RUSH - IN RIO

Booya!! a complete testament by the Three Stooges. It's as simple as that. Never Rush has been so generous in their carreers. Pushing 50 years old and still having the strenght to go all the way again. This album is, well, more suited for newcomers; girls and younger teens who were too young to remember hearing Stick it Out or Roll the Bones back then. In the past 10 years, Rush had (too) many compilations and Retrospective and albums that go more of the same ol' classics. But, the strenght of Rush In Rio is it's heavyness and length. What a marathon. Great checklist including Distant Early Warning, The Pass, Natural Science, Cygnus X-1 and ohh yeah...By-Tor and the freakin' Snow Dog. Yep, the sign of Eth is rising in the air of Rio. And how! Monsters coming out of closets to surprise us. Thanks Rush for thinking of old-time fans. A smogasboard of songs and good cheers thanks to the land of eternal rejoycing: Brazil. If you want a great 'best of' that captures the feel of 3 guys that makes a ruckuss like 5 would, don't be afraid. This one's for you. A real concert classic that one listening convince for good....A must-see on DVD!

As many Symphonic Progheads, I've never been a huge RUSH fan, always saw them as a Led Zeppelin wannabe band that had little or nothing from prog rock, but this changed a few a months ago. Their music is far from being symphonic of course but the ideas and arrangements are surely adventurous enough to be considered prog, if you add the personality and incredible bass of Geddy Lee, the strength and precision of Neil Peart plus the unique technique and lyricist abilities of Alex Lifeson, RUSH deserves a special place in the Progressive Rock Hall.

Rush in Rio was one of the reasons that made me change my mind, the sound is impeccable, the tracks (All well known, so there's no need top comment them) are played in the precise order and with the perfect arrangements, no one will ever believe just listening them that they are only three guys.

If you are one of those that like me believed it was better to buy only compilations, probably you're wrong, in this album they play 31 great tracks, more than what many bands do along their whole career. I just started my Rush collection of studio albums and there isn't a single CD that may have disappointed me.

I had the luck to buy the album and the DVD together and the fanaticism in Rio for the Three Stooges is almost religious, people crying, praying or simply thanking God for giving them the chance to see their idols in person, almost never saw something like that, seems as if the band gets extra strength from the audience.

The main problem with power trios is that they can't reproduce the same quality playing on stage because of crew limitations, but Geddy, Alex and Neil give 110% of themselves to sound even better than in studio, something very hard to achieve when the band counts only with six hands.

The highlights of this excellent album are of course Closer to the Heart, Tom Sawyer, La Villa Strangiato and The Big Money, but as I said before, I believe all the tracks are excellent.

Excuse me if this review is emotional and says nothing about the tempo, instruments and technical issues, but sometimes is better to accept our emotions and try to transmit others the impression that the band leaves in our souls than just making an accurate and technical critic that wouldn't be able to express what we really feel, and at this point I feel Rush is a great band who play even better on stage.

If you don't have it, buy it and if you can, get the DVD together. I'm giving the album only 4 stars because I usually reserve the 5 stars for studio albums that contain original material.

It's a shame that such a good band sounds so bad. The guitar often is all you can here apart from the voice but there are also times where the guitar is so distorted than all you can here is like a buzz... the drums of master Peart sound quite bad too, forget the crispy difference heard in studio, here it all sounds pretty much the same. The songs are all nice as always, except for the sound of course, but they don´t go further than that. No song is different than their studio version, no improvisation, no alternative soloing. Yes, this might have been an excellent presentation to be part of, but as a live album, it doesn't say much. I like it when songs change live, to have a different experience than what I get from listening to the album. not here. Only with la Villa Stragliato does this happen. and it doesn't blow your mind either. Well, but this is not Crimson, this is Rush, a different approach to music, not worst, just different I guess.

Speaking of the (bad) sound production in this album, if you want to see what I mean, check out the last 2 songs Between Sun & Moon and Vital Sings which are from other presentations where the sound is far better than in the rest. It seems Stadium arenas aren't that good for live albums.

Superb live outing from the Canadian trio. Their first tour of Brazil, and their last dates of the Vapor Trails tour, Rush played to over 100,000 eager fans during their shows in Brazil. 60,000 showed up to Sao Paulo, and 40,000 turned up to this event. You can hear the enthusiasm of the crowd even during the instrumentals (regards to the chant in the middle of YYZ). From the opening Tom Sawyer to the final chords of Working Man, Rush's whole catalogue is tastefully displayed, with only two albums being left out (Caress of Steel and Presto), and it is all played incredibly accurately and with skill. Lee's commanding bass swirls with the precision of Peart's drums and the textured guitar riffs of Lifeson to create every sound their career has produced. The set list is incredible, featuring favorites such as Natural Science, 2112, and Cygnus X- 1. Lee's bass solo in the middle of Driven is a show highlight, as well as Peart's devastating O Baterista Drum Solo (which was nominated for a Grammy, but unfortunately lost to Brian Wilson). Another new addition was the acoustic version of Resist, which could quite possibly be the most emotional song Rush has ever created. The Vapor Trails selections are played well and are dispersed around the show between the classic tracks. Overall, a great live collection. However, the live Rush album to go for is Different Stages. This one is good, but not up to that quality and selection of tracks. 4/5.

