rock era (1977–1981) 112.3 The synthesizer period (1982–1989) 112.4 Returning to their roots (1989–1997) 112.5 Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005) 112.6 Snakes & Arrows (2006–present) 113 Single Player Setlist 113.1 1. Starting Out Small 113.2 2. Your First Real Gig 113.3 3. Making The Video 113.4 4. European Invasion 113.5 5. Bighouse Blues 113.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 113.7 7. Live in Japan 113.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 114 Co-Op Setlist 114.1 1. Getting a Band Together 114.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 114.3 3. Overnight Success 114.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 114.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 114.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 115 Bonus Tracks 116 Downloadable Content 117 Singles 118 Track Packs 119 Musical style and influences 120 Band members 120.1 Former members 121 Reputation 121.1 Geddy Lee 121.2 Alex Lifeson 121.3 Neil Peart 121.3.1 Music 121.3.2 Lyrics 122 Sales 123 Live performances 124 Philanthropy 125 Discography 126 Single Player Setlist 126.1 1. Starting Out Small 126.2 2. Your First Real Gig 126.3 3. Making The Video 126.4 4. European Invasion 126.5 5. Bighouse Blues 126.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 126.7 7. Live in Japan 126.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 127 Co-Op Setlist 127.1 1. Getting a Band Together 127.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 127.3 3. Overnight Success 127.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 127.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 127.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 128 Bonus Tracks 129 Downloadable Content 130 Singles 131 Track Packs 131.1 Studio albums 132 See also 133 References 134 Further reading 134.1 Books 134.2 Scholarly articles 135 External links 136 Reception 137 History 137.1 The early years (1968–1976) 137.2 The progressive rock era (1977–1981) 137.3 The synthesizer period (1982–1989) 137.4 Returning to their roots (1989–1997) 137.5 Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005) 137.6 Snakes & Arrows (2006–present) 138 Single Player Setlist 138.1 1. Starting Out Small 138.2 2. Your First Real Gig 138.3 3. Making The Video 138.4 4. European Invasion 138.5 5. Bighouse Blues 138.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 138.7 7. Live in Japan 138.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 139 Co-Op Setlist 139.1 1. Getting a Band Together 139.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 139.3 3. Overnight Success 139.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 139.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 139.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 140 Bonus Tracks 141 Downloadable Content 142 Singles 143 Track Packs 144 Musical style and influences 145 Band members 145.1 Former members 146 Reputation 146.1 Geddy Lee 146.2 Alex Lifeson 146.3 Neil Peart 146.3.1 Music 146.3.2 Lyrics 147 Sales 148 Live performances 149 Philanthropy 150 Discography 151 Single Player Setlist 151.1 1. Starting Out Small 151.2 2. Your First Real Gig 151.3 3. Making The Video 151.4 4. European Invasion 151.5 5. Bighouse Blues 151.6 6. The Hottest Band On Earth 151.7 7. Live in Japan 151.8 8. Battle For Your Soul 152 Co-Op Setlist 152.1 1. Getting a Band Together 152.2 2. We Just Wanna Be Famous 152.3 3. Overnight Success 152.4 4. Getting the Band Back Together 152.5 5. Jailhouse Rock 152.6 6. Battle for Your Souls... 153 Bonus Tracks 154 Downloadable Content 155 Singles 156 Track Packs 156.1 Studio albums 157 See also 158 References 159 Further reading 159.1 Books 159.2 Scholarly articles 160 External links 160.1 Awards 160.2 Technical issues 161 See also 162 References 163 External links

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006. While in Toronto, Lifeson and Lee began the songwriting process in January 2006. During this time, Peart simultaneously assumed his role of lyric writing while residing in Southern California. The following September, Rush chose to hire American producer Nick Raskulinecz to co-produce the album. The band officially entered Allaire Studios, in Shokan, New York in November 2006 in order to record the bulk of the material. Taking the band five weeks, the sessions ended in December. On February 14, 2007, an announcement was made on the official Rush web site that the title of the new album would be Snakes & Arrows. The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007 and reached #2 on the Mediabase Mainstream and Radio and Records Charts.^[48]

The Rush website, newly redesigned on March 12 to support the new album, also announced that the band would embark on a tour to begin in the summer. Snakes & Arrows was released 1 May 2007 in North America, where it debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with approximately 93,000 units sold in its first week.^[49] To coincide with the Atlantic ocean hurricane season, "Spindrift" was released as the official second radio single on June 1, 2007, whereas "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" saw single status on June 25, 2007. "The Larger Bowl" positioned within the top 20 of the Mainstream Rock and Media Base Mainstream charts, however, "Spindrift" failed to appear on any commercial chart.^[50] The planned intercontinental tour in support of Snakes & Arrows began on June 13, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, coming to a close on October 29, 2007 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.^[51]

The 2008 portion of the tour started on April 11, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum and culminated on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.^[52] On April 15, the band released Snakes & Arrows Live, a double live album documenting the first leg of the tour.^[53] Those same performances featured on Snakes & Arrows Live filmed at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17 of 2007 was released November 24 as a DVD and Blu-Ray set, which also includes footage from the 2008 portion of the tour, recorded at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Atlanta.^{[54][55] [56]}

As the band neared the conclusion of their Snakes & Arrows tour, they announced their first appearance on American television in over 30 years. Rush was interviewed by Stephen Colbert and they performed "Tom Sawyer" on The Colbert Report on July 16, 2008.^[57]

Musical style and influences

Rush's musical style has changed substantially over the years. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock: an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Over the first few albums their style remained essentially hard rock, with heavy influences from The Who^[58] and Led Zeppelin,^[13] but also became increasingly influenced by the British progressive rock movement.^[59] In the tradition of progressive rock, Rush wrote protracted songs with irregular and multiple time signatures combined with fantasy/science fiction-inspired lyrics; however, they did not soften their sound. This fusion of hard and progressive rock continued until the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, Rush successfully merged their sound with the trends of this period, experimenting with New Wave, reggae and pop rock.^[60] This period included the band's most extensive use of instruments such as synthesizers, sequencers and electronic percussion. It is largely agreed that the culmination of this era of Rush was in 1987 after the release of Hold Your Fire.^[61] With the approach of the early '90s and Rush's character sound still intact, the band transformed their style once again to harmonize with the alternative rock movement.^[62] The new millennium has seen them return to a more rock and roll roots sound, albeit with modern production.^[58]

Band members

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, lead vocals, keyboards, mellotron, bass and synthesizer pedals, electric and acoustic rhythm guitar (September 1968 – present)
• Alex Lifeson – six and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitar, mandolin, mandola, Bouzouki, backing vocals, bass and synthesizer pedals (August 1968 – present)
• Neil Peart – drums, electronic and acoustic percussion (July 1974 – present)

Former members

• John Rutsey – drums, percussion, backing vocals (August 1968 – July 1974)
• Jeff Jones – bass, lead vocals (August 1968 – September 1968)

Template:Details

Reputation

More than 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography. As with many bands known for experimentation, such changes have inevitably resulted in dissent among critics and fans. The bulk of the band's music has always included synthetic instruments in some form or another, and this is a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s, particularly on albums Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire.^[63][64] Still, most fans saw this as nothing less than artistic growth and support for the band remained unwavering through each transitional phase.^[61]

The members of Rush have themselves noted that people "either love Rush or hate Rush", resulting in strong detractors and an intensely loyal fan base. To the chagrin of fans, the band has not been nominated for entry into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since their year of eligibility in 1998. The Hall's refusal to induct Rush may be a consequence of the band's insistence on remaining outside the mainstream of rock when it comes to self-promotion, in favor of maintaining a high degree of independence.^[65] To this day fans earnestly clamor for the band's inclusion into the Hall by citing noteworthy accomplishments including longevity, proficiency, and influence, as well as commercial sales figures and RIAA certifications. However, Lifeson has expressed his indifference toward the perceived slight saying "I couldn't care less, look who's up for induction, it's a joke".^[66] Rush has gained a degree of recognition in popular culture despite any official recognition from the Hall.^[67]

As a band, Rush has been nominated for and received various awards throughout its career. Likewise, the individual members have received coverage in various modern music magazines with specific technocratic recognition for instrumental ability. See List of Rush awards for more details on this topic.

Geddy Lee

Image:GeddyLee.JPG

Geddy Lee's high-register vocal style has always been a signature of the band — and sometimes, a focal point for criticism, especially during the early years of Rush's career when Lee's vocals were high-pitched, with a strong likeness to other singers like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Although his voice has softened over the years, it is often described as a "wail".^[68][69] His instrumental abilities, on the other hand, are rarely criticized. An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and ability on the bass guitar have proven influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring such players as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden,^[70] John Myung of Dream Theater,^[71] Les Claypool of Primus^[72] and Cliff Burton of Metallica^[73] among others. Lee is notable for his ability to operate various pieces of instrumentation simultaneously. This is mostly evident during live shows when Lee must play bass, supply lead vocals, manipulate keyboards, and trigger foot pedals during the course of a performance, as in the song "Tom Sawyer".^[59] Because of this he is required to remain in one place during songs containing complex instrumentation. Lifeson and Peart are, to a lesser extent, responsible for similar actions during live shows.

Alex Lifeson

Image:Alex Lifeson6.jpg

Instrumentally, Lifeson is regarded as a guitarist whose strengths and notability rely primarily on signature riffing, electronic effects and processing, unorthodox chord structures, and a copious arsenal of equipment used over the years.^[74][75][76] Despite his esteem, however, Lifeson is often regarded as being overshadowed by his bandmates due to Lee's on-stage multi-instrumental dexterity and Peart's status as a drummer.^[77]

During his adolescent years, he was influenced primarily by Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.^[78] For versatility, Lifeson was known to incorporate touches of Spanish and classical music into Rush's guitar-driven sound during the 1970s. Taking a backseat to Lee's keyboards in the 1980s, Lifeson's guitar returned to the forefront in the 1990s, and especially on 2002's Vapor Trails. During live performances, he is still responsible for cuing various guitar effects, the use of bass-pedal synthesizers and backing vocals.

Neil Peart

Music

Peart is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow musicians as one of, if not the greatest rock drummers.^[79] He is also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.^[80] Initially inspired by Keith Moon, Peart absorbed the influence of other rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.^[81] Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as cowbells, glockenspiel, and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Peart's drumkit offers an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity. For two decades Peart honed his technique; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber. Image:Neil Peart3.jpg

Lyrics

Peart also serves as Rush's primary lyricist, attracting much attention over the years due to his eclectic style. Known for penning concept suites and songs inspired by literature, music fan opinions of his writing have varied greatly, running the gamut from cerebral and insightful to overly pretentious and preachy. During the band's early years, Peart's lyrics were largely fantasy/science fiction-focused,^[82] though since 1980 he has focused more on social, emotional, and humanitarian issues. Peart's lyrics continue to divide audiences today. For example, in 2007, he was placed second on Blender magazine's list of the "40 Worst Lyricists In Rock".^[83]

Sales

Over the course of their career, Rush has come to release 24 gold records and 14 platinum records (3 of which have gone multiplatinum),^[84] placing them within the top 4 for the most consecutive gold albums by a rock band.^[85] Rush ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units.^[85] Total worldwide sales approximate 40 million units.^{[86][87][88][89]}

Despite having completely dropped out of the public eye for five years after the gold-selling Test for Echo (which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200) and the band being relegated almost solely to classic rock stations in the U.S., Vapor Trails reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release in 2002 with 108,000 albums sold. It has sold approximately 343,000 units to date. The subsequent Vapor Trails tour grossed over $24 million and included the largest audience ever to see a headlining Rush show — 60,000 fans in São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, Vapor Trails remains their first album not to achieve at least gold status.

However, Rush's triple CD live album, 2003's Rush in Rio, was certified gold by the RIAA, marking the fourth decade in which a Rush album had been released and certified at least gold. Moreover, in 2004 Feedback cracked the top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and received radio airplay. The band's most recent album, Snakes & Arrows, debuted at #3 (just one position shy of Rush's highest peaking album, 1993's Counterparts, which debuted at #2) on the Billboard 200 selling approximately 93,000 copies in its first week of release.^[90] This marks the 13th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 27th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, as well as peaking at #1 on the Top Internet Albums chart when the album was released on the MVI format a month later.^[91] Still, Snakes & Arrows has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse Vapor Trails or Rush in Rio.

The two consecutive tours in support of Snakes & Arrows in 2007 and 2008 accrued $21 million and $18.3 million, respectively, earning Rush the number 6 and 8 spots among the top ten summer rock concerts.^[92][93]

Live performances

The members of Rush share a strong work ethic, desiring to accurately recreate songs from their albums when playing live performances. Toward this goal, beginning in the late 1980s, Rush has included in their concert equipment a capacious rack of digital samplers which the band members use, in real-time, to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiarly heard on the studio versions of the songs.

In live performances, the band members share duties throughout most songs, with each member triggering certain sounds with his available limbs, while playing his primary instrument(s). Each band member has one or more MIDI controllers that enables him to use his free hands or feet to trigger sounds that have been loaded into the samplers for a particular song.^[94] It is with this technology that the group is able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity that fans have come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of backing tracks or employing an additional band member.^[95]

The band members' coordinated use of foot-pedal keyboards and other electronic triggers to "play" sampled instruments and audio events is subtly visible in their live performances, especially so on R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, their 2005 concert DVD.

A staple of Rush's concerts is a Peart drum solo. Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, making each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favor of newer, more complex ones. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has used MIDI trigger pads to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibraslap as well as other, more esoteric percussion.

Philanthropy

Rush actively participates in philanthropic causes. The band was one of a number of hometown favorites to play Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, also dubbed SARStock, at Downsview Park in Toronto on July 30, 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. The concert was intended to benefit the Canadian economy after the SARS outbreaks earlier in the year. The band has also sustained an interest in promoting human rights. They donated $100,000 to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights after a concert they held in Winnipeg on 24 May 2008.^[96] Rush continues to sell t-shirts and donate the proceeds to the museum.^[97]

The individual members of Rush have also been a part of philanthropic causes. Hughes & Kettner zenTeras and TriAmps have been endorsed and used by Lifeson for many years. A custom signature amplifier was engineered by Lifeson and released in April 2005 with the stipulation that UNICEF will receive a donation in the amount of $50 for every Alex Lifeson Signature TriAmp sold.^[98] Lee, a longtime fan of baseball, donated 200 baseballs signed by famous Negro League players, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Josh Gibson, to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in June 2008.^[99]

The band is featured on the music album Songs for Tibet, appearing with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. The album was made downloadable on August 5 via iTunes and was released commercially August 12.^[100]

Discography

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

Studio albums

• Rush (1974)
• Fly by Night (1975)
• Caress of Steel (1975)
• 2112 (1976)
• A Farewell to Kings (1977)
• Hemispheres (1978)
• Permanent Waves (1980)
• Moving Pictures (1981)
• Signals (1982)
• Grace Under Pressure (1984)
• Power Windows (1985)
• Hold Your Fire (1987)
• Presto (1989)
• Roll the Bones (1991)
• Counterparts (1993)
• Test for Echo (1996)
• Vapor Trails (2002)
• Feedback (2004)
• Snakes & Arrows (2007)

See also

• Rush instrumentals
• List of Rush awards

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Books

• Rush: Visions: The Official Biography – Banasiewicz, Bill. (1988), Omnibus Press – ISBN 0-7119-1162-2
• Rush Tribute: Merely Players – Telleria, Robert (2002) – ISBN 1-55082-271-3
• Rush: Success Under Pressure – Gett, Steve. (1984) – ISBN 0-89524-230-3
• Rhythm & Light – Nuttall, Carrie, (2005), Rounder Books, ISBN 1-57940-093-0
• Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0-7692-5055-6
• More Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0-7692-5051-3
• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1-895900-02-6
• Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1-55022-546-4 (hardcover), ISBN 1-55022-548-0 (paperback)
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1-55022-664-9
• Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away – Popoff, Martin. Publisher: Ecw Press (28 June 2004) – ISBN 1-55022-678-9
• Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1-58715-102-2
• Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography – Collins, Jon. (2006) Helter Skelter Publishing – ISBN 1-900924-85-4 (Hardcover)
• Roadshow: Landscape With Drums - A Concert Tour By Motorcycle – Peart (2006), Rounder – ISBN 1-57940-142-2

Scholarly articles

• "Rand, Rush, and De-totalizing the Utopianism of Progressive Rock" by Steven Horwitz (2002)
• "Textu®al Undercoding and the Music of the Rock Band Rush: String Quartets, Death Metal, Trip-Hop, and other Tributes" by Dr. Durrell Bowman (2004/2002)
• "'Open Secrets': Individualism and Middle-Class Identity in the songs of Rush," Popular Music and Society Volume 31 No. 3, July 2008, pp. 313-328, by Chris McDonald.
• "'Making Arrows Out of Pointed Words': Critical Reception, Taste Publics and Rush," Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, Volume 25 No. 3-4, September 2002, pp. 249-259, by Chris McDonald
• "Grand Designs: A Musical, Social and Ethographic Study of Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, York University, 2002) by Chris McDonald
• "Structure, Function and Process in the Early Song Cycles and Extended Songs of the Canadian Rock Group Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in music theory, Ohio State University, 2002) by Brian Walsh
• "Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture" (dissertation, Ph.D. in musicology, UCLA, 2003) by Dr. Durrell Bowman

External links

Template:Spoken Wikipedia Template:Commonscat Template:Wikiquote

• Official Rush Home Page

Template:Featured article Template:RushTemplate:Link FA

ca:Rush cs:Rush da:Rush de:Rush et:Rush es:Rush fr:Rush (groupe) hr:Rush id:Rush it:Rush he:ראש (להקה) lv:Rush hu:Rush mt:Rush nl:Rush (band) ja:ラッシュ (バンド) no:Rush nn:Rush pl:Rush pt:Rush ro:Rush ru:Rush simple:Rush (band) sk:Rush (skupina) fi:Rush sq:Rush sv:Rush tr:Rush (grup) uk:Rush zh:匆促樂團s boss battle, removing the focus on attack power-ups and instead featuring a call-and-response mechanic similar to the existing Face-Off mode.^[101] The gigs are arranged by difficulty based on the selected instrument. The player is awarded in-game money for each song completed, and completing each gig can also award additional money for meeting certain criteria, such as never letting the Rock Meter drop below a certain level or playing the first several notes of a song perfectly. Completing a gig can also unlock one or more gigs with more difficult songs to complete. Additional awards, such as customization items, are also awarded for completing gigs. The player's accumulated earnings across any of the single player Career Modes are tracked and used to rank the player's overall performance level.^[101]

Image:Guitar-hero-world-tour-20080715103139463.PNG Band Career mode is similar to the solo Career mode, with the game songs presented as several gigs to be completed. A band must have at least two players to proceed, but the second player may be either a local player or one over the network. Players may be at different levels of progression in the game, but will still gain benefits for successfully completing songs when playing together. The in-game interface features vocals along the top of the screen, and three tracks underneath, for bass, drums, and guitar; only tracks for active players will be shown. Full four-player bands can compete with other bands online in a Battle of the Bands mode.^[102]

Both single players and bands can play a setlist of up to six songs in Quickplay mode, still earning in-game money rewards for their performances. Existing competitive modes from the series, including the Battle Mode from Guitar Hero III, are also present in the game.^[2]

The Wii version of the game features a special "Mii Freestyle" mode that allows players to use their Miis as their characters as they improvise songs via the guitar and drum controllers or using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.^[103]

Characters and customization

Image:Ghwt guitar custom.jpg Players are able to use the Create-a-Rocker mode which is based on the Create-a-Skater mode in Neversoft's Tony Hawk series and the advanced character creation scheme from the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series. Players can change their character's poise, clothing, tattoos, makeup, and age. Selected characters from previous Guitar Hero games are available as templates for creating a rocker. Previous games featured Gibson Guitars, but as a result of a lawsuit with Gibson Guitars, branded guitars are not featured; instead, the player can create a customized guitar from various components, such as bodies, necks, and strum bars. The player's in-game drum set and microphone can also be similarly customized.^[101] Activision had formed partnerships with several instrument equipment manufactures to featured in the game, including Ampeg, Audio-Technica, EMG Pickups, Ernie Ball, Evans Drumheads, Guitar Center, Krank Amplification, Mackie, Marshall, Orange County Drum & Percussion, Pork Pie Percussion, Regal Tip, Sabian, Vox and Zildjian.^[104]

In addition to the computer- and player-controlled characters, avatars of notable musicians are featured in the game, either with motion capture or the licensing of their image for their character. Such artists include Hayley Williams^[105], Jimi Hendrix,^[106] Ozzy Osbourne,^[107], Zakk Wylde,^[107], Billy Corgan,^[108][109] Sting,^[110] Ted Nugent,^[111], and Travis Barker.^[112]

New venues in the game include virtual recreations of real arenas, such as Ozzfest, Amoeba Music, Live Nation’s House of Blues, Sunset Strip and San Francisco’s AT&T Park.^[104] One venue showcases the trademark art style of Tool and was developed in collaboration with the band.^[113] World Tour is the first Activision game on the PlayStation 3 to support dynamic in-game advertising provided by IGA Worldwide; similar advertising for the Xbox 360 version is provided by Massive Incorporated.^[114]

Instruments

Image:Guitar-hero-slider-notes.jpg RedOctane developed a new guitar controller for World Tour. The unit is approximately 25% larger than previous controllers, making it closer to the size of a real guitar.^[115] The new controller includes a longer whammy bar and places the Star Power button directly below the strum bar, improving the access of these features. The strum bar itself was made quieter and longer.^[2] The neck of the guitar is detachable, similar to the Gibson Les Paul controller for Guitar Hero III, but the connector has been hardened to avoid connection issues experienced with the previous unit.^[115] The neck of the guitar features a touch-sensitive pad just below the normal five fret buttons. The player can use either the fret buttons or the touch pad to play regular notes. The pad also allows the player to play notes via "tap strumming" similar to the slap bass method for bass guitar, and to alter the pitch of sustained notes.^[2][115] Guitar tracks feature notes connected by a semi-transparent purple line, (except for the Wii version which instead doesn't have a semi-transparent line but the gems are instead semi-transparent) called "Slider Gems"; the player can play these notes by sliding their fingers up and down the touch pad or by tapping the fret buttons without strumming.^[115] The touchpad can also be used for sustained and staccato notes in the music studio feature while recording guitar, and is used for finer control over loops when recording other instruments.^[2][115]

World Tour features a wireless six-piece drum kit, with a bass drum pedal and five velocity-sensitive drum pads for snare, two toms, and two cymbals, which Activision has stated provide the "most realistic drum experience ever in a video game".^{[102][112][2][101][116]} The drum kit was designed with help from John Devacka, who is credited with creating the first music game, MTV Drumscape, and developed key patents used for most modern music games that are now owned by Activision.^[101] Special note gems on the drum track are "armored", requiring the player to strike harder on the appropriate drum head in order to break the armor and score points. During song creation, the velocity sensitivity feature of the drum pad allows players to alter the sounds made by the drums.^[112] The drum set also has a MIDI input port in the back, allowing users to connect a compatible MIDI drum kit to play in the game.^[117] The Wii version of the drum controller includes a slot for the Wii Remote to fit into, enabling it to become wireless, much like the guitar controller introduced for the Wii version of Guitar Hero III.

