RETROSPECTIVE II (1981-1987)

Of the three periods covered by the releases in the Rush Retrospective, this is my favorite. As I assume you can tell, this album is 100%, wholly and completely, redundant to any fan of this period of the band. Everything here is available on the five albums. So I'm reviewing this as a compilation for a listener who doesn't have a good chunk of this material in their collection already. 

From that point of view, Retrospective II is pretty good. Would I have preferred "Lock and Key" over "Force Ten?" Do I miss the "Fear" trilogy? Could I have lived without "Mystic Rhythms" and "Time Stand Still?" Yes. But does it really make sense to argue about song selection? It's fair to ask whether an album like this contains the kinds of songs that it needs to achieve its goal. Retrospective II achieves the goal of a one-disk review of the second half of the band's Mercury years. 

It doesn't do so perfectly. In addition to excluding some songs the casual AOR fan might have heard on the radio, the running order seems arbitrary. (Sorry, pet peeve. I can see why chronological order isn't always best, but I just don't get random order). But overall, Retrospective II will be a nice addition to the collection of the progressive-rock lover for whom one disk of 1980s Rush will do.