"Before"/"After", stylized on the sleeve's tracklisting as "Before" and "After", is a two-piece suite by Canadian rock band Rush. With John Rutsey as drummer, it was composed by bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson, Lee serving as lyricist. It is the seventh track on the band's self-titled debut album released on March 18, 1974 by Moon Records, and is their first multi-part track, although not their first epic.[a]
The album's only "beautiful" and "lush" "non-rocker", "Before" is an acoustic guitar-driven folk instrumental ballad that gradually builds up. It abruptly goes into "After", a much more aggressive hard rockpower ballad featuring the heavy metalboogie rock style and relationship subject matter of the LP's other tracks. Retrospective journalists described "Before" and "After"'s song structure as an indicator of the band's output following the first album, where Neil Peart was drummer and the prominent lyricist. Thrillist ranked the suite the 35th best all-time Rush song in 2019, Ultimate Classic Rock 129th.
Rush (1974), the Canadian rock band's self-titled debut studio album, was recorded and mixed in two periods of sessions in 1973: in the summer at Studio B of Toronto's Eastern Sound for two days under production of David Stock, and in November at the Terry Brown-owned Toronto Sound for three days.[1]:141,152 As with all other Rush songs, the lyrics for "Before"/"After" were hastily written on the spot at Eastern Sound by Rush's bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee.[1]:142 This was a consequence of drummer John Rutsey, who was initially tasked with writing lyrics, tearing them up by the day he was supposed to submit them, which was the second day at Eastern Sound.[1]:144 The track was first recorded at Eastern Sound with overdubs tracked at Toronto Sound.[2] When the album was released on March 18, 1974 by Moon Records in Canada, "Before"/"After" was track seven, its name stylized as "Before" and "After" on the tracklisting.[3]
The folk instrumental "Before" transitioning into the sung heavy metalboogie rock "After". The music calms down before the electric guitar gets louder and the track suddenly shifts into "After".
The introductory "Before" section is an acoustic guitar-driven folk instrumental ballad that serves as Rush's only "beautiful" and "lush" "non-rocker".[b] It gradually builds up to a "dreamy apogee" before suddenly transitioning to "After".[4][8] "Before" starts with phased guitar arpeggios and harmonic sounds, such as a bell sound made by only touching the fret.[5][8] At 1:11, a distorted guitar begins playing the chord progression and the bass guitar takes a melodic role.[5] The song gets calmer at 1:48, with "interplay" between the bass and cymbals, before the electric guitar gets louder and a snare rolls, transitioning into the next section.[4][5]
"After" is a "chugging", aggressive and anthemic hard rockpower ballad featuring the other album tracks' heavy metalboogie rock style.[c] "After" plays at a moderately bright tempo in alla breve and A mixolydian mode.[10]:32 All of its four verses follow the chord progression of A–G–D repeated six times, then two measures in B before following A–G–D again twice.[10] The chord progression of the chorus, involving the singing of four "Yeah"s, is C–D–B♭–A.[4][10]:32–37 A breakdown emphasizing the simple drum pattern, which starts at 3:16, is accompanied by quick bursts of a guitar riff and a lead guitar line filling in the gaps.[4][5] The song climaxes with Lee stressing his final "yeah" while drenched in delay and reverb.[4][5]
The lyrics are also usual for the album, the subject feuding with their partner while pleading to save the relationship.[4] Its themes of communication issues and a partner causing heartbreak reflect not only the songs of Led Zeppelin, but also Aerosmith and Kiss, acts that released their debut albums between 1973 and 1974 and where Rush were opening acts.[11]:4 There is also a sentiment of carpe diem seen in other of the band's early songs written by Lee and John Rutsey. Other examples include album opener "Finding My Way", "Best I Can" which was ultimately recorded for Fly By Night (1975), and "Garden Road" which was performed live but never studio-recorded; Paul Thomas Webb suggested this originated from both musicians' father dying of heart failure during their childhoods.[8]
Reception and legacy
"Before" and "After" is considered by retrospective writers the self-titled album's only indicator of the style and songwriting of Rush's later music, where Neil Peart (pictured in 2010) was lyricist and drummer.
