Music DVD Review: Rush - Exit Stage Left

I remember back in the mid-80's, cruising to the beach in my buddy's pickup truck, drinking an ice cold brew, and jamming to Rush's Exit...Stage Left. Although my own car was a much more comfortable ride, it's stock stereo system just didn't do the music justice.

The truck, however, delivered the goods. Music overrules comfort of course. Every time Neil Peart launched into his epic "YYZ" drum solo, we would literally pull over to pay our proper respects with a ferocious bout of air drumming - driving with a beer in your hand was already stupid enough. That is still one of the best drum solos ever laid down to vinyl, because it is essentially a song within itself, something you can actually sing - if that makes any sense. Watch Rush in Rio and you'll get my drift.

Exit Stage Left was filmed at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec on March 27, 1981 and was originally released on VHS and laserdisc. The video captures Rush on their Moving Pictures tour, and you are treated to a mesmerizing performance of the entire first side of that now legendary album, although not in order. You see kids, back in the old days, there were two sides to an album, and you actually had to get up to flip the damn thing over.

The video begins with footage of the crew setting up the concert venue, as "The Camera Eye" plays in the background, and Neil Peart provides some insightful commentary. He will provide more commentary between each of the song performances. Kicking off a concert video with vintage performances of "Limelight" and "Tom Sawyer" is already enough to send any Rush fan to near orgasm, but the highlight of this show was the magnificent progressive-rock epic "Xanadu." You will find no audio samples this night, as Professor Peart methodically maneuvers about, hitting each and every wind chime, triangle, temple block, orchestra bell, and other form of percussion that made the song's intro so magical.

The performances of "Red Barchetta" and "Freewill" are two of the finest live versions you will ever hear, although they don't stray too much from the album versions. Then again, Rush always have stayed very faithful to the original versions when playing live. The setlist provided with the DVD, lists "YYZ" as anchoring both sides of the closing medley, "By-Tor and The Snow Dog," "In The End," "In The Mood," and the "2112 Finale." This is a little misleading since it only really plays over the closing credits, and very briefly during Neil Peart's commentary that preceded the medley. This was a huge disappointment, because the Exit Stage Left album version is jaw-droppingly powerful.

Article Author: Paul Roy

Paul Roy is a network administrator by day and amateur music DVD critic by night. When not attending as many live concerts as he possibly can, Paul likes nothing more than to kick back with a good concert DVD and rattle some walls. …

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