Rush Survivor 2020 - The Live Albums - Round 1

[The Letter M]

The Live Albums
All The World's A Stage
Exit...Stage Left
Grace Under Pressure Tour
A Show Of Hands
Different Stages
Rush In Rio
R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour
Snakes & Arrows Live
Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland
Clockwork Angels Tour
R40 Live

Over the course of the band's career, they've released 11 live albums (video and audio versions, sometimes different, sometimes the same), and while they vary in length, each live album carries with it an in-depth look into each era/tour with their song choices and live performance changes from tour to tour. But, with so many available, fans are going to find some they like less than others, and I'm sure many of us here haven't heard ALL of these, and that's okay.

-Marc.

[Eldomm]

Snakes & Arrows live

[pg1067]

Live albums used to be special, and I always liked the way Rush would release one after every four studio albums.  Then it became a matter of saturating the market.  Over the first 25 years of Rush's recording career (1974-99), the band released four live albums.  They then released SEVEN in a span of 12 years and a month.**

I own Rush in Rio on CD, but I don't think I own any of the other 21st Century live albums on CD.  I own most of them on DVD instead.

That said, I have always thought A Show of Hands was a particularly weak release.  I don't think I've listened to the CD since it was released, and I only rarely watch the VHS/DVD, so it gets my vote (although I expect the 21st Century releases to go out first).


** - In fairness, the GUP tour album released in 2009 (and included as part of the Replay x3 box set in 2006) was essentially the soundtrack to the video that had been released in 1986.

[ProgKen]

A Show of Hands
Too much preprogrammed synths take away from the live feel of most of the other albums, polished but a little cold.

[jjrock88]

Snakes & Arrows live

[DTA]

ESL