Disco de Rush: “Different Stages”

The fourth live release by Rush, "Different Stages" followed the usual pattern of 4 studio/1 live disk, but both with featuring material primarily from the previous four releases.

This set spans the entire career of Rush, focusing mostly on the 1974-1981 releases, and then the 1990s releases after Presto. Rush was very generous with this three-disk set, and with over 3.5 hours of music, there's a lot of bang for your buck.

I agree with other reviewers that the sound is good, but not great. Still, the instruments come through very clearly, especially Geddy Lee's bass and Neil Peart's drums. Alex Lifeson's guitar sounds get muddy sometimes, but the tones that he uses and energy of his performance injects these songs with a lot of life. His playing breathes emotion into these performances, whereas Lee and Peart are more the technical rhythm players. It's a good balance. Geddy Lee's vocals sound better on the 1994 and 1997 recordings, especially on the later material, for which he was able to adjust his changing voice. He still hits the notes in Analog Kid, but Freewill and Spirit of Radio have taken some adjustment. On the 1978 concert disk, his vocals sometimes have that shrieking banshee quality, especially with the very early material like Anthem, Fly By Night and Bastille Day. Lee's vocals can be said to be an acquired taste, but here's a guy who has learned to use his voice better over time, especially in live performance with the difficult instrumental tracks he has to play simultaneously.

The best part of hearing live performances of favorite songs is hearing what changes and surprises the artists bring us.

Set two includes many of the usual hit tracks, like Test for Echo, Tom Sawyer and Freewill. There's also a great cut of the instrumental Leave that Thing Alone, followed by an update of Peart's drum showcase, The Rhythm Method. I also liked the version of Natural Science even better than the studio version on Permanent Waves. YYZ rocks and has a teaser of Cygnus X-1.

Set three is the 1978 show from London. I really liked how By-Tor and the Snow Dog merges into Xanadu at the chimes part. Very well done. There are a lot of cuts from Farewell to Kings, and Lifeson does some cool chorus washed guitar on Cinderalla Man. Cygnus X-1 has the great stop/start math rock that Rush was famous for, and the Working Man/Fly by Night/In the Mood combo is very effective. My one critique with this disk is that Peart's drums were sometimes too busy, stepping on the other musicians, something that is more tempered on the later cuts.

Great jams from one of the greatest jam bands ever. Highly recommended as a first live disk for fans. Then get Exit...Stage Left.

Whenever a band releases a double CD live set, people go nuts, but where was all the excitement when Rush decided to release a triple CD live set? The answer is there wasn't any. If Rush really wanted to make news, they should announce their disbanding. This album was not released for ratings on the charts (I don't believe it peaked past 100), but was released for the fans and the fans have been more than patient. This defintive collection of live acts is compiled from 3 separate tours which gives any Rush or non-Rush fan a good look at their live style from across the decades. Sure they may not be the most personable band on stage, but they bring the house down! Geddy Lee is simply one of the most powerful frontmen ever. Who else is so versatile on vocals, keys and bass guitar? The same goes with Neil Peart, the professor. His drumming is the cornerstone of all Rush tunes. And then of course is Alex, an underrated genuis of the contextual school of guitarists. These three rock both in the studio and live, which this compilation proves.

Whether a fan of early metal, powerchord Rush or a mellower, progressive Rush fan, this album gives you a good taste of the other side and hopefully both will meet in the middle somewhere. Though most of the shows on the first two disc were taken almost exclusively from the Chicago act, they are still great songs. Many complain that there are too many repeats, but Rush does evolve and I find something new in every live rendition of every classic song. This is a must for the Rush die-hards. It would be too much for the Rush uninitiate, whom I advise to listen to the classics like Permanent Waves, 2112, Moving Pictures and Counterparts before moving on to Different Stages. Though Rush may be out for the count right now, their music endures and when one hears them live, their music shakes the firmament of the heavens.

Quite simply, this is Rush's best live experience out there...aside from the real thing, of course. All the World's A Stage was raw and gushed energy, but drew from a limited number of songs. The integrity of Exit Stage Left and A Show of Hands was diluted by overdubs and polished production jobs. But this is the real deal, with tons of intensity and reams of great songs to perform.

There are three CDs in this collection. While it is impossible for a single live release to capture the true scope of Rush's career, this package does a nice job. The first two discs (the "main" ones) draw heavily from the band's most recent releases: Roll the Bones, Counterparts, and Test for Echo. The stirring "Bravado," the energizing and ironic "Resist," and the aggressive "Stick It Out" are just a few examples of the newer songs given intense live treatment here. A number of the band's well-known classics are here as well. "The Spirit of Radio," "The Trees," "Freewill," "YYZ," and an incredible version of the band's best loved epic, "2112." Unlike the version found on All the World's a Stage, this performance keeps every section of the song intact (whereas the older one is 5 minutes shorter). Without a doubt, the song is a devastating feat of hard rock in the live setting. Explosive riffs and rapid-fire percussion, along with an intimate acoustic solo during part 3 validate the epic's standing as one of the bandss best works. "Closer to the Heart," the requisite concert staple is again performed here, and again it gets a fun jam tagged on at the end. Rare songs such as the emotionally charged "Analog Kid" and the utter masterpiece "Natural Science" are included. There isn't much from the Signals-to-Presto era, which is especially unfortunate in Presto's case because that album has yet to be covered sufficiently on a live recording. But hey, no one's ever 100% pleased with a live album...this one does come close, though.

