Even Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bands like Rush have moments they’ve lived to regret. Ask Alex Lifeson, who admits to two specific moments that still make him shake his head.
“‘Tai Shan’ (from 1987’s Hold Your Fire) is one of the worst, easily,” the guitarist says in the November 2013 edition of Classic Rock magazine.
The inspiration for that song sprang from a bicycle trip that Neil Peart took through China, and was heavily influenced by the country’s classic music. Its title refers to a mountain in the Shandong province of China.
But “Tai Shan” isn’t the only Rush song the Rush guitarist targets.
“And ‘Panacea’ (part of the epic side-two-encompassing track ‘The Fountain of Lamneth’ on 1975’s Caress of Steel),” Lifeson adds. “It was an attempt at something that didn’t really work out. It was … innocent.”
In 2010’s Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Geddy Lee says he surmised that bandmates Lifeson and Peart were “pretty high” during the sessions for that produced Caress of Steel.
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Top 5 Worst Rush Songs Ever
1. Madrigal
2. Dog Years
3. We Hold On
4. Need Some Love
5. Take A Friend