Unless you have been under a rock somewhere you will know that Rush are not the only Canadians making an unexpected comeback in 2026, as the original line-up of Mike Levine (bass, keyboards, synthesizer, piano, backing vocals), Gil Moore (drums, percussion, lead and backing vocals and Rik Emmett (guitar, lead and backing vocals, synthesizer, keyboards, bass) are also hitting the road. Of course there will always be a record label tie-in, and as there is no new product to release, we instead have another compilation of their greatest hits (many of which are single edits). I have all the albums featuring the original guys, having first discovered them when they released the single “Hold On” which soon led me to buying their third album, 1979’s ‘Just A Game’. Their technical melodic hard rock was a style I really enjoyed, a long way from the NWOBHM scene I was experiencing as a teenager in the UK, and playing this album now is like visiting old friends.
Every song contained on this 10-track set was a hit single in Canada or America, but I was somewhat surprised to see that “I Live For The Weekend” was missing as that has always been one of my favourites (I have it as a 12” single) but then realised that for some weird reason it was only a hit in the UK. But given it was the only song of theirs to ever chart there it would have been nice to see it, but I guess Americans/Canadians may not see it that way. This is a great introduction to one of Canada’s greatest ever hard rock exports, and while their return may been overshadowed somewhat, there is no doubt they are worthy inductees to the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and Canada’s Walk of Fame, even if there has been no new studio album since 1992. “Lay It On The Line”, “Hold On”, “Magic Power”, “I Can Survive” are all here, and in many ways, this is a solid release.
Rating: 8/10
Links:
https://www.triumphmusic.com/
https://craftrecordings.com/