The official microphone used for vocals uses a USB connection. When playing vocals, a gamepad or Wii Remote is necessary in order to navigate menus, select difficulties, and pause.^[118]

Logitech and Activision announced that the former company will produce "premium" instruments to be released later in 2008.^[119]

Instrument compatibility

World Tour will work with older Guitar Hero guitar controllers.^[2] Activision stated during their E3 2008 press conference that Xbox 360 users will be able to use the existing Rock Band instrument controllers as well as other third party controllers in Guitar Hero World Tour;^[120] Rock Band instruments for the PlayStation 3 are not guaranteed to work in World Tour, though Sony is attempting to help make these units compatible.^[121] All Rock Band original Harmonix instruments for PlayStation 2 will work with World Tour. According to issue 027 of the UK's Official Playstation Magazine, all Guitar Hero and Rock Band PS3 controllers are cross-compatible with all games (except for Guitar Hero: World Tour drums on Rock Band, however some require patching, which is done automatically when connected to the internet

Console makers have helped to ensure instrument compatibility between current and upcoming guitar and band games. Both Sony^[121] and Microsoft^[122] have announced that instruments for World Tour, Rock Band 2, and Konami's Rock Revolution will work between all three games on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii version of the game only supports guitar controllers from previous Guitar Hero games, and "no compatibility with any other peripherals".^[123]

World Tour adjusts the tracks in the game to account for the instrument controller being used. For example, sections of the lead guitar track that are designed to be played on the new World Tour controller's touchpad can be played by tapping the frets on older controllers without strumming.^[2] When using Rock BandTemplate:Infobox musical artist Template:Portal Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired heavy metal on their first albums, then encompassing hard rock, progressive rock, a period dominated by synthesizers and, more recently, modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists, including Metallica,^[5][6] The Smashing Pumpkins^[7] and Primus,^[7] as well as progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater^[5] and Symphony X.^[8]

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales with 25 million units.^[9] Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.

The band recently finished promoting their latest album, Snakes & Arrows with an intercontinental tour. The second leg began in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 11, and ended on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana.^[10]

History

Template:Details

The early years (1968–1976)

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The original line-up formed in the neighbourhood of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario, by Lifeson, front man Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsey. Within a couple weeks of forming, and before their second performance, bassist and lead vocalist Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson. After several lineup reformations, Rush's official incarnation was formed in May 1971 consisting of Lee, Lifeson, and Rutsey. The band was managed by local Toronto resident Ray Danniels, a frequent attendee of Rush's early shows.^[11][12]

After gaining stability in the lineup and honing their skills on the local bar/high school dance circuit, the band came to release their first single "Not Fade Away", a cover of the Buddy Holly song, in 1973. Side B contained an original composition, "You Can't Fight It", credited to Rutsey and Lee. The single generated little reaction and, due to record company indifference, the band formed their own independent record label, Moon Records. With the aid of Danniels and the newly enlisted engineer Terry Brown, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1974, which was considered highly derivative of Led Zeppelin.^[13] Rush had limited local popularity until the album was picked up by WMMS, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Donna Halper, a DJ and music director working at the station, selected "Working Man" for her regular play list. The song's blue collar theme resonated with hard rock fans and this new found popularity led to the album being re-released by Mercury Records in the U.S.^[14][15] Image:Starman.png

Immediately after the release of the debut album, Rutsey resigned in July 1974 due to his affliction with diabetes and a distaste for touring. Rush held auditions and eventually selected Neil Peart as Rutsey's replacement. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. They performed their first concert together, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann with an attendance of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14. In addition to becoming the band's drummer, Peart assumed the role of principal lyricist as Lee and Lifeson had very little interest in writing, contributing to only a handful of song lyrics over the rest of the band's career. Instead, they focused primarily on the musical aspects of Rush. Fly by Night (1975), Rush's first album after recruiting Peart, saw the inclusion of the band's first epic mini-tale "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes after the addition of Peart due to his love for fantasy and science-fiction literature.^[17] However, despite these many differences some of the music and songs still closely mirrored the blues style found on Rush's debut.^[18][17]

Following quickly on the heels of Fly By Night, the band released 1975's Caress of Steel, a five track hard rock album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth." Caress of Steel was reported by some critics to be unfocused and an audacious move for the band due to the placement of two protracted numbers back-to-back, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and story-telling, a large deviation from Fly by Night.^[19] Intended to be the band's first "break-through" album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations and the promotional tour consisted of small venues which led to the moniker the "Down the Tubes Tour."^[20] In light of these events, Rush's record label pressured them into molding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion. However, the band ignored the requests and developed their next album, 2112. It was the band's first taste of commercial success and their first platinum album in Canada.^[21] The supporting tour for the album culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, which the band recorded for the release of their first live album titled All the World's a Stage. Allmusic Guide critic Greg Prato summarily reminds listeners and fans of how the album demarcates the boundary between the band's early years and the next era of their music.^[22][23]

The progressive rock era (1977–1981)

After 2112, Rush retreated to the United Kingdom to record 1977's A Farewell to Kings and 1978's Hemispheres at Rockfield Studios in Wales. These albums saw the band members expanding their use of progressive elements in their music. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended-length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions. To achieve a broader, more progressive palette of sound, Alex Lifeson began to experiment with classical and twelve-string guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Minimoog. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood blocks, cowbells, timpani, gong and chimes. Beyond instrument additions, the band kept in stride with the progressive rock movement by continuing to compose long, conceptual songs with science fiction and fantasy overtones. However, as the new decade approached, Rush gradually began to dispose of their older styles of music in favor of shorter, and sometimes softer, arrangements. The lyrics up to this point (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction, and the writings of novelist Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112.^[24]

Permanent Waves (1980) shifted Rush's style of music dramatically via the introduction of reggae and new wave.^[25] Although a hard rock style was still evident, more and more synthesizers were introduced. Moreover, due to the limited airplay Rush's previous extended-length songs received, Permanent Waves included shorter, more radio-friendly songs such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", two songs which helped Permanent Waves become Rush's first U.S. Top 5 album; both songs continue to make appearances on classic rock radio stations in Canada and the United States to this day.^[26] Meanwhile, Peart's lyrics shifted toward an expository tone with subject matter that dwelled less on fantastical or allegorical story-telling and more heavily on cerebral topics that explored humanistic, social, emotional and metaphysical elements. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush's popularity reached its pinnacle with the release of Moving Pictures in 1981. Moving Pictures essentially continued where Permanent Waves left off, extending the trend of highly accessible and commercially friendly pop-progressive rock that helped thrust them into the spotlight. The lead track, "Tom Sawyer", is probably the band's best-known song^[27] with "Limelight" also receiving satisfactory responses from listeners and radio stations. Moving Pictures was Rush's last album to feature an extended song, the ten-and-a-half-minute "The Camera Eye". The song also contained the band's heaviest usage of synthesizers up to that point, hinting that Rush's music was shifting direction once more. Moving Pictures reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[28]

Following the success of Moving Pictures and the completion of another four studio albums, Rush released their second live recording, Exit...Stage Left, in 1981. The album delineates the apex of Rush's progressive period by featuring live material from the band's Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures tours. As with their first live release, Exit...Stage Left identified the margin of a new chapter of Rush's sound. The band underwent another radical stylistic transmutation with the release of Signals in 1982.^[29]

The synthesizer period (1982–1989)

Image:Oberheim OBX.jpg

While Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 70s, keyboards were suddenly shifted from the contrapuntal background to the melodic front-lines^[30][31] as evidenced by songs such as "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions". Both feature nimble lead synthesizer lines with minimalistic guitar chords and solos. Other previously unused instrument additions were seen in the song "Losing It," featuring collaborator Ben Mink on electric violin.^[29] Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Signals also represented a drastic stylistic transformation apart from instrumental changes. The album contained Rush's only U.S. top-40 pop hit, "New World Man",^[32] while other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk.^[33] Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, they felt dissatisfied with long-time producer Terry Brown's studio treatment of Signals and parted ways with him in 1983. These diverse styles would come into further play on their next studio album.

Image:DM Simmons SDS5.jpg

The style and production of Signals were augmented and taken to new heights on 1984's Grace Under Pressure. It was Peart who named the album, as he borrowed the words of Ernest Hemingway to describe what the band had to go through after making the decision to leave Terry Brown. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who gleaned fame with successful productions of Simple Minds and U2, was enlisted to produce Grace Under Pressure. However, he backed out at the last moment, much to the ire of Lee, Lifeson and Peart. Lee said "Steve Lillywhite is really not a man of his word....after agreeing to do our record, he got an offer from Simple Minds, changed his mind, blew us off,..so it put us in a horrible position." Eventually Rush hired Peter Henderson to co-produce and engineer the album in his stead.^[34]

Musically, although Lee's use of sequencers and synthesizers remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Peart's adaptation of Simmons electronic drums and percussion. Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced to act as an overreaction to the minimalistic role he played on Signals.^[35] Still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms; "Distant Early Warning", "Red Lenses", "Red Sector A" and "The Enemy Within" serve as prime examples.

With new producer Peter Collins, the band released 1985's Power Windows and 1987's Hold Your Fire. The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work. While fans and critics took notice of Lifeson's diminished guitar work, his presence was still palpable on "The Big Money", (the album's modest-charting single) with spotlights on "Grand Designs", "Middletown Dreams" and "Marathon." Lifeson, like many guitarists in the late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord bursts and razor-thin leads. Hold Your Fire represents both a modest extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and, according to Allmusic critic Ed Rivadavia, the culmination of this era of Rush.^[36] Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in November 1987, although it managed to peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200.^[37]

A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the 80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favourite power trio as "the holy trinity".^[38] Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark, reaching number 21 on the Billboard 200.^[39] At this point, the group decided to change record labels from Mercury to Atlantic. After Rush's departure in 1989, Mercury released a double platinum two-volume compilation of their Rush catalogue, Chronicles (1990).^[40]

Returning to their roots (1989–1997)

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style with the albums Presto and Roll the Bones. Produced by record engineer and musician Rupert Hine, these two albums saw Rush shedding much of their keyboard-saturated sound. Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums. Although synthesizers were still used in many songs, the instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions. Continuing this trend, 1991's Roll the Bones extended the use of the standard three-instrument approach with even less focus on synthesizers than its predecessor. While musically these albums do not deviate significantly from a general pop-rock sound, Rush stuck to their creative approach of incorporating traces of more exotic musical styles. "Roll the Bones", for instance, exhibits funk and hip hop elements, and the instrumental track "Where's My Thing?" features several jazz components.^[41] This return to three-piece instrumentation helped pave the way for future albums in the mid-90s, which would adopt a more straightforward rock formula.

The transition from synthesizers to more guitar-oriented and organic instrumentation continued with the 1993 album Counterparts^[42] and its follow-up, 1996's Test for Echo, again both produced in collaboration with Peter Collins. Musically, Counterparts^[42] and Test For Echo are two of Rush's most guitar-driven albums. Although the music in general did not meet the criteria for "progressive rock", some of the songs could be considered more adventurous than what one might expect from a standard modern rock band.^[43] For instance, "Time and Motion" possesses multiple time signature changes and organ usage, while the instrumental track "Limbo", consists of several relatively complex musical passages repeated throughout. Musically, Test For Echo still retained much of the hard rock/alternative style already charted on the previous record. Lifeson and Lee's playing remained more or less unchanged; however, a distinct modification in technique became apparent in Peart's playing due to formal Jazz and Swing training under the tutelage of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber during the interim between Counterparts and Test For Echo.^[44] In October 1996, in support of Test For Echo, the band embarked on an extensive and successful North American tour, the band's first without an opening act and dubbed "An Evening with Rush." The tour was broken up into two segments spanning October through December, 1996 and May through July, 1997 with the band taking a respite between legs.

Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005)

After wrapping up the tour promoting Test for Echo in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus mainly due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in an automobile accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey. In this book he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."^[45] On November 10, 1998 a triple CD live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it contained three discs packed with recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the fourth officially released live album by the band. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end After a time to grieve and reassemble the pieces of his life, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000. In early 2001 he announced to his band mates that he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music. With the help of producer Paul Northfield the band returned in May 2002 with Vapor Trails, written and recorded in Toronto. To herald the band's comeback, the single and lead track from the album, "One Little Victory" was designed to grab the attention of listeners due to its rapid guitar and drum tempos.^[46] Vapor Trails marked the first studio recording not to include a single synthesizer, organ or keyboard part since the early 1970s. While the album is almost completely guitar-driven, it is mostly devoid of any conventional sounding guitar solos, a conscious decision made by Lifeson during the writing process. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took approximately 14 months to finish, by far the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album.^[46] The album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career.

A triple CD live album and dual Rush In Rio DVD was released in late October 2003 featuring an entire concert performance recorded on the last night of their Vapor Trails Tour, November 23, 2002, at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP recorded in suburban Toronto featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream, The Who and The Yardbirds, bands that the members of Rush cite as inspiration around the time of their inception.^[47] Also in the summer of 2004, Rush hit the road again for the very successful 30th Anniversary Tour, playing dates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. On September 24, 2004 a Frankfurt, Germany concert was recorded at The Festhalle for DVD (titled R30: Live in Frankfurt), which was released November 22, 2005.

Snakes & Arrows (2006–present)

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006. While in Toronto, Lifeson and Lee began the songwriting process in January 2006. During this time, Peart simultaneously assumed his role of lyric writing while residing in Southern California. The following September, Rush chose to hire American producer Nick Raskulinecz to co-produce the album. The band officially entered Allaire Studios, in Shokan, New York in November 2006 in order to record the bulk of the material. Taking the band five weeks, the sessions ended in December. On February 14, 2007, an announcement was made on the official Rush web site that the title of the new album would be Snakes & Arrows. The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007 and reached #2 on the Mediabase Mainstream and Radio and Records Charts.^[48]

The Rush website, newly redesigned on March 12 to support the new album, also announced that the band would embark on a tour to begin in the summer. Snakes & Arrows was released 1 May 2007 in North America, where it debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with approximately 93,000 units sold in its first week.^[49] To coincide with the Atlantic ocean hurricane season, "Spindrift" was released as the official second radio single on June 1, 2007, whereas "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" saw single status on June 25, 2007. "The Larger Bowl" positioned within the top 20 of the Mainstream Rock and Media Base Mainstream charts, however, "Spindrift" failed to appear on any commercial chart.^[50] The planned intercontinental tour in support of Snakes & Arrows began on June 13, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, coming to a close on October 29, 2007 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.^[51]

The 2008 portion of the tour started on April 11, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum and culminated on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.^[52] On April 15, the band released Snakes & Arrows Live, a double live album documenting the first leg of the tour.^[53] Those same performances featured on Snakes & Arrows Live filmed at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17 of 2007 was released November 24 as a DVD and Blu-Ray set, which also includes footage from the 2008 portion of the tour, recorded at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Atlanta.^{[54][55] [56]}

As the band neared the conclusion of their Snakes & Arrows tour, they announced their first appearance on American television in over 30 years. Rush was interviewed by Stephen Colbert and they performed "Tom Sawyer" on The Colbert Report on July 16, 2008.^[57]

Musical style and influences

Rush's musical style has changed substantially over the years. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock: an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Over the first few albums their style remained essentially hard rock, with heavy influences from The Who^[58] and Led Zeppelin,^[13] but also became increasingly influenced by the British progressive rock movement.^[59] In the tradition of progressive rock, Rush wrote protracted songs with irregular and multiple time signatures combined with fantasy/science fiction-inspired lyrics; however, they did not soften their sound. This fusion of hard and progressive rock continued until the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, Rush successfully merged their sound with the trends of this period, experimenting with New Wave, reggae and pop rock.^[60] This period included the band's most extensive use of instruments such as synthesizers, sequencers and electronic percussion. It is largely agreed that the culmination of this era of Rush was in 1987 after the release of Hold Your Fire.^[61] With the approach of the early '90s and Rush's character sound still intact, the band transformed their style once again to harmonize with the alternative rock movement.^[62] The new millennium has seen them return to a more rock and roll roots sound, albeit with modern production.^[58]

Band members

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, lead vocals, keyboards, mellotron, bass and synthesizer pedals, electric and acoustic rhythm guitar (September 1968 – present)
• Alex Lifeson – six and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitar, mandolin, mandola, Bouzouki, backing vocals, bass and synthesizer pedals (August 1968 – present)
• Neil Peart – drums, electronic and acoustic percussion (July 1974 – present)

Former members

• John Rutsey – drums, percussion, backing vocals (August 1968 – July 1974)
• Jeff Jones – bass, lead vocals (August 1968 – September 1968)

Template:Details

Reputation

More than 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography. As with many bands known for experimentation, such changes have inevitably resulted in dissent among critics and fans. The bulk of the band's music has always included synthetic instruments in some form or another, and this is a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s, particularly on albums Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire.^[63][64] Still, most fans saw this as nothing less than artistic growth and support for the band remained unwavering through each transitional phase.^[61]

The members of Rush have themselves noted that people "either love Rush or hate Rush", resulting in strong detractors and an intensely loyal fan base. To the chagrin of fans, the band has not been nominated for entry into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since their year of eligibility in 1998. The Hall's refusal to induct Rush may be a consequence of the band's insistence on remaining outside the mainstream of rock when it comes to self-promotion, in favor of maintaining a high degree of independence.^[65] To this day fans earnestly clamor for the band's inclusion into the Hall by citing noteworthy accomplishments including longevity, proficiency, and influence, as well as commercial sales figures and RIAA certifications. However, Lifeson has expressed his indifference toward the perceived slight saying "I couldn't care less, look who's up for induction, it's a joke".^[66] Rush has gained a degree of recognition in popular culture despite any official recognition from the Hall.^[67]

As a band, Rush has been nominated for and received various awards throughout its career. Likewise, the individual members have received coverage in various modern music magazines with specific technocratic recognition for instrumental ability. See List of Rush awards for more details on this topic.

Geddy Lee

Image:GeddyLee.JPG

Geddy Lee's high-register vocal style has always been a signature of the band — and sometimes, a focal point for criticism, especially during the early years of Rush's career when Lee's vocals were high-pitched, with a strong likeness to other singers like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Although his voice has softened over the years, it is often described as a "wail".^[68][69] His instrumental abilities, on the other hand, are rarely criticized. An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and ability on the bass guitar have proven influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring such players as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden,^[70] John Myung of Dream Theater,^[71] Les Claypool of Primus^[72] and Cliff Burton of Metallica^[73] among others. Lee is notable for his ability to operate various pieces of instrumentation simultaneously. This is mostly evident during live shows when Lee must play bass, supply lead vocals, manipulate keyboards, and trigger foot pedals during the course of a performance, as in the song "Tom Sawyer".^[59] Because of this he is required to remain in one place during songs containing complex instrumentation. Lifeson and Peart are, to a lesser extent, responsible for similar actions during live shows.

Alex Lifeson

Image:Alex Lifeson6.jpg

Instrumentally, Lifeson is regarded as a guitarist whose strengths and notability rely primarily on signature riffing, electronic effects and processing, unorthodox chord structures, and a copious arsenal of equipment used over the years.^[74][75][76] Despite his esteem, however, Lifeson is often regarded as being overshadowed by his bandmates due to Lee's on-stage multi-instrumental dexterity and Peart's status as a drummer.^[77]

During his adolescent years, he was influenced primarily by Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.^[78] For versatility, Lifeson was known to incorporate touches of Spanish and classical music into Rush's guitar-driven sound during the 1970s. Taking a backseat to Lee's keyboards in the 1980s, Lifeson's guitar returned to the forefront in the 1990s, and especially on 2002's Vapor Trails. During live performances, he is still responsible for cuing various guitar effects, the use of bass-pedal synthesizers and backing vocals.

