Album Review: Rush - Laura Secord Secondary School


When Rush released their "R40" DVD box set in celebration of their 40th Anniversary, most fans had everything from the set already. It was basically just a rehash of all of the DVD concerts from recent years, with some new pictures. Thankfully, the band knew how to keep their fans happy, and a "bonus disc" was included that had such a treasure trove of excellent Rush material. And while the entire disc was just fantastic to have, the biggest surprise for me was the Laura Secord Secondary School show. And while a few songs from it had been available previously, fans were in for a surprise to hear some new material from the band.

Recorded in Saint Catherines, Ontario, in 1974, this is likely the only live show that fans will ever hear that features original drummer John Rutsey still in the band. And while he was never quite the drummer that Neil Peart would be for the band, John was still very good at making his drums talk. I've heard in interviews that he wasn't let go for a lack of ability, and that is pretty clear as Rush tear through eight songs here.

If this set were made up of just the first album, I'm sure that Rush fans would have still been happy to hear it. However we are treated with four tracks that weren't on that first album. Any collector of Rush concerts have probably already heard the band cover "Bad Boy", but it's still cool to hear it at this earlier stage, and with John on the drums. The real highlights here are an early version of "Best I Can", which I always assumed to have been written with Neil in the band. This early version isn't quite polished, and the lyrics/vocals are a bit rough, but it's still really cool to hear it in this sort of embryonic stage.

The biggest surprises in this set are two tracks that to my knowledge (and I do know a thing or two about Rush) doesn't exist from any other show. Maybe someday another version will rear its head, but these two tracks ("I've Been Runnin'", and "The Loser") are fantastic early songs from the band, and sound just as good as anything else from that debut album. It's early Rush at its very best.

The sound on this set isn't the perfect sound that fans have come to expect from a live Rush set, but I'm very happy to have this show in my collection. And while it isn't exactly complete ("In the Mood" cuts out early, and the band may have played more songs at this show, I'm not really sure), it is very cool to have something from this early in Rush's career available to us fans. It's also pretty damned awesome to have that closing solo in "Working Man" for the first time, and I have always loved that solo!

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