What does it sound like?:
A first vinyl release (five albums plus a download code) of this set that originally appeared as a cd/dvd in 2013, being put together from two 2012 shows on Rush’s US tour. Live albums seem to have appeared thick and fast during the latter stages of the band’s career, this set originally appearing only a couple of years after 2011’s Time Machine release. Nevertheless, this is a good album, with the band being accompanied by a nine piece string ensemble for the second half of the show. That’s not always an experiment that works, with the volume of the band often drowning out the strings, but on this occasion the sound is well balanced, although whether that reflects what is was like on the night is perhaps a different matter! The first half of the show focuses on the band’s less guitar-centric eighties albums, such as Power Windows, Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Hold Your Fire. Need I say the performances are spot on, although I do detect a change in Geddy Lee’s voice, his range being noticeably lower these days. The second half of the show features ten songs from the band’s final studio album Clockwork Angels, an album it took me a long time to really get into, but one I have gradually come to regard as one of their finest. The string ensemble really adds another element with a soaring performance that augments the band’s sound. The show rounds off with a few old favourites for the road including YYZ, Tom Sawyer and Spirit Of Radio before inevitably ending with 2112. Great stuff, and you even get a handful of bonus tracks such as Middletown Dreams and Manhattan Project, together with a soundcheck runthrough of Limelight.
What does it all *mean*?
Much as I love Rush, I have to deduct a point for including no less than three drum solos!
Goes well with…
Live albums and remembering a great band, sadly now defunct.
Release Date:
11 October
Might suit people who like…
Rush, inventive rock.
Lando Cakes says
I am a huge fan of Clockwork Angels – they went out on a high. As I’ve got the DVD, I don’t think I’ll be forking out again for the vinyl though.
Cozzer says
I went to see them on this tour (Birmingham NEC) and as Lando points out: they went out on a high. I very much enjoyed the string ensemble who were particularly effective on tracks like The Garden. Geddy Lee’s voice had been on the wane for a few tours before Clockwork Angels but it didn’t seem to matter that much on the night. Am not sure about what it sounds like in the comfort of one’s living room however? Perhaps a bit of auto-tuning has been employed just to sweeten things up.
One band I wished could have kept going but I understand completely why they jacked it in when they did.