Neil Peart

Music

Peart is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow musicians as one of, if not the greatest rock drummers.^[79] He is also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.^[80] Initially inspired by Keith Moon, Peart absorbed the influence of other rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.^[81] Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as cowbells, glockenspiel, and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Peart's drumkit offers an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity. For two decades Peart honed his technique; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber. Image:Neil Peart3.jpg

Lyrics

Peart also serves as Rush's primary lyricist, attracting much attention over the years due to his eclectic style. Known for penning concept suites and songs inspired by literature, music fan opinions of his writing have varied greatly, running the gamut from cerebral and insightful to overly pretentious and preachy. During the band's early years, Peart's lyrics were largely fantasy/science fiction-focused,^[82] though since 1980 he has focused more on social, emotional, and humanitarian issues. Peart's lyrics continue to divide audiences today. For example, in 2007, he was placed second on Blender magazine's list of the "40 Worst Lyricists In Rock".^[83]

Sales

Over the course of their career, Rush has come to release 24 gold records and 14 platinum records (3 of which have gone multiplatinum),^[84] placing them within the top 4 for the most consecutive gold albums by a rock band.^[85] Rush ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units.^[85] Total worldwide sales approximate 40 million units.^{[86][87][88][89]}

Despite having completely dropped out of the public eye for five years after the gold-selling Test for Echo (which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200) and the band being relegated almost solely to classic rock stations in the U.S., Vapor Trails reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release in 2002 with 108,000 albums sold. It has sold approximately 343,000 units to date. The subsequent Vapor Trails tour grossed over $24 million and included the largest audience ever to see a headlining Rush show — 60,000 fans in São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, Vapor Trails remains their first album not to achieve at least gold status.

However, Rush's triple CD live album, 2003's Rush in Rio, was certified gold by the RIAA, marking the fourth decade in which a Rush album had been released and certified at least gold. Moreover, in 2004 Feedback cracked the top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and received radio airplay. The band's most recent album, Snakes & Arrows, debuted at #3 (just one position shy of Rush's highest peaking album, 1993's Counterparts, which debuted at #2) on the Billboard 200 selling approximately 93,000 copies in its first week of release.^[90] This marks the 13th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 27th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, as well as peaking at #1 on the Top Internet Albums chart when the album was released on the MVI format a month later.^[91] Still, Snakes & Arrows has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse Vapor Trails or Rush in Rio.

The two consecutive tours in support of Snakes & Arrows in 2007 and 2008 accrued $21 million and $18.3 million, respectively, earning Rush the number 6 and 8 spots among the top ten summer rock concerts.^[92][93]

Live performances

The members of Rush share a strong work ethic, desiring to accurately recreate songs from their albums when playing live performances. Toward this goal, beginning in the late 1980s, Rush has included in their concert equipment a capacious rack of digital samplers which the band members use, in real-time, to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiarly heard on the studio versions of the songs.

In live performances, the band members share duties throughout most songs, with each member triggering certain sounds with his available limbs, while playing his primary instrument(s). Each band member has one or more MIDI controllers that enables him to use his free hands or feet to trigger sounds that have been loaded into the samplers for a particular song.^[94] It is with this technology that the group is able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity that fans have come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of backing tracks or employing an additional band member.^[95]

The band members' coordinated use of foot-pedal keyboards and other electronic triggers to "play" sampled instruments and audio events is subtly visible in their live performances, especially so on R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, their 2005 concert DVD.

A staple of Rush's concerts is a Peart drum solo. Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, making each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favor of newer, more complex ones. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has used MIDI trigger pads to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibraslap as well as other, more esoteric percussion.

Philanthropy

Rush actively participates in philanthropic causes. The band was one of a number of hometown favorites to play Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, also dubbed SARStock, at Downsview Park in Toronto on July 30, 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. The concert was intended to benefit the Canadian economy after the SARS outbreaks earlier in the year. The band has also sustained an interest in promoting human rights. They donated $100,000 to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights after a concert they held in Winnipeg on 24 May 2008.^[96] Rush continues to sell t-shirts and donate the proceeds to the museum.^[97]

The individual members of Rush have also been a part of philanthropic causes. Hughes & Kettner zenTeras and TriAmps have been endorsed and used by Lifeson for many years. A custom signature amplifier was engineered by Lifeson and released in April 2005 with the stipulation that UNICEF will receive a donation in the amount of $50 for every Alex Lifeson Signature TriAmp sold.^[98] Lee, a longtime fan of baseball, donated 200 baseballs signed by famous Negro League players, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Josh Gibson, to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in June 2008.^[99]

The band is featured on the music album Songs for Tibet, appearing with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. The album was made downloadable on August 5 via iTunes and was released commercially August 12.^[100]

Discography

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

Studio albums

• Rush (1974)
• Fly by Night (1975)
• Caress of Steel (1975)
• 2112 (1976)
• A Farewell to Kings (1977)
• Hemispheres (1978)
• Permanent Waves (1980)
• Moving Pictures (1981)
• Signals (1982)
• Grace Under Pressure (1984)
• Power Windows (1985)
• Hold Your Fire (1987)
• Presto (1989)
• Roll the Bones (1991)
• Counterparts (1993)
• Test for Echo (1996)
• Vapor Trails (2002)
• Feedback (2004)
• Snakes & Arrows (2007)

See also

• Rush instrumentals
• List of Rush awards

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Books

• Rush: Visions: The Official Biography – Banasiewicz, Bill. (1988), Omnibus Press – ISBN 0-7119-1162-2
• Rush Tribute: Merely Players – Telleria, Robert (2002) – ISBN 1-55082-271-3
• Rush: Success Under Pressure – Gett, Steve. (1984) – ISBN 0-89524-230-3
• Rhythm & Light – Nuttall, Carrie, (2005), Rounder Books, ISBN 1-57940-093-0
• Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0-7692-5055-6
• More Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0-7692-5051-3
• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1-895900-02-6
• Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1-55022-546-4 (hardcover), ISBN 1-55022-548-0 (paperback)
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1-55022-664-9
• Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away – Popoff, Martin. Publisher: Ecw Press (28 June 2004) – ISBN 1-55022-678-9
• Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1-58715-102-2
• Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography – Collins, Jon. (2006) Helter Skelter Publishing – ISBN 1-900924-85-4 (Hardcover)
• Roadshow: Landscape With Drums - A Concert Tour By Motorcycle – Peart (2006), Rounder – ISBN 1-57940-142-2

Scholarly articles

• "Rand, Rush, and De-totalizing the Utopianism of Progressive Rock" by Steven Horwitz (2002)
• "Textu®al Undercoding and the Music of the Rock Band Rush: String Quartets, Death Metal, Trip-Hop, and other Tributes" by Dr. Durrell Bowman (2004/2002)
• "'Open Secrets': Individualism and Middle-Class Identity in the songs of Rush," Popular Music and Society Volume 31 No. 3, July 2008, pp. 313-328, by Chris McDonald.
• "'Making Arrows Out of Pointed Words': Critical Reception, Taste Publics and Rush," Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, Volume 25 No. 3-4, September 2002, pp. 249-259, by Chris McDonald
• "Grand Designs: A Musical, Social and Ethographic Study of Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, York University, 2002) by Chris McDonald
• "Structure, Function and Process in the Early Song Cycles and Extended Songs of the Canadian Rock Group Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in music theory, Ohio State University, 2002) by Brian Walsh
• "Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture" (dissertation, Ph.D. in musicology, UCLA, 2003) by Dr. Durrell Bowman

External links

Template:Spoken Wikipedia Template:Commonscat Template:Wikiquote

• Official Rush Home Page

Template:Featured article Template:RushTemplate:Link FA

ca:Rush cs:Rush da:Rush de:Rush et:Rush es:Rush fr:Rush (groupe) hr:Rush id:Rush it:Rush he:ראש (להקה) lv:Rush hu:Rush mt:Rush nl:Rush (band) ja:ラッシュ (バンド) no:Rush nn:Rush pl:Rush pt:Rush ro:Rush ru:Rush simple:Rush (band) sk:Rush (skupina) fi:Rush sq:Rush sv:Rush tr:Rush (grup) uk:Rush zh:匆促樂團s drum controller, which has one fewer percussion pad than the World Tour unit and lacks velocity sensitivity, two of the lanes on the "World Tour" drum board merge, reducing the note track to four drum pads and bass pedal, and no armored notes are presented.^[117]

Development

The fourth major entry to the Guitar Hero series, at the time named Guitar Hero IV, was officially announced upon the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games in December 2007.^[124] The game's new name, Guitar Hero World Tour, was officially announced by Activision in May 2008.^[125]

Activision and RedOctane had previously registered for trademarks on "Guitar Villain", "Drum Villain", "Keyboard Hero", "Drum Hero" and "Band Hero".^[126] Analysts speculated that future Guitar Hero would need to include additional instrument peripherals in order to compete against former Guitar Hero developer HarmonixTemplate:Infobox musical artist Template:Portal Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired heavy metal on their first albums, then encompassing hard rock, progressive rock, a period dominated by synthesizers and, more recently, modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists, including Metallica,^[5][6] The Smashing Pumpkins^[7] and Primus,^[7] as well as progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater^[5] and Symphony X.^[8]

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales with 25 million units.^[9] Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.

The band recently finished promoting their latest album, Snakes & Arrows with an intercontinental tour. The second leg began in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 11, and ended on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana.^[10]

History

Template:Details

The early years (1968–1976)

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The original line-up formed in the neighbourhood of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario, by Lifeson, front man Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsey. Within a couple weeks of forming, and before their second performance, bassist and lead vocalist Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson. After several lineup reformations, Rush's official incarnation was formed in May 1971 consisting of Lee, Lifeson, and Rutsey. The band was managed by local Toronto resident Ray Danniels, a frequent attendee of Rush's early shows.^[11][12]

After gaining stability in the lineup and honing their skills on the local bar/high school dance circuit, the band came to release their first single "Not Fade Away", a cover of the Buddy Holly song, in 1973. Side B contained an original composition, "You Can't Fight It", credited to Rutsey and Lee. The single generated little reaction and, due to record company indifference, the band formed their own independent record label, Moon Records. With the aid of Danniels and the newly enlisted engineer Terry Brown, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1974, which was considered highly derivative of Led Zeppelin.^[13] Rush had limited local popularity until the album was picked up by WMMS, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Donna Halper, a DJ and music director working at the station, selected "Working Man" for her regular play list. The song's blue collar theme resonated with hard rock fans and this new found popularity led to the album being re-released by Mercury Records in the U.S.^[14][15] Image:Starman.png

Immediately after the release of the debut album, Rutsey resigned in July 1974 due to his affliction with diabetes and a distaste for touring. Rush held auditions and eventually selected Neil Peart as Rutsey's replacement. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. They performed their first concert together, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann with an attendance of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14. In addition to becoming the band's drummer, Peart assumed the role of principal lyricist as Lee and Lifeson had very little interest in writing, contributing to only a handful of song lyrics over the rest of the band's career. Instead, they focused primarily on the musical aspects of Rush. Fly by Night (1975), Rush's first album after recruiting Peart, saw the inclusion of the band's first epic mini-tale "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes after the addition of Peart due to his love for fantasy and science-fiction literature.^[17] However, despite these many differences some of the music and songs still closely mirrored the blues style found on Rush's debut.^[18][17]

Following quickly on the heels of Fly By Night, the band released 1975's Caress of Steel, a five track hard rock album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth." Caress of Steel was reported by some critics to be unfocused and an audacious move for the band due to the placement of two protracted numbers back-to-back, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and story-telling, a large deviation from Fly by Night.^[19] Intended to be the band's first "break-through" album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations and the promotional tour consisted of small venues which led to the moniker the "Down the Tubes Tour."^[20] In light of these events, Rush's record label pressured them into molding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion. However, the band ignored the requests and developed their next album, 2112. It was the band's first taste of commercial success and their first platinum album in Canada.^[21] The supporting tour for the album culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, which the band recorded for the release of their first live album titled All the World's a Stage. Allmusic Guide critic Greg Prato summarily reminds listeners and fans of how the album demarcates the boundary between the band's early years and the next era of their music.^[22][23]

The progressive rock era (1977–1981)

After 2112, Rush retreated to the United Kingdom to record 1977's A Farewell to Kings and 1978's Hemispheres at Rockfield Studios in Wales. These albums saw the band members expanding their use of progressive elements in their music. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended-length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions. To achieve a broader, more progressive palette of sound, Alex Lifeson began to experiment with classical and twelve-string guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Minimoog. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood blocks, cowbells, timpani, gong and chimes. Beyond instrument additions, the band kept in stride with the progressive rock movement by continuing to compose long, conceptual songs with science fiction and fantasy overtones. However, as the new decade approached, Rush gradually began to dispose of their older styles of music in favor of shorter, and sometimes softer, arrangements. The lyrics up to this point (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction, and the writings of novelist Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112.^[24]

Permanent Waves (1980) shifted Rush's style of music dramatically via the introduction of reggae and new wave.^[25] Although a hard rock style was still evident, more and more synthesizers were introduced. Moreover, due to the limited airplay Rush's previous extended-length songs received, Permanent Waves included shorter, more radio-friendly songs such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", two songs which helped Permanent Waves become Rush's first U.S. Top 5 album; both songs continue to make appearances on classic rock radio stations in Canada and the United States to this day.^[26] Meanwhile, Peart's lyrics shifted toward an expository tone with subject matter that dwelled less on fantastical or allegorical story-telling and more heavily on cerebral topics that explored humanistic, social, emotional and metaphysical elements. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush's popularity reached its pinnacle with the release of Moving Pictures in 1981. Moving Pictures essentially continued where Permanent Waves left off, extending the trend of highly accessible and commercially friendly pop-progressive rock that helped thrust them into the spotlight. The lead track, "Tom Sawyer", is probably the band's best-known song^[27] with "Limelight" also receiving satisfactory responses from listeners and radio stations. Moving Pictures was Rush's last album to feature an extended song, the ten-and-a-half-minute "The Camera Eye". The song also contained the band's heaviest usage of synthesizers up to that point, hinting that Rush's music was shifting direction once more. Moving Pictures reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[28]

Following the success of Moving Pictures and the completion of another four studio albums, Rush released their second live recording, Exit...Stage Left, in 1981. The album delineates the apex of Rush's progressive period by featuring live material from the band's Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures tours. As with their first live release, Exit...Stage Left identified the margin of a new chapter of Rush's sound. The band underwent another radical stylistic transmutation with the release of Signals in 1982.^[29]

The synthesizer period (1982–1989)

Image:Oberheim OBX.jpg

While Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 70s, keyboards were suddenly shifted from the contrapuntal background to the melodic front-lines^[30][31] as evidenced by songs such as "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions". Both feature nimble lead synthesizer lines with minimalistic guitar chords and solos. Other previously unused instrument additions were seen in the song "Losing It," featuring collaborator Ben Mink on electric violin.^[29] Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Signals also represented a drastic stylistic transformation apart from instrumental changes. The album contained Rush's only U.S. top-40 pop hit, "New World Man",^[32] while other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk.^[33] Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, they felt dissatisfied with long-time producer Terry Brown's studio treatment of Signals and parted ways with him in 1983. These diverse styles would come into further play on their next studio album.

Image:DM Simmons SDS5.jpg

The style and production of Signals were augmented and taken to new heights on 1984's Grace Under Pressure. It was Peart who named the album, as he borrowed the words of Ernest Hemingway to describe what the band had to go through after making the decision to leave Terry Brown. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who gleaned fame with successful productions of Simple Minds and U2, was enlisted to produce Grace Under Pressure. However, he backed out at the last moment, much to the ire of Lee, Lifeson and Peart. Lee said "Steve Lillywhite is really not a man of his word....after agreeing to do our record, he got an offer from Simple Minds, changed his mind, blew us off,..so it put us in a horrible position." Eventually Rush hired Peter Henderson to co-produce and engineer the album in his stead.^[34]

Musically, although Lee's use of sequencers and synthesizers remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Peart's adaptation of Simmons electronic drums and percussion. Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced to act as an overreaction to the minimalistic role he played on Signals.^[35] Still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms; "Distant Early Warning", "Red Lenses", "Red Sector A" and "The Enemy Within" serve as prime examples.

With new producer Peter Collins, the band released 1985's Power Windows and 1987's Hold Your Fire. The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work. While fans and critics took notice of Lifeson's diminished guitar work, his presence was still palpable on "The Big Money", (the album's modest-charting single) with spotlights on "Grand Designs", "Middletown Dreams" and "Marathon." Lifeson, like many guitarists in the late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord bursts and razor-thin leads. Hold Your Fire represents both a modest extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and, according to Allmusic critic Ed Rivadavia, the culmination of this era of Rush.^[36] Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in November 1987, although it managed to peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200.^[37]

A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the 80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favourite power trio as "the holy trinity".^[38] Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark, reaching number 21 on the Billboard 200.^[39] At this point, the group decided to change record labels from Mercury to Atlantic. After Rush's departure in 1989, Mercury released a double platinum two-volume compilation of their Rush catalogue, Chronicles (1990).^[40]

Returning to their roots (1989–1997)

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style with the albums Presto and Roll the Bones. Produced by record engineer and musician Rupert Hine, these two albums saw Rush shedding much of their keyboard-saturated sound. Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums. Although synthesizers were still used in many songs, the instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions. Continuing this trend, 1991's Roll the Bones extended the use of the standard three-instrument approach with even less focus on synthesizers than its predecessor. While musically these albums do not deviate significantly from a general pop-rock sound, Rush stuck to their creative approach of incorporating traces of more exotic musical styles. "Roll the Bones", for instance, exhibits funk and hip hop elements, and the instrumental track "Where's My Thing?" features several jazz components.^[41] This return to three-piece instrumentation helped pave the way for future albums in the mid-90s, which would adopt a more straightforward rock formula.

The transition from synthesizers to more guitar-oriented and organic instrumentation continued with the 1993 album Counterparts^[42] and its follow-up, 1996's Test for Echo, again both produced in collaboration with Peter Collins. Musically, Counterparts^[42] and Test For Echo are two of Rush's most guitar-driven albums. Although the music in general did not meet the criteria for "progressive rock", some of the songs could be considered more adventurous than what one might expect from a standard modern rock band.^[43] For instance, "Time and Motion" possesses multiple time signature changes and organ usage, while the instrumental track "Limbo", consists of several relatively complex musical passages repeated throughout. Musically, Test For Echo still retained much of the hard rock/alternative style already charted on the previous record. Lifeson and Lee's playing remained more or less unchanged; however, a distinct modification in technique became apparent in Peart's playing due to formal Jazz and Swing training under the tutelage of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber during the interim between Counterparts and Test For Echo.^[44] In October 1996, in support of Test For Echo, the band embarked on an extensive and successful North American tour, the band's first without an opening act and dubbed "An Evening with Rush." The tour was broken up into two segments spanning October through December, 1996 and May through July, 1997 with the band taking a respite between legs.

Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005)

After wrapping up the tour promoting Test for Echo in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus mainly due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in an automobile accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey. In this book he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."^[45] On November 10, 1998 a triple CD live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it contained three discs packed with recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the fourth officially released live album by the band. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end After a time to grieve and reassemble the pieces of his life, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000. In early 2001 he announced to his band mates that he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music. With the help of producer Paul Northfield the band returned in May 2002 with Vapor Trails, written and recorded in Toronto. To herald the band's comeback, the single and lead track from the album, "One Little Victory" was designed to grab the attention of listeners due to its rapid guitar and drum tempos.^[46] Vapor Trails marked the first studio recording not to include a single synthesizer, organ or keyboard part since the early 1970s. While the album is almost completely guitar-driven, it is mostly devoid of any conventional sounding guitar solos, a conscious decision made by Lifeson during the writing process. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took approximately 14 months to finish, by far the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album.^[46] The album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career.

A triple CD live album and dual Rush In Rio DVD was released in late October 2003 featuring an entire concert performance recorded on the last night of their Vapor Trails Tour, November 23, 2002, at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP recorded in suburban Toronto featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream, The Who and The Yardbirds, bands that the members of Rush cite as inspiration around the time of their inception.^[47] Also in the summer of 2004, Rush hit the road again for the very successful 30th Anniversary Tour, playing dates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. On September 24, 2004 a Frankfurt, Germany concert was recorded at The Festhalle for DVD (titled R30: Live in Frankfurt), which was released November 22, 2005.

