R40 Live | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | November 20, 2015 | |||
Recorded | June 17 and 19, 2015 | |||
Venue | Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 195:57 (CD version) | |||
Label | Anthem | |||
Producer | Allan Weinrib | |||
Rush chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
R40 Live is the last live audio album release and the last live video release of Canadian prog-rock band Rush, recorded on their high-grossing R40 Live Tour. Both formats were released November 20, 2015. The performances were filmed on June 17 and 19, 2015, at Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada. [2] R40 Live is noted for containing the live debut of "Losing It", from the band's record "Signals". During set 1 of all disc formats, Benjamin Mink is featured as the guest violinist (although he plays an electric violin in concert). The album's common description, written by Philip Wilding, states: "The version [of Losing It] on the Signals album was raised ever higher by Ben Mink’s...wonderfully affecting violin part, the recreation of which had always put the song beyond the band’s live set." [3]
The audio CD album consists of three discs. Disc 1 contains the entire first set, disc 2 contains the second set, and disc 3 contains the encore, and seven bonus tracks.
The video DVD/Blu-ray versions only contains the first three of the seven bonus tracks. It was also the last official live album to feature drummer Neil Peart before his retirement from touring due to health issues in 2015 and his death in 2020.
Best Buy sold two deluxe edition box sets of R40 Live: CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray. Both of these included an exclusive and limited-edition Starman projector flashlight, that projected a white Starman logo when the button was held. The metal flashlight is black with a gray label that reads "RUSH R40", and features a keychain on the end. These box sets were the only way to get the concert video and CD soundtrack together in a box set. Best Buy also made a promotional video for these deluxe box sets.
It was on this album that "Lakeside Park" was played live again after a (at least) 39-year hiatus, due to Alex Lifeson's interest expressed in doing so.
This is the track list for the three audio CDs. Track variations for the video DVD/Blu-ray discs are detailed below.
All tracks are written by Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson except where noted.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The World Is...The World Is... [Intro Video]" | 2:11 |
2. | "The Anarchist" | 7:07 |
3. | "Headlong Flight/Drumbastica (drum solo)" | 8:45 |
4. | "Far Cry" | 5:31 |
5. | "The Main Monkey Business" | 6:07 |
6. | "How It Is" | 4:45 |
7. | "Animate" | 6:15 |
8. | "Roll the Bones" | 6:05 |
9. | "Between the Wheels" | 5:58 |
10. | "Losing It" (with Ben Mink) | 5:55 |
11. | "Subdivisions" | 5:48 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Tom Sawyer" (Peart, Lee, Lifeson, Pye Dubois) | 4:59 |
2. | "YYZ" (Lee, Peart) | 4:41 |
3. | "The Spirit of Radio" | 5:03 |
4. | "Natural Science" | 8:31 |
5. | "Jacob's Ladder" | 7:34 |
6. | "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres: Prelude" | 4:19 |
7. | "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage: Prologue/The Story So Far (drum solo)/Part III" | 9:21 |
8. | "Closer to the Heart" (Peart, Lee, Lifeson, Peter Talbot) | 3:07 |
9. | "Xanadu" | 10:39 |
10. | "2112: Part I ("Overture")/Part II ("The Temples of Syrinx")/Part IV ("Presentation")/Part VII ("Grand Finale")" | 12:15 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lakeside Park/Anthem" | 5:29 |
2. | "What You're Doing/Working Man" (Lee, Lifeson) | 9:35 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "One Little Victory" | 5:47 |
2. | "Distant Early Warning" | 5:24 |
3. | "Red Barchetta" | 7:08 |
4. | "Clockwork Angels" | 7:46 |
5. | "The Wreckers" | 5:39 |
6. | "The Camera Eye" | 10:21 |
7. | "Losing It" (with Jonathan Dinklage) | 6:13 |
The following info is on the CD bonus performances:
Track 2, "Distant Early Warning", was recorded at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada on June 17, 2015.
Track 4, “Clockwork Angels”, was recorded in Denver, Colorado on July 11, 2015.
Track 5, "The Wreckers", was recorded in Buffalo, New York on June 10, 2015.
Track 6, "The Camera Eye", was recorded in Kansas City, Missouri on July 9, 2015.
Jonathan Dinklage played the violin part for track 7, "Losing It", which was recorded in Los Angeles on August 1. He performed with the band during their earlier Clockwork Angels Tour, as part of the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble.
