“You know, when we finished the R40 tour in 2015, it was difficult for Neil, and he had enough. By that point, I think Ged and I still had gas in the tank, and we still wanted to continue working,” Lifeson explained during a private event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in early October. “But it was what it was. The further I got away from it, the more I thought, ‘You know, it’s okay. We had 40 years. I’m tired of hanging around hotels, being away from family and all of that stuff.’ I felt that way for most of the last 10 years, really. I thought we had a great legacy and it’s okay.”
“Then, this guy [Geddy] came along and had some big ideas, and we talked and we started playing. I realized I love it so much. I love playing so much — and I’ve continued over these last years, doing other projects and still playing a lot,” the guitarist continues. “But we sat down and started playing some of the Rush stuff and I realized how hard it was to play these songs — you know, when you do it every day for 40 years, it’s not a big deal, really. You’re used to it. But when you’re away from it, you are a little bit more objective about the intense complexity of the music and the feel and the nuances and all of the things that go into making a Rush song and performance. To be challenged with that again, was really, really exciting. The more we started rehearsing and playing, the more I just fell in love with the idea of playing again.”