Snakes & Arrows (2006–present)

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006. While in Toronto, Lifeson and Lee began the songwriting process in January 2006. During this time, Peart simultaneously assumed his role of lyric writing while residing in Southern California. The following September, Rush chose to hire American producer Nick Raskulinecz to co-produce the album. The band officially entered Allaire Studios, in Shokan, New York in November 2006 in order to record the bulk of the material. Taking the band five weeks, the sessions ended in December. On February 14, 2007, an announcement was made on the official Rush web site that the title of the new album would be Snakes & Arrows. The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007 and reached #2 on the Mediabase Mainstream and Radio and Records Charts.^[48]

The Rush website, newly redesigned on March 12 to support the new album, also announced that the band would embark on a tour to begin in the summer. Snakes & Arrows was released 1 May 2007 in North America, where it debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with approximately 93,000 units sold in its first week.^[49] To coincide with the Atlantic ocean hurricane season, "Spindrift" was released as the official second radio single on June 1, 2007, whereas "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" saw single status on June 25, 2007. "The Larger Bowl" positioned within the top 20 of the Mainstream Rock and Media Base Mainstream charts, however, "Spindrift" failed to appear on any commercial chart.^[50] The planned intercontinental tour in support of Snakes & Arrows began on June 13, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, coming to a close on October 29, 2007 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.^[51]

The 2008 portion of the tour started on April 11, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum and culminated on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.^[52] On April 15, the band released Snakes & Arrows Live, a double live album documenting the first leg of the tour.^[53] Those same performances featured on Snakes & Arrows Live filmed at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17 of 2007 was released November 24 as a DVD and Blu-Ray set, which also includes footage from the 2008 portion of the tour, recorded at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Atlanta.^{[54][55] [56]}

As the band neared the conclusion of their Snakes & Arrows tour, they announced their first appearance on American television in over 30 years. Rush was interviewed by Stephen Colbert and they performed "Tom Sawyer" on The Colbert Report on July 16, 2008.^[57]

Musical style and influences

Rush's musical style has changed substantially over the years. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock: an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Over the first few albums their style remained essentially hard rock, with heavy influences from The Who^[58] and Led Zeppelin,^[13] but also became increasingly influenced by the British progressive rock movement.^[59] In the tradition of progressive rock, Rush wrote protracted songs with irregular and multiple time signatures combined with fantasy/science fiction-inspired lyrics; however, they did not soften their sound. This fusion of hard and progressive rock continued until the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, Rush successfully merged their sound with the trends of this period, experimenting with New Wave, reggae and pop rock.^[60] This period included the band's most extensive use of instruments such as synthesizers, sequencers and electronic percussion. It is largely agreed that the culmination of this era of Rush was in 1987 after the release of Hold Your Fire.^[61] With the approach of the early '90s and Rush's character sound still intact, the band transformed their style once again to harmonize with the alternative rock movement.^[62] The new millennium has seen them return to a more rock and roll roots sound, albeit with modern production.^[58]

Band members

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, lead vocals, keyboards, mellotron, bass and synthesizer pedals, electric and acoustic rhythm guitar (September 1968 – present)
• Alex Lifeson – six and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitar, mandolin, mandola, Bouzouki, backing vocals, bass and synthesizer pedals (August 1968 – present)
• Neil Peart – drums, electronic and acoustic percussion (July 1974 – present)

Former members

• John Rutsey – drums, percussion, backing vocals (August 1968 – July 1974)
• Jeff Jones – bass, lead vocals (August 1968 – September 1968)

Template:Details

Reputation

More than 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography. As with many bands known for experimentation, such changes have inevitably resulted in dissent among critics and fans. The bulk of the band's music has always included synthetic instruments in some form or another, and this is a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s, particularly on albums Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire.^[63][64] Still, most fans saw this as nothing less than artistic growth and support for the band remained unwavering through each transitional phase.^[61]

The members of Rush have themselves noted that people "either love Rush or hate Rush", resulting in strong detractors and an intensely loyal fan base. To the chagrin of fans, the band has not been nominated for entry into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since their year of eligibility in 1998. The Hall's refusal to induct Rush may be a consequence of the band's insistence on remaining outside the mainstream of rock when it comes to self-promotion, in favor of maintaining a high degree of independence.^[65] To this day fans earnestly clamor for the band's inclusion into the Hall by citing noteworthy accomplishments including longevity, proficiency, and influence, as well as commercial sales figures and RIAA certifications. However, Lifeson has expressed his indifference toward the perceived slight saying "I couldn't care less, look who's up for induction, it's a joke".^[66] Rush has gained a degree of recognition in popular culture despite any official recognition from the Hall.^[67]

As a band, Rush has been nominated for and received various awards throughout its career. Likewise, the individual members have received coverage in various modern music magazines with specific technocratic recognition for instrumental ability. See List of Rush awards for more details on this topic.

Geddy Lee

Image:GeddyLee.JPG

Geddy Lee's high-register vocal style has always been a signature of the band — and sometimes, a focal point for criticism, especially during the early years of Rush's career when Lee's vocals were high-pitched, with a strong likeness to other singers like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Although his voice has softened over the years, it is often described as a "wail".^[68][69] His instrumental abilities, on the other hand, are rarely criticized. An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and ability on the bass guitar have proven influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring such players as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden,^[70] John Myung of Dream Theater,^[71] Les Claypool of Primus^[72] and Cliff Burton of Metallica^[73] among others. Lee is notable for his ability to operate various pieces of instrumentation simultaneously. This is mostly evident during live shows when Lee must play bass, supply lead vocals, manipulate keyboards, and trigger foot pedals during the course of a performance, as in the song "Tom Sawyer".^[59] Because of this he is required to remain in one place during songs containing complex instrumentation. Lifeson and Peart are, to a lesser extent, responsible for similar actions during live shows.

Alex Lifeson

Image:Alex Lifeson6.jpg

Instrumentally, Lifeson is regarded as a guitarist whose strengths and notability rely primarily on signature riffing, electronic effects and processing, unorthodox chord structures, and a copious arsenal of equipment used over the years.^[74][75][76] Despite his esteem, however, Lifeson is often regarded as being overshadowed by his bandmates due to Lee's on-stage multi-instrumental dexterity and Peart's status as a drummer.^[77]

During his adolescent years, he was influenced primarily by Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.^[78] For versatility, Lifeson was known to incorporate touches of Spanish and classical music into Rush's guitar-driven sound during the 1970s. Taking a backseat to Lee's keyboards in the 1980s, Lifeson's guitar returned to the forefront in the 1990s, and especially on 2002's Vapor Trails. During live performances, he is still responsible for cuing various guitar effects, the use of bass-pedal synthesizers and backing vocals.

Neil Peart

Music

Peart is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow musicians as one of, if not the greatest rock drummers.^[79] He is also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.^[80] Initially inspired by Keith Moon, Peart absorbed the influence of other rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.^[81] Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as cowbells, glockenspiel, and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Peart's drumkit offers an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity. For two decades Peart honed his technique; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber. Image:Neil Peart3.jpg

Lyrics

Peart also serves as Rush's primary lyricist, attracting much attention over the years due to his eclectic style. Known for penning concept suites and songs inspired by literature, music fan opinions of his writing have varied greatly, running the gamut from cerebral and insightful to overly pretentious and preachy. During the band's early years, Peart's lyrics were largely fantasy/science fiction-focused,^[82] though since 1980 he has focused more on social, emotional, and humanitarian issues. Peart's lyrics continue to divide audiences today. For example, in 2007, he was placed second on Blender magazine's list of the "40 Worst Lyricists In Rock".^[83]

Sales

Over the course of their career, Rush has come to release 24 gold records and 14 platinum records (3 of which have gone multiplatinum),^[84] placing them within the top 4 for the most consecutive gold albums by a rock band.^[85] Rush ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units.^[85] Total worldwide sales approximate 40 million units.^{[86][87][88][89]}

Despite having completely dropped out of the public eye for five years after the gold-selling Test for Echo (which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200) and the band being relegated almost solely to classic rock stations in the U.S., Vapor Trails reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release in 2002 with 108,000 albums sold. It has sold approximately 343,000 units to date. The subsequent Vapor Trails tour grossed over $24 million and included the largest audience ever to see a headlining Rush show — 60,000 fans in São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, Vapor Trails remains their first album not to achieve at least gold status.

However, Rush's triple CD live album, 2003's Rush in Rio, was certified gold by the RIAA, marking the fourth decade in which a Rush album had been released and certified at least gold. Moreover, in 2004 Feedback cracked the top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and received radio airplay. The band's most recent album, Snakes & Arrows, debuted at #3 (just one position shy of Rush's highest peaking album, 1993's Counterparts, which debuted at #2) on the Billboard 200 selling approximately 93,000 copies in its first week of release.^[90] This marks the 13th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 27th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, as well as peaking at #1 on the Top Internet Albums chart when the album was released on the MVI format a month later.^[91] Still, Snakes & Arrows has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse Vapor Trails or Rush in Rio.

The two consecutive tours in support of Snakes & Arrows in 2007 and 2008 accrued $21 million and $18.3 million, respectively, earning Rush the number 6 and 8 spots among the top ten summer rock concerts.^[92][93]

Live performances

The members of Rush share a strong work ethic, desiring to accurately recreate songs from their albums when playing live performances. Toward this goal, beginning in the late 1980s, Rush has included in their concert equipment a capacious rack of digital samplers which the band members use, in real-time, to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiarly heard on the studio versions of the songs.

In live performances, the band members share duties throughout most songs, with each member triggering certain sounds with his available limbs, while playing his primary instrument(s). Each band member has one or more MIDI controllers that enables him to use his free hands or feet to trigger sounds that have been loaded into the samplers for a particular song.^[94] It is with this technology that the group is able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity that fans have come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of backing tracks or employing an additional band member.^[95]

The band members' coordinated use of foot-pedal keyboards and other electronic triggers to "play" sampled instruments and audio events is subtly visible in their live performances, especially so on R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, their 2005 concert DVD.

A staple of Rush's concerts is a Peart drum solo. Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, making each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favor of newer, more complex ones. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has used MIDI trigger pads to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibraslap as well as other, more esoteric percussion.

Philanthropy

Rush actively participates in philanthropic causes. The band was one of a number of hometown favorites to play Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, also dubbed SARStock, at Downsview Park in Toronto on July 30, 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. The concert was intended to benefit the Canadian economy after the SARS outbreaks earlier in the year. The band has also sustained an interest in promoting human rights. They donated $100,000 to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights after a concert they held in Winnipeg on 24 May 2008.^[96] Rush continues to sell t-shirts and donate the proceeds to the museum.^[97]

The individual members of Rush have also been a part of philanthropic causes. Hughes & Kettner zenTeras and TriAmps have been endorsed and used by Lifeson for many years. A custom signature amplifier was engineered by Lifeson and released in April 2005 with the stipulation that UNICEF will receive a donation in the amount of $50 for every Alex Lifeson Signature TriAmp sold.^[98] Lee, a longtime fan of baseball, donated 200 baseballs signed by famous Negro League players, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Josh Gibson, to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in June 2008.^[99]

The band is featured on the music album Songs for Tibet, appearing with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. The album was made downloadable on August 5 via iTunes and was released commercially August 12.^[100]

Discography

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

Studio albums

• Rush (1974)
• Fly by Night (1975)
• Caress of Steel (1975)
• 2112 (1976)
• A Farewell to Kings (1977)
• Hemispheres (1978)
• Permanent Waves (1980)
• Moving Pictures (1981)
• Signals (1982)
• Grace Under Pressure (1984)
• Power Windows (1985)
• Hold Your Fire (1987)
• Presto (1989)
• Roll the Bones (1991)
• Counterparts (1993)
• Test for Echo (1996)
• Vapor Trails (2002)
• Feedback (2004)
• Snakes & Arrows (2007)

See also

• Rush instrumentals
• List of Rush awards

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Books

• Rush: Visions: The Official Biography – Banasiewicz, Bill. (1988), Omnibus Press – ISBN 0-7119-1162-2
• Rush Tribute: Merely Players – Telleria, Robert (2002) – ISBN 1-55082-271-3
• Rush: Success Under Pressure – Gett, Steve. (1984) – ISBN 0-89524-230-3
• Rhythm & Light – Nuttall, Carrie, (2005), Rounder Books, ISBN 1-57940-093-0
• Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0-7692-5055-6
• More Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0-7692-5051-3
• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1-895900-02-6
• Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1-55022-546-4 (hardcover), ISBN 1-55022-548-0 (paperback)
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1-55022-664-9
• Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away – Popoff, Martin. Publisher: Ecw Press (28 June 2004) – ISBN 1-55022-678-9
• Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1-58715-102-2
• Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography – Collins, Jon. (2006) Helter Skelter Publishing – ISBN 1-900924-85-4 (Hardcover)
• Roadshow: Landscape With Drums - A Concert Tour By Motorcycle – Peart (2006), Rounder – ISBN 1-57940-142-2

Scholarly articles

• "Rand, Rush, and De-totalizing the Utopianism of Progressive Rock" by Steven Horwitz (2002)
• "Textu®al Undercoding and the Music of the Rock Band Rush: String Quartets, Death Metal, Trip-Hop, and other Tributes" by Dr. Durrell Bowman (2004/2002)
• "'Open Secrets': Individualism and Middle-Class Identity in the songs of Rush," Popular Music and Society Volume 31 No. 3, July 2008, pp. 313-328, by Chris McDonald.
• "'Making Arrows Out of Pointed Words': Critical Reception, Taste Publics and Rush," Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, Volume 25 No. 3-4, September 2002, pp. 249-259, by Chris McDonald
• "Grand Designs: A Musical, Social and Ethographic Study of Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, York University, 2002) by Chris McDonald
• "Structure, Function and Process in the Early Song Cycles and Extended Songs of the Canadian Rock Group Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in music theory, Ohio State University, 2002) by Brian Walsh
• "Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture" (dissertation, Ph.D. in musicology, UCLA, 2003) by Dr. Durrell Bowman

External links

Template:Spoken Wikipedia Template:Commonscat Template:Wikiquote

• Official Rush Home Page

Template:Featured article Template:RushTemplate:Link FA

ca:Rush cs:Rush da:Rush de:Rush et:Rush es:Rush fr:Rush (groupe) hr:Rush id:Rush it:Rush he:ראש (להקה) lv:Rush hu:Rush mt:Rush nl:Rush (band) ja:ラッシュ (バンド) no:Rush nn:Rush pl:Rush pt:Rush ro:Rush ru:Rush simple:Rush (band) sk:Rush (skupina) fi:Rush sq:Rush sv:Rush tr:Rush (grup) uk:Rush zh:匆促樂團s Rock Band.^[127] Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick and early previews of the game revealed that Guitar Hero IV would branch out into other instruments including vocals;^{[128][101][129]}

According to the Game Informer preview, the addition of drum functionality came from work initially done towards the Drum Hero title. This work was later folded into the Guitar Hero series after Neversoft was chosen as developer of the series.^[101] Neversoft's Alan Flores stated that with the addition of the existing drum gameplay, the development of World Tour took under a year, starting development immediately after the release of Guitar Hero III.^[115] The drum instrument controller was designed to be more realistic, with input from Chad Smith (of Red Hot Chili Peppers), Stewart Copeland (of The Police) and Travis Barker (of Blink-182), all of whom requested the elevated cymbal pads.^[115] The ability to open-strum the guitar was a feature that was planned for Guitar Hero III but was removed before release, finding that it was too difficult on the guitar tracks. However, they built this feature in from the start of World Tour development for the bass guitar tracks.^[130]

Bright describes the development of the note track for a given song once it has been licensed for the game as a parallel effort, a process that they have found to be more efficient than their previous work on the Tony Hawk games.^[130] Once the song was mixed for use by the development team, a "tempo map" was created by one developer; this map denotes the beats in the music which they can be used by the rest of the development team. Once the tempo map was complete, the song was then distributed to the various teams, such as the specific instrument teams or to the animators, to complete the song.^[130] Note-for-note tracking from the song was then performed, and in some cases, changes were made to account for sections that cannot be replicated on the game controllers; the final track represented the note track for the Expert difficulty of the song. Note tracks were then reduced and adjusted to create the note tracks for the lower difficulties in the game.^[130] A difficulty assessment was made using the final note tracks to determine where the songs were to be placed in the soundtrack progression. The difficulty model is based on that from Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which was adjusted from the Guitar Hero III model after the team received negative feedback from players regarding a "brick wall" in the difficulty progression in that game.^[130]

The song list for World Tour started as the list of songs that Neversoft wanted to include in Guitar Hero III, but had failed to get into the game or as downloadable content; the list was eventually expanded to over 500 songs.^[130] The song list was then prioritized based on what the team thought would be best in the game, and then going after the music that would take the longest time to license, as was the case for the Jimi Hendrix songs.^[130] While songs were selected to make sure that guitar, bass, and drums all had great parts, they also opted for songs that would be strong for one single instrument as to make the game still appealing for those playing the single player modes.^[130] Some songs were also suggested through the licensing efforts by Activision for inclusion in the game.^[130] Flores stated that the inclusion of caricatures of recording artists in the game was either due to the team seeking that specific artist for the game, or the artist approaching the development team and requesting to be part of it.^[115]

Bright noted that they had support for "epic drum solos", in which the band animation would focus on the drummer, but removed this feature from the game's final release due to its complexity.^[130] They also had to remove the "Jam Over" mode planned for the game's music creation section that would have allowed players to start with one of the game's songs and play over it on their instruments; this feature was removed in order to keep the final product polished and on-time.^[130]

The custom song creation feature was inspired by the current "hacking environment" that has arisen from the first two Guitar Hero games, where players would create new tracks and share them with others.^[102][131]

Hands-On Mobile has secured the worldwide rights to create a mobile phone version of the game to be released later in 2008.^[132] A version of the game has been rated by the ESRB for Microsoft Windows computers, though Activision has not officially confirmed this version.^[119]

Bundling and promotion

World Tour is available in several bundle packages, as well as the stand-alone game. In addition to a game bundle that includes a wireless guitar for each platform, the game can be bought in one of two bundles that include the guitar, drums, and microphone controller. The second bundle, only available through RedOctane's store, will also include a t-shirt, keychain, and a recharging kit.^[133] Players in the United Kingdom who pre-order the full band bundle also received a second guitar controller for bass players. The bass guitar is the Les Paul guitar, the same model as bundled with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.^[134] During the Christmas season of 2008, Some retailers, such as Target, sold in-store a dual guitar bundle which included two identical wireless Les Paul styled guitars from previous game versions and did not include the new guitar with the tapping area.

Activision has created a series of television advertisements directed by Brett Ratner based on the infamous scene from Risky Business where Tom Cruise dances to Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" in a shirt and underwear, each featuring a different set of celebrities lip synching to the lyrics while using the new instrument controllers. The first ad include athletes Kobe Bryant, Tony Hawk, Alex Rodriguez, and Michael Phelps.^[135] Another ad spot featured supermodel Heidi Klum; two versions of Klum's ad exist, one a "director's cut" where she is wearing less clothing.^[136]

Template:Anchor A YouTube viral video entitled "Bike Hero" showed what appeared to be a teenager riding a bike along a route marked with symbols similar in appearance to the in-game note tracks with LED lights on the handlebars blinking in time to the notes to the song "Prisoner of Society" by The Living End. The video was later determined to be the work of a viral marketing company Draga 5 in cooperation with Activision to promote the Guitar Hero games.^[137]

Soundtrack

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

All of the 86 songs in the game are master recordings, a first for the series.^[138] Project director Brian Bright claims that they have "a pretty even split between the '80s, '90s, and classic rock" with a "good amount of emerging bands".^[101]

Custom songs

Image:Ghwt custom song.jpg Guitar Hero World Tour allows players to create their own songs through the "Music Studio" and share them with others through the Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection internet capabilities. The Studio is similar to AppleTemplate:Infobox musical artist Template:Portal Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired heavy metal on their first albums, then encompassing hard rock, progressive rock, a period dominated by synthesizers and, more recently, modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists, including Metallica,^[5][6] The Smashing Pumpkins^[7] and Primus,^[7] as well as progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater^[5] and Symphony X.^[8]

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales with 25 million units.^[9] Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.

The band recently finished promoting their latest album, Snakes & Arrows with an intercontinental tour. The second leg began in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 11, and ended on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana.^[10]

History

Template:Details

The early years (1968–1976)

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end

The original line-up formed in the neighbourhood of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario, by Lifeson, front man Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsey. Within a couple weeks of forming, and before their second performance, bassist and lead vocalist Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson. After several lineup reformations, Rush's official incarnation was formed in May 1971 consisting of Lee, Lifeson, and Rutsey. The band was managed by local Toronto resident Ray Danniels, a frequent attendee of Rush's early shows.^[11][12]

After gaining stability in the lineup and honing their skills on the local bar/high school dance circuit, the band came to release their first single "Not Fade Away", a cover of the Buddy Holly song, in 1973. Side B contained an original composition, "You Can't Fight It", credited to Rutsey and Lee. The single generated little reaction and, due to record company indifference, the band formed their own independent record label, Moon Records. With the aid of Danniels and the newly enlisted engineer Terry Brown, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1974, which was considered highly derivative of Led Zeppelin.^[13] Rush had limited local popularity until the album was picked up by WMMS, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Donna Halper, a DJ and music director working at the station, selected "Working Man" for her regular play list. The song's blue collar theme resonated with hard rock fans and this new found popularity led to the album being re-released by Mercury Records in the U.S.^[14][15] Image:Starman.png

Immediately after the release of the debut album, Rutsey resigned in July 1974 due to his affliction with diabetes and a distaste for touring. Rush held auditions and eventually selected Neil Peart as Rutsey's replacement. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. They performed their first concert together, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann with an attendance of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14. In addition to becoming the band's drummer, Peart assumed the role of principal lyricist as Lee and Lifeson had very little interest in writing, contributing to only a handful of song lyrics over the rest of the band's career. Instead, they focused primarily on the musical aspects of Rush. Fly by Night (1975), Rush's first album after recruiting Peart, saw the inclusion of the band's first epic mini-tale "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes after the addition of Peart due to his love for fantasy and science-fiction literature.^[17] However, despite these many differences some of the music and songs still closely mirrored the blues style found on Rush's debut.^[18][17]

Following quickly on the heels of Fly By Night, the band released 1975's Caress of Steel, a five track hard rock album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth." Caress of Steel was reported by some critics to be unfocused and an audacious move for the band due to the placement of two protracted numbers back-to-back, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and story-telling, a large deviation from Fly by Night.^[19] Intended to be the band's first "break-through" album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations and the promotional tour consisted of small venues which led to the moniker the "Down the Tubes Tour."^[20] In light of these events, Rush's record label pressured them into molding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion. However, the band ignored the requests and developed their next album, 2112. It was the band's first taste of commercial success and their first platinum album in Canada.^[21] The supporting tour for the album culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, which the band recorded for the release of their first live album titled All the World's a Stage. Allmusic Guide critic Greg Prato summarily reminds listeners and fans of how the album demarcates the boundary between the band's early years and the next era of their music.^[22][23]

The progressive rock era (1977–1981)

After 2112, Rush retreated to the United Kingdom to record 1977's A Farewell to Kings and 1978's Hemispheres at Rockfield Studios in Wales. These albums saw the band members expanding their use of progressive elements in their music. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended-length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions. To achieve a broader, more progressive palette of sound, Alex Lifeson began to experiment with classical and twelve-string guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Minimoog. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood blocks, cowbells, timpani, gong and chimes. Beyond instrument additions, the band kept in stride with the progressive rock movement by continuing to compose long, conceptual songs with science fiction and fantasy overtones. However, as the new decade approached, Rush gradually began to dispose of their older styles of music in favor of shorter, and sometimes softer, arrangements. The lyrics up to this point (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction, and the writings of novelist Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112.^[24]

Permanent Waves (1980) shifted Rush's style of music dramatically via the introduction of reggae and new wave.^[25] Although a hard rock style was still evident, more and more synthesizers were introduced. Moreover, due to the limited airplay Rush's previous extended-length songs received, Permanent Waves included shorter, more radio-friendly songs such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", two songs which helped Permanent Waves become Rush's first U.S. Top 5 album; both songs continue to make appearances on classic rock radio stations in Canada and the United States to this day.^[26] Meanwhile, Peart's lyrics shifted toward an expository tone with subject matter that dwelled less on fantastical or allegorical story-telling and more heavily on cerebral topics that explored humanistic, social, emotional and metaphysical elements. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush's popularity reached its pinnacle with the release of Moving Pictures in 1981. Moving Pictures essentially continued where Permanent Waves left off, extending the trend of highly accessible and commercially friendly pop-progressive rock that helped thrust them into the spotlight. The lead track, "Tom Sawyer", is probably the band's best-known song^[27] with "Limelight" also receiving satisfactory responses from listeners and radio stations. Moving Pictures was Rush's last album to feature an extended song, the ten-and-a-half-minute "The Camera Eye". The song also contained the band's heaviest usage of synthesizers up to that point, hinting that Rush's music was shifting direction once more. Moving Pictures reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[28]

Following the success of Moving Pictures and the completion of another four studio albums, Rush released their second live recording, Exit...Stage Left, in 1981. The album delineates the apex of Rush's progressive period by featuring live material from the band's Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures tours. As with their first live release, Exit...Stage Left identified the margin of a new chapter of Rush's sound. The band underwent another radical stylistic transmutation with the release of Signals in 1982.^[29]

The synthesizer period (1982–1989)

Image:Oberheim OBX.jpg

While Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 70s, keyboards were suddenly shifted from the contrapuntal background to the melodic front-lines^[30][31] as evidenced by songs such as "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions". Both feature nimble lead synthesizer lines with minimalistic guitar chords and solos. Other previously unused instrument additions were seen in the song "Losing It," featuring collaborator Ben Mink on electric violin.^[29] Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Signals also represented a drastic stylistic transformation apart from instrumental changes. The album contained Rush's only U.S. top-40 pop hit, "New World Man",^[32] while other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk.^[33] Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, they felt dissatisfied with long-time producer Terry Brown's studio treatment of Signals and parted ways with him in 1983. These diverse styles would come into further play on their next studio album.

