Rush, the Canadian power trio has always been one of my favorite bands. Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are all outstanding musicians and over the past 3 decades have created a sound uniquely their own. They have released over a dozen studio albums, quite a few live albums and a number of concert DVDs. Many of their songs are still radio staples today.

Rush Anthology

This Guitar Music and TAB book presents 20 songs from 11 albums.

From the debut self titled album is Working Man. A Passage to Bangkok is the only song included from their concept album 2112.

Two songs Closer to the Heart and Xanadu are from A Farewell to Kings. From Hemispheres are La Villa Strangiato and The Trees. Permanent Waves yields Free Will and Spirit of the Radio.

Four songs are included from what is probably Rush's best album Moving Pictures; Limelight, Red Barchetta, Tom Sawyer and YYZ. Only New World Man is included from Signals.

Grace Under Pressure has two songs from it, Distant Early Warning and Red Sector A. Finally from Presto is Show don't Tell from Roll the Bones are Dreamline and the title cut and from Counterparts are Cold Fire and Stick it Out.

My Thoughts on the Song Selection

I'm much more of an early Rush fan than later, so after Signals my interest began to wane. I also noticed that Power Windows which had some songs I liked is absent from this book. Despite having songs I wouldn't ever really want to learn from the later albums,the Rush classics are all included. What Rush fan doesn't instantly recognize the opening chords of Tom Sawyer, the opening solo of The Spirit of the Radio or the beautiful harmonic notes that begin Red Barchetta?

At first I questioned including YYZ which is most notably a DRUM solo in a guitar book, but when my son first learned the guitar parts, I realized that the song does have some seriously cool guitar parts too.

Overall, the biggest songs by Rush that I wanted to learn on guitar were included in this book.

Layout of the Book

Like most TAB guitar books, this book has each song laid out with the music for each measure at the top, and the TAB directly underneath it. A detailed explanation of TAB is included in the back of the book, and it uses the same terminolgy as most TAB books. The lyrics are also included. (no instructions for reaching Geddy Lee's falsetto pitch are included however). Chord formations are listed above the music so your fingers aren't all over the place.

Tab Sample

The opening of Tom Sawyer according to this book

________________________________________________ E
____________5_________/________________3_______/ B
____________4_________/________________2_______/ G
____________2_________/________________0_______/ D
__2_2___2_____________/_____2_2___2____________/ A
__0_0___0_____________/_____0_0___0____________/ E

Each line represents a guitar string, and the numbers show you what fret to put your fingers on. A 0 means play the open string. Although I can't really read music, it helps to know a bit about music or really know the song. I read music well enough to know that the first two power chords are played quickly with a slight pause for the third power chord. The final chord in each measure is played so that it rings. Although this isn't really indicated in the TAB version, it is in the music. Knowing that the song starts da da da DAAHHH da da da DAAHHH helps for timing as well.

But... wait, that sounds kinda right, but not quite..

There is one major problem with this opening, it is WRONG. Who says so? Well Alex Lifeson on a youtube video points out that the opening is 3 open Es followed by a fretted E chord at the 7th fret.

______________
______________
_________9____
_________9____
_________7____
0_0___0_______

This is actually much easier to play. So who is Alex Lifeson to say the TAB book is wrong? I mean aside from being Rush's guitar player and the one that wrote the music.

Who should get this Book?

Any Rush fan that plays guitar and has their basic skills down and can read TAB should find a lot of enjoyment in this book. Those with advanced skills should be able to get even more enjoyment out of this. However keep in mind that it is not entirely accurate.

Even though I started to play late in life and have only been playing for a year, I found a lot I could play here.

Testing Information

Tom Sawyer, YYZ and Red Barchetta were tested using a Gibson SG guitar with a Line 6 Spider III amp with a medium amount of gain and slight reverb. The song The Trees was tested on a Fender Parlour acoustic guitar using finger picking technique.

Purchase Info

This book retails for 24 dollars and would most likely be available at a music store rather than a book store, however some large bookstores carry some guitar tab books. You may also find it online.

Summary

For the Rush fan, this book contains many of Rush's best songs. My son and I both liked it, but found some mistakes. We give it three stars.

Other TAB books and Guitar Books

The Best of AC/DC
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Black Sabbath Tab Book
Franz Ferdinand
Guns N' Roses Complete
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Metallica .. and Justice for All
The Rolling Stones Singles Collection - The London Years / Guitar Tab Edition
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Lightning Blues Lead Guitar
Neil Young Anthology

Chord Master - How to Choose and play the right guitar chords
Total Scales Technique and Application
Electric Guitars - The Illustrated Encyclopedia

Recommended: Yes