Experiencing Rush - (Listener's Companion) by Durrell Bowman (Hardcover)

About the Book

In Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion, music scholar Durrell Bowman guides readers through Rush's long career, explaining through the artful combination of biography, history, and musical exegesis how to listen to this unique act.

Book Synopsis

In Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion, music scholar Durrell Bowman guides readers through Rush's long career, explaining through the artful combination of biography, history, and musical exegesis how to listen to this unique act.

Review Quotes

[T]his is an excellent stylistic primer for the band.

From Rush's self-titles debut album in 1974 to 2012's Clockwork Angels, this work covers the recording career, music, and, less extensively, the personal lives of the progressive rock band. After a time line outlining key points in the band's existence, Bowman's introduction notes that Rush deserves such extensive focus because of the musicianship, professionalism, and willingness to experiment that have garnered the band a cultlike fan base from its native Canada and the U.S. to many other countries. While there is some biography in this band history, for the most part Bowman focuses on the band's music as he analyzes each album, including lyrics, time signatures, key and chord choices, themes, and cover art. . . .[T]rue Rush fans will revel in the author's complex descriptions; for instance, he notes from 1980's Permanent Waves to Roll the Bones in 1991, the band's lyrics evolved 'from vaguely Randian atheistic individualism to vaguely left-wing agnostic liberalism.' It's fitting that Bowman finishes with how Rush, after years of being ignored, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thanks to its fans.

About the Author

Durrell Bowman is a cultural musicologist, musician, and IT consultant. He is coeditor of Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United and the author of numerous works on rock history, Rush, film and television music, and other subjects.