Tuesday's List: My Favorite Rush Songs

Rush, the Canadian hard rock band made up of singer/bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee, drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, and guitarist Alex Lifeson has produced nineteen studio albums so far (the first was made without Peart) and is still a viable group, coming out with new original material every few years and still performing concerts.  Although they had been recording albums since 1974, my interest in Rush didn't take root into one late night in 1992 when my local alternative rock station here in Gainesville played their 1981 album Moving Pictures in its entirety.  I then set off to listen to other albums of theirs, often disappointed at their tendency to go off on long, overblown fantasy productions.  Unlike other groups such as the Beatles, R.E.M., Led Zeppelin, and the Moody Blues, many of my favorite songs from which are deep album tracks, my favorites from Rush tend to be the more well-known pieces played often over the radio...with the notable exception of that Moving Pictures album. The following list of my own personal favorite songs of theirs spans the first fourteen albums while none are from their last five...usually musical acts peak and then either break up or continue for years in steady decline, let's face it.  Speaking of peaking, all seven of the tracks from that masterpiece Moving Pictures are on my list, including the top two songs.  Well, here is that list, with each song in capitals, followed by its album and year of release:

1 RED BARCHETTA......Moving Pictures 81
2 VITAL SIGNS.............Moving Pictures 81
3 WORKING MAN........Rush 74
4 THE SPIRIT OF RADIO......Permanent Waves 80
5 ROLL THE BONES............Roll the Bones 91
6 TOM SAWYER..........Moving Pictures 81
7 SUBDIVISIONS.........Signals 82
8 LA VILLA STRANGIATO........Hemispheres 78
9 NEW WORLD MAN........Signals 82
10 FREEWILL.................Permanent Waves 80
11 THE CAMERA EYE.......Moving Pictures 81
12 LAKESIDE PARK..........Caress of Steel 75
13 FLY BY NIGHT.............Fly by Night 75
14 DISTANT EARLY WARNING......Grace Under Pressure 84
15 CLOSER TO THE HEART.......A Farewell to Kings 77
16 YYZ.........................Moving Pictures 81
17 DREAMLINE...........Roll the Bones 91
18 TIME STAND STILL........Hold Your Fire 87
19 LIMELIGHT.............Moving Pictures 81
20 THE BIG MONEY........Power Windows 85
21 WITCH HUNT.............Moving Pictures 81
22 SHOW DON'T TELL.......Presto 89
23 THE TREES..................Hemispheres 78
24 2112........................2112 76
25 NATURAL SCIENCE.........Permanent Waves 80