Customer Reviews

Rush - Replay [3 DVD/CD Box Set]

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Rush Replay should be one of the best DVD concert releases of the Summer. (Technically very late Spring). This 3 DVD/1 CD box set will include the DVD versions of "Exit... Stage Left," "Grace Under Pressure," and "A Show of Hands." The CD in the box set is the unreleased soundtrack CD of the "Grace Under Pressure."

Before Rush Replay all three concerts were on VHS. These were extremely hard to get your hands on. Now, thanks to Alex Lifeson and Mike Fraser, you can enjoy these classic concerts in 5.1 surround sound and remastered visuals.

Exit... Stage Left:

The first DVD in Rush Replay is "Exit... Stage Left," which was filmed at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec. Anyone who owns the Exit... Stage Left CD knows how totally awesome the concert was. The CD and the DVD are radically different though. Lets look at the track listing of each.

Exit... Stage Left CD:
1. The Spirit of Radio (Not on DVD)
2. Red Barchetta
3. YYZ
4. A Passage To Bangkok (Not on DVD)
5. Closer To The Heart
6. Beneath, Between, and Behind (Not on DVD)
7. Jacob's Ladder (Not on DVD)
8. Broon's Bane (Not on DVD)
9. The Trees
10. Xanadu
11. Freewill
12. Tom Sawyer
13. La Villa Strangiato (Not on DVD)

Exit... Stage Left DVD
1. Limelight (Not on CD)
2. Tom Sawyer
3. The Trees
4. Instrumental (Not on CD)
5. Xanadu
6. Red Barchetta
7. Freewill
8. Closer To The Heart
9. YYZ
10. Finale: By-Tor and the Snow Dog/In The End/In The Mood/2112 Finale (Not on CD)

So in the end, the major songs missing on the DVD are, The Spirit of Radio, A Passage To Bangkok, and La Villa Strangiato. But in return, you get Limelight and the Finale.

Grace Under Pressure:

Out of the three concerts in Rush Replay, Grace Under Pressure is the only one without a live CD. (The CD as I mentioned earlier is part of Rush Replay). This DVD was filmed in 1984, at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. Here is the DVD track listing:

1. The Spirit of Radio (A great song)
2. The Enemy Within "Part 1 of Fear"
3. The Weapon "Part 2 of Fear"
4. Witch Hunt "Part 3 of Fear"
5. New World Man
6. Distant Early Warning
7. Red Sector A
8. Closer To The Heart
9. Melody: YYZ/The Temples Of Syrinx/ Tom Sawyer
10. Vital Signs
11. Finale: Finding My Way/In The Mood

So Grace Under Pressure contains an unreleased version of The Spirit of Radio, the Fear trilogy, and two melodies. Also included in Rush Replay will be a CD with those ten songs.

A Show Of Hands:

Of the three DVDs, this is the longest one, nearing 85 minutes. It was filmed in late April 1988 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. Unlike Exit... Stage Left, the A Show Of Hands DVD is similar to the CD version. Here is the A Show Of Hands DVD track listing:

1. The Big Money
2. Marathon
3. Turn The Page
4. Prime Mover
5. Manhattan Project
6. Closer To The Heart
7. Red Sector A
8. Force Ten
9. Mission
10. Territories
11. The Rhythm Method (Drum Solo)
12. The Spirit Of Radio
13. Tom Sawyer
14. Finale: 2112/La Villa Strangiato/In The Mood

So A Show Of Hands contains 8 songs from "Power Windows" and "Hold Your Fire." Closer To The Heart, Tom Sawyer, 2112, and In The Mood are on all 3 DVDs. Rush Replay also will also include mini reprints of the original tour booklets from the three concerts.

In the end, you get Exit... Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure, A Show Of Hands, the Grace Under Pressure CD, and three mini reprints of the tour booklets for a list price of $40. That's a great deal for three classic Rush concerts and a Rush concert CD soundtrack.

