REPLAY X 3

I've listened to and watched everything. Although I have my problems with it, my reaction is a mostly positive 4/5.

The Good. -We have 3 new DVD's never before available on DVD, and a new CD. -Everything sounds great, and looks as good as a VHS sourced can be. And as a person who even with DVD's listens more than he watches, the old video really doesn't bother me. -They didn't try to rape us by releasing everything seperatly, and then in a box set. -25 bucks (at Best Buy the week of release) for 3DVD's, 1CD, and 3 tour book reprints, are you fooking kidding me? If Linkin Park had a deal like that I'd buy it. -Lots of new songs never before released live (except on the VHS's of course.) -Previously mentioned tour book re-prints. Now instead of having to hunt them down on Ebay we have books from the Exit... Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure, and Hold Your Fire tours, and all of them are very nice. -Is an excellent starting point for a newer Rush fan. Lots of footage for minimum money. -Rush

The Negative -VHS > DVD direct (with digital work and such). Much more could have been done from master tapes, mainly improving the shows to be full, or at least getting off the repeats in favor of less heard material. -4 bonus tracks are all [&*!#] we've heard a million times before. (TSoR, TS, CttH, and Limelight) -Packaging. Would have been much nice to have hard cases inside a box. As is now, not only is the packaging less sturdy than that would be, you have to move one disc on either side to get to the other. -Especially on ESL, there is not enough rare material. Jacob's Ladder,The Camera Eye, Natural Science, amongst others, were all played on tour, but are not on the DVD. Also, there are many songs on there repeated on GUP and ASoHs. As said before, a drawback to VHS > DVD.

I've just brough it and seen it. Wow, a very cool packedge. The replica of the programs are really cool. All three concerts are very good also. The sound is very good, i'm impress, i wasn't expecting very mutch in that department so a good surprise :) If your a fan of the band, get this it's essential but, if Rush for you it's just another good band in the world of progressive music, get the "Rush in Rio" or "R30" DVD's instead, you'll pay less for mostly the same songs.

Simply put: a treat.

EXIT...STAGE LEFT: the guys are in their late 20's, so they move and shake and roll. Lifeson is very lively: twirling, jumping, running on stage and interacting with Geddy, who seems a lot more shy than usual. Peart is not filmed often as I would and there's no drum solo. The lighting stage is kinda lame, it's always the 'lava lamp effect' as I call it: not enough light. The picture quality on the other hand is top notch, and the sound is even better; somebody brought up big bucks to nip and tuck all that! Overall, the classics are there, but it's the weakest of the 3.

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE TOUR: Oh yeah baby, my favorite. Althought it's been filmed with a curious lens effect (kinda greasy), the performance is over my expectations. They have fun, and I mean fun. Lifeson is funnier than ever, teasing Geddy and making funny gestures. Peart as always, himself. Geddy is of course, too occupied to really let it out loud, but he's looser than the previous DVD. A first, lasers are now part of the show and super background images and short films can be seen. Once again, no Peart solo but it's good, good, good.

A SHOW OF HANDS: too bad this is the Hold Your Fire Tour, because the songlist could've been more selective. We have to endure some more obscure material but everything is there at the right place. The band is super tight, in my humble opinion, the pinnacle of their carreers. Geddy is super busy and so is Peart. Lifeson is making again an absolute idiot of himself (in the right way) and many times I laugh out loud, seeing him interact with Peart and Lee. The song listing is impressive, making an almost 2 hours of show. The most complete show to me, done by guys at the top of their shapes. Satisfying and good replay value.

This is a must for collectors, almost too good to be true. Classic? Discutable, but I'm so happy it's out, I have to give full credit.

I really appreciate a band who cares about their fans. It's easy to say that this was released to garner a quick buck, hawking previously owned material to masses in a newer shiny package, but that is definately not the case here. Rush seems to have embraced the DVD medium and is using to truly satisfy their fans. Three new amazing DVD's in the past three years is more than any fan could hope for.

This release completes the available Rush video catalog (with only the curious omission of Countdown and The Body Electric videos last seen on Through The Camera Eye video compilation). The packaging is brilliant, featuring an elegant fold out (maybe a little flimsy in the long run) case with stark yet completely stunning graphics. I especially like the artwork on the discs (I'm a real sucker for the Grace Under Pressure egg and vise design). As mentioned in prior reviews, it also has copies of the original tour booklets, which as with all Rush imagery, is intelligently thought out, beautifuly photgraphed and features a touch of their wit. All of this alone makes this package totally satisfying.

