puffyshirt

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

Your picking up the taped background vocals that are triggered during the show. Yup. Vapor Trails is probably still their album that requires most background samples to be triggered. There are just endless layers of music on that album.

You might find better performances, but you'll never find better quality audio, which is the main reason I find most boots unlistenable.

I'd point to Between the Wheels and Red barchetta as the stinkers on the album. Lakeside Park is probably technically the worst one, but that falls straight into "what did you really expect" territory. It's just incredible that we even got to hear that song.

Folks change their minds all of the time about any number of things based on any number of things and new information. Even legends that many hold up as near to perfect and above typical human frailties that befall the rest of us... :) Haha I dunno, I feel like even entertaining the idea of it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of who these guys are, and what has kept them going all these years. Geddy released a solo album in their hiatus. If things were to continue without Neil, it may be as something, but it wouldn't be as Rush, and it wouldn't be playing Rush songs. Yes I guess you are right. The 40 years or so I have been following them and listening I have mostly just listened to the music. I guess I am tending to look at them a bit to much like human beings who can see the handwriting on the wall of their own mortality that could lead them to do something that might even surprise royally piss off even the most rabid super fan... ;) :codger: Fixed it for you ;)

I bought the physical copy to have in my collection, but in all reality, it will stay sealed because it's 2015 and I literally don't have one single CD drive in my home (I suppose I have my game consoles, but I'm not even sure if modern game consoles play CDs). My laptop, my computers, no CD drive. And I sure as shit don't keep a CD player lying around.

Folks change their minds all of the time about any number of things based on any number of things and new information. Even legends that many hold up as near to perfect and above typical human frailties that befall the rest of us... :) Haha I dunno, I feel like even entertaining the idea of it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of who these guys are, and what has kept them going all these years. Geddy released a solo album in their hiatus. If things were to continue without Neil, it may be as something, but it wouldn't be as Rush, and it wouldn't be playing Rush songs.

lol where did we get the idiotic idea they would replace neil on drums? has 30 years of consistent "I don't want to play if it isn't with those other two guys" comments from each member not sunk in?

It's at an angle and you can see the ball is higher up in the image My opinion is that the font is smaller on the CD than the dvd so it all fits the 4.75 x 4.75 CD square, but it's the same exact image (perhaps sized down a little, not squished). The ball looks proportionally the same size on both. I thought this got covered earlier in this brilliant thread. :) The ball is pushed further up. http://i.imgur.com/SnKDwGd.png?1 These features are pushed below the text when in the DVD it is in between We'll disagree then. I think the only material difference is the font size of "RUSH" and "R40 Live". We'll see who wins on Friday. :D http://i.imgur.com/irrPPPT.jpg?1 It's official. Laziest cover ever made :P

Yeesh, Alex really flubs his solo in YYZ. LOVE Hemispheres here. So good.

I had a bit of a problem too. I preordered over a month ago, when I saw the album was listed as only $13.99. I automatically got CttH and Roll the Bones, as I should have. But then today, my preorder didn't unlock, it only says "complete album for $16.62" (the album has changed to $19.99). I didn't ever get overcharged, but it looks like I have no way of actually getting that 13.99 preorder I made. Which is annoying. I've just been listening on Apple Music and downloading for offline play. It's all the same to me.

I dunno man, if you can listen to the first 30 seconds of Spirit and tell me the drums are as audible as you'd like them to be, then I suppose you're in for a real treat with this mix haha and I envy you. Yeah, I forgot about that one. You're right, this isn't as bad as that one was.

I agree. I have always hated that alteration with a passion. Loved R30 when they played it straight through. I believe they also did the same on the Time Machine tour (hard to remember because I never listen to that brick walled bad mix of a CD). Red Barchetta is arguably my all time favorite Rush song. For me the signature high water mark was actually Exit Stage Left. It is perfect and sonic wise it is CD quality. Geddy's bass is flat out nasty on Exit Stage Left. I look forward to hearing it for myself on the Blue Ray tonight. At the Tampa show they absolutely nailed every song (except the solo in RTB which was flubbed beyond bad). Barchetta sizzled that night too. I have a very conflicted relationship with ESL. It's an incredible performance, really very awesome. But I feel like the mix and production take away so much of why I love Live albums (and I really do; I almost never listen to Rush studio albums anymore, I'll always take a good Live album if I can get it). The mix on ESL just seemed so toothless to me. R30 is my favorite because it's just very powerful. It's loud, it's raw, it's mixed incredibly well, and it's a good performance. The only flaw to R30 to me is some songs fall under the weight of Alex's "wall of sound" guitar sound he was so into then. But Limelight, Red Barchetta, Animate, Spirit of Radio, those are all perfect performances to me, and they get me full-on fired up. And I know it isn't their song, but R30 Crossroads is perfect. The second solo f***ing blisters!

Oh, and I will say this; whoever cut this album left in the stage banter/song intros, which I think is good. However, he placed them at the beginning of the song, when to me the ideal placement is at the very end of the song prior (meaning Between the Wheels should end with the intro to Losing It, and then Losing it starts with just music). I like being able to hear the banter if I'm listening to the album straight through, but if I'm just picking and choosing songs, I just want to get to the music. - As well, The Anarchist begins with the last little bit of the concert intro video, which just so happens to be the into chords to Working Them Angels, and that really threw me for a loop. You start the album and you think you're listening to a different song!

