Rush: R30 (DVD)

In celebration of their 30th Year Anniversary World Tour Rush has given us a comprehensive DVD to commemorate the occasion. As a long time fan of the music of Rush I was very happy to know that this was being released. It comes in two different versions with one being the Deluxe Edition that comes with a lot of cool things and a Standard Edition for those that simply want the basics. This review is of the Deluxe Edition and when you open a copy you will forget that a standard one even is available. The package comes with two DVD's and the first is the entire 30th Anniversary Concert that was performed. They even included the amusing segments that featured comedian Jerry Stiller. Rush has always been a band that in addition to their creativity made sure to showcase their sense of humor in stuff like this so it was nice to find that it was not edited out. If you were lucky enough to see this concert you have probably already stopped reading and placed an order for the DVD. If not, and you wished you had gone to the show this DVD should at least ease some amount of the pain you feel from not getting tickets. The concert portion is over 2 hours long and stands at about 27 songs with some being spread out in Medley's. One such piece is the opening overture that covered the group's earliest work and was done instrumentally on this tour. I enjoyed seeing this material presented in this new and different fashion and I think most of the Rush fans got a charge out of this. In addition to the 30th Year being celebrated the group was also featuring tracks from their latest album. Entitled Feedback this CD was all cover material that the group had enjoyed in their youth. It was very interesting to see the band perform both "Crossroads" and "The Seeker" I have to admit. The entire concert was a great experience and was different enough from their last DVD Rush In Rio for fans that feel buying two concert performances in a row is excessive. Despite their stellar level of musicianship I think most will agree that they are not the most visual band however this show was shot very well with a lot of incredible angles of everyone as they play. This is a great aspect when it comes to the always amazing drum solo executed by Neil Peart. The Deluxe DVD includes a 2 CD audio companion of this concert which allows you to take the band with you on those road trips and always have the concert at your disposal. The CD does not come in the standard edition.

The second DVD is what they refer to as "The Anthem Vault" and in this vault you will find treats that are composed of a lot of video clips (mostly unseen in their entirety until now) and several interviews. The videos included on this DVD are "Fly By Night", "Finding My Way", "In The Mood", "Circumstances", "La Villa Strangiato", "A Farewell To Kings", "Xanadu", "The Spirit Of Radio", "Freewill" and "Closer To The Heart". These are not recent clips but instead represent all different years. The same applies to the various interviews which span from 1979 thru 2002. What I enjoyed about those was the chance to hear the bands perspective on things from very early in life to very recently. Fans will most probably favor the induction into the Canadian Hall Of Fame segment from 1994. As referenced above the deluxe package comes with a couple of additional cool things designed more for the collector or Rush maven. Among these are the audio CD's, 2 guitar picks (Alex and Geddy) and a backstage pass. There is a very content rich full color booklet with extensive liner notes and photography.

Simply put this is an amazing DVD and it comes with the highest of recommendation for any fan of Rush as well as fans of the Progressive giants of today like Dream Theater and those that follow the pack. Rush continually set the standard for Prog-Rock and raised the bar on numerous occasions as well. Let's help them celebrate the past 30 years.

Song Listing
1. R30 Overture: Finding My Way, Anthem, Bastille Day, A Passage To Bangkok, Cygnus X-1, Hemispheres
2. The Spirit Of Radio
3. Force Ten
4. Animate
5. Subdivisions
6. Earthshine
7. Red Barchetta
8. Roll The Bones
9. The Seeker
10. Tom Sawyer
11. Dreamline
12. Between The Wheels
13. Mystic Rhythms
14. Der Trommler
15. Resist
16. Heart Full Of Soul
17. 2112/Xanadu/Working Man
18. Summertime Blues
19. Crossroads
20. Limelight

DVD2
Interviews
1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 2002
The Anthem Vault
Fly By Night
Finding My Way
In the Mood
Circumstances
La Villa Strangiato
A Farewell To Kings
Xanadu
The Spirit of Radio
Freewill
Closer to the Heart

Added: December 23rd 2005
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Rush Website
Hits: 4169
Language: english

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