Alex Lifeson: new Rush album, tour possible in 2010

[Rush Might Return in 2010]

The one thing that every Rush fan has been wondering about since the band's 2008 tour came to a close last year is when the band will get to work on a new album. In his recent Prog interview Alex Lifeson addressed this topic:

... "Tentatively, we start work on the next album in the fall - I did mention it to Ged before he went away on holiday and he sort of looked the other way. Come September and we'll certainly have some plans, we did the last record, or we started on the last album in the fall and I'd like to do that again, start recording maybe. I don't know who might produce, that's some ways off yet." ...

While this bit of news got a lot of us excited, our excitement was tempered by Lerxst's use of the word tentatively along with the recent birth of Neil Peart's new baby. But Alex addressed the topic yet again and in more detail - including the baby issue - in a recent interview with NoiseCreep.com:

Rush fans take note -- the legendary progressive rock band could be back on the road with a new album in 2010. The trio would love to work again with Nick Raskulinecz, who co-produced the last studio album, 'Snakes & Arrows,' but he'll have to hang on a bit longer. "I think Nick calls the office once a week," laughs guitarist Alex Lifeson, "just to make sure we're still planning on getting back to work at some point." Lifeson, lead singer-bassist Geddy Lee and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart played 120 shows behind 'Snakes & Arrows' and "were pretty beat by the end of it," says Lifeson. "We'd been working constantly for the last eight years or so, and really needed a break, and decided to take a year off. We're sort of coming to the end of that period. "Neil and his wife had a baby just a couple of weeks ago, so he's asked if we can just wait a little bit until he gets settled and see how he feels about getting back to work or when to get back to work. So we're sort of playing it open right now." Lifeson says he's been doing a little writing at home in Toronto, "just getting myself back into the groove again with recording and stuff like that. I would guess that sometime in the early fall we would get back together and start writing again, and then hopefully by next summer, we'd be ready to tour."

This is very encouraging news to say the least. It's good to hear Alex address the possibility of a Summer 2010 tour along with the new album. It also seems very probable that Nick Raskulinecz will once again produce. The only fly in the ointment seems to be Neil Peart's understandable unwillingness to get back to work so soon after the birth of his child. Although despite this, Alex still seems to think they'll be getting into the studio in the early Fall - which would mean late September or October. Good news indeed. Thanks to James for the heads up.