RangerXT

That's an instrumental, though. lol.

In "Afterimage", the synth bass riff in the middle section (and carrying on into the guitar solo) is great. Losing it has a great synth sequence in 5/8 that opens the song that I particularly love. I also love countdown as well. Also the grand designs sequence is lovely. Honestly I could go on lol.

It's from the Auburn Hills show during the Presto tour in 1990. I don't know what gen VHS is widely spread, but it's not a first gen tape. The Time Stand Still DVD came with the real pro-shot footage from that night as bonus material. The VHS tape is the full show and they're exactly the same source, but the VHS is far worse quality. Thanks TFE but I'm looking for the 30 second or whatever it is montage from the documentary. I just thought it was very well done and slightly funny the way they did that. If you liked that you might like the Closer To The Heart video they did for Different Stages that draws from four or five videos. I believe it was 1 video source, but multiple audio sources because the audio was corrupted or something. I guess it wasn't too bad because footage from the same night was released as an R40 Boxset bonus with 7-ish songs

7 tours I believe. While I do like that song, I think a few tours could have done without in in favor of another GUP song that wasn't played much (Afterimage, Kid Gloves, Red Lenses, etc.)

Why out of all their hits did New World Man hit #1? I mean, it's a great song, but, songs like Tom Sawyer and TSOR would seem way more likely and indeed way more "classic" then New World Man.

The Twilight Zone wasn't performed on this date unfortunately

I think that's the last we're going to see of any Presto Tour footage, but then I've always considered that to be the mid-life crisis tour. The set of non-Presto songs and the performances in general weren't very inspiring to me. No way to prove this, but I think when Neil went back to school at some point after the tour ended could have been an indication that there needed to find more inspiration on a more consistent basis. At this point the band weren't sure of touring anymore, and I think you can really tell by watching the footage. Don't get me wrong, the performances were good, but it was more just going through the motions then some other tours. Even their newer stuff could have been a little more energetic then they were, listening to Presto songs performed on other tours there is a spark of life to it which is somewhat missing on tour as well, which is sad because the same can be said for the actual studio recordings. That being said, Scars came off SUPER well, with the special effects, the performances, and really just everything. The band seemed to enjoy playing it as well. In my opinion the entire highlight of the tour was this song.

I agree; Contraband doesn't really tell us much at all, and even with that label, there was a possibility it was an unheard recording, or at least a better quality audience then what we got (which do exist, just look on youtube lol). They could have at least given us the date and the fact that it was audience so we knew what we were getting. Looking back I think it's a little fishy what they did too. If you look at how they marketed the release, they mentioned basically every single bonus included in the album except for The Twilight Zone contraband. They mentioned live at massey hall outtakes, covers (which weren't that great honestly), and the bonus dvd. But they avoided talking about the one thing most people bought it for so they wouldn't lose all their money. I feel cheated in a way but that being said, the packaging is great, the outtakes are great, I love the DVD, and the album has never sounded better.

Is it just me or do the Massey Hall Outtakes almost sound better then the actual All The Worlds A Stage recordings?

From what I understand (Not getting it yet.) they took it from the bootleg performance from D.C. which I really thought they've never do. They would never consider releasing something of that quality before. (Except for those poor versions of the Don Kirshner set of which there were better copies out there than what was used.) I wonder now that Ole owns the rights to the catalog if Rush's vault is off limits in some way unless there are more negotiations. Seems like something has changed since that transaction. It's a rare song so it isn't likely they have soundboard recordings of it. That being said, what is the most annoying thing about it is that i've heard bootlegs of the same show that sound better then what was used on the album... so idk what to think about it.

I really don't like that 2012 version at all (except for the bonus live tracks so I can't dump it.) I'll get the new CD/DVD at some point. (I do want the 7 inch (have the original) but not at that price point. The art is nice too (but not at that price point.) so I'll be settling for the no frills reissue somewhere down the road because I want those live bonus tracks. I'm going to guess The Twilight Zone comes from 12/31/76 which they could have recorded. (Bootleg sounds really bad) I don't think they would have randomly recorded a show in Washington DC in April 1977 (although a fan obviously did!) The live version cant be from 1976, because it specifically states its from 1977 in the tracklisting. My initial thought would have been that they played the song after the clock struck 12, but I checked the tape and that is not the case. That song was a rare occurrence for that tour. This is the other only known performance of it. Unless there are other bootlegs from that period that have surfaced? Maybe they have a soundcheck version that is of better quality. Hopefully it's a similar to what was performed in D.C. I always liked this version. Yeah, supposedly there are only 2 performances of the song (at least recorded, or at least what has showed up on bootlegs). Either it's the one recorded on the ATWAS tour in 77 in soundboard quality, a soundcheck like you said, an audience recording which we already have, or a completely different performance that no one knew was recorded. Personally as long as it sounds decent idc if it's a soundcheck or a soundboard, but I really don't want an audience recording. Rush won't release an audience recording. They've released soundboard recordings before (Rush In Rio) though. That's why i'm really excited for this release. The version of The Twilight Zone alone was justified by the purchase, im just a teeny tiny bit worried but I think even if it is an audience I would still like it. It's probably the most rare song played live out there Don't worry. They aren't going to release an audience recording from the '70s. Not going to happen. Got the album today... unfortunately it's exactly what happened. I In fact pretty sure i've heard better quality recordings on youtube then what i'm hearing as I type this. Pretty disappointed to be honest. I don't know what to say. Other than a similar indiscretion with the Don Kirshner set on R30 when they used MPEGS (even when there were better versions available) the quality control has always been high. Clearly their modus operandi has changed. Kind of inexcusable that it was a bootleg. Even more inexcusable that it wasn't the best available one. Unless of course I'm not getting the joke and that's why it's "Contraband." Lol after I listened to the version on the Anniversary Edition I looked on youtube for better quality recordings and the ones from the same show sounded better then on the album. And the 1976 performance sounds better too. Idk on one hand if they don't have a better recording then there isn't much more they can do but on the other at least use the best sounding performance available.