If you enjoy Rush Replay than you will also enjoy Rush In Rio and R30.

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Note: This is my updated review as of June 13, 2006. The previous part was my review as of April 17, 2006, before Rush Replay had been released.


Rush Replay was released today and all I can say is, "It's excellent." It's been a long two months of waiting, but the waiting was rewarded.

First, let me talk about the Exit... Stage Left DVD. Limelight, Tom Sawyer, and The Trees start the DVD off, followed by Xanadu. Xanadu, on this DVD, is a classic. Because of advancements in technology, all Neil has to do nowadays is hit a MIDI trigger and the chime or bell sound is created. Here however, you get to see him running through the wind chimes, or hitting the bells. It's more realistic than he does on R30. Plus, both Alex and Geddy are using double necks, adding even more realistic sounds.

Another thing I missed to point out in April was that `Closer to the Heart' is different on the DVD than it is on the CD. Not much different, but a little.

The finale of `By-Tor/In The End/In The Mood/2112 Finale' is also a good melody.

For my mini-review of the Grace Under Pressure Tour, I'll start off with the Fear Trilogy live. This was the only tour, along with the Power Windows Warm-Up Tour, that featured the entire fear trilogy. Second, you get an awesome version of New World Man, instead of the Rush In Rio version. The YYZ/The Temples Of Syrinx/Tom Sawyer melody is approximately 9 minutes, 41 seconds long. The only song shortened in the melody is YYZ, which is cut down about a minute. Then you have Vital Signs, so, again, you don't have to listen to the Rush In Rio version.

The Grace Under Pressure Tour Soundtrack is the bonus CD. If you buy Replay at Best Buy, then you also get Limelight (Exit... Stage Left version), Closer To The Heart (Exit... Stage Left version), The Spirit Of Radio (A Show Of Hands verson), and Tom Sawyer (A Show Of Hands version) on the end of the soundtrack. (Note: When importing the bonus CD into your computer, the track listing, artist, album name, etc. will not come up, so be prepared to type them in.)

My notes for A Show Of Hands are as followed, Manhattan Project and Force Ten are awesome. I had been waiting to see Manhattan Project live for a long time. Later in the DVD are The Spirit Of Radio and Tom Sawyer, along with a 2112/La Villa Strangiato/In The Mood finale. Most of the A Show Of Hands DVD is excellent.

Also, all three tour books are great. The best on is the Hold Your Fire tour book with Neil's story "Fireworks (The making of Hold Your Fire)".

In the end, Rush Replay is just what I expected back in April, awesome. Everything from the remastered visuals to the remastered audio is excellent. Rush Replay is highly recommended for any classic rock fan.

First of all what a great set of concert videos these are. Any fan
of Rush would certainly add these to there Rush collection.
Having read some of the nastier reviews on the quality of the video
and the sound remixing, I hope to add my input to help put things
in some better perspective. These were shot back when hi-definition
tv's were only in someones dreams. They were meant to be played back on a traditional television with standard resolution. I have the luxury of owing a 50" dlp samsung and a 27" panasonic television. Playing back on my panasonic you can tell these have
been restored because of the clarity of the shadow detail and overall picture quality is quite vivid. Watching on my samsung
picture quality is still okay but it is not as crisp in sharpness
and you will experience some graininess to the video portion.
These were not filmed in Hi-Def so if you own a hi-def television
you might be a little disappointed but not totally.
The sound re-mixing on all 3 of these dvd's were to my satisfaction. I have a surround sound setup for watching on my samsung tv and the mixes sounded very good. Especially the DTS mix. I have just a regular stereo along side my panasonic tv and
the PCM stereo mix on everything was great.
Having said all that what ever type of system you have to play back these dvd's, the show is the thing and these guys Rock!!

