Rush - Different Stages

In 1997 and '98 I spent a lot of time and money building up my CD collection through searching and questing through discount bins, used stores, and even the odd deal with friends. Out of all the CD's I bought during that time period I believe that Rush's Different Stages, and Metallica's Reload and Garage Inc are the only CDs that still get regular play in my CD player. The interesting part about that comparison is that there are three discs from each band mentioned.

Rush's Different Stages contains three compact discs, and each one is loaded, that span three decades. The first two discs were recorded during the tours for Counterparts (1994) and Test For Echo(1997). The third disc was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, in 1978.

This is the single greatest collection of Rush songs I have ever personally seen put together. If you know Rush well enough to know they have different periods of music, you'll understand when I say that there is little of the 80's on this album, and I am thankful.

Most of the songs that make up this collection come from Test For Echo, Counterparts, Roll The Bones, Moving Pictures, and anything released before 1978. This is three man Canadian power trio at their best.

The first disc starts off with Dreamline. I don't mind this song, and it's a great way to start the show, album, collection. It's solid, not overly crazy, and get's a good pace going. This is one of those songs that I find is more for the common fan, and less for the Prog fan.

Limelight follows that perfectly. This is one of those songs that I'm good with, but I can equally let it go. However, it's a great standard from the band. I'm not overly fond of the sound of the performance here, but I think that's just because of the song itself. I've always thought it sounded a bit pulled back.

Given a choice between Test For Echo and Counterparts I'll normally pick songs from Counterparts first. Driven is one of the reasons why. I'm not overly fond of the more accoustic, stripped down, subtle approach to a lot of the songs on that album. It's a fantastic album, but released in time when accoustic was way too popular.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Roll the Bones album. It was very commercial in many ways. I don't have issues with the Rapping, and various other experiments, but over all it's the one album from the 90's I have the least amount of interest in. Bravado is one of the songs that keep me on the fence, and yet makes me very happy to have this live collection. I like the song as it plays on the CD player, but not on my Mp3 player.

Animate is one of the songs from Counterparts that I thought was given more credit than it deserved. However, it's a fantastic song. I love Alex Lifeson's spaced out guitar, and in the live mix it sounds very cosmic. This is one of those songs that reminds me how overlooked Alex is as a guitarist.

I've already mentioned that 80's Rush was not that great, from my point of view. Show Don't Tell, from Presto, is one of the better examples of what they did right in that decade. I love the big chords, the jumping bass, and the snappy drums. I won't buy the original version, but this live one is fantastic, and totally worth the constant listening.

One of my favourite parts about Rush is how much goes over people's heads when it comes to their lyrics. The Trees is one of those songs that I constantly hear mocked, because "I just don't get a song about trees." I hear that all the time, from people that have never bothered to look at the lyrics. It's a great way of hiding human right's issues in a song.

Musically The Trees is one of my favourite songs as well. Neil Peart is doing his normal crazy super drummer skills, using everything from woodblock sounds to his basic, "I have eight limbs and I'll use all of them on this song." They truly capture the beauty of nature's music in this song.

From there it's on to my favourite song from Counterparts, Nobody's Hero. Let me start by saying that I don't care that this is basically a ballad. This song is about what it means to really be a hero, in a world that forgot what being a hero really means. I also love the music. There is such a rich fullness, and wonderful textured layering, that i can't help but love this song. I do like the studio version better than this live version, though.

There are two, maybe three songs, that I find everyone knows from Rush. The first one is Tom Sawyer and the other is Closer To The Heart. The third one is Roll The Bones, but we aren't there yet.

Closer To the Heart is the original, Zippo in the air, crowd sing along song. Then it takes off into a beautiful guitar solo that just soars, before being brought back in for more serious lyrical content. This is Rush's Imagine for lack of a better description.

I will say that I like this version of Closer To The Heart better than the original, because of the way that the band jams around on the song. It takes the normal fun song, and then jumps it up a couple more notches.

There is no secret that 2112 is one of my favourite songs. It's longer than most songs people are willing to play live, or are able to. Normally when Rush plays this song live you get the first two parts, Overture and Temple of Syrinx. I remember when they went out on tour advertising that it would be the first time in 20 years they played the song in it's entirety. I also remember being very sad that I wasn't able to go see them do it live with my dad. After all he's the one that got me digging on Rush so much.

Well, on this live album they included the full version. That's twenty-one minutes of 2112 live, and it comes rocking out of my speakers like space cannons trying to obliterate the sun. I don't think it's as good as the original, however to hear them pull off the entire song live is spectacular. I can't stress how much I wish I could have seen this live.

