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On their first attempt at a live album,
"Rush" was criticized for having too raw a sound. I
personally loved it, as “All the World’s A Stage”
really delivered an in-your-face punch. Unfortunately, the band’s
subsequent live albums were over-processed and rather sterile
in comparison to "ATWAS."
Enter “Different Stages,” the
fourth live album in "Rush’s" history, and the
best of the bunch. The reasons are pretty simple: producers Paul
Northfield and bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee didn’t go into
the studio and “ ’mess’ with the tapes too much,”
as Lee writes in the liner notes. Instead, this set lets the
band’s music, and the individual musician's instrumental
prowess speak for itself.
When you have perhaps the best rock drummer
and best rock bassist, along with one of the more underrated
guitarists, on one stage, with more than 20 years of experience
together, that’s one hell of a statement.
The first two discs largely chronicle "Rush’s"
latest tour in support of “Test For Echo,” with a few
extra songs culled from 1994’s “Counterparts”
tour. Adding to the coherence and excellence of the package is
the fact that 15 of 22 tracks on those discs were taken from
a single show in Chicago. I envy the fans that were in attendance
that day, because it must have been an amazing show.
Highlights abound, from a near tear-inducing
rendition of “Bravado” with an extended jam-session
at the end, to the similarly emotional “Resist.” On
the harder edge, “Driven” is memorably captured with
an intriguing alternate-key version of the main riff explored
at length in the middle of the song.
Overall, my favorite part of the first
two discs comes in the form of “Analog Kid,” captured
back in 1994. Already among my favorite "Rush" songs,
it’s given almost magical life on this album, with Alex
Lifeson simply ripping it up on his solo.
Then, there’s the epic “2112,”
perhaps the defining song of the band’s 20-album career,
which they played live in its seven-movement entirety for the
first time ever on the T4E tour. That was the song I looked forward
to most in anticipating this album, and the band delivers spectacularly.
Sure, Lee stays away from the high notes he used to screech with
ease back in the 1970s, but who’s to say that isn’t
an improvement?
Ok, so this album isn’t “perfect”
– "Rush" could have done without including some
of the old standards. (Another live “Tom Sawyer?" Did
fans really need to hear “Closer To The Heart” again?)
They also missed a chance to use some of their best songs –
“The Pass” and “Ghost Of A Chance” come to
mind. But any complaint I may have is more than put to rest with
the inclusion of a third CD, capturing a 1978 show the band played
at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. From the “A Farewell
To Kings” tour, the disc spotlights that album’s cuts
from “Xanadu” to “Cygnus X-1” and even “Cinderella
Man,” a most welcome addition to the "Rush" canon.
“Different Stages” is dedicated
to Jackie and Selena Taylor, Neil Peart’s recently deceased
wife and daughter. Some pessimistic fans have pointed to those
tragedies as spelling the end of "Rush," and rumor
on the Internet has the third disc as a farewell present from
the band. If that’s the case, and I truly hope it isn’t,
"Rush" could not have staged a more spectacular exit. |
