RUSH

RUSH
DIFFERENT STAGES - LIVE (1998)
320 KBPS

On their fourth live album since their inception in the early '70s, Rush's three-CD Different Stages: Live is similar in approach and feel to their first in-concert release, 1976's All the World's a Stage. Instead of overdubbing and cleaning up the performances as they did on their last two live albums (1981's Exit...Stage Left and 1988's A Show of Hands), the tracks are left raw and rocking. And with very limited use of synthesizers, the results are often extremely impressive. The first two discs are comprised of renditions of hits from Rush's past couple of tours (1994's Counterparts and 1997's Test for Echo), while the third is a long-lost classic show from London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1978. On discs one and two, such Rush standards as "2112," "Tom Sawyer," and "The Spirit of Radio" are joined by recent material ("Dreamline," "Stick It Out," "Roll the Bones," etc.) and obscure tracks ("Natural Science," "Analog Kid," etc.), which makes for a perfect balance of material. But it's the third disc that will have longtime fans frothing at the mouth — for the first time ever on an official release, live versions of "Cygnus X-1," "A Farewell to Kings," and "Cinderella Man" are presented. Even though no material from the mid- to late '80s is included, Different Stages: Live will delight Rush's adoring throng of fans.

Disc 1
1. Dreamline
2. Limelight
3. Driven
4. Bravado
5. Animate
6. Show Don't Tell
7. The Trees
8. Nobody's Hero
9. Closer to the Heart
2112
10. Overture
11. The Temples of Syrinx
12. Discovery
13. Presentation
14. Oracle
15. Soliloquy
16. Grand Finale

Disc 2
1. Test for Echo
2. Analog Kid
3. Freewill
4. Roll the Bones
5. Stick It Out
6. Resist
7. Leave That Thing Alone
8. The Rhythm Method
9. Natural Science
10. The Spirit of Radio
11. Tom Sawyer
12. YYZ

Disc 3
1. Bastille Day
2. By-Tor & the Snow Dog
3. Xanadu
4. Farewell to Kings
5. Something for Nothing
6. Cygnus X-1
7. Anthem
8. Working Man
9. Fly by Night
10. In the Mood
11. Cinderella Man