RUSH - IN RIO

It's a shame that such a good band sounds so bad. The guitar often is all you can here apart from the voice but there are also times where the guitar is so distorted than all you can here is like a buzz... the drums of master Peart sound quite bad too, forget the crispy difference heard in studio, here it all sounds pretty much the same. The songs are all nice as always, except for the sound of course, but they don´t go further than that. No song is different than their studio version, no improvisation, no alternative soloing. Yes, this might have been an excellent presentation to be part of, but as a live album, it doesn't say much. I like it when songs change live, to have a different experience than what I get from listening to the album. not here. Only with la Villa Stragliato does this happen. and it doesn't blow your mind either. Well, but this is not Crimson, this is Rush, a different approach to music, not worst, just different I guess.

Speaking of the (bad) sound production in this album, if you want to see what I mean, check out the last 2 songs Between Sun & Moon and Vital Sings which are from other presentations where the sound is far better than in the rest. It seems Stadium arenas aren't that good for live albums.