RUSH - Cygnus-X1.Net

Dear Ed,After comparing the L.P 'A Show Of Hands' with my naughty bootlegtapes of the N. E. C shows (and my memory), I felt the product d~id notgive justice to the reality of Rush live. The album was still too polished,so, initially I was very pleased with the video - there was more.rawness in Alex's guitar and in Geddy's bass.Anyway on with the review. Probably the most important part of anyproduction is the intro - to grab the audience by the' b*@£s in preperationfor the show. I think this was done superbly Hugh Syme's charactersof Alex, Neil and Geddy; far more amusing and professional than prior ~videos.The way in which The Three Stooges theme tune explodes into 'The Bigfv'ioney' always sends a shiver of exci tement d~own my spine - sheer perfec":'tion, made more so by Alex emerging from the cartoon in mid-strum (anidea used in the finale). As always Alex can't sing even 'sometimes •• "there is a nice interplay between the back projection and cameras, especiallthe dive into the '0'. One problem however, that does crop upthroughout, is the poor image quality when the band is in coloured lightand only clear in white light, ( a big problem on 'Exit••• '). A nicetouch is the overhead shots of Neil, machine gunning near the end - youactually see what he's doing, even the scratch of the head .Overall 'The Big I'iJoney' is a powerful, mighty, vac.ous, energetic and~ erfect intro track. Where are 'Limelight' and 'Subdivi~ions'? As 'Marathon'began I was disappointed that the laser figure wasn't used to afuller extent, but the absolutely superb basslines of. Ged more than madeup for this; the break in the middle is heavenly. I'm sure Alex sometime~wonders whether Geddy is playing bass or lead - however, Alex's lead isa hell of a lot clearer than it was live, thank God. The choirs and: orchestra(and lips), at the end give 'Marathon' such a grand sound, youwould swear there were three hundred pe ople on stage.}robably my favourite track on the video is 'Turn The fage', no faultsat all. 'rhe shots of the crowd expressed my feelings as the broad, sweepingpowerful laser beams matched the chorus in shaking my duodenum.A few shots from the back of the hall would have given the full effectof the lasers and lights. A nice touch for the end was the travels ofthe spheres along the corridors of time, lined with Rush history, beforebreaking out into Juggler's Alley.Evidenc_e of slight 'fixing' was to be found in ':Prime Mover', which Ifelt came across a bit hollow on the night. 'Manhatten }~ ro j ect' is , eliprlme example of what sets Hush apart from any other band. You can'tdance to it, yet there is such sheer power lashing out at you that 'Project'is still pure rock. As Geddy takes you through the history ofthe atom bomb, the cartoons and film footage provoke thoughts of destructionand sadness, highlighted by thundering bass synths and Alex's.f;lay. However 1 think his guitar sound has enhanced", as one part in particularsounded horrendous that night.But how can I complain as they perform their most intense and- seriouslysoulful song to date. The montage of film clips at the end was mesmorisingon the night and works well on video. As 'Closer To The Heart'began, I was one of about three people who held up their cig lighters. Iwas a bit disappointed (and embarassed), it's just such a beautiful song'.Llf1 ,-