Rush Returns To Roots On ‘Feedback’
Canadian rock trio Rush’s next release will feature covers of classics popularized by the Who, Cream, Buffalo Springfield and the Yardbirds, Billboard.com has learned. Due June 29 via Atlantic, the eight-track “Feedback” marks the first time the group has ever recorded material by other artists.
The album kicks off with a new take on Blue Cheer’s cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues.” The track list is rounded out by the Yardbirds’ “Heart Full of Soul” and “Shapes of Things,” the Who’s “The Seeker,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and “Mr. Soul,” Love’s “Seven and Seven Is” and Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads,” famously covered by Cream.
“[Bassist] Geddy [Lee], [guitarist] Alex [Lifeson] and I were channeling back to 1966 and 1967, when we were 13- and 14-year-old beginners,” drummer Neil Peart writes in the album’s liner notes. “We thought it would be a fitting symbol to commemorate our 30 years together if we returned to our roots and paid tribute to those we had learned from and were inspired by. We thought we might record some of the songs we used to listen to, the ones we painstakingly learned the chords, notes and drum parts for, and even played in our earliest bands.”
As previously reported, Rush’s 30th anniversary tour begins May 26 in Nashville and will wrap its North American portion with an Aug. 22 show in the group’s Toronto home town. A European swing kicks off Sept. 8 in London.
“Feedback” is Rush’s first studio release since 2002’s “Vapor Trails,” which debuted at No. 6 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 320,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Lee recently told Billboard the group may begin work on a new album next year.
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