This excellent live release is raw, unrefined, very loud and sometimes grating on the ears, but it is without exception a very exciting and well-played; probably the band's best example of capturing their "live experience". The band absolutely roars with intensity, seemingly made more dynamic by the sometimes overwhelming Brazilian crowd. Check out their participation during "YYZ" and "Natural Science". Say what you want about their supposed interference with the music: they can at least keep better time when singing along than American audiences!

There are very few weak tracks on this album, with "La Villa Strangiato" getting my vote for most impressive, and fans of the band will be able to enjoy the experience despite its savage sound. Very good, but given the proliferation of live offerings by Rush, rew listeners should pick up "Different Stages" or "R30" first.

Setlist 4 Energy 4 Performance 3 Live Experience 4

Rush in Rio is one of the best live albums ever recorded and it's the best of Rush's superb live sets. Recorded at the final show of the Vapor Trails tour, this concert shows what happens when you deny a country of renowned party-goersthe cahnce to see their favortie band for 30 years. Tens of thousands of Brazilians shame every other rock crowd as they cheer and sing along to every song, including the instrumentals! The band pulls out all the stops with 3 CDs worth of music drawing from nearly all of their 17 studio albums.

Rush always was a band that was better live, which is incredible since it's only three guys who have to play four instruments plus various effects. Highlights are hard to pick, but Peart's drum solo "O'Baterista" must receive a nod as it is quite simply the greatest and most enjoyabloe drum solo ever. The beauty of this album is how all of Rush's material flows together, whether it be the hard rock of the debut and newer albums to the heavy prog epics to the lush synth pop of the 80s. It all makes sense live. If you're not a fan of the mid-to late 80s material, listen to this. The band punches a hole through the limiting production of their studio albums and the added volume and passion makes the synth songs as powerful as their hard rockers.

Considering the sad state of the band, particularly Peart, when they came back and recorded Vapor Trails, this concert must be very vindicating. The sound quality isn't as good as the surround sound of the DVD, but none of the energy is lost. These 50 year old Canadians prove with this album that theya re still live kings.

Grade: A

The great thing about this album is the fact that there are SO many songs on it, and all the good ones, with some surprises as well. The bad thing about this album is the sound quality, totally not RUSH's fault (well it is but only sorta), too many screaming fans not enough RUSH. Really, at some points in the album the people's voices actually drown out the song. Crazy RUSH fans these days... Also the shortened version of 2112 is really annoying as well.

I would defenitely call this a middle line, 'good' live album. The great and numerous song list balances out the bad sound quality. 3 stars.

Oh lawdy, lawdy, so much Rush!

After a series of tragedies that threw Rush into a 6 year hiatus they finally emerged back onto the scene with their somewhat controversial Vapor Trails album which delighted fans and befuddled critics. The album was no 'return to the roots' as they proved with their modern approach and heavy themes, but on the tour that accompanied the album they decided that a return to the roots was necessary. Thus, on this live album, which would be the first since 1997's amazing Different Stages they decided to perform just about everything they ever recorded. The tour would show fans that the band was still alive and kicking, while making sure that they knew that there would be more to come in the future.

The set list is a dream for anyone who has followed the band to this point. While some people may be a bit miffed at the absence of certain songs it can't be denied that there really is something for everyone here. Just about every album that the band has ever recorded is represented here, with the exception of 1988's Hold Your Fire. There's a ton of classics, which are considered 'live standards', but there's also a good number of surprises to keep fans on their toes. Going through the set track-by-track would be incredibly pointless, but there are some tracks that really do justice to their studio counterparts. The live rendition of YYZ found on this album, for instance, is probably the best that you can find from the band. Given the energy of the crowd (which you can see in the DVD version of this album) the band seems to be on top of the world. La Villa Strangiato is made particularly fun with band introductions done by ax-man Lifeson, who proceeds to do them in a comic fashion (''On the skins, Mr. Milton BANANA!!'').

Other standouts on the album are not all that hard to find. Of the new tunes performed on the album (3 Vapor Trails tracks make it onto the set) likely the best is Secret Touch whose heavy riff and catchy chorus lend themselves well to the atmosphere of the concert. Natural Science is also given a killer rendition, but this one is in its entirety.

What makes the set particularly nice is that there are a lot of tunes that you wouldn't expect the band to play live. Some particularly nice songs to hear come in the encore in the form of a medley, which even includes an abridged version of By-Tor And The Snow Dog. While Geddy can't hit the squealing notes like he used to, he uses his 'new voice' to the best of its potential, which makes for a satisfying substitute. This segues right into the mean bass riffs of Cygnus X-1, and while a progger may want to hear the entire version of this song, you'll only get 3-minutes of it, but it moves into The Working Man, so it's pretty easy to forgive. The album also features two songs that are not on the DVD, and not even on any live albums from the band to this point. Vital Signs would eventually be released on Grace Under Pressure Live which came with the Replay X3 box set, but at this point it was unique to this album. The Counterparts song which is often overlooked, Between Sun & Moon is also available here and makes for a nice addition.

