CHRONICLES

With only two preceding (and overview- oriented) reviews for this RUSH video compilation originally released as a VHS tape in 1990, here's my view with a closer song- based approach. It must be admitted that visually these promo videos between 1977 - 1987 aren't very good, on the contrary, most of them look kinda worn-out and lacking of the more ambitious side of the music video art. But that's not so bad thing after all; one can enjoy the pretty good track list and see how the image of Rush -- ie. the looks of Lee, Lifeson and Peart -- was gradually changing. Like a time machine with a window of ten years wide.

'Closer to the Heart' sees the long-haired trio playing in studio. By the way, there's a movie poster of Eraserhead on the wall. 'The Trees' briefly features beautiful forest landscapes after which the video (perhaps the most worn- out one) shows the band on stage. The editing work is poor, the overlapping of images leads to a mess. On 'Limelight' some screen-splitting is used. The similar "band in action" approach continues in 'Tom Sawyer', with a snowy landscape behind the studio windows.

The terribly outdated computer graphics are accompanying the live performance of 'Red Barchetta'. 'Subdivisions' has a good balance between the band playing and the narrative nature of (sub)urban/school imagery. As a music video, perhaps the most memorable and visually succesful is 'Distant Early Warning' with the little kid riding on a missile. 'Red Sector A' concentrates on the modern- looking band on stage, laser beams flashing. 'Big Money' is packed with colourful cheesiness of the 80's, a weaker equivalent to Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing'. 'Mystic Rhythms' and especially 'Time Stand Still' have some kitchy copy-paste trickery... good grief.

'Lock and Key' is fairly OK as a typical music video; the big red ball is a nice detail, referring to a certain album cover. The DVD should have two bonuses, 'The Enemy Within' and 'Afterimage', but my copy must be faulty as the "Special Features" section only contains the choices for PCM / Dolby Digital 2.0 and Continuous Play On/Off. I really can't find them!

Well, Rush definitely weren't any innovators of music video, but for an exceptionally enjoyable set list, especially for a video compilation, I'm generous and rate this with one star more than the previous reviewers. In fact I prefer this DVD over Grace Under Pressure 1984 live DVD, which has quite a poor visual quality all the way.