4/25: Broon's Bane (LIVE)

This guitar solo is named for the band's long-time producer

“Broon's Bane” is a guitar solo that serves as the lead-in to “The Trees” on Rush’s first live album, Exit Stage Left.

It’s a weird little classical piece—Alex, doing something weird? I’m SHOCKED—one that seems designed mostly to show off Alex’s masterful finger-picking while giving Neil a chance to catch his breath. Even though it’s in a haunting minor key, the tune is playful and creative—it must have been difficult to play, night after night, and still embody the song’s improvisational charm.

The ‘Broon’ mentioned in the song’s title is the nickname of Terry Brown, the band’s long-time producer. You can imagine how Alex’s improvisational genius could prove to be the ‘bane’ of any producer! But Terry was game for it, and his fingerprints are all over the 70’s and early 80’s Rush sound.

If I recall correctly from Geddy’s autobiography, it was when the band started to veer into the synth-pop sound that they ended up parting ways with Terry, who just couldn’t wrap his head around the new vibe.