Live albums ranked by UCR

[Lurkst]

I saw ATWAS was in last place and read no further...

 

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-live-albums-ranked/

 

 

[Entre_Perpetuo]

ATWAS in last place is probably just a really clickbaity solution to get people to actually scroll down and read the rest of the list. Some questionable choices here and there (CA tour is great but is it better than R40? Not as far as the setlist is concerned, not in my mind), but aside from the ATWAS snipe they have things pretty much where I'm used to seeing them. A little surprising to see GuP live that high up, but I've heard high praise for it before, just not as often as other top of the top albums.

[_hi_water._]

The only things wrong with this list is ATWAS at the very bottom and S&AL ahead of Time Machine

[The Analog Cub]

Switch out ATWAS and A Show Of Hands, move R30 way up the stack, and I'll take this list a bit more seriously.

 

For clarity on where I stand:

 

1. Rio

2. R30

3. Different Stages

4. ATWAS - yeah the reliance on the debut material is rough but the energy is high and the 2112/By-Tor cuts are great.

5. S&A

6. p/g Tour

7. CA Tour

8. Exit Stage Left - It's popular but I don't like it. It's incredibly sterile for a live release. I'm just going to go back to the studio albums.

9. R40 - some great songs - see, Losing It, How It Is, Jacob's Ladder, but it's clear Geddy's not able to comfortably do about 40% of the material at this point

10. A Show Of Hands - give me the actual full concert and I'll move it up, the official release is way too truncated

11. Time Machine - apart from The Camera Eye, for every song in this set there's a better version of it on another live album, and Geddy has a freaking cold in this one.

Edited February 16, 2021 by The Analog Cub

[grasbo]

ATWAS at last place????!!!!!!.Sure it was early in their career and a bit rough n ready but in terms of a recorded document it surely should be top three.Rio is a great vid but I have the CD and I don’t think I have listened to it all the way through.I thought that would be lower.

[zepphead]

ATWAS too low - a fantastic representation of the band, who, at that stage, were still an out and out heavy rock band, at the top of their game

 

RIO too high - I find the sound at times unlistenable.

Edited February 17, 2021 by zepphead

[Lurkst]

The Rio film is a real career high point, maybe THE high point, but doesn't work as well as an album for some reason (poor sound? too long? or simply an anticlimax compared with the DVD?).

 

ATWAS is IMO the only Rush album that could be included in a list of the all time great live rock albums. It ticks all the boxes: actually sounding like a concert, vibrant, atmospheric, lifts the studio recordings to another level and it's all crammed into just over an hour.

 

[Weatherman]

I'd love to find a copy of the GuP live album. I'd like to hear their live sound during that era, a few years before I discovered them.

Also, a deep confession: I've never heard ATWAS. This way I have something "new" from Rush to enjoy when I'm 70...

[driventotheedge]

If you are looking for a much better TM show than the official release, get a copy of the MSG boot, Blu-ray or DVD......filmed by Tapehead2. She's one of the best producers of VOIOs out there, at least was up until a few years ago when I quit doing boots. And yes, "she".

[RushFanForever]

I'd love to find a copy of the GuP live album. I'd like to hear their live sound during that era, a few years before I discovered them.

Also, a deep confession: I've never heard ATWAS. This way I have something "new" from Rush to enjoy when I'm 70...

 

The Grace Under Pressure Tour live album is posted

officially to listen to.

 

It's worded as 1984 - Live in Toronto September 1984 on the official Rush YouTube channel.

Edited February 17, 2021 by RushFanForever

[Todem]

The official releases and my take?

 

 

1. Exit Stage Left - Rush at their sonic and live peak. Sterile? No....it's called a band in complete command of their music and sound.

 

2. A Show Of Hands - Again for me Rush is in top form pulling off tunes from Power Windows and Hold Your Fire with laser precision. A brilliant tour. It is so interesting to listen to this knowing just 6 years before they were sounding like ESL. The contrast is stark and so cool and really highlights how the band really embraced a different direction sonically. It is what made them so great to listen to.

 

3. Different Stages - Meaty, driving and a huge set list that is compiled here. I love this release. And the AFTK Bonus disc was a cherry on top. There was a time we all thought this was it for Rush. And they delivered an impressive package here.

 

4. Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984 - Another example of Rush in top live form. Taut, tight, precision playing and the signs of the transition of the setlist heading into the synth era. I wish we had the complete show though.

 

5. Snakes & Arrows Tour - I felt this was the last time Geddy was in good form vocally. The set list was a who’s who of deep nuggets. And the S7A material really sounded great live.

 

6. R30 - You could tell that Neil got his feet back under him on this tour. So many great versions of songs like Force 10, Red Sector A, Mystic Rhythms and of course the R30 Overture sizzles.