The third disc, which is something of a bonus, was compiled from a show in London in 1978, during the A Farewell to Kings tour. The sound quality is as raw as it gets, which is a plus in that it means the energy is completely unadulterated. Here you can get the only live recordings of "Cygnus X-1 Book 1," "A Farewell to Kings," and "Cinderella Man." The crowd's reaction to the segue between "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" and "Xanadu" is one of the best moments on any live rock album.

The CDs here also present an interesting contrast in the band's development over the years. Back in 1978 the keyboards were simple, Peart's drum kit was a titanic thing, and hard rockin' riffs came hard and fast without relent. Geddy Lee's voice screamed at some high registers. Twenty years later, the band relies heavily on sequences synthesizers and backup vocals, and more melodically-savvy songs, with Lee singing at more relaxed octaves. (Compare the studio "2112" to the live version here!)

All in all, this is the best of Rush's four live albums. Hopefully the fifth will provide the Cynus X-1 saga in its entirety...that'd be a dream come true. As we wait, Different Stages sports enough awesome live music to make any Rush fan happy for a long time.

As brilliant as Rush are in the studio, they are the ULTIMATE live band. Their energy, creativity, and technical brilliance is multiplied by 100 in a live setting. While this is their fourth live album, I think it captures the feel of a Rush concert the best. Although "Closer to the Heart" has been on two other live efforts, the version here is by far the most passionate and energetic I've ever heard. The "jam" section of this song simply crackles with excitement. Other songs from Rush's later years such as "Bravado", "Nobody's Hero" and "Show Don't Tell" stand out as some of the best Rush has to offer. Less welcome are staples like "Spirit of Radio", "Tom Sawyer," and "YYZ" which are given little or no new treatments. While these are classic songs, far better live versions exist on "Exit...Stage Left", and their exclusion could have left room for some newer cuts like "The Pass", "Half the World" and "Double Agent". The biggest treat this album has to offer is a previously unreleased disc from a London concert circa 1978, which features such gems as "Cinderella Man" and "Cygnus X-1", previously unheard on any live collection. Bottom line: If you are a Rush fan, then you already own this. If you are just getting into them, this is a great overview of the live work of the 20th century's greatest live band.

Canadian power trio Rush's fourth live album entitled Different Stages was released in November of 1998.

This triple live album was released after the deaths of drummer Neil Peart's daughter Selena in August of 1997 and his first wife Jackie in July of 1998 to a car crash and cancer respectively. As a result, bass player/singer/keyboard player Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson decided to put Rush on indefinite hiatus and left the choice to Neil to either come back when recovered or call it a career.

As a result, Geddy and producer Paul Northfield sifted through the concert tapes that the band had recorded on their 1994 and 1997 sold out tours to come up with initially a double live album with most of the tracks on this album recorded in Chicago in June of 1997.

Discs one and two have the best versions of "Dreamline", "The Trees", "Nobody's Hero", "Stick it Out", "Closer to the Heart", "Test for Echo", "The Analog Kid", "Resist", "Leave That Thing Alone" and "Natural Science" I ever heard. The highlight though on the first two discs is the entire "2112" suite. The reason I say this was I was at the show they recorded this and Leave That Thing in Mansfield, Mass in June of 1997 at what was then known as Great Woods. Hearing the whole 2112 piece live was spellbinding.

The other tracks on the first two discs of this live album which are "Limelight", "Driven", "Bravado", "Animate", "Show Don't Tell", "Freewill", Neil's killer drum solo "The Rhythm Method", "The Spirit of Radio", "Tom Sawyer" and "YYZ" are all superb as well.

The double live disc changed to three when Geddy found an unused multi-track tape of a Rush performance from 1978 recorded at The Hammersmith Odeon in London on the band's 1977/78 Farewell to Kings tour. Originally, it was to go to radio but Geddy didn't like the way his voice sounded due to him having a cold at the time of the shows so they scrapped it. Then 20 years later, they decided to give the fans an added bonus live disc to Different Stages making the triple live album the price of a double (if that isn't bang for your buck I don't know what is).

The performances of "Bastille Day", "Something for Nothing", "Anthem", "Working Man", "Fly by Night", "In the Mood" rival the versions on All the World's a Stage. "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" is short but still good and the Farewell to Kings material, especially "Cygnus X-1" and "Xanadu" are excellent as is the title cut and the closing "Cinderella Man".

Like always, Different Stages went Gold immediately confirming Rush's place in history as the most successful rock band ever to come from Canada. Sales notwithstanding, this is the best Rush live album as you get Rush live from 1978 to 1997.

Highly recommended!