The Writer

Six years and it's still here? No thanks to me, of course. I thought I had bolted this particular door behind me, but it seems not. Six years. I have some things to tell you, if you would hear them. And if you wouldn't, I'd hardly blame you - it's just some stranger, ranting on the internet after all. Still here? Very well, let us catch up. Six years ago, I wanted to be a writer. I had just completed this; my newspaper column had a few months left in it before staff changes at the paper and the inevitable fear of repeating myself brought it to a graceful ending. I turned those columns into a book, but no-one seemed particularly interested. So I turned to doing some actual, proper writing. Now there's an actual book (which contains no Rush references, I'm afraid. The next one won't, either, but the one after that... ). You should buy it, it's good... In other news, I now have two teenagers living in my house, there's a whole unreviewed Rush album to ponder, as well as another reimagined which I'd quite like to talk about if time permits. Those teenagers? They have both seen two Rush concerts, which means that I have seen twice as many as I had the last time we met. This might deserve an explanation or two. Let me take you back to May 25th, 1983 - the last date of the Signals tour. As I wandered back to the bus with YYZ ringing in my ears, I wondered when I would next see these guys in action, because there was definitely going to be a next time. Concerts like that don't happen all that often, and I wanted more. Funny how life turns out, isn't it? The next time Rush came anywhere near me, five years had passed, and I had - or so I thought - moved on. The full story is further up this thread if you're really interested. So the news I have for my 21-year old self was this: the next time you see Rush in concert, you'll be middle-aged; you'll have your wife and sons with you, and you'll be on a different continent. Like I say, funny.... Ever since I made all these posts in here all those years ago, I knew two things for sure: I needed to see Rush live one more time, and it probbably wasn't going to happen. The gods are malign, or the cards aren't aligned, or some such. Consider the obstacles - there has to be another Rush tour, which is never certain; there has to be a concert relatively close to me (Vancouver is 9 hours drive away, as is Edmonton); it has to fall at a convenient time - a weekend, say, which doesn't clash with school, soccer commitments, family holidays, and which we can do without breaking the bank. Over the years, the boys have become entirely indoctrinated in all things Rush. Even my wife, not exactly a fan, is tolerant and understanding. So there's that in our favour. But still, all those other factors... Snakes and Arrows came and went. Rush played Vancouver, but the boys were in a soccer tournament that weekend, and since I'm the coach, we can't just not show up. It's not to be, I assumed. I assumed wrong. Over the next couple of years, the boys get more and more enthusiastic; one is a drummer, one a guitarist - they could not have better role models. When Time Machine rolled around, they came to me with the tour dates. "Dad, can we...?" It was Christmas time; the date seemed to work - the start of a holiday weekend, the last day of school, no tournaments planned. Parents consulted, then made a plan. We would all go. I honestly don't know which of us was more excited at the prospect. Of course it was a spectacular, magnificent experience. How could it not be? Even the few problems we had added to the rich texture of the whole thing: No. 1 son was affected by the - let's call it 'aromatic' - atmosphere towards the end and was feeling a little queasy. No.2 son, still only 10 years old, couldn't see much at all for long periods of the first set, and was overpowered by the sheer noise of the whole thing. But we sorted those out, with the help of some earplugs and creative shuffling of the seating arrangements, and they saw... They saw something which they will never forget. We still talk about it; how 'Spirit of Radio" came tearing at us so loud and fast it took a full minute to adjust and understand what we were hearing; how loud all those people down there could be; how much fun those three guys on the stage were having; how many of our favourite songs got an airing (my wife only wanted to hear "Closer to the Heart"; I had told her I thought it had been retired. As the intro faded into the song proper, I looked along the row. My whole family, on their feet, singing at the top of their voices. Funny how things turn out, isn't it...); the drum solo, with No.1 son trying to record it on his phone and watch it and interpret it so he can start work on it as soon as he gets home. But none of that was the best thing about that weekend. The best thing about that weekend was that it was the Canada Day holiday. The next day we walked around Vancouver, taking in the sights and sounds, and looking resplendent in our new Rush t-shirts. Everywhere we went, people asked about the gig, or shared their favourite bits. The boys loved it, talking to complete strangers about a shared passion. As we headed down to Granville Island, we passed two guys - I think the only proper word for them is dudes - who smiled to see us and as we passed commented: "Way to go, dad - bringing the boys up right." Yeah, it was memorable. So, there are two albums and another gig to consider. What do you think? Shall I bring the story up to date? (you know what, I'm probably going to do it anyway, but it would be nice to know that someone might read it)

So here we are. Two years (and two months) on, and what have I learned? Well, first of all, of course, we're all two years older, and there is one more Rush album than there was when I started - I'm glad it fitted in, because I don't suppose I'll come back to this project in the future. (But ask me again when the next one comes out) Things which were dreams when I started have come to pass - my old life ended, my writing career got some kind of a kick start, and the exercise of doing this played a big part in that. Just today, I took delivery of my shiny new Canadian Permanent Resident card, and I found myself pondering whether I ended up living here because of Rush. Which is only partly ridiculous. As a Rush fanatic all those years ago, I would contend that I was more aware of, and more interested in, Canada than I would otherwise have been. When the discussions (and they had been going on for many years before we actually moved) came round, as they invariably did, to moving, Canada seemed this cool place, partly because it could produce people like Neil, Geddy and Alex. But of course there was and is a lot more (all of it more important) than that to moving one's entire family halfway round the world. However, a tiny part of me is here because I once heard 'Closer to the Heart' on a tinny transistor radio late one Friday night. So, in a way, this whole project has been a gesture of thanks to a band which meant a lot to me when I needed something to mean a lot to me, and who never really went away, even when I was steadfastly ignoring them. Two years ago, I genuinely had not heard three entire albums worth of material (none of us, not even the band, had heard a fourth, of course), and had only a passing acquaintance with several others. Now, I consider myself well-versed in Rush, if not quite the obsessive I once was. This, on balance, is a good thing. Many of the songs I rediscovered, having known them before, have made me smile or be otherwise grateful to have found them again, and more of the newer songs than I'd have expected have given me great enjoyment. Some songs I used to love have turned out to be thinner than I remembered (I'm looking at you, 'Madrigal'), while others I had neglected turned out to be worthy of my time - of anyone's time. I have been inspired to read Neil's published works, and have discovered, not exactly a kindred spirit, but someone I can readily relate to and understand (I enjoy my faint brush with fame much more than he does, but mine is on a scale so minuscule compared to his that they are scarcely the same thing at all - protozoa and blue whales are both living things, but they don't exactly compare.) Don't ask me to rank what I've heard in any kind of order - once upon a time, I'd have happily spent several days doing that, but now I don't really see the point. Different songs and different albums fit different moods and different times, and that's just how it should be. No point in getting me to figure out whether I prefer 'Moving Pictures' to 'Snakes and Arrows' - I don't know, and asking me isn't going to make the answer magically appear (I did find all the album / song polls on the forum, though. I note that my favourites are not the majority's favourites. This pleases me immensely.) This project took shape late one Friday night as I flew back from Milan to London. The flight was, as always, delayed, and I had just spent the most intense three days of my life helping to bring a major technical project online - mostly in three languages at once, one of which I hardly spoke at all any more - I was exhausted and keenly looking forward to spending at least a little more time with my family (although there were things I needed to follow up over the weekend, that could be done from home, and in reality I felt that the worst was over - the job was done, and I could relax at least a little.) I had my mp3 player lodged in my ears, the better to distract me from the privations of flying Alitalia, and I was listening to my small selection of Rush songs, when an idea (or Idea) took hold. I need a new project, I thought - I haven't written anything substantial in some time, but I don't have a lot of time, and it needs to be able to be done in bite-sized chunks. So I came here a few days later, scouted the lay of the land, and plunged in. I'll review all the studio albums, I thought. Then I thought that I may as well throw in the live ones, too. I'll keep it brief and top and tail each review with a few pithy thoughts. I'll be done by Christmas, and I'll be back in the swing of writing regularly. Oh, and to end it all, I'll compile a list of all the best bits. Funny how things turn out, isn't it? Anyway, to the one remaining order of business. A list. No; A List. The pieces of music (in chronological order) which have most struck me during this process. Note that this is not a list of my favourite Rush songs ever (although I'm sure that many of them are in there), but of the things which have most enlivened my dark evenings while I've been doing this. The forgotten gems, if you like - songs which surprised and delighted me in one way or another. No rules other than that - there won't necessarily be one from each album, or anything like that (although I'll try not to miss anything out), and I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to this more than you are, for I have no idea what I'm about to say. The Writer's List Of Rediscovered Gems, Some Of Which May Have Been Discoveries, Now I Come To Think Of It. Before and After - that skipped beat, and the fact that the 20-year-old me would have just loved this. In The End - just the perfect way to finish an album; still sounds fresh somehow. Fountain of Lamneth - if it's just a single CD we're making here, then 'Panacea' and 'Bacchus Plateau'. Not sure how often I'll listen to it all again now, but boy, did it surprise me at the time. Something for Nothing - "Ah, I love this band sometimes" By-Tor and the Snow Dog (live) - never my absolute favourite, but I was spellbound by hearing this live version again. A Farewell to Kings - I hadn't forgotten it, but I had forgotten how great it is. Cygnus X-1 - sumptuous. What I love most about this now is how much my children enjoyed it. And how much I did, too. Jacob's Ladder - mighty and muscular, possibly the biggest surprise I had in this whole journey, because I used to skip over it. Witch Hunt - that atonal chime: still gives me shivers. YYZ (live) - I wasn't about to miss this out. Brron's Bane / The Trees - my only cheat, I think. Not even remotely surprised by these, but I couldn't leave them out. The Analog kid - I'd almost entirely forgotten it, but what a song! New world Man - I'm still bouncing... Kid Gloves - another I used to skip; not any more. Territories - perhaps my favourite rediscovery; just a magnificent thing Middletown Dreams - Can't believe I hadn't heard this for so long; it kind of became my theme song for the move ("It's understood, by every single person who'd be elsewhere if they could") Open Secrets - that whole 'burned on the ceiling' thing. Like a new song for me. Closer to the Heart (live) - that ending: too good for words. Presto - I'd really underrated this for all those years. Red Tide - gravitas, my friends. You Bet Your Life - I really didn't expect to even like this, for some reason. Wrong again... Between Sun and Moon - still on the internal jukebox. Double Agent - woah: what the hell was that? Time and Motion - had to work hard at this; worth the effort, I feel. Driven (live) - the point at which I fell in love all over again. How It Is - once I'd read the book, it all made sense. Nocturne - all that stuff going on. O Baterista - of course; the big band still does it for me. Every time. La Villa Strangiato (live) - that's jazz... Seven and Seven Is - OK, so I lied; at least one from every album. Oh, those drums. The Larger Bowl - almost too clever for words. The Way The Wind Blows - still rocking, after all this time. And in such unexpected ways. And with that, I'm done. I'll stick around for a little while, just to see how things pan out, and I'll certainly take a copy of all this and will probably do something with it one day. I won't post again (although I might reply to the odd PM if pressed) - I think 100 not out is as good a way to end as any. Thank you all for putting up with the ramblings of an old fool, and I wish you well. The Writer.