Image:DM Simmons SDS5.jpg

The style and production of Signals were augmented and taken to new heights on 1984's Grace Under Pressure. It was Peart who named the album, as he borrowed the words of Ernest Hemingway to describe what the band had to go through after making the decision to leave Terry Brown. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who gleaned fame with successful productions of Simple Minds and U2, was enlisted to produce Grace Under Pressure. However, he backed out at the last moment, much to the ire of Lee, Lifeson and Peart. Lee said "Steve Lillywhite is really not a man of his word....after agreeing to do our record, he got an offer from Simple Minds, changed his mind, blew us off,..so it put us in a horrible position." Eventually Rush hired Peter Henderson to co-produce and engineer the album in his stead.^[34]

Musically, although Lee's use of sequencers and synthesizers remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Peart's adaptation of Simmons electronic drums and percussion. Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced to act as an overreaction to the minimalistic role he played on Signals.^[35] Still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms; "Distant Early Warning", "Red Lenses", "Red Sector A" and "The Enemy Within" serve as prime examples.

With new producer Peter Collins, the band released 1985's Power Windows and 1987's Hold Your Fire. The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work. While fans and critics took notice of Lifeson's diminished guitar work, his presence was still palpable on "The Big Money", (the album's modest-charting single) with spotlights on "Grand Designs", "Middletown Dreams" and "Marathon." Lifeson, like many guitarists in the late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord bursts and razor-thin leads. Hold Your Fire represents both a modest extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and, according to Allmusic critic Ed Rivadavia, the culmination of this era of Rush.^[36] Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in November 1987, although it managed to peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200.^[37]

A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the 80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favourite power trio as "the holy trinity".^[38] Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark, reaching number 21 on the Billboard 200.^[39] At this point, the group decided to change record labels from Mercury to Atlantic. After Rush's departure in 1989, Mercury released a double platinum two-volume compilation of their Rush catalogue, Chronicles (1990).^[40]

Returning to their roots (1989–1997)

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style with the albums Presto and Roll the Bones. Produced by record engineer and musician Rupert Hine, these two albums saw Rush shedding much of their keyboard-saturated sound. Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums. Although synthesizers were still used in many songs, the instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions. Continuing this trend, 1991's Roll the Bones extended the use of the standard three-instrument approach with even less focus on synthesizers than its predecessor. While musically these albums do not deviate significantly from a general pop-rock sound, Rush stuck to their creative approach of incorporating traces of more exotic musical styles. "Roll the Bones", for instance, exhibits funk and hip hop elements, and the instrumental track "Where's My Thing?" features several jazz components.^[41] This return to three-piece instrumentation helped pave the way for future albums in the mid-90s, which would adopt a more straightforward rock formula.

The transition from synthesizers to more guitar-oriented and organic instrumentation continued with the 1993 album Counterparts^[42] and its follow-up, 1996's Test for Echo, again both produced in collaboration with Peter Collins. Musically, Counterparts^[42] and Test For Echo are two of Rush's most guitar-driven albums. Although the music in general did not meet the criteria for "progressive rock", some of the songs could be considered more adventurous than what one might expect from a standard modern rock band.^[43] For instance, "Time and Motion" possesses multiple time signature changes and organ usage, while the instrumental track "Limbo", consists of several relatively complex musical passages repeated throughout. Musically, Test For Echo still retained much of the hard rock/alternative style already charted on the previous record. Lifeson and Lee's playing remained more or less unchanged; however, a distinct modification in technique became apparent in Peart's playing due to formal Jazz and Swing training under the tutelage of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber during the interim between Counterparts and Test For Echo.^[44] In October 1996, in support of Test For Echo, the band embarked on an extensive and successful North American tour, the band's first without an opening act and dubbed "An Evening with Rush." The tour was broken up into two segments spanning October through December, 1996 and May through July, 1997 with the band taking a respite between legs.

Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005)

After wrapping up the tour promoting Test for Echo in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus mainly due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in an automobile accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey. In this book he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."^[45] On November 10, 1998 a triple CD live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it contained three discs packed with recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the fourth officially released live album by the band. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end After a time to grieve and reassemble the pieces of his life, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000. In early 2001 he announced to his band mates that he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music. With the help of producer Paul Northfield the band returned in May 2002 with Vapor Trails, written and recorded in Toronto. To herald the band's comeback, the single and lead track from the album, "One Little Victory" was designed to grab the attention of listeners due to its rapid guitar and drum tempos.^[46] Vapor Trails marked the first studio recording not to include a single synthesizer, organ or keyboard part since the early 1970s. While the album is almost completely guitar-driven, it is mostly devoid of any conventional sounding guitar solos, a conscious decision made by Lifeson during the writing process. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took approximately 14 months to finish, by far the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album.^[46] The album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career.

A triple CD live album and dual Rush In Rio DVD was released in late October 2003 featuring an entire concert performance recorded on the last night of their Vapor Trails Tour, November 23, 2002, at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP recorded in suburban Toronto featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream, The Who and The Yardbirds, bands that the members of Rush cite as inspiration around the time of their inception.^[47] Also in the summer of 2004, Rush hit the road again for the very successful 30th Anniversary Tour, playing dates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. On September 24, 2004 a Frankfurt, Germany concert was recorded at The Festhalle for DVD (titled R30: Live in Frankfurt), which was released November 22, 2005.

Snakes & Arrows (2006–present)

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006. While in Toronto, Lifeson and Lee began the songwriting process in January 2006. During this time, Peart simultaneously assumed his role of lyric writing while residing in Southern California. The following September, Rush chose to hire American producer Nick Raskulinecz to co-produce the album. The band officially entered Allaire Studios, in Shokan, New York in November 2006 in order to record the bulk of the material. Taking the band five weeks, the sessions ended in December. On February 14, 2007, an announcement was made on the official Rush web site that the title of the new album would be Snakes & Arrows. The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007 and reached #2 on the Mediabase Mainstream and Radio and Records Charts.^[48]

The Rush website, newly redesigned on March 12 to support the new album, also announced that the band would embark on a tour to begin in the summer. Snakes & Arrows was released 1 May 2007 in North America, where it debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with approximately 93,000 units sold in its first week.^[49] To coincide with the Atlantic ocean hurricane season, "Spindrift" was released as the official second radio single on June 1, 2007, whereas "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" saw single status on June 25, 2007. "The Larger Bowl" positioned within the top 20 of the Mainstream Rock and Media Base Mainstream charts, however, "Spindrift" failed to appear on any commercial chart.^[50] The planned intercontinental tour in support of Snakes & Arrows began on June 13, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, coming to a close on October 29, 2007 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.^[51]

The 2008 portion of the tour started on April 11, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum and culminated on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.^[52] On April 15, the band released Snakes & Arrows Live, a double live album documenting the first leg of the tour.^[53] Those same performances featured on Snakes & Arrows Live filmed at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17 of 2007 was released November 24 as a DVD and Blu-Ray set, which also includes footage from the 2008 portion of the tour, recorded at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Atlanta.^{[54][55] [56]}

As the band neared the conclusion of their Snakes & Arrows tour, they announced their first appearance on American television in over 30 years. Rush was interviewed by Stephen Colbert and they performed "Tom Sawyer" on The Colbert Report on July 16, 2008.^[57]

Musical style and influences

Rush's musical style has changed substantially over the years. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock: an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Over the first few albums their style remained essentially hard rock, with heavy influences from The Who^[58] and Led Zeppelin,^[13] but also became increasingly influenced by the British progressive rock movement.^[59] In the tradition of progressive rock, Rush wrote protracted songs with irregular and multiple time signatures combined with fantasy/science fiction-inspired lyrics; however, they did not soften their sound. This fusion of hard and progressive rock continued until the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, Rush successfully merged their sound with the trends of this period, experimenting with New Wave, reggae and pop rock.^[60] This period included the band's most extensive use of instruments such as synthesizers, sequencers and electronic percussion. It is largely agreed that the culmination of this era of Rush was in 1987 after the release of Hold Your Fire.^[61] With the approach of the early '90s and Rush's character sound still intact, the band transformed their style once again to harmonize with the alternative rock movement.^[62] The new millennium has seen them return to a more rock and roll roots sound, albeit with modern production.^[58]

Band members

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, lead vocals, keyboards, mellotron, bass and synthesizer pedals, electric and acoustic rhythm guitar (September 1968 – present)
• Alex Lifeson – six and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitar, mandolin, mandola, Bouzouki, backing vocals, bass and synthesizer pedals (August 1968 – present)
• Neil Peart – drums, electronic and acoustic percussion (July 1974 – present)

Former members

• John Rutsey – drums, percussion, backing vocals (August 1968 – July 1974)
• Jeff Jones – bass, lead vocals (August 1968 – September 1968)

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Reputation

More than 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography. As with many bands known for experimentation, such changes have inevitably resulted in dissent among critics and fans. The bulk of the band's music has always included synthetic instruments in some form or another, and this is a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s, particularly on albums Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire.^[63][64] Still, most fans saw this as nothing less than artistic growth and support for the band remained unwavering through each transitional phase.^[61]

The members of Rush have themselves noted that people "either love Rush or hate Rush", resulting in strong detractors and an intensely loyal fan base. To the chagrin of fans, the band has not been nominated for entry into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since their year of eligibility in 1998. The Hall's refusal to induct Rush may be a consequence of the band's insistence on remaining outside the mainstream of rock when it comes to self-promotion, in favor of maintaining a high degree of independence.^[65] To this day fans earnestly clamor for the band's inclusion into the Hall by citing noteworthy accomplishments including longevity, proficiency, and influence, as well as commercial sales figures and RIAA certifications. However, Lifeson has expressed his indifference toward the perceived slight saying "I couldn't care less, look who's up for induction, it's a joke".^[66] Rush has gained a degree of recognition in popular culture despite any official recognition from the Hall.^[67]

As a band, Rush has been nominated for and received various awards throughout its career. Likewise, the individual members have received coverage in various modern music magazines with specific technocratic recognition for instrumental ability. See List of Rush awards for more details on this topic.

Geddy Lee

Image:GeddyLee.JPG

Geddy Lee's high-register vocal style has always been a signature of the band — and sometimes, a focal point for criticism, especially during the early years of Rush's career when Lee's vocals were high-pitched, with a strong likeness to other singers like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Although his voice has softened over the years, it is often described as a "wail".^[68][69] His instrumental abilities, on the other hand, are rarely criticized. An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and ability on the bass guitar have proven influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring such players as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden,^[70] John Myung of Dream Theater,^[71] Les Claypool of Primus^[72] and Cliff Burton of Metallica^[73] among others. Lee is notable for his ability to operate various pieces of instrumentation simultaneously. This is mostly evident during live shows when Lee must play bass, supply lead vocals, manipulate keyboards, and trigger foot pedals during the course of a performance, as in the song "Tom Sawyer".^[59] Because of this he is required to remain in one place during songs containing complex instrumentation. Lifeson and Peart are, to a lesser extent, responsible for similar actions during live shows.

Alex Lifeson

Image:Alex Lifeson6.jpg

Instrumentally, Lifeson is regarded as a guitarist whose strengths and notability rely primarily on signature riffing, electronic effects and processing, unorthodox chord structures, and a copious arsenal of equipment used over the years.^[74][75][76] Despite his esteem, however, Lifeson is often regarded as being overshadowed by his bandmates due to Lee's on-stage multi-instrumental dexterity and Peart's status as a drummer.^[77]

During his adolescent years, he was influenced primarily by Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.^[78] For versatility, Lifeson was known to incorporate touches of Spanish and classical music into Rush's guitar-driven sound during the 1970s. Taking a backseat to Lee's keyboards in the 1980s, Lifeson's guitar returned to the forefront in the 1990s, and especially on 2002's Vapor Trails. During live performances, he is still responsible for cuing various guitar effects, the use of bass-pedal synthesizers and backing vocals.

Neil Peart

Music

Peart is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow musicians as one of, if not the greatest rock drummers.^[79] He is also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.^[80] Initially inspired by Keith Moon, Peart absorbed the influence of other rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.^[81] Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as cowbells, glockenspiel, and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Peart's drumkit offers an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity. For two decades Peart honed his technique; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber. Image:Neil Peart3.jpg

Lyrics

Peart also serves as Rush's primary lyricist, attracting much attention over the years due to his eclectic style. Known for penning concept suites and songs inspired by literature, music fan opinions of his writing have varied greatly, running the gamut from cerebral and insightful to overly pretentious and preachy. During the band's early years, Peart's lyrics were largely fantasy/science fiction-focused,^[82] though since 1980 he has focused more on social, emotional, and humanitarian issues. Peart's lyrics continue to divide audiences today. For example, in 2007, he was placed second on Blender magazine's list of the "40 Worst Lyricists In Rock".^[83]

Sales

Over the course of their career, Rush has come to release 24 gold records and 14 platinum records (3 of which have gone multiplatinum),^[84] placing them within the top 4 for the most consecutive gold albums by a rock band.^[85] Rush ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units.^[85] Total worldwide sales approximate 40 million units.^{[86][87][88][89]}

Despite having completely dropped out of the public eye for five years after the gold-selling Test for Echo (which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200) and the band being relegated almost solely to classic rock stations in the U.S., Vapor Trails reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release in 2002 with 108,000 albums sold. It has sold approximately 343,000 units to date. The subsequent Vapor Trails tour grossed over $24 million and included the largest audience ever to see a headlining Rush show — 60,000 fans in São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, Vapor Trails remains their first album not to achieve at least gold status.

However, Rush's triple CD live album, 2003's Rush in Rio, was certified gold by the RIAA, marking the fourth decade in which a Rush album had been released and certified at least gold. Moreover, in 2004 Feedback cracked the top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and received radio airplay. The band's most recent album, Snakes & Arrows, debuted at #3 (just one position shy of Rush's highest peaking album, 1993's Counterparts, which debuted at #2) on the Billboard 200 selling approximately 93,000 copies in its first week of release.^[90] This marks the 13th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 27th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, as well as peaking at #1 on the Top Internet Albums chart when the album was released on the MVI format a month later.^[91] Still, Snakes & Arrows has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse Vapor Trails or Rush in Rio.

The two consecutive tours in support of Snakes & Arrows in 2007 and 2008 accrued $21 million and $18.3 million, respectively, earning Rush the number 6 and 8 spots among the top ten summer rock concerts.^[92][93]

Live performances

The members of Rush share a strong work ethic, desiring to accurately recreate songs from their albums when playing live performances. Toward this goal, beginning in the late 1980s, Rush has included in their concert equipment a capacious rack of digital samplers which the band members use, in real-time, to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiarly heard on the studio versions of the songs.

In live performances, the band members share duties throughout most songs, with each member triggering certain sounds with his available limbs, while playing his primary instrument(s). Each band member has one or more MIDI controllers that enables him to use his free hands or feet to trigger sounds that have been loaded into the samplers for a particular song.^[94] It is with this technology that the group is able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity that fans have come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of backing tracks or employing an additional band member.^[95]

The band members' coordinated use of foot-pedal keyboards and other electronic triggers to "play" sampled instruments and audio events is subtly visible in their live performances, especially so on R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, their 2005 concert DVD.

A staple of Rush's concerts is a Peart drum solo. Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, making each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favor of newer, more complex ones. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has used MIDI trigger pads to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibraslap as well as other, more esoteric percussion.

Philanthropy

Rush actively participates in philanthropic causes. The band was one of a number of hometown favorites to play Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, also dubbed SARStock, at Downsview Park in Toronto on July 30, 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. The concert was intended to benefit the Canadian economy after the SARS outbreaks earlier in the year. The band has also sustained an interest in promoting human rights. They donated $100,000 to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights after a concert they held in Winnipeg on 24 May 2008.^[96] Rush continues to sell t-shirts and donate the proceeds to the museum.^[97]

The individual members of Rush have also been a part of philanthropic causes. Hughes & Kettner zenTeras and TriAmps have been endorsed and used by Lifeson for many years. A custom signature amplifier was engineered by Lifeson and released in April 2005 with the stipulation that UNICEF will receive a donation in the amount of $50 for every Alex Lifeson Signature TriAmp sold.^[98] Lee, a longtime fan of baseball, donated 200 baseballs signed by famous Negro League players, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Josh Gibson, to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in June 2008.^[99]

The band is featured on the music album Songs for Tibet, appearing with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. The album was made downloadable on August 5 via iTunes and was released commercially August 12.^[100]

Discography

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

Studio albums

• Rush (1974)
• Fly by Night (1975)
• Caress of Steel (1975)
• 2112 (1976)
• A Farewell to Kings (1977)
• Hemispheres (1978)
• Permanent Waves (1980)
• Moving Pictures (1981)
• Signals (1982)
• Grace Under Pressure (1984)
• Power Windows (1985)
• Hold Your Fire (1987)
• Presto (1989)
• Roll the Bones (1991)
• Counterparts (1993)
• Test for Echo (1996)
• Vapor Trails (2002)
• Feedback (2004)
• Snakes & Arrows (2007)

See also

• Rush instrumentals
• List of Rush awards

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Books

• Rush: Visions: The Official Biography – Banasiewicz, Bill. (1988), Omnibus Press – ISBN 0-7119-1162-2
• Rush Tribute: Merely Players – Telleria, Robert (2002) – ISBN 1-55082-271-3
• Rush: Success Under Pressure – Gett, Steve. (1984) – ISBN 0-89524-230-3
• Rhythm & Light – Nuttall, Carrie, (2005), Rounder Books, ISBN 1-57940-093-0
• Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0-7692-5055-6
• More Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0-7692-5051-3
• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1-895900-02-6
• Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1-55022-546-4 (hardcover), ISBN 1-55022-548-0 (paperback)
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1-55022-664-9
• Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away – Popoff, Martin. Publisher: Ecw Press (28 June 2004) – ISBN 1-55022-678-9
• Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1-58715-102-2
• Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography – Collins, Jon. (2006) Helter Skelter Publishing – ISBN 1-900924-85-4 (Hardcover)
• Roadshow: Landscape With Drums - A Concert Tour By Motorcycle – Peart (2006), Rounder – ISBN 1-57940-142-2

Scholarly articles

• "Rand, Rush, and De-totalizing the Utopianism of Progressive Rock" by Steven Horwitz (2002)
• "Textu®al Undercoding and the Music of the Rock Band Rush: String Quartets, Death Metal, Trip-Hop, and other Tributes" by Dr. Durrell Bowman (2004/2002)
• "'Open Secrets': Individualism and Middle-Class Identity in the songs of Rush," Popular Music and Society Volume 31 No. 3, July 2008, pp. 313-328, by Chris McDonald.
• "'Making Arrows Out of Pointed Words': Critical Reception, Taste Publics and Rush," Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, Volume 25 No. 3-4, September 2002, pp. 249-259, by Chris McDonald
• "Grand Designs: A Musical, Social and Ethographic Study of Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, York University, 2002) by Chris McDonald
• "Structure, Function and Process in the Early Song Cycles and Extended Songs of the Canadian Rock Group Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in music theory, Ohio State University, 2002) by Brian Walsh
• "Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture" (dissertation, Ph.D. in musicology, UCLA, 2003) by Dr. Durrell Bowman

External links

Template:Spoken Wikipedia Template:Commonscat Template:Wikiquote

• Official Rush Home Page

Template:Featured article Template:RushTemplate:Link FA

ca:Rush cs:Rush da:Rush de:Rush et:Rush es:Rush fr:Rush (groupe) hr:Rush id:Rush it:Rush he:ראש (להקה) lv:Rush hu:Rush mt:Rush nl:Rush (band) ja:ラッシュ (バンド) no:Rush nn:Rush pl:Rush pt:Rush ro:Rush ru:Rush simple:Rush (band) sk:Rush (skupina) fi:Rush sq:Rush sv:Rush tr:Rush (grup) uk:Rush zh:匆促樂團s GarageBand software. The player can create the tracks for each song by playing it in real or slowed time, with the game quantizing offbeat notes to the nearest beat as set by the player, or tracks can be constructed one note at a time. The notes played by the user will be the default "Expert" difficulty track, and the lower difficulty versions will be generated by the game.Cite error 3; Invalid <ref></code> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many</strong></ref>

Image:Ghwt line6.jpg Players can create the tracks for lead, rhythm, and bass guitars and for drums, selecting from a number of different sounds and kits for each instrument. Distortion and other effects can be added to these tracks through Line 6 amplifiers in the "GHMix" mode.^{[101] [139]} Players cannot record vocals directly, but can create a hum-along vocal line in the Studio.^[140] PlayStation 3 users with MIDI-compatible computers will also be able to connect their computer to the console and use it for song composition; a similar feature is sought for Xbox 360 owners.^[141] Eurogamer reported that a crew at Activision were able to successfully create a "perfectly respectable cover" version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana.^[142]

Custom songs can be uploaded to the "GH Tunes" service, allowing other players to rate songs and search and download songs by these ratings. A Showcase service provides some of the best user works alongside new songs from popular artists for players to download. Players can only upload five songs to the service at the start, but players that have highly rated songs will gain the ability to upload more. Bright has stated that uploaded songs will be actively monitored, and that covers of copyrighted songs will be removed from the service while also taking down any other requests made by copyright owners.^[130] The PlayStation 2 version of the game will feature custom song creation, but will not support the uploading service.^[101]

Downloadable content

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

In addition to custom songs, players of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions are able to download new licensed songs for the game. This is the first game in the Guitar Hero series to support download functionality on the Wii.^[143] Wii users are able to store downloaded songs on either the Wii's internal memory or on an SD Card in a "Rock Archive," and then are able to add songs to playlists from this.^[144] When playing tracks stored on an SD Card, each song is automatically copied to a "content cache" on the Wii's flash memory for play and then deleted after the song is finished. This will require about 200 free memory blocks on the Wii.^[145]

Neversoft and Activision have expressed intentions to release downloadable content more frequently.^[2] Downloadable content will be available through the in-game store and will include full album downloads and more regular releases compared to Guitar Hero III.^[2] Most existing downloadable content for Guitar Hero III will not be playable in World Tour, due to the lack of having tracks for all four instruments for the latter game.^[2][141] However, with the release of MetallicaTemplate:Infobox musical artist Template:Portal Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired heavy metal on their first albums, then encompassing hard rock, progressive rock, a period dominated by synthesizers and, more recently, modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists, including Metallica,^[5][6] The Smashing Pumpkins^[7] and Primus,^[7] as well as progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater^[5] and Symphony X.^[8]

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales with 25 million units.^[9] Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.

