WORKING MEN

Oh yeah, prog & rock on. This is something that can always please my ears. Sidenote: There are snakes and arrows on cover, but there is not eponymous song. Darn. So, what to say about this album. It's my first live by Rush, so this is positive (for me), but their studio albums I appreciate and like a lot, so I can say that they brings good songs here.

However, the sound quality is bad. Too much crowd noise & chanting. Not that I hate it, but I would rather be without it. It's part of atmosphere and this must have been helluva (hehe) concert, but for home listening, it's annoying, as one can't get clear sound. And Geddy's voice sometimes fails higher tones. I know, 56 years, he's doing wonderful job with these vocals, but it seems that some songs were composed for his younger self, when he was more capable.

4(-), because in overall, it's quite good album. It still is, don't worry. Musicianship is perfect and songs are played (mostly) as we're used to.

Rush in the Limelight with the Spirit Of Tom Sawyer is a Far Cry from One Little Victory

Another year and another compilation. It has been 2 years since the release of "Snakes and Arrows" and so the time has arrived for another Rush compilation but this one with a difference; every track is performed live. This would be a good thing apart from the fact that all the tracks bar one are released from live albums that every Rushaholic owns, or at least should own.

There is one shining gem, an unreleased live track, One Little Victory, but one has to wonder why this is the case. There is so much potential to release another live album with new material making it a must for every Rush fan worth their salt, so perhaps it comes down to management issues or label squabbles. Whatever the case this compilation is not much to write about and so I won't waste too much time with it here.

Suffice it to say there is nothing new on offer worth purchasing a full CD of rehashed live material no matter how good the set list consisting of treasures such as Limelight, The Spirit of Radio, Freewill, Tom Sawyer, Working Man and YYZ. The DVD release of this is worth a look but only if you do not own "Live in Rio", "R30" or "Snakes and Arrows Live". A bit of shameless marketing to get more Rush fans, this is primarily for newbies or completists; it can easily be avoided and should be for those with all the Rush live albums.

One more Rush live release? Look, this one is different - it is their "first ever compilation of live recordings"!

Speaking seriously, they were a great band, and their legacy is really excellent. Another question is that their best time is gone and their management just (try) to produce as much money from the brand "Rush" as possible.

So, there we have compilation from three last to time live Rush releases - Rush in Rio (2003), R30 (2005), and Snakes & Arrows Live (2008). Whenever still not so much time is gone from all three were released, and to be honest even their release was more commercial action, the release of compilation from their track looks strange.

Music is as good as ever - happily the songs mostly come from their earlier great time. Geddy Lee vocals are good as for recordings from first decade of new millenium. Music is energetic, ok, they really don't have that explosive energy of their shows from 70-s.

Nice , but useless release. I can hardly imagine who is interested in such compilation. But still nice music-for newbies.