Rush: All The World’s A Stage(1976)

I was talking to my buddy Darr yesterday and told him I had a couple of posts finished up so I thought I would let him pick. I gave him a few options and he said RUSH so here ya go…

The very first two Rush albums I ever owned were Moving Pictures and Exit Stage Left which I both got as gifts from my Parents for Christmas back in December 1981.

Needless to say, those two albums blew me away especially ‘Exit’ being live so early into 1982 when I  was cruising the record shops in Thunder Bay there it was in section ‘R’.

All The World’s A Stage on double vinyl and look at that album cover. Alex Lifeson’s Marshall Stacks/ Geddy Lee’s Bass Rig and Neil Peart’s double bass drum set up!

That cover alone sold me on wanting this record. What an impact cover shot for a young snot-nosed kid like me to come across this on a cold wintery January day.

Once home and as the needle dropped it became real apparent let’s say in under the first minute that this was a different RUSH.

You realize that this early incarnation of RUSH was a well-oiled ass-kicking heavy rock metal machine. 

Compared to Exit. A.T.W.A.S has RUSH cranking out there music at a rip-snorting pace in a total power trio format. 

Bastille Day with that opening riff sets the table and Geddy and Neil follow Alex’s lead. Is there really any point in me talking about how great RUSH’s musical muscle is?  

For me these songs I had never heard before in my life. By-Tor And The Snow Dog. By-Tor just blew my mind with all those crazy tempo changes. The second side of this album is most of 2112 which I had never heard while Side 4 and it’s three tunes from the debut album that had John Rutsey(RIP) on the drum throne. Neil though takes these songs live and turn’s them upside down and makes them his own while demolishing his kit during his solo on Working Man.

Holy Friggin Hell. At the time I owned three RUSH albums and two of them were live and those two albums had Peart throwing down two different solos. 

Even Geddy’s voice has him wailing and reaching some pretty dang high registers and what can you say about his 4 stringing? Alex as well tossing down lightning bolts of brilliance during his solos while flipping between his rhythms and tasty snaps of awesomeness on his 6 string.

I know I said earlier I didn’t have to mention how good their chops are but I caved! lol

Even the packaging is cool. A triple gatefold sleeve bypassing the all too familiar double gatefold that many bands were doing at the time. RUSH took it one step further that’s for sure. Nice layout tons of tour info and of course a little bit of advertising on featuring the first three studio albums in case you missed them by this point.

Not a bad way to start back in early 82 on becoming a life long RUSH fan with one studio and two double albums under my belt.

This is a great album and when looking back and listening to it now you hear how this band kept moving forward. For many though this is there fav live RUSH album. I can see why.

I still can’t believe The Professor is not with us.