-
CD 1 - Soundboard 8.6 - Sounds very low gen but the tape seems somewhat compressed, but very clean, and thankfully can be turned up loud without breaking up. CD 2 - Soundboard 8.6 - A lot like disc one, occasional phasing on one or two tracks, but again it is pretty clean and a mix that reveals how good each player is in this band. CD 3 - Soundboard 8.4 - A step down from the first couple of discs but it has a little more brightness to it, and a little more noise and a strange sort of echo on the guitar which does not bother me, it is just different than the other discs. All in all, collectors will find much to like here. -
Soundboard 9.9 - As good as it gets, rather .01 away from being as good as it can get. -
Soundboard 9.0 - Great great gig the band sounds so good! -
Audience 8.7 - A little noisy but man what a great gig! Everything is clear and well mixed. -
Audience 8.2 - Good clear sound if a little distant and thin. Small complaint though, because it is not bad at all. -
Audience 8.4 - Punchy in the middle, how I like it! -
Audience 7.7 -
Audience 9.4 -
Soundboard 9.5 - Good, airy, and dynamic tape! I also like the way this is mixed, and the playing is top shelf by anyone’s standards. The only small thing I can complain about is a little too much sizzle on the cymbals. -
Audience 8.8 - This is a really nice one, pretty atmospheric without being reverby and hollow and the live sound mix is pretty right-on. The sound separation here presents itself as what feels like stereo to me, whether or not taper used two mics I do not know but it does sound like it. The band is really hot! -
Soundboard 8.6 - A good tape if a touch flat at times. -
Soundboard 8.8 - A good and clear tape. -
Soundboard 9.0 - A little bit of hiss in the background but otherwise a solid, and enjoyable one! -
Audience 8.8 - Taper had good gear for this one, you can tell there is some sense of space, and the music has a chance to float above you. A rather sweet recording. -
Soundboard 9.4 -
Soundboard 8.8 -
Soundboard 9.7 -
Soundboard 9.0 -
Audience 9.2 -
Audience 7.7 - While the ratings may show this to be an average sounding tape, let me reveal my own bias for a moment. This is Rush’s best tour. You may argue with that, I mean, the previous two tours were pretty amazing too. I find the set list and performances of the Permanent Waves tour to be exceptional, and this show, while maybe not the best of the lot, does reveal yet more of the Rush mystique. A recording that requires 10 minutes to adjust to but eventually begins to sound pretty decent apart from a guitar that sits behind the action a little (except during solos). A little boomy but not a deal breaker. A good, not great, tape. -
Audience 8.9 - This recording gives off a sense of massive power with Geddy’s bass sound being huge and round and dead on – with a great open expanse overhead allowing the music to breathe a little. This atmosphere allows the music to sometimes move around in the stereo field a little which is nice. I like this kind of recording when it comes to the larger venues. -
Soundboard 9.0 - Wow what a find this one is! Early Rush show in soundboard quality, oh man! Yeah, you gotta get this, I mean, what more can one say about it? Fantastic find, what a nice surprise for the loyal Rush fans! -
Audience 8.6 - Sometimes, a rating cannot reflect the magnitude of a recording. I can specifically say that this one is only an 8.6 in a sonic sense, which means it is very good and worthwhile, but man, let me tell you what this show REALLY is – it’s an 11. Why? Because this is, quite simply, Rush in an unbelievable fine form playing their (arguably) best stuff, and the recording has captured that and a very palpable atmosphere at the same time. A little clarity is lost in the bass/guitar separation as they seem to sound as one unit which is not such a bad thing as it creates a sonic roar, a lion’s roar it is too, but it does get a little crowded in that frequency range. But, it captures an amazing power those two had on stage, the sound is ferocious and menacing. -
Audience 8.7 - So it’s kind of in the middle of the venue and so you sacrifice a little clarity in the low mid but man, somebody did know what they were doing here. It’s very clear in the upper end, there’s no real boominess or echo either. It’s the best middle of the floor aud tape I think I have ever heard, and the best part is the band is really cooking. I think you will be happy with this. -
Audience 8.8 - Easily one of the best pre-Fly By Night live recordings! -
Audience 8.4 - This is a case of a show, actually let me re-phrase that, this WAS a show that many collectors lamented as being a superb performance marred by very marginal sound quality. Not anymore! Friends, this new direct from master source and re-mastered version of this totally excellent gig is simply a joy to get to listen to in this improved quality. Not that it is astounding, in fact it still has issues, but the jump from what it was (about a 7.3) to what it is now is too great an improvement to not shower heaps of praise upon it. Note: It doesn’t get good until about halfway through the first song, then there is a little cut in the tape, and then it gets noticeably better and better. -
Soundboard 9.3 - Long admired by fans for being both a fantastic performance and excellent soundboard with a good mix. A staple in every self-respecting Rush fan’s collection. -
Audience 7.4 - A very thin recording, now it does come from a master source so it is as clean as it will ever be. I mean, I suppose you do hear it all, just do not expect much bottom end. -
Audience 7.6 - I have it in my mind to collect every single performance the band did in Toronto. That means I am gonna get some good, some bad, some in between. This is probably some in-between. Not horrible but not great either. Now, I will say this, let your ears adjust and you get a reasonably clear but phasing sound. Recorded from somewhere pretty well back of the auditorium, sounds like. -
Audience? Hard to tell if this is an audience or soundboard, it is really good. If it is audience, then it was done very close to the mains but no distortion at all, but I doubt that because there is very precise stereo panning on some of the effects (such as intro to 2112). If it is a soundboard, it is a good one because it allows some bleeding in of the crowd and atmosphere.
