Rush is a Band

A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Updates and other random Rush stuff

Fri, Dec 6, 2013@12:25PM | comments removed/disabled

Rush's Clockwork Angels Tour CD/DVD/Blu-ray was released back on November 19th and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Video charts, with the CD debuting at #33 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. It has since dropped off the Billboard 200 chart altogether although it remains on the Music Video chart (the exact position isn't publicly available). The film had a one-night theatrical premiere across North America the night before its release, and this past weekend it had its television premiere on VH1 Classic and Palladia. This television cut consisted of essentially the same 2nd set concert footage that was shown in theaters (they cut With Them Well and Dreamline), but did not include the Can't Stop Thinking Big documentary. It's likely that it will re-air periodically over the next few weeks, so check your cable/satellite listings if you want to catch it. Some more reviews of the release continued to roll in over the past week. There's this short review from EdgeOnTheNet.com, and Modern Drummer's Asif Khan had the following to say in this review of the release:

... The stunning live footage was shot in HD video, and the audio is available in 5.1 HD or 2.0. The disc also contains a documentary showing a glimpse of daily life on a world tour, a nice treat for hardcore fans. Having just celebrated his sixty-first birthday, a focused Neil Peart displays an incredible amount of stamina behind his beautifully crafted DW Time Machine Tour drumkit. Neil is known for his incredible solos, and this marks the first time since 1974 that his traditional spot is split up, in this case into three short but powerful parts, thoughtfully placed as segues throughout the set. Clearly Neil and his mates aren't worried about changing the formula-but long-time fans have nothing to worry about, as Clockwork Angels Tour proves that, four decades in, they're still performing at the top of their game.

There's also one interesting aspect of the live release that I haven't heard discussed much anywhere yet that reader Jeffrey F pointed out to me. Clockwork Angels Tour is the first Rush album (studio or live) that features the real-life likenesses of all three of the band members on the cover (clearly seen at least). Rush in Rio shows the band as just shadowy silhouettes, and A Show of Hands has caricatures of the band - but this is the first cover to clearly show the faces of the band. For my current poll I'm asking everyone what aspects of the DVD/Blu-ray they like. Please take the poll and let us know. Judging by the results so far, not too many folks like the cover despite this unique aspect of it (maybe because of this aspect of it?). You can order your copy of Clockwork Angels Tour at this location (DVD, Blu-ray, CD). Rush is also offering a limited edition deluxe package exclusively available at the Rush Backstage Club for $99.99. Clockwork Angels Tour is also available for digital purchase on iTunes, and is available on Spotify and other online streaming services as well.

This past Friday Rush partnered with independent retail outlets to sell an exclusive 10" picture disc single of The Garden for a Record Store Day sponsored Black Friday event. The disc features artwork from the animated screen projections shown during the song's performance on the Clockwork Angels tour and includes both the studio version of the song and the live version from the Clockwork Angels Tour live release. The disc sold very well and many fans had trouble locating stores that still had it in stock or that weren't sold out. There may be a few left out there, so check the Record Store Day website for a list of participating stores. Also, there are plenty available for sale on Amazon and other online sellers. Sales of the picture disk helped propel The Garden to #5 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart this past week.

The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine contains a feature on page 10 where several well-known artists share their current favorite songs, albums and music videos. One of the artists featured is Geddy Lee who describes 5 of his favorite songs/artists including The Who's My Generation, the Fleet Foxes' Your Protector, Björk's Isobel, Led Zeppelin's Communication Breakdown and Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick. You can read all of Geddy's commentary on the songs in this post and check out a snapshot of the article here.

Neil Peart seems to be keeping busy during his downtime from Rush. He stopped by the Drum Channel studios yesterday with his friend and mentor Peter Erskine as seen in this photo that was posted to the Drum Channel Facebook page.

Rush released their long-awaited remix/remaster of Vapor Trails back on September 30th. Reviews of the remix continue to trickle in including this one from blogger Steve Hurley. You can order the Vapor Trails remix on CD or on 180g vinyl, and order the Atlantic-era The Studio Albums 1989-2007 box set (which also contains the remix) here. Speaking of which, the box set made The Star-Ledger's pop and rock boxed sets Holiday gift guide for 2013.

A couple of weeks ago Clockwork Angels: The Novel author Kevin J. Anderson announced plans for a graphic novel version of the book he co-wrote with Neil Peart. BOOM! Studios will be releasing the graphic novel in six issues, scripted by Anderson, beginning next April to coincide with the paperback release of the novel from ECW Press. On a related note, Joel Coyle at MoviePilots.com posted an article earlier this week calling for a movie version of the book. Kevin J. Anderson himself chimed in in the article comments reminding people about the graphic novel version.

This past July the Canada Post officially released a Canadian Recording Artist stamp series featuring Rush and other Canadian artists. A couple of weeks ago the sale of a special, limited edition, signed day-of-issue cover for the Rush stamp was announced via this press release, and all 10 that were available quickly sold out. The Canadian Center for Abuse Awareness obtained one of the UNSIGNED covers and it is currently up for auction to help raise money for the charity. The auction will run through December 13th. For all the details and to place your bid, visit the auction website at AbuseHurts.com.

A concert photography book by Erin Feinberg titled Diehards was released earlier this year. The book focuses on photographs of concert audiences and includes an original essay by Neil Peart. Dusty Wright at the Huffington Post wrote a review of the book this past week and recommends it as a great holiday gift.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has introduced a new line of commemorative inductee t-shirts, including this one celebrating Rush's induction. For all the details check out the Rock Hall website here. Also, If you'll be in or near Cleveland anytime over the Holidays, I highly recommend checking out the Rush portion of the 2013 inductee exhibit at the Rock Hall along with all the other great exhibits that the Museum has to offer. To make things even easier for you, the Rock Hall has graciously offered an exclusive discount to the Museum for RushIsABand readers, where you can receive $2 off admission in addition to a 20% discount on any new membership (note that members get a 10% discount on all merchandise). Simply print out this pdf file and present it at the Rock Hall box office to receive your discount. The offer runs through the end of this month.

Los Angeles based hard rock band Heaven Below released a new 4-track EP titled Sleeping Giants this past Tuesday. One of the songs on the EP is a cover of Rush's Subdivisions which features a guest vocal appearance by William Shatner! You can listen/watch the official (and very weird) video of the song on YouTube below or at this link. Shatner says the subdivisions line in the chorus, and the video features his disembodied head during these parts of the song. And the really cool part is Shatner reciting the attention all planets of the Solar Federation... lines from 2112 at the end of the song (at around the 4:45 mark)! You can purchase a download of the track on Amazon or on iTunes. It's also on Spotify.

That's all for this week. There's only 19 more shopping days until Christmas! Remember that any donation of $3 or more to the site will get you a free RUSH IS A BAND bumper sticker - and they make great stocking stuffers. :) Have a great weekend everyone!!

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