Driven: Rush in the ’90s and “In the End”

Rush Across the Decades, Book 3

By: Martin Popoff

Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray

The conclusion to the definitive biography of the rock 'n' roll kings of the North.

In this conclusion to his trilogy of authoritative books on Canada's most beloved and successful rock band, Martin Popoff takes us through three decades of "life at the top" for Rush's Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Though this era begins with the brisk-selling Roll the Bones and sees throngs of fans sell out international tours, there is also unimaginable tragedy, with Peart losing his daughter and his wife within the space of 10 months and, two decades later, succumbing to cancer himself. In between, however, there is a gorgeous and heartbreaking album of reflection and bereavement, as well as a triumphant trip to Brazil, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and - some say surprisingly - the band's first full-blown concept album to close an immense career marked by integrity and idealism.

©2021 Martin Popoff (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Outstanding as expected

As a fan of the band, Rush and a fan of audiobooks done well this was a tremendous listen for me. It’s the third in the series that provided the ability for me to pause the audiobook and listen to the particular albums, songs and review art work on the albums. I will listen again because it has gems that are worth repeating, and it brought me along a magic collection of interviews and history in sequential order.

This series is the definitive history of the band

I’ve purchased the hard cover version as well as the audio version of this series. I’ve listened to it twice and will again I’m sure. The narrator does such an amazing job endearing this incredible story. If you’re a Rush fan you owe it to yourself to enjoy this wonderfully written account of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

Excellent!

Is believable stories that you can get lost in period Is Kenneth Waite to explore the next book.

The Measure of Three Lives.

These three books are an awesome breakdown of Geddy, Alex and Neil’s lives, inspirations and loves over four decades. Interviews with the people who were integral in helping the boys create their magic blend of music.

This collection of interviews and writings was very well done and presented in a wonderful and engaging way. I breezed through all three books in one week!

While I did enjoy the perspectives of those people who were there, in the moments, I did find Popoff’s insertion of interpretation of the albums, likenesses to other bands, etc., as fact or common opinion, a bit irritating.

Regardless I thought I knew all there was to know about the band and yet I still learned new, interesting facts.

Triumphant Triumvirate

I've read all three of Popoff's RUSH career retrospective books. I must admit I found myself slow reading this one because I didn't want to face the sad finality of my favorite band. Having said that, this book may be the best of the three!

Sad for it to end

Great end to the trilogy of Rush books by Martin Popoff. You learn so much about the band in this volume right up till the end. These books need to be read if you enjoy the band.

A Hard Listen

The performance is this faux folksy tone that has “driven” this Rush fan to the edge of a deep, dark hole. Popov’s writing style seems to be to include every cliche known to man. But he does curate interviews from sources far and wide so you don’t have to. You just may wish you did.

Many things glossed over, narrator not so good.

I'm a huge Rush fan and pretty much already know everything that was covered in this book. I feel like some major topics were glossed over or barely mentioned. For example, the making of the Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary and the significance of that as a vehicle for bringing Rush into the mainstream. I know a lot of material for these books came from extended interviews from that documentary, but it was barely even mentioned.

The narrator, Michael Butler Murray, is not really a bad reader, it's just that he uses the same inflections over and over, gets annoying after a while, everything is said in a very "matter of fact" sort of way. Also he sometimes would attempt a British accent for certain interview sections (Peter Collins for example), but then not at others, very inconsistent.

The first 2 books were much better in my opinion, this one seemed like it was just rushed to the end.

The same damned thing over and over again

“It was a difficult record to make.”

“We weren’t learning as much anymore.”

“He’s a great guy.”

It’s like listening to the most passive-aggressive Southern grandmothers say “Bless her heart” for 30 hours. If these accounts are accurate, being in Rush was like “Groundhog Day—-The Musical”.