It's great to see these video again, my video copies worn out with horrible sound dropouts on my ESL tape. I also like that they didn't really alter the content in any way. Exit... Stage Left is the highlight of the set as it features their strongest period of music. It straddles the moment where they went from prog players to rock icons, with both featured promenantly. The cheesy early eighties visuals and film grain give this piece a satisfying feel that takes me back to my early days loving the band. The only complaint is the lack of material, but that is only wishful thinking.

Grace Under Pressure shows the band in all their awkward mid-eighties glory (I laughed when I saw Geddy's hair, until I remembered I had the same look in high school). The video is ultra clean and extremelly well-lit. It features a great if abbreviated set, including the full "fear" trilogy which was only played on that tour.

A Show Of Hands is a hit-or-miss affair, it features maybe the best footage and warmest image of the three, but features some of their weaker pieces that used a ton of effects samplers (Manhattan Project, Prime Mover, Marathon). The performances are strong with the band having a great time, and it features a good Peart solo.

The inclusion of the bonus CD is a real nice touch, as it didn't need to be included. It features the soundtrack for the GUP DVD and has got clean, full sound. The performances sound even better on the disc as you can really take in the music. My only true gripe though comes with this disc. It is a true shame that they couldn't have included the full show. The sound tapes must survive. I understand not altering the video, but it could have been a real treat to hear the other songs I remember from that tour (Red Barchetta, Between The Wheels, YYZ, Subdivisions, and on and on). Again wishful thinking, but it would have been a great opportunity.

Overall, highly recommended for all, but especially for the fans.

Just bought it. I havent watched a show of hands yet, but I have watched "ESL" and "GUP". My first impression is the amazing vibe of "ESL" its obviously a transition time for the band and in my eyes there pinnacle (although rush in rio is a good argument against that). Musically speaking ESL is there best set list of any tour period. However I agree with a previous reviewer, I wanted to see more rare stuff such as Jacobs ladder and beneath behind and between. Peart is amazing on ESL, he is like a machine that never misses a beat. Alex and Geddy are amazing. I'm not exciting about seeing ASOH however, its a little to commercial and happy for me. And Alex I believe at the time was experiementing with solid state amps, thin city. And in my personnel opinion Hold Your Fire was there least appealing album, it was an obvious attempt at commercial appeal by Rush and the Label. GUP is a good show, but again its a little self absorbed happy for me. I prefer the darker period of ESL and prior material.

I bought this DVD the day it was released, popped it in and took a trip down memory lane. I saw Rush in '78 and '81 so ESL was the real treat for me. I thought I saw myself in the audience! I had seen the video B4 but now in DVD format pumping through my home stereo it was a whole new experience. I admit I lost interest in new material from Rush after the 81-82 days so GUP and ASOH I watched not sure what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised with how the songs that I thought were kinda commercial at the time sounded raw and full of energy when played live. Watching them play those 80's songs was very entertaining and now I wish I had continued as a fan at the time. Buying R30 a couple months ago and now this new Replay DVD have made me a born again Rush fan - and my 9 year old songs is totally hooked on them as well - I hope they are planning on touring again because we will be there for sure!

Rush always know how to please their fans, and this collection is definitely no exception to that rule. This collection, a compilation of three of their tour videos never released on dvd before comprises all the major 80s eras of Rush. You have the Moving Pictures era Exit... Stage Left, the Grace Under Pressure era Tour Video and you have the Hold Your Fire era A Show of Hands on top of all that. What you have in total is three plus hours of classic Rush material played at the height of their career. I'll describe the video and audio quality for each three as well as the strengths and weaknesses of it because I can't do that as an overall whole.

Exit... Stage Left is the tour video that spawned the live album of the same name (though the sets have many differences) and the promo video for Red Barchetta. The video quality is very raw but it only adds to the nostalgic value of the video. The audio is also crisp and was nicely balanced and remastered for this collection. The set itself is comprised of the first half of Moving Pictures (Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ, Limelight) and a nice mix of previous albums. The real treat here is Xanadu, in which you get the only official video performance of Geddy Lee playing his double neck Rickenbacker. The spoken interludes also give a little insight into the group's feelings towards touring and all walks of life.

Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984 is the second video of the set, filmed at the height of their GUP tour. This set features the entire Fear trilogy played in sequence (The Enemy Within/The Weapon/Witch Hunt), each piece being performed perfectly and the intro to The Weapon (courtesy of Count Floyd) offers a little humor to the crowd. The video as Menswear wrote above me has a bit of a greasy look to it, but once again the quality is very good, and the audio is once again well balanced and the remaster gives it a meatier sound. Tracks worth mentioning are the Fear Trilogy and the final two medleys. The first combines YYZ with Temples of Syrinx and Tom Sawyer and the group flow seamlessly through the songs, and Lifeson really gets into it. The second combines Vital Signs with Finding My Way and In the Mood (the classic Rush concert closer). Once again, they flow really well together and Geddy and Alex seem to have a blast during this one.

The final video for this collection is the tour video for A Show of Hands. This presentation here visually and aurally is also top quality, with lush video presentation (plenty of shots of everybody) and crisp audio. This being the longest video has the most to offer. Despite Hold Your Fire being the weakest album Rush has done (in my opinion of course) they chose to play the good songs off of it, and the Power Windows stuff is also high energy. My complaint about this set is that they didn't get songs like Subdivisions or Mystic Rhythms, which would have been perfect for a video collection like this. My favorite piece of the set is the medley at the end (Rush are very good with their medleys I must say), which combines the Overture of 2112 with the middle section of La Villa Strangiato (in which Lifeson speaks but a disclaimer on the screen says that what he's saying is obscene), and rounded off with the closer In the Mood. Lifeson really gets into the show the entire time, doing his usual off the wall antics on stage and you can see the enjoyment of that on Geddy and Neil's faces.

But that's not all! As an added bonus, the group decided to release a cd format of the Grace Under Pressure video. What would have been great here would have been the entire show, but you can't always get what you want. Now, the videos and the cd aren't the only cool things. The set also comes with replications of the tour books for each of the videos. They are sleek, they are informative, and they are fun to read. The packaging, though, is a bit underwhelming with the layout of the discs being in such a way that you have to take out one disc to get another one.

In the end, Rush's most recent video release is amongst their best. It's not a masterpiece, though, there are some minor things here and there that I fault this set with. Despite the sleek and intuitive presentation, the packaging is a bit underwhelming, and the sets on each of the videos feel a bit samey with a few songs actually played on all three of them. Despite those minor faults, this video collection is a must have for any Rush fan and it gets a strong recommendation from me. 4.5/5.

This box is a Rush fan's wet dream, what a lavish package: 3 DVD's (Exit Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure and A Show Of Hands), a bonus CD featuring the Grace Under Pressure concert and the original tour programm books, layered with great pictures and interesting and funny notes! For me this box is a very nostalgic trip because I have seen all Rush tours on this DVD, I own the videos but the DVD is the perfect medium to enjoy Rush, what an enthousiastic band, what a skills, what a visuals (lasers, light-show, movies) and what an interaction between the band and the fans!

The DVD Exit Stage Left showcases a Rush that was inspired by the Seventies symphonic rock dinosaurs, especially Genesis. We can witness Geddy Lee playing Moog Taurus bass pedals and using Oberheim and Moog synthesizers and Neil Peart has extented his percussion to very massive proportions. The great track Xanadu epitomizes that Rush, the highlight is while Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are both playing on twin-neck guitars, Geddy on a Rickenbacker and Alex on a Gibson, magical!

On the DVD Grace Under Pressure we hear a Rush that is obviously influenced by rhythmic styles like ska and reggae and the music by The Police, the track Vital Signs is the best example, what a stunning interplay by the swinging rhythm guitar, bass and drums!

In the A Show Of Hands-era Rush has turned into a 'midi- controlled hig-tec orchestra', delivering a very lush and technically amazing sound like on the tracks Big Money, Marathon and Mission. This DVD is the most impressive one of all three featuring an exciting and sophisticated light-show, screen projections and lots of funny movies. One of the highlights is the compelling song Mahattan Project about the threat of weapons and war, how actual if you look at the developments in the Middle-East! Other highlights are the slightly changed version of Closer To The Heart (including the break with Alex and Geddy showing the Chuck Berry 'duck step'!), the drum solo Rhythm Method (how impressive and inventive) and the medely 2112/La Villa Stangiato (wonderful lasers)/In The Mood, a great example how Rush succeeds to please both the headbangers as the symphonic rock dreamers!

I don't see any reason to rate this outstanding progrock doucument with less than five stars!!