 

7. All The Worlds A Stage - Raw, Power, and a band that is about to take over the world. I still love cranking this album up, but Geddy’s Shreek is sometimes tough on this one. I prefer Permanent Waves thru Hold Your Fire vocals.

 

8. Clockwork Angels Tour - A banner set list. One of the best since the Signals tour for my money. If you loved the synth era (me!!!) then this show was a love letter to us.

 

9. R40 - A great set list, a bittersweet listen though. So hard knowing this was the end while listening to it. But there are some great moments here.

 

10. Time Machine Tour - I simply only listen to Presto and The Camera Eye. Everything else like another poster stated has been captured far better. Geddy had a rough....rough night.

 

11. Rush In Rio - The energy is undeniable. But I cannot listen to this much at all. Sonically it was the worst live release for the band. The set list was epic, the sound was a tinny mess.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Todem

[zepphead]

The official releases and my take?

 

 

1. Exit Stage Left - Rush at their sonic and live peak. Sterile? No....it's called a band in complete command of their music and sound.

 

2. A Show Of Hands - Again for me Rush is in top form pulling off tunes from Power Windows and Hold Your Fire with laser precision. A brilliant tour. It is so interesting to listen to this knowing just 6 years before they were sounding like ESL. The contrast is stark and so cool and really highlights how the band really embraced a different direction sonically. It is what made them so great to listen to.

 

3. Different Stages - Meaty, driving and a huge set list that is compiled here. I love this release. And the AFTK Bonus disc was a cherry on top. There was a time we all thought this was it for Rush. And they delivered an impressive package here.

 

4. Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984 - Another example of Rush in top live form. Taut, tight, precision playing and the signs of the transition of the setlist heading into the synth era. I wish we had the complete show though.

 

5. Snakes & Arrows Tour - I felt this was the last time Geddy was in good form vocally. The set list was a who’s who of deep nuggets. And the S7A material really sounded great live.

 

6. R30 - You could tell that Neil got his feet back under him on this tour. So many great versions of songs like Force 10, Red Sector A, Mystic Rhythms and of course the R30 Overture sizzles.

 

7. All The Worlds A Stage - Raw, Power, and a band that is about to take over the world. I still love cranking this album up, but Geddy’s Shreek is sometimes tough on this one. I prefer Permanent Waves thru Hold Your Fire vocals.

 

8. Clockwork Angels Tour - A banner set list. One of the best since the Signals tour for my money. If you loved the synth era (me!!!) then this show was a love letter to us.

 

9. R40 - A great set list, a bittersweet listen though. So hard knowing this was the end while listening to it. But there are some great moments here.

 

10. Time Machine Tour - I simply only listen to Presto and The Camera Eye. Everything else like another poster stated has been captured far better. Geddy had a rough....rough night.

 

11. Rush In Rio - The energy is undeniable. But I cannot listen to this much at all. Sonically it was the worst live release for the band. The set list was epic, the sound was a tinny mess.

:goodone: Some pretty fair comments here.

[RushFanForever]

I just realized something.

 

From the debut Rush album to Test for Echo, the band happened to release a live album after every four studio albums.

 

This became a predicable scenario in a way.

 

However there's been a few instances where this might not have been the case.

 

I read that there Geddy, Alex, and Neil were going to take a break after the Permanent Waves tour and release a live album. Then they decided to go back in the studio and record another album, which became Moving Pictures.

 

Years later when the Rush Replay X 3 DVD box set was released in 2006, it included Exit... Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure Tour, and A Show of Hands, which were originally released individually in 1982, 1985, and 1989 respectively on VHS and Laserdisc. The box set also includes a previously unreleased CD audio version of the Grace Under Pressure Tour video.

 

Had the unreleased CD audio version of the Grace Under Pressure Tour been released with the companion concert video at the time, that would've severed the four studio album pattern of a live album then being released.

 

When Different Stages was released in 1998, it followed the pattern of being released after four studio albums. It's also a sad coincidence that it could've been the last recorded document from the band if they never regrouped after Neil's tragedies losing his first wife and daughter.

 

In 2014, when the Rush / R40: six-disc blu-ray live set was released, the band managed to salvage the audio syncing issues with the unreleased video included from the Test For Echo tour titled Molson Amphitheatre 1997.

 

However like the Exit...Stage Left video, the Molson Amphitheatre 1997 show is incomplete.

 

On a side note, the ommission of 'Lock and Key' from the A Show of Hands DVD (only on the LaserDisc version), sort of makes that concert incomplete as well.

 

When the Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary and Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland DVD's were released, they each included unreleased live songs (three in total) from the Live at Laura Secord High School, St. Catharines, Ontario, 1974 concert when John Rutsey was in the band.

