Published on Jan 4, 2006
Rush has been and will always be one of my favorite
bands. I have been a disciple of drummer Neil Peart for many years
and consider the band’s concert I attended to be the best concert
I’ve ever seen.
This release shows no signs of a rusty Rush. It is is
a two CD/two DVD celebration of the band’s 30 years together- – DVD
1 is a concert with an extensive set list that pulls from 30 years
of material, while DVD 2 is bonus material with vintage
performances and interviews. The discs are the audio version of the
concert on the first DVD.
Rush have defined and refined their style after 30
years of playing together. When the opening riff of “Finding My
Way” begins the “R30 Overture” — an instrumental medley that
includes “Anthem,” “Bastille Day,” A Passage to Bangkok,” “Cygnus
X-1,” and “Hemispheres” — it’s like a breath of fresh air. Bassist
Geddy Lee still knows his way around his instrument and his
legendary status is immediately justified.
Then, guitarist Alex Lifeson launches the band into
“The Spirit of Radio” with confidence, while drummer Neil Peart
executes his drum parts with precision. He doesn’t smile much,
making Lee and Lifeson to balance his seriousness with some moments
that show the band as human. For example, the sound check for “The
Spirit Of Radio” in 1979 on the DVD shows Lee playing and sounding
quite off-time, resulting in Lifeson looking at the camera in
disbelief. It gives these progressive rock icons a human
aspect.
There are other priceless moments, like the
live-in-the-studio recording of “Closer To The Heart” and
“Freewill” from the 2003 Toronto Rocks concert. But while I enjoy
the band’s music and the idea of being able to see Rush whenever I
want, I was somewhat disappointed with the concert DVD. I don’t
understand the reason the camera shows the entire arena during a
guitar solo but then zooms in on Peart’s drum solo. On this
particular solo, Peart plays along to Count Basie’s “One O’Clock
Jump” as part of his solo. At the very least, the screen should
have split in half to show the entire stage and also a closeup of
Peart playing, but his solo is cheated by the way it is presented
on the DVD. While showing Peart’s feet during his double bass parts
slightly makes up for it, it comes across as amateurish to take the
camera through the crowd and to have hands in the air obscuring
Peart.
While recent songs like “One Little Victory” and
“Driven” are missing, I can understand why. The band includes
covers of “Summertime Blues,” “Crossroads,” “Heart Full of Soul,”
and “The Seeker.” These covers take the place of vintage
instrumental cuts like “La Villa Strangiato” or “YYZ.” It seems my
personal favorite, “Nobody’s Hero,” didn’t make the list
either.
What to include, what to exclude, what eras to
accent, what eras to dismiss — I wouldn’t envy that task
whatsoever. The “2112 / Xanadu / Working Man” medley as the
transition from the acoustic “Heart Full of Soul” is excellent and
balances out the omissions I mentioned.
Rush has been playing together for 30 years and this
release celebrates that fact. I hope that the band is around to
release a 40th anniversary celebration. This is an amazing release
even with the shoddy camera work during the concert DVD.