3 DVD's taken from eighties Rush concerts.The sound quality and picture quality is superb and the performances equally.What you get is a feel for how Rush developed in the eighties as they embraced the technolgy of the area.For instance by Show Of Hands Geddy Lee is using a sizeable keyboard set up and Pearts electronic drums are also well in evidence.Sadly for fans of seventies Rush Alex Lifesons guitar is barely audible..almost to the point where I wondered whether they were trying to be the eighties equivelent of ELP!!

The most enjoyable music is certainly the earlier Moving Pictures era represented well on Exit Stage Left.I doubt whether Rush were ever better.They stride across the stage and look every inch the massive (despite Geddy's dimunitive height!) prog supergroup.The energy on the GUP DVD is also fantastic as Lee and Lifeson bound around like over enthusiastic puppies!LOL

All in all this is essential for Rush fans.Other prog fans who prefer the symphonic side of Rush may choose to steer clear.

ESL = 5 stars GUP = 4.5 stars SOH = 3.5 stars

I bought this the week it came out.

The presentation is excellent, and the video quality is very good. There are still some artifacts that were present in the master reels, especially "Exit Stage left", but the shows are cleaned up well and look excellent. The sound is awesome, as I expected. The tour books are a highlight for me, sheeding some light on what was going on during each of these tours.

An excellent package, essential for Rush fans who want DVDs of these videos or are looking to get these for the first time.An excellent edition to any prog collection.

As the name implies, this live set DVD comprises three major, and significant to the band's career, concerts have ever been made to video: "Exit . Stage Left", "Grace Under Pressure Tour", and "A Show of Hands". Each individual concert I've already had them all on LD (laser disc) format. They are all true gems of the band's progression in rock music industry.

Exit . Stage Left

"Exit .. Stage Left" was the first live concert by Rush that really blew me away after I was not quite satisfied with previous live set (audio only) of "All The World A Stage". I remember vividly when this live video was first launched early eighties, I had the beta version of this. I liked this set and it was in competition with my other collection: Genesis "Three Sides Live" which was issued around the same period. I watched this video altogether with friends as I did not have the video player (pity me). It's an excellent show with all members had a long hair. My favorite tracks were "Tom Sawyer", "The Trees - Xanadu" and "YYZ". It's regretful that my other favorite La Villa Strangiato which was featured in the CD version of the show is not featured in this video. But overall, it's a good performance by the band. Geddy Lee moves his positions frequently while singing and playing his bass guitar. Neil Peart doing his machine-gun drumming. Alex is rocking the stage.

Grace Under Pressure Tour

All songs were performed excellently and almost flawlessly. From the opening audience crowd with sort of candle lights followed with Lifeson's inventive (and difficult! - my guitar player friend did mention to me) guitar work that brings me to the energetic "The Spirit of Radio", augmented with machine-gun drumming by Peart followed with powerful vocal of Lee "Begin the day with a friendly voice ...". Yeah man ... it's rocking!!

My adrenalin really EXPLODES when the second track "The Enemy Within" is performed. WOW! What an attractive performance! I don't really know why I love this song very much even though there is a reggae component in it. But who cares? Even if I don't like reggae, why should I dislike this song? Well, it's probably I like this song because of its energy and rocking performance by Geddy Lee. He moves back and forth between front stage to the position where he plays keyboard. I like the lyrical passage where Lee sings "Pou, Pou, Pou Pounding in your temples And a surge of adrenalin. Every muscle tense to fence. The enemy within." and the musical passage that follows. Oh man ... it's a true adrenalin exploder! "I'm not giving in. To security under pressure. I'm not missing out. On the promise of adventure. I'm not giving up. On implausible dreams. Experience to extremes Experience to extremes."

"The Weapon" is also an interesting track which demonstrates Neil Peart's great work with his drum set. "Distant Early Warning" is also another favorite followed with the band's classics : "Closer to the Heart"; medley: "YYZ / Temples of Syrinx / Tom Sawyer" and medley: "Vital Signs / Finding my Way / In the Mood". "Vital Sign" is my favorite especially during intro part with ambient keyboard sound. Terrific!

"I'm not giving in To security under pressure I'm not missing out On the promise of adventure I'm not giving up On implausible dreams Experience to extremes Experience to extremes Hey, hey, hey yeah."

