THE SPIRIT OF RADIO (GREATEST HITS 1974-1987)

Yikes! Another Rush compilation!?!?!?!?! This is the fifth, yes I just said fifth, compilation of classic Rush songs and hits, and of these 5 they all pretty much contain different picks of the same 20-25 songs. "The Spirit Of Radio" is a very clear-cut "here are the radio smashes" collection. Every era of Rush is represented here, even if the Rutsey years have only one song to credit on this. The songs are ordered in chronological order, making it easier to see the different eras such as the Rutsey hard-rock era and the synth years in the early 80s. The sound quality is excellent as it should be with all compilations, but some of the song choices are very questionable. I am very displeased with "Red Barchetta", "The Big Money" and "Time Stand Still" being on here, as there are many other Rush classics that could have been added instead. Also, I am extremely upset that they knocked off almost 75% of "2112" just so it would be 'radio-friendly'. I you are going to cut and paste a song beyond original intentions, it's not even worth placing it on the compilation.

Overall, this is just a standard "let's take a big artist and make some cash off of them" compilation. This compilation can only get two stars from me however, as there are numerous songs that should not be included, some eras are barely represented and not even by their best songs and finally because of the extremely watered down version of "2112". After everything is said and done, it is just all too tailored for the radio for me. 2 stars, good starter but I much prefer getting the studio albums any day.