R40 Live
| R40 Live | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| 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] It was 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.
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.
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]
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 decades-long hiatus due to Alex Lifeson's interest expressed in doing so.
Track listing[edit]
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 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.
DVD/Blu-ray notes[edit]
The DVD/Blu-ray discs contain various videos that were used during the show.
- "The World Is...The World Is..." - Played before Set 1; an animated presentation of the band's advance through changing fashion/music styles over their entire career; it includes a chronological list of the band's songs played as audio tracks; some of which are synced with the animations; 10 of these songs were played on the tour itself. The animation was created by Norma V. Toraya, more commonly known as Crankbunny, as listed in the shows credits. The following is the set of songs played. Please note that all lengths are approximations, and the set is split into two boxes.
No. Title Length 0. "[applause]" 0:10 1. "2112" 0:13 2. "Finding My Way" 0:09 3. "Working Man" 0:02 4. "Anthem" 0:03 5. "By-Tor and The Snowdog" 0:03 6. "Fly By Night" 0:02 7. "Bastille Day" 0:04 8. "2112" 0:07 9. "Xanadu" 0:02 10. "La Villa Strangiato" 0:04 11. "Freewill" 0:03 12. "The Spirit of Radio" 0:05 13. "Tom Sawyer" 0:05 14. "The Analog Kid" 0:05 15. "Red Sector A" 0:04 16. "Marathon" 0:03 17. "The Big Money" 0:06 18. "Force Ten" 0:02 19. "Mission" 0:04 20. "Presto" 0:02
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Roll The Bones" | 0:06 |
| 2. | "Animate" | 0:04 |
| 3. | "Driven" | 0:04 |
| 4. | "One Little Victory" | 0:04 |
| 5. | "Earthshine" | 0:03 |
| 6. | "Far Cry" | 0:07 |
| 7. | "Workin' Them Angels" | 0:16 |
| Total length: | 2:20 | |
- "No Country for Old Hens" - Played before Set 2; a montage of jokes and outtakes (mostly chicken-based) from the videos used in the band's four previous tours: Clockwork Angels Tour, Time Machine Tour, Snakes & Arrows Tour, and R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour.
- "Mel's Rock Pile" - Played before the encore; features Eugene Levy as his Second City Television character Rockin' Mel Slirrup, a 1970s-era DJ who introduces the band as an up-and-coming act
- "Exit Stage Left" - Post-show video and closing credits, in which the band's dressing room is commandeered for a party by the characters from their album covers.
The video DVD/Blu-ray versions only contains 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.
- It starts with showing the R40 logo for a time.
- Next, it switches to saying "OUR 40", and shows a picture of the band in its early years.
- After a bit of time, it shows an animated clock ticking with the text "HOUR 40" beside it. The clock has a ticking sound effect, and every time the clock strikes 12, a snippet of "Anthem" is played.
- Then, it says "ARF 40" and shows a video of two terrier dogs moving while playing an unknown song.
- Finally, the text switches to saying "AAAR 40", and a video of Geddy Lee dressed as a pirate with a fake parrot on his shoulder pops up. Lee opens a creaky ship hatch and says, "Aaar...forty! Eat, Polly! [Polly squawks as he tries to feed her a cracker] Aaar...stupid bird." Afterwards, he closes the hatch.
- There is then a countdown from 9 that stops at 4, where it says "4D" and the screen goes black for 7 more seconds. Afterwards, the menu sequence starts over.
5 and then 6 were the opening clips to "No Country for Old Hens" during the actual show.
The credits features a polka version of "Closer to the Heart".
Personnel[edit]
- Geddy Lee – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, rhythm guitar
- Alex Lifeson – guitars, backing vocals
- Neil Peart – drums, percussion
Charts[edit]
- Audio
| 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 |
Certifications[edit]
- DVD
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 50,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References[edit]
- ^ James Christopher Monger. "R40 Live". AllMusic.
- ^ "Rush is a Band".
- ^ "R40 Live". Rush.com. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ "Rush Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rush – R40 Live" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rush – R40 Live" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Rush | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Rush Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Rush Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Rush Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Rush Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "American video certifications – Rush – R40 Live". Recording Industry Association of America.
