Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away [Paperback]

Martin Popoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Celebrating Rush’s 30th anniversary, this retrospective of Canada’s most successful music group examines each of the band's approximately 20 lauded records and sold-out tours, eliciting fresh insights into the marriage of Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee’s classic, fearless art rock sound with Neil Peart's celebrated literary prowess. The product of extensive interviews with all three members and corroborating evidence from key insiders and press, this unprecedented examination features previously unpublished candid photographs by official band photographer Andrew MacNaughtan. Musings on playing live and the grind of touring are presented, revealing the trio’s evolution over the past three decades. A critical eye is focused on the band’s vast catalog, resulting in a comprehensive, forward-moving celebration of one of the most respected yet secretive bands in the music business—one that has never been revealed in book form so personally, directly, or so willingly.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A refreshingly positive take on the life of a rock ‘n’ roll band…. Fascinating, funny and spotless in execution." -- Altfresh

"For the devoted...who know every song, every shriek from Lee...guitar burst from Lifeson...drum fill from Peart" -- Toronto Sun

"…A wealth of information and amusing first-account stories, even for those who think they know everything about the group." -- Electricbasement.com

About the Author

Martin Popoff is the author of eight books of hard rock music journalism, including The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550226789
• ISBN-13: 978-1550226782
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Canadian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good pictures...but superficial overview, October 25, 2004

By 

Jack Fitzgerald "JFD" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away (Paperback)

This is a breezy overview of the now 30+ year career of Rush. One has to give these guys credit for keeping the fires burning all these years, with no band turnover, and creative output that continues to be inventive, original and uncompromising. What amazes me is that critics in mainstream music magazines still like to label Rush as a sci-fi/fantasy prog-rock outfit that writes space operas and songs about gnomes and elves. That was done over twenty years ago! Since the early eighties, their songs have focused on social, political and psychological issues as well as relationships and the human condition.

Back to the book...

It's arranged chronologically, with each chapter covering an album/cd release and subsequent tour. The writing is mostly transcribed interviews, and I found that Alex Lifeson was quite talkative and provided the most insight. Funny considering Neil Peart is the lyricist and Geddy Lee is the vocalist. Lifeson also displayed great humor.
While the style proved to be breezy and chatty, as if the reader is sitting on a couch across from the guys, I wanted more meat on the bones. While the press release reads that every song is analyzed, this amounts to little more than a sentence or two on most tunes. I wanted more specifics than hearing that "Grace Under Pressure" was difficult to record. Why? What made it hard? There were other examples of this, but I did find that more time was spent with recent material, say the last five or so studio releases and the two recent live sets. This was good, since I'm less familiar with the newer material, being an old school Rush fan from back in the day.
What comes across is that the members of Rush are gracious, intelligent men committed to their craft, while also pursuing outside hobbies to enrich their lives. They avoid negative talk about other groups or music industry folks, save a veiled remarks. They are also intensely private about their families. I learned that Alex has a grown son, also a musician, and that Alex is now a grandfather. Very little is mentioned about Geddy Lee's family. Most Rush fans should by now be familiar with the tragedies of Neil Peart's family. Read "Ghost Rider" to learn more about that.

If you're looking from the road like the Led Zeppelin book "Hammer of the Gods" or Bill Wyman's "Stone Alone" this is not for you. This is a career overview that focuses on the music, with lots of band pictures that show the evolution of their fashion over the years.

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insights Into A Private Band, But Far From Comprehensive, October 4, 2004

By 

K. Palmer (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away (Paperback)

I've been a fan of Rush's music since the early 1980's, and have every one of their CDs. However, I really don't know a whole lot about the band members as they have been extremely guarded about their life in and outside the band. This book helps melt down that guard a little bit, but still does not provide a comprehensive look at Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.

The book is structured by chapters, which each one representing one of the band's CDs (in chronological order, including the 4 live albums). In that chapter, the band discusses their recollections about writing songs for the album, recording it (including gripes about several producers) and touring (with some anecdotes about their adventures with some of their support acts - or main acts (Kiss, Aerosmith) when they were just starting out.

You'll learn a lot about how the band goes about their business (for example, for almost every album, they write one song quickly at the end of their recording sessions and it invariably makes the record and is one of their favorites), but if you are looking for stuff about the three guys' family life, you'll be disappointed. I believe I remember one mention of Geddy's son and Alex briefly mentions that he is now a grandfather, but other than that, there isn't much about life outside the band (the death of Peart's wife and daughter within months of each other in the late 90s are mentioned, but other than a paragraph or two, are not discussed in detail).

So if you like Rush, get it for the novelty and the many great pictures.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last!, August 26, 2004

By 

F. Nohels - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away (Paperback)

As a total Rush freak, I know how hard it can be to find good reading material about them. (No coverage in any of the mainstream music mags, despite being one of the biggest selling bands in history). That's why this book is a godsend for any Rush fan. "Contents Under Pressure" is not a typical paint-by-numbers type biography, but more like a sit-down session over a few beers with Geddy, Neil and Alex as they recall their memories of touring and recording from the birth of Rush up until today. The author, Martin Popoff, asks the kind of questions that a die hard fan would ask. Lots of insight from the band themselves into song titles, album titles, lyrics, cover art, stage productions etc. Lots of amusing road stories, (especially from the early days and the oddball tours they were booked on), and behind the music type stuff. Every single album and tour gets a thorough profile. As well, it is packed with close to 300 photos (mostly color) of which I don't think I ve seen any before and is printed on a very high quality, heavy gloss paper. This is the kind of book you wish would never end and is a must-have.