R40
What follows is an encore of early favour ites from the mid- ‘ 70s that Rush fans will hold dear , including “ What You ’ re Doing ” and “ Working Man ” from their seminal 1974 self-titled debut that even precede Peart ’ s 40 years with the band .
Outside of the hits Lifeson says they “ needed to play ,” naming “ Tom Sawyer ” and “ The Spirit of Radio ” specifically , it was rather satisfying dusting off some of the cuts that haven ’ t been heard from the stage in some time .
“ There were some we weren ’ t sure of at first ,” he says , naming “ Lakeside Park ” as an example . “ But once we started playing them , it was an opportunity to refresh them . ‘ Cygnus X-1 ’ and the ‘ Hemispheres : Prelude ,’ it was really fun playing those songs ; it reminded me of the level of energy we had in that period , and how we wrote and how we played and performed .”
Lee elaborates on the idea : “ Something happens when you start playing those songs . You apply what you know now and bring a bit more of a mature attitude to the performance , and you actually start getting back into the headspace you were in when you wrote them . So as we were rehearsing , they kind of made sense again , and don ’ t feel dated because it ’ s like you ’ re freshening them up .”
He uses “ Jacob ’ s Ladder ” to illustrate the point . “ That ’ s always the number one song people ask us to play on fan petition sites leading up to a tour ,” Lee says . “ And it went from being a song I found a bit cringeworthy in rehearsal to one I loved playing every night .” Part of that , he adds , can be attributed to the fan demand . “ It ’ s nice to be able to say thank you by playing songs that people really want to hear .”
Another aspect of R40 born of consideration for the fans that ’ s also been a constant over the decades is the band ’ s insistence on keeping their live selections as close to their respective album versions as possible . While there ’ s always been room for a bit of improvisation , Lifeson asserts : “ It ’ s always been very important to us to replicate the songs as truly as we can .”
While hundreds of thousands of fans had a chance to bid farewell to their kings during the R40 Tour , even more will get to enjoy these songs and the unique way they were presented thanks to a live album and concert film . Recorded during the pair of dates at Toronto ’ s Air Canada Centre in mid-June , R40 Live drops Nov . 20 th in CD , DVD , and Blu-ray sets .
“ I ’ m very proud of the way it sounds and looks ,” Lifeson says of the band ’ s 11 th live package . “ All in all , it ’ s a very satisfying way to cap [ R40 ]. It ’ s not like we ’ re leaving anything unturned .”
Lee takes over : “ This whole tour was really driven by the fans ,” he says , reflecting on R40 . “ The design of the show , the song list , and a lot of the [ video ] content on the rear screen was all us saying thank you to our fans , because that ’ s really the nature of an anniversary , in my view – especially due to the circumstances that this was our last tour , or potentially our last tour , so we really needed to say thank you the proper way .”
The Rush faithful have likely flagged the addition of “ potentially ” to that last remark with a spark of optimism , and Lifeson puts a bit of fuel on that potential fire by adding , “ I ’ m slowly getting used to the idea that we may not be touring anymore .”
The future , at least as of now , is uncertain for the trio , but regardless of what ’ s in store , the members of Rush have done right by their fans with this most recent chronicle , and those fans will be held over thanks to R40 Live as they eagerly await any kind of word of what ’ s to come . n
Andrew King is the Editor of Canadian Musician .
CD
R40 LIVE TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE The World Is ..
The World Is ... The Anarchist Headlong Flight Far Cry The Main Monkey
Business How It Is Animate Roll the Bones Between the Wheels Losing It ( with Ben Mink ) Subdivisions
DISC TWO
Tom Sawyer YYZ The Spirit of Radio Natural Science Jacob ’ s Ladder Hemispheres : Prelude Cygnus X-1 / The Story
So Far ( drum solo ) Closer to the Heart Xanadu 2112
DISC THREE Mel ’ s Rockpile
( with Eugene Levy ) Lakeside Park / Anthem What You ’ re Doing / Working Man
BONUS One Little Victory Distant Early Warning Red Barchetta Clockwork Angels The Wreckers The Camera Eye Losing It ( with Jonathan
Dinklage )
DVD / BLU-RAY
SET ONE The World Is ..
The World Is ... The Anarchist Headlong Flight Far Cry The Main Monkey
Business How It Is Animate Roll the Bones Between the Wheels Losing It ( with Ben Mink ) Subdivisions
SET TWO No Country for Old Hens Tom Sawyer YYZ The Spirit of Radio Natural Science Jacob ’ s Ladder Hemispheres : Prelude Cygnus X-1 / The Story
So Far ( drum solo ) Closer to the Heart Xanadu 2112
ENCORE Mel ’ s Rockpile
( with Eugene Levy ) Lakeside Park / Anthem What You ’ re Doing /
Working Man Exit Stage Left
BONUS One Little Victory Distant Early Warning Red Barchetta
CANADIAN MUSICIAN • [ 37 ]