Rush garnered favorable reviews upon its release, but discussion of "Before" and "After" was non-existent, its only mention as a best-cut in a Billboard review.[12]:50 The only recorded live performance of "Before" and "After" currently available took place at Laura Secord Secondary School in 1974. It, along with seven other filmed performances at that location, was released on a bonus Blu-Ray and DVD for the R40box set (2014).[13] On the set list of Rush's first American tour, which last three months and was also the first with Neil Peart, "Before" and "After" was the only Rush song absent.[9] The song, however, was covered in retrospective reviews, and positively. A 2024 PopMatters review called it Rush's most "sophisticated" track.[8]Ultimate Classic Rock ranked it the 129th best of Rush's 167 studio album songs in 2018, Thrillist 35 out of all of the band's 180.[14][15]
Journalists writing about the band and progressive rock consider "Before" and "After", especially "Before", the only Rush song representative of the group's output that began with Neil Peart's replacement of Rutsey, in its complex structure with a "quieter" and "ethereal" lengthy intro that uses the bass guitar for melody and grows before an abrupt sound change, and chemistry between Lee and Lifeson's playing.[d] According to Popoff, Rutsey's drumming activity during "After" was close to that of Rush's early Peart songs.[2]
James Richard, Alex Body and Ryan Reed preferred "Before" over "After".[4][5][14] Richard argued "Before" had "creativity and melodic strength" not present in "After", and Reed called the introductory part a nice touch to an overall "plodding" blues track.[5][14] However, "After" was not without praise for its musical content. Jordan Hoffman called it a "solid" blues song.[4] Although Body was down that the lyrics were "more of the same", he highlighted its guitar work. "The unison riffs are particularly pronounced here, weaving around Lee's vocals expertly," he wrote. He also called the solo during the breakdown Lifeson's "best Jimmy Page impression and, in some ways surprisingly, it really works".[4]
Notes
↑ The eight-and-a-half-minute "By-Tor & The Snow Dog" from the second album Fly By Night (1975), the first of several albums during the band's line-up with Neil Peart as drummer and lyricist that lasted until the end of the group in 2015, was the band's first narrative-driven, science fiction fantasy track.
1 2 3 "Before and After [sic, this only has "After". No "Before" sheet music is in Rush Complete]". Rush Complete. New York: Core Music Publishing. 1983. pp.32–37. ISBN978-0-7692-0551-9.
Aleksandar Živojinović, known professionally as Alex Lifeson, is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded a band that would later become Rush, with drummer John Rutsey and bassist and lead vocalist Jeff Jones. Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee a month later, and Rutsey was replaced by Neil Peart in 1974, after which the lineup remained unchanged until the band's dissolution in 2018. Lifeson was the only member of Rush who stayed in the band throughout its entire existence, and he and Lee were the only members to appear on all of the band's albums.
John Howard Rutsey was a Canadian musician best known as a founding member and original drummer of Rush. He performed on the band's 1974 debut album, but left shortly after its release due to health problems which limited his ability to tour with the band. He was subsequently replaced by Neil Peart, who would remain the drummer of Rush on the band's future recordings and for the rest of its active history.
Rush was a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in 1968 that primarily comprised Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart. The band's original line-up comprised Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bassist and vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through a few line-up changes before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album; this line-up remained unchanged for the remainder of the band's career.
Signals is the ninth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 9, 1982 by Anthem Records. After the release of their previous album, Moving Pictures, the band started to prepare material for a follow-up during soundchecks on their 1981 concert tour and during the mixing of their subsequent live album Exit...Stage Left. Signals demonstrates the group's continuing use of synthesizers, sequencers, and other electronic instrumentation. It is the last album produced by their longtime associate Terry Brown, who had worked with them since 1974.
A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on Anthem Records on August 29, 1977. The album reached No. 11 in Canada and marked a growth in the band's international fanbase, becoming their first Top 40 album in the US and the UK.
