Rush – Closer To The Heart ….Canadian Week

There are some bands that I would not want to meet in real life. There are other bands that seem like the nicest people in the world and Rush is one of them. With Rush’s music…I normally like sloppy bands…and I mean that in the best way. The Stones, Who, Zeppelin, and Beatles were all sloppy in some ways. With Rush…no sloppiness is allowed…everything is on point.

I would love to meet the two surviving members of Rush. I’ve never been a huge fan but I’ve watched their documentary (Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage) over and over again. I would encourage all of you to watch it. Even if you are not a fan…you WILL like these guys on a personal basis.

I have a great respect for their musical ability. A trio is not easy to play in…I’ve been the bass player in a couple and you have to work to keep it all together. All three of them are/were massively talented. Neil Peart is in the top 5 Rock Drummers of all time without a doubt. Geddy Lee, the same with bass and Alex doesn’t get as much attention as the other two but he is great as well.

I do like their radio hits like Tom Sawyer, Limelight, Working Man, Red Barchetta, and a few others. One thing about some of Rush’s lyrics…I think…hmmm will I be tested on this when I’m finished? I listened to many of their albums with a cousin of mine. I liked Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves, Hemispheres, and some of A Farewell to Kings.

Closer To The Heart has a chorus that is extremely universal. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson says this song is the ultimate Rush song. It was on their album A Farewell To Kings released in 1977. It was written by Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and for the first time… an outside writer…Peter Talbot.

The song peaked at #76 on the Billboard 100, #36 in the UK, and #44 in Canada in 1977-78.

In 1981 a live version peaked at #21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.

Geddy Lee: I remember when we had to bring it back into the set for the Rio shows, as there was such a demand to hear it and we’d stopped playing it for a while. It’s always resonated with people for some reason, and it was a hit as far as we’ve ever had a hit. It got us on the radio, the kinds of radio that would never normally associate with us, so it was as close as we ever came to a pop song, especially at that point. Over here in the UK it had that effect, and in the US too.

Closer To The Heart

And the men who hold high places
Must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart

The blacksmith and the artist
Reflect it in their art
They forge their creativity
Closer to the heart
Yes, closer to the heart

Philosophers and plowmen
Each must know his part
To sow a new mentality
Closer to the heart
Yes closer to the heart, yeah, oh

Whoa, whoa
You can be the captain
And I will draw the chart
Sailing into destiny
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart
Well closer to the heart, yeah
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart
I said closer to the heart
Well closer to the heart, yeah
Closer to your heart
Closer to your heart, whoa

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

74 thoughts on “Rush – Closer To The Heart ….Canadian Week”

    1. When I was growing up….in my teens. They were played constantly where I was…with the lyrics they wrote and everything put together…they had their own style for sure….it was no doubt who it was.

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      1. Well I never heard that before lol… I do like it…he sings with passion….the music is different but Steve Perry wasn’t too far behind.

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      3. It’s the songs that are different. If they did the other’s songs….I bet it could be close. Lee stopped being as nasal after Moving Pictures….he dropped a pitch.
        There are not many singers I don’t like….I’m not that picky….a few get on my nerves…like Michael Bolton and many of the modern country singers.

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      10. The first time I ever heard Supertramp- the Logical Song on the radio – when that song came out , the first thing I thought of was it sounds like Rush. Strange how you remember things like this.

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      13. “I never said he didn’t…” what? *confused*

        I only meant (to Anthony) that the two singers sound alike, kind of mirroring his thoughts. Both were Prog. Rock bands. I liked quite a bit of Supertramp but, preferred Rick Davies’ singing.

        That being said, you always preferred Gregg Rolie as lead singer to Perry. Personal preferences…

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      15. I wasn’t clear, enough. Sorry. I prefer Perry. True, he is more of a crooner (a complaint from Schon). Rolie has a good voice but, I lean towards Perry…all of which is a moot point, now.

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      18. Yea that had to be it I would think…that would be the only thing I could think of. Too bad Nash died.

        They did become corporate rock as soon as Cain joined.

