GRACE UNDER PRESSURE 1984 TOUR

I am a sucker for Rush live albums......... and Rush albums in general. So now you know.

Hence I bought this Replay x 3 collection of DVDs, in which this album is included on a CD. This album has now been released on it's own, I have now learned halfway through writing this review.

This live album is a snapshot of the Grace Under Pressure tour. This is a period also covered by the A Show Of Hands live album. Thankfully, the setlist on the Grace Under Pressure 1984 Tour live album is pretty much different from Show Of Hands. And so is the mood too. This is mostly due to Grace Under Pressure 1984 Tour being one concert and not a collection of many concerts as Show Of Hands was. This recording therefore feels more real.

The songs is taken from the period of Rush career I have some problems with. The technology and the shorter songs had taken over from the long songs. But it is a long time since I have been listening to the Grace Under Pressure album and the previous three albums. But Rush gives a good account of the songs present here. The medley with Syrinx, Tom Sawyer and YYX is an oddity and I don't believe this medley can be found anywhere else. Anyway, this medley works. There are also some intros I have not heard anywhere else. The rendition of Witchhunt on this live album is the best version I have ever heard of this song. The rest of the songs are also great.

My gripes is that the songs here is not particular great, although the three musicians does the best they can out of this material. I am not a sworn fan of this era of their career. Hence my three and something stars. But fans of this era should flash their credit cards now in the direction of this live album. But this live album is still a good listening.

3.55 stars

Now this is a great live album, I picked this up in a "care package" of other Rush albums and this one was a sleeper for me. Grace Under Pressure is one of my personal favorites of Rush's albums and the live album is the same. This sounds so big and live and I feel right there. The song selection is great with a bunch of my favorites you'll see in Highlights. My only complaint is that there is no drum solo on this. Overall, this is a fantastic live album that should not be passed up. 5 stars. Highlights: Intro, The Spirit of Radio The Enemy Within, The Weapon, Witch Hunt, NEW WORLD MAN, Distant Early Warning, Red Sector A, Closer to the Heart, YYZ/The Temples of Syrinx/Tom Sawyer, Vital Signs, and Finding My Way/In the Mood

Grace Under Pressure is another of the earlier concert performances of Rush running for about an hour with a lot of songs from "Grace Under Pressure" of course and it is nice to hear these. It begins with a glorious opening with The Spirit Of Radio.

The Enemy Within is rarely heard live but sparked my memory and it's a great song. The Weapon is always fantastic, one of my favourites, and Witch Hunt is always welcome from "Moving Pictures" recently heard in the Time Machine concerts. Lee's vocals are excellent throughout and the guitars are incredible.

New World Man is another one rarely heard live recently and it is OK though not one of the better tracks from "Signals". Distant Early Warning follows and it is a great song from GUP, that has become a concert favourite.

Red Sector A is an awesome song and I loved hearing it live, with one of the strongest melodies of the Rush catalogue. The lyrics by Lee are terrific and when Lee sings "smoking gun" a massive explosion goes off causing the crowd to roar. The lyrics are actually based on family experience and is a homage to his mother and father that survived the holocaust. Though Lee re wrote the lyrics to have a broader perspective that it may apply to any holocaust like situation such as Rwanda.

Closer To The Heart is always a crowd pleaser and the crowd know it well enough to drown out some of Lee's vocals. The obligatory medley is here with a terrific merging of some classics, YYZ, Temples Of Syrinx, and Tom Sawyer. It is nice to hear Lee be able to reach those high notes too in the chorus.

Vital Signs is always great and it ends with another medley blending Finding My Way and In The Mood, from the earliest album.

Overall, this is a great snippet of songs from the Rush 80s years, worth checking out for certain even if for nostalgia if nothing else. As always with these concerts they are best seen then heard and I totally recommend the excellent DVD rather than this CD, as the music is identical.