According to a listing on British music seller Juno Record's website (and others), Rush will be following up their November release of The Albums: 1989-1996 vinyl box set, with a similar release covering the band's 2002-2012 period. Rush: The Albums 2002 To 2012 is currently being listed as a 7-CD set slated for release on June 6th. While the release date seems reasonable, it's likely a 7-LP set rather than 7-CD, like the 1989-1996 vinyl set. Rush released 3 albums (Vapor Trails, Snakes & Arrows, Clockwork Angels) and 1 EP (Feedback) in the period between 2002 and 2012, so 7 LPs would make sense - with the 1989-1996 set, both Presto and Roll the Bones came on 1 LP each, while Counterparts and Test for Echo were on 2 LPs each - making a total of 6 LPs. While Feedback could be on one LP, each of the other 3 albums need to be on 2 LPs, making a total of 7. This is all speculation at this point, as there are very few details and no official announcement, although that seems imminent at this point. More information as we learn it.
The July 2025 edition of Guitar World magazine features a new interview with Alex Lifeson where he talks about Envy of None's Stygian Wavz album, Rush and more. Here's Alex talking about his and Envy of None's future plans:
"... We're likely going to start the third record the day after this one releases. So I'm in a good space. I'm working on another project for a documentary on the Great Lakes with some brilliant musicians. That's really a lot of fun, but there's no hard deadline, so we're moving slowly but in a really good direction. And I'm working with another female artist; I always pick up little gigs here and guest on other people's albums. I'm a working musician."
Alex gives an update on his signature gear, and teases a possible ES-335 "Whitey" reissue in this excerpt:
"... we had the [Lerxst] Limelight come out, the Grace, and now we have the Freewill, which is the original modified Strat I had in 1979. So, that's the black version of all these three guitars. That's coming out next. And Epiphone has a few things they want to release; they'd like to do a reissue of the ES-335, and Gibson wants to do an acoustic and some other things. On the pedal front, we have the [Lerxst] By-Tor and the Snowdog. We're working on a chorus and probably a delay. I have some ideas about an amp pedal, you know, incorporating what we do with the Lerxst amps but in a smaller enclosure. So yeah... there's always something in the world of gear. I've always been a gearhead! ..."
You can read the entire interview in the July edition of Guitar World, and John at Cygnus-X1.net has transcribed the entire interview and made it available online here.
Goldmine magazine is offering an Envy of None Spring 2025, limited-edition cover bundle including a hand-signed postcard, which is currently available to purchase at this location. There are only 250 of the bundles available, so get yours while you can. The issue itself includes an Envy of None cover feature with a new Alex Lifeson interview, and the postcard is hand-signed by all four members of Envy of None.
See the Good is a new celebrity-amplified global anti-hate campaign created in partnership with The Raoul Wallenberg Centre For Human Rights that promotes commonalities without asking people to choose sides. The campaign launched in January, and Rush's Geddy Lee is one of the many celebrities involved. See the Good creates and shares emotionally resonant stories about people on a mission to make the world a better place, and they've already raised $305,000 towards their $500K goal to ensure the organization is the most visible and effective campaign against hate. You can learn more about the campaign by watching this introductory trailer, and visiting their website at seethegoodnow.com. In one of their recent videos, Geddy Lee tells the story of Doctor Nikolai Amosov, who invented the antithrombotic artificial heart valve in 1965, which would have saved the life of Geddy Lee's father, who died that same year. You can watch the video below or on YouTube.