A Show of Hands

It's an attractive show and later I found out that there is a different setlist because in the video setlist there is no "Subdivisions" from "Signals" album which has become my all-time favorite of Rush track. When I realized it I can not let myself not owning the audio CD as it's here at track 2. So I purchased the CD. It's no regret at all having this format. The show starts off with powerful song "The Big Money" from "Power Windows" album. There is practically no major difference between studio version as the band performs excellently- it seems like they record the song in the studio but actually in front of audience. Another great thread is when "Distant Early Warning" is played. It reminds me as well to the live version under "Grace Under Pressure Tour" live video. Again, Geddy Lee shows his skills in playing bass guitar and at the same time sings the song in a relax manner. Alex Lifeson gives his hard edge guitar solo and fills in a song which has modern sounds of digital era. Neil Peart - the drummer and lyrics writer - seems to play exactly the same with the studio version.

"Mystic Rhythms" which has a slow part at the beginning helps provide a musical break from heavy songs. In this performance there is a nice works between keyboards, bass guitar and electric guitar in a bit atmospheric nuance - especially when Geddy sings "Mystic Rhythms .!!!" . it's a nice music segment. As was the case with previous live recordings, this time Neil Peart gives again his solo augmented with orchestrated sounds under "The Rhythm Method (Drum Solo)". The show closes with their classic song "Closer To The Heart".

Conclusion

Overall, this live set is highly recommended. You can see the different live atmospheres from one show to another because each was performed at different era of the band's career. As a band, Rush is pretty disciplined in the way they play the music. But obviously you still can see the different nuance from one show to another. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

A terrific "gift-package" for serious fans of the band... and tremendous overkill for everyone else. The 3 live concerts are like traveling back through time, and are all performed and remixed digitally very well for a nice, crisp sound while retaining the band's dynamic live energy; however, they are very similar, and unless you're a big fan of everything the band has ever done, you'll be buying much more than you need to be satisfied, but, if you're die-hard you'll be in for a real treat.

This is awesome for a RUSH fan, such as I, but frankly its really not that great. The sound kinda sucks, the visuals kinda suck, the features and extras are few and far between. If your a RUSH fan, you should have this, at least for its historical value, if your not a RUSH fan go get your DVD fix somewhere else. Almost for collectors of Rush only, but because the songs are so great, it gets...

A solid 2 stars. But if your not a Rush fan, dont bother.

Here we go! How long have I waited for this collection to come out? Well, as far as I'm concerned, too long. Regardless, here is it. All three shows presented here are top notch but by far, the Moving Pictures Tour footage provided in ESL is mandatory for the Prog fan. Such a great show and what a treat! As many may be aware, live Rush footage, especially old footage is rare, and where it exists prior to ESL, it is not all that great.

Highlights one from each of three: La Villa The Enemy Within Marathon

If you are going to buy any Prog video collection, this is an absolute must have.

Every Rush fan-boy's dream

Ah those Canadians, always releasing live stuff. However, this collection isn't just any live performances, they're the live performances that made Rush so famous. Always known as a live band first and foremost, Canadian power-trio Rush have always been able to create a fascinating amount of sound when they go to perform live. As the name suggests, there's three concerts from the band's olden days. DVD equivalents of the Rush discs Exit. Stage Left and A Show of Hands are here as well as a previously unreleased set known only as Grace Under Pressure Live which makes its appearance here on both CD and DVD.

As far as the visuals go, they're not quite as good as, say, Rush In Rio, but this is because of the time of recording, of course. Not that it matters at all, the quality is still quite good and the performances save the DVDs from ever becoming poor thanks to the visuals on their own. What's also nice about the DVDs is that the track listing is different from the original albums, meaning that even if you've heard the live albums a million times before it's still going to be somewhat fresh the first times you watch the DVDs.

As for Grace Under Pressure Live which was recorded (obviously) on the Grace Under Pressure tour, it's quite nice to see! The band's sense of humor is clearly visible at points, but what's best about the disc is that the band plays a lot of songs which are otherwise not recorded live. The Weapon is a great addition to the set list, as is The Enemy Within. Vital Signs makes a rare appearance, and the two medleys at the end make for interesting combinations of familiar classics.

If you don't like Rush then this collection isn't for you, but if you've ever liked Rush in any way, shape or form then this is definitely a set you should acquire. Very good! Maybe not completely essential, but very worth the investment. 4 stars!

The is the best, most concise and affordable package of early Rush video material you'll ever find. The overall package is simply outstanding, converting three previously-released, separate VHS versions into a single DVD package that totals over three hours of music from the 80's.

In addition to the three concert DVDs you'll also find a CD version one of the shows and replicas of the tourbooks available during each of the three tours. In totality, it is about as much as any serious Rush can could hope for.