The Way the Wind Blows Hold on - what's this? The opening sounds like an out-take from 'Feedback'; all bluesy guitar and spare drumming, before we're plunged into a solid Rush riff and a topical, biting Peart lyric. Which is all very solid and satisfying, but then.... But then, the whole thing glides down to a subtle, understated guitar part and Geddy launches into probably the most catchy and magnificent chorus since - well, since a long time (don't ask me to pin it down any further than that!). Honestly, this song is one of the best things to happen to my ears in many years. I keep sending it to people and forcing them to listen to it - it really is that good. In my mind's eye, I can see the huge crowd gazing up at the stage, and swaying (and singing, in some cases) along to this like - well, not like your typical Rush experience, to be honest. I like this - can you tell? Hope In which Mr. Lifeson attempts to answer the "Broon's Bane" question from a few posts back, by pointing out that he's still quite the accomplished and technical guitarist. I can hear all sorts of influences in this, most of them just out of reach of my memory; I recognise the general sound, but I can't quite pin it all down. In the end, what it reminds me is that there's a lot of life left in this band yet, if they want there to be. Funny how that thought is prompted by one of the vanishingly few songs they've ever recorded which does not feature all three of them. And it also causes me to reflect that this album is quite different in feel to what has come before it. That's a good thing, in case there should be any doubt. Faithless Wonderful opening, all bass and almost aimless voice, and then a solid, muscular riff leading us to more 'Freewill' (and 'Resist' again) musings. Interesting point, that: 'Freewill' kind of said it all, and the odd occasion on which Neil has found it necessary to reinforce the point, it has often sounded a little redundant. Not here, though - the only redundant thing I can hear is the repetition of the word 'faithless', which has one more syllable than is strictly necessary for the metre of the song. At first it bothered me, then I began to wonder if it wasn't deliberate. (Of course it is, these guys don't leave clunky-sounding things in their songs unless they mean to). So, it's another example of something jumping out at you because it's meant to - it makes you hunt down the words and figure out exactly what's going on. Also, let's hear it for proper song endings. I knew they wouldn't let me down... Bravest Face How often, during this whole project, have I suddenly been pulled up short by a lyric? To be expected, I suppose, but here it happens again. At first listen, I felt this was a little lightweight, then I thought about the words I was already singing along to. It's not the most complex or obscure argument we've ever heard, but sometimes the message is the message. By which I mean, that the way you phrase things can help you to have a different way of looking at them. I really like the way Neil uses the commonplace to illustrate the obvious (I know exactly which TV show he means, for instance, even if I don't watch it - it doesn't matter how much darkness you put in a show like that, the good guys win, the viewer gets their justice served, and, no, life's really not like that). Then, on top of that, there's some startlingly good guitar work (again - there's a theme here, no?) and a quite beautiful and un-Rush-like ending. Good News First Rumbles along nicely, then suddenly breaks down - again, there's a theme here - to a recognisably Rush-style melody and structure. For a moment or two, then we're back out into the 'Snakes and Arrows' movements - if this album were a film, it would be all hand-held Steadicam and jump-cuts - and a sweeping middle section, complete with tinny echo, which really made me smile for some reason - again, probably because I didn't expect it. Oddly, I can't quite sort the lyric out - at first glance, we're back in the territory of 'Spindrift' , only this time, it really does sound personal and I'm suddenly less sure about my earlier analysis. It's a bit of a puzzle, this one, and I feel I'll keep coming back to it. Malignant Narcissism Has the feel - and sound - of three guys just picking up whichever instruments are to hand, and having a blast, just to see what comes out. First few times, I'm straining to hear what the little spoken parts are, but after a while, I just shrug, and enjoy listening to my three favourite rock musicians just having a great time. As instrumentals go, I have the odd feeling that this one will last much better than most - it has a delicious spontaneity to it, showcases all three of them, and doesn't outstay its welcome. We Hold On No - wait; this can't be it? I'm afraid so - this here is the actual end of the road; everything which comes afterward is just me hanging around in the parking lot, not quite ready to go home yet. So, after all this time, what message do we have; what do I get to set me back on the road to sanity? It is, most satisfyingly from a personal point of view, a restatement of the themes from 'Middletown Dreams'; looking at things from another point of view, we have these dreams, and maybe we could make them happen, or maybe we are actually able to be happy where we are - not just holding on, but actually having hope for the way forward. For me, I had the opportunity to make the break, to follow the dreams, but it's not the case for most (I guess) people, and perhaps if things had been different, and I was still typing this up in my old office on my old computer, where I started, I would hear this as some kind affirmation that I had done the right thing, after all. You could also read it as a message to those of us who fear that this is the end for Rush - we may get bored of the touring and so on, but what else could we do? We hold on, and we keep going. Summary As for me, well; I'll keep going, but not at this. This really is it now. What's most satisfying for me is that the final album, which could have been 'just another record' (well, maybe not, but there have been some which didn't quite measure up) turns out to be a magnificent work. I'm certain that if this had been released by a younger, more fashionable band, it would have been a huge hit. But it wouldn't have been, would it? This album, 18 and a half records in, is in many ways the culmination of all that's gone before. It may not be a career-ending record, but if it turns out to be, then at least they (and we) can say that they went out at the top, all guns blazing, still as committed to their craft and their sound as they were all those years ago. The raw energy of 'Finding My Way' has its echoes here; the sound may have moved on, but the energy and enthusiasm is still there. You can't really ask for more than that, can you?

Far Cry Confession time - the first few times I heard this, I didn't rate it. For some reason, I just couldn't get a handle on it at all. Maybe it needed to be in the context of an album, maybe I wasn't listening properly, maybe I was expecting something else - I don't know. What I do know is that it wasn't until I heard the whole album that it began to make sense to me. The way the opening chords underpin the first verses is actually irresistible, once you've decided to let yourself go, and the chorus elements are just great - here are the catchy little tunes and hooks which were sometimes missing from 'Vapor Trails' And here, too, are some elements of the Rush sound which have been missing for years. Everyone comments on the 'Hemispheres' moment, but I hear these things all the way through it - as if spending time working through the back catalogue has rubbed off on the modern sound without overwhelming it. Then, only after I have absorbed everything else, do I pay attention to the lyric - kind of bleak in a way, it sets the tone for much of what is to come, but also (as ever) quietly optimistic; 'I can get back on...' Just like riding a bike. Armour and Sword (once again, I invoke Canadian-ness here) Opens with all manner of splashing cymbals - is it meant to invoke a marching army in armour? Then there's a delicious drop out into a simple guitar figure, and we are plunged into a dark and brooding atmosphere (am I alone in hearing some of the lowering skies of 'Jacobs Ladder' in here?) and even the brief respite of the refrain doesn't exactly lift the mood - the sentiments owe something to 'Free Will', and something to 'Resist' (at least stylistically), but Neil is more pessimistic about these things now, and the whole mood is underpinned by a frankly angry guitar solo. Hey, there's a guitar solo! This is not, I can tell, going to be my favourite track on this album, but in the spirit of the covers we've just passed through, I can imagine it being covered very effectively by one of those post-Metallica bands out there. Workin' Them Angels Long ago, I commented on the lack of a final apostrophe on 'What You're Doing', identifying it as a sign of a certain classiness. So what am I to make of this? It's almost as if it had been put there to prove me wrong after all this time. Except, of course, that it hasn't. This is actually the companion piece to 'Ghost Rider'; mature and sober reflections some years later to the events of that terrible time, and the title picks up on a recurrent theme in the 'Ghost Rider' book - Neil's letters to his friend Brutus, in which he often alluded to the angels he didn't actually believe in, and how, if they turned out to exist, he'd been giving them something of a hard time of late. So it's already autobiographical, and then he throws in the magical touch of a sly reference to 'Moving Pictures', which elevates this song above the ordinary 'You know, I don't have such a bad life' song. And to cap it all, there are more - you know, I never did check out what they were; cuatros, I thought, but these sound a little like mandolins. Whatever they are, they are a clear sign of a band back on the top of their game. No need for the stripped-down 'Vapor Trails' sound any more; this is a much fuller (and much easier to hear, I have to say) soundscape - full of intriguing little elements like that. Just like an old-fashioned Rush record, in fact. The Larger Bowl A pantoum, it says. Well, now. how many of us actually knew what a pantoum was before this? I'll be honest - I had a vague idea that it was something close to a villanelle (I have had occasion to contribute to collaborative villanelles before now, but let's not get into any of that now), but I, too, had to look it up. And having done so, this instantly became one of my favourite songs. Not just on this album; not just of all Rush songs, but one of my favourites of all. You see, it's one thing to attempt to do something like this, and it's quite another to actually pull it off so that it works as a poem. It's quite another realm of achievement altogether to turn it into a song which not only works, but also transcends the form without breaking it. By repeating entire lines in different places in successive stanzas, Neil gives his musical collaborators a real headache - you have to fit the stresses in the lines to keep it meaning the same (or to change the meaning , as appropriate). And you have to do it while keeping it all in a workable musical format. This song, after all the years of constructing clever ad/or witty songs, finally pulls all that wit and wisdom together in a coherent, cohesive whole which just soars - not least at the guitar solo, which suggests that all those cover versions have freed up Alex' playing a little, and may be one of his finest of all in its simplicity and direct appeal to the ear. Hmm. I knew that would happen. I love this song, I really do. And I am in awe of the fact that it all makes sense. Ignore the cleverness of the structure, or the way it's been fitted into a wonderful melody - just listen to the words. Man, that's powerful stuff. Spindrift Love the opening - all backwards playing and menacing guitar. There's a definite sense of unease here, underlined by a truly unusual personal lyric. Neil really doesn't normally get this personal with things, which makes me wonder of it is actually either entirely imagined, or actually nothing like as personal as it appears. And after a period of reflection, I'm tempted to go with the latter. I think this is actually a reflection, not on his personal relationship with anyone, but on his ambivalence at suddenly being a Californian (all the 'Western shore' business). I'm pretty sure that living in LA is a little different from rural Canada, and this seems to suggest that for all the benefits, it's actually a pretty weird place to get used to. Musically ambivalent, too, I'd suggest - not quite what it seems. And a false ending, too. Have we had one of those before? *thinks: back at the end of 'Fountain of Lamneth', unless I'm mistaken* The Main Monkey Business Aha - instrumental time. This, I suspect, is how we know that Rush is on form, and back to normal. Let's face it, can anything hope to supplant the early instrumentals by now? Probably not, in reality - I have so much more personal history with them. But this does make more than a decent stab at it. It's more structurally complex than some of the later ones, and has a truly beautiful little guitar hook, as well as some more of Geddy's wordless singing. And it is at this point that I should note that the playing on this album is quite stunning. Fluid and relaxed - these are three guys who may have been proving something last time out, but who no longer need to; all they are focused on is doing the job impeccably and are clearly having a great time - there are all sorts of things in here; little percussion elements, throwaway string-based things; entire soundscapes we haven't heard for years. It may never replace 'La Villa Strangiato' in my affections, but I love it a lot more than I thought I would. (and I discovered that you can sing "Atomised/At the core" in places - which must be coincidence, but it's rather cool, don't you think?)