Okay, I've listened to it some more, so I thought I'd share some further thoughts; -There's a reason they shared the songs they did. Subdivisions and Xanadu are incredible, even despite the mix. Distant Early Warning and Animate are great performances too. - As much as I shit on the mix, the man knew what to do with Mink in Losing It. He's easy to hear, and the solo at the end is given some real love. The ay it bounces between channels is INCREDIBLE - Red Barchetta is a terrible performance, they just weren't on their A-game. R30 Red barchetta is my personal high water mark for any Rush live performance, I think that song is great. So to hear Alex really not nail the solo is a shame. Also, I didn't get to hear this song in concert, so I was disappointed to see they made that alteration where they "drop the beat" after Alex's solo, and kind of build up from basics. I've always hated that alteration, and I still hate it here. Completely kills the momentum of the song. - The guitar in One Little Victory sounds PERFECT. I don't know what's so different between this and other versions (particularly R30, where it's at peak "wall of sound"), but the guitar in this sounds almost exactly like the album. Which is great. It's a great performance of that song. Anyway, those are some updated thoughts. I'm coming around on it, I think I was being too harsh on my first listen. I was, and am, really let down by either how the drums were mic'd or mixed. But Other aspects are great. Geddy's bass sounds pretty much perfect the whole way through. Can't wait to hear what you guys think!

It's not the bitrate, it's the mix

What happened with the dual channel iTunes mix?? Everything I've heard so far has been on YouTube, which I assume is the blu-ray audio mix, and it's been great. Everything is balanced (generally, there's never enough hi-hat), and given some prominence. But hoooooly hell, is this iTunes mix a shit show. You can't hear anything! Well, to be specific, you can't hear drums. If anyone wants a barometer to judge listen to the first 30 seconds of spirit of radio. Everyone knows that, the opening section and how it should sound, by heart. This is a mess! The drums are at worst inaudible, and at best sound like they're in an echo chamber. There are awful mix choices all over the place. The synth in Distant Early Warning is pushed way to the back. Edit: I did some comparisons on my computer, listening to the itunes version then the YouTube video, and I may have been a bit harsh. I think it isn't the CD mix, so much as some of the mixing choices for certain songs. The spirit of radio intro really threw me off, the drums are so bad. And the intro to YYZ is almost inaudible. Some songs fare better. Headlong flight is mixed much better here than CA Live.

You talking about the last note he hit during the looping 7 pattern, right before he drops down to the sustained A power chord? Yeah that note sounded wrong, it threw me off a bit. I'm amazed they didn't overdub that part. It sounded wrong because it was wrong. That said, it's a forgivable flub given how much his skills have deteriorated these past dozen or so years. I feel bad for the guy and wish that he had friends close to him who could have said to him years ago, "you had an excellent run...there's no shame in throwing in the towel...the longer it takes you to hang it up, the more distance there will be between the top of your game and when you finally quit". I feel like you live under a bridge somewhere

The performance on ESL is so good. Too bad the mix is such crap, that takes all sense of live energy and urgency out of it.

Never heard of that board, and it sounds like a pain in the ass. I already frequent too many places on the internet that are like that. The relative maturity of this place is one of the reasons I like it.

R40 randomly disappeared from the itunes store, anyone know why? It isnt delayed in north america too, is it?

The vocals are really good. The way his voice goes down at the end of some lines are an excellent adaptation.

http://www.youtube....h?v=PlmvdK3yzvs

We know like 1% of the entire situation, our view is stitched together from a few radio and internet interviews. There's a good chance he's told Geddy and Alex no, many many times. And in their head they might know he said no, but in their hearts they know he's said no before too. So why doesn't he just say it bluntly in interviews? a) Because business and PR reasons b) Because he's Neil Peart, and he probably looks at the dozens of bands who have "officially" called it quits only to pick up and tour three years later, and thinks that's incredibly tacky and mildly manipulative. Neil owes us almost literally nothing. He doesn't owe it to us to give us a "straight answer". He's given us (and his band mates) much more of his physical, mental, and emotional self than most men could ever dream to. So for any of us to say he's "dragging fans along" is one of the most obtuse, bullheaded statements. For us, it's just a matter of if we get to see Rush again. In the gran scheme of things, those are incredibly low stakes. For Neil (and Alex and Geddy), it's a matter of how they want to spend the rest of their lives, and if they all have the strength to do it all again. Guess what? That's probably a pretty hard decision, and mere months after finishing a healthy tour probably isn't the time when he's going to give a clear-headed answer.

I'm willing to bet Neil never even watches it. There's at least a decent chance he'll never know or care this video even exists. Another way of saying it is that it feels like a small window into a rift between them that is bigger than we think. Maybe, who knows. They're old, and getting older. The fundamental difference between "I want to play while I still can" and "I'm tired and want to enjoy not playing while I still can" is pretty big, and would cause a rift between anybody, let alone people at such crucial points in their lives. I feel like they should just settle on new music. It still lets them play and be creative, but isn't a long-term commitment for Neil. I don't blame Neil at all for not wanting to go through the mental and physical exhaustion of playing the same songs for the millionth time (with a few surprises thrown in, of course). But I also don't blame Geddy for feeling good, feeling healthy, and wanting to strike while the iron's hot. Neil (and probably Alex) must just not feel as good or healthy about it.