Now the shows themselves.....Exit Stage Left (from Moving Pictures tour), Grace Under Pressure and A Show of Hands (from Hold Your Fire tour). I saw all three of these tours and while these videos capture the individual songs very well, they don't really capture the experience of a Rush show (for that you'll need to Rush in Rio DVD or, better yet, the R30 show). Instead you get edited shows, with only the A Show of Hands giving more than about half of the actual show.

That siad, these are still great. EXIT STAGE LEFT is, in many ways, my favorite. The video does not begin to capture the visual experience that was that tour. The remastered sound, however, is excellent and the songs are simply great. The entire first side of MPictures is presented but also such standouts as The Trees, Freewill and Closer to the Heart. The highpoint is a complete version of Xanadu, perhaps the best Rush song ever. Finally, a nearly 15 minute medley of early songs (such as By-Tor and Snow Dog and In The End complete a A+ set of songs. Again, my only complaint is the edited set list. Also, I hate the commentary between songs as it breaks the continuity without adding any real insights.

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE: better visuals albeit with some strange camera angles. The members themselves look a bit ridiculous, in full 80s-garb with garish colors and modern looking guitars (I simply like them much better when the they had the kick-ass rockers with long hair, kimonos, and double-necked guitars). The setlist, again, is top-notch with a compelling mixture of hits (Spirit of Radio, Closer to the Heart) and more obscure Signals / GUP material (New World Man, Distant Early Warning, Red Sector A). For me the highlight is a complete, uninterrupted version of the Fear trilogy, culminating in a frightening version of Witch Hunt. Oh, again, the sound is excellent.

A SHOW OF HANDS: many consider this the best of the three but I'm torn. First, the band themselves look even more ridiculous than on GUP. Goofy short haircuts, garish colors, jackets and such. Worse, Geddy spends most of the show behind his now-enormous array of synthesizers....limiting his stage presence. Finally, the set-list, while more expansive than the other shows, is a case of quantity of quality. While I welcome outstanding songs like Marathon and Territories, I could do without Mission, Force Ten and Prime Mover. The inclusion of Neil's drum solo is a welcome treat. The sound and visuals are the best of the three but overall I thought this wasn't Rush at their best.

Overall I give the collection a four (complete concerts would have made it a 5) but for any Rush fan this is simply a must-have.

Well, thanks to this 3 DVD box plus 1 AUDIO CD - including the DVD versions of Exit.. Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure, and A Show of Hands - you have an important remastered work in dolby sorround in your hands for the first time and finally it's worth to buy it from every point of view!! As a matter of fact some critics have never completely appreciated the VHS version regarding these works, but now you could be immediately fond for instance of the Exit Stage Left live set, taken during a famous performance at Forum in Montreal, Quebec - cause the quality in general regarding the video output (good) and the excellent sound as well, make you follow their gig in a different manner!! It's a little bit uneven talking about the video sharpness - but you should appreciate all the features by means of a normal old tv - not the modern full HD TV - even though at the end it's a minor defect after all...the sound re-mixing is almost perfect and then you could be happy to see the performances concerning some great (or anyway very interesting) tunes such as La Villa Strangiato, The spirit of the radio or Closer to the heart, played very well inside the Show of Hands tour. Instead The YYZ/The Temples Of Syrinx/Tom Sawyer melody (but also the harmony which is well balanced) is a good mix within the Grace Under Pressure concert, which probably will you make prefer more Replay x3 than their live in Rio. Moreover track #ten Vital Signs is at the same level, being also an important contribution to such a great set of concert videos like the present unique one.

Recommended, not for the collectors of the Canadian heavy prog band only!!

The Replay X3 DVD boxset combines 3 concerts previously available on VHS and is a nice treat for fans, especially for those interested in the band's song-oriented 80's output.

Exit ... Stage Left

This DVD will interest most fans but unfortunately it is the least satisfying of the 3 discs. For a number of reasons. Even though there are notable improvements in the sound compared to the regular CD, some of the songs sound as dusty as they always have, tracks like Limelight, The Trees and Xanadu have a good crispy sound, but others like Red Barchetta are still very muffled. This brings me to a second disappointment. This document lacks coherence and doesn't evoke the concert feel that you might expect from concert videos. The interview snippets that are pasted in between songs and even during the song intros only add to that effect.

The playing is superb as usual and many fans will want to spend their cash on any footage from this period. Just be aware that YYZ is not the full album version but just a 1.30 minute snippet. The inclusion of By-Tor / In The End / Mood / 2112 might look very alluring but it's not more then a 10 minute medley that doesn't do any of these songs much justice. 3 stars for this disc.