Artovision is a Wisconsin-based company that creates 3-dimensional collectable artwork inspired by popular culture, video games, food and Americana. Over the past few years, they've released several sets of officially-licensed pieces based on Rush album art including Moving Pictures, Roll the Bones, Hold Your Fire, A Show of Hands, Signals (this desktop art piece too), Hemispheres, Clockwork Angels and Counterparts, Rush's debut album, Grace Under Pressure, and the Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows albums. Their latest offering celebrates the 50th anniversary of Rush's Caress of Steel and Fly by Night albums, both of which were released in 1975 and are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. There are 3-D Shadowbox pieces for both albums depicting the iconic cover art (Caress of Steel, Fly By Night), along with corresponding desktop pieces for both albums (Caress of Steel, Fly By Night). The collectible shadowbox art pieces measure 14x14" x 2.5" and come ready to hang with an official Rush Certificate of Authenticity (COA), with each piece printed on 1/8" thick optical-grade acrylic with vibrant UV cured inks and set in a high quality finished MDF wood frame. The corresponding desktop pieces are printed on 3/4" thick optical-grade acrylic with vibrant UV cured inks and measure 6" x 6". For more information on Artovision, and to see their complete line of officially-licensed Rush pieces, visit their website at artovision3d.com. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and watch a YouTube video demonstrating the 3-D effect of their Shadowbox art here.
Julien's Auctions will be holding their annual Music Icons auction online and live at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City later this month on May 30-31. One of the items up for bidding will be a unique, 2016 guitar from Alex Lifeson's collection. The guitar is a 2016 Harper Marilyn Lifeson Custom built electric guitar in a metallic blue finish custom built for Lifeson as a gift from percussionist Andres Forero. From Alex Lifeson:
"This beautiful 2016 Harper Marilyn Lifeson Custom Guitar was commissioned by my dear friend, Andre Ferraro, an awesome drummer. This guitar is so beautiful. It's just absolutely stunning. The Rush related detailing is out of this world and honestly any Rush fan would just go crazy for this. The guitar is beautiful, it sounds amazing, it plays beautifully, the neck is a slender neck and just a joy to play. This guitar truly is a one off: just amazing."
For all the details on the guitar, and how to place your bid, visit juliensauctions.com. Here's a video of Alex Lifeson receiving the guitar back in 2018.
According to the Danforth & Pape folks on Facebook, Fierce Beer based in Aberdeen will be brewing Rush and Henderson Brewery's Canadian Golden Ale in the UK this summer, following Henderson's original recipe. A few first taste sample cans were raffled off at RUSHfest Scotland this past weekend. Speaking of which, congratulations to the RUSHfest Scotland team for raising a whopping 15K for Funding Neuro, a charity that focuses on accelerating research and treatment for neurological conditions and cancers.
American Songwriter published a piece this past week on the 3 Rock Singers With the Most Bizarre Voices Ever, one of whom is Rush's Geddy Lee:
"Rush's Geddy Lee has the kind of voice that you really wouldn't expect to punctuate countless excellent songs from a progressive rock band. Lee's voice sits higher than most, but he's not known for hitting crazy-high notes like some of his classic rock contemporaries. Rather, his voice is almost cartoonish, quite youthful, and incredibly well-suited for Rush, specifically. Lee has excellent range, which you can hear clear as day on songs like "Cygnus X-1". And he always manages to stay in key. Few vocalists have that kind of sonic character."
This past October, longtime Primus drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander quit the band, leaving Primus looking for a new sticks man. They decided to run a contest of sorts to find the new drummer, documented the entire process, and created a 12-part YouTube show called the Primus Interstellar Drum Derby with the first installment airing on February 20th of this year, about a month after they announcedz that the winner was Louisiana-based drummer John Hoffman (Hoffman is featured in the May issue of Modern Drummer). Hoffman beat out co-finalist Gergo Borlai to win as documented in the 12th and final episode of the series, which aired last week. Most Rush fans know Primus' long history with Rush and how much Primus adores them, with the band even embarking on an entire tour paying tribute to Rush's A Farewell to Kings album. Part of the reason they chose Hoffman over Borlai might have been because Borlai was not a fan of Rush. In the video at about the 11:30 mark, Borlai is chatting with Claypool and calls Rush vanilla and cheesy. Later on around the 42 minute mark, the whole band is dining with Borlai, and he admits that he thinks he won't get the gig because he doesn't like Rush, and offers to learn some Rush songs overnight to impress the guys. Les tells him to learn Cygnus-X1, and Borlai pulls out his phone to listen to the song.
On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable on the Rushfans YouTube channel (episode #274), the panel returns to their Snakes & Arrows discussion with Bravest Face.
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!!
