Product Description
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Compilation of classic live performances from the band,
collecting together their three previous live releases, including
classic tracks such as 'Tom Sawyer', Witch Hunt' and 'Closer to
the Heart', amongst many more.
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While Pink Floyd's widely popular Pulse (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BTC5LW/${0} ) ranked as one of the
bestselling DVDs of 2006, Rush: Replay x 3 is a similarly
praiseworthy treasure-trove that's geared more for long-time Rush
fans with a working knowledge of the band's evolution. New fans
and late-blooming converts are just as likely to enjoy this
three-concert package (compiled from previously available VHS
releases from the 1980s), but it's the die-hard devotees of
Canada's premiere prog-rock power trio who'll get the most from
this epic-scale, remastered DVD package. Particularly welcome
here are the miniature reproductions of the official programs
from each of the tours featured here: "Exit Stage Left" (1981),
"Grace Under Pressure" (1984) and "A Show of Hands" (1987-88).
With tour-diary notes by the band's illustrious percussionist and
co-founder Neil Peart, and often humorous personnel profiles and
equipment list by Peart, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and
bassist/synth player and vocalist Geddy Lee, these handy booklets
offer both tour-related nostalgia and successive glimpses into
the band's creative process. Lavishly illustrated, they're also
fascinating as visual records of the band's on-stage look, album
designs, and related materials.
As presented here (as sed to earlier releases on VHS and
laserdisc), the concerts are intended to complement the same live
s (with some variations in playlists) that were
previously released on CD, and the "Grace Under Pressure" CD,
included here as a special-bonus fourth disc, is an all-new
release exclusive to this package. If you own them all (and what
self-respecting Rush fan wouldn't?), you'll have a near-complete
collection of these pivotal performances. Both "Exit" (recorded
at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec) and "Grace" (le Leaf
Gardens, Toronto) have been re-edited to an even hour apiece,
while "A Show of Hands" (National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham,
England) clocks in at 90 minutes. While they lack the visual
splendor of Pulse, each concert offers an equal serving of
highlights, notably "The Trees" and "Xanadu" (on "Exit"), "The
Spirit of Radio" and the muscular medley of "YYZ/The Temples of
Syrinx/Tom Sawyer/Vital Signs" (on "Grace"); and the stunning
Alex Lifeson showcase "La Villa Strangiato" (on "A Show of
Gands"). The latter also includes an obligatory and
always-impressive Neil Peart drum solo (on "The Rhythm Method"),
and while the original video source results in occasionally
murkey image quality (as also happened with "Grace Under
Pressure" director David Mallet on Pulse), there's no doubt that
the 5.1-channel Dolby Digital remastering (supervised by Lifeson
and Mike Fraser) represents a substantial improvement in overall
sound, especially for those with DTS decoders. For those who
think a little Rush goes a long way, Replay x 3 will probably
qualify as overkill, but true fans will be ecstatic despite the
absence of certain previously available material or any backstage
features that would allow a more glimpse of prog-rock's
most enduring practitioners. What's not here is regrettable; what
is here is fantastic. --Jeff Shannon