40 years and still going strong!

1974 First album Rush released

1976 Initial breakthrough into the United States
1977 Closer to the Heart is internationally charted
1983 Rush tours the United Kingdom, selling out
Wimbley Arena for 4 consecutive nights
1983 Rush sells out 5 nights at Radio City Music
Hall
1989 Rush receives Platinum status
1990 Group of the decade in Canada
1990 Mayors Award at Toronto Music Awards
1991 JUNO award for Presto
1992 Harold Moon Award

1992 2 Grammy nominations

1993 Toronto Arts Award
1993 Group of the Millenium
1994 JUNO Hall of Fame
1996 21st consecutive gold album
1996 Rock Act of the Year by Performance Magazine
1997- All 3 members recognized as Officers of the
Order of Canada
1999 Canadas Walk of Fame
2000 Best Canadian Musicians of all time

The Spirit of Radio and Jacobs Ladder were released in January 1, 1980 as part
of the Permanent Waves album. This was Rushs 7th album. It was their 5th
gold selling album (eventually platinum) and their first U.S. top 5 album,
hitting #4. Geddy Lees style had changed. His range was lower than on
previous albums.
In The Spirit of Radio, the songs name was inspired by the Toronto radio
station CFNYs. This song became their breakthrough hit. It soon reached #13
on the UK singles chart. It was later named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fames 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll. (last.fm) The song is done in a
reggae style, which is also heard on their Moving Pictures and Signals albums.
The Spirit of Radio was written by drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. He stated
that, The Spirit of Radio was actually written as a tribute to all that was good
about radio, celebrating my appreciation of magical moments Id had since
childhood, of hearing the right song at the right time. (SongFacts)

The name Jacobs Ladder is a reference from the Old Testament. Jacob had a
dream about a stairway that rested on the earth and ascended up to heaven.
The angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (SongFacts)
Jacobs Ladder was also written by drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. He stated,
This song simply describes the phenomenon of the sun breaking through the
clouds in visible rays, as it sometimes does after a rain or on a cloudy day. The
actual name seems to be one of those traditional names for natural things
which have probably been around for ages. I think Geddy actually suggested
the idea to me, after hearing his mother-in-law use the name. It had a nice
sound to it, and of course the event itself is a beautiful and inspiring one.
(SongFacts)

Introduction:
0:00 Opens with a lead guitar solo.
0:04 Drums enter as lead guitar and bass continue.
0:15 Main melody begins, tempo increases. Cymbals begin to play
0:27 Rhythm slows, leading into verse 1.
Verse 1
0:41 Vocals join the guitar, bass and percussion.
0:55 Vocals stop. Drums, cymbals guitar and bass continue.
Verse 2
1:01 Bas guitar plays pickup notes leading into verse 2.
1:03 Vocals come in. Guitar, bass, drums and cymbals continue.
1:17 Vocals stop, the other instruments continue.
1:24 Percussion clocks are played. Drums and cymbals stop.
1:27 Lead guitar enters preparing for the chorus t start.
Chorus
1:31 Vocals begin, then the bells begin to chime.
1:38 Pause in vocals, with a guitar solo.
1:42 Vocals begin again
1:49 Another pause in vocals with a guitar solo

Verse 3
1:51 Drums play 4 quick beats as an intro to verse 3.
1:52 Vocals join the guitar, bass, drums and cymbals. Bass plays low solid quarter notes
on each beat.
Verse 4
2:06 Less bass here drums playing the main beat along with vocals
2:21 Vocals stop, guitar, bass and drums continue
2:28 Percussion blocks enter. Guitar, bass and drums stop.
2:31 Bells and guitar enter.
Chorus
Same as previous chorus, then leading into an alternate chorus.
3:00 Cymbals enter and you really feel them on the off-beat.
3:05 Cymbals stop. The bass takes the beat.
3:20 Guitar melody leads into guitar solo
3:32 Very fast guitar solo.
3:35 Time change. Drums enter. Rhythm continues to slow.
3:39 Bass enters.
3:40 Main melody begins again
3:49 Beat slows.

Coda
3:52 Vocals begin with a definite upbeat on the guitar.
3:58 Vocals strengthen and the beat picks up.
4:00 You can hear the crowd cheer. The beat begins to slow again.
4:06 Marimba plays and vocals begin again.
4:11 Heavy guitar and the beat picks up.
4:14 Vocals continue going higher in pitch.
4:17 Lead guitar and drums play together. The beat is slow at first then becomes almost
frantic.
4:30 Main melody picks back up.
4:44 You can hear a little piano run.
4:45 Drums beat, leading into a lead guitar run.
4:50 Two strong beats are played on the guitar, then the song ends with a run on the
drums.

Introduction
0:00 Synthesizer and bass play, ascending.
0:06 Drums enter.
0:30 Pitch lowers. Melody continues to repeat, very dark and foreboding.
0:40 Bass and drums play 4 solid notes leading into vocals.
Verse 1
0:46 Vocals begin with drums and synthesizer playing in minor mode. Drums play a
marching beat while the synthesizer plays in higher octaves.
1:16 Beat picks up. Guitars do as well.
1:19 Vocals stop. Guitar, bass and drums continue.
1:34 Guitar solo.
1:50 Bass guitar joins in with lead guitar.
1:55 Synthesizer also joins in.
2:05 Beat picks up. Guitar solo continues.
2:19 Drum roll
2:25 Definite beats played on drums and bass guitar.
2:44 Synthesizer joins in and continues with the dark, foreboding feeling.
3:31 Definite beats on bass drum play for several measures.
3:43 Synthesizer enters.
3:46 Beat slows, and you can also hear some bells.
4:00 Melody changes with synthesizer and bells

Verse 2
4:18 Vocals begin, sounding distorted and dark. Synthesizer and bells continue.
4:30 Vocals stop but synthesizer and bells continue.
4:48 Chimes come in.
4:54 Guitar and drums join in.
5:40 Synthesizer exits. Guitar plays ascending and descending.
6:11 Symbols enter.
6:17 Beat picks up.
6:38 Definite, heavy beats played on bass for several measures.
Verse 3
6:50 Vocals begin with synthesizer, guitar and drums.
7:00 Beat slows.
7:06 Vocals end, synthesizer enters.
7:19 Synthesizer fades as bass plays solid beats.

Bibliography
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/nm0509820/bio
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/nm1441958/bio
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/nm1307637/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from Maple Music: http://www.maplemusic.com/artists/rus/bio.asp
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://classicrock.about.com/od/bandsandartists/p/rush_profile.htm
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Rush/_/The+Spirit+of+Radio
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from SongFacts: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2361
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from SongFacts: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2361
(n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from SongFacts: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2361