Gold [Original recording remastered]

Rush | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000EXOA9U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,640 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #79 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Progressive Metal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rush n' Roll!!!, September 19, 2006

By 

Erick Bertin (Santo Domingo, Heredia Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gold (Audio CD)

Yes, yes, i know what you're about to say: OVERKILL!!! ANOTHER Rush compilation??!! It's true, the folks at mercury/universal have flooded the market with compilations in recent years, but let's take a moment to analyze those, shall we? "Chronicles": the first, true, Rush 2 CD compilation, it was released several years ago, when Rush changed labels. Then came "Retrospective I & II", which, essentially, consisted of the same songs included in "Chronicles", but split in 2, so people could have the possibility to buy one or the other.

Althought these compilations offered almost nothing new (there were a couple of different songs, that's all...), it was a smart move, and one that has become increasingly common for record labels in recent years (Atlantic did the same with Zeppelin's "Remasters", spiltting it into "Earlier Days" and "Latter Days"...). Then came the single disc "Spirit of Radio", which was a Greatest Hits of sorts, with little appeal for long time fans, but most likely meant to attract new ones. It failed to represent the band's full body of work, but it probably served well its purpose of enticing new listeners. And now we get the latest installment of the "Gold" series by Universal, which in fact consists of the 2 volumes of "Retrospective" grouped together at half the price and with minor changes (the song "Something for Nothing" is sacrificed in favor of "Working Man").

But unlike many other such compilations, which (to me) more often than not fall short to people's expectations, this one is pretty good! You get 29 songs (one more than Chronicles) spanning all of their studio albums with mercury, for less than 15 bucks! The song lineup is somewhat different, though, but you get pretty much all of their "big" songs included in Chronicles(Working Man, Flight by Night, Closer to the Heart, Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Subdivisions, 2112, etc), and I believe that long time fans will appreciate the inclusion of songs like "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" and "Xanadu', which, oddly enough, were left off Chronicles.

Of course, if you want to complain, you can always do so by saying that this or that song were excluded, but C'MON, what else can you ask for for less than $15? By restricting the song selections to studio albums, live versions of songs like "What you're doing" and "Passage to Bangkok" are absent here, and while it is a shame, i guess we can all eventually get over that. A few other songs are absent here, such as "A farewell to kings" and "Lakeside Park", and the running order (random, as opposed to chronological) is probably not the best, but in the end, I still think that this compilation is very much worthwhile, especially if you take in consideration its best asset: value.

You really get your money's worth and, at half the price of Chronicles, I think this is the best choice right now for those looking for an introduction to the band, and maybe also for those long time fans looking for a good compilation. Let's face it, for a band with such an enormous catalog as Rush, it is almost impossible to please everybody. So there you go, now you know what to expect, so the choice is up to you now, but be sure of one thing: if you choose to get "Gold", it will be a purchase you won't regret.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even If You Already Have ALL Their CD's..., February 19, 2007

By 

Richard Thompson "Music Fanatic" (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gold (Audio CD)

I have been a RUSH Fan for as long as I have been buying music. I still remember going into the local Record store and plunking down some hard earned cash at the tender age of 14 and buying my first two record albums, RUSH - A Farewell to Kings and R.E.O. Speedwagon - T.W.O.

As a middle-aged adult music buyer, I have acquired every single RUSH offering in Remastered digital format (I'm something of an Audiophile).

I had never been interested in their "Best of" compilations before. I didn't need that, I had all the albums. But, after reading an early review by someone who had actually listened to this selection and not just jumped in on the record company bashing critisms about putting something out "just to make a buck", I decided to purchase it. And let me tell you: IT SOUNDS GREAT! All the songs presented here are superior to the 1997 and 2002 remaster series. And its a nice selection of songs. Some of my favorites.

