Rush Album Match Trivia Quiz

Answer: Moving Pictures

"Moving Pictures", released in 1981, gave Rush their first Canadian chart-topper, whilst in both the UK and USA it reached number three. The album's opening track, "Tom Sawyer", was released as a single, making number 25 in the UK. The track is one of the band's most well known songs, being a permanent part of their live set well into the 21st century.

Answer: Signals

Released in 1982, "Signals" was the follow-up to "Moving Pictures", and, like its predecessor, it topped the Canadian album chart. It made it to number three in the UK and also cracked the US top ten. "Subdivisions" opens the album, and reached number 27 on the UK singles chart.

Answer: A Farewell to Kings

"A Farewell to Kings" was Rush's fifth studio album. Released in 1977, it was their first release to crack the UK album chart, reaching number 22. In Canada, it peaked at number 11, whilst in the USA it topped out at number 33. "Xanadu", which is over 11 minutes long, was inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan". This was the first Rush track to employ synthesisers.

Answer: Caress of Steel

The 1975 album "Caress of Steel" was the band's third release, and their most progressive up to that date. The album didn't fare well commercially, only getting as high as number 60 in Canada, failing to chart in the UK and making a lowly 148 in the USA. "Bastille Day" opens the album, and is inspired by the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris which triggered the French Revolution.

Answer: 2112

Released in 1976, "2112" was the first Rush album to crack the Canadian top five, whilst in the USA it made number 61. The title track is over 20 minutes long and took up the entire first side of the original vinyl LP. "A Passage to Bangkok" opens up side two and is a song about marijuana.

Although not released as a single, the song became a live favourite of the band's over the coming decades.

Answer: Hemispheres

"Hemispheres" was released in 1978 and made number 14 in both the UK and Canada whilst peaking at number 47 in the USA. The album is dominated by a track that takes up the whole of the first side of the vinyl version, "Cygnus X-1 Book II : Hemispheres". "The Trees" is a song about oak and maple trees in a forest behaving like humans. The song was released as a single but didn't chart.

Answer: Rush

The band's eponymous debut album was released in 1974 and peaked at 86 in Canada and 105 in the USA. This was the only Rush album to feature John Rutsey on drums before his replacement by Neil Peart. "In the Mood" was released as a single and made it to number 31 in Canada. The song was part of the band's live sets up until the early 1990s.

Answer: Power Windows

"Power Windows" was released in 1985 and made number two in Canada, whilst cracking the top ten in both the UK and USA. The album includes choir and string arrangements on some tracks. "Manhattan Project" details the development of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War 2.

Answer: Grace Under Pressure

"Grace Under Pressure" was Rush's tenth studio album, released in 1984. The album charted at numbers four, five and ten in Canada, the Uk and USA respectively. The album included elements of ska and reggae in some of the tracks. "Red Sector A" is a song about a World War 2 concentration camp - singer Geddy Lee's parents were both Polish holocaust survivors who had been imprisoned at Auschwitz.

Answer: Permanent Waves

Released in 1980, "Permanent Waves" was Rush's commercial breakthrough album. The album made number three in Canada and the UK and number four in the USA, their highest chart placings in each of those countries up until that date. "The Spirit of Radio" was their most successful UK single of the 20th century, reaching number 13. The title came from a slogan for a Toronto radio station.