SECTOR 1

don't but this - wait till it's re-released with the bugs fixed! (SEE BELOW FROM RUSH WEBSITE)

and even then - it's mastered WAY too high with reduced dynamic range, compression, clipping, etc

from RUSH WEBSITE...

We are aware of some slight technical issues surrounding the CD of 'Fly By Night' inside the Sector 1 box set release and the DVD for 'A Farewell To Kings' inside the Sector 2 box set that some fans are experiencing. It stems from a production flaw and it is currently being addressed. As soon as production is completed a formal announcement of how to replace the discs will follow shortly. Please be aware that there may be a time delay in shipping and receiving the disc and we sincerely apologize for this inconvenience ? Geddy, Alex & Neil

A message from the Rush Website:

We are aware of some slight technical issues surrounding the CD of 'Fly By Night' inside the Sector 1 box set release and the DVD for 'A Farewell To Kings' inside the Sector 2 box set that some fans are experiencing. It stems from a production flaw and it is currently being addressed. As soon as production is completed a formal announcement of how to replace the discs will follow shortly. Please be aware that there may be a time delay in shipping and receiving the disc and we sincerely apologize for this inconvenience ? Geddy, Alex & Neil

(Gooner review): Yes, the CD of_Fly By Night_ is reprehensible; Rush states it's a production issue and plan to make good on it by replacing the CD. Believe it. These guys are a class act.

Much has already been written about the albums herein; so I'll save the reader the pain of reading a review for each individual album. I will say that the CDs sound exceptional with the remasters, not too loud and not overly compressed. The DVD 5.1 of "Fly By Night" is worth the price of the box alone, especially for the drum sound. The very first Rush album is a drastic improvement from the the first remaster in the '90s.

I can't give this box set more than a 4 star rating due to the _Fly By Night_ CD. That might change once I get the replacement. Again, on all of the CDs, the more progressive tracks such as "By-Tor & The Snow Dog" and "The Necromancer" from _Caress Of Steel_ are the most noticeable as is the same with the other CDs in Sectors 2 & 3. Recommended.

Sector 1 contains the long overdue remasters of the first four studio albums and first live album from Rush.

Touching briefly on the music which is well documented in reviews elsewhere, the eponymous Rush captures the band in heavy rock mode before any prog influences began to creep through. It's a good if unspectacular effort highlights being Finding My Way for its killer riff and likewise Working Man. Fly By Night was a more diverse effort. It also marked the arrival of drummer Neil Peart. The likes of Anthem continue the heavy rock of their debut but the first signs of prog appear with By-Tor And The Snow Dog. Despite some weaker moments such as the laid back Rivendell it marked an improvement with the afore mentioned By-Tor and In The End being particular highlights. Caress Of Steel saw the prog quotient upped considerably further with two tracks in particular, The Necromancer and The Fountain Of Lamneth capturing them in full prog mode. Caress Of Steel has its fans and while there's some good ideas going on in the longer pieces they are a little fragmented. Bastille Day is an excellent heavy rocker and the more reflective Lakeside Park is another welcome addition. Any deficiencies in Caress of Steel were clearly laid to rest on follow up 2112, their first album deserving of a full 5 stars. Alongside the excellent and sprawling full side title track the quality doesn't let up for the more basic second half with A Passage To Bangkok and Something For Nothing being the pick of the bunch. Rounding off this box set is All The World's A Stage which despite being somewhat raw in comparison to later live releases is still my favourite with a truly energetic and exciting performance of most of the best so far.

There can't be many Rush fans who don't have all these albums already (it's the third time I've bought most of these) but there's a marked improvement over the nineties remasters, the songs packing much more punch and having a livelier and brighter sound. If you're a fan it's worth the additional financial layout to buy again and the albums come nicely packaged inside the box in vinyl replica sleeves. Additionally we get a 5.1 mix of Fly By Night. I find the choice to do one album per box a little hard to understand and if only one then surely 2112 would be a more obvious choice? However that aside I remain as yet unconvinced about the benefits of 5.1 mixes and am likely to remain so at least until I have a 5.1 system to match my Hi-fi separates.

If you don't already own these albums then there's no better time to get hold of them, if you do and already enjoy them then the improvement in sound quality makes it worth buying again, after you have bought the superior Sector 2 of course!

First of the "Sector" boxed sets which between them cover the first three phases of Rush's career, Sector 1 is perhaps the least truly essential of them owing to the fact that the band were very much finding their feet at this point in time: their debut album really isn't very Rush-like, Fly By Night is a significant improvement but has some missteps, and Caress of Steel was a bit too rushed. 2112, on the other hand, was a classic, though even then its side-long title track is significantly better than the rest of the songs on it, and All the World's a Stage is a solid live album but not a stellar one.

Nonetheless, Sector 1 does about as good a job of presenting this era of the band as is possible. The new remaster job really helps, with the pre-2112 albums especially sounding better to my ears than they did on earlier CD releases. The mini LP sleeves are an especially nice touch; boxed sets collecting five or so albums in mini cardboard sleeves mimicing the vinyl packaging are common these days, and many of them cheap out on the sleeves, but here the mini LPs feel reassuringly solid, so it's nice that wasn't treated as an afterthought. Even among those who enjoy Rush, not everyone will be too keen on all of this, but if you want a broad overview of this era of the band rather than just sticking 2112 and maybe Fly By Night, this is perhaps the best way to experience it.