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Various Artists (Tributes) - Working Man (A tribute to Rush) CD (album) cover

WORKING MAN (A TRIBUTE TO RUSH)

Various Artists (Tributes)

 

Various Genres

3.19 | 47 ratings

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Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
3 stars Tribute albums to great bands, always so difficult to judge, if the covers are too close to the originals they are meaningless, but when the homaged material are true classics and they try to make different versions it's often so difficult to come up with better renditions than the originals.

More than 20 great musicians coming mostly from the heavy and metal scene play in this tribute to Rush: Petrucci, Portnoy, LaBrie, Sebastian Bach, Devin Townsend, Fates Warning, Michael Romeo, Billy Sheehan, George Lynch, Steve Morse or Stuart Hamm to name just a few. With such a line-up it's clear that this is not an amateur project and that the performances will be technically outstanding. And the song selection is of course full of classics: The Trees, La Villa Strangiato, Jacob's Ladder, Closer To The Heart, Natural Science, YYZ, Red Barchetta, Freewill, Mission, Analog Kid, By-Tor?, so nothing can go wrong, can it?

Well what we have here are metallized versions which otherwise are quite faithfull to the original songs. Basically all songs follow the original versions but with a pumped up, "on steroids" attitude, faster and more metal-oriented guitar solos, more aggressive vocals, heavier drumming. Is it good? For sure, how could it be otherwise? Is it better than the original songs? not for my taste, although those who do not like Geddy Lee's vocals or like a a more metal edge might find these renditions better than the original versions, as long as you do not give too much value to the credit of Rush having created them in the first place.

The only cover which gives a further turn to the knob is Analog Kid, the much heavier treatment making it sound quite different from the original in Signals, all the others are good but too close to the originals and the changing aspect is always the same, just a more metal-oriented treatment, technically faultless from a cold, clinical point of view. As for me, give me the genuine brilliance of the original Rush tracks.

Gerinski | 3/5 |

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