Grace Under Pressure Tour

The second DVD is more consistent and recreates a good concert feel. The sound isn't perfect but it's clear and alive. The setlist is interesting and features a number of songs that do not appear on many other Rush live albums. However, with a total running time under 60 minutes, I could have lived without the obligatory The Spirit of Radio, Closer To The Heart and Tom Sawyer, never my favourite Rush songs anyway. Also the medleys of YYZ-2112 (in 4 minutes...) and Finding My Mood (3.40 minutes) are forgettable.

For people that love Rush songs like The Weapon, Witch Hunt, Vital Signs and the Grace Under Pressure tunes as much as I do, this will nevertheless be a pleasing concert. As a bonus, this package contains a regular audio CD with this concert. 3.5 stars.

A Show of Hands

Quite to my surprise, the third disc is the most accomplished of all. Even though I never liked the live album, the DVD is entirely pleasant. First of all, it has the best sound of all 3 DVD's, the balance is perfect, each instrument is loud and clear and the overall sound is very tight. Secondly, with a good 80 minutes it does the impressive Rush discography more justice then the other DVD's. The 2112 and La Villa Strangiato versions do not run for their full length but luckily they avoid the annoying medley syndrome that wrecks the Rush classics of the other concerts.

The icing on the cake is the inclusion of the clever visuals and goofy cartoons used during the show. It makes this DVD not only pleasant to hear but also pleasant to watch. As far as live DVD's go this is a 5 star, but of course your enjoyment will depend on your love for the songs of this Rush era.

Conclusion

For fans of 80's Rush, this DVD comes in nice packaging and overall, it offers good value for money. At under 20$ you shouldn't hesitate really.

Very nice package of the first 3 official DVD's of the band. We get the 3 DVD's in Dobly DTS sound and a new booklet with Neil Peart's commentary about the context on which the 3 release came to life. Plus their is the audio version cd of the Grace Under Pressure video.

The first one "Exit Stage Left" was showing a band at their peak during the Moving Pictures tour. The sound is powerful and the performance energetic. They did a really nice job with the DTS surround sound, where we can hear clearly in the background Lifeson's solo. This show has only one flaw, his duration, only 60 minutes.

The second DVD's is "Grace Under Pressure". That was shot in their hometown with a different light show and set list. The picture quality has improved compare to the first one and the sound is still very good. This is another short 67 minutes in length.

The third DVD's "A Show of Hands" is a another improvement mainly for the camera work, who got more camera angles. The light show of Rush's concert were starting to get better and better. This time we have almost the complete concert in 88 minutes. This was the Hold Your Fire tour, last keyboard's cd of the band, unfortunately.

Very nice package for Rush's fans. Don't expect a improvement on the picture quality but there is a improvement with the new mix surround sound. It has nothing to be compare with the late Rush's DVD's, but it has a great historical value, in time where the band was at their top.

"Replay X3" is a terrific box set of the 3 earlier Rush VHS concerts and it has been mastered to provide great picture though not all widescreen unfortunately. The sound is excellent without any noteable dropout unlike the VHS antiques. The packaging is excellent, booklets included and all original art prints on the seperate covers. There is also a bonus CD of Grace Under Pressure which is worthwhile.

DVD 1 is Exit...Stage Left, a 1 hour concert from the early years or Rushtory when they had long hair, and features a strong setlist with the likes of Limelight, Tom Sawyer, and a rare appearance of the brilliant Xanadu. The usual suspects are here such as the wonderful Red Barchetta and quintessential Freewill along with lighters in the air stalwart crowd pleaser Closer To The Heart. It is always great to see them having fun with the instrumental YYZ and a real treat is to hear the medley at the end with By-Tor And The Snow Dog, In The End, In The Mood and 2112 edited together masterfully. The VHS or DVD delivers what it promises, Rush in their hey day with great quality sound and editing. The band look young of course and jump around a lot more and there were no signs of chicken rotisseries or clothes dryers back then, but a heck of a lot of lighting and laser effects more than makes up for it. The concert also comes with a lot of interview footage and voice overs between songs, and some footage of the band backstage while the songs play and that is a treat compared to the usual straight concert footage. Too short but quite sweet. A real blast from the past that will please Rushaholics.

