Exit...Stage Left [LIVE] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Rush

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001ESR
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,802 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #10 in	Music > Rock > Live Albums > Progressive Rock
  #87 in	Music > Classic Rock > Live Albums

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Throughout their existence, the Canadian power-prog trio has steadfastly released a lengthy live collection every fifth album. Released in 1981, Exit is Rush's second (and best) such release, and it captures the band at the very top of its artistic (and commercial) curve--before keyboard and synthesizer work became central to its sound as opposed to providing mere accents. When they embarked on this tour, Rush had just released Moving Pictures, which continued their move away from longer suites and featured more streamlined song craft. Exit, however, offers a perfect blend of winding, fusion-leaning, virtuoso instrumentals ("YYZ," "La Villa Strangiato"), extended sci-fi epics ("Jacob's Ladder," "Xanadu"), sentimental ballads ("Closer to the Heart" in unison with the whole crowd, "The Trees"), and tauter songs ("Free Will," "Tom Sawyer," "Spirit of Radio") that represent the best of all worlds. Musically, they generated a huge amount of sound for three men (especially Geddy Lee's mammoth bass lines and Neil Peart's octopus-like percussion); lyrically, Peart's fantasia may be pseudo-poetry, but it is poetic, and it may be adolescent wisdom, but it is wise. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Killer songs and performances., July 26, 2001

By	Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Suitably enough, Rush recorded a live album to top off the most successful period in their careers. Permanent Waves and especially Moving Pictures had secured reams of popularity for the power-prog trio, so a high-energy live compilation was the perfect coda to this hallowed chapter in the band's history.

The tracks here cover a fairly broad range of Rush's catalogue up to this point, but skip over the debut and Caress of Steel. Although this collection largely covers the band's shorter, more commercial songs, they never forget the progressive rock wings on which they once soared. I'd say the song selection is perfect. Alongside hits like "Freewill," "Tom Sawyer," and "The Spirit of Radio" are progressive epics like "Xanadu" and "Jacob's Ladder." One of my favorite moments on the album comes with "La Villa Strangiato," an astounding instrumental tour-de-force that concretizes the band's standing as musicians' musicians. Live, this song SMOKES. Lifeson's first solo in this song is infused with tenfold the passion of the original, and I can't help but get chills up and down my spine listening to it. Still, while the energy is there and the songs are great, overdubs render the album a wee bit too polished, and the band's blazing live ebullience is diluted somewhat.

Still, this album many wonderful moments. The precise, stunning drum solo during "YYZ," "Closer to the Heart" with the entire crowd joining in with Geddy on vocals, the ultra-high energy performance of "Red Barchetta," the serene melodies of "Broon's Bane" as a seque into the hard-rocking "The Trees"...the list is endless.

I was kind of disappointed by the album's dubious representation of the concert experience. At the end of most tracks, the sound fades out and then comes back in for the next song. It's like it's taking snippets from several concerts instead of capturing the seamless performance. Most live albums cut superfluous crowd noise and chitchat, but blend crowd noise together so that it flows smoothly from song to song anyway. This works better in preserving the feel of the actual show. Annoyingly, here you'll often hear silence between the tracks and it creates a frustrating disjointed "concert" experience.

But it's not so bad. As a high-energy live "greatest hits" type package, Exit Stage Left can't be beat. Rush rules the world, and this captures them at their best.

(Oh, and make sure you get the Remastered edition, which has "A Passage to Bangkok," a rockin' song that was not included on some of the earlier pressings.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as the remastered CD, February 14, 2006

By	SRFireside "ZOOM!" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Exit...Stage Left (Audio CD)

In case some of you are wondering if you should A)Upgrade your original Exit...Stage Left CD with the new remastered one or B)Wondering which version to get, I have some simple answers for you. You see I had the original CD and then bought the Rush Remasters version hoping for some audio improvements. The remastering done on the new CD brings practically zero improvements to the original mastering. Only the most intense audiophiles with expensive sound systems will likely notice a large enough improvement to make a difference. I'm pretty picky about audio fidelity and when comparing the two versions face to face I couldn't find any differences at all.

So now that the whole remastered question is out of the way we can cover another question: that missing song. This CD is missing a song that was originally on the double vinyl album the CD is supposed to replace. That song was A Passage to Bangkok. That song was left out because the CD couldn't hold the entire double album and a song had to be taken out to make room (this was before the newer 80 minute CD's). Personally I think they made a good call. A Passage to Bangkok is not all that great of a song if you ask me. It's not bad, but if you had to take one out that would be it.

The last question I hear between the two is cover art. You see, these Rush Remasters boast about not only having the music remastered but also the original album art being restored on the CD sleeve. To be honest the original Exit...Stage Left CD is true to the original album art so there is no need to get the new album for that either.

So essentially this version of Exit...Stage Left is still a winner and its only failing grace is the exclusion of the song, A Passage to Bangkok. If you have this album and are thinking about taking the double dip keep in mind the remastered CD won't sound any different, will only look a little different, and will have the single advantage of an additional track. If you have neither and don't mind missing out on one song in leu of maybe a cheaper CD then there is no reason why you shouldn't buy this album instead of the Rush Remasters version.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly good- and trippy, too, November 2, 1999

By	Thurl Jacobson III ([e-mail]) (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews

Exit Stage Left contains the most real and moving conveyances of emotion through music that I have ever heard. Some songs, like La Villa Strangiato, you have to listen to several times before you can even grasp the level of proficiency that these three musicians are playing on. Neil's drum solo in YYZ is almost impossible to believe- in fact, it is what inspired me to take up drumming a few years ago. I have enjoyed this CD since I got a hand-me-down of the old version back in '94. The addition of "A Passage to Bangkok" is just one more incentive to buy the newer version. IMO, anyone who rates this CD lower than a 4 either didn't give it a thorough listen or isn't very musically inclined to begin with.