 

Then when the Rush / R40: six-disc blu-ray live set was released, there was more footage of unreleased songs from the Laura Secord Secondary School 1974 concert. There wasn't a CD version of this concert released.

 

The Laura Secord Secondary School 1974 concert was from a tape in an odd format that had to be transferred as noted here.

 

Had the Laura Secord Secondary School 1974 concert been released around that time as a full live album version, again it would've broken the live album pattern after four studio albums scenario. The unofficial radio broadcast show which aired in August 1974 that was later released in 2011 on CD titled Rush – ABC 1974, doesn't count as a live album.

 

From Vapor Trails up until the R40 Live Tour, both an audio and video version of all the tours has been captured and released to the public.

 

Although Geddy has claimed that there isn't any unreleased studio tracks, there's possible live stuff from early in the band's career that Alex admitted might be lying around as noted here.

Edited February 19, 2021 by RushFanForever

[TheGhostRider]

I'm a big fan of Live Albums, and Rush has a lot. So here's my two cents.

 

1) Different Stages (Best Live Album in my opinion)

2) Exit Stage Left (Very good live album even though it's short)

3) A Show Of Hands (Very good)

4) Grace Under Pressure Live (Very good album but short)

5) R30 (In my opinion the best of the Modern Live albums)

6) Snakes and Arrows Live (Very good only behind R30)

7) Clockwork Angels Live ( The Second best behind S&A)

8) Time Machine Live in Cleveland (Not as good as S&A but still great)

9) Rush In Rio (The audio and technical issues drag down an otherwise great show)

10) R40 (The band played phenomenal in the shows represented here but Geddy was struggling)

11) All The World's A Stage ( A great Live album to start with but not as interesting as ESL or S&A in my opinion.)

 

There's my take.I genuinely love all these albums and rating them is hard.

Edited February 20, 2021 by TheGhostRider

[Entre_Perpetuo]

I just realized something.

 

From the debut Rush album to Test for Echo, the band happened to release a live album after every four studio albums.

 

This became a predicable scenario in a way.

 

However there's been a few instances where this might not have been the case.

 

I read that there Geddy, Alex, and Neil were going to take a break after the Permanent Waves tour and release a live album. Then they decided to go back in the studio and record another album, which became Moving Pictures.

 

Years later when the Rush Replay X 3 DVD box set was released in 2006, it included Exit... Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure Tour, and A Show of Hands, which were originally released individually in 1982, 1985, and 1989 respectively on VHS and Laserdisc. The box set also includes a previously unreleased CD audio version of the Grace Under Pressure Tour video.

 

Had the unreleased CD audio version of the Grace Under Pressure Tour been released with the companion concert video at the time, that would've severed the four studio album pattern of a live album then being released.

 

When Different Stages was released in 1998, it followed the pattern of being released after four studio albums. It's also a sad coincidence that it could've been the last recorded document from the band if they never regrouped after Neil's tragedies losing his first wife and daughter.

 

In 2014, when the Rush / R40: six-disc blu-ray live set was released, the band managed to salvage the audio syncing issues with the unreleased video included from the Test For Echo tour titled Molson Amphitheatre 1997.

 

However like the Exit...Stage Left video, the Molson Amphitheatre 1997 show is incomplete.

 

On a side note, the ommission of 'Lock and Key' from the A Show of Hands DVD (only on the LaserDisc version), sort of makes that concert incomplete as well.

 

When the Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary and Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland DVD's were released, they each included unreleased live songs (three in total) from the Live at Laura Secord High School, St. Catharines, Ontario, 1974 concert when John Rutsey was in the band.

 

Then when the Rush / R40: six-disc blu-ray live set was released, there was more footage of unreleased songs from the Laura Secord Secondary School 1974 concert. There wasn't a CD version of this concert released.

 

The Laura Secord Secondary School 1974 concert was from a tape in an odd format that had to be transferred as noted here.

 

Had the Laura Secord Secondary School 1974 concert been released around that time as a full live album version, again it would've broken the live album pattern after four studio albums scenario. The unofficial radio broadcast show which aired in August 1974 that was later released in 2011 on CD titled Rush – ABC 1974, doesn't count as a live album.

 

From Vapor Trails up until the R40 Live Tour, both an audio and video version of all the tours has been captured and released to the public.

 

Although Geddy has claimed that there isn't any unreleased studio tracks, there's possible live stuff from early in the band's career that Alex admitted might be lying around as noted here.

 

I love how this post beings with "I just realized something" then quickly becomes another blessing of RFF's dizzying encyclopedic knowledge of rock and Rush history for all of us to learn from.

[RushFanForever]

The Working Men live compilation album should've gotten a mention.