The band recently finished promoting their latest album, Snakes & Arrows with an intercontinental tour. The second leg began in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 11, and ended on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana.^[10]

History

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The early years (1968–1976)

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The original line-up formed in the neighbourhood of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario, by Lifeson, front man Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsey. Within a couple weeks of forming, and before their second performance, bassist and lead vocalist Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson. After several lineup reformations, Rush's official incarnation was formed in May 1971 consisting of Lee, Lifeson, and Rutsey. The band was managed by local Toronto resident Ray Danniels, a frequent attendee of Rush's early shows.^[11][12]

After gaining stability in the lineup and honing their skills on the local bar/high school dance circuit, the band came to release their first single "Not Fade Away", a cover of the Buddy Holly song, in 1973. Side B contained an original composition, "You Can't Fight It", credited to Rutsey and Lee. The single generated little reaction and, due to record company indifference, the band formed their own independent record label, Moon Records. With the aid of Danniels and the newly enlisted engineer Terry Brown, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1974, which was considered highly derivative of Led Zeppelin.^[13] Rush had limited local popularity until the album was picked up by WMMS, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Donna Halper, a DJ and music director working at the station, selected "Working Man" for her regular play list. The song's blue collar theme resonated with hard rock fans and this new found popularity led to the album being re-released by Mercury Records in the U.S.^[14][15] Image:Starman.png

Immediately after the release of the debut album, Rutsey resigned in July 1974 due to his affliction with diabetes and a distaste for touring. Rush held auditions and eventually selected Neil Peart as Rutsey's replacement. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. They performed their first concert together, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann with an attendance of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14. In addition to becoming the band's drummer, Peart assumed the role of principal lyricist as Lee and Lifeson had very little interest in writing, contributing to only a handful of song lyrics over the rest of the band's career. Instead, they focused primarily on the musical aspects of Rush. Fly by Night (1975), Rush's first album after recruiting Peart, saw the inclusion of the band's first epic mini-tale "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes after the addition of Peart due to his love for fantasy and science-fiction literature.^[17] However, despite these many differences some of the music and songs still closely mirrored the blues style found on Rush's debut.^[18][17]

Following quickly on the heels of Fly By Night, the band released 1975's Caress of Steel, a five track hard rock album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth." Caress of Steel was reported by some critics to be unfocused and an audacious move for the band due to the placement of two protracted numbers back-to-back, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and story-telling, a large deviation from Fly by Night.^[19] Intended to be the band's first "break-through" album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations and the promotional tour consisted of small venues which led to the moniker the "Down the Tubes Tour."^[20] In light of these events, Rush's record label pressured them into molding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion. However, the band ignored the requests and developed their next album, 2112. It was the band's first taste of commercial success and their first platinum album in Canada.^[21] The supporting tour for the album culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, which the band recorded for the release of their first live album titled All the World's a Stage. Allmusic Guide critic Greg Prato summarily reminds listeners and fans of how the album demarcates the boundary between the band's early years and the next era of their music.^[22][23]

The progressive rock era (1977–1981)

After 2112, Rush retreated to the United Kingdom to record 1977's A Farewell to Kings and 1978's Hemispheres at Rockfield Studios in Wales. These albums saw the band members expanding their use of progressive elements in their music. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended-length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions. To achieve a broader, more progressive palette of sound, Alex Lifeson began to experiment with classical and twelve-string guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Minimoog. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood blocks, cowbells, timpani, gong and chimes. Beyond instrument additions, the band kept in stride with the progressive rock movement by continuing to compose long, conceptual songs with science fiction and fantasy overtones. However, as the new decade approached, Rush gradually began to dispose of their older styles of music in favor of shorter, and sometimes softer, arrangements. The lyrics up to this point (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction, and the writings of novelist Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112.^[24]

Permanent Waves (1980) shifted Rush's style of music dramatically via the introduction of reggae and new wave.^[25] Although a hard rock style was still evident, more and more synthesizers were introduced. Moreover, due to the limited airplay Rush's previous extended-length songs received, Permanent Waves included shorter, more radio-friendly songs such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", two songs which helped Permanent Waves become Rush's first U.S. Top 5 album; both songs continue to make appearances on classic rock radio stations in Canada and the United States to this day.^[26] Meanwhile, Peart's lyrics shifted toward an expository tone with subject matter that dwelled less on fantastical or allegorical story-telling and more heavily on cerebral topics that explored humanistic, social, emotional and metaphysical elements. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush's popularity reached its pinnacle with the release of Moving Pictures in 1981. Moving Pictures essentially continued where Permanent Waves left off, extending the trend of highly accessible and commercially friendly pop-progressive rock that helped thrust them into the spotlight. The lead track, "Tom Sawyer", is probably the band's best-known song^[27] with "Limelight" also receiving satisfactory responses from listeners and radio stations. Moving Pictures was Rush's last album to feature an extended song, the ten-and-a-half-minute "The Camera Eye". The song also contained the band's heaviest usage of synthesizers up to that point, hinting that Rush's music was shifting direction once more. Moving Pictures reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[28]

Following the success of Moving Pictures and the completion of another four studio albums, Rush released their second live recording, Exit...Stage Left, in 1981. The album delineates the apex of Rush's progressive period by featuring live material from the band's Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures tours. As with their first live release, Exit...Stage Left identified the margin of a new chapter of Rush's sound. The band underwent another radical stylistic transmutation with the release of Signals in 1982.^[29]

The synthesizer period (1982–1989)

Image:Oberheim OBX.jpg

While Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 70s, keyboards were suddenly shifted from the contrapuntal background to the melodic front-lines^[30][31] as evidenced by songs such as "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions". Both feature nimble lead synthesizer lines with minimalistic guitar chords and solos. Other previously unused instrument additions were seen in the song "Losing It," featuring collaborator Ben Mink on electric violin.^[29] Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Signals also represented a drastic stylistic transformation apart from instrumental changes. The album contained Rush's only U.S. top-40 pop hit, "New World Man",^[32] while other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk.^[33] Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, they felt dissatisfied with long-time producer Terry Brown's studio treatment of Signals and parted ways with him in 1983. These diverse styles would come into further play on their next studio album.

Image:DM Simmons SDS5.jpg

The style and production of Signals were augmented and taken to new heights on 1984's Grace Under Pressure. It was Peart who named the album, as he borrowed the words of Ernest Hemingway to describe what the band had to go through after making the decision to leave Terry Brown. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who gleaned fame with successful productions of Simple Minds and U2, was enlisted to produce Grace Under Pressure. However, he backed out at the last moment, much to the ire of Lee, Lifeson and Peart. Lee said "Steve Lillywhite is really not a man of his word....after agreeing to do our record, he got an offer from Simple Minds, changed his mind, blew us off,..so it put us in a horrible position." Eventually Rush hired Peter Henderson to co-produce and engineer the album in his stead.^[34]

Musically, although Lee's use of sequencers and synthesizers remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Peart's adaptation of Simmons electronic drums and percussion. Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced to act as an overreaction to the minimalistic role he played on Signals.^[35] Still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms; "Distant Early Warning", "Red Lenses", "Red Sector A" and "The Enemy Within" serve as prime examples.

With new producer Peter Collins, the band released 1985's Power Windows and 1987's Hold Your Fire. The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work. While fans and critics took notice of Lifeson's diminished guitar work, his presence was still palpable on "The Big Money", (the album's modest-charting single) with spotlights on "Grand Designs", "Middletown Dreams" and "Marathon." Lifeson, like many guitarists in the late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord bursts and razor-thin leads. Hold Your Fire represents both a modest extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and, according to Allmusic critic Ed Rivadavia, the culmination of this era of Rush.^[36] Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in November 1987, although it managed to peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200.^[37]

A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the 80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favourite power trio as "the holy trinity".^[38] Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark, reaching number 21 on the Billboard 200.^[39] At this point, the group decided to change record labels from Mercury to Atlantic. After Rush's departure in 1989, Mercury released a double platinum two-volume compilation of their Rush catalogue, Chronicles (1990).^[40]

Returning to their roots (1989–1997)

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style with the albums Presto and Roll the Bones. Produced by record engineer and musician Rupert Hine, these two albums saw Rush shedding much of their keyboard-saturated sound. Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums. Although synthesizers were still used in many songs, the instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions. Continuing this trend, 1991's Roll the Bones extended the use of the standard three-instrument approach with even less focus on synthesizers than its predecessor. While musically these albums do not deviate significantly from a general pop-rock sound, Rush stuck to their creative approach of incorporating traces of more exotic musical styles. "Roll the Bones", for instance, exhibits funk and hip hop elements, and the instrumental track "Where's My Thing?" features several jazz components.^[41] This return to three-piece instrumentation helped pave the way for future albums in the mid-90s, which would adopt a more straightforward rock formula.

The transition from synthesizers to more guitar-oriented and organic instrumentation continued with the 1993 album Counterparts^[42] and its follow-up, 1996's Test for Echo, again both produced in collaboration with Peter Collins. Musically, Counterparts^[42] and Test For Echo are two of Rush's most guitar-driven albums. Although the music in general did not meet the criteria for "progressive rock", some of the songs could be considered more adventurous than what one might expect from a standard modern rock band.^[43] For instance, "Time and Motion" possesses multiple time signature changes and organ usage, while the instrumental track "Limbo", consists of several relatively complex musical passages repeated throughout. Musically, Test For Echo still retained much of the hard rock/alternative style already charted on the previous record. Lifeson and Lee's playing remained more or less unchanged; however, a distinct modification in technique became apparent in Peart's playing due to formal Jazz and Swing training under the tutelage of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber during the interim between Counterparts and Test For Echo.^[44] In October 1996, in support of Test For Echo, the band embarked on an extensive and successful North American tour, the band's first without an opening act and dubbed "An Evening with Rush." The tour was broken up into two segments spanning October through December, 1996 and May through July, 1997 with the band taking a respite between legs.

Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005)

After wrapping up the tour promoting Test for Echo in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus mainly due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in an automobile accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey. In this book he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."^[45] On November 10, 1998 a triple CD live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it contained three discs packed with recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the fourth officially released live album by the band. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end After a time to grieve and reassemble the pieces of his life, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000. In early 2001 he announced to his band mates that he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music. With the help of producer Paul Northfield the band returned in May 2002 with Vapor Trails, written and recorded in Toronto. To herald the band's comeback, the single and lead track from the album, "One Little Victory" was designed to grab the attention of listeners due to its rapid guitar and drum tempos.^[46] Vapor Trails marked the first studio recording not to include a single synthesizer, organ or keyboard part since the early 1970s. While the album is almost completely guitar-driven, it is mostly devoid of any conventional sounding guitar solos, a conscious decision made by Lifeson during the writing process. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took approximately 14 months to finish, by far the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album.^[46] The album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career.

A triple CD live album and dual Rush In Rio DVD was released in late October 2003 featuring an entire concert performance recorded on the last night of their Vapor Trails Tour, November 23, 2002, at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP recorded in suburban Toronto featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream, The Who and The Yardbirds, bands that the members of Rush cite as inspiration around the time of their inception.^[47] Also in the summer of 2004, Rush hit the road again for the very successful 30th Anniversary Tour, playing dates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. On September 24, 2004 a Frankfurt, Germany concert was recorded at The Festhalle for DVD (titled R30: Live in Frankfurt), which was released November 22, 2005.

Snakes & Arrows (2006–present)

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006. While in Toronto, Lifeson and Lee began the songwriting process in January 2006. During this time, Peart simultaneously assumed his role of lyric writing while residing in Southern California. The following September, Rush chose to hire American producer Nick Raskulinecz to co-produce the album. The band officially entered Allaire Studios, in Shokan, New York in November 2006 in order to record the bulk of the material. Taking the band five weeks, the sessions ended in December. On February 14, 2007, an announcement was made on the official Rush web site that the title of the new album would be Snakes & Arrows. The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007 and reached #2 on the Mediabase Mainstream and Radio and Records Charts.^[48]

The Rush website, newly redesigned on March 12 to support the new album, also announced that the band would embark on a tour to begin in the summer. Snakes & Arrows was released 1 May 2007 in North America, where it debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with approximately 93,000 units sold in its first week.^[49] To coincide with the Atlantic ocean hurricane season, "Spindrift" was released as the official second radio single on June 1, 2007, whereas "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" saw single status on June 25, 2007. "The Larger Bowl" positioned within the top 20 of the Mainstream Rock and Media Base Mainstream charts, however, "Spindrift" failed to appear on any commercial chart.^[50] The planned intercontinental tour in support of Snakes & Arrows began on June 13, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, coming to a close on October 29, 2007 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.^[51]

The 2008 portion of the tour started on April 11, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum and culminated on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.^[52] On April 15, the band released Snakes & Arrows Live, a double live album documenting the first leg of the tour.^[53] Those same performances featured on Snakes & Arrows Live filmed at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17 of 2007 was released November 24 as a DVD and Blu-Ray set, which also includes footage from the 2008 portion of the tour, recorded at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Atlanta.^{[54][55] [56]}

As the band neared the conclusion of their Snakes & Arrows tour, they announced their first appearance on American television in over 30 years. Rush was interviewed by Stephen Colbert and they performed "Tom Sawyer" on The Colbert Report on July 16, 2008.^[57]

Musical style and influences

Rush's musical style has changed substantially over the years. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock: an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Over the first few albums their style remained essentially hard rock, with heavy influences from The Who^[58] and Led Zeppelin,^[13] but also became increasingly influenced by the British progressive rock movement.^[59] In the tradition of progressive rock, Rush wrote protracted songs with irregular and multiple time signatures combined with fantasy/science fiction-inspired lyrics; however, they did not soften their sound. This fusion of hard and progressive rock continued until the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, Rush successfully merged their sound with the trends of this period, experimenting with New Wave, reggae and pop rock.^[60] This period included the band's most extensive use of instruments such as synthesizers, sequencers and electronic percussion. It is largely agreed that the culmination of this era of Rush was in 1987 after the release of Hold Your Fire.^[61] With the approach of the early '90s and Rush's character sound still intact, the band transformed their style once again to harmonize with the alternative rock movement.^[62] The new millennium has seen them return to a more rock and roll roots sound, albeit with modern production.^[58]

Band members

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, lead vocals, keyboards, mellotron, bass and synthesizer pedals, electric and acoustic rhythm guitar (September 1968 – present)
• Alex Lifeson – six and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitar, mandolin, mandola, Bouzouki, backing vocals, bass and synthesizer pedals (August 1968 – present)
• Neil Peart – drums, electronic and acoustic percussion (July 1974 – present)

Former members

• John Rutsey – drums, percussion, backing vocals (August 1968 – July 1974)
• Jeff Jones – bass, lead vocals (August 1968 – September 1968)

Template:Details

Reputation

More than 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography. As with many bands known for experimentation, such changes have inevitably resulted in dissent among critics and fans. The bulk of the band's music has always included synthetic instruments in some form or another, and this is a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s, particularly on albums Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire.^[63][64] Still, most fans saw this as nothing less than artistic growth and support for the band remained unwavering through each transitional phase.^[61]

The members of Rush have themselves noted that people "either love Rush or hate Rush", resulting in strong detractors and an intensely loyal fan base. To the chagrin of fans, the band has not been nominated for entry into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since their year of eligibility in 1998. The Hall's refusal to induct Rush may be a consequence of the band's insistence on remaining outside the mainstream of rock when it comes to self-promotion, in favor of maintaining a high degree of independence.^[65] To this day fans earnestly clamor for the band's inclusion into the Hall by citing noteworthy accomplishments including longevity, proficiency, and influence, as well as commercial sales figures and RIAA certifications. However, Lifeson has expressed his indifference toward the perceived slight saying "I couldn't care less, look who's up for induction, it's a joke".^[66] Rush has gained a degree of recognition in popular culture despite any official recognition from the Hall.^[67]

As a band, Rush has been nominated for and received various awards throughout its career. Likewise, the individual members have received coverage in various modern music magazines with specific technocratic recognition for instrumental ability. See List of Rush awards for more details on this topic.

Geddy Lee

Image:GeddyLee.JPG

Geddy Lee's high-register vocal style has always been a signature of the band — and sometimes, a focal point for criticism, especially during the early years of Rush's career when Lee's vocals were high-pitched, with a strong likeness to other singers like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Although his voice has softened over the years, it is often described as a "wail".^[68][69] His instrumental abilities, on the other hand, are rarely criticized. An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and ability on the bass guitar have proven influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring such players as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden,^[70] John Myung of Dream Theater,^[71] Les Claypool of Primus^[72] and Cliff Burton of Metallica^[73] among others. Lee is notable for his ability to operate various pieces of instrumentation simultaneously. This is mostly evident during live shows when Lee must play bass, supply lead vocals, manipulate keyboards, and trigger foot pedals during the course of a performance, as in the song "Tom Sawyer".^[59] Because of this he is required to remain in one place during songs containing complex instrumentation. Lifeson and Peart are, to a lesser extent, responsible for similar actions during live shows.

Alex Lifeson

Image:Alex Lifeson6.jpg

Instrumentally, Lifeson is regarded as a guitarist whose strengths and notability rely primarily on signature riffing, electronic effects and processing, unorthodox chord structures, and a copious arsenal of equipment used over the years.^[74][75][76] Despite his esteem, however, Lifeson is often regarded as being overshadowed by his bandmates due to Lee's on-stage multi-instrumental dexterity and Peart's status as a drummer.^[77]

During his adolescent years, he was influenced primarily by Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.^[78] For versatility, Lifeson was known to incorporate touches of Spanish and classical music into Rush's guitar-driven sound during the 1970s. Taking a backseat to Lee's keyboards in the 1980s, Lifeson's guitar returned to the forefront in the 1990s, and especially on 2002's Vapor Trails. During live performances, he is still responsible for cuing various guitar effects, the use of bass-pedal synthesizers and backing vocals.

Neil Peart

Music

Peart is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow musicians as one of, if not the greatest rock drummers.^[79] He is also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.^[80] Initially inspired by Keith Moon, Peart absorbed the influence of other rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.^[81] Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as cowbells, glockenspiel, and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Peart's drumkit offers an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity. For two decades Peart honed his technique; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber. Image:Neil Peart3.jpg

Lyrics

Peart also serves as Rush's primary lyricist, attracting much attention over the years due to his eclectic style. Known for penning concept suites and songs inspired by literature, music fan opinions of his writing have varied greatly, running the gamut from cerebral and insightful to overly pretentious and preachy. During the band's early years, Peart's lyrics were largely fantasy/science fiction-focused,^[82] though since 1980 he has focused more on social, emotional, and humanitarian issues. Peart's lyrics continue to divide audiences today. For example, in 2007, he was placed second on Blender magazine's list of the "40 Worst Lyricists In Rock".^[83]

Sales

Over the course of their career, Rush has come to release 24 gold records and 14 platinum records (3 of which have gone multiplatinum),^[84] placing them within the top 4 for the most consecutive gold albums by a rock band.^[85] Rush ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units.^[85] Total worldwide sales approximate 40 million units.^{[86][87][88][89]}

Despite having completely dropped out of the public eye for five years after the gold-selling Test for Echo (which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200) and the band being relegated almost solely to classic rock stations in the U.S., Vapor Trails reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release in 2002 with 108,000 albums sold. It has sold approximately 343,000 units to date. The subsequent Vapor Trails tour grossed over $24 million and included the largest audience ever to see a headlining Rush show — 60,000 fans in São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, Vapor Trails remains their first album not to achieve at least gold status.