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      19. Evolution of bands is a fascinating thing to me. Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Bad Company, Journey, Chicago, LRB, Doobie Brothers, even the Beatles…what I can name off the top of my head. Some never change…

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      20. Yea I like the history of bands…I like The Allman Brothers story a lot….The Beatles history was historic…if one thing would not have happened…ithey might not have met.
        If John and Paul’s moms wouldn’t have died…they might have bonded as well…although I do wish they would have lived.

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      2. lol…I remember there were a lot of serious Rush fans where I was…
        I was invited over with these guys to play…I played bass then and I went over…they said “lets jam on some Rush songs”….I told them…you don’t “jam” on Rush…you sit down and learn them…. you can’t fake their music….or use improv. I left shortly after…

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  3. Great pick. Rush’s musical chops are crazy good. Geddy’s voice I know irks some but as they moved into the 80s and 90s his voice got more streamlined along with the music. To each there own I suppose but if people are turning them off they are missing out musically on RUSH which is the listeners loss for sure….

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    1. I hear the same about Dylan, Young, and Joplin…It is amazing that a trio made that music. I listened to them until around 1985…was it the Signals album that they started to lean heavy on the synth?

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  4. My older brother & some of my friends liked them more than I did in their early period of the ’70s but I really came to like them a great deal by ’80 and ‘Moving Pictures’…had a great run of albums in ’80s. All 3 were/are remarkably good players & like you say, seem like good guys. Geddy’s a huge baseball and Blue Jays in particular fan which is cool. This was first single I heard by them on radio, not my fave of their catalog but a pretty good one anyway.
    Good choice Max.

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    1. I wanted to pick one more universally known…that chorus is awesome. The chorus….could have come from many bands…but when the verses started…you could tell it was Rush.
      Have you seen the documentary of them?

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      1. no, but I am going to try to do that. They’re quite the Canadian ambassadors, Geddy especially… he’s popped up in books by John Gibbons (baseball), Dave Grohl, on ‘How I Met Your Mother’, on the Bob & Doug record…

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      2. Yea you need to Dave….Alex and Geddy are tight and very funny.
        Deke mentioned that Lee streamlined his voice as time went on….he did. I listen to Working Man and listen to a later song like Limelight…it’s not as high anymore…I dont’ know if he lost the very high part or did it consciously. I would think the latter.

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      3. Yeah I will definitely try to. His voice did get…gonna say it, better … after the first three or four albums. I really liked them when his voice wasn’t quite as out there and , (unlike Max) they threw in the synthesizers and went a little more pop – from ‘Tom sawyer’ and ‘Limelight’ on. ‘Subdivisions’ really grabbed me and spoke to me as a kid in those same suburbs.
        RIP TINA TURNER…one more great gone

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      4. I learned all about them from my cousin Mark…I knew those albums I listed back and forth…Yea I know…I’m the anti synth guy lol. No not anti…if it’s used as a background I don’t mind.
        Yea I read that today…she was 83 and it’s sad.

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      5. certainly is, I didn’t know she was fighting a ‘long illness’ – then again as fans, what right do we have to know that if she wanted to keep it private. Shocking in a way but , man, with so many stars getting up to that age range, it’s going to become more commonplace.

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      6. Some stupid magazine wrote ex Beatle died today. And I’m thinking Paul McCartney Ringo Starr, but it was a bass player that played for them for two months back in the early 60s.
        You are correct it’s going to start happening more and more now.

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  5. Hi Max. Cool entry. I really love Rush’s old songs and LPs. Fly By Night, their second album, was the one that enamored me to the group. It was the introduction of songwriter and drummer Neil Peart when he replaced John Rutsey. I think Neil changed Rush’s musical direction when he joined the group. There isn’t a bad cut on the album and the title track was a big hit on FM radio in my neck of the woods in 1975. And they had just played live around the end of the summer in 1974 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh PA, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann and started getting positive reviews from the rock press. And, yeah, some people hated Geddy’s voice, but it was the very thing that attracted me to Rush. Also, the documentary is great!

