All the World's a Stage (live) (1976)
So, Rush have definitely been able to hone their skills with the past 4 albums. After a hit like “2112”, it was time to show off their live chops. Rush have always been great live, which is a reputation they maintain even to this day. Rush's first live album, “All the World's a Stage”, begins a tradition of sorts where Rush releases a live record every 4 albums. They began releasing more live albums sporadically later in their career, but they have always maintained at least one every 4 albums. This is great for someone wanting to really track the progress they made, as you get to hear what Rush sounded like at each era of their existence. This particular album was recorded in Toronto's Massey Hall during a 3 night residency in 1976.
“All the World's a Stage” doesn't disappoint, as they collected a lot of the stronger tracks off their first 4 albums (including a near complete performance of “2112” - which is the only reason I am not upset they didn't include “The Necromancer” or “The Fountain of Lamneth”). It begins with the one-two punch of “Bastille Day” and “Anthem”, the two openers from “Caress of Steel” and “Fly By Night”, respectively. These are the first instances where it becomes obvious that Rush doesn't like to add extra performers to their act. It is solely the trinity of Peart, Lee, and Lifeson. They do a great job of staying true to their recordings, but it becomes apparent it is only the 3 of them when Lifeson breaks into his solos. It is impossible to have rhythm guitar and lead at the same time (obviously), so it is noticeably lacking at those moments. This might bother some people, but I think it actually adds to their appeal. I truly respect them for attempting to create as full a performance as possible while limiting the performance to strictly just the band itself.
The rest of the performances are stellar and lend themselves to a very entertaining live album. There are a few medleys thrown in to cover their debut material. Rush doesn't like neglecting any of their eras, so when it comes to performing songs off that album they usually throw them into medleys to avoid having to truly “perform” them. Very understandable. Another standard I use while judging live albums is whether or not they “feel live”. This really does. You can hear the crowd, there are a couple screw ups here and there, and the whole thing sounds...well...live. There is some great energy here.
The songs themselves are great, and having reviewed all the albums these songs come off of already, you know my opinion of them. Since each live album tends to mark the end of a Rush “era”, I will simply give it a score based on how I view the preceding era. This is the end of Rush's hard rock era, and following it is some of the best straight ahead progressive rock ever to come out of that time. I hereby rate the past era
8/10.
This performance isn't off the album, but this medley is on it and this is also from the same tour. It is very interesting to see Rush in their young days!