Photo by Alex Kluft
Celebrating the renewed reign of RUSH, the band has announced a pair of new releases that will both be made available on October 2, 2026, as the legendary Canadian band forge forward with their celebrated Fifty Something Tour.
First up is the 50th Anniversary Liquid Vinyl Edition of RUSH’s 1976 multi-platinum selling studio album2112, which was recently certified x4 Platinum. It was initially made available in a limited quantity sold exclusively at the UMusic Shop in New York City in late July when RUSH was in town for their four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. The black liquid vinyl pressing for 2112 (50th Anniversary) was inspired by the breakthrough album’s iconic cover art, and the album cover is presented with a die-cut hole so fans can readily showcase their liquid vinyl disc. The liquid vinyl 2112 (50th Anniversary) LP is now available as a Sound of Vinyl exclusive, and it can be pre-ordered HERE.
RUSH once again enlisted producer Terry Brown to harness their in-studio sound for 2112, and its seven-part, 20-plus-minute title track solidified them as one of the most forward-thinking bands of the rock era. Taking up the album’s entire first side, “2112” chronicles one man’s creative struggle against authority and oppression that remains as relevant as ever, 50 years later.
The second side spreads the songwriting wealth, with Neil Peart’s “A Passage to Bangkok” following the highs and lows of traveling with a clear mission in mind, while his venture into “The Twilight Zone” honors a pair of episodes from Rod Serling’s classic sci-fi/fantasy TV anthology series. Alex Lifeson’s “Lessons,” punctuated by some ferocious slide guitar, leads into the heartfelt balladry of Geddy Lee’s “Tears,” while “Something for Nothing” closes the proceedings with Peart’s rumination on making choices and dealing with their consequences.
The second offering is the first-ever vinyl release for the band’s 2003 compilation, The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987, which features distinctive artwork by the band’s longtime creative director Hugh Syme. This collection, which compiles a number of key tracks that highlight the first phase of RUSH’s long and storied recording career, will be made available in two configurations: (1) the original 16-track collection spread across 2LPs on 180-gram black vinyl, and (2) an abbreviated, retail exclusive edition with 10 tracks on 1LP black vinyl. While the 1LP edition shares nine tracks with its 2LP counterpart, “Finding My Way” — the opening salvo from the band’s self-titled 1974 debut album — only appears on the retail exclusive edition. Both versions of The Spirit of Radio can be pre-ordered HERE.
The Spirit of Radio compilation is rife with RUSH classics, commencing with the guitar-driven fortitude of “Working Man,” the wistful leaving-home travelogue of “Fly by Night,” the conceptual us vs. them template of “2112: Overture / The Temples of Syrinx,” and the vulnerability linchpin track, “Closer to the Heart.” Then comes the politics of human nature that irrigates the “The Trees,” the joyful appreciation of the crackling energy of the airwaves in “The Spirit of Radio,” the time-signature-challenging “Freewill,” and the observational luminescence of “Limelight,” a timeless, if not prescient look at how introverted artists grapple with public demands while trying to maintain a personal level of earned privacy.
Other tracks include the band’s iconic concert staple “Tom Sawyer” and the multi-generational dreamscape of “Red Barchetta,” a song that chronicles the thrills and chills of a high-stakes backroads car race. Meanwhile, the kinetic, reggae-tinged lilt of “New World Man” helped propel the song to its No. 1 chart-topping single status in Canada. “New World Man” ultimately peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, RUSH’s singular Top 40 hit in the United States. And then comes the generation-defining, synth-driven “Subdivisions,” which succinctly captures the angst of the perennial restless dreams of youth.
The Spirit of Radio also features “Distant Early Warning” from 1984’s Grace Under Pressure, the Top 50 hit “The Big Money,” and 1987’s “Force Ten,” which reached #3 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The final track on both versions of The Spirit of Radio, the ever-reflective “Time Stand Still,” features one of the few outside guests to ever appear on a RUSH album — ’Til Tuesday’s Aimee Mann, who provides the haunting title-phrase vocal counters to buttress Geddy Lee’s leads on the choruses. Back in June, Mann joined RUSH onstage at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on the first four dates of the Fifty Something Tour to sing her parts of “Time Stand Still” live with the band for the very first time.
RUSH’s universally acclaimed Fifty Something Tour continues throughout the rest of 2026 in North America, and then the band will take the show to South America and Europe in 2027.
RUSH co-founders Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson joined by acclaimed drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold kicked off the highly anticipated ‘Fifty Something’ Tour in Los Angeles marking the band’s first tour performance in 11 years.
The special “evening with” performances feature two sets each night, with RUSH building every setlist from a catalog of 40 songs for this tour spanning the band’s celebrated five-decade career across. For tour dates and additional information, visit www.rush.com/tour/fifty-something.
When it comes to listening to RUSH, both 2112 (50th Anniversary) and The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987 ensure that the band’s spirit ever lingers on vinyl.
ABOUT RUSH
RUSH took rock music into uncharted territory and to unmatched heights fueled by the once-in-a-lifetime interplay of Geddy Lee [bass, keys, vocals], Alex Lifeson [guitar, vocals], and the late Neil Peart [drums, lyrics]. Selling over 45 million albums worldwide, garnering seven GRAMMY® Award nominations, tallying billions of streams, and earning induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame®, and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, the pioneering trio’s incalculable influence has spanned generations, attracting one of the most ardent audiences in history. These musicians effectively reimagined and redefined rock without boundaries, striking a balance between elite instrumentation, anthemic vocals, provocative lyricism, and timeless storytelling both sonically and thematically. RUSH notably achieved “the third most consecutive gold/platinum studio albums by a rock band behind only The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.” Furthermore, their accolades have included becoming Officers of the Order of Canada in 1996, achieving the Canadian Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2012, and receiving recognition with both a star on the Canada Walk of Fame and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The world tragically said goodbye to Peart on January 7, 2020, following his battle with brain cancer. Honoring Peart and the legacy the band had forged together, Lee and Lifeson celebrate RUSH on the Fifty Something Tour in 2026. It’s a moment for new listeners to finally experience this music live in all of its glory and another chance for the group’s faithful fanbase to rally again.
By: Bass Magazine