So here we are - the end of the road. I'll sum it all up in one gigantic post at the end: coming soon. But, for now, this is my own last voyage, and I'd like to briefly acknowledge all the feedback - positive or otherwise - there has been along the way. Once these next few posts are done, that's it from me - this was always about doing this, not about joining in with any of the other things. I'll probably keep checking in here from time to time, but I'll almost certainly go back to being anonymous in a little while. As for the posts; I'll certainly keep a copy of them, and I may even put them up somewhere (I have some bits and pieces of web presence around for just such an eventuality), but it won't be straight away. Oh, and I will take the opportunity to tweak a few things, correct spelling and punctuation, iron out some inconsistencies, and devote a little more time to 'Feedback', which I rushed (ha!) horribly yesterday: I didn't have quite as much free time as I thought I did. Now I'm almost there, of course, I have all these thoughts crowding in - things I forgot to mention, observations I failed to make (and, of course, in the more than 2 years it's taken to get this far, I've changed my mind about some things, too - but it's a record of what I felt at the time, so I'm happy to stand by it). Enough of me - on with the story... (there's an imaginary prize on offer for anyone who gets all the oblique references in those paragraphs - the subtlest of in-jokes for those who have been paying particularly close attention) Snakes and Arrows History No more history for this than anyone else, I guess. I downloaded it (as I said before, entirely legally) in the first few days after it was released. Listening to it kind of disrupted all the other things I was doing for a while, but it was the first properly new Rush product I'd bought since 'Power Windows', so I felt able to indulge myself. And the fact that I did download it suggests that this whole project has been something of a success - I'm energised enough about this band after all this time to want to hear the new songs, and that's not always been the case. I even contemplated going to a live show - 25 yeas after my last - but it just didn't work out; the nearest they came to me was Calgary, and I was in Britain then; when they were in Britain, I was back here. Never mind, there's always next time. Except, we don't know for certain that there will be a next time, do we? To be fair, we never do - circumstances can take a hand and change everything at any time, but as a band (and its members) gets older and probably less inclined to do the whole album/tour/album thing, you always wonder - is that it? Have we heard the last of them? Well, if so, let's make it a good one, shall we?

Summertime Blues So, I listened to this. And I shook my head and listened to it again. And I wondered why on earth it sounded like that. After a while, I decided to find out why, and then i discovered Blue Cheer. Then I understood - this is cover of a cover. Which makes a lot more sense. You see, in Britain, we've never heard of Blue Cheer and their strange, missing out the important part, version of this - we only know about Eddie Cochran. It doesn't make any sense to me to have the whole call-and-response part all call and no response ("I wrote to my congressman, and he said, quote: drum fill. Huh?). Now I've heard the 'original', I understand why this version sounds like this. I do like it; it is a lot of fun, but it doesn't half sound odd to me. Heart Full of Soul Ah, this is better - I know this. This is the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck era. And that's a remarkable sound - it's Rush, but Geddy's voice is almost unrecognisable, and all the instruments are being played in something close to the period style - Neil's drumming here is quite distinctively un-Neil-like in places (and in others, like the fill at the end, he can't help peeking out from behind the curtain). It's a great song, and this is a decent version, all the more so for not being quite what I expected. having said that, I'm not sure what I did expect - The Who and Led Zeppelin, I suppose. Given that the Yardbirds kind of sparked a lot of that British sound off, this makes sense, and the original Jeff Beck guitar sound - whch Alex approximates, rather than copies - was hugely influential. Nice. For What it's Worth You know, in spite of the kimono period, I find it hard to think of these three guys as hippies. But here's a real hippy anthem, although I actually had to look it up to find out who did the original (I had it pegged as a CSNY song, which is not so far from the mark). Once you know that Buffalo Springfield were in the mix as early influences, then you can hear elements of that sound in the early work ('Making Memories', for example, carries an element of that sound, I think. Again, this is an impeccably chosen song to record; it stands the test of time admirably, and it sounds like it was a lot of fun to record. And it might cause a few people - me included - to check out Buffalo Springfield, which is no bad thing; I'd forgotten just how good they were. In my defence, I was very young at the time. The Seeker Ah, here's The Who. Marvellous. It goes without saying that Keith Moon would have been an influence on Neil, as he was on just about every drummer at the time. What's clear from here, though, is a broader influence on the overall sound. Everyone talks about how Zeppelin-like the first album is, but there's another British band under all that stuff, and you can clearly hear it in this. Great song, great version. I'm enjoying this, but there's a killer in here somewhere, and we haven't had it yet. Mr. Soul Another Springfield song - again, I'm somewhat surprised. It's also the first song on here that I'm not familiar with, and I had to go and seek out the original to compare it with. And I'm not sure what to think. Is this one of Alex' favourites, included because he loved the solo, or is there more to it than I can hear? It just doesn't jump out at me (although I can hear 'Satisfaction' under it - a little more clearly on the original, but it's there). And is that a quote from 'Eight Miles High?" Do they have to pay a royalty for that? Seven and Seven is Here's the killer. I just love this song; I've always thought of it as a song out of time - it's probably about 10 years ahead of its time - you could imagine the Ramones doing it, for example. And, of course, what I love (ha!) most of all bout it is the drumming - of course it's on here - I wonder how long the teenaged Neil Peart worked at this until he could do it automatically. If this doesn't inspire you to become a drummer, then nothing will. Once started, if this doesn't cause you to give up, then you might just be a drummer. Of all the songs on here, this is the one I keep coming back to, just for the sheer fun of it. Shapes of Things Reasons to love Rush, part 94: Despite the fact that I've known the Yardbirds original with its wild and crazy guitar since I was about 8 years old, I've been haunted most of my adult life by the appalling version recorded by Nazareth - a band I'm ashamed to admit are Scottish, and who are the ultimate bar-band-got-lucky. now I have this much more listenable version to sooth my savaged ears. OK, Nazareth weren't all that bad, but they really did a number on this, and I'm so glad to have a much better version now. Crossroads Heh. No, I don't suppose you were allowed to even be in a rock band in the late sixties / early seventies unless you played 'Crossroads'. Rush really aren't a blues band, so this sounds slightly odd, but they once were a blues band, and that's what we're hearing here. Again it's a cover of a cover, but this time I do know the version that's being done here, and it's a more than halfway decent version, too. Alex isn't Eric Clapton, but he could have been, and you can hear all that going on here, even though it still sounds like our boy Lifeson. How much must he have enjoyed finally recording this, since I suppose he's been playing it since he was a teenager. Oh, and Geddy's isn't a blues voice. But you knew that already. Summary It's enormous fun; it's really interesting to hear in terms of influences and so on, but ultimately, I suppose it's just a little disposable. Of these, only 'Seven and Seven Is' will continue to detain me - for most of the others, I'll more than likely listen to the originals if I want to hear them again. But I do like a good cover version, and these are really good. Ultimatley, though, I want to hear Rush doing Rush songs. Thankfully, there's one more album to go; I'd have been disappointed to go out like this, really.

Feedback History I do love a good cover version. The operative word being 'good'; unfortunately, for every good one, there are a dozen or more bad or simply pointless ones (what's the point of recording something that sounds indistinguishable from the original, for example). When I heard about this (and I might have read about it on here, I suppose), I shook my head, and said 'nice gag'. Then I saw it in a shop, and I had to buy it. Like I say, I like a good cover version...

