ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE

Rush

Heavy Prog

3.85 | 513 ratings

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Equality 7-2521

I'm generally not one for giving half stars, but this is a really a tweener album. It deserves 3 1/2.

This is the livest of Rush's live albums. Not the most intelligible thing ever said, but that is the best way to sum up All The World's A Stage in one sentence. The raw production brings out an energy unseen in anything Rush would ever do again. They play with a punk-rock like ferocity and angst coupled with production comparable to something recorded in a garage. The dirty approach really adds to the live ambiance, but sometimes nuances get lost in the sea of feedback and crowd screams. It has its pros and cons, and the individual listener will very much need to determine whether it's successful or not.

On this album you'll get to here some jamming by Rush in the spirits of the blues-rock bands that inspired them, and who's influence was still noticeable at this point. "By Tor And The Snow-Dog", "In The End", and "Finding My Way/Working Man" feature some jamming by the band, actually mostly just a solo spot for Alex. The jams aren't what they could be, instead of being a band wide excursion they seem to just feature Alex running through a few marginally interesting Pentatonic scales.

This album documents the band's first few albums, so there are some non-prog tracks featured here. Overall the ratio of non-prog to prog pretty even at about 1.5 : 1. More prog representation would be favorable and really help the record's quality. All the songs sound great with the only occasional fluke being due to production. "2112" regrettably has been shortened missing "Discovery" and "Oracle". Still, this rendition has an especially beautiful "Soliloquy" section. Also, "Lakeside Park's" most heartfelt rendition to my knowledge can be found on this release. The nostalgia almost becomes unbearable between Geddy's genuine vocals and Alex's amazing tone.

All Rush's live albums are fine products. Picking one depends very much on what approach you're looking for and what chapter of Rush's history you want to hear. To hear the raw energy of their early days pick this up.

Equality 7-2521 | 3/5 | 2006-9-5

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