10 Perfect Rock Songs Written At The Last Second

Rock musicians are not known to always be the most punctual people in the world. Just ask any fan of Guns N Roses or Tool and they will tell you the horror stories that come with waiting years, if not decades, to hear some decent new music. Sometimes it can be a headache, but sometimes having to wait a little bit longer does pay off in the long run.

During the recording for each of these albums, these were the songs that had to wait to the 11th hour before finally being committed to tape. Usually this is saved for when you need a throwaway track or when the label just wants one more song out of you before getting the finished product. Most people might just phone it in here, but these songs managed to be the tunes that the entire album would be based around once it hit the airwaves.

Part of the beauty that comes with being in the studio is that you’re already in that creative headspace, and something that’s made up on the spot like this actually makes for a breath of fresh air when you look at the rest of the songs that have to be put onto the record. You’re not aiming to write the best song in your catalog here, but some of your best material often comes when you don’t have that high benchmark. There’s no real hangups here, and what you’re getting is a pure snapshot of what the band’s headspace was like during these sessions.

As Rush made their way into the '80s, they seemed to finally chill out on some of the longer songs. Though tracks off of Moving Pictures like the Camera Eye still had that old school progressive bent to it by taking you on a journey, the draw was more geared towards songs like Tom Sawyer, taking the same prog aesthetic and putting it in a more palatable package. So for all of the hits that they may have gotten out of this record, how did one of the most beloved songs come from just a goofy instrumental?

When the band would come back home to Toronto Airport while on tour, the rhythm of the Morse Code ended up sticking with Neil Peart, who started jamming on that rhythm one day while Geddy Lee was still warming up his fingers on bass. Originally starting off as just a simple drum and bass jam session, the riffs on here were too good to just spend on noodling, with Alex Lifeson doubling Geddy's lines throughout the song and putting in different extensions as well, like his Eastern inspired guitar solo and reggae scratches happening throughout the breakdown.

For all of the hooks that they cram into one song, there's no real way to call this a pop hit by any stretch. A lot of songs have to spend years to find just the right mix, but this kind of jamming among friends is about as pure as you can get in the world of rock.