Tom Sawyer Ooh, I hope the 'Ole's are on the CD version - it's Brazil; you're going to get football (soccer, sorry) chants. And, of course, the singalong is just awesome. All of them doing it in a foreign language, of course. Apart from that, this would be the fourth or fifth time I've reviewed this song, so we'll move along... Distant Early Warning This made me grin hugely when I first realised it was on here - how long since it had been played live? And how long (at the time) since I had heard it? I don't hear so much of the singalong stuff, but it's there - maybe dropped back in the mix, or maybe not so many people knew this one. Yes, I was word perfect; this is my period Rush... New World Man Fails to review song, owing to impromptu dancing around the room Roll the Bones OK, even seeing the animation and so on isn't going to save the rap section. This is the problem with this song - third time I've written about it, and I still can't focus on how great the rest of it is, because.... Well, it's just there. It is a great song. Mostly. Earthshine The point at which, as already noted, I sat up and took notice of the 'new' Rush. Probably partly because it's fresher than most of the others, and partly because it was new to these ears, this really stands out in this first batch of songs. And they seem to be having such fun with all of this. Although how could it be otherwise, given what's going on in front of them. YYZ First time I saw it, I just sat there with my mouth hanging open. What on earth must it have been like to play it, with no warning that the whole damn audience was going to sing along? Now, listening to it, it actually can bring a tear to this cynical eye - imagine being in that crowd, bouncing and singing like your life depended on it. Just when you think there's nothing new to be said about a track, this kind of thing happens. Truly extraordinary. The Pass One of their very favourites, and one of mine too. I'm already enjoying this almost too much, so when the resolution at the end of the middle eight comes, I'm finding something in my eye again. Damn this band - it's just a rock song. And if you believe that, you're in the wrong place, my friend. Bravado I think I've already established how much I have come to love this, and there's nothing much I can add to the previous comments. Great song, what's next? The Big Money And I've established that I have a huge mental block with this. Sorry. Even seeing how much everyone is enjoying it doesn't help me. Next. The Trees Whatever happened to Broon's Bane, that's what I'd like to know? Aside from that, it's an old friend, and as such, always welcome. Freewill Hm. The back of the DVD has that as two words. Have I been doing it wrong all this time? No matter. Another old friend, and it takes me back to watching it in Edinburgh all those centuries ago. Which has the added bonus of making me feel old. Thanks, guys. (but I'll always be ten years younger than Neil, so it's not all bad) Closer to the Heart Well, you can't not play it, can you? And the singing - is it better than the Glasgow choir? Probably, but I'd never admit to it in public. In my 'My Music' folder, I have 6 (count'em) different versions of this. No wonder I can't think of anything else to say. Oh, except for this: I was reading 'Roadshow' the other week - Neil doesn't want to play this ever again. That's funny. (I have another 'Roadshow' observation, but it's not for here). Natural Science Not much to add to the last verdict on this - pretty cool to hear it all again; even better to see it. Let's keep moving... One Little Victory Ha ha - what better way to come back from the break. I love it. Is it me, or are there a few more layers to the live sound than you can get from the studio recording? Something to do with the way it was recorded, perhaps. I'll leave that particular box of frogs alone, I think. Driven This is why I have the DVD - I can see and hear the bass solo. Improves an already magnificent experience about tenfold. Can I just point out the obvious at this point - the playing here is absolutely superb, as it has been all the way through. You expect nothing less, of course, but it's still worth remarking upon. Ghost Rider Just time to catch our breath here - It's again more muscular live than on record, although it seems an oddly personal choice for a song to play every night for months. It works, though. Secret Touch And then another new one, and another of my favourites. This is just superb live - Alex in particular seems to be enjoying himself here, and (sorry to go on about it) we can hear it all going on. Dreamline I think it still makes a better show opener, but it's just fine where it is. Nothing new to add here, I think. Red Sector A Oh, this is too good - two songs from 'Grace', and another of the very best. Heard out of context, as it were, here, it underlines that the sound difference around this time was probably not as great as it has been made out to be; it fits just fine in with all the other stuff. Really enjoying this now Leave That Thing Alone Not really sure what purpose this serves here, other than as a lead in to the drum solo. It still doesn't stand out to me as anything particularly special, and I don't think I'd miss it if it wasn't here. O Baterista As opposed to this - I can't imagine owning a Rush live album - in any format you care to mention - without a drum solo. So, inquiring minds want to know, how's Neil's drumming after all that happened? The answer is, of course, just a magnificent as ever. And it now comes with added big band. The first time I heard this was on the mp3 player as I powerwalked my way around the village - I'd downloaded this explicitly to hear how it sounded now, and I was not disappointed. It was everything I hoped it would be, and then, just as I rounded the corner to home, the horns kicked in. I don't know what the neighbours must have thought as I spontaneously burst into a yelp of surprise and then laughed all the rest of the way home. Resist All these years, the one thing I thought was often missing from a Rush live show or a live album, was the reimagining of old songs. I know that a lot of people pay good money to see and hear all the old favourites (and a few surprises) expertly recreated, but this, to me, is what a live band should be all about. Yes, we can play all those songs note- (and sound effect)-perfect, but we can also do this; take an already well-loved song and make it something really special with just a little imagination. Possibly my second favourite moment of the whole thing (after the Buddy Rich band, of course) 2112 What, the whole thing again? Well, no - even for a show this long, that would be a little much, don't you think? I do love that final note, though - just the merest of hint to what we're not hearing. Limelight Feels like the home straight now, and this just rocks along easily. Even after all the repetitions, this still makes a forceful point with a timeless melody. I've been doing this for more than 2 years now, but I'm nowhere near tired of hearing any of these songs. I think that says more than my words can convey about this whole project. La Villa Strangiato Complete with completely unexpected (to me, anyway; I had no idea it was coming) rant, complete with 'The Guy from Ipanema', which made me laugh more than it should. After all these years, evidence that they're relaxing and having fun. Not just fun; they're having a ball up there. So am I, up here. The Spirit of Radio Without which, no show would be complete. But I don't know if there's much new to say about it at the fifth time of asking (or is it fourth? I'm not actually counting, you know. By-Tor and the Snow Dog / Cygnus X-1 / Working Man By which time I'm wallowing in a warm bath of nostalgia. Old? Nah, I'm just experienced. Countdown (complete with crowd noises)? All present and correct. A crash into 'Cygnus', and we're almost home. Oh, and the sign of eth? That's not it; that's just the word 'Eth'. You'll have to look it up, unless you're Icelandic. And there are dozens and dozens of things the final part could have been, but it's pretty appropriate, I suppose. Rounding off the comeback is the throwback. Remember us? This is what we sounded like once upon a time. It's also, in a funny kind of way, what we sound like now. That's a lot of water under that there bridge. Summary And still a little more to come. For the record, I'm not going to do 'R30', magnificent thing though it may be, since it's not a standalone CD - I've got to have some kind of a system, you know. I wasn't sure about doing this - and I apologise for the size of the post - but I'm glad I did. See that? It's the final corner. Almost there, then all I have to do is sum it all up and slope back off to whence I came.

Rush in Rio History I think I did this already. I had a couple of tracks downloaded for my collection of Rush for the mp3 player, and they intrigued me enough to want to borrow the DVD and see what it all looked like. I had a ball watching it that first time, and decided, once we were in Canada, to own my own copy. Never owned it on CD or mp3 or anything else, so forgive me if there are errors or omissions...

So - not a reaction to the last post, I assure you; everyone's entitled to their opinion (although that one mystifies me somewhat). More a case of Writer's Indecision - not as serious as writer's block, in that I am not prevented from writing; I just can't decide whether to include 'Rush in Rio' or not. The reasons being that i) I don't own a CD copy of it - just the DVD (but I did hear a couple of tracks from it as downloads before I saw the DVD, which makes me want to include it, just so I can tell that story). ii) I only just finished with a three-CD live album, featuring a great many of these tracks, and iii) I can't decide if it's canon. In the days of vinyl, this was all straightforward - either there was a piece of black plastic or there wasn't; no questions about which format might be more valid than another. But I've come to some sort of a decision - it's almost NaNoWriMo time; I have an almost complete third draft of a book waiting to find a publisher; I have a similarly stalled idiot's guide to classical music to get back on track, and I'd really like to get one of these projects done. So I'm going to do this as a somewhat more impressionistic view of things - some tracks are going to get skipped over to a degree; others will still get the full treatment; depends if there's something to say or not. And I'll mostly review the DVD, since it's what I have to hand, so I'll make reference to how things look. Probably.

Secret Touch After all these years, somehow they can still pull off a magnificent opening. Right off the back of a great trio of songs, you might expect this one to slip back a bit, but there's no sign of that. From the first few times I listened to this, this was the melody and the lyric which stuck in my head - I'd find myself singing "the way out is the way in" at odd moments, and taking a few seconds to work out what it was, and where it came from. After all this time, it was odd to have new Rush songs to sing... And once I'd read the book, I came back to this again and again - the pain is so palpable, but musically, this is arranged to sound optimistic and upbeat. It's not, though - you have to push past the instinct to bounce along with the melody and really hear what's being said. Even having known about and read about Neil's situation for so many years, it still evades me - how could anyone go through that and still be standing? And be able to write about it like this? And then play drums to it? And, yes, it's a pity about the sound - this is the one track where I really notice the distortion and grunginess - I'd really like to hear it cleaned up someday. Earthshine This was the one which caught my attention when I was watching 'Rio', and I can see why now. There's so much going on that it could really only be Rush, yet it sounds quite different from all that's gone before. Not in the context of this album, of course - it shares that sound and muscular determination, but with the previous 30 years. In the enforced hiatus, it seems quite clear to me that Geddy and Alex had been listening to any amount of recent music, and quietly absorbing much of it. Honestly, if you didn't know Geddy's voice, this sounds like a much younger band. I love the vocalisations around the chorus section, and I love the not-quite guitar solo, and I am completely blown away by the way that Neil revisits one of his old staples, wonder at the natural world, and uses it to illuminate his own fragile state of being. It's partly just another step in the long road which is Rush, and it's partly the sound of a band refusing to be beaten by anything. Sweet Miracle We've been on such a high plateau for so many tracks now, that a dip is natural and inevitable, and this, I suppose, is the dip, although it's really only very slightly below the standard which has been set. I've been intrigued to watch the development of Neil's comfort level dealing with the personal - through the 1990s albums, the word 'love' slowly crept out into the open, and several times we got a glimpse of the private man and his real thoughts and feelings. And that person had to make some kind of comment about how things are now, and how he came to be here, so we have something close to a proper, old-fashioned love song. Except, of course, it isn't really - it only mentions love the once, and almost in passing. You could take it for a paean to the joy of being alive, except that if you know the story, the joys of life were in remarkably short supply. Until love came to town, as it were, and somehow this doesn't quite do it justice. It doesn't, to me, do the job nearly as satisfyingly as the final chapter of 'Ghost Rider'. But that's not to say it's a bad song at all. Just not quite as good as the others. Nocturne Hee. for a split second there, I thought I'd skipped all the way back to 'red lenses'. I really like the odd beginning to this; it keeps you slightly off balance without going overboard with the special effects - just guitar, bass and drums, and the determination to make it sound slightly off-kilter. It's really the flip side of 'Ghost Rider' - where the first song is a straightforward description of the process of being on the 'healing road', this is more about how it felt. we've all been there - in a situation so momentarily terrible that we expect to wake up from it, only to realise that it's life, and we'd better deal with it. This is that state writ large, however - even on waking from the dream, the feeling of being dislocated from reality won't recede. And the music is extraordinary - you really have to listen to it closely to appreciate just how much is going on there - there is, for instance, an almost buried echo of the 'Did I have a dream?' sequence, played out at subsonic levels on the bass, during a quite different-sounding passage - enough to make the listener think 'I know that - where's it from?' Only after a moment or two does it become clear that it's actually from this song. Great stuff. Freeze (Part IV of Fear) Oh, too good. After all this time! Is this a completion of a quadralogy, an afterthought, or a realisation that time and age can add layers to our understanding of fear? My guess is that it's a bit of all of them - the fear appears to be the fear of being out of control - of no longer having the confidence of youth, but being prey to the uncertainties of middle age - knowing that the next generation are already bigger and stronger than you, and think, just as you did, that they know it all, and quite probably resent you for what you're not. And the middle-aged will react differently to the young. Twenty years ago, my reaction to a sudden provocation would have been entirely different to what it is now, and there's a lot of that in this song. It's interesting - Neil is around ten years older than me, so analysing these songs several years after they were written, I find myself in some of them, sometimes barely recognisable, and at others, like here, staring plainly back at myself. And yet, and yet. We still make and listen to this kind of music - my father at my age would no more have bought a recent release by - let's see: well, Rush (my father was my age when 2112 came out!) than he could have flapped his arms and flown to the moon. We live in a different world, and we should be grateful for that, even if we are a little frightened by it at times. Oh, and I just love the music; I haven't forgotten that in all of this. Out of the Cradle No pause, and as if to underline my meanderings, here comes the icing on the cake. If my generation, who grew up as rock obsessives, is to grow old, we will not be able to do so gracefully, and why should we? We (and to be fair, the generation who went before us, the ones who are playing on this record) broke so many moulds that there really is no precedent for what we're going through - we sit here, greying and lined, with children of our own who are appalled at our taste in music for exactly the same reasons that our parents were - it's too loud, you can't hear the words, and is that a boy or a girl singing? It makes me laugh, and it keeps me feeling young And isn't that what it's really all about? Endlessly? Why the hell not - I'm not (as I've discovered) about to lay all this to one side just because I'm about to be nearer 50 than 40. I may have expanded my horizons since I first picked up a piece of Rush vinyl, but I haven't outgrown it, and it hasn't outgrown me. Endlessly rocking? Beats the other options, far as I can see..... Summary It took me a long time, but I got there. I truly and unreservedly love this album. It's not exactly easy listening, but who needs that? It's not exactly the Rush of old, either, but what ever was? On the odd occasions (perhaps Presto and Test for Echo) where the sound didn't move forward, the whole edifice seemed to be creaking a bit. Not here - not for one second. The sound may be rough (and, just maybe, deliberately so), but the heart and soul of this band shines through. It's not as immediate as some of the others, but it's not that kind of album. It's a serious, thoughtful and mature piece of work from a band who have nothing and everything to prove, and they pull it off. Boy do they pull it off.

