Every band has their 'Stairway to Heaven' song

So says James Lileks, speaking in today's Bleat (the "joint" is apparently some local Minneapolis establishment):

I had no idea Aerosmith filmed a video in the joint in 1998, and, having learned it, I couldn’t care less. I think I liked them in high school, but you were supposed to like them. I remember explaining to a peer that “Dream On” was their “Stairway to Heaven.” He didn’t get it. See, every band has to have a Stairway. It’s “Dream On” for Aerosmith. It’s “Ridin’ the Storm Out” for REO Speedwagon. The lights flickered on; he got it. Oh! Long pieces that were about weather and wizards and stuff and started slow and got pumped up. Yes, my friend. It is the way of Rock.

So I posed the question to my bride, who still holds a soft spot in her heart for a certain '70s rock band: What is Styx's "Stairway" song? "Duh," she quickly responded, "Come Sail Away!!"

And it's only fair that I ask myself the same question about my favorite '70s band, Rush, even though I reserve the right to change my answer after I think about it a bit. My first thoughts went to 2112, but that's up and down in intensity throughout the piece. There are a few others, like The Trees or Closer to the Heart, that have that start-slow-and-build pattern, but they don't really fit the long-pieces mold that Lileks is talking about. Perhaps the closest would be the lesser-known Natural Science.

But overall, I'm not sure any Rush song really fits that mold. And really, that's why I always liked them.