Also there is some footage from Buffalo, NY from 1980. Everyone knows about the footage talking about their 1980 tour with some short footage of 2112 playing, but there was also some footage featured of a different song, which suggests they have the full show on film (god I hope they do) I thought this was the footage shot by local news there. IIRC, the story was that was about it. Supposedly only short footage of one song existed, except they used footage of another song, which was not part of the news broadcast, so I don't know...

Ooops! I meant to put a link in but I guess I forgot.

Also there is some footage from Buffalo, NY from 1980. Everyone knows about the footage talking about their 1980 tour with some short footage of 2112 playing, but there was also some footage featured of a different song, which suggests they have the full show on film (god I hope they do)

I was watching a documentary on youtube called "RUSH - The story so far (1968 - 2002) and I noticed at about 25:31 they showed footage of TSOR from the roll the bones tour in Detroit, Michigan. Just a neat find, now I'm just waiting for it to be released on DVD!

I really don't like that 2012 version at all (except for the bonus live tracks so I can't dump it.) I'll get the new CD/DVD at some point. (I do want the 7 inch (have the original) but not at that price point. The art is nice too (but not at that price point.) so I'll be settling for the no frills reissue somewhere down the road because I want those live bonus tracks. I'm going to guess The Twilight Zone comes from 12/31/76 which they could have recorded. (Bootleg sounds really bad) I don't think they would have randomly recorded a show in Washington DC in April 1977 (although a fan obviously did!) The live version cant be from 1976, because it specifically states its from 1977 in the tracklisting. My initial thought would have been that they played the song after the clock struck 12, but I checked the tape and that is not the case. That song was a rare occurrence for that tour. This is the other only known performance of it. Unless there are other bootlegs from that period that have surfaced? Maybe they have a soundcheck version that is of better quality. Hopefully it's a similar to what was performed in D.C. I always liked this version. Yeah, supposedly there are only 2 performances of the song (at least recorded, or at least what has showed up on bootlegs). Either it's the one recorded on the ATWAS tour in 77 in soundboard quality, a soundcheck like you said, an audience recording which we already have, or a completely different performance that no one knew was recorded. Personally as long as it sounds decent idc if it's a soundcheck or a soundboard, but I really don't want an audience recording. Rush won't release an audience recording. They've released soundboard recordings before (Rush In Rio) though. That's why i'm really excited for this release. The version of The Twilight Zone alone was justified by the purchase, im just a teeny tiny bit worried but I think even if it is an audience I would still like it. It's probably the most rare song played live out there Don't worry. They aren't going to release an audience recording from the '70s. Not going to happen. Got the album today... unfortunately it's exactly what happened. I In fact pretty sure i've heard better quality recordings on youtube then what i'm hearing as I type this. Pretty disappointed to be honest.

He did at least do a solo in "Show Don't Tell".

Singing, triggering samples, and playing that complex bassline would have been impossible, even for Ged.

It should be noted that they have even more shows recorded then the ones you listed... many shows from Roll The Bones, full show of GUP tour, more from counterparts, like 17 more shows recorded from T4E, and probably shows we don't even know they recorded that haven't been leaked.

That's why I hate most of the 1990s setlists. They made a huge mistake when they started cutting hits for new songs that didn't go over well. I mean, on the Presto tour, they thought it was a good idea to cut f***in' The Spirit Of Radio for the beginning of the tour. I always want to hear the new songs rather "the hits" myself. I'd rather hear Subdivisions than Vapor Trail any day Why? There are already 6 official versions of that, not counting the 1000's of times it's made it to bootlegs. Vapor trail has not one single live recording. I would drop any or all of their hits in a heartbeat to hear some more rare songs.

It plays on the radio at least a few times a week where I live... it definitely is one of their hits.

Of course!!

Just about every solo from the "synth period" is gold. Emotional, tasteful, all have great sounds. Songs like Afterimage, Emotion Detector, Subdivisions, Digital Man, Open Secrets to just name a few. That being said, the 90's had some amazing ones as well, like "Cut To The Chase", "Animate" (basically every single song on CP), Ghost Of A Chance, Dreamline (especially live), Totem Pole, etc. Oh who am I kidding i've never disliked 1 single solo from Alex he's just the freaking bomb

"Hand Over Fist" is the most random song they could have brought out. I've listened to that album hundreds of times and don't think I've ever thought about that song one way or the other. I guess it's not bad but...really? That's the one Neil wanted to play? In hindsight, I remember Presto getting somewhat of a similar reaction in 2010 for some being an oddball song to bring out, but gradually I warmed up to it especially after hearing it live a second time on the 2011 leg of the Time Machine Tour. I do wonder now if Hand Over Fist would've fared better with the audience than How It Is live... Both tracks from VT just kill the set. VT has great songs, and a great energy to them that really translate well live.

A lot of the VT material would work really well live, yet as of now we only have 6/13 songs played