Rush is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on March 18, 1974, in Canada by Moon Records, the group's own label, before it was released internationally by Mercury Records later that year. Recorded five years after the band's formation, this first release shows much of the hard rock sound typical of many of the popular rock bands emerging earlier in the decade. Rush were fans of such bands as Led Zeppelin, Yes and Cream, and these influences can be heard in most of the songs on the album.
Fly by Night is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 1975, by Mercury Records. It was the first Rush album to showcase elements of progressive rock for which the band has become known. It was also the first to feature lyricist and drummer Neil Peart, who replaced original drummer John Rutsey the previous summer just prior to the band's first North American tour. Peart took over as Rush's primary lyricist, and the abundance of fantastical and philosophical themes in his compositions contrasted greatly with the simpler hard rock of the band's debut album.
Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was recorded immediately after the band concluded touring in support of their previous album, Fly By Night, and marked a development in the group's sound, moving from the blues-based hard rock style of their debut towards progressive rock. Caress of Steel is considered Rush's first progressive rock album. Songs such as "The Necromancer" furthered Rush's advancement into narrative-driven, fantasy-based compositions, while "The Fountain of Lamneth" was their first prog-rock "epic" to span an entire side of vinyl. Other tracks like "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" became staples of the band's live setlists.
Counterparts is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released October 19, 1993, on Anthem Records. After the band finished touring its previous album Roll the Bones (1991) in mid-1992, the members took a break before starting work on a follow-up.
Test for Echo is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 10, 1996, by Anthem Records. It was the final Rush album to be co-produced by Peter Collins. The band supported the album with a world tour in 1996 and 1997, after which they went on a five-year hiatus following the deaths of drummer Neil Peart's daughter and wife, and would not record again until 2001.
"Tom Sawyer" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, originally released on their 1981 album Moving Pictures as its opener. The band's lead singer, bassist, and keyboardist, Geddy Lee, has referred to the track as the band's "defining piece ... from the early '80s".
The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987 is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 11, 2003. It includes many of the band's most popular songs from their Mercury Records era, but does not feature any material from their third album Caress of Steel. A special edition of the album included a DVD containing music videos for several songs, including "Mystic Rhythms".
Feedback is an EP by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 2004. The record features eight covers of songs that were influential for the band members during the 1960s. The outing marked the 30th anniversary of both the release of Rush's debut album, which featured the original lineup of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey, and of Neil Peart's joining the band in the wake of Rutsey's departure. The tour in support of the Feedback album was called the R30: 30th Anniversary Tour. The record was remastered and reissued in 2013 as a part of the box set The Studio Albums 1989–2007. In 2016 it was reissued after being remastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios following a direct approach by Rush to remaster their entire back catalogue.
"Lakeside Park" is a single from Rush's third album Caress of Steel. The music was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and the lyrics were written by Neil Peart.
"Freewill" is the second track on the 1980 album Permanent Waves by Canadian progressive rock band Rush. The song's music was composed by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and its lyrics written by Neil Peart. In a 2016 review of Rush discography for Ultimate Classic Rock, Eduardo Rivadavia described "Freewill" as a "cerebral but remarkably radio-friendly" song. Lee has stated that the final verse of "Freewill" is at the highest part of his vocal range.
"Didacts and Narpets" is the second movement of Canadian rock band Rush's suite "The Fountain of Lamneth", the fifth and final track on Caress of Steel (1975). As with three other sections of the suite, the lyrics were written by drummer Neil Peart and the music composed by bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson. It was recorded in July 1975 at Toronto Sound under production of the band and Terry Brown.
R40 Live is the last live audio album release and the last live video release of Canadian prog-rock band Rush, recorded on their high-grossing R40 Live Tour. Both formats were released November 20, 2015. The performances were filmed on June 17 and 19, 2015, at Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada.
"Witch Hunt" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on their 1981 album Moving Pictures, and unlike many other Rush songs it was a true studio production, with a variety of percussion instruments and overdubs, and a separate keyboard player. It is the first of four songs in what has been called the band's "Fear" series, the other three being "The Weapon", "The Enemy Within", and "Freeze", although this song is the third part of the series in order, and went on reverse chronological order by the album.
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