These DVDs are a gift, and an opportunity to see RUSH in concert during these time periods. U2 has released concerts from Under A Blood Red Sky to the Vertigo tour, and it's nice to see and hear the evolution of the band, as well as some of what has not changed. I'm shocked that many Rush fans have complained about this collection. This is an opportunity to watch these three concerts in conjuction with other newer DVD releases, allowing you to witness the evolution of Rush, and see a variety of songs and variations of certain titles. This is a bad thing? Many here seem to regret that these were ever released. I'm happy that the actual fans of Rush, however, have expressed joy and interest with this release. As a fan, I cannot wait to hear their next CD, and see them in concert again. I am anxious to witness it all, with my fellow fans, and not these complainers here on Amazon...

To me, there is no band in existence that has been more influential, inspiring and honest than Rush.

I'm 31. My first concert ever was when my dad took me to see the Hold Your Fire tour in 1988. I bought the VHS when it came out - I remember how thrilled I was to be able to re-live that life-changing show.

The first casette I bought by the band after that was Exit Stage Left. I played drums to it nearly every day for a summer.

I have since followed the band through every album and release. I've not always liked all of it right away, but its amazing how a lot of it has grown on me and how the music and lyrics continue to be relevant.

I had never seen the concert footage for this nor for GUP, so you can imagine my excitement to see this for the first time.

The energy and performances of these shows is amazing. My hilights are:

ESL: Xanadu, By-Tor And The Snow Dog, In The End, 2112 Finale
GUP: Enemy Within, The Weapon (Count Floyd intro is HILARIOUS), New World Man and Vital Signs, Temples of Syrinx RIPS on this
SOH: Pretty much all of it! - particularly the stuff from Power Windows and Hold Your Fire. The re-mixed/remastered drum solo sounds phenomenal. La Villa is excellent too

It would have been nice if Alex had included the original mixes for these as an audio option, particularly for ESL - it does sound pretty "modernized" and compressed I haven't checked for digital clipping and all that as some of the reviews have complained about, but it hasn't completely ruined things for me as it has for some. If they had the original, I guess I can understand.

But for those who complain about Rush "milking the fans," I offer a heart-felt "f**k you." The band has delivered 17 studio LPs and 6 concert albums. For their first 10 years as a band, they were on the road for about 270 days out of the year. THEY'VE BEEN A BAND FOR 30 YEARS! Most importantly, they have stayed true to themselves and have always made the music that they wanted to make. You can get re-mastered Rush on CD for about $10-11 each. That's nearly unheard of. We owe them our respect and grattitude, as they have shown us nothing less.

Thank you, Geddy, Alex and Neil, for giving nothing short of your all. Your music has changed my life and continues to inspire.

Hold your fire
Keep it burning bright
Hold the flame 'til the dream ignites
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission

I hear their passionate music
Read the words that touch my heart
I gaze at their feverish pictures
The secrets that set them apart

When I feel the powerful visions
Their fire has made alive
I wish I had that instinct
I wish I had that drive

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire
Focused high on soaring ambitions
Consumed in a single desire

In the grip of a nameless possession
A slave to the drive of obsession
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission

I watch their images flicker
Bringing light to a lifeless screen
I walk through their beautiful buildings
And I wish I had their dreams
But dreams don't need to have motion
To keep their spark alive
Obsession has to have action
Pride turns on the drive

It's cold comfort
To the ones without it
To know how they struggled
How they suffered about it
If their lives were exotic and strange
They would likely have gladly exchanged them
For something a little more plain
Maybe something a little more sane

We each pay a fabulous price
For our visions of paradise
But a spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission

I had these videos on VHS tape since I don't know what age, they are all green and unwatchable, so when I got an email with this set I fell for it inmediately. It doesn't have the video and sound quality of todays DVDs but is as good as you will get it, and much better than the old VHS tapes :-P THis is a time machine ... you'll definitely go back in time!!!

