RUSH — Exit... Stage Left (review)

Live album · 1981 · Hard Rock

4.5/5 · 2025-02-14
UMUR

"Exit... Stage Left" is a live album release by Canadian progressive rock act Rush. The album was released through Anthem Records/Mercury Records in October 1981. It´s the band´s second 1981 release, as Rush released their eigth full-length studio album "Moving Pictures" in February 1981. "Exit... Stage Left" was in it´s original form a double vinyl release, featuring 13 tracks and a total playing time of 76:52 minutes.

The material on the live album was recorded at two different concerts. The first show from the 1980 tour supporting "Permanent Waves" (1980) and the second show from the 1981 tour supporting the release of "Moving Pictures". The tracks are more specifically culled from the shows at The Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland on June 10-11, 1980 and from The Forum, Montreal on March 27, 1981.

Most tracks on "Exit... Stage Left" are from the four studio albums preceding this release in "A Farewell to Kings" (1977), "Hemispheres" (1978), "Permanent Waves" (1980), and "Moving Pictures" (1981), so this live album works as a sort of conclusion to that era of Rush, just like the "All the World's a Stage" (1976) live album worked as a conclusion to the earliest part of the band´s career (the first four studio albums). Only a few tracks here represent the first four albums which are "A Passage to Bangkok" from "2112" (1976) and "Beneath, Between & Behind" from "Fly by Night" (1975). The short classical music influenced acoustic guitar piece titled "Broon's Bane" which works as an intro to "The Trees", is exclusive to this release.

If you´re familiar with Rush it´s really no surprise that the performances by the band are of an incredibly high quality. Rush were always virtuoso musicians and listening to them playing live it becomes even more obvious why they are so highly regarded as musicians. The performances are close to flawless and in some cases sound very close to the studio recordings. In addition to some crowd noise (mostly heard when they sing along to "Closer to the Heart") and a few words spoken to the audience, the music features enough grit and little changes (like the drum solo in the middle of "YYZ") that this still sounds like a live recording. This trio of musical geniuses are just so good, that they are almost capable of performing their studio tracks to perfection in a live setting.

"Exit... Stage Left" features an organic, powerful, and detailed sound production, and you´re able to hear everything clearly in the mix. Tracklist selections can always be discussed, but to my ears Rush have made some good choices for this live album focusing on the 1977-1981 period but with a few excursions to the earlier material. Tracks like "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill", "Tom Sawyer", and "Red Barchetta" are absolute beauties, but longer progressive rockers like "Xanadu", "Jacob's Ladder", "La Villa Strangiato", and of course "YYZ" are also big attractions. "Exit... Stage Left"