Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: Rush
• Album: A Show Of Hands
• Label: Anthem/Mercury
• Year of Release: 1989
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2012-11-20

As the third live Rush album, I’d consider this the weakest of the three. Of course, by this point in their career they had established a tradition of doing four studio albums followed by a live album (which mostly represented the sound from those four discs). While they have since abandoned that tradition, this set focused on a period in Rush’s career that doesn’t sit all that high in my personal taste register. That’s one of the reasons I’m not overly crazy about this set. The other is the fact that the production is so slick that it really does feel like a studio album more than it does a live set.
    
The thing about Rush, though, even when they aren’t up on a par with the rest of their catalog, they are still beyond the level of most bands. So, this set still has some strong material. There’s no question about that. Those highlights include, the high energy “The Big Money” (which opens the show and seems a truly inspired performance), “Manhattan Project” (while more keyboard than guitar oriented, it has some great textures) and “Force Ten” (one of the cooler jams of the whole set). Most of the material falls somewhere in the middle, while “Time Stand Still” is the weakest piece here, in part due to the source material, in part the performance and in part caused by a midi-triggered vocal that takes away the “live” credibility.
.
The bottom line is that, while this isn’t the best Rush live release, there are reasons to own it. First, it’s above the level of greatness that a lot of bands achieve in a full career. Secondly, fans of the period represented with this album will find plenty to like. Finally, those looking for a complete Rush catalog will find this in the “must have” category. Besides, when it’s Rush, even when it’s subpar compared to the rest of their stuff, it’s still pretty good.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums