RETROSPECTIVE III 1989 - 2008

In the overall scheme of things, the music of Rush has taken a little bit of a turn downwards in terms of musical consistency and quality. With the exemption of the masterpiece 'Counterparts,' Rush really hasn't made any truly amazing music over the fast 10 years. Back in the 70's and early 80's, Rush were dealing out essential pieces of progressive music like candy to a child. Nowadays, while some of the stuff is really good (after all, Rush is one of the best bands of all time... they haven't lost their minds or their talent) alot just doesn't measure up to the material from the times previous. Mind you, Rush has been together since 1967; they've been a band longer than alot of their fans nowadays have even been alive! But the fact remains, why would someone buy a best of collection of their worst era?

For someone just getting into Rush, 'Retrospective I' or 'Retrospective II' might be interesting to buy, just to test whether or not someone likes the band or not. But for the third installment in this trilogy, it's basically trying to find the best material from a bunch of non-essential albums and put them together, making a slightly better album altogether.

Like I said before, the only amazing album represented here is 'Counterparts' and only three songs from that album are on here. While that's understandable, it's probably better for someone who wants good modern Rush to just go out and buy that album, instead of this.

For the special edition, there are a few interesting videos and interviews, but still nothing worth really buying the disc for. It is a very welcome touch though.

If I was going to make a 'modern' 1989-2009 Rush Retrospective, I would put the whole of 'Counterparts' on it, as well as 'The Pass' and 'Available Light' from Presto and 'Armor & Sword' from 'Snakes & Arrows.' The only half-interesting thing about this are the DVD features, and those will get put on an actual DVD sometime soon probably. A totally unnecessary release.

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