Just picked up "Replay" yesterday in a Mediamarkt in Germany (the German version of "Best Buy"). Admit I was quite surprised while I wasn't aware there were any releases planned for "Exit Stage Left" or any of Rush's other 80s video concerts. Doubly surprised since the 30-year anniversary video ("R30") was just released last year and "Rush in Rio" in 2003. Am I complaining? No, definitely not. I've wanted a copy of "Exit Stage Left" since I first saw the laser-disc version many years ago. To see it finally released on DVD with the bonus of two other concert DVDs ("Grace Under Pressure" and "Show of Hands" from the "Hold Your Fire" tour) and a live CD thrown in was really quite nice.

So, who would be the primary target for this collection? Rush fans, no doubt. To see the band at various stages--no pun intended--and hairdos in their careers is a treat. Though, yes, the video quality is lacking compared to "Rush in Rio" and "R30" (which are phenomenal quality-wise), no point complaining about something you can't change (but plenty of people will anyway!). The pluses of this set are definitely the 5.1 mixes of the material. As a home-recording/musician hobbyist, I'm pretty picky about sound quality, and all of material from this sounds good (ESPECIALLY compared to the old VHS stereo mix). Would I EQ differently in a few places? Sure, but I can do that with my home system to a decent degree. As well, without getting too "creative" (like putting the listener in the middle of Peart's drum set), you have less options to mix into 5.1 with just a 3-piece band. Again, audio quality is fine in my opinion.

Performances? Of all 3 concerts, I'd say they seem most jazzed during "Exit Stage Left". Tight performance, and they just appeared more into it. On the weaker end would be "Show of Hands" which (as someone pointed out already) has Alex, Geddy, and Neil seemingly more on auto-pilot. Still a fine performance, but compared to "Rush in Rio" or "R30" (can't praise both of those concert DVDs enough) they just didn't seem as hyped by playing (and it shows in a couple places). Maybe it's the selection of material as well. "Show of Hands" has more of the "Hold Your Fire" and "Power Windows" selections which are more keyboard-dominated (and at times more tempo-driven by sequenced synths than Peart's drums), the guitar parts are less complex, and the band (it seemed to me) just wasn't as excited while playing them.

Unfortunately no extras with any of the video/concerts, just straight footage from the shows. For awesome extras/interviews, you have to check out "Rush in Rio" or "R30" (you'd think I was getting a percentage on those discs wouldn't you?). Also, a nice touch with the packaging are the original tourbooks from each of the concerts, detailing song lists, albums, band equipment, and Neil's musings about the entire album recording and tour-building process.

My only complaints? "Exit..." lists track 8 and 10 as "YYZ", when it's just some voiceover commentary from the band with some "YYZ" live footage playing, the video not necessarily matching the song. It's not even the entire song. Don't remember if the original ESL was like this, but after loving the "YYZ"/drum solo from the ESL CD for so long, I was disappointed not to see it on the concert DVD. BUT, that being said, you get "YYZ" covered on the "Grace..." DVD with a drum solo very similar to the ESL CD performance.

Again, excellent selection of concerts for Rush fans, nicely put together in a bargain package. Still a 5 rating for me, because at some point you're just grateful for the musical performance being made available regardless of some shortcomings. For me, way worth the purchase.

I would actually give this 4 stars because there were no bonus tracks, but 5+ stars for the sound mix on this, so in reality, I'll call this a 4 1/2 star rating.

First - this program only offers the exact versions of the US VHS (or Beta) releases of each of these videos. I own the Beta for Exit... Stage Left, VHS for A Show of Hands and both for Grace Under Pressure Tour. I never owned a laser disc, so it's very disappointing to know YYZ was included on that and not this. I believe a limiting factor on all of these releases, as far as number of minutes of music, may be the fact that they chose to release with Dolby & DTS Surround BOTH, in addition to Stereo of course. The two previous Rush DVD releases did not include this - only Dolby and Stereo.

