2. One Little Victory (Vapor Trails, 2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMYDuPWHFAo After 1996s Test for Echo, which is just an inferior version of Counterparts, tragedy struck the band: Peart lost his daughter and his wife in the span of less than a year. By 1998, Rush was on seemingly permanent hiatus and Peart was traveling the world on a motorcycle, trying to cope with the grief and find purpose and self-concept anew. The fact that he returned to Lee and Lifeson wanting to make more music is a remarkable testament to his character; the fact that the music they made was actually good is a remarkable testament to Rushs instrumental mastery and utter refusal to die. One Little Victory is the first track off the bands comeback effort, 2002s Vapor Trails, and right off the bat were treated to a frenetic Neil Peart beat that shouts to the world, IM BACK! Lee and Lifeson are right there with him, pumping out the same testosterone-laced riffs that defined Rushs 90s sound but adding the sonic manifestation of gritty determination to carry on rocking. After all, the three members of Rush were nearly fifty years old in 2002; they had to prove to the world and to themselves that they werent done yet.