Rush will mark their 50th anniversary with the release of a comprehensive box set, Rush 50, arriving March 21. The collection includes seven previously unreleased tracks from the band’s early years and traces their evolution from their 1973 debut single to their final live performance on Aug. 1, 2015, at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
“50? Is that all? … seriously … it’s a cool collection … but look at all those songs,” bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee said in a press release announcing the set. “I’m exhausted just reading the effin list!”
Rush 50 will be available in five configurations:
- The Super Deluxe Edition
- The Rush Store Exclusive Super Deluxe Edition
- A 7-LP Deluxe Edition
- A 4-CD Deluxe Edition
- A Digital Edition
All versions are available for pre-order on the band’s official website.
The set features 50th-anniversary artwork by longtime collaborator Hugh Syme and a 104-page hardcover book with new song illustrations, photos, and liner notes by rock journalists David Fricke and Philip Wilding.
The Super Deluxe CD/LP version includes 20 lithographs, each representing a song from one of Rush’s studio albums, and a 100-page hardcover graphic novel titled The Fullness of Time. The novel features Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson reflecting on the band’s career.
The Rush Store Exclusive Super Deluxe Edition adds four bonus lithographs by Fantoons, depicting the band’s evolution across the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
Two tracks in the set are from a significant 1974 performance at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland. “The Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, that was a really important headline gig for us,” Lee told Classic Rock. “It was a ferocious crowd, it was a hot sweaty gig. I remember the gig really, really well. We weren’t begging for time on someone else’s show. That was our show. And one of the first headline shows with [drummer] Neil [Peart], ever. I’m glad they found some songs from that night.”
