Feedback [EP]

Rush | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: EP
• Label: Atlantic
• ASIN: B00028HBIY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (213 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,373 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #47 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Progressive Metal
  • #77 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists

Editorial Reviews

As they celebrate a thirty-year career of filling arenas, selling tens of millions of albums and playing songs with which a generation of rock fans came of age, visionary rock legends Rush decided to have a little fun with the music they grew up with. Featuring covers of songs by The Who, The Yardbirds, Love, Cream, Buffalo Springfield and more, the trio’s new EP Feedback is a rocking good time for anyone who loves Rush or just classic rock & roll. Drummer Neil Peart, in the album’s liner notes, explains, "It was April of 2004, but Geddy, Alex, and I were channeling back to 1966 and 1967, when we were thirteen- and fourteen-year-old beginners. We thought it would be a fitting symbol to commemorate our thirty years together if we returned to our roots and paid tribute to those we had learned from and were inspired by. We thought we might record some of the songs we used to listen to, the ones we painstakingly learned the chords, notes, and drum parts for, and even played in our earliest bands. The tracks on this collection are songs we liked from the era that we thought we could ‘cover’ effectively (meaning not too many backing vocals), and have some fun with. The music celebrates a good time in our lives, and we had a good time celebrating it."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now _this_ is a hoot, August 28, 2004

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Feedback (Audio CD)

What a great EP. These guys obviously had a great time recording it, too.

I assume you already know what it is: Rush (Geddy Lee, bass/vocals; Alex Lifeson, guitars; Neil Peart, percussion and -- on their other releases -- lyrics) decided to celebrate their 30th anniversary as a band by recording some of the songs they themselves learned when they were kids in the 1960s. This eight-song collection (which is an 'EP' only by today's standards; it's as long as a typical vinyl LP used to be) is the result.

I'm probably fairly typical of their target audience. I'm just about exactly ten years younger than these guys, so I grew up listening to essentially the same stuff they learned their instruments on. And I'm also a longtime Rush fan. (My take, for reference: I started listening when _2112_ came out; I think _Moving Pictures_ is probably their greatest album to date but _Permanent Waves_ and _Presto_ are darned close; their mid-80s sound isn't my favorite but I think that era represents some of Peart's very best lyrics; I like all their more recent stuff and -- although I might possibly have advised against the rap section on 'Roll the Bones' -- I don't think they've ever put out a _bad_ album or even a bad song.)

And I _really_ like this release. If your musical history is at all close to mine, you probably will too.

Lifeson, one of rock's most protean guitarists, is in particularly fine fettle here. He does an excellent job, for example, channeling the spirit of Neil Young on the Buffalo Springfield's 'Mr. Soul' (a favor I think Young may have some trouble returning). And he burns up the air on 'Crossroads' -- a cut that will no doubt make Robert Johnson purists cringe even more than they did over Clapton's tribute CD (or, for that matter, over Cream's version of this very song forty years ago). He's got that ol' chunky Strat sound, and at first his solos sound like perfectly ordinary 'lectric blooze -- but he doesn't stick to the formula; by the time he's done, the blues have been (as Frank Zappa would have said) _permuted_.

Not that Lee and Peart are exactly goofing off, either. You might not expect Lee to be very credible in vocal parts originally sung by e.g. Roger Daltrey and Stephen Stills, whose voices are quite different from his -- but he does them proud. And neither his bass skills nor Peart's percussion skills need any special comment from me here; if you know who Rush are, you already know what to expect in those departments, and I assure you you'll get it.

Thanks, fellas. This is a blast.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A LITTLE FEEDBACK NEVER HURT ANYONE ..., November 8, 2006

By 

t'amant (WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Feedback (Audio CD)

And like the album, a mere 27:11 minutes long, a little is all you get - but with RUSH playing 8 GREAT SONGS from the 60's under a groovy lava lamp trance, SOMEHOW you feel strangely satisfied after its quick end. It does seem almost unforgiveable that something so fun & cool could be so short (with 80 minutes available to really indulge the fans), really downright cruel in fact. Aren't there dozens of perfect possible choices that could have beefed this up? BUT I ACCEPT ... AND I FORGIVE - THIS ROCKS!! Thanks guys, can't wait to hear what you do next ... A NEW DAY IS RISING. Can you feel it?

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a fun listen; a nice jam on some classic songs., December 22, 2005

By 

DV6740 (West Chester, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Feedback (Audio CD)

I didn't know what to expect at first, but when I gave Feedback a listen I was not disappointed. It's interesting; this legendary power trio from Canada has earned a well deserved reputation as one of the most original progressive rock bands in the world and here they are doing covers. What gives?

What gives, is they are paying homage to their roots and those bands that have had an influence on their development as musicians. I think Feedback is just as refreshing as every new Rush offering, and even more so because it gives us a chance to listen to them play regular songs.

The musicianship is impeccable, the mix is right on, and the recording quality is fantastic. This is a job well done. I never thought I'd hear Geddy Lee singing "The Seeker" by The Who, but it sounds excellent. They rock through their renditions of 8 classic songs: Summertime Blues, Heart Full Of Soul, The Seeker, For What It's Worth, Shapes Of Things, Mr. Soul, Crossroads, Seven And Seven Is.

This is a nice interlude to enjoy between original projects. Packaged to resemble the psychedelic album designs of the 60's and 70's, Feedback is not presented in a jewel case but slipped into the end of a mini record album complete with a spread featuring the band standing before a spacescape of lava lamp blobules. The CD even sports a design in the center that resembles the spacer ring used to adapt a 45rpm disc to a regular turntable. Funny.

It's the little things, and I think that's why Rush fans have come to love this band so much. Feedback is a nice sidetrip that the band has taken, most Rush fans will enjoy it I suspect, and it may bring newer listeners into the fold.