A Show of Hands | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | January 9, 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1986, 1988 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, hard rock | |||
Length | 74:22 | |||
Label | Anthem | |||
Producer | Rush | |||
Rush chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Kerrang! | [3] |
Rolling Stone | [4] |
A Show of Hands is a live album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1989. The band released a video of the same name, originally on VHS and LaserDisc, the same year. A DVD version was released as part of a box set in 2006, and as an individual DVD in 2007. In 2015 it was reissued after being remastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios following a direct approach by Rush to remaster their entire back catalogue. [5]
The majority of the performances on this album were from the 1988 Hold Your Fire tour, recorded in the American cities of New Orleans, Phoenix, and San Diego, and the British city of Birmingham. "Mystic Rhythms" and "Witch Hunt" were recorded in East Rutherford, New Jersey, during the 1986 Power Windows tour. [6] The opening track "Intro" features The Three Stooges theme playing in the background; the band used this music to open many of their concerts during the 1980s.
With the exception of "Closer to the Heart", the tracklist focuses almost entirely on the band's material from the 1980s, and is Rush's only live record to feature no performances of songs released before 1977. Unlike All the World's a Stage and Exit...Stage Left , this album does not have any songs that had to be omitted for single CD release. The first two were released prior to the introduction of compact discs and were double album sets, whilst this album was initially released on CD so time restrictions were already taken into account.
The video was filmed at the first of two Birmingham (UK) shows which took place on April 23–24, 1988 at the city's NEC Arena - one of the sources of the live album. The song order and selection of the video are different from the live album. The laserdisc release also includes the song "Lock and Key".
All songs written by Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, except where noted.
No. | Title | Location | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Introduction" | 0:53 | |
2. | "The Big Money" | Birmingham, UK | 5:59 |
3. | "Subdivisions" | Birmingham, UK | 5:22 |
4. | "Marathon" | Birmingham, UK | 6:39 |
No. | Title | Location | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Turn the Page" | New Orleans, LA | 4:41 |
2. | "Manhattan Project" | Phoenix, AZ | 5:18 |
3. | "Mission" | San Diego, CA | 5:46 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Location | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Distant Early Warning" | Birmingham, UK | 5:15 | |
2. | "Mystic Rhythms" | Meadowlands, NJ | 5:32 | |
3. | "Witch Hunt" | Meadowlands, NJ | 4:00 | |
4. | "The Rhythm Method" | Peart | Birmingham, UK | 4:37 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Location | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Force Ten" | Lifeson, Lee, Peart, Pye Dubois | Phoenix, AZ | 4:55 |
2. | "Time Stand Still" | Birmingham, UK | 5:13 | |
3. | "Red Sector A" | Birmingham, UK | 5:18 | |
4. | "Closer to the Heart" | Lifeson, Lee, Peart, Peter Talbot | Birmingham, UK | 4:54 |
Chart (1989) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [7] | 38 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [8] | 7 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [9] | 35 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [10] | 28 |
UK Albums (OCC) [11] | 12 |
US Billboard 200 [12] | 21 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [13] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [14] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
A Show of Hands was remastered in 2011 by Andy VanDette for the "Sector" box sets, which re-released all of Rush's Mercury-era albums. A Show Of Hands is included in the Sector 3 set. [15]
Signals is the ninth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 9, 1982 by Anthem Records. After the release of their previous album, Moving Pictures, the band started to prepare material for a follow-up during soundchecks on their 1981 concert tour and during the mixing of their subsequent live album Exit...Stage Left. Signals demonstrates the group's continuing use of synthesizers, sequencers, and other electronic instrumentation. It is the last album produced by their longtime associate Terry Brown, who had worked with them since 1974.
A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on Anthem Records on August 29, 1977. The album reached No. 11 in Canada and marked a growth in the band's international fanbase, becoming their first Top 40 album in the US and the UK.
Fly by Night is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 14, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was the first Rush album to showcase elements of progressive rock for which the band has become known. It was also the first to feature lyricist and drummer Neil Peart, who replaced original drummer John Rutsey the previous summer just prior to the band's first North American tour. Peart took over as Rush's primary lyricist, and the abundance of fantastical and philosophical themes in his compositions contrasted greatly with the simpler hard rock of the band's debut album.
Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was recorded immediately after the band concluded touring in support of their previous album, Fly By Night, and marked a development in the group's sound, moving from the blues-based hard rock style of their debut towards progressive rock. Songs such as "The Necromancer" furthered Rush's advancement into narrative-driven, fantasy-based compositions, while "The Fountain of Lamneth" was their first prog-rock "epic" to span an entire side of vinyl. Other tracks like "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" became staples of the band's live setlists.
Vapor Trails is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on May 14, 2002, on Anthem Records, and was their first studio release since Test for Echo (1996), the longest gap between two Rush albums. After the Test For Echo tour finished in July 1997, drummer and lyricist Neil Peart suffered the loss of his daughter and then his wife in separate tragedies. As a result, the group entered an extended hiatus during which it was not certain they would continue. They eventually reunited in January 2001 to rehearse material for a new album, recording for which lasted until December. For the first and only time since Caress of Steel (1975), the group did not use any keyboards or synthesizers in their music, incorporating many layers of guitar, bass and drums instead.