Regarding the idea of bonus tracks: I have been to every tour since Permanent Waves, multiple shows on many, and I know what songs were played on each tour. My biggest personal gripe is the lack of extra material from the Moving Pictures tour, of which there is plenty: The aforementioned YYZ, with drum solo; A significant chunk from Hemispheres; Vital Signs; Natural Science; The Spirit of Radio; La Villa Strangiato; Working Man; 2112 - Overture/Temples. All of this material was played on that tour and had to be filmed when this video was filmed. I consider this significant because I believe - as well as much of the fan base - that the pinnacle of Rush's creative output was a succession of five albums: 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures. With honorable mention going to Fly By Night, which was a couple of albums prior to the first of these. Factoring the primary five and Fly By Night into the picture, you've nearly covered the entire setlist from this tour, as well as the lions share of the most significant numbers from these.

Regarding the other two videos, I do not consider these setlists as significant, for the increasing amount of their spottier, 80's album tunes were more densely played within the setlists of those days, though I do recall the Grace Under Pressure setlist being quite good.

The Surround Sound mix is simply awesome. 'Nuff Said.

Now, let me review the video portion: The film quality is clearly lower on the Exit... Stage Left video, very noticeable on my High Def TV, not very noticeable on others. Grace Under Pressure is video and looks fine on either. A Show of Hands is clearly a higher film quality and looks signicantly better than ESL. It also better lit. ESL seems to suffer from an excess amount of use of Red and Green lights.

On to the videos - this is essnetially a review of the shows presented. First, as always their instrumental prowess is undeniable and fascinating to watch. A particular highlight if you REALLY wish to appreciate their ensemble play, is to watch the solo section in "Freewill" off of Exit Stage Left. This would have made an amazing multi-angle section - each member is astonishingly busy and it's an amazing testament that they can make all those notes flow so fluidly together. The last 20 minutes of A Show of Hands is the highlight of that video, as well as Big Money, always a rocking live track - I like the fact that the synths are pulled back on that one. They were a little too much in the studio version - for that song.

Observation - to view these in succession it is very interesting to see the development of this band from a pioneer progressive metal band to a new wave band with progressive tendencies, over this period. I'm glad they got heavy again in the nineties and on. In retrospect, there was some very glossy-sounding, over-produced, commercial stuff coming from them. I also have noticed in each of these that Alex's sound gets progressively thinner. I think this was epitomized by those awful Signature guitars he used at the time, and the Wal Basses Geddy took to, as well as the Steinberger Basses which had preceded them (I played a Steinberger guitar in the music store once and it was the most devoid of tone and character of any guitar I've ever touched). I must reflect as a guitar player to a defining moment: In early May 1990, I saw them on the Presto tour in DC. A month later, the very beginning of June, 1990 - I saw them in Baltimore. Already a PRS player, I was immediately taken that Alex was using PRS guitars througout this show - the first time I'd ever seen him use them. Since the factory is not far from Baltimore, I assume Paul Reed Smith and he had talked when Rush got into town. It was immediately evident that the guitar sound was hugely thicker again, like the old days. Oddly, the Roll the Bones album had a fairly sparse and thin sound, but by the time of Counterparts, Alex had gone back to standing in front of live amps with classic guitars. Geddy followed suit, moving to a Fender Jazz Bass - the same one used to record Moving Pictures (why would it take so long to figure out that was the greatest Bass sound ever recorded??) Anyway, I think these videos clearly document the "thinning" of Rush's sound, and that the events just described were crucial in the "re-thickening" of it. It's a very interesting perspective to notice.

Most entertaining moment, in a funny way: On Turn the Page from A Show of Hands, two or three guys are shown at one point pumping their fists very agressively, literally plunging forward. Without sound you would surely think this was from a Metallica show - they're almost ready to mosh. With sound, comes the comedy because it lines up with the part of the song that leads into the chorus, a part that has hardly any drum, no actual bass or guitar, and a very poppy synth sound driving it. I hate to think how agressive Metallica would make those guys...

