Anthem: Rush in the 1970s

Rush Across the Decades, Book 1

By: Martin Popoff

Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray

The definitive biography of the rock 'n' roll kings of the North

With extensive, first-hand reflections from Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, as well as from family, friends, and fellow musicians, Anthem: Rush in the '70s is a detailed portrait of Canada's greatest rock ambassadors. The first of three volumes, Anthem puts the band's catalog, from their self-titled debut to 1978's Hemispheres (the next volume resumes with the release of Permanent Waves) into both Canadian and general pop culture context, and presents the trio of quintessentially dependable, courteous Canucks as generators of incendiary, groundbreaking rock 'n' roll.

Fighting complacency, provoking thought, and often enraging critics, Rush has been at war with the music industry since 1974, when they were first dismissed as the Led Zeppelin of the north. Anthem, like each volume in this series, celebrates the perseverance of Geddy, Alex, and Neil: three men who maintained their values while operating from a Canadian base, throughout lean years, personal tragedies, and the band's eventual worldwide success.

©2020 Martin Popoff (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Quite interesting!

I really enjoyed the background of the group and I followed along listening to the albums. Too bad the narration is so dismal, I kept drawing a vision of a character from the Simpsons.

What more could you want. I'm impressed.

This story is very compressive for the time frame detailed.
It uncovers a lot of the day to day details you'd never think of.

Must for a Rush Fan

Lot of repitician at times. Editing is what drops a star for me. Otherwise very entertaining for a Rush fan.

Fantastic

Great info. Thoroughly researched. Excellent narration. Even this long time Rush fan learned a lot. Many thanks to Martin Popoff.

SO repetitive!

Great, detailed history of the bands early years, but SO repetitive! We hear the same stories, told nearly identically, from numerous characters. A little more judicious editing would have helped. I did not care for the narrator. He didn't differentiate vocally between characters very well (unless they had a noticeable accent), making it difficult to know who was talking, and MUCH of his intonation came off as oddly smug and/or condescending. I'm hoping things improve over the course of the next two books in this series.

Narration.

Narrator ends sentences on a high note,literally. Am I being picky? Seems common these days. On the news and younger folks. I thoroughly enjoyed the books. Love Rush. Just annoyed by the up note ending almost every sentence. I listen to a lot of books. Bought all three, very happy!

Strange Repetition But Good Info

First, it is a great book. The performance is very good despite leaning on an endearing, "down home" delivery at times.
The reason for the lost star is the very strange habit the author has for quoting people, then immediately have them repeat themselves. Could it be the subjects speech pattern? Sure. But not when it happens so often to so many people quoted in the book. I commend Mr. Popoff for his work, but would prefer that he present the quotes "as is" instead of adding the weird repetition.
The book is well researched and truly gives the reader a feeling of being on the journey with the band as they grow up and become RUSH. I personally can't stand music critics reviews of albums, however the book is very good at not influencing the reader/listener and presents the music in a way that inspires curiosity.
I look forward to future installments of the bands story when available.

A real time machine

You will have to be a Rush fan, but if you are it's truly amazing!!! Really took me back a few decades.

even the oldest of fans will learn something.

been a fan since the early 80s one of my top three bands and even I learn something I never knew. This is a great listen. The narrator's little goofy LOL but it's still fantastic

Comprehensive, and very interesting if you love RUSH

Comprehensive, and very interesting if you love RUSH. Excellent reading/performance. 15 word minimum is silly, some reviews don't need that many words.