All the World's a Stage is a double live album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in September 1976 by Mercury Records. The album was recorded at Massey Hall in Toronto on June 11–13, 1976, during the band's breakthrough 2112 tour. The title of the album alludes to William Shakespeare's play As You Like It, and would again be referenced by Rush in the 1981 song "Limelight".
Roll the Bones is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released September 3, 1991, on Anthem Records. The band began working on the album after a brief creative hiatus following the tour promoting their previous release, Presto (1989).
Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 12, 1981, by Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, Permanent Waves (1980), the band started to write and record new material in August 1980 with longtime co-producer Terry Brown. They continued to write songs with a more radio-friendly sound, featuring tighter and shorter song structures compared to their earlier albums.
Permanent Waves is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on January 14, 1980, through Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, Hemispheres (1978), the band began working on new material for a follow-up in July 1979. This material showed a shift in the group's sound towards more concise arrangements and radio-friendly songs, though their progressive rock blueprint is still evident on "Jacob's Ladder" and the nine-minute closer "Natural Science." Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee also employed a more restrained vocal delivery compared to previous albums. Permanent Waves was the first of seven studio albums that the band recorded at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec with production handled by the group and Terry Brown.
Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released April 12, 1984, on Anthem Records. After touring for the band's previous album, Signals (1982), came to an end in mid-1983, Rush started work on a follow-up in August. The band had decided not to work with longtime producer Terry Brown, who had collaborated with Rush since 1974. The new material accentuated the group's change in direction towards a synthesizer-oriented sound like its previous album. After some difficulty finding a suitable producer who could commit, the album was recorded with Peter Henderson.
Exit... Stage Left is the second live album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released as a double album in October 1981 by Anthem Records. After touring in support of their eighth studio album Moving Pictures (1981), the band gathered recordings made over the previous two years and constructed a live release from them with producer Terry Brown. The album features recordings from June 1980 on their Permanent Waves (1980) tour, and from March 1981 on their Moving Pictures tour.
Power Windows is the eleventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on October 11, 1985 in Canada by Anthem Records and on October 21, 1985 in the United States. After touring in support of their previous album, Grace Under Pressure (1984), the band took a break and reconvened in early 1985 to begin work on a follow-up. The material continued to display the band's exploration of synthesizer-oriented music, this time with the addition of sampling, electronic drums, a string section, and choir, with power being a running lyrical theme. Power Windows was recorded in Montserrat and England with Peter Collins as co-producer and Andy Richards on additional keyboards.
Rush in Rio is a three-disc live album by Canadian band Rush, released on October 21, 2003. The album is also available as a two DVD set. With the exception of the last two tracks on the third disc, the album was recorded at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on the final night of the Vapor Trails Tour. The other two tracks were taken from previous shows on the same tour. "Between Sun & Moon" was recorded at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona, on September 27, 2002, and "Vital Signs" was recorded at the Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, on October 19, 2002.
Hold Your Fire is the twelfth studio album by Canadian progressive rock band Rush, released on September 8, 1987. It was recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, AIR Studios in Montserrat and McClear Place in Toronto. Hold Your Fire was the last Rush studio album released outside Canada by PolyGram/Mercury. 'Til Tuesday bassist and vocalist Aimee Mann contributed vocals to "Time Stand Still" and appeared in the Zbigniew Rybczyński-directed video.
Presto is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on November 17, 1989 by Anthem Records and was the band's first album released internationally by Atlantic Records, following the group's departure from Mercury. After the Hold Your Fire (1987) tour ended in 1988, the group members reconvened in December to decide their next step and agreed to take six months off before starting on a new album. Presto marked another change in Rush's sound, with guitar taking a more dominant role in the writing, a reduction in synthesizers and a return towards more guitar-driven arrangements.
Counterparts is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released October 19, 1993, on Anthem Records. After the band finished touring its previous album Roll the Bones (1991) in mid-1992, the members took a break before starting work on a follow-up.
Test for Echo is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 10, 1996, by Anthem Records. It was the final Rush album to be co-produced by Peter Collins. The band supported the album with a world tour in 1996 and 1997, after which they went on a five-year hiatus following the deaths of drummer Neil Peart's daughter and wife, and would not record again until 2001.
Feedback is an EP by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 2004. The record features eight covers of songs that were influential for the band members during the 1960s. The outing marked the 30th anniversary of both the release of Rush's debut album, which featured the original lineup of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey, and of Neil Peart's joining the band in the wake of Rutsey's departure. The tour in support of the Feedback album was called the R30: 30th Anniversary Tour. The record was remastered and reissued in 2013 as a part of the box set The Studio Albums 1989–2007. In 2016 it was reissued after being remastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios following a direct approach by Rush to remaster their entire back catalogue.
Snakes & Arrows Live is a live double CD and DVD by Canadian band Rush. The CD was released on April 14, 2008, in the UK and on April 15, 2008, around the world. It was also released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 24, 2008. The material was taken from two performances during the first leg of the Snakes & Arrows Tour, recorded at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17, 2007. The album features nine of its 27 tracks drawn from Snakes & Arrows.
"Roll the Bones" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released as the second single from their 1991 album of the same name.