DIFFERENT STAGES - LIVE

After releasing three live albums that spanned four studio albums each, dating from 1976 (All the World's a Stage), 1981 (Exit... Stage Left), and 1989 (A Show of Hands), Rush releases it's first live album in nine years with 1998's Different Stages. Unlike previous live albums which focused strongly on the preceding four studio albums it represented, Different Stages covers the whole of Rush's lengthy career. In this 3-CD set, the first two discs are from 1994 Counterparts and 1997 Test for Echo tours. The third disc is from the 1978 A Farewell to Kings tour.

This fabulous collections covers material from Rush's progressive days up to their Test for Echo album. Each period of the group's history is well represented by the group's best tracks from each period. So, all in all, the vast majority of it is progressive to their modern songs that lean heavily towards the progressive.

The production and recording is top-notch and the performances are very nicely done. Different Stages is Rush's answer to Yes' Yessongs and Genesis' Seconds Out, only it was released decades later. A must have for every Rush fan and a rare genuine live album masterpiece of which very few reach this caliber.