However, Rush's triple CD live album, 2003's Rush in Rio, was certified gold by the RIAA, marking the fourth decade in which a Rush album had been released and certified at least gold. Moreover, in 2004 Feedback cracked the top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and received radio airplay. The band's most recent album, Snakes & Arrows, debuted at #3 (just one position shy of Rush's highest peaking album, 1993's Counterparts, which debuted at #2) on the Billboard 200 selling approximately 93,000 copies in its first week of release.^[90] This marks the 13th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 27th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, as well as peaking at #1 on the Top Internet Albums chart when the album was released on the MVI format a month later.^[91] Still, Snakes & Arrows has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse Vapor Trails or Rush in Rio.

The two consecutive tours in support of Snakes & Arrows in 2007 and 2008 accrued $21 million and $18.3 million, respectively, earning Rush the number 6 and 8 spots among the top ten summer rock concerts.^[92][93]

Live performances

The members of Rush share a strong work ethic, desiring to accurately recreate songs from their albums when playing live performances. Toward this goal, beginning in the late 1980s, Rush has included in their concert equipment a capacious rack of digital samplers which the band members use, in real-time, to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiarly heard on the studio versions of the songs.

In live performances, the band members share duties throughout most songs, with each member triggering certain sounds with his available limbs, while playing his primary instrument(s). Each band member has one or more MIDI controllers that enables him to use his free hands or feet to trigger sounds that have been loaded into the samplers for a particular song.^[94] It is with this technology that the group is able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity that fans have come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of backing tracks or employing an additional band member.^[95]

The band members' coordinated use of foot-pedal keyboards and other electronic triggers to "play" sampled instruments and audio events is subtly visible in their live performances, especially so on R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, their 2005 concert DVD.

A staple of Rush's concerts is a Peart drum solo. Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, making each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favor of newer, more complex ones. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has used MIDI trigger pads to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibraslap as well as other, more esoteric percussion.

Philanthropy

Rush actively participates in philanthropic causes. The band was one of a number of hometown favorites to play Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, also dubbed SARStock, at Downsview Park in Toronto on July 30, 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. The concert was intended to benefit the Canadian economy after the SARS outbreaks earlier in the year. The band has also sustained an interest in promoting human rights. They donated $100,000 to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights after a concert they held in Winnipeg on 24 May 2008.^[96] Rush continues to sell t-shirts and donate the proceeds to the museum.^[97]

The individual members of Rush have also been a part of philanthropic causes. Hughes & Kettner zenTeras and TriAmps have been endorsed and used by Lifeson for many years. A custom signature amplifier was engineered by Lifeson and released in April 2005 with the stipulation that UNICEF will receive a donation in the amount of $50 for every Alex Lifeson Signature TriAmp sold.^[98] Lee, a longtime fan of baseball, donated 200 baseballs signed by famous Negro League players, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Josh Gibson, to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in June 2008.^[99]

The band is featured on the music album Songs for Tibet, appearing with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. The album was made downloadable on August 5 via iTunes and was released commercially August 12.^[100]

Discography

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

Studio albums

• Rush (1974)
• Fly by Night (1975)
• Caress of Steel (1975)
• 2112 (1976)
• A Farewell to Kings (1977)
• Hemispheres (1978)
• Permanent Waves (1980)
• Moving Pictures (1981)
• Signals (1982)
• Grace Under Pressure (1984)
• Power Windows (1985)
• Hold Your Fire (1987)
• Presto (1989)
• Roll the Bones (1991)
• Counterparts (1993)
• Test for Echo (1996)
• Vapor Trails (2002)
• Feedback (2004)
• Snakes & Arrows (2007)

See also

• Rush instrumentals
• List of Rush awards

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Books

• Rush: Visions: The Official Biography – Banasiewicz, Bill. (1988), Omnibus Press – ISBN 0-7119-1162-2
• Rush Tribute: Merely Players – Telleria, Robert (2002) – ISBN 1-55082-271-3
• Rush: Success Under Pressure – Gett, Steve. (1984) – ISBN 0-89524-230-3
• Rhythm & Light – Nuttall, Carrie, (2005), Rounder Books, ISBN 1-57940-093-0
• Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0-7692-5055-6
• More Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0-7692-5051-3
• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1-895900-02-6
• Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1-55022-546-4 (hardcover), ISBN 1-55022-548-0 (paperback)
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1-55022-664-9
• Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away – Popoff, Martin. Publisher: Ecw Press (28 June 2004) – ISBN 1-55022-678-9
• Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1-58715-102-2
• Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography – Collins, Jon. (2006) Helter Skelter Publishing – ISBN 1-900924-85-4 (Hardcover)
• Roadshow: Landscape With Drums - A Concert Tour By Motorcycle – Peart (2006), Rounder – ISBN 1-57940-142-2

Scholarly articles

• "Rand, Rush, and De-totalizing the Utopianism of Progressive Rock" by Steven Horwitz (2002)
• "Textu®al Undercoding and the Music of the Rock Band Rush: String Quartets, Death Metal, Trip-Hop, and other Tributes" by Dr. Durrell Bowman (2004/2002)
• "'Open Secrets': Individualism and Middle-Class Identity in the songs of Rush," Popular Music and Society Volume 31 No. 3, July 2008, pp. 313-328, by Chris McDonald.
• "'Making Arrows Out of Pointed Words': Critical Reception, Taste Publics and Rush," Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, Volume 25 No. 3-4, September 2002, pp. 249-259, by Chris McDonald
• "Grand Designs: A Musical, Social and Ethographic Study of Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, York University, 2002) by Chris McDonald
• "Structure, Function and Process in the Early Song Cycles and Extended Songs of the Canadian Rock Group Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in music theory, Ohio State University, 2002) by Brian Walsh
• "Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture" (dissertation, Ph.D. in musicology, UCLA, 2003) by Dr. Durrell Bowman

External links

Template:Spoken Wikipedia Template:Commonscat Template:Wikiquote

• Official Rush Home Page

Template:Featured article Template:RushTemplate:Link FA

ca:Rush cs:Rush da:Rush de:Rush et:Rush es:Rush fr:Rush (groupe) hr:Rush id:Rush it:Rush he:ראש (להקה) lv:Rush hu:Rush mt:Rush nl:Rush (band) ja:ラッシュ (バンド) no:Rush nn:Rush pl:Rush pt:Rush ro:Rush ru:Rush simple:Rush (band) sk:Rush (skupina) fi:Rush sq:Rush sv:Rush tr:Rush (grup) uk:Rush zh:匆促樂團s Death Magnetic, the developers were able to prepare the tracks in Guitar Hero III to have the required portions needed for World Tour, and thus these tracks are forward-compatible.^[141] Activision has also stated that they are considering a monthly subscription service to deliver downloadable content to user for future games.^[146]

Reception

Template:Weasel Template:VG Reviews Guitar Hero World Tour has received mostly positive reviews from critics, many making comparisons between it and the Rock Band series. 1UP noted that while World Tour is not as good a "party game" as Rock Band, the game still provides "great peripherals and fun-to-play music" and delivers what the player should expect.^[147] GameTrailers stated that "another viable challenger has stepped onto the stage."^[148] IGN's review was lukewarm, noting that "A number of things it tries to accomplish were already done better in Rock Band", but stated that the game would be a good "stepping point" for the next iteration of the series.^[149]

While reviewers were satisfied with the single player modes of the game, the Band tour mode was considered to pale in comparison to Rock Band Tour mode. The interface for a full band, despite being similar to Rock Band, was found to be confusing, making it difficult to determine if a fellow bandmember was about to fail or identifying how much Star Power the band had accumulated.^[149][150] The Band tour was found to be little different from the single player modes, and lacked the additional incentives and challenges that Rock Band had.^[150][151] The note charts and the game's difficulty curve were found to be significantly easier than the more punishing ones in Guitar Hero III.^[147] Critics did observe poor note charting, stating that some of the song charts "simply don't match the music" and that "you'll be asked to hit notes where there are none, or not hit notes that are there."^[149][148] The soundtrack was generally praised for containing all master recordings. However, critics found that the setlist contains very few standout hits, and that the inclusion of a number of foreign-language and difficult-to-recognize songs weakened the overall list.^[150][151] Reviews also commented on the number of songs that overlapped with Rock Band 2Template:Infobox musical artist Template:Portal Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired heavy metal on their first albums, then encompassing hard rock, progressive rock, a period dominated by synthesizers and, more recently, modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists, including Metallica,^[5][6] The Smashing Pumpkins^[7] and Primus,^[7] as well as progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater^[5] and Symphony X.^[8]

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales with 25 million units.^[9] Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.

The band recently finished promoting their latest album, Snakes & Arrows with an intercontinental tour. The second leg began in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 11, and ended on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana.^[10]

History

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The early years (1968–1976)

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The original line-up formed in the neighbourhood of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario, by Lifeson, front man Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsey. Within a couple weeks of forming, and before their second performance, bassist and lead vocalist Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson. After several lineup reformations, Rush's official incarnation was formed in May 1971 consisting of Lee, Lifeson, and Rutsey. The band was managed by local Toronto resident Ray Danniels, a frequent attendee of Rush's early shows.^[11][12]

After gaining stability in the lineup and honing their skills on the local bar/high school dance circuit, the band came to release their first single "Not Fade Away", a cover of the Buddy Holly song, in 1973. Side B contained an original composition, "You Can't Fight It", credited to Rutsey and Lee. The single generated little reaction and, due to record company indifference, the band formed their own independent record label, Moon Records. With the aid of Danniels and the newly enlisted engineer Terry Brown, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1974, which was considered highly derivative of Led Zeppelin.^[13] Rush had limited local popularity until the album was picked up by WMMS, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Donna Halper, a DJ and music director working at the station, selected "Working Man" for her regular play list. The song's blue collar theme resonated with hard rock fans and this new found popularity led to the album being re-released by Mercury Records in the U.S.^[14][15] Image:Starman.png

Immediately after the release of the debut album, Rutsey resigned in July 1974 due to his affliction with diabetes and a distaste for touring. Rush held auditions and eventually selected Neil Peart as Rutsey's replacement. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. They performed their first concert together, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann with an attendance of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14. In addition to becoming the band's drummer, Peart assumed the role of principal lyricist as Lee and Lifeson had very little interest in writing, contributing to only a handful of song lyrics over the rest of the band's career. Instead, they focused primarily on the musical aspects of Rush. Fly by Night (1975), Rush's first album after recruiting Peart, saw the inclusion of the band's first epic mini-tale "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes after the addition of Peart due to his love for fantasy and science-fiction literature.^[17] However, despite these many differences some of the music and songs still closely mirrored the blues style found on Rush's debut.^[18][17]

Following quickly on the heels of Fly By Night, the band released 1975's Caress of Steel, a five track hard rock album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth." Caress of Steel was reported by some critics to be unfocused and an audacious move for the band due to the placement of two protracted numbers back-to-back, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and story-telling, a large deviation from Fly by Night.^[19] Intended to be the band's first "break-through" album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations and the promotional tour consisted of small venues which led to the moniker the "Down the Tubes Tour."^[20] In light of these events, Rush's record label pressured them into molding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion. However, the band ignored the requests and developed their next album, 2112. It was the band's first taste of commercial success and their first platinum album in Canada.^[21] The supporting tour for the album culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, which the band recorded for the release of their first live album titled All the World's a Stage. Allmusic Guide critic Greg Prato summarily reminds listeners and fans of how the album demarcates the boundary between the band's early years and the next era of their music.^[22][23]

The progressive rock era (1977–1981)

After 2112, Rush retreated to the United Kingdom to record 1977's A Farewell to Kings and 1978's Hemispheres at Rockfield Studios in Wales. These albums saw the band members expanding their use of progressive elements in their music. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended-length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions. To achieve a broader, more progressive palette of sound, Alex Lifeson began to experiment with classical and twelve-string guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Minimoog. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood blocks, cowbells, timpani, gong and chimes. Beyond instrument additions, the band kept in stride with the progressive rock movement by continuing to compose long, conceptual songs with science fiction and fantasy overtones. However, as the new decade approached, Rush gradually began to dispose of their older styles of music in favor of shorter, and sometimes softer, arrangements. The lyrics up to this point (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction, and the writings of novelist Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112.^[24]

Permanent Waves (1980) shifted Rush's style of music dramatically via the introduction of reggae and new wave.^[25] Although a hard rock style was still evident, more and more synthesizers were introduced. Moreover, due to the limited airplay Rush's previous extended-length songs received, Permanent Waves included shorter, more radio-friendly songs such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", two songs which helped Permanent Waves become Rush's first U.S. Top 5 album; both songs continue to make appearances on classic rock radio stations in Canada and the United States to this day.^[26] Meanwhile, Peart's lyrics shifted toward an expository tone with subject matter that dwelled less on fantastical or allegorical story-telling and more heavily on cerebral topics that explored humanistic, social, emotional and metaphysical elements. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush's popularity reached its pinnacle with the release of Moving Pictures in 1981. Moving Pictures essentially continued where Permanent Waves left off, extending the trend of highly accessible and commercially friendly pop-progressive rock that helped thrust them into the spotlight. The lead track, "Tom Sawyer", is probably the band's best-known song^[27] with "Limelight" also receiving satisfactory responses from listeners and radio stations. Moving Pictures was Rush's last album to feature an extended song, the ten-and-a-half-minute "The Camera Eye". The song also contained the band's heaviest usage of synthesizers up to that point, hinting that Rush's music was shifting direction once more. Moving Pictures reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[28]

Following the success of Moving Pictures and the completion of another four studio albums, Rush released their second live recording, Exit...Stage Left, in 1981. The album delineates the apex of Rush's progressive period by featuring live material from the band's Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures tours. As with their first live release, Exit...Stage Left identified the margin of a new chapter of Rush's sound. The band underwent another radical stylistic transmutation with the release of Signals in 1982.^[29]

The synthesizer period (1982–1989)

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While Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 70s, keyboards were suddenly shifted from the contrapuntal background to the melodic front-lines^[30][31] as evidenced by songs such as "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions". Both feature nimble lead synthesizer lines with minimalistic guitar chords and solos. Other previously unused instrument additions were seen in the song "Losing It," featuring collaborator Ben Mink on electric violin.^[29] Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Signals also represented a drastic stylistic transformation apart from instrumental changes. The album contained Rush's only U.S. top-40 pop hit, "New World Man",^[32] while other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk.^[33] Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, they felt dissatisfied with long-time producer Terry Brown's studio treatment of Signals and parted ways with him in 1983. These diverse styles would come into further play on their next studio album.

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The style and production of Signals were augmented and taken to new heights on 1984's Grace Under Pressure. It was Peart who named the album, as he borrowed the words of Ernest Hemingway to describe what the band had to go through after making the decision to leave Terry Brown. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who gleaned fame with successful productions of Simple Minds and U2, was enlisted to produce Grace Under Pressure. However, he backed out at the last moment, much to the ire of Lee, Lifeson and Peart. Lee said "Steve Lillywhite is really not a man of his word....after agreeing to do our record, he got an offer from Simple Minds, changed his mind, blew us off,..so it put us in a horrible position." Eventually Rush hired Peter Henderson to co-produce and engineer the album in his stead.^[34]

Musically, although Lee's use of sequencers and synthesizers remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Peart's adaptation of Simmons electronic drums and percussion. Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced to act as an overreaction to the minimalistic role he played on Signals.^[35] Still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms; "Distant Early Warning", "Red Lenses", "Red Sector A" and "The Enemy Within" serve as prime examples.

With new producer Peter Collins, the band released 1985's Power Windows and 1987's Hold Your Fire. The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work. While fans and critics took notice of Lifeson's diminished guitar work, his presence was still palpable on "The Big Money", (the album's modest-charting single) with spotlights on "Grand Designs", "Middletown Dreams" and "Marathon." Lifeson, like many guitarists in the late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord bursts and razor-thin leads. Hold Your Fire represents both a modest extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and, according to Allmusic critic Ed Rivadavia, the culmination of this era of Rush.^[36] Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in November 1987, although it managed to peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200.^[37]

A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the 80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favourite power trio as "the holy trinity".^[38] Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark, reaching number 21 on the Billboard 200.^[39] At this point, the group decided to change record labels from Mercury to Atlantic. After Rush's departure in 1989, Mercury released a double platinum two-volume compilation of their Rush catalogue, Chronicles (1990).^[40]

Returning to their roots (1989–1997)

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Listen Template:Sample box end Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style with the albums Presto and Roll the Bones. Produced by record engineer and musician Rupert Hine, these two albums saw Rush shedding much of their keyboard-saturated sound. Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums. Although synthesizers were still used in many songs, the instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions. Continuing this trend, 1991's Roll the Bones extended the use of the standard three-instrument approach with even less focus on synthesizers than its predecessor. While musically these albums do not deviate significantly from a general pop-rock sound, Rush stuck to their creative approach of incorporating traces of more exotic musical styles. "Roll the Bones", for instance, exhibits funk and hip hop elements, and the instrumental track "Where's My Thing?" features several jazz components.^[41] This return to three-piece instrumentation helped pave the way for future albums in the mid-90s, which would adopt a more straightforward rock formula.

The transition from synthesizers to more guitar-oriented and organic instrumentation continued with the 1993 album Counterparts^[42] and its follow-up, 1996's Test for Echo, again both produced in collaboration with Peter Collins. Musically, Counterparts^[42] and Test For Echo are two of Rush's most guitar-driven albums. Although the music in general did not meet the criteria for "progressive rock", some of the songs could be considered more adventurous than what one might expect from a standard modern rock band.^[43] For instance, "Time and Motion" possesses multiple time signature changes and organ usage, while the instrumental track "Limbo", consists of several relatively complex musical passages repeated throughout. Musically, Test For Echo still retained much of the hard rock/alternative style already charted on the previous record. Lifeson and Lee's playing remained more or less unchanged; however, a distinct modification in technique became apparent in Peart's playing due to formal Jazz and Swing training under the tutelage of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber during the interim between Counterparts and Test For Echo.^[44] In October 1996, in support of Test For Echo, the band embarked on an extensive and successful North American tour, the band's first without an opening act and dubbed "An Evening with Rush." The tour was broken up into two segments spanning October through December, 1996 and May through July, 1997 with the band taking a respite between legs.

Hiatus and comeback (1997–2005)

After wrapping up the tour promoting Test for Echo in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus mainly due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in an automobile accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey. In this book he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."^[45] On November 10, 1998 a triple CD live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it contained three discs packed with recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the fourth officially released live album by the band. Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Listen Template:Sample box end After a time to grieve and reassemble the pieces of his life, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000. In early 2001 he announced to his band mates that he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music. With the help of producer Paul Northfield the band returned in May 2002 with Vapor Trails, written and recorded in Toronto. To herald the band's comeback, the single and lead track from the album, "One Little Victory" was designed to grab the attention of listeners due to its rapid guitar and drum tempos.^[46] Vapor Trails marked the first studio recording not to include a single synthesizer, organ or keyboard part since the early 1970s. While the album is almost completely guitar-driven, it is mostly devoid of any conventional sounding guitar solos, a conscious decision made by Lifeson during the writing process. According to the band, the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took approximately 14 months to finish, by far the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album.^[46] The album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career.

A triple CD live album and dual Rush In Rio DVD was released in late October 2003 featuring an entire concert performance recorded on the last night of their Vapor Trails Tour, November 23, 2002, at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP recorded in suburban Toronto featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream, The Who and The Yardbirds, bands that the members of Rush cite as inspiration around the time of their inception.^[47] Also in the summer of 2004, Rush hit the road again for the very successful 30th Anniversary Tour, playing dates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. On September 24, 2004 a Frankfurt, Germany concert was recorded at The Festhalle for DVD (titled R30: Live in Frankfurt), which was released November 22, 2005.