Fans be delighted and non-fans can probably pass. The CD set of this album is good for people who don't have the time to sit down and watch all 3 hours of the DVD but who still want to hear the set. There are better live Rush sets out there, but this one is still darn good. 3.5 stars out of 5 for this one, fans and casual semi-fans of the band can't go wrong with the album, but non-fans who want to be convinced should go and check out Different Stages or Exit. Stage Left.

My reaction upon hearing Rush - In Rio for the first was that it probably was the best live album that I have ever heard! But although my original enthusiasm this album hasn't received much more attention from me since then and is instead currently collecting dust on a shelf.

First I blamed this inconsistency on this album's incredible length that doesn't necessary make me want to pop it in the stereo on regular basis, but that's really only one of the main reasons. The second has to do with the energy that the band displays in their performance. I really wanted to pretend that Rush sounded as enthusiastic as they did during their early days but to me it seems more like the huge audience gives the impression of a better performance than it actually is. The crowd of 40,000 that gathered to see this performance was easily the most enthusiastic one that I've ever heard and they definitely deserved to be treated to the show that they got from Rush here. Unfortunately listening to it in retrospect doesn't really justify the experience for me especially since the DVD-version is really what should be the first purchasing choice for anybody wanting to hear this concert. It's also loaded with a great deal of nice bonus material among which is a documentary.

The CD-version remains overshadowed by many different limitations and after purchasing the excellent early '80s live album Exit.....Stage Left that documents Rush in their prime I doubt that I will want to return to Rush - In Rio other then to listen to the magnificent audience participation moments like the ones during 2112 and La Villa Strangiato. Good, but non-essential addition to your already hefty Rush album collection.

***** star songs: YYZ (4:56) The Trees (5:12) Natural Science (8:34) 2112 (6:52) Limelight (4:29) La Villa Strangiato (10:05) The Spirit Of Radio (5:28)

**** star songs: Tom Sawyer (5:04) Distant Early Warning (4:50) The Pass (4:52) The Big Money (6:03) Freewill (5:48) Closer To The Heart (3:04) One Little Victory (5:32) Driven (5:22) Secret Touch (7:00) Dreamline (5:10) Resist (4:23) By-Tor And The Snow Dog (4:34) Cygnus X-1 (3:12) Working Man (5:48) Vital Signs (4:59)

*** star songs: New World Man (4:04) Roll The Bones (6:15) Earthshine (5:44) Bravado (6:18) Ghost Rider (5:36) Red Sector A (5:16) Leave That Thing Alone (4:59) O Baterista (8:54) Between Sun & Moon (4:51)

Amidst the over-abundance of Rush live releases, In Rio is sure something special, capturing shows in front of an outrageously enthusiastic crowd of fans in Rio.

It creates a great lively ambience but for an audiophile like me it's a burden to sit through. The sound is similar to Different Stages, meaning a murky mess of over-compressed noise where half of the music isn't even audible. The band is lost amidst a muddy pool of reverberating arena sound, thick booming bass, shrill guitars and audience cheering drowning out more then half of what Neil is actually playing.

If you can neutralize all of this and tune in on the performances then it's a great show, especially if you like enthusiast audiences. Unfortunately I have no such magical skills and have to switch off this album after less then 4 songs.

Good for fans and all people who attended this show, as they take the prime role here!

This album really bothers me.

On the one hand, Rush was truly motivated by playing live in front of their largest audience ever, supposedly around 60,000, and they delivered nothing less than a spectacular performance. On the other hand, the three CD set is mixed with the crowd noises interfering with the music. And this crowd was roaring along with the music from the start of the concert to the finish. Did these people really think that everyone there paid good money to hear their countrymen drown out the band? And did Alex Lifeson, who co-mixed the album, want to leave the mix this way?

Oh well, at least it was relatively inexpensive for the set.

Minus the crowd, this would have rated 4.5 stars.

There is almost 3 solid hours of Rush here with A1 quality sound production and near perfect renditions of all their classics. Usually I watch this concert on DVD and the overall experience is a visual and aural feast. Listening to the tracks without the pretty pictures is naturally a totally new experience. Certain tracks jump out as highlights including Tom Sawyer, Freewill and Driven. 2112 is painfully edited down to a mere 6:52, but its still nice to hear it here. CD 3 is undoubtedly the best of the three featuring quintessential classics such as Limelight, the incomparable La villa strangiato that clocks 10 minutes, The spirit of radio, By-Tor and the snow dog, Cygnus X-1, a 13 minute epic, and my favourite Rush treasure Working man.

The packaging is excellent as usual and the overall mixing is perfection although at times the crowd are overbearing as loud and enthusiastic as a Rio crowd can be.

My advice is to grab the DVD and gain the full value of the concert, but this is still a fantastic live treat from the power trio of Canada.