DVD 2 is Grace Under Pressure, another of the earlier concert performances of Rush running for about an hour with a lot of songs from "Grace Under Pressure" of course and it is nice to hear these. It begins with a glorious opening with The Spirit Of Radio, and a noticeable glowing effect on the band especially the white shirts, as if Vaseline had been rubbed on the lens. This is the 80s and this effect was prominent on film clips of artists such as Nik Kershaw and Dire Straits or Duran Duran. It looks kind of weird on Rush as they were never pretty video boys. Unfortunately the fuzzy effect is prevalent throughout the recording, and it kind of annoys me, especially the way the bright lights phase over constantly. Lifeson wears a white sports jacket looking like the mad scientist of metal, Peart has a white T and red cap that he loses later, and Lee wears grey suit jacket and white T. The hair dos are 80s personified; Peart has a rat tail, Lee has a mullet and Lifeson has a Flock of Seagulls quiff. Oh well, it is what it is. The music is brilliant.

The Enemy Within is rarely heard live but sparked my memory and it's a great song. The Weapon is always fantastic, one of my favourites, and it begins with a Dracula character on screen telling people to put on their 3D glasses. Witch Hunt begins with a screening of a bunch of cultists burning books with torches. It is a great song from "Moving Pictures" recently heard in the Time Machine concerts. Lee's vocals are excellent throughout and the guitars are incredible. New World Man is another one rarely heard live recently and it is OK though not one of the better tracks from "Signals". Synths are heard here though no one seems to be playing them, so I suspect some recorded music was used. It was the age of the video clip and a clip is shown of some animation and a boy looking up to see a huge airship in the sky. Distant Early Warning follows and it is a great song from GUP, that has become a concert favourite. The clip shows the boy riding a missile and the laser light show follows.

Red Sector A is an awesome song and I loved hearing it on this DVD again, with one of the strongest melodies of the Rush catalogue. The laser show looks great here. The lyrics by Lee are terrific and when Lee sings "smoking gun" a massive explosion goes off causing the crowd to roar. The lyrics are actually based on family experience and is a homage to his mother and father that survived the holocaust. Though Lee re wrote the lyrics to have a broader perspective that it may apply to any holocaust like situation such as Rwanda. Closer To The Heart is always a crowd pleaser and the crowd know it well enough to drown out some of Lee's vocals. There were no mobile phones back then but plenty of lighters go up in the air.

The obligatory medley is here with a terrific merging of some classics, YYZ, Temples Of Syrinx, and Tom Sawyer. During YYZ the crowd are obsessed with air drumming throughout. Tom Sawyer features the Moving Pictures animation on the screen. It is nice to hear Lee be able to reach those high notes too in the chorus.

Vital Signs is one I have not seen live on other concerts till the "Moving Pictures" live concerts of recent years. When Lee takes off his jacket his white T glows like the rest of the band's halos. It is a weird effect really and perhaps the worse part of the DVD. It ends with Finding My Way and In The Mood, from the earliest album. it is a great crowd participation song with the crowd visible throughout, a guy even lights up a pipe at one stage. Overall, this is a great snippet of songs from the Rush 80s years, worth checking out for certain even if for nostalgia if nothing else.

DVD 3 is A Show Of Hands, a 90 minutes concert experience and as such way better than the previous DVDs available, namely "Exit Stage Left" and "Grace Under Pressure". It is excellent also due to the use of animations on the big screen and the overall setlist. The songs are from "Hold Your Fire" mostly and I believe they are better heard live than on that album so that is a drawcard of this particular DVD. It also has a very solid quality sound throughout and the band look great and have heaps of fun. From "Hold Your Fire" the songs appear, Mission, Prime Mover, Force Ten, and Turn The Page so there is a lot from their latest at the time.

Closer To The Heart is always present of course along with quintessential Tom Sawyer, and The Spirit of Radio. I always love to hear the magnificent Red Sector A and hard rocking Force Ten, and it was great to see them play Mission, another one rarely heard live on these DVDs.

Marathon, Territories and The Big Money from "Power Windows" are good rockers for the crowd to get into. The drum solo by Peart is terrific, with his vibes section and patented cymbal jazz splashes along with some incredible triplet work though his drums are still stationary in this era, and not as many.

The concert ends with a brilliant medley 2112, The Temples Of Syrinx, La Villa Strangiato and In The Mood. Overall a strong concert, one of the best live documents of the band and worth getting hold of above the rest.

The Grace Under Pressure Bonus CD, is a previously unreleased audio from the newly remastered Grace Under Pressure concert soundtrack and it is a fantastic Rush sound.

"Replay x3" is definitely worth getting as it houses 3 very good concerts of the early years and these are only available now with this set released in 2006.