Snakes & Arrows (2006–present)

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

During promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD, the band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006. While in Toronto, Lifeson and Lee began the songwriting process in January 2006. During this time, Peart simultaneously assumed his role of lyric writing while residing in Southern California. The following September, Rush chose to hire American producer Nick Raskulinecz to co-produce the album. The band officially entered Allaire Studios, in Shokan, New York in November 2006 in order to record the bulk of the material. Taking the band five weeks, the sessions ended in December. On February 14, 2007, an announcement was made on the official Rush web site that the title of the new album would be Snakes & Arrows. The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007 and reached #2 on the Mediabase Mainstream and Radio and Records Charts.^[48]

The Rush website, newly redesigned on March 12 to support the new album, also announced that the band would embark on a tour to begin in the summer. Snakes & Arrows was released 1 May 2007 in North America, where it debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with approximately 93,000 units sold in its first week.^[49] To coincide with the Atlantic ocean hurricane season, "Spindrift" was released as the official second radio single on June 1, 2007, whereas "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" saw single status on June 25, 2007. "The Larger Bowl" positioned within the top 20 of the Mainstream Rock and Media Base Mainstream charts, however, "Spindrift" failed to appear on any commercial chart.^[50] The planned intercontinental tour in support of Snakes & Arrows began on June 13, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, coming to a close on October 29, 2007 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.^[51]

The 2008 portion of the tour started on April 11, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum and culminated on July 24, 2008 in Noblesville, Indiana at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.^[52] On April 15, the band released Snakes & Arrows Live, a double live album documenting the first leg of the tour.^[53] Those same performances featured on Snakes & Arrows Live filmed at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17 of 2007 was released November 24 as a DVD and Blu-Ray set, which also includes footage from the 2008 portion of the tour, recorded at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Atlanta.^{[54][55] [56]}

As the band neared the conclusion of their Snakes & Arrows tour, they announced their first appearance on American television in over 30 years. Rush was interviewed by Stephen Colbert and they performed "Tom Sawyer" on The Colbert Report on July 16, 2008.^[57]

Musical style and influences

Rush's musical style has changed substantially over the years. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock: an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Over the first few albums their style remained essentially hard rock, with heavy influences from The Who^[58] and Led Zeppelin,^[13] but also became increasingly influenced by the British progressive rock movement.^[59] In the tradition of progressive rock, Rush wrote protracted songs with irregular and multiple time signatures combined with fantasy/science fiction-inspired lyrics; however, they did not soften their sound. This fusion of hard and progressive rock continued until the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, Rush successfully merged their sound with the trends of this period, experimenting with New Wave, reggae and pop rock.^[60] This period included the band's most extensive use of instruments such as synthesizers, sequencers and electronic percussion. It is largely agreed that the culmination of this era of Rush was in 1987 after the release of Hold Your Fire.^[61] With the approach of the early '90s and Rush's character sound still intact, the band transformed their style once again to harmonize with the alternative rock movement.^[62] The new millennium has seen them return to a more rock and roll roots sound, albeit with modern production.^[58]

Band members

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, lead vocals, keyboards, mellotron, bass and synthesizer pedals, electric and acoustic rhythm guitar (September 1968 – present)
• Alex Lifeson – six and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitar, mandolin, mandola, Bouzouki, backing vocals, bass and synthesizer pedals (August 1968 – present)
• Neil Peart – drums, electronic and acoustic percussion (July 1974 – present)

Former members

• John Rutsey – drums, percussion, backing vocals (August 1968 – July 1974)
• Jeff Jones – bass, lead vocals (August 1968 – September 1968)

Template:Details

Reputation

More than 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography. As with many bands known for experimentation, such changes have inevitably resulted in dissent among critics and fans. The bulk of the band's music has always included synthetic instruments in some form or another, and this is a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s, particularly on albums Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire.^[63][64] Still, most fans saw this as nothing less than artistic growth and support for the band remained unwavering through each transitional phase.^[61]

The members of Rush have themselves noted that people "either love Rush or hate Rush", resulting in strong detractors and an intensely loyal fan base. To the chagrin of fans, the band has not been nominated for entry into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since their year of eligibility in 1998. The Hall's refusal to induct Rush may be a consequence of the band's insistence on remaining outside the mainstream of rock when it comes to self-promotion, in favor of maintaining a high degree of independence.^[65] To this day fans earnestly clamor for the band's inclusion into the Hall by citing noteworthy accomplishments including longevity, proficiency, and influence, as well as commercial sales figures and RIAA certifications. However, Lifeson has expressed his indifference toward the perceived slight saying "I couldn't care less, look who's up for induction, it's a joke".^[66] Rush has gained a degree of recognition in popular culture despite any official recognition from the Hall.^[67]

As a band, Rush has been nominated for and received various awards throughout its career. Likewise, the individual members have received coverage in various modern music magazines with specific technocratic recognition for instrumental ability. See List of Rush awards for more details on this topic.

Geddy Lee

Image:GeddyLee.JPG

Geddy Lee's high-register vocal style has always been a signature of the band — and sometimes, a focal point for criticism, especially during the early years of Rush's career when Lee's vocals were high-pitched, with a strong likeness to other singers like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Although his voice has softened over the years, it is often described as a "wail".^[68][69] His instrumental abilities, on the other hand, are rarely criticized. An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and ability on the bass guitar have proven influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring such players as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden,^[70] John Myung of Dream Theater,^[71] Les Claypool of Primus^[72] and Cliff Burton of Metallica^[73] among others. Lee is notable for his ability to operate various pieces of instrumentation simultaneously. This is mostly evident during live shows when Lee must play bass, supply lead vocals, manipulate keyboards, and trigger foot pedals during the course of a performance, as in the song "Tom Sawyer".^[59] Because of this he is required to remain in one place during songs containing complex instrumentation. Lifeson and Peart are, to a lesser extent, responsible for similar actions during live shows.

Alex Lifeson

Image:Alex Lifeson6.jpg

Instrumentally, Lifeson is regarded as a guitarist whose strengths and notability rely primarily on signature riffing, electronic effects and processing, unorthodox chord structures, and a copious arsenal of equipment used over the years.^[74][75][76] Despite his esteem, however, Lifeson is often regarded as being overshadowed by his bandmates due to Lee's on-stage multi-instrumental dexterity and Peart's status as a drummer.^[77]

During his adolescent years, he was influenced primarily by Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.^[78] For versatility, Lifeson was known to incorporate touches of Spanish and classical music into Rush's guitar-driven sound during the 1970s. Taking a backseat to Lee's keyboards in the 1980s, Lifeson's guitar returned to the forefront in the 1990s, and especially on 2002's Vapor Trails. During live performances, he is still responsible for cuing various guitar effects, the use of bass-pedal synthesizers and backing vocals.

Neil Peart

Music

Peart is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow musicians as one of, if not the greatest rock drummers.^[79] He is also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.^[80] Initially inspired by Keith Moon, Peart absorbed the influence of other rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.^[81] Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as cowbells, glockenspiel, and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Peart's drumkit offers an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity. For two decades Peart honed his technique; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber. Image:Neil Peart3.jpg

Lyrics

Peart also serves as Rush's primary lyricist, attracting much attention over the years due to his eclectic style. Known for penning concept suites and songs inspired by literature, music fan opinions of his writing have varied greatly, running the gamut from cerebral and insightful to overly pretentious and preachy. During the band's early years, Peart's lyrics were largely fantasy/science fiction-focused,^[82] though since 1980 he has focused more on social, emotional, and humanitarian issues. Peart's lyrics continue to divide audiences today. For example, in 2007, he was placed second on Blender magazine's list of the "40 Worst Lyricists In Rock".^[83]

Sales

Over the course of their career, Rush has come to release 24 gold records and 14 platinum records (3 of which have gone multiplatinum),^[84] placing them within the top 4 for the most consecutive gold albums by a rock band.^[85] Rush ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units.^[85] Total worldwide sales approximate 40 million units.^{[86][87][88][89]}

Despite having completely dropped out of the public eye for five years after the gold-selling Test for Echo (which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200) and the band being relegated almost solely to classic rock stations in the U.S., Vapor Trails reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release in 2002 with 108,000 albums sold. It has sold approximately 343,000 units to date. The subsequent Vapor Trails tour grossed over $24 million and included the largest audience ever to see a headlining Rush show — 60,000 fans in São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, Vapor Trails remains their first album not to achieve at least gold status.

However, Rush's triple CD live album, 2003's Rush in Rio, was certified gold by the RIAA, marking the fourth decade in which a Rush album had been released and certified at least gold. Moreover, in 2004 Feedback cracked the top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and received radio airplay. The band's most recent album, Snakes & Arrows, debuted at #3 (just one position shy of Rush's highest peaking album, 1993's Counterparts, which debuted at #2) on the Billboard 200 selling approximately 93,000 copies in its first week of release.^[90] This marks the 13th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 27th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, as well as peaking at #1 on the Top Internet Albums chart when the album was released on the MVI format a month later.^[91] Still, Snakes & Arrows has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse Vapor Trails or Rush in Rio.

The two consecutive tours in support of Snakes & Arrows in 2007 and 2008 accrued $21 million and $18.3 million, respectively, earning Rush the number 6 and 8 spots among the top ten summer rock concerts.^[92][93]

Live performances

The members of Rush share a strong work ethic, desiring to accurately recreate songs from their albums when playing live performances. Toward this goal, beginning in the late 1980s, Rush has included in their concert equipment a capacious rack of digital samplers which the band members use, in real-time, to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiarly heard on the studio versions of the songs.

In live performances, the band members share duties throughout most songs, with each member triggering certain sounds with his available limbs, while playing his primary instrument(s). Each band member has one or more MIDI controllers that enables him to use his free hands or feet to trigger sounds that have been loaded into the samplers for a particular song.^[94] It is with this technology that the group is able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity that fans have come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of backing tracks or employing an additional band member.^[95]

The band members' coordinated use of foot-pedal keyboards and other electronic triggers to "play" sampled instruments and audio events is subtly visible in their live performances, especially so on R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, their 2005 concert DVD.

A staple of Rush's concerts is a Peart drum solo. Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, making each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favor of newer, more complex ones. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has used MIDI trigger pads to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibraslap as well as other, more esoteric percussion.

Philanthropy

Rush actively participates in philanthropic causes. The band was one of a number of hometown favorites to play Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, also dubbed SARStock, at Downsview Park in Toronto on July 30, 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. The concert was intended to benefit the Canadian economy after the SARS outbreaks earlier in the year. The band has also sustained an interest in promoting human rights. They donated $100,000 to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights after a concert they held in Winnipeg on 24 May 2008.^[96] Rush continues to sell t-shirts and donate the proceeds to the museum.^[97]

The individual members of Rush have also been a part of philanthropic causes. Hughes & Kettner zenTeras and TriAmps have been endorsed and used by Lifeson for many years. A custom signature amplifier was engineered by Lifeson and released in April 2005 with the stipulation that UNICEF will receive a donation in the amount of $50 for every Alex Lifeson Signature TriAmp sold.^[98] Lee, a longtime fan of baseball, donated 200 baseballs signed by famous Negro League players, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Josh Gibson, to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in June 2008.^[99]

The band is featured on the music album Songs for Tibet, appearing with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. The album was made downloadable on August 5 via iTunes and was released commercially August 12.^[100]

Discography

Here is the complete setlist for Guitar Hero III, which will also include all downloadable content (when released).

Bold text indicates a master track, all other songs are covers.

Single Player Setlist

1. Starting Out Small

• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
• "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss (Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain
• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello"
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine (Encore)

3. Making The Video

• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones (Encore)

4. European Invasion

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam (Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "La Grange" - ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Pride and Joy" - Stevie Ray Vaughn (Encore)

7. Live in Japan

• "Before I Forget" - Slipknot
• "Stricken" - Disturbed
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• "Raining Blood" - Slayer
• "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "One" - Metallica
• "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" - Originally by Charlie Daniels Band, cover by Steve Ouimette (Encore)

Co-Op Setlist

1. Getting a Band Together

• "Barracuda" - Heart
• "When You Were Young" - The Killers
• "Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine
• "Slow Ride" - Foghat
• "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys (Encore)

2. We Just Wanna Be Famous

• "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
• "Miss Murder" - AFI
• "The Seeker" - The Who
• "Reptilia" - The Strokes (Encore)

3. Overnight Success

• "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Lay Down" - Priestess
• "Suck My Kiss" - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Encore)

4. Getting the Band Back Together

• "Holiday in Cambodia" - Dead Kennedys
• "Black Magic Woman" - Santana
• "Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith
• "Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins
• "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" - Blue Öyster Cult (Encore)

5. Jailhouse Rock

• "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
• "Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
• "3's & 7's" - Queens of the Stone Age
• "The Metal" - Tenacious D
• "Helicopter" - Bloc Party (Encore)

6. Battle for Your Souls...

• "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
• "One" - Metallica
• "The Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Monsters" - Matchbook Romance (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• "Avalancha" - Heroes del Silencio
• "Can't Be Saved" - Senses Fail
• "Closer" - Lacuna Coil
• "Don't Hold Back" - The Sleeping
• "Down n' Dirty" - LA Slum Lords
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." - The Fall of Troy
• "Generation Rock" - Revolverheld
• "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
• "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen
• "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters
• "Impulse" - An Endless Sporadic
• "In Love" - Scouts of St. Sebastian
• "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows
• "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST
• "Metal Heavy Lady" - Lions
• "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies
• "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage
• "Nothing for Me Here" - Dope
• "Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
• "Radio Song" - Superbus
• "Ruby" - Kaiser Cheifs
• "She Bangs the Drums" - The Stone Roses
• "Take This Life" - In Flames
• "The Way It Ends" - Prototype
• "Through the Fire and Flames" - DragonForce

Downloadable Content

Singles

Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix - Released November 22, 2007 on XBL.

• "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" - Martin O'Donnell

Ernten Was Wir Säen - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Erten Was Wir Säen" - Die Fantastischen Vier

So Payso - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "So Payso" - Extremoduro

Antisocial - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2008 on PSN.

• "Antisocial" - Trust

We Three Kings - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "We Three Kings" - Steve Ouimette

Dream On - Released Febuary 18, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Dream On" - Aerosmith

I am Murloc - Released June 26, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "I am Murloc" - L70ETC (Link to WoWWiki)

Track Packs

Companion Pack - Released October 31, 2007 on XBL.

• "Carcinogen Crush" - AFI
• "Tina" - Flyleaf
• "Putting Holes in Happiness" - Marilyn Manson

Foo Fighters Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
• "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters

Velvet Revolver Pack - Released November 8, 2007 on XBL & PSN.

• "She Builds Quick Machines" - Velvet Revolver
• "Slither" - Velvet Revolver
• "Messages" - Velvet Revolver

Boss Battle Pack - Released November 15, 2007 on XBL and November 29, 2007 on PSN.

• "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" - Tom Morello
• "Slash Guitar Battle" - Slash
• "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Steve Ouimette

Warner/Reprise Track Pack - Released December 20, 2007 on XBL and January 3, 2007 on PSN.

• "Pretty Handsome Awkward" - The Used
• "No More Sorrow" - Linkin Park
• "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon

Classic Rock Track Pack - Released January 24, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Any Way You Want It" - Journey
• "Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner
• "Peace of Mind" - Boston

No Doubt Track Pack - Released Febuary 28, 2008 on XBL and PSN.

• "Excuse Me Mr. No Doubt" - No Doubt
• "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
• "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Modern Metal Track Pack - Released March 6, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "The Arsonist" - Thrice
• "Hole in the Earth" - Deftones
• "Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevonfold

Dropkick Murphys Track Pack - Released March 13, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Famous For Nothing" - Dropkick Murphys
• "(F)lannigan's Ball" - Dropkick Murphys
• "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" - Dropkick Murphys

Def Leppard Track Pack - Released April 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Nine Lives" - Def Leppard
• "Rock of Ages" - Def Leppard
• "Photograph" - Def Leppard

Guitar Virtuoso Pack - Released July 24, 2008 on XBL & PSN.

• "Soothsayer" - Buckethead
• "Surfing With the Alien" - Joe Satriani
• "For the Love of God" - Steve Vai

DragonForce Track Pack - Released August 21, 2008 on XBL & PSN

• "Heroes of Our Time"
• "Operation Ground and Pound"
• "Revolution Deathsquad"

Studio albums

• Rush (1974)
• Fly by Night (1975)
• Caress of Steel (1975)
• 2112 (1976)
• A Farewell to Kings (1977)
• Hemispheres (1978)
• Permanent Waves (1980)
• Moving Pictures (1981)
• Signals (1982)
• Grace Under Pressure (1984)
• Power Windows (1985)
• Hold Your Fire (1987)
• Presto (1989)
• Roll the Bones (1991)
• Counterparts (1993)
• Test for Echo (1996)
• Vapor Trails (2002)
• Feedback (2004)
• Snakes & Arrows (2007)

See also

• Rush instrumentals
• List of Rush awards

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Books

• Rush: Visions: The Official Biography – Banasiewicz, Bill. (1988), Omnibus Press – ISBN 0-7119-1162-2
• Rush Tribute: Merely Players – Telleria, Robert (2002) – ISBN 1-55082-271-3
• Rush: Success Under Pressure – Gett, Steve. (1984) – ISBN 0-89524-230-3
• Rhythm & Light – Nuttall, Carrie, (2005), Rounder Books, ISBN 1-57940-093-0
• Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0-7692-5055-6
• More Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0-7692-5051-3
• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1-895900-02-6
• Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1-55022-546-4 (hardcover), ISBN 1-55022-548-0 (paperback)
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1-55022-664-9
• Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away – Popoff, Martin. Publisher: Ecw Press (28 June 2004) – ISBN 1-55022-678-9
• Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1-58715-102-2
• Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography – Collins, Jon. (2006) Helter Skelter Publishing – ISBN 1-900924-85-4 (Hardcover)
• Roadshow: Landscape With Drums - A Concert Tour By Motorcycle – Peart (2006), Rounder – ISBN 1-57940-142-2

Scholarly articles

• "Rand, Rush, and De-totalizing the Utopianism of Progressive Rock" by Steven Horwitz (2002)
• "Textu®al Undercoding and the Music of the Rock Band Rush: String Quartets, Death Metal, Trip-Hop, and other Tributes" by Dr. Durrell Bowman (2004/2002)
• "'Open Secrets': Individualism and Middle-Class Identity in the songs of Rush," Popular Music and Society Volume 31 No. 3, July 2008, pp. 313-328, by Chris McDonald.
• "'Making Arrows Out of Pointed Words': Critical Reception, Taste Publics and Rush," Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, Volume 25 No. 3-4, September 2002, pp. 249-259, by Chris McDonald
• "Grand Designs: A Musical, Social and Ethographic Study of Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, York University, 2002) by Chris McDonald
• "Structure, Function and Process in the Early Song Cycles and Extended Songs of the Canadian Rock Group Rush" (dissertation, Ph.D. in music theory, Ohio State University, 2002) by Brian Walsh
• "Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture" (dissertation, Ph.D. in musicology, UCLA, 2003) by Dr. Durrell Bowman

External links

Template:Spoken Wikipedia Template:Commonscat Template:Wikiquote

• Official Rush Home Page

Template:Featured article Template:RushTemplate:Link FA

ca:Rush cs:Rush da:Rush de:Rush et:Rush es:Rush fr:Rush (groupe) hr:Rush id:Rush it:Rush he:ראש (להקה) lv:Rush hu:Rush mt:Rush nl:Rush (band) ja:ラッシュ (バンド) no:Rush nn:Rush pl:Rush pt:Rush ro:Rush ru:Rush simple:Rush (band) sk:Rush (skupina) fi:Rush sq:Rush sv:Rush tr:Rush (grup) uk:Rush zh:匆促樂團s set list.^[150]

The instrument peripherals for World Tour were mixed. The new touchpad on the guitar controller was found to be imprecise to make it difficult to use during difficult song sections and would sometimes fail to register taps or slides; some of these issues were attributed to initial manufacturing problems.^[149] The drum kit has been praised for ease of set up, the drum pad layout, and the response of the drums,^[147] though the lack of a means to fix the location of bass drum pedal was seen as a drawback when compared to the Rock Band drum kit.^[149]

The music creation feature of the game, while seen as a useful addition to the game, was found to be difficult to use,^[147], suffered from on-screen lag that could interfere with song creation,^[149] and the quality of the resulting songs were compared to ring tones for cell phones.^[149] The character customization in World Tour was generally seen as an improvement over the limitations of Rock Band.^[149] However, reviewers noted that the use of the real-life celebrities against the cartoon-like visuals, along with the emphasis on the band and not individual players, made their presence "anachronistic".^[151]

The Wii version received additional praise from reviewers, mostly from the changes in the Wii operation to accommodate the game's Music Store and online play features.^[152] The Mii Freestyle Mode was also found to be a good addition, allowing the game to be accessible for younger players.^[152][153] IGN noted that most of the credit for the Wii version is due to Vicarious Visions, as that "the only real aspects that hold the game back from being truly amazing overall are - oddly enough - the ones implemented by Neversoft's core design".^[152] It was awarded Best Music/Rhythm Game on the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards.^[154] IGN also nominated it for several other Wii-specific awards, including Best Family Game,^[155] Best Online Multiplayer Game,^[156] and Game of the Year.^[157]

World Tour sold more than 534,000 units during its first week of release, less than half of the sales of Guitar Hero III during the same period,^[158] with the Wii version selling the most with 183,000 units.^[159] During the month of November 2008, 978,000 units were sold, with 475,000 being for the Wii platform.^[160] The Wii version was the fifth best-selling game of December 2008 in the United States, selling in excess of 850,000 copies.^[161] The PlayStation 2 version was the 17th best-selling game and best-selling PlayStation 2 game of the same month in that region.^[162] The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions did not rank, but ranked the sixth and fifth best-selling games respectively for their respective systems.^[162]

Awards

• IGN Best of 2008:
  • Best Music/Rhythm Game (Wii)^[163]

Technical issues

Users encountered several technical issues with the instrument controllers upon release of the game. Most often cited was the drum controller failing to register drum hits by the player.^[164] Some users have also found that, despite the assurance of instrument compatibility, the Playstation 3 World Tour drum kit does not work with Rock Band 2.^[165] Users have also noted that the wireless guitar strum bar may fail after a few hours of playing.^[166] Activision has acknowledged that drum sets from earlier manufacturing processes may be prone to these errors,^[167] and have set up several dedicated support threads on their Guitar Hero forums to address the issue and assist users in equipment replacement.^[165]

See also

• Rock Band (series)
• Rock Revolution
• Ultimate Band

References

Template:Reflist

External links

• Official site
• Activision
• Neversoft
• RedOctane

Template:Guitar Hero seriesca:Guitar Hero World Tour es:Guitar Hero World Tour fr:Guitar Hero: World Tour it:Guitar Hero World Tour nl:Guitar Hero: World Tour pl:Guitar Hero World Tour pt:Guitar Hero World Tour ru:Guitar Hero World Tour simple:Guitar Hero World Tour fi:Guitar Hero World Tour sv:Guitar Hero World Tour