For Audiophiles and Rush Fans ...

[dANdeLION]

I've got the SoH dvd as part of the R30 pack, but I don't think I've ever watched that show on anything other than my old VHS version.

[Cail]

It's a product of its time, but man it sounds thin.

[Zarathustra]

I think it sounds "thin" mainly because of Alex's 80's guitar sound, but also partly because of Ged's 80's bass sound. Both have opted for a harder edge in the past decade, even for 80's material on tour.

But SoH video wasn't the best recording. Nothing at all like the last Blu-ray.

[dANdeLION]

Don't leave Neil out of it; the electronic drums had as much to do with it as anything else. I think all three of them thinned out their sound to give some sonic space for the keyboards.

[Cail]

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the '80s sound at all, and listening to SoH reminded me why.

[Zarathustra]

In case anyone is thinking of spending $150 for the three new Rush Sectors remastered collections, know that they have some audio problems. I didn't buy them myself, I was waiting for reviews to come in first. The first 18 CDs have been remastered (again), and include a new hi-res 5.1 mix of three CDs, one in each set. Apparently the packaging is really cool, if that's your thing. However, over at Steve Hoffman forums and the Rush message board (Counterparts), numerous people have noted that the mixes on several CDs contain glaring errors, like the entire left or right channel dropping to silence for a split second or two, multiple times. Hold Your Fire apparently has an unorthodox mix, including addition of instruments and takes that were never present in the original. The stereo track on the hi-res version of A Farewell to Kings incorrectly utilizes only the left/right channels of the surround mix, so that any information from the center and surround channels is missing from the stereo mix. Just horrible quality control, overall.

The Time Machine concert Blu-ray released last month was merely okay. I thought the Snakes and Arrows Blu-ray was much better, both in sound and picture. They boys are really showing their age, not only in their looks (which doesn't matter to me, other than it makes me sad) but also in their playing. Geddy really struggles with the vocals, both in hitting the notes and enunciating. I've never heard Alex make so many mistakes in a recording, ever. His guitar sound is thin and scratchy.

[dANdeLION]

Yeah, I definitely heard Geddy struggle through 'Camera Eye' when I saw them last year. Can't say I heard Alex screw up, but I was pretty far back......anyway, I found a used copy of the dvd today, so I'll get to listen to it more closely now.