Yeah, sorry about that - got a bit sidetracked...

One Little Victory So, you've been away for five years, your drummer and lyricist has suffered the most appalling personal tragedies and you've somehow found yourselves back in the studio with an album to record. No-one, not the fans, and certainly not you, the band, knows quite what to expect. There are a thousand questions to be answered, including the obvious 'can we still do this?' One of the less obvious questions is 'how do we start this off?' What can we do or say which will give the clear message that we're OK, we're back, and we're going to stick around for a while? Well, if anyone who bought this record was wondering 'has Neil still got it?', the opening salvo of this is an unequivocal answer. I don't suppose there's a perfect way to resume a career which has been so brutally interrupted, but there are only two songs I can think of which come close - 'Back in Black' and this. And this may lack the cheeky swagger of the AC/DC song, but it has something much more personal and important to say. A message which is only partly in the words. The real message of this song is that opening few seconds in which Neil's back in his rightful place and all's - if not exactly well with the world, then certainly a lot better than it had been. I can't be the only person who finds something in his eye when I think about what it took to reach that opening, and how defiant and proud it all sounds. And I was going to carp a little about how the first transition into the song proper sounds a little disjointed, but I've just listened to it again, and I'm not sure I believe that any more; I think the song just takes a breath after the bluster of the opening and settles down. We're back, and, yes, we can still do this. Ceiling Unlimited OK, less emotion, more facts. Now I'm listening to the sound of this whole thing, and I'm wondering what happened to the band who crafted such delicate and complex songs way back. The answer is, of course, that they are still there - listen to the bass here, for example. I'm also aware that the there is a deal of controversy surrounding the overall sound of this album, and I'd better get that out of the way now. I don't like the sound (although probably not as much as many people dislike it), but I recognise that the 'everything louder than everything else' attitude is partly deliberate, an attempt to sound more like contemporary bands and less like who they used to be. This is Rush, it was ever thus. Oh, and Neil? 'Culture is the curse of the thinking class?' come off it; you don't really think that. Come on, the world's not as bad as you think - just give it a few more years... Ghost Rider Listening to this through the headphones just now, I was struck by the distortion in the opening guitar sound, and I still can't tell if it's deliberate or not. What is deliberate, however, is the way this is played out. If Neil had never written another lyric, this would still have found its way out somehow. This is the catharsis which he needed and which everyone expected. I keep thinking as I listen about how Alex and Geddy approached the task of fitting music to this. It's Neil's own, deeply personal, story, and they need to make it feel right. It's a road movie of a song, but it's not a cheerful, wind-in-the-hair road movie, and I think, after wavering for some time (at first I loved it, then I began to tire of it) that they got it about right. You can't take this too fast, but you have to keep it moving. So it lopes along , tense and anxious with its baggage and never quite settles into its place in the heart. It's the necessary song of the bunch. It has to be there, and you may like it, but you don't have to love it. Me? I'm back in the 'like' camp now. Peaceable Kingdom OK, I'm really going to address the music now. Four songs in, and it's clear we're not going to get the jolly, singalong choruses or the soaring solos we may have come to know and love. This sound is no less the sum of its parts than the sound of the early eighties was, but it's an altogether more muscular and meaty beast. And it took me several listens to get my head round it - it's a post-9/11 song, but not really in the way you'd expect. All the tarot stuff puzzled me until I read the book - Neil had a tarot experience which shook him deeply (although part of me hopes he's done a bit more research into cold reading by now; he should talk to Derren Brown and find out how it's done). So, we have the possibility of something intangible which just may actually be influencing our lives, and the uncontrollable forces of the rest of the world who may not want to let us live in peace. And the music captures all that perfectly - full of twists and turns, it never seems to rest, and even threatens to fall out of control at times. Of course it doesn't - this is Rush, after all - but at times, it seems to be living on the edge a little. The Stars Look Down Almost as if the last thirty years hadn't happened, we get a pounding, power chord-filled opening, and more than a hint of the rock band which has always been just below the sophisticated surface. The vocal line is, however, very much up to date in its tone and direction, all minor scales and edginess. I haven't listened to much rock from the last 15 years or so, but I'm aware of where this is coming from. And then there's a honest-to-goodness proper chorus in here - you could even sing along if you wanted - and it all goes in another direction for a bit. I find I have less to say about this than some of the others, yet I like it more than most of the others, too. Looking back at this entire project, I suspect that may, for me, be the sign of a great song. How It Is And then they actually top it with this. I defy anyone who hears this cold and out of context to identify it as Rush - to these tired ears, it has more than a little of the indie, Britpop, 'white boys with guitars' feel to it. It positively bounces and sways around an infectious chorus, with all sorts of interesting instruments going on under it. And the lyric is probably the best so far on this album - good for the first three quarters, thought-provoking and intelligent, then the killer lines: 'You can't tell yourself not to care / You can't tell yourself how to feel' If it doesn't resonate for you, read the book. Vapor Trail What on earth is all that going on at the beginning? How I could have thought this record was 'samey' is beyond me now - all I needed to do was listen to it properly; there's treasure just waiting to be unearthed here. Again, the concept is outlined in 'Ghost Rider', but this terse, condensed version says it all, really - the impermanence of everything, even the important stuff. Beautifully written, beautifully arranged, and (not always the case on this album) beautifully sung. There's a little guitar part which repeats under the words 'In a vapor trail' which somehow reminds me of how a contrail actually twists, unravels and fades as it spreads out against the sky. A little piece of hidden magic. Half time already? It can't be - I'm really enjoying this.

Vapor Trails History This is an odd one. I had, by this time, got back into Rush in a way; I went back and bought another copy of 'Moving Pictures' and I was listening to them a little again. I read about this when it came out, and I read about the background; about Neil's tragedies, and of course I was saddened and intrigued to hear how he would deal with it all. The website had excerpts from each of the songs, and I dipped into them, but I found them all a bit indistinct and samey - nothing jumped out at me, and I shrugged and moved on - perhaps I had left Rush behind at last, perhaps they had left me behind. Then a couple of years later I rented 'Rush in Rio' to pass an evening when I was going to be home alone, and had an absolute ball rocking along to all my old favourites. Quite early on, though, I found myself singing along to 'Earthshine', a song I'd never consciously heard before. I thought to myself that I could handle a bit of that in the car next time I was driving down to Alba, and so I bought a copy of 'Vapor Trails' at Heathrow on my next trip. So this is another of my 'driving through Italy' albums, but it's somehow more than that. The first time we came out to BC - on our holiday, way back when I had just started this exercise, I bought myself a copy of 'Ghost Rider' and read it avidly. I realised that if you haven't read Neil's story, you haven't really heard this album. I went back to it with a new appreciation for everything that went into it (derailing my careful 'listening to all the albums in order' plans at the same time) and my appreciation for it changed. I used to like it (in spite of its flaws); now - well, we'll see.

Well, it's not so much a question of keeping it up as one of not having enough time. Still, I'm here, might as well post something. First up, the one that got away. Way back when, I rattled through 'Exit Stage Left' with the nagging feeling that something was missing. And it was. In between 'YYZ' and 'Closer to the Heart', it should say this: A Passage to Bangkok The sound is different, more echoey - I guess this is from an older show. No preamble, just straight into it. Odd how old this feels, even at this stage - the sound is not so different, but the feel of it definitely is. Nicely played, and I suppose it's a bit of an old friend now, but part of me wants to get back to the newer stuff. (and I'm picking this up about eighteen months after I wrote the rest of it, and the fade-out still winds me up. Sheesh.)

