Album: Moving Pictures
Year: 1981
. . .
It’s funny: Rush are known for getting a big sound out of just three guys — though Geddy Lee is three guys just himself, I guess — but they never met a musical space they couldn’t fill to the brim. I mean, that’s their thing, right? And so it’s ironic that their most feted song has plenty of space in it. And that space is created almost immediately: “Tom Sawyer” opens with an instantly iconic drum beat / synth wash which immediately got your attention seconds before Geddy starts singing.