Value for the Money: Top Notch. You are still getting way more than you paid for. These release were originally about $30 a pop, totalling $90. They've cut that more than in half and added surround sound, and put it on a media form that will hold up way longer than a crappy VHS tape. All nitpicking aside, there's nothing to complain about, you're getting more than your money's worth - 3 DVD's and one CD for $40...

First, I want to say that yes I am a HUGE Rush fan! I have everything they have done on both CD and DVD. Second, I will say that this set ROCKS!!! OK, the video for "Exit...Stage Left" is a little grainy, but as others have pointed out the footage is 25 years old and the whole DVD/CD set is priced around $30. Not bad for all these concerts. If you can get over the "Exit...Stage Left" grainy video, then you will love this set. The other 2 DVD's are AMAZING!!! It is great to finally have all of these in a medium that will last for a long time to come. My suggestion is buy these now and buy them while they are at a low price. They are more than worth the price. ENJOY!!!

As a longtime Rush fan, I have been waiting eagerly the re-issuing of Exit..Stage Left and A Show of Hands for quite a long time now. Much to my surprise the Box release that I recieved today as a Fine Father's Day gift, was better than I had hoped to encounter.

Not only were the two titles that I mentioned before included, but TWO fantastic albums also, Grace Under Pressure and its respective CD release. It doesn't get any better than this, folks!

This Working Man can appreciate the performances of Rush without any criticism. I am very grateful to once again be able to enjoy their fine musicianship on these out of print releases. My best live concert memories become apparent, when I view and hear their powerful sonic masterpieces on this noteworthy set.

I'll leave the technical subtleties to those who want that consideration. To me the blessing of being able to cherish those memories of my affordable concert going days through the sound of my favorite band is priceless.

The tracks included in this box set are great representations of Rush during the times they were written. I havent had the opportunity to see them for quite some time now, but know that they still care about the ones that matter the most.....you and me, their loyal fans.

If you want to spend your hard earned money on something worthwhile and entertaining, I respectfully recommend this set. The lyrics, showmanship, music, and integrity cannot be surpassed. From one Working Man to another..............

This package is really designed for the die-hard Rush fan. I'm glad to read that "newbies" have discovered and enjoyed it, but I feel like this was an early Christmas present to longtime fans like myself.

First of all, I am amazed that there are people attacking the quality of the video and/or audio. Particularly in Exit Stage Left. The damn thing was shot on video, probably 3/4" or 1". It had to use the lighting that was available, and for video (as opposed to digital video) this was hard. Rush, in those days, often used green and orange for their lighting, and this was in the days of Par Can lights...long before intellibeams. So yes, the concert is occasionally murky. But the alternative...never seeing it...is hardly an option. It sounds great, and it's fun to see "the boys" more than 20 years younger.

The Grace Under Pressure concert is quite tight, and the video is much better. There are some awkward bridges (at one point, Geddy says somthing like "here's another 'red' song" right before Red Sector A. Clearly, they had just played "Red Lenses," but it isn't on the video), but overall, it's a good portrait of them at this time in their career.

The SHOW OF HANDS video is interesting. The CD was always my least favorite of their live works...but I think it's my favorite of these three DVDs. The video quality is outstanding, and the audio, particularly Geddy's vocals, is outstanding. And the song selection is great for catching all those post-Moving Pictures songs. They do trot out their older classics at the end, but for nearly an hour, it's "lost" classics like "Mission," "Marathon" and two songs that aren't on the CD but are among my favorites: "Territories" and "Prime Mover." I would have bought the package just for these. "Prime Mover," in particular, is terrifically performed.

The live CD is very nice too. It covers familiar territory, but I'm not going to complain. I do agree that the Best Buy bonus tracks, save for a new version of "Limelight" is nothing to get excited about. Inexplicably, there is no track list for the CD.\

The miniature tour booklets are wonderful as well. I've seen Rush 5 times, but did NOT see them on these particular tours, so it's great to have the tour books, even in miniature. The box containing it all is well designed.

Overall, this was a TREAT. I'm anxious for some new material from RUSH, but this will tide me over nicely.