So, 1978, eh? Well, come on - back in time we go... Bastille Day I love that this was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon - it may be a converted cinema, but it really is a legendary music venue. Right from the start, you can hear the reverb - somehow it feels more 'real' than the cleaner sound on the other two discs. Not better, just - different. And, of course it's different; it's twenty years older. Right out of the blocks, you can feel the rawness - there really are only three instruments being played at any one time - and the energy. I haven't done a close analysis, but I think I prefer this version to the one from 'All the World's a Stage', it has a confident swagger to it. By-Tor and the Snow Dog As does this - there really is no hanging about, is there? This whole thing brings back memories of seeing bands around this time - there was none of the spectacular showy elements that you would expect today, just the guys, their gear, and the music, and somehow, this sounds like it. And then, just as I'm getting in to it all over again, it stops. What the-? Different times, I suppose; they only had so long to play and by now a reasonably large amount of material to fit in, so it's more of an edited highlights version. Still got the 'countdown', though, and then straight into... Xanadu So the idea seems to be to get the first two songs under our belts to get loose, then pull out all the stops with the really complex stuff. This would be the first tour that it was played on (I guess; I don't imagine it was played live before it was recorded, but I suppose I could be wrong), and there's a crispness to it which suggests that it's still a relatively new thing, although with the kinks worked out. This is only a couple of years on from the last live album, and the technical ability seems to have been cranked up a gear. It's extraordinarily faithful to the studio version, which is not so unusual, but is still slightly mind-blowing - did they write it with the intention of playing it live, or did they finish it, then work out how to do it live? Oh, and that little drum fill that I love so much? All present and correct, which brings a smile. Farewell to Kings Hm. I checked twice, and there's no indefinite article there. Typo, or deliberate? I'm pretty sure that pursuing that kind of thing is the road to madness, so I'll ignore it and get on with listening to the song. Second track in a row from the new album, but greeted with real enthusiasm; they are preaching to the converted, I suppose, but it's interesting to hear how well the new songs are received. Do my ears deceive me, or does the intro get slightly out of synch in the middle? I have a sense of Geddy and Alex looking across at each other and just adjusting slightly to keep in time. Maybe not, but once you've planted ideas like that in your head, it's hard to shake them off. It doesn't seem to make much difference to the rest of the song - odd to realise just how much this rocks along - close my eyes, and I can see the front few rows nodding along. Oh, and Geddy calls it 'A Farewell...', so I'm going with the typo theory. Something For Nothing I can't help thinking how much I would have enjoyed this show had I been there - they're playing all my favourites! Well, all the ones which would become my favourites, since I don't think I'd heard any Rush by 1978. Of course, in the absence of 'greatest hits', they were always free to just play the songs they liked to play, since the audience hadn't come to hear one or two songs - the people out the front there own all the albums. It's a good, solid version of a great song - what's not to like? It's fun to hear the joy in the playing - it must be hard to keep that level of enthusiasm going night after night, but they really do seem to be having fun here. Cygnus X-1 As if to prove my theory from before, another of the new songs gets a cheer for the introductory sound effects. When I last reviewed this, I hadn't heard it for years, and it kind of feels like that again here, since I've been listening to all the other albums in between. So hearing it again is like welcoming back a long-lost friend. This is another song which can't have been easy to play live, but again it sounds loose and relaxed while still keeping to the studio sound. I do love the drum sounds here, though - you can tell it's being played in a big hall, and there's a very satisfying 'thud' to the sound of the bass drums. The beginning of the sung section brings me up short - Geddy sings it ever so slightly off the beat, which I think gives it greater force than the recorded version - there's a deliberate oddity to it, which fits very well with the idea of the thing. It's funny - I was critical of 'Exit... Stage Left' because it was too clinical; this is much more like the sound I'd have expected. And all the way through, there are subtle differences, which I really like. Fun - I think this one will stay on the playlist once I'm done. (which reminds me - I have that task ahead of me, don't I?) Anthem Oh, yes - straight into an old favourite. This is slightly rushed-sounding, but there's a vibe to it which suggests that the audience were really getting into it. And so are the band, from what we hear. Considering this is from one of the least-beloved of Rush albums, it has a truly legendary status. Performances like this remind us why. Working Man You can't leave this off (I'm coming back to this theme), and it'll be interesting to hear how different it is from the previous live version - I'm guessing there's no medley now that there is time to play a full set. And then - Watney's Red Barrel? Oh, dear. It takes me back - back to a time when there really was no decent beer to be had anywhere, also known as the 1970s. It's a great idea to namecheck the local beer, but I do hope Geddy didn't have to try it first. Actually, he can't have, because he came back to England again after that. Heh. Funny, though. Fly by Night No medley, but the next best thing; a simple segue into this. Does Geddy miss his cue slightly there? I like that kind of thing - it's much more representative of a real show than the tidied up and overdubbed versions. I can understand why you'd want to show yourself in the best light possible, but this just reminds me why I didn't enjoy 'Exit' as much as I thought I would listening to it again. In The Mood OK, I take it back - this is a medley! With a drum solo! Well, a drum solo of sorts. I suppose there was an edit or two in there, but I didn't hear it - there's not much point in having another drum solo on this album - although I wouldn't have objected. It's all good fun here, towards the end, rocking out with the best of them. If this is the end, there are a couple of things missing, I suppose - they would still have been playing '2112' at this stage, or parts of it, and 'Closer to the Heart' must have been played - wasn't it a single in the UK? But they already appear on the first two discs, so I'm not surprised they're missing. There are, after all, only so many live versions of 'Closer' you need to own. Aren't there? Cinderella Man Odd choice for an encore, I'd have thought - if that's what it was. I like the different sound due to the fact that there is a limit to how many guitars even Alex can play at once, and I like the slightly headlong feel to it. I said before that this was a song which takes a little time to 'get'. I wonder how it got to be the set-closer. Oh, and what the hell does Geddy say in the middle there? you know, if this had been an official live release at the time, I'd have had a quite different impression of this band before I went to see them for myself. They actually do have a lot of fun up there, but the live recordings haven't always got that across, which is a shame. Summary And I guess that's my overall feeling about this whole set - the three disks portray a band at their best - playing live and having fun. this is far and away my favourite live Rush album, although I tend not to play all three discs in a row, since it sounds a little disjointed. I love the not-too polished sound of the nineties show, and the joy and energy of the 1978 one is a magnificent thing. Like I said, this could have been their epitaph, and it could have been the last Rush music I ever bought, too - it was a fit of nostalgia, I suppose., and it might not have gone any further. But, you know, this band does keep its hooks in you...

Wow - page 6! Cool. OK, I know there's a third disc, and I'm going to review it - just not quite yet. I'm going to be away for a few days - the plan had been to get this all done before I went, but I messed the timing up (too many other writing projects). So, don't go away; I'll be right back. (and I'll use the time to decide whether 'Rush In Rio' is canon, as it were, and should be reviewed, or whether I really am almost at the end of this journey.)

Test For Echo I think it's just as well they took a break after '2112' - how do you follow that? The answer is: with the title track from the album we're promoting. I wonder how hard it is to break like that and come back into the same groove - this feels a little ponderous and slow, but then perhaps the original does too; I just think it's an inevitable effect of the energy of the end of the first half. Incidentally, it's only now I notice just how much bottom end there is in this recording - I don't think it hurts too much, since the bass part is always so interesting, but sometimes, like here, the guitar seems to get a little lost. The Analog Kid Ah, now you're just spoiling me - this has probably been my favourite rediscovery of this whole process, and to dig it up and play it now is just fantastic. I don't remember it being played when I saw the 'Signals' tour, but I may be wrong. As I've noted before, one of the things I really like about this band is the way they dig up old tracks which have never been played live before and work out how to do them - they always sound fresh as a result. Heh - I just checked - it was played that night. My excuse is that it was 25 years ago... So, anyway. This version does sound fresh and new, but I love the song. Alex' guitar part always sounded impossible to me, and only now do I hear Geddy recapitulating it on the bass - outstanding. Let's hear the impossible solo at the end - hey! It's not exactly the same as on the album. I like it - it sounds very much of its time. Freewill The nice thing about Rush concerts is that they have never been about 'greatest hits', but if they were, then this would be in there - at least I think it would. So it's not introduced, and as a consequence gets a huge roar of recognition. I'm enjoying hearing Geddy's voice; how it has adapted to the passing years without losing the force and dynamic needed to sing a song like this - for instance, if it's pitched too low, he'll never get down to the lower notes - that end of the register is not exactly his strong point. I keep thinking that I must mention the drums at some point. I will, but it simply goes without saying that they are consistently superb - I can't help thinking about how hard Neil works every night to create this; not one song where he can just switch off and thrash out a 4/4 beat without thinking. And we (and he) wouldn't have it any other way. Roll the Bones Oh, alright, if you must. To be fair, the first time I heard this, being entirely unprepared, I gave a yelp of surprise when the talking started. I even put it straight back on to try to work out what I actually thought. I wasn't sure then, and I'm still not sure after all this time. Melodically, I do love this, and - as noted before - lyrically, too, but the rapping just doesn't quite work. It's not that it's bad which is the problem; it's that it's nearly good. And I know it's an entirely different song, but I still for some reason expect that voice to say "That's nice" at the end. Stick It Out Not, I think, an obvious choice for a live song, yet it rocks along quite nicely. I've been sitting here listening to it, and for the first time, I can't think of anything more to say. It's perfectly fine, let's move on. Resist Yes, we're still here. This'll be the Scottish song. Now we're familiar with the acoustic version, it's kind of odd to hear it done 'straight', as it were. there's an odd sudden change in the sound in the middle of the first verse, almost as if it was spliced to a different version - I'd never noticed that before. Maybe I'm imagining things. Presumably Geddy is triggering piano samples here - just another thing to think about while singing and playing intricate bass lines. You can take my admiration as read, so I don't have to keep repeating myself. I really like the pacing of this; it has great dynamic range, where the drops into the slow sections don't sound sudden or forced - it all just flows. Leave That Thing Alone A kind of sudden jump into this, and I can't be the only person who'd rather have heard 'La Villa Strangiato', can I? There's nothing actually wrong with it - far from it - but I'd still like to indulge a little nostalgia at this point. Ah, I think I'm just showing my age. I do love the ending - all that lovely bass. The Rhythm Method However - this is more like it! The first thing I did with this when I got it back to the car was, of course, look for the drum solo. I can't help myself; I'm intrigued to hear how it has developed from the 'Show of Hands' version. Again, it kind of jumps in, and slowly, deliberately at first - not that it isn't mind-bogglingly good drumming, it's just that there's no need by now to just be showing off the full range of high-speed tricks. In fact, this whole opening section sounds quite different to what I grew up with. I know that Neil was changing his style around this time - this is really the first time I've noticed it; it really stands out. Then, once the high speed rhythms get going, I'm just lost in it all over again. the percussion parts are mostly familiar, but they're still carried off with great flair. And - you know what? There's a theory that most people find drum solos boring. Well, firstly, if you find this boring, you haven't a musical bone in your body, and second - who are all those people yelling enthusiastically all the way through it? They're not bored, and neither am I. In fact, having typed my way through it, I'm going to go back and listen again. Natural Science So, I suppose there had to be an old-style epic in the second half to balance out the first, and this really surprised me the first time I heard it - I'd almost forgotten about it, and it was really great to be reintroduced to it in a live version. It also makes sense - there's a whole section of just guitar and voice - enough to let Neil get his breath back. And after the first verse, the thing just explodes into life. there must be a great feeling of liberation in playing songs after several years - once you've learned them again, of course. It's not a case of playing 'Tom Sawyer' for the 900th time; it must be great to explore something like this without feeling like you're going through the motions. And this feels quick - maybe as a result; I'm not sure. I'd not really registered before that there are some fearsome drum fills along the way - just what you need after spending all that time soloing away! Neil's words - hopeful and confident in human nature - still sound as thought-provoking as ever; the times may change, the issues are broadly the same, the solutions are still up to us. (but I do smile at the cheers in inappropriate places, presumably from those not so familiar with the original. No, it really is that long, guys) The Spirit Of Radio Heh. We're in the home straight now. And forget what I said earlier about frequently played songs sounding tired or jaded (well, I implied it); this still rocks along just as much as it did the first time it was played - even if some of the sounds are a little different. Listening closely, I can hear the audience singing along in places. Kind of hard not to, I think. And I know I'll never get tired of the ending - just about my favourite Rush ending of them all - like they'd worked out a live ending, and recorded it anyway. When it's actually played live, it just sounds - right. Tom Sawyer It's got to be encore time by now - there are some odd sounds before it which would tend to back that up. So, if this is the 900th time, how does it stack up? Well, it's just as tight as you would expect, and the voice is hitting all the places it should - in Geddy's shoes, I'd probably have at least looked at how to recast it, because it must stretch the voice somewhat, especially at the end of an evening. But it sounds just the way I remember it from all those years ago, standing in a draughty cowshed at Edinburgh airport. YYZ And to wrap things up. Well, it's kind of inevitable, and it's kind of brilliant. Oddly, this means that the last four songs played were from 'Permanent Waves' and 'Moving Pictures' - I guess a case of knowing your audience (and also, I suppose, taking note of what had been on 'A Show of Hands' and not wanting to repeat it too much). I'll go away now and look at the setlists for this tour - was there much from 'Grace Under Pressure', 'Power Windows' or 'Hold Your Fire' which didn't make it, or is this pretty representative? I don't know, so I'll just sit back and enjoy the second-best rock instrumental of all time. ("Villa Strangiato', of course). And a little bit of 'Cygnus X-1 thrown in! I'm grinning.

