Rush - Working Men ( Live)
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CD Details
Artist: RushEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-11-17
Music Label: Atlantic
Soundtracks:
- Limelight
- Spirit of Radio
- 2112
- Freewill
- Dreamline
- Far Cry
- Subdivisions
- One Little
- Closer To The Heart
- Tom Sawyer
- Working Man
- YYZ
Music reviews of Working Men ( Live)
Music Review: A Worthless Release -- 5 Stars for Material, 1 for Compilation
Rating: 1 Stars
Rush is well-known as one of the best live acts from the last four decades and, even more impressive, one of the very few that has lost little with age. In the quarter century between their early 1970s debut and their late 1990s hiatus, Rush released four live albums and about as many videos. All were high quality and served an important purpose, as they roughly coincided with the end of an era in the band's ongoing experimentation and growth and the beginning of another. They were a useful summary and an intriguing harbinger, especially since, unlike many acts, Rush always plays many of its latest songs, letting one truly get a feel for recent work.
This has unfortunately changed greatly since their early 2000s reformation. The first live release after this (Rush in Rio, album and video) followed a single studio album - Vapor Trails. This was unexpected but really a pleasant surprise, since many fans feared Rush would never return, and it was good to have a document of their return even if relatively little new material was featured and there was significant repetition of past live albums. However, this was quickly followed by R30, a video with a CD of the songs. Most fans were glad to have a souvenir of Rush's thirtieth anniversary tour, and the band made sure to include songs not normally played. Even so, the only studio album between it and Vapor Trails was the covers EP Feedback. It seemed fans were being milked a bit hard, but the few who seemed to notice let it go. Given all this, few were surprised when the next studio album (Snakes and Arrows) was quickly followed by Snakes and Arrows Live on album and video. This truly seemed almost too much. Many new songs were featured as well as some unearthed oldies, but there was still much repetition, and the live onslaught seemed never-ending. Even some long-time fans were beginning to question the wisdom of such releases, but the vast majority seemed generally glad if slightly piqued.
Another such release in quick succession would be inarguably going too far, and Working Men does just that. Not even another "new" live set, it simply samples from the prior three. It is ostensibly a "Best Of" from them, picking Rush's best-known works and a few recent songs - essentially a "Greatest Hits Live." There are several problems with this aside from the obvious. First, several of these songs were on all three recent live albums, and many were even on previous ones. This is particularly exasperating since they change very little from show to show. Putting them out yet again is simply unnecessary - nay, overkill. Also, anyone who has been to a Rush show - or even heard or seen one of the recent live releases - knows that it is something very different from a greatest hits set with a few new songs.
Some may say this is nitpicking, because Working Men clearly is aimed at casuals, not hard-cores. The only thing thrown in to entice the latter is a "new" version of "One Little Victory," which has already been released in several nearly identical live versions. This is a cheap ploy to take advantage of long-time fans and should be resented. We could have at least gotten some interesting new liner notes or something similarly trifling, but even this was denied. Fans will likely be more interested in the notable new cover by long-time Rush cover artist Hugh Syme than anything, but this hardly makes the set worthwhile. As for casuals, this is a poor set even for them. Not only is it unrepresentative of Rush shows and live releases, but the compilers somehow failed to even choose the best versions. There are probably a few people out there who want a "Rush Greatest Hits Live" set, but this does not serve them well. Many will of course say Rush's best days are behind them, however great they remain, and that limiting selection to recent live works inevitably excludes the best versions. Perhaps; but bad choices were made even on this small scale. A better set could easily have been made, and nearly any fan would have made superior choices. I suppose it is possible that some casuals looking to get into live Rush will appreciate Working Men and that it may possibly lead them to check out full-length live releases. However, any of those are so far above this that one would be much better off paying the slight difference.
However, it is hard-cores who should truly be aghast. They should feel nothing less than insulted. It is widely-known that Rush fans are some of the most loyal, more than willing to buy anything and everything put out under the band's name. Record executives know this well and have been milking it extraordinarily hard in recent years, but this is just too much. Working Men is nothing less than a compilation of compilations; worse yet, it is not even a good one. I sincerely hope that fans will not fall for this shoddy release and that the boycott teaches cynical executives to avoid such shoddy releases. We can only hope Rush had nothing to do with this; fans have supported them long and loyally and deserve better. This is one of the most ridiculous anthologies ever and hopefully will not be repeated.
Description of Working Men ( Live)
Over the last 40 years Canada's biggest rock band, Rush has been creating one platinum album after another. The trio, featuring members Geddy Lee (Lead Vocals, Bass), Alex Lifeson (Guitarist), Neil Peart (Drums) are renowned in their own right, but together have come to form one of the most succesfull rock bands of all time, ranked fourth in sales behind only The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith. Since the release of the band's self-titled album in March 1974, Rush has become well-known for the instrumental skills of its members, eclectic lyrics, and complex compositional style. After Rush's 8 year hiatus in 1997, the band reunited to create Snakes and Arrows in 2006, renewing interest around the world. Rush's latest offering Working Men, the live CD release, pulls selected live offerings from their vast collection.Pop CDs
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