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Rush - R40 Live CD (album) cover

R40 LIVE

Rush

Heavy Prog

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Stalvern
3 stars I was really excited for this after the St. Louis R40 show. Adhering to an extremely strict vocal regimen for the tour, Geddy sounded better than he had since Snakes & Arrows, seemingly rebutting the idea that anyone in the band was "losing it" (if only we knew), and a friend of mine who had sat the show out based on Geddy's declining register would be able to see what he'd missed when the tour got its inevitable album and video. Welp! Geddy was apparently having an off night in Toronto, and he sounds as strained and stifled here as on any other live release from the decade. The performances are expectedly tight, but the powerless singing drags the whole experience down. In St. Louis, Alex was having an off night and completely mangled the "Tom Sawyer" solo, but while such a moment would be unacceptable on a CD or Blu-ray (at least from these guys), it's much easier as a listener or audience member to put up with a few awful seconds in an otherwise electrifying concert than to enjoy a show where every moment's edge is dulled. More importantly, R40 had an abundance of shows where nobody was having an off night, easily viewed on YouTube (the Houston show is my favorite and has an excellent full-length upload). On its own, this is yet another passable late-career Rush live release, but with a sense of what the rest of the tour was like, particularly in its vocal dimension and that element's improvement over the previous tour, it's just disappointing. Rush went out with a bang, but this is a whimper.
Report this review (#2848851)
Posted Monday, October 31, 2022 | Review Permalink
Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Well, here it is, the full stop - whilst archival Rush material and rare gems will doubtless be dug out here and there, and whilst strictly speaking the idea of a Rush album without Neil Peart isn't totally unprecedented - he wasn't on their debut album, remember - he'd become such an integral part of the band from Fly By Night onwards that I think everyone realises the prospect of new Rush concerts and albums following his passing just doesn't make sense. This big 40th anniversary blowout live set essentially draws a line under their career; everything that comes out after this is solely going to be a matter of filling in the gaps.

How is it? Well, it's resolutely OK, but not better than OK. Like most Rush live releases of the 2000s, it's somewhat overlong and is a bit too keen on including audience noise, and Geddy's vocals aren't what they used to be. Everything is deftly and precisely performed, save for those moments of vocal shakiness, but on the other hand it doesn't quite land like archival live performances that have been creeping out from their heyday through recent reissues. If you want a lot of live Rush, sure, this is fine. If you want the best of live Rush, I'd look to releases from substantially earlier in their illustrious career.

Report this review (#3161693)
Posted Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | Review Permalink

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