Search - Rush :: All the World's a Stage

Bookend to the early Rush.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 03/21/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A live set recorded over three days in 1976, in many ways this is a great introduction to the early Rush material-- featuring four songs each from the debut album and "Fly By Night", two from "Caress of Steel" and "2112" (although admittedly including the length title track), this really gets to the good material without much of the fluff.



Opening with the monster combination of "Bastille Day" and "Anthem", the tone for the show is set-- if there's a complaint to be made about the live show, its that it leaves out any display of the quieter side of Rush-- mind you, the quiet side was a one or two song thing on each record, it'd be nice to have heard some of it.



If you like the early material, you'll like this set, that simple. The "Fly By Night" material seems particularly inspired, I much prefer this take of "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" to the studio.



Overall, its a good show-- they'd have better material to pick from the future, but for the time, its a good show, and besides, its hard to imagine Geddy Lee these days shouting "Come on, let's see some hands!"."

4.5 stars- Better than I remembered

M. A. Scott | Kansas, USA | 04/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Just recently I bought "All The Worlds A Stage" for the first time on cd. At first I didn't like it very much because it sounded pretty raw when compared to the smoother EXIT STAGE LEFT. I think with the release of EXIT they were playing better because they had been doing about 250 shows a year for quite a few years and they were maturing as live musicians, but still, this first live album shows them more raw and energetic, so it's good to have both in your possession. It sounds much better to me than when I first heard it in 1981. This remaster sounds quite a bit better than the vinyl album did (which is something that I can't say about all rock albums). If you don't have this live album, but have a lot of the studio albums, don't hesitate in aquiring this first Rush live album."

Along with the Robin Trower Band, best rock trio ever!

R. Moser | Virginia | 12/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A favorite of mine for many, many years. I remember seeing Rush in the summer of 1979... my very first rock concert. I was stunned by their power and the sound the three of them made. "All the World's a Stage" was recorded when Rush was on the road promoting their "new" album, 2112. You could tell they had been working hard to get the songs as tight and disciplined as they sounded on the album itself. By-Tor and the Snow Dog is probably my favorite recorded live song, by any group. And I remember seeing it performed live in its entirety in that 1979 show I saw. I was proud to be a huge Rush fan before they really made it big in '81 with Moving Pictures. By-Tor was always the song I'd play to my non-believing friends when I told them what a great band Rush was. Phenomenal drumming and bass playing. This is the best live Rush album in their catalog. I haven't heard any bootlegs, but this is the best of the ones in their official catalog. Enjoy it!"