UPDATE - 11/22@8:06PM: Limelight from the DVD is also now up on YouTube (thanks Sean).
It's been a roller-coaster ride of a week with regards to Rush news. While the release of the DVD has us excited, the news that I reported yesterday that Rush's next tour will likely be their last has left many of us a bit shell-shocked.
So let me take a moment to put things in perspective and attempt to highlight the good side of all this. First and foremost, Rush has made it pretty clear that they have no plans to call it quits even if this next tour will be their last. All 3 members still seem committed to the notion that Rush will continue to exist and to put out new music as long as they are all still breathing (many more years hopefully!). That should be enough to make us all very happy. Indeed, they've essentially verified that they will be putting out another album in a couple of years. Just to reiterate; a farewell tour does not mean a farewell Rush tour. Secondly, if this is their last tour I'm sure it will be one doozy of a tour. I'd venture to guess that it would likely consist of 2 legs and include at least one trip overseas along with some heretofore unknown surprises. Also, 2011 is a long ways away. Anything can happen and minds can change. Rush have given hints in the past regarding their next tour being their last all the way back to 1987, and each time it's turned out to be false. I have a feeling it's different this time (mostly because of the age factor), but still ... you never know. I seriously thought about sitting on this information because I knew it would cause quite a stir. But my policy has always been to report any credible rumor that I hear, good or bad - so that's what I did. I know some of you don't like the fact that I report rumors, but most of you do. And - as a fan myself - that's the kind of stuff I want to hear. I don't read too much into these rumors myself either and I suggest everybody else do the same and focus on the positive, of which there is a lot. For starters, we have a new Rush DVD releasing next week!
The Snakes & Arrows DVD - Rush's 3rd DVD in the last 5 years - will be officially released in the US this coming Monday, November 24th on both DVD and Blu-ray. Many fans in Europe will be getting it even earlier. Several teaser videos from the DVD are floating around the intertubes namely The Larger Bowl, 2112, YYZ, The Spirit of Radio, Far Cry and Limelight; several screenshots and a description of the menu/packaging can be seen here; and Geddy had a lot to say about the DVD in a recent Billboard interview. If you've already gotten your hands on the DVD please let us know what you think.
Earlier this week we got our first glimpse of the album cover for Rush's upcoming Atlantic-era greatest hits package, Retrospective 3. You can check out a full-size image of it here. The image features the seven albums released throughout the Atlantic era (1987-2007) and is a reworking of an image which originally appeared in the R30 tourbook. One interesting note is that the Leela cover of Snakes & Arrows has been replaced by the original roadsign image which was found in the linernotes, t-shirts, and other merchandise for the album. It's not clear at this time why this was done. The album will be released on January 27th and come in both a CD and a CD/DVD version. You can check out the complete tracklist and other details in this post.
Monday we learned that Rush is involved in yet another charity auction; the 15 below project. For all the details and to bid on the Rush item check out this post.
Rush is one of the 5 nominees for the Playboy Music Poll's Hall of Fame this year. They are up against Neil Diamond, N.W.A, Billy Idol and Smashing Pumpkins. Here's what they say about Rush:
With prog all the rage in some new-music circles, the band that practically invented the genre is as big as ever. Rush’s musical virtuosity, intricate time changes, suite-style song cycles and cerebral texts continued to fill arenas this year as the trio extended its Snakes & Arrows tour and prepared to release a live DVD..
So go vote for Rush! Thanks to James C for the heads up.
In the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine (#1066) they feature the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Geddy Lee is not on the list (although he was on Sebastian Bach's ballot), but he was one of those who helped determine who made the cut; they list Geddy along with the other 178 judges/voters on page 70. Thanks to William R and Orest for the heads up.
This recent Toronto Star article talks about the fact that Jersey Boys star Steve Gouveia is a huge Rush fan.
On Alice Cooper's radio show this past week Alice mentioned Alex Lifeson after playing Limelight. Alice said that he was working on a Canadian vampire film with Alex called Suck where Alice plays a vampire bartender! According to the Internet Movie Database, this film is currently in production and set to release sometime next year. Although Lerxst is not yet listed in the cast. Interesting. Thanks to Bellingham Rush Fan for the heads up.
A couple of weeks back I let you know that Wired.com had run a feature on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and why Rush wasn't in it. They'd sent 3 questions to their contact at the Rock Hall and are awaiting a response. The piece garnered some reaction from Blender Magazine who recently dedicated a blog post to it and added a few reasons of their own as to why Rush should be inducted. The article also includes a poll asking reader's opinion; the overwhelming majority (98%!) vote in Rush's favor. Thanks to Dylan for the heads up.
Reader Vinnie let me know that back in August Primus played the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco and - as they have done several times in the past - they payed homage to Rush by including snippets of Rush songs as intros to a couple of their songs. They opened Frizzle Fry with a A Passage to Bangkok snippet (YouTube video here) and Here Come the Bastards with a YYZ snippet (YouTube video here).
In last week's Yahoo Music Blog's List of the Day, they feature Ten Legendary Rock Drummers. Neil Peart makes the cut at #10 (10 ??). Thanks to Evangeline V for the heads up.
I missed this back in August but on August 1st Alfred Publishing released a drum transcription for Moving Pictures as part of their Alfred's Classic Album Editions. For details, check out this link. They also released a guitar transcription for the album back in June.
On this day back in 1989, Rush's 13th studio album - Presto - was released. Here's the video for their mainstream rock #1 hit, Show Don't Tell (which for some reason is not on Retrospective 3):
Have a good weekend folks!
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