I should also point out that they did make some slight alterations to the original song. For example the section known as Discovery sounds a little less like Alex tuning the guitar, and a little more like him discovering how to sneak a cool little solo in.

The second disc opens with the title track from the Test for Echo album. I've liked this song since I first bought the album, when it was first released. As much as they are true to the original, this version is still not as good. I know that it's purely a live production issue too. It's the drum sound that let's me down on this one. It doesn't come thundering through as awesomely as the studio version does.

After that is Analog Kid. Which is one of those Rush songs I've never been a big fan of. It's an okay song, and this live version does it great justice, but it's just not a song for me. I find it too 80's for my liking. I could do without all that synthesizer stuff.

The live version of Freewill on here is fantastic. I love Alex's playing on this song, but more to the point I love the warble that this live version has. It makes it sound like an older recording, eventhough it's a live performance. Then there's the breakdown like jam around the three and a half minute marker that I find a bit orgasmic.

There are two parts about the live version of Roll The Bones. The first is that they leave the rapping skeleton in the song. I don't care what others say, I like it and it fits the song. The second part is that when those parts are played in a live set the band moves off stage, because they are just playing the tape. Other than that, I like this song the same live or studio. It's all the same to me.

As much as I was happy with Rush's return to making great Rock music, and stepping away from the 80's Prog Pop, with the release of the Roll The Bones album, it was Stick It Out from Counterparts that returned all my faith in the power trio. This was the Rush my dad always talked about, and I was getting to experience for myself for the first time. My dad grew up in a time when All The Worlds A Stage and Exit Stage Left allowed him to enjoy his favourite Rush songs in a live setting. Different Stages allowed me to do the same with songs like Stick It Out, which were part of my formative teenage Rush years. Which basically means that I really love this version of the song, and what it gives to me, to hear it.

After that it's back to Test For Echo for Resist, "a song inspired by the great people of Scottland." Geddy tells the audience. I'm not huge on this song to start with, but I don't mind this live version. I actually prefer later live recordings of this song better, but this one will do the trick for those that want it.

After that it's back to Counterparts again, but this time for the wickedly cool, and excessively smooth instrumental Leave That Thing Alone. The only complaint I have about this song is that at points it seems to run a bit long. That's not a fault of this live version, just the song. My favourite part about this song is how seemlessly it flows into Neil Peart's drum solo.

I have never been lucky enough to see Rush live. They are one of the few bands left that leave me feeling incomplete because of it. How can a drummer that has never seen Neil Peart be a complete drummer?

I feel this way especially after hearing The Rhythm Method. It's the drum solo on this live album. This completely gets me throwing my fist in the air. The beauty of a Peart drum solo is that it's more than some chimp pounding away on the skins for five minutes. This is an octopus rocking out one hell of a sexual orgasm through his procussion. I would also like to mention that this solo is why I think he's the only drummer allowed to use any electric drums.

After that is Natural Science, which is a spectacular song. The arrangemnts, instrumentation, and over all vibe is just very uplifting. Most of the time when this song is on I listen like it's the worlds coolest background music. I'm not a huge fan of this song, but I do enjoy it.

The second disc finishes with three of Rush's most popular songs, and that's really funny considering one is an instrumental.

First up is Spirit Of the Radio. If you grew up in Canada you know this song. If you grew up anywhere else, you should still know this song. If you don't know this song go look it up on the internet, and don't come back until you get some type of education on mandatory Rock. I will say that Geddy's voice doesn't sound as good in this live production as the studio. I think this comes from that weird phase guys start going through as they age, when they stop being able to hit high notes properly. Bruce Dickinson is the only person I know that can still hit most of the notes he could when he was younger.

After that follows the best air drumming song ever. It's also the most popular song Rush has ever released. Tom Sawyer is this bands legacy, from the commercial side of things. If you have no clue what song I'm talking about, and don't air drum during the break around the 2:30 marker you are not even worthy of reading this article. This may be the most overplayed Rush song ever released, but I can still listen to it with the same enthusiam I had when I first heard it as a wee little one.

The double disc live section ends with YYZ. This is my favourite of all the Rush instrumentals, like many other fans. However, how can you not love this song. It's bouncy, rockin', groovin', and full of so much love. If you don't know, YYZ is the code for Pearson Internation Airport in Toronto, and this song sounds like the chaos of that airport.

The third disc in the set is from 1978. Recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, during the Hemispheres tour. This disc encompasses a collection of songs that are fantastic, and many of the tracks have not been available live before. Not to mention that the sound quality is phenominal, especially for '78. Even Neil Peart's drum set sounds spot on in the mix.

The first song on the disc is Bastille Day. This is a great song, although not one that I really listen to. It's just not a subject that I care for all that much, except for watching beheadings. But that comes from my love of the guillotine.

After that is By-Tor & the Snow Dog. This was the epic song from the Fly By Night album, and I've listened to that album more than any other Rush album, with the exception of 2112. I use to love when my dad would pop this cassette on in the car, and then we'd just sit back and chill while the music took us away. This song I hold as tight and close to my heart as I do because of my dad, it was just one of those things we shared together.

As an adult, I think this song is totally ass kickin'. It's a total cranker. I mean the bass is Geddy on the bass, the drums are totally Neil doing what Neil does best, and the guitar work is some of Alex's most flashy. It's just wicked. My only complaint about the live version on Different Stages is that it was cut down to about half the time. It doesn't take away from By-Tor & The Snow Dog, but it doesn't add anything either.

What I find the most interesting about them cutting down the one epic is the fact that they included two other epic length songs as well. Xanadu, which is the next track, is the only one that didn't get significantly shortened. Actually the running time on it is a little longer. Originally it was a smidge over eleven minutes, the live version runs twelve and a half. Most of this extra time is ambient sound (Neil's wind chimes) while they are gearing up to go into the song. Other than that, this is just as good as the original.

Farewell To Kings is one of those songs I'm only familiar with because of this album. I like this song because it sounds like four other Rush songs all wrapped up into one. I hear The Trees, bits of 2112, and other elements that make up the Fly By Night Album and the yet to be released Moving Pictures. On the whole, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this song. It's really good, but to a degree I find it choppy and a little stock. I should mention that it sounds like Rush stock which means it's more complicated and well put together than the best that some bands have to offer.

Something For Nothing is one of those songs I like, but don't really go out of my way to listen to. I don't really have to though, it's the last track from 2112. All I have to do is listen to the end of my favourite album. I will say the the sound quality on this live version has the guitar sounding a bit gurgly at points. This song is one of the only ones that you can clearly make out the limitations of analog recording.

After that it's on to the next chopped down epic. Cygnus X-1 normally runs about eighteen minutes. The version on here only runs about ten and a half minutes. This is one of those songs that has inspired me in many ways, but on the whole I'm not overly crazy for. I understand why they cut it down for this live version, but I still wouldn't have minded a version a little closer to the original.

At this perfect point the band decides to ramp the concert back up with Anthem. The pace was really starting to seem to drag a bit, but then this sped up version of an already quick paced song brings everything back to life. This is one of those songs that's very complicated in the sense that it makes your head want to bang, but at the same time the song sounds so nice that it would seem rude to bang to it.

Then it's on to one of the very few Rush songs that get performed live that doesn't include Peart as the lyricist. Working Man from the self titled first album is one of the greatest Rock songs Rush ever recorded. This is a basic, straight forward, working class stiff song. This song is something that anyone, male or female, can connect with and understand as long as you have worked. The live version is great. It's nothing over the top or crazy, like other live versions have been. This one is just a great live Rock song.

After that is Fly By Night and In The Mood. I don't understand why, or how, these two songs ended up always being slapped together in the first decade they were performed live. It's not like they even appeared on the same album together. The first track is from the album of the same name, the second track is from the first album, and is the only other song to not credit Peart for the lyrics.

I will also say that I love Fly By Night, and I've had to take a lot of ribbing from my friends over it. But I have never cared for In The Mood. This song is way too Kiss for me, which would also explain why Kiss were such big fans of Rush in the early days.

Cinderella Man finshes of the set on the third disc. This is another one of those songs I don't really know that well. I will admit that Farewell To Kings is one of those albums that never really got me off. It may be the only one from the 70's that I wasn't overly fond of. I also don't know if this really was the best selection to end the album with, but that's just me. I'm sure someone else would say that it was the perfect ending.

After listening to all three discs I have to say that the second one is my favourite, and the third one is the one I listen to the least. I do love the fact that not a single song repeats and that the sound quality is great pretty much the whole way through.

The part I love the most about this collection of live songs is the considerable lack of music from 1981-1991. I wasn't a fan of those years, and I'm happy that this is more of a live Rock collection and less of an 80's pop collection. I would suggest Different Stages to anyone that wants to get to know Rush better and discover more of their music. If you are looking for a good live collection this is also the live Rush album you want.

8/10 - content

8/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias