who reissued their self-titled debut in 1973 (which had previously been released independently). Rutsey left the group soonafter, and the missing piece to the group's puzzle came in the form of his replacement, Neil Peart, who besides being an exceptional drummer, was also a quite gifted lyricist.
It took a few releases for the new line-up to truly gel, but with 1976's breakthrough release, 2112, Rush had begun a journey that would eventually establish them as one of hard rock's most popular and successful acts in the whole world. During this string of classic albums, Lifeson's fine guitar chops could be sampled on a variety of standout tracks, especially “Xanadu" (1977's A Farewell to Kings), “La Villa Strangiato" (1978's Hemispheres), “Freewill" (1980's Permanent Waves), and “YYZ" (1981's Moving Pictures). Rush continued to tour the world and issue hit albums throughout the ‘80s, but Lifeson's guitar work took a backseat, due to the group's experiments with more textured, synthesizer-based sounds. By the ‘90s, Rush's desire to return to more straight ahead, hard rock-based material had returned, as Lifeson's guitar work once more became more prominent, especially on such releases as 1993's Counterparts. During the mid ‘90s, Lifeson participated in one-off side project, Victor, a group that issued a self-titled debut in 1996, and included appearances by Primus bassist Les Claypool and I Mother Earth vocalist Edwin. In addition to his Rush duties, Lifeson has guested on recordings by other artists, including Platinum Blonde (1985's Alien Shores), Tom Cochrane (1995's Ragged Ass Road), and 3 Doors Down (the 2001 ‘bonus CD' reissue of Better Life). Besides music, Lifeson also owns a small invention company, The Omega Concern, and is one of the owners of a Toronto restaurant, The Orbit Room.
