R30 - 30TH ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR

What follows is another review of the 2009 Eagle Rock DVD of this concert, which features (in addition to the tunes listed above) 'Bravado', 'YYZ', 'The Trees' and 'One Little Victory' (in the first half) as well as 'Secret Touch' and a medley consisting of '2112', 'La Villa Strangiato', 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog', 'Xanadu' and 'Working Man' (second half).

There are a lot of Rush live DVDs about - probably too many - but this is by far the best. As other reviewers have indicated, the playing is fresh, the sound recording is excellent and the editing gives you the feeling you were there. All three players seem to be enjoying themselves. There's none of the gurning that would spoil some of Alex Lifeson's performances on later live tours, and Geddy Lee never seems to be going through the motions - quite the contrary, in fact.

In addition, the set list is about as perfect as one could wish. To my regret, 'Free Will' and 'Analog Kid' are missing (two songs that were included in DIFFERENT STAGES LIVE, Rush's most comprehensive live CD) but the presence of 'Force Ten', 'YYZ' and 'La Villa Strangiato' more than makes up for that. 'Xanadu' (probably Rush's greatest composition) appears in truncated form; strangely enough it would receive a more majestic performance on the R40 Live DVD / Blu-ray, which (on the whole) is far less convincing than this one. I must also admit there are a few weak moments. 'One Little Victory' is tuneless and worth skipping, and Neil Peart's long drum solo fails to hold the attention. But almost everything else is sheer joy.

The bonus material consists of a number of live performances which mainly draw your attention to the band's peculiar wardrobe (in the 1970s and the 1980s). It also contains five extensive and quite serious interviews with all three members of the band. These are an illuminating addition to the documentary BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE. The main advantage is that you can actually hear your heroes speaking at the time they were recording some of their best albums.