10. Working Man (Rush, 1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIGKlicb8n0 Before there was Neil Peart, there was John Rutsey. Rushs original drummer played with the band up through the release of their eponymous debut LP, which they put out on their own Moon Records label. In those days, Rush was heavily influenced by the bluesy hard-rock sounds of Cream and Led Zeppelin, with Lifeson doing his best Jimmy Page impressions on songs like Finding My Way and In the Mood and Lees wailing vocals smacking of a reedier, rawer Robert Plant. Lacking Pearts lyrical abilities and expansive array of toms and cymbals, Rush plays as a straightforward and rather unimportant rock album full of trivial love songs and tasty riffs. Its an important record in the Rush annals, though, because Working Man, the albums final track, got picked up and popularized by Cleveland DJ Donna Halper. The songs blue-collar lyrics found an audience in the Rust Belt city and Lifesons extended shredding heralded the coming of Rushs instrumental prowess. Working Man made Rush a modest commercial success, led to a label deal with Mercury Records, and is still a popular live selection by the band. John Rutsey never got to play Working Man in the United States, as he left the band before its first American tour due to complications from diabetes. Lee and Lifeson held auditions for his replacement and Peart got the job, forever altering Rushs fate.