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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a trip down memory lane, 26 Oct 2000
It's not easy to review this album without the odd pang of nostalgia as I was fortunate enough to attend the concert at the Birmingham NEC back in '89 where much of this live compilation was recorded - the whole concert was also filmed for the video release of the same title.Arguably some of the tracks chosen to represent the 'Show of Hands' tour were not in theory the strongest studio songs ( Big Money , Mystic Rhythms) and the tour followed on from the release of ' Hold Your Fire ' (which was criticised by some fanatics as having less than great production values ) when played live the very same songs were transformed into a raw sound which perhaps revealed the songs to be better than the studio sessions suggested. I was literally blown away by the power of such tracks as 'Subdivisions' and ' Marathon' along with the classic ' Witch Hunt' and 'Closer To The Heart'. Where the guitar influences of Alex lifeson had been strangely subdued in the studio here the lexmeister was in his element pounding out all forms of riffs at a satisfyingly loud volume. As ever the bass and drums of geddy lee and neil peart complement these to near perfection. Years of playing together as Rush allow the trio to produce an incredibly tight performance on all the tracks. The album also features an extended solo by Peart - often such antics allow a quick interlude for the listener to slip away elsewhere - but in the hands of Peart the 'Rhythm Method' sets the standard for others to follow . A true master of his craft. The vocals and keyboards are provided by Lee in his customary clear and concise ( if slightly soprano ) voice. The album fittingly ends with the aforementioned all-time classic 'Closer To The Heart'. Finally let me quote Neil Peart in his preface to the two night NEC performance : 'But for these two nights the gods smile'. I for one won't argue with that.
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