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The Live Albums Of The 21st Century, best to worst.


fraroc
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6. R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour

I'll always love R30, but there were too many covers on it, and there are missing songs on the DVD and audio versions.

 

5. Clockwork Angels Tour

Poor Geddy was not in top form that night. The setlist was awesome, though.

 

4. Snakes & Arrows: Live

Geddy sounded great on this one, but the setlist wasn't great and everything was played too slowly. It's a bit of a chore to listen to.

 

3. Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland

Yes, it had all of Moving Pictures, and yes, it was a good performance all around. Nothing really stands out, save for an awesome version of The Spirit of Radio. But I don't really have any complaints about it.

 

2. R40 Live

Awesome setlist. Just awesome. Geddy sounded a little better on this one than he did on Clockwork Angels Tour, and the whole concept of moving back through time was executed very well. Alex wasn't having a great night, but I can forgive him.

 

1. Rush in Rio

I don't care about the audio quality (I love Vapor Trails, after all). The setlist was great, the crowd energy was crazy, and the performance was perfect.

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S&A

R40

Rush in Rio

R30

Time Machine Tour

Grace Under Pressure Tour

Clockwork Angels

 

GUP Live was released in 1984 on VHS...

 

But they released it as a CD in 2006 with the Replay video box...

 

I still love the production on Exit Stage Left....Oh wait...It wasn't live??

 

It was...just a stale sounding live album... I'd like to hear some of the stuff they recorded from the previous tour...still holding out that they'll release it some day.

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My favorite live Lp'S of all time are as follows

 

#1 Wishbone Ash Live Dates

#2 ATWAS

#3 REO Speedwagon Live you get what you play for

#4 Different Stages

#5 UFO Strangers In the Night

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S&A

R40

Rush in Rio

R30

Time Machine Tour

Grace Under Pressure Tour

Clockwork Angels

 

GUP Live was released in 1984 on VHS...

 

Grace Under Pressure (live video plus The Big Money video) was released in 1986 (April I think) and simulcast on MTV and radio (I recorded it from 92.3 K-Rock in NYC at the time and a friend of mine recorded from MTV on video.)

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S&A

R40

Rush in Rio

R30

Time Machine Tour

Grace Under Pressure Tour

Clockwork Angels

 

GUP Live was released in 1984 on VHS...

 

the album wasn't released until 2006

 

At first as part of Replay X3 (2006) and then later on it's own several years later (2009?)

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R30 overall best. It's a very good set list, and I don't have the allergic reaction to the covers that some do (when Crossroads is played this well, we don't wish it wasn't there). And the mix of this is perfect. This is the last live album where the drums sounds PERFECT in every conceivable way. Loud, powerful, and completely clear.

 

Snakes & Arrows could have been incredible if they didn't slow every song down. Not sure why that was a thing, if they aren't doing it anymore 10 years later. I also tend to skip the S&A tunes on this set list. The weakest set list of the bunch.

 

CA has killah setlist and the strings, but the sound is a bit poop. I've come to enjoy CA Live more and more.

 

R40 has a great set list, but mix is a bit poop and this probably has more flubs than any other of their releases. Some of the songs are straight up poor performances.

 

Rush in Rio has that energy, but a mix that makes listeneing to it without the video to enjoy as well completely pointless. As a live album it's shit.

 

Time Machine is tough. It's a bland setlist, but a crowd pleaser. They play well, but some of that slow playing comes through again (or at least sounds like it does). And Geddy sounds like shit. That said, it's not the worst audio mix of the bunch.

 

 

Overall I'd go

1) R30

2) CA

3) R40

4) S&A

5) TM

6) RiR

7) S&A

Edited by puffyshirt
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My list ranked in terms of audio quality, song selection, and my memory of the tour (CD only, not the video - though I think my list stands up for the videos as well):

 

1. R40

2. Snakes And Arrows Live

3. R30

4. CA live

5. Rio

6. Time Machine

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Sonic quality get's the biggest weight. Setlist second, performance third, packaging fourth.

 

 

R40

 

R30

 

Snakes And Arrows

 

Clockwork Angels

 

Rush In Rio

 

Time Machine

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Not ready yet to rank yet, but i listened to rush in rio today. Man what a fun listen. And a great setlist. I understand the production complaints but it hasn't affected my live for this one
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1. Rush in Rio. The set is great, the crowd is just amazing, the band was great &, unlike many, have no problems with the mixing. The DVD quality I actually like. Yes it was recorded on the fly so its a little rough, but thats ok with me.

 

2. S & A. Again, a great set list, a good crowd and the band was on.

 

3. R40. Love the crowd on the CD. On the DVD you can't here the crowd as much, so in some ways I prefer the CD to the DVD. Give me a little while to let this one settle in with me. Have not watched or listened to it enough yet.

 

4. TMT - strong setlist and great crowd. Unfortunately there are 2 songs from CA on this that I don't care for.

 

5. CA - Geddy was not having a good night. Set list had to many CA songs on it that I don't care for. Lucky for me they did however play all the CA songs I like. Plus a lot of good non-CA songs.

 

6. R30. Not thrilled by the setlist. Did not like the jumble of old songs they teased me with at the start - either play them fully or don't tease me with parts of them. I did come out with a much greater appreciation of "Between the Wheels" as a result of this tour however. Neil mentions in one of his books that the entire group had an off night and somehow, to me, it shows. Not a fan of this one.

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My favorite live Lp'S of all time are as follows

 

#1 Wishbone Ash Live Dates

#2 ATWAS

#3 REO Speedwagon Live you get what you play for

#4 Different Stages

#5 UFO Strangers In the Night

Add Made in Japan and this would be perfect.Had Live Dates on vinyl since 76(I was 14)and still play it at least twice a month(on cd).Back to the subject matter,Rio,R30,S&A,CA,TM
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