Buy it. Or purchase it for someone as an introduction to RUSH's music. I even got it on sale for about $12, what a deal! Two discs packed with RUSH music.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grand collection of Rush covering the Mercury years, June 12, 2007

By 

R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gold (Audio CD)

THE BAND: Geddy Lee (vocals, bass, synth), Alex Lifeson (guitars), Neil Peart (drums & percussion).

THE DISCS: (2006) 29 tracks on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 154 minutes (78 minutes on disc-1, 76 minutes on disc-2). Included with the disc is a 6-page foldout containing song titles/credits, album cover artwork of each of the 12 albums represented here, one band photo, and what songs came from which albums. This compilation follows the band from 1974-87. Digitally remastered sound. Label - Mercury / Island Def Jam.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Rush (2 songs), Fly By Night (3), Caress Of Steel (1), 2112 (2), A Farewell To Kings (2), Hemispheres (2), Permanent Waves (2), Moving Pictures (3), Signals (3), Grace Under Pressure (3), Power Windows (3), Hold Your Fire (3).

COMMENTS: There are several Rush compilations out there - "Chronicles", "Retrospective I", Retrospective II", "The Spirit Of The Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-87" and this "Gold". I choose Rush's 2-disc "Gold" compilation over any of the others to date... due to track selection and superior sound quality. Disc-1 concentrates on the years 1974-80; disc-2 on the years 1981-87. THE GOOD: All the staples are here - "Working Man", "Fly By Night", "The Trees", "Closer To The Heart", "2112 Overture", By-Tor & The Snow Dog", Freewill", "The Spirit Of The Radio", "Red Barchetta", "Limelight", Tom Sawyer", "Subdivisions", "New World Man", "Distant Early Warning", "The Big Money", Time Stands Still", etc. An added bonus - surprisingly, all 11 minutes of "Xanadu" are in tact. Remastered and reworked sound is as good or better than the "Remastered" Rush individual releases from 1997. The early songs (specifically the songs from "Rush", "Fly By Night" and "Caress Of Steel") sound amazing given the fact that these were recorded 30+ years ago. Geddy Lee's bass guitar practically jumps in your lap on "Working Man". Liner notes are minimal, but sufficient I suppose. THE NOT SO GOOD: Even though I've been a Rush fan since the mid 70's, a few notes about the band and more photos would have been a plus. Chronological order would have benefited this mix - so you could hear the band change/mature through the years. No live tracks from ANY of their live albums ("All The World's A Stage", "Exit... Stage Left", "A Show Of Hands", "Different Stages", "Rush In Rio"). What compilation isn't missing a few key songs - classic Rush tracks that did not make the cut - "Lakeside Park", "Passage To Bangkok", "Circumstances", "Jacob's Ladder", "YYZ", and "Digital Man" to name a few. For me, all the songs on disc-1 are deserving, however there are 3 questionable tracks on disc-2 that raised an eyebrow - ""Mystic Rhythms", "Marathon" and "Mission". 3 songs each from "Power Windows" and "Hold Your Fire" seems excessive (especially when compared to classics "2112", A"Farewell To Kings" and "Permanent Waves" only having 2 songs from each). And, this is a Mercury release, so anything from "Roll The Bones" (1991) and after is not here due to the band moving to the Atlantic Records label. So there are some other outstanding tracks that need to be here, but can't due to contract limitations - "Show Don't Tell" & "The Pass" (both from "Presto"), "Dreamline" & "Ghost Of A Chance" (from "Roll The Bones"), "Animate" & "Stick It Out" (from "Counterparts), "Time And Motion" & the title track (from "Test For Echo"), "One Little Victory" & "Earthshine" (from "Vapor Trails"), and anything from "Snakes & Arrows" (released after the fact). OVERALL: A great collection of songs. Superior sound quality. Great to have so many classic Rush tunes all in one place. Perhaps the listeners will be treated to a 3-disc set sometime down the road (similar to Genesis' 3-disc "Platinum Collection" from Rhino) that will be all-inclusive. "Gold" is a wonderful starting point for anyone not familiar with the first half of Rush's now classic career (5 stars).