RETROSPECTIVE III 1989 - 2008

Rush are now nearing the end of their 4th decade of releasing music and also at the end of their record deal with Atlantic, so to celebrate/cash in (delete according to your own personal degree of cynicism) we have the 3rd Retrospective of their work spanning 1989 through 2008.

The main interest for many fans will be the remixes done by Richard Chycki for the Vapor Trails tracks One Little Victory and Earthshine. The mastering/production of 2002's Vapor Trails has always been a bone of contention for Rush fans. The album is torturous to listen to: suffering both from digital artefacts and a muddy over-hot mix. So how do the tracks sound? Well in this humble reviewer's opinion they sound even worse! Initially I was enthusiastic as I could hear bits that were previously hidden but truth be known the mix is now even muddier, for example the bass is more prominent but the vocals are muffled, some of the guitar tracks can be heard but the drums sound, well, artificial I guess.

As for the rest, well it's OK I suppose. A collection of minor hits and fan favourites. Not the greatest era of the band and if you follow the mantra old Rush good - new Rush bad then this is not the collection for you. There is a bonus disc, available at a premium price, containing videos released by the band during this era so I guess collectors will want the release for those.

I listened to the CD once and shrugged. So what? Let's hope there's a Retro 4 with some real Rush music on it.

'Retrospective III (1989-2008)' - Rush (Compilation)

In the overall scheme of things, the music of Rush has taken a little bit of a turn downwards in terms of musical consistency and quality. With the exemption of the masterpiece 'Counterparts,' Rush really hasn't made any truly amazing music over the fast 10 years. Back in the 70's and early 80's, Rush were dealing out essential pieces of progressive music like candy to a child. Nowadays, while some of the stuff is really good (after all, Rush is one of the best bands of all time... they haven't lost their minds or their talent) alot just doesn't measure up to the material from the times previous. Mind you, Rush has been together since 1967; they've been a band longer than alot of their fans nowadays have even been alive! But the fact remains, why would someone buy a best of collection of their worst era?

For someone just getting into Rush, 'Retrospective I' or 'Retrospective II' might be interesting to buy, just to test whether or not someone likes the band or not. But for the third installment in this trilogy, it's basically trying to find the best material from a bunch of non-essential albums and put them together, making a slightly better album altogether.

Like I said before, the only amazing album represented here is 'Counterparts' and only three songs from that album are on here. While that's understandable, it's probably better for someone who wants good modern Rush to just go out and buy that album, instead of this.

For the special edition, there are a few interesting videos and interviews, but still nothing worth really buying the disc for. It is a very welcome touch though.

If I was going to make a 'modern' 1989-2009 Rush Retrospective, I would put the whole of 'Counterparts' on it, as well as 'The Pass' and 'Available Light' from Presto and 'Armor & Sword' from 'Snakes & Arrows.' The only half-interesting thing about this are the DVD features, and those will get put on an actual DVD sometime soon probably. A totally unnecessary release.

Retrospective III 1989 - 2008 is a compilation album by Canadian progressive rock act Rush. As the title suggests the album covers Rush six studio album releases from 1989 to 2008. The album was released in 2009 and is the third part of a line of compilation albums which currently also include Retrospective I (1974-1980) and Retrospective II (1981-1987). Both mentioned albums were released in 1997. There´s a regular CD edition available of the album but there´s also a limited edition available which includes a DVD with Rush videos and an interview.

In this period Rush started developing the warm, clever alternative/ progressive rock sound that characterizes their music today. The first two albums Presto (1989) and Roll the Bones (1991) still had a more high end production and extensive use of synths that characterized Rush music in the eighties but with Counterparts (1993) the music got heavier and more guitar based. I´m not sure I agree with the song selection for this compilation though. It seems a bit unevenly distributed or maybe I´m just missing a couple of my favorites. Songs like Test for Echo, Chain Lightning and Stick it Out would have fit really well here IMO. All in all it´s a good starting point for newcommers to this period of Rush and a 3 star rating is deserved.

Why ? Why cheapen the Rush brand ?

The big record labels (like Atlantic) has been a heck of a lot pointless compilation albums during the last five years. This is the years when their income from album sales has dropped like a rock. Hence, I am starting to wonder if this sudden avalanche of compilation albums is the last throw of the dice from these big dinosaurs in the business before they dies and becomes fossils (oil/gas).

The facts: This album is covering the final years of Rush contract with Atlantic Records. It is the third retrospective of in total three retrospectives.......zzzzzz.......... And if this informations did not send you to sleep, you should drink less coffee or stop taking speed.

This album contains some good music, but nothing really new music. It is boring as heck and totally pointless besides of improving Atlantic Records balance sheets. I am starting to believe albums like this is both just masking the difficulties the record labels have + increasing the contempt we music buyers have for these record labels. There is no artistic integrity in this and they are just dragging Rush down with them by releasing albums like this. But what choice does a band like Rush have ? None, I believe.

Pointless and degrading, this compilation album is.

2 stars