1/5/24: Leave That Thing Alone
Is the first instrumental track on our calendar the best?
Geddy Lee once said that “Leave That Thing Alone” is the best instrumental Rush ever wrote, and, yeah, I agree with him.
While there are more technically complex pieces (“La Villa Strangiato,” for sure) and more beloved pieces (you haven’t lived until you’ve seen an entire arena of fans air-drumming to “YYZ”!), “Leave That Thing Alone” is like fine whisky: It develops the more you spend time with it.
A good instrumental piece conjures a narrative. To me, the main guitar riff in “Leave That Thing Alone” sounds a lot like the song’s title, repeated plaintively: “Hey, leave that thiiiing alone.” Meanwhile, the rhythm section pushes back, bass and drums taunting the guitarist, playing keepaway with whatever it is the guitarist wants for himself. (Maybe the spotlight?)
The song ends with the guitar giving up halfway through the riff to join in the fun with the guys in the rhythm section instead.
I don’t know if that was actually the intent of the song. Probably I’m reading too much into it! But hey, overanalysis is just part of the fun of being a Rush fan, isn’t it?
Anyway, “Leave That Thing Alone” is delightfully playful, with some truly excellent bass and drum work, and it shows off what can be done when three masters of their instruments come together as one.
Many moving parts in this song and mood changes too. I like it and one where you have to have eyes in the back of your head to know what’s coming next!
I dunno if I'd put it up with YYZ or La Villa Strangiato, but that could be partly because by the '90s I was less Rush obsessed than during the late 70s and 80s. I just saw that this was nominated for a Grammy for best instrumental! I had no idea! I knew Rush won lots of Junos, but I never knew about the Grammys. "Leave That Thing Alone" to me shows how influenced they were by the more arty new wave scene, but in a less obvious way than, say, Power Windows and Grace Under Pressure. I get bits of Duran Duran, some Talk Talk and even a bit of Tears For Fears mixed in. That bass line is killer and is sort of like the "vocal line" of the song, the storyteller bit. It's got a consistent mood, sort of reflective and shimmery, it isn't trying to do too much.