RETROSPECTIVE II (1981-1987)

This is a quite a neat collection presumably aimed at the non-Rush devotee who wants to explore 80's "Rush Music". It covers 6 years and 5 albums, two of which; Moving Pictures and Signals, are amongst the band's very best.

All the tracks are from the Rush Re-Master series and certainly the songs from the mid eighties period GUP through HYF benefit greatly from a beefier more kinetic mix.

So what's good? Depends what floats your boat really! Certainly the 3 from Moving Pictures are classics but after that the compilation stays extremely safe with many of the selections having been released as singles: Time Stand Still, New World Man, The Big Money, Mission and Mystic Rhythms. These are hardly going to convince the doubters on this venerable site! Hidden gems they arent.

So all in all, I'm not sure who this collection will appeal to. Hard-line Proggers need not apply, but still a reasonable collection of songs by anyone's standards. 3 1/2 stars really.

The other half of the story.

Retrospective II represents Rush's music from their highest ranked album, Moving Pictures [1981] through to the end of their 80s period with Hold Your Fire [1987]. Unfortunately it doesn't have any of the better music from their Presto... but that is arguably the beginning of their 90s period, and not of their 80s... even if it's in the 80s... anyways, moving on.

The music contained on this compilation ranges wildly in the progressive scope. Many prog fans may be thrown off by some of the mid 80s material but love the early 80s stuff. Unfortunately, unlike the first Retrospective album, this one doesn't take as many chances. Sure there's some longer tracks on there... but where's ''The Camera Eye''? Really this one sticks more to the hits, and they're well represented. 2 or 3 songs from each album stuck on this one.

Again, the songs here are much better in context, but this is an album for those wanting to test the 80s waters of the music that is Rush. I'd recommend it for those who are hesitant, maybe they'll find something to like. Like the first of it's kind, this album has some nice artwork (definitely more 80s), and again features the year, writer and album as well as album cover for each song.

2 stars, a good place to start... for the 80s anyways.

Really, you'd be better off buying ''Gold'', which has both Retrospective I and II... that is, if you don't have any Rush album so far. If you have all the 70s stuff and want to hear the 80s... this is for you.

Later Days of Rush. 1982 was the shift of Rush into new era, the digital era, with more synthesizers in their music. The transition album was the album that made them fly, i.e "Moving Pictures" as it contains famous and legendary track "Tom Sawyer". This song has become the icon for Rush. The next album, "Signals" (1982), saw the change in music direction. You may listen to third track in this compilation, "Subdivisons" where the use of keyboard and synthesizers have become pretty dominant. During this period, there were basically not many excellent tracks that Rush produced especially those who knew the band from the beginning. On "Grace Under Pressure" album Rush presented their own interpretation of reggae music in one of the songs. Grace is an excellent album, especially on tracks like "Distant Early warning" and "The Enemy Within". Unfortunately, "The Enemy Within" is not featured here and it disappoints me, really.

My recommendation is to buy an individual album of early years of Rush, either "Permanent Wave", "Hemisphere", "A Farewell to Kings" or "Moving Pictures" . Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)

Retrospective II (1981-1987) is a compilation album by Canadian progressive rock act Rush. As the title suggests the album covers Rush releases from 1981 to 1987. The album was released in 1997 with its companion album Retrospective I (1974- 1980).

I won´t disguise the fact that this period is my favorite period when it comes to Rush music. Starting with the fantastic Moving Pictures (1981) and ending with the synth heavy and for some people much loathed Hold Your Fire (1987) this is Rush at their best IMO. The music they made in this period got increasingly synth heavy and closer to commercial vers/ chorus structures but at the same time Rush displayed a more futureristic and unique sound than ever. The song selection for this compilation is nearly perfect and the only track that I miss is the instrumental YYZ from Moving Pictures. Other than that minor complaint Retrospective II (1981-1987) is a perfect entry point for the newcommer to Rush and my 4 star ratings is very much warranted.

Of the three periods covered by the releases in the Rush Retrospective, this is my favorite. As I assume you can tell, this album is 100%, wholly and completely, redundant to any fan of this period of the band. Everything here is available on the five albums. So I'm reviewing this as a compilation for a listener who doesn't have a good chunk of this material in their collection already. 

From that point of view, Retrospective II is pretty good. Would I have preferred "Lock and Key" over "Force Ten?" Do I miss the "Fear" trilogy? Could I have lived without "Mystic Rhythms" and "Time Stand Still?" Yes. But does it really make sense to argue about song selection? It's fair to ask whether an album like this contains the kinds of songs that it needs to achieve its goal. Retrospective II achieves the goal of a one-disk review of the second half of the band's Mercury years. 

It doesn't do so perfectly. In addition to excluding some songs the casual AOR fan might have heard on the radio, the running order seems arbitrary. (Sorry, pet peeve. I can see why chronological order isn't always best, but I just don't get random order). But overall, Retrospective II will be a nice addition to the collection of the progressive-rock lover for whom one disk of 1980s Rush will do.