Review Summary: Rush's second live outing displays the Canadian trio at one of the peaks of their career.
When I first started playing the drums in elementary school, I heard the name "Neil Peart" thrown around like he was some type of God. For the remainder of my pre-adolescent years, I couldn't help but wonder who this man was. Eventually, my interest waned and I forgot about it almost completely. Then, about a year later, I was browsing around at an antique store, and found a section of vinyl. I was pleased to find that they had many of my favorite older rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. I was looking for more albums to spend my money on when I came across one of Rush's live albums "Exit..Stage Left". At the time, I knew nothing about this band, but heard them repeatedly praised at family get togethers by a couple of my cousins. On impulse, I decided to fork over the four dollars and take a chance. That 4 dollars was very much worth it as this album turned me on to one of the most talented and versatile bands of all time, Rush.
Needless to say, I soon learned why Neil Peart is held in such high regards. But I soon came to realize that guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist Geddy Lee share just as much talent and virtuosity as Peart. How three people who are among the best of all time at their instruments came together in one musical act is beyond me, but the band's enormous talent is, in my opinion, showcased perfectly in their second live album, Exit..Stage Left.
I’m sure you may have already expected this, but the key factor that makes this album so great is Rush’s fantastic instrumentation. Peart, Lee, and Lifeson come together to make each song a masterpiece in its own way. While every song could easily be called a favorite, one of the most impressive performances Rush has ever given is present in YYZ. Neil’s several minute-long drum solo (which I’ll admit does tend to drag on towards the end), Geddy’s bass fills, and Alex’s ever-present solos are flawlessly executed. While no track on the album outdoes YYZ, the album’s near-ten minute epic closer, La Villa Strangiato sure comes close. Of course, Geddy manages to hit every single high note he is capable of accomplishing in the studio on songs like Red Barchetta and Freewill, contributing greatly to the mainly upbeat, rocking feel of each song and getting the crowd to sing along.
While this album is nearly a classic in my eyes, my only complaint is that “Exit..Stage Left” does not fully capture Rush’s stage energy present in its predecessor, All The World’s A Stage. This could be attributed to the album’s less raw, more studio-like sound, which in no way takes away from the individual tracks, but from the feel of the album as a whole.
Overall, “Exit..Stage Left” is a Rush masterpiece, capturing the brilliance of the band and showing why Rush continue to be one of the most promising live acts to this day.
5/5
