by When Rush’s drummer Neil Peart passed away, it looked as though the band might never perform again.
Fans weren’t the only ones who thought the band were done, Geddy Lee admitted that once Peart passed away, he thought that the band would probably never perform again. However, against all odds, they have recently confirmed that they will be reuniting for a run of shows in 2026 with just him and guitarist Alex Lifeson.
“I mean, this is a relatively recent decision,” said Lee when talking about the reunion, “And I would say it was kind of out the question for the longest time because of those circumstances. And how do you replace someone who’s irreplaceable?”
However, Lee and Lifeson had an epiphany when they started jamming Rush songs together and it brought back positive memories rather than bad ones. “We were laughing so hard and we were enjoying it so much,” recalled Lee, “And it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds.”
The feeling amongst prog rock fans was one of celebration, as Rush are a band who truly champion the essence of prog rock. What is prog rock? Well, that’s tricky to say, but it essentially means standard pros of rock music but with an added twist. Generally speaking, this involves bands incorporating different styles of music or genres into their sound, such as jazz or folk.
Rush did this, but they also used the mantle of prog to explore different narratives and themes throughout their music. Why restrict yourself in terms of what you’re writing about when you know that you’re free to break down the barriers or rock and create something completely left field? You hear this wonderfully on the song ‘Red Barchetta’, which takes an idea laced throughout the world of rock and twists it.
The song is based on the book A Nice Morning Drive by Richard S Foster. Granted, this may not be the most popular book in the world, but the idea ingrained within its pages is one which exists throughout rock. It uses the idea of a car, a hot rod, as something which represents being flashy and rich, but also pairs it with escapism. You hear a lot of rock songs talk about having a nice car, but the niceness isn’t why the car is important, the car is important because it represents limitless possibility, the idea that you can be free and escape to wherever your soul desires.
Rush took this idea and gave it their own twist. The song follows a protagonist who is a farmer and owns, you guessed it, a red barchetta. The difference is, this farmer lives in a science fiction-inspired world where cars are banned. He takes the car for a drive and is eventually chased down by police, but the moments we encounter on the song, those periods where the farmer drives in his car, represent a profound sense of freedom that you might not come across otherwise.
This kind of songwriting exists throughout music, in the blues, in rock, and then even more modern genres like hip hop, but only in the world of prog could you introduce the sci-fi element and get away with it. ‘Red Barchetta’ is one example out of many as to why Rush are one of the greatest prog bands on the planet.