The DVD/Blu-ray discs contain various videos that were used during the show. The following four were used during the beginning, middle, encore, and end of the show chronologically and respectively:
The following is a list of any videos or screen effects used during the songs in the show chronologically:
The following songs contain video footage:
These discs contain only the first three of the seven bonus tracks.
On the top menu page, after waiting for some time, a list of puns and video clips are shown in a sequence on screen.
5 and then 6 were the opening clips to "No Country for Old Hens" during the actual show.
The credits feature some R40 art and a special version of "Closer to the Heart".
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [4] | 30 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [5] | 54 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [6] | 49 |
UK Albums (OCC) [7] | 47 |
US Billboard 200 [8] | 24 |
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) [9] | 1 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [10] | 1 |
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [11] | 2 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [12] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Rush was a Canadian rock band that primarily comprised Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart. The band formed in Toronto in 1968 with Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bass guitarist/vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through several line-up changes before arriving at its classic power trio lineup with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album; this lineup remained intact for the remainder of the band's career.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"Closer to the Heart" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released in November 1977 as the lead single from their fifth studio album A Farewell to Kings. It was the first Rush song to feature a non-member as a songwriter in Peter Talbot, a friend of drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. It was Rush's first hit single in the United Kingdom, reaching number 36 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1978. It also peaked at number 45 in Canada and number 76 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on March 28, 2010.
"Limelight" is a song by Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It first appeared on the 1981 album Moving Pictures. The song's lyrics were written by Neil Peart with music written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. "Limelight" expresses Peart's discomfort with Rush's success and the resulting attention from the public. The song paraphrases the opening lines of the "All the world's a stage" speech from William Shakespeare's play As You Like It. The band had previously used the phrase for its 1976 live album. The lyrics also refer to "the camera eye", the title of the song that follows on the Moving Pictures album.
A Show of Hands is a concert film released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD by the Canadian rock band Rush. It documents a live concert performance by the band on their 1987-88 Hold Your Fire Tour. In 1989, the band released an audio album of the same name on vinyl LP, audiocassette, and compact disc. The video comprises an entirely different recording, and features a different track list.
"Working Man" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush from their self-titled debut album. In an interview on the Rolling Stone YouTube channel, bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee said that "Working Man" is his favorite song to play live. "Working Man" became a favourite among Rush fans; the guitar solo appeared on Guitar World magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos list.
"Far Cry" is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It was released as the first single from their 2007 album Snakes & Arrows. It was released to radio on March 12, 2007, then saw a digital release four days later. The song peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was the ninth-most played song on rock radio stations in Canada in 2007.
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.
"Dreamline" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released as a single and on their 1991 album Roll the Bones. The song peaked at number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and was a staple for live performances by Rush, having been performed on every tour from the inaugural Roll the Bones Tour until the 2010 and 2011 Time Machine Tour, when it was dropped. It was performed during the subsequent Clockwork Angels Tour, where it was accompanied by the Clockwork Angels string ensemble and a video with a dedication to Neil Armstrong. It was dropped again on the 2015 R40 Tour. In live performances, the bridge was extended to incorporate a solo by Alex Lifeson.
"Time Stand Still" is a song by Canadian progressive rock band Rush, featured on their 1987 album Hold Your Fire. Released as a single in 1987, credited to "Rush ," "Time Stand Still" peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. mainstream rock charts on November 6, 1987. It was also a minor hit single in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 42 on the Singles Chart. A music video for the song was directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński.
Clockwork Angels is the nineteenth and final studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on June 8, 2012, on Roadrunner Records. During the band's year-and-a-half break following its Snakes & Arrows Tour, the group decided to write a new studio album. Most of the album was recorded between October and December 2011 at Revolution Recording in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
"Headlong Flight" is the second single from Canadian rock band Rush's 19th studio album, Clockwork Angels. It was released to radio stations and for online preview on April 19, 2012, and became available digitally and on disk April 24, 2012. A lyrics video was also made available on YouTube. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Geddy Lee commented on the song:
'Headlong Flight' was one of those songs that was a joy to write and record from beginning to end. Alex [Lifeson] and I had blast jamming in my home studio one day before the second leg of the Time Machine tour, and I did not revisit that jam until a year later. Alex and I assembled the song to be an instrumental and its original title was 'Take That Lampshade Off Yo Head!,' but once we saw the lyrics Neil [Peart] had written, I knew that the spirit of the lyrics matched the instrumental perfectly and it was just a matter of making them fit and writing the melodies.
"Force Ten" is a song written, produced and performed by Canadian rock band Rush, released as a promotional single from their album Hold Your Fire. It was the last song written for the album. The song has been critically positively received, and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
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