Dreamline Heh. Strauss. I like it, even if it is a bit of a cliche - didn't Elvis used to come out to this? Anyway, it kind of works, and the opening of 'Dreamline' is loose and fluid. The first time I heard this, it was a new song to me - I remember it making a strong impression. Now, it feels like an old standard. Which, in a way, I suppose it is. As ever, the song's a faithful representation of the studio version - but the playing is somehow freer, more relaxed - the solos really rock. Limelight And straight into a bona fide classic - listen to that gnarly bass! Geddy's voice sounds a little lower than it used to, but I think it gives the song more presence - odd how this anguished plea for consideration has somehow become a bit of a standard singalong song. It's received (naturally) rapturously, and Geddy's little speech has me laughing out loud. It's a long way from 'All The World's a Stage', when you think about it. Driven And this is the point at which I fell in love with Rush all over again. I had no context for this song, and it was unlike anything I had either been listening to, or expecting to hear, and it blew me away. Of course, the presence of a bass solo was never going to hurt, and you can really tell that it's three guys having a lot of fun. Which, to be fair, is not something you can always say about the earlier live albums. I'm not sure this song is supposed to be this much fun - it's kind of dark when you think about it. But this version is. Lots of fun. Bravado For a long time, I thought that this just dragged the pace down at the wrong point. I didn't really like it for that reason, but now, hearing it in a different context, I may have to reconsider. No, damn it, I will reconsider. Since I reviewed 'Test For Echo', this is the song which has been rattling around in my head. I think it's the Barth connection, or maybe it's that it actually is a really good song. And this is a strong rendition, full of muscle and conviction. Chalk the previous reaction up to Not Listening Properly. And is that just the faintest hint of 'Xanadu' at the end? Well, I like to think so... Animate Whereas... This, I used to love, but maybe I've just been playing it too much. It's not a bad version; in fact, listening to it now on the headphones, I'm acutely aware of how the various musical elements fit together to make it all work, and it's something of an extraordinary construction - once again, I'm brought up short by the realisation that there are just three guys making all this noise. But, in the end, it doesn't quite work for me; that may say more about me than the music, though. Show Don't Tell I'd know that intro anywhere! The first time I heard this, I was taken straight back to Glencoe, listening to Presto on the way back to Crianlarich. Now, it makes me smile - relatively speaking, this was a 'newer' song at the time. It has the feeling of something pulled out of the vaults, but it couldn't have been on a live release prior to this, so maybe it had been played all along. Whatever the story, I always liked this, and I'm just having that impression reinforced. Can you tell if Geddy's playing keyboards or bass at any given point? I'm not sure you can; it's all so seamless. Although, when we get to the solo passage, he must be doing the bass part for real - you couldn't sequence all that, and I don't suppose you'd want to, in any case. Then he sings all over it. Not for the first time, I shake my head in wonderment. The Trees No shaking of heads here - just an honest-to-goodness whoop of joy for an old friend. No 'Broon's Bane', though - although it's the second time round before I register that. I'm delighted to hear songs being given a new live rendition, though - it's been a long time since 'Exit Stage Left', and I wasn't too fond of the way that one sounded, as I recall. This is just great - full of depth and power (although for years I remembered it as more of a pastoral ballad, I guess it always rocked to a degree.) And the percussion's perfect. I don't know if this is making a comeback after several years out of the live set, but it feels fresh; not like they had been playing it for 20 years or so. I always loved the solo, and it does my heart good to hear Alex playing the hell out of it here - it's not immaculate and note-perfect, and who would want it to be; it sounds like the playing of a man in the groove. Pretty fine all round, even if it doesn't segue smoothly into 'Xanadu'. And are those cows at the end? Were they always there? Nobody's Hero Not sure the flow is so good into this - on paper, they're similar sounding songs, but in the flesh, there's such a stylistic gap that it takes a moment or two to readjust. But once readjusted, it starts to make sense. It's as lyrically ambiguous as the previous track, and contains many of the same elements. It also breaks up the soundscape of the set - less raucous than even 'The Trees', it allows a little breathing space. For what, I find myself asking... Closer to the Heart This would be - what - the third live rendition in a row? Just as well it's a proper classic, isn't it? Honestly, it never gets tired. You'd think it might, with the simplicity and the sheer number of times it's been played, but somehow - whether it's the crowd singing along, or the way the band play with their various sections, it just works. The ending's been worked up even more than on 'A Show of Hands'; finally, after all these years, we're no longer being presented with these songs as if they were precious artefacts, but as living, breathing, changing songs. Love it, and it still leaves me wanting more. In the context of this album, it's a bit like the sorbet before the rich main course... 2112 Overture Ye Gods and little fishes, as my mother used to say. Really? After all this time? First time round, all I have is the cover. All it says is '2112'. How much of it? We'll see. For now, the Overture is as magnificent as it ever was. I'm glad we've had some old friends leading into it, because it would otherwise sound a little odd, I think, jammed in amongst the 'Test for Echo' stuff. Even if this is all we get, I'll be happy to have heard it again, and played with - No, I'll leave that until I've heard it all. In the meantime, I love the chant-along crowd noises! The Temples of Syrinx Oh, good - straight on we go. Given that Geddy's voice can never recapture the way it was back then, he does an excellent job making it sound convincing here. There really need, as I observed before, to be two voices in this whole thing, and the priests need to sound somewhat forced and unearthly. He may not be quite as high as before, but it works. Hey! (grin) Discovery Oh, this is too much - if we get 'Discovery' (for the first time, as I recall), then we must be getting it all. It's not exactly convincing as the first time he's picked up a guitar, but I suppose it never was. I'm irresistibly reminded of Pat Metheny's solo on 'Shadows and Light' - other than Joni Mitchell and Rush being Canadian, I don't think I've ever considered them in the same sentence before now. Fortunately, Alex restrains himself and doesn't go off down the 'terminal noodling' route that Metheny so enjoys. The notes really do fall gently like rain, too. Presentation I wonder how hard it was to relearn all this for this tour? There's never a feeling (well, there wouldn't be, given who we're dealing with) that it sounds ragged or unfamiliar; it just - works. This time the priests don't scream their derision, but there's no doubt who's who, or who's boss. You don't have to strain your voice to breaking to make the point. In fact, the more I listen, the more I realise that the two voices are more or less in the same register - one is a little more of a head voice, but it really is impressive how different they sound nevertheless. I'm enjoying this; can you tell? Oracle: A Dream There's that vocal contrast again. This time, it's the light and dark of the dream. I know I'm going on about it, but this whole section really is a vocal tour de force from someone who would probably have been quite happy never to have sung this again... Soliloquy Is there the tiniest hint of an edit, or a splice before this? I'm not going to go back and check - I really want this to have been all one take. This time, a word for the bass playing; there's a proper swagger and sway to it - a confidence which falters away to nothing at the end. I think I'm hearing some of this for the first time. Grand Finale So, yes - we do get it all. I'm not sure how it stacks up in terms of timing to the studio version,; it feels like it has been faster. There is, of course, no sense of mystery or uncertainty about it - we all know the story, and there's no need for it to take its time, but I'm so pleased to have heard it all again, played by - And this is the point I was going to make earlier: this is not, as it might have been, a piece of juvenalia, played for laughs by a band who know they don't have to do it; this is more like an old maser, brought out of storage and respectfully laid before us. No matter what they felt about it at the time (and, let's face it, if they hated it, the wouldn't have done it), they knew how much it meant to the fans, and played it straight. Loud applause is in order. And brain surgery, apparently.

Different Stages Long ago and far away, I bought a Rush CD. It wasn't my first, and it wasn't my last. But it felt significant, because it had been neary ten years since I had last bought one. I had only vaguely kept in touch with them in that time, but there was this marvellous new thing called the Internet (which was by then, a marvellous but slightly old hat thing called the Internet), and I had been reading up on them. I read about what had happened to Neil, and I was saddened by it - he had been a big part of my formative years, and for that to happen to anyone is tragic; for it to happen to someone with whom you feel - however tenuously - a connection is somehow more personal. Some time later, I was, as I mentioned before, doing some shopping at Brent Cross, and I poked about for a time in the Virgin Megastore. I saw 'Different Stages', I looked at the tracklisting, and I thought to myself, 'why not? After all, it might be the last thing they ever do.' And so it goes - seven years later, I'm still here. It must be a reasonably decent live album, then...

Dog Years All the way back at 'I Think I'm Going Bald', I leapt to the defence of a song which generally gets a bit of a pasting, and I'm kind of going to do it again. Kind of. OK, let's get it out of the way - the lyric stinks. Sorry, but there it is. I love and utterly relate to the sentiment, but there are a million other ways it could have been presented. It just isn't possible to listen to this with out bursting into undignified sniggering. I think it falls apart at about 'doggy heaven', which is 23 words in. You're just not going to recover from that, however well-intentioned you are. Actually, I've just thought of something. Give this lyric to They Might Be Giants - it's pretty much at their level of whimsy, and they could probably marry it to something jolly and tinkly, and everyone would love it. Because the real problem is that this is a fantastic song, if you don't listen to the words. It rocks and rolls and thunders; it pitches and yaws in all the right places, and I really want to sing along. Just not to those words. Virtuality So, better follow it up with something more lyrically solid. Or not. OK, not fair. Two things about this: it was written too soon - the world is only now coming to terms with what the internet means, and I'm confident that a Peart song on the same subject now would be a bit more thoughtful. Secondly, "Net boy, net girl"? I'm prepared to overlook the odd bit of lapsed quality control, but this is 2 songs running. Sheesh, I believe is the word. OK, but here's the real thought - instead of 'press this key to see amazing things', there's a deeper, much more ambivalent message here. Here I sit, analysing and criticising the works of Neil Peart. Ten years ago, this could still have been out there, although not so easily - now, it's matter of course. Who am I to criticize? Just another audience member, is all - 20 years ago, when I was really listening to Rush all the time, the most I could have done was talk to my friends in the pub about it - now I can float these words out there, and I have no control over where they end up. If Neil sees them (yeah, but stick with me), how would I feel about that? How would he? There's a song in that. And it could still sound as good as this one, but I think I'd find the words more satisfying. Oh, love the ending, by the way. Just in case you thought I'd exchanged listening for ranting. Resist Ah, I'm spoiled for this - the first time I heard it, I heard the introduction about how it was inspired by Scotland. Being a Scot, this kind of predisposes me to like it. A lot. And then I hear the lyric, which is a great riff on Oscar Wilde (so Neil hasn't lost it, thankfully), and that in turn means that I can focus on the music, because that's the Scottish connection. and it took me a while, but I got it in the end. Runrig. If you've never heard Runrig, then I can recommend them. They don't really sound much like Rush (although they sound a bit like 'Resist'), but I hear Runrig running right through this - I'd love to know why. And is Geddy harmonising with himself in this? It's very effective, whatever it is. Oh, and as if this wasn't disjointed enough, lyrically, it's a pretty strong statement of personal intent, don't you think? Limbo In which I have to find yet another way of talking about an instrumental. Well, I'm glad it's here, and I'm very glad it's back to being playful, although I don't know that Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers bring all that much to the party. It's fun, though. What really stands out, I suppose, is the way the voice is used as another layer of texture - voice as instrument; it's something which has been a feature of these last three albums, and it's used to its fullest effect here. Musically, this is on the right side of adventurous, but I'm afraid I'm still yearning for the way 'YYZ' stretched the listener. I'm sorry, I like it well enough, but I'm struggling to find new things to say about it. Carve Away the Stone So, with a title like that, you're going to have to contend with Mott the Hoople (well, if your ears are as old as mine, you are), and therefore you'd better have a chorus and hook at least as strong as that one. First signs are good - the opening is stark and strong, and we reach the refrain nice and early. And when we get there, it's all good - probably not quite as memorable as the other song, but its had a 30-year head start at getting stuck in my brain, so I'm reserving judgement just yet. As a summary of what 'Test For Echo' has been all about, this will do nicely - lyrically, it's sound enough, and musically, it's full of all the things Rush are about now - muscular, yet melodic. All told, it's not the strongest song on here, but it's a perfectly good set-closer. Summary Well, I needn't have worried. Sure, it has its flaws, but who among us doesn't? It certainly surprised me with its dedication to rocking out, and it has caused me to smile at my initial reaction to 'Vapor Trails' - when I first heard that, I had no knowledge of the three 'missing' albums; I think I expected it to sound like 'Presto'. Now I understand why it doesn't, although I can't help wondering what the next album would have sounded like, if only... And there I am - I find myself with another live album to review, which I'll get to a damn sight quicker than the last one. This journey is coming to an end, and I'm going to miss it. I'm not, however, going to miss the nagging voice saying 'shouldn't you be reviewing the next album, and moving on?'