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    1. It’s the same with me with Dylan, Neil Young, and Joplin…I like different.

      I agree totally…Neil changed the direction with more intrigate lyrics and themes…and of course with his precise drumming. It took me a while to warm up to them…but I first heard them around Moving Pictures and a cousin of mine played me the older stuff like Working Man which I really like.

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    1. I like mostly the radio hits but I do like a few album cuts…the lyrics on some of their songs (not this one) are up there…but I feel the same problem with some of Dylan’s earlier music….I still like it…and they make you think….No Johnny B Goode for these boys.

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  8. Very unCanadian of me to say I’m not a huge Rush fan but I do like some of their music. Tons of respect for the talent, that documentary was great. A little trivia, the last gig with the old drummer was in my hometown of London. A few of my friends at the time were astonished I didn’t want to go with! Great job there Max, no Canada week would be complete without these guys.

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    1. Yea I had to include them. Wow…i have been watching a few clips of him with them. Peart changed the direction of them completely after he quit. The originall drummer was good and seemed to fit the “rock star” look more but Peart was out of this world on drums.

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    2. Hey Randy – I know you caught a little of CFNY in the day… did you know ‘Spirit of Radio’ was written about that station, and more specifically about David Marsden who not only was a DJ but ran it back then? They even throw in a little cartoon cameo of David on their video for it

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  9. Max your insight on music is refreshing. You personalize your take and can see through to the music and what’s behind it. This is a case in point. Rush is outside my usual listening habits but no denying how talented they are (nice guys to boot). I heard an instrumental a few years ago and have it jotted down somewhere (to lazy to look. It will show up in my travels). It blew me away.
    I meant to drop a comment on your John Denver take. Again I dont make a habit of listening to old John but your take was fantastic. I knew some of that stuff about him but again refreshing that
    you nailed his vibe. I guess it’s one of the reasons I tune in here plus your such a good dancer.

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    1. I appreciate it CB…I really do. That John Denver post was fun…I like when we can intersect 2-3 different stories with an artist. He was everywhere when I was a kid…on the radio, television, movies, and magazines.
      I will say this…add some guitar crunch to Take Me Home Country Roads…and its a fine rock song…believe me.

      It took me a while to warm up to Rush. Hanspostcard once said….he heard them cover a Chuck Berry song….he said if the announcer had said….”this band is from Jupiter….they are covering Chuck Berry”….he would have believed it. They were so different.

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  10. Appreciate all the talent, but it was all a bit… earnest for me. A lot have commented about the odder voices. Overall, there is a place for the singers who don’t have the perfect instrument in their throat. The best make the most of what they have- Dylan, and Krisstoffereson (bless him, they low rumble stays waaaay down there) but they have the skill to work/write around the flaws. That said, the Rush vocals are more a distraction than a plus for me. I know, I know, I won’t legally be able to wear my Canada t-shirt and cap till Canada week is done.

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    1. LOL….No I get what you are saying. There are a few singers who do that to me. The “blonde” one of the 80s…I cannot listen to her because her voice drives me up the wall.

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      2. No…I love Bonnie Tyler lol…. it’s Madonna. I just could never get into her. I like Bonnie Tyler, Tanya Tucker, and Janis Joplin…some ladies with a kick.

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    1. They really were…you know Deke and Dave said something today that is true. His voice started to go down after the early eighties. The shrill was going in their later stuff.

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      2. Alex and Geddy are hilarious together. I’m serious about the doc ….you would like it and them as people.
        Oh thanks for the Replacements post!

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  13. Great addition to Canada Week. I have always enjoyed and/or respected Rush’s music, but never owned an album or single. My fave song of theirs is New World Man, which I think came out on the later end of the ones you mentioned.

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    1. I have appreciated them the older I get. I’ve always respected them because of the playing…and them being so enjoyable when I’ve seen them interviewed.

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    1. I did disagree with Alex saying “this is the ultimate Rush song” … to me other bands could have done this…now Tom Sawyer…that would be a Rush song through and through.

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