Test For Echo 'Counterparts' was a step along this road, and now, somehow, after all these years, here we are back in the rock arena. The opening bars are just a distillation of pure Rush - it really couldn't be anyone else. And then the song plunges into power chords and tricky repeating riffs - it doesn't sound anything like, say, Caress of Steel, yet it's really the same setup. I guess it's just a bit more Nineties. The lyrics remind me a little of 'Double Agent'; it's all CSI (although I guess it was NYPD Blue back then); in fact the subject matter is quite a bit darker than the sound, which has me bouncing along nicely. I gotta learn that bassline - might even have to buy me a bass one of these days. Driven Straight off - I love this. I've loved it since I heard it on 'Different Stages' all those years ago, and listening properly to the studio version, I just love it even more. So why does this leap out at me so sharply? Let me count the ways... The riff. I have no idea how hard it is to come up with new and original riffs, but this is a killer - simple enough, once you try to figure it out, but so strong, and leading inevitably into the meat of the song, which has me threatening to shake loose a few braincells many decades after I last banged head in anger. Then, big fat sumptuous acoustic chords; this one's aimed directly at me! Follow that with the bass solo, running ragged up and down that same riff, a gloriously singable chorus and- Hold on. that's it right there - the reason I love this; the reason this song works so well. Not one, but two fabulous melodies - the whole 'driven to the margin of terror' section, and then, over those acoustic chords, a soaring, leaping, plaintive 'but it's my turn to drive'. I'll have some things to say about lyrics in a bit, but if you were presented with a lyric whose refrain looked like the complaints of a whiny teenager, how hard would you have to work to turn it into something even a tenth as good as this? This, however, sounds effortless. Rockin' and rollin', guys. I like it. Half the World Another arresting opening - there's no let up here, is there? Big, fulsome chords, another flowing and powerful bassline, and I'm almost halfway through this, singing along lustily, when I realise what I'm singing. Now, we've been spoiled over the years - the lyrical content of Rush songs has rarely slipped below the 'outstanding' category - particularly when compared to most other rock bands. And Neil's slipped a few list-type songs past us in the past, and mostly they've amused me. But this just doesn't work for me - it's full of sweeping generalisations, and bald platitudes; it doesn't have the ring of truth, and it feels like an exercise in how far a simple idea can be stretched; the answer being: not half as far as you think. But then, all of a sudden, there's an extraordinary middle eight. What the hell's that? I am an aficionado of many types of music, among them the thoroughly original and much-missed Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Now, I may be wrong, but those sound like cuatros. Something mandolin or lute-like anyway. I'm going to have to go and look it up later. On balance, that nice touch may just about save this song - in fact, from any other band, I'd allow this a hearty thumbs up, but when you set the bar this high, you've got to clear it every time. The Colour of Right (Hey, Canadian band, Canadian spelling) I count about five other bands this could be in the opening few bars - the guitar work is different, the bass work is a little less prominent; even the drumming sounds different, and yet it all comes back together quite quickly. Odd, I really can't put my finger on it, but there are all kinds of other things going on in here. The vocal line is as strong a melodic line as we've heard in four or five albums, and there are some real old-school Rush chords in the middle. It's even partly a life on the road song, harking all the way back to 'Making Memories', but ultimately this one is passing me by. Maybe it just sounds a little too much like other people. It does occur to me that it would have made a great radio song, for exactly those reasons. People who didn't even know who it was by would have hummed along. It's inoffensive, but it's not much of anything else, either. Time and Motion Whereas this is right back into the new sound, and the opening just blows me away. This time, it's the sound which connects me back to 'Double Agent'. But this is fresh, and darts off in unexpected directions - there are minor keys all over the place, and the melody lines go down where you expect them to go up; there's an intriguing time signature going on, especially in the middle. There's a keyboard part, something of a rarity now, and the restatement of the opening riff is truly menacing. It's a terrific grab-bag of interesting elements, and where it could have all got a bit messy (or 13 minutes long), it's cohesive, smart and snappy - it all hangs together really well, even if at first glance it seems to be going in four different directions at once. I like it, it's the one song on here which made me work it out, and that's a good thing. Totem Hmm. Remember 'Free Will'? That, to me, was just about the definitive Peart statement on religion. Of course, anyone has the right to expand on things, even to change their mind as they roam life's pathways, but this strikes me as trying to be funny about something which perhaps deserves his fuller attention. (I will say that the drumming is getting his full attention - and mine). What is is that bothers me about this? Partly, it's the 'dancing around my totem pole' line - I'm sure it's not meant to provoke sniggers, but, damn it, it does. There's an attempt to state a clear philosophy, but all these deities and superstitions keep getting in the way of the message - what exactly is it that Neil believes? I know what he says he believes, but all this other stuff is clouding the issue somewhat. Musically, it's perfectly fine - it doesn't reach the heights of some of the others on here, but I really like all the guitar harmonics going on in the background - a bit like the opening of 'Red Barchetta'; a fine, nostalgic thread in an otherwise more modern soundscape.

Test for Echo OK, here we go... Once I've listened to this all the way through, I'll have heard every Rush song. I'm not finished when I get to the end of this, but I feel like I'll have finished. Wonder if I can pace this right, and be reviewing the new album just after it comes out? We'll see. Anyway, this has had enough rotation in the last few weeks - I think I'm ready to go...

You know, mostly what I'm trying to do with Test for Echo is not prejudge it. People like it, people dislike it, all well and good. I'm glad someone is standing up for it, because if all I heard was negative comments, I'd be a little concerned at my own reaction. Nah, in the end, I have my own ears, battered as they may be by 44 years of listening to everything at an ill-advisedly extreme volume, but they've served me well thus far. I'll get through it. And I'll have my own opinion on it, I'm sure. Actually, I really ought to get on with listening to it, don't you think?

The Speed of Love So, last time out, Ghost of a Chance was about love, so now we need to take the next step and actually put the word 'love' in the title. And love is, of course, one of the themes of the whole album, which kind of demonstrates just how far Neil has come - he seems to be much more comfortable with this subject matter now than he ever was in the past. It's still not particularly personal or autobiographical, but it's a lot closer than ever before. Having said that, I'm not as inspired by this song as I have been by the others so far. It's got a certain potency in the refrain, but it doesn't grab me in quite the same way. Nice, but no more than that (although there's a teriffic little bit of drumming right in the middle which gets my attention). Double Agent Just when I thought we were settling down into a nice, comfortable middle age with Rush, they go and pull this out of their sleeve. It even allows you to sink into a kind of comfort zone before unleashing something utterly unexpected on you. The abrupt change of gears is unsettling enough, but then we get the answer to the question posed by the rap section in 'Roll the Bones'. This is how it can be done - it doesn't just sound convincing (and, yes, I know it's not a rap), it sounds properly dark and menacing - Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett. It's, quite frankly, superb. The first time I heard it, I had to stop the car so I could listen properly - and there haven't been any songs like that since - well, ever, really, since it would have been 'Grace Under Pressure', and I wasn't driving around back then. And it al works out right in the end, which is in keeping with the overall mood of the album. I love this. Leave That Thing Alone Another instrumental? At least I have heard this one before. The more I think about the last one, the more disappointed I am, but this gets off on the right foot, and doesn't let up. It's much more what I had been expecting, even if it doesn't hit the heights of 'YYZ' or 'La Villa Strangiato'. I can clearly hear the various parts working together, and they each get a chance to show off, which is only right and proper. 'Where's My Thing?' felt like a filler; this one feels like its here for a reason. Although it does still have that 'song which we didn't have words for' thing going on, it doesn't outstay its welcome. Cold Fire Reading the title, I was expecting - well, not this. Earlier, I was wondering about Neil being a little more personal on these songs. This one feels like a confessional. It's almost eerie hearing this kind of thing from these guys, knowing how protective Neil is of his privacy. And, of course, it could all be made up. but it has the feel of something real; it has a really strong purposeful feel to it. and I'm hearing all sorts of things in it, from The Who at the beginning, to a surely unintentional Public Image quote in the middle - if there's a continuum of guitar-based rock music, then Rush and PiL are probably about as far apart as you can get on it - it made me smile, which is a good thing. and Neil's really cooking on the drums here, too- I tend not to mention it, because there's only so many ways you can say 'hey, the drumming's great', but this one jumped out at me. Great melody line, too - this is a really good song. Everyday Glory Whereas this one is possibly trying just a little too hard. A big, heroic title like that needs sometihng special to back it up, and it only almost gets it - all the elements are there; the piano part and the heroic guitar, but for me, it just doesn't quite gel. Which is not to say that it's a bad song - it's not, and if it had been on 'Roll The Bones', I think it would have been a standout track,. I'm not sure how to make it better; perhaps all it needs is to be remixed so that everything isn't trying to be more prominent than everything else. Maybe my ears are tired - I don't know. Summary So I read what people said - that these three albums were 'patchy' or whatever; why didn't you tell me that the middle one is a real beauty. This, friends, is a teriffic album. Sure, there are odd moments where the step falters a little, but this far on, not every record can be 'Moving Pictures'. But, really - this is fabulous stuff from a band this far along in its career. More, much more than I had expected. I do hope I'm not setting myself up for a fall with 'Test For Echo'.