R40 Boxed Set

  • R40 Bonus Disc
    • Laura Secord Secondary School 1974
      • Need Some Love
      • Before and After
      • Best I Can
      • I've Been Runnin
      • Bad Boy
      • The Loser
      • Working Man
      • In the Mood (partial)
    • Capitol Theatre, December 10, 1976
      • Bastille Day
      • Anthem
      • Lakeside Park
      • 2112
      • Fly By Night/In The Mood
    • Lock and Key 1988
    • Molson Amphitheatre, June 30, 1997
      • Limelight
      • Half the World
      • Limbo
      • Virtuality
      • Nobody's Hero
      • Test for Echo
      • Leave That Thing Alone/Drum Solo
      • 2112 (complete)
    • I Still Love You Man 2011 (Closing Film from Time Machine Tour)
    • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction, April 18, 2013
  • R40 Completist Edition Additional Bonus Disc (Blu-Ray)
    • Interviews
      • 1979 Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton
      • 1981 Le Studio, Quebec
      • 1990 Artist of the Decade
      • 1994 Juno Hall of Fame Induction
      • 2002 Vapor Trails Tour
    • The Anthem Vault
      • Anthem (Castle Session, 1975)
      • Fly By Night (Castle Session, 1975)
      • Finding My Way (mpeg1 from Rock Concert)
      • In The Mood (mpeg1 from Rock Concert)
      • Circumstances
      • La Villa Strangiato
      • A Farewell to Kings
      • Xanadu
      • The Spirit of Radio (Soundcheck, 1979 Ivor Wynne Stadium)
      • Freewill (Toronto Rocks, 2003)
      • Closer to the Heart (Canada For Asia, 2005)
    • Molson Amphitheatre, June 30, 1997
      • Animate
      • Resist
      • Natural Science
  • R40 Completist Edition Additional Bonus Disc (DVD)
    • From R30
      • Bravado
      • YYZ
      • The Trees
      • One Little Victory
      • Secret Touch
      • Red Sector A
      • La Villa Strangiato
      • By-Tor and the Snow Dog
    • The Anthem Vault
      • Anthem (Castle Session, 1975)
    • Molson Amphitheatre, June 30, 1997
      • Animate
      • Resist
      • Natural Science

Linernotes Essay

By Martin Popoff

It is not uncommon to meet fans that have notched over 100 Rush shows, and the contents under pressure within this box demonstrate ably why such super-fans exist. From the start, Rush has worked tirelessly toward headline status and never looked back. Through relentless touring, despite lack of radio play, and through the building of a show and setlist that continually keeps fans intrigued, Rush has remained a touring force for four decades.

The 40th anniversary of the band - represented by this R40 collection - gives opportunity to present the plush visuals and sonics that pushed Rush to their present status as hard-won rock icons. In other words, the evolution of the trajectory toward the burnished and polished multi-sense insanity that is Time Machine and Clockwork Angels becomes well pronounced over the course of this package.

It is well documented that Rush fans revere the band for the three-hour mass of their show (rolling into town with no support act), the extensive backscreen video, the futuristic lights, the skits 'n' surprises that take place, the props like the chickens and dryers as well as the eight-piece string section adding texture to the Clockwork Angels campaign. Ergo, we see the evolution from the goodly glam of band emcee John Rutsey at Laura Secord High, through the classic rock ideals of the legendary Passaic bootleg, the arch-'90s tech of the Test For Echo campaign, and the flood of human emotion that is Rush In Rio.

Move forward still into the most recent components of this box, and what is on graphic display is the sweat ethic of a band that dared to become rock titans through the deliberate act of pressing all their intellectual and financial faculties into building the ultimate superhero rock show - and then surpassing it a few years later, rinse, lather, repeat.

"Exactly," says crucial crew pro since '76, Tony Geranios. "Each new tour, the band would try to deliver something that they hadn't delivered before, that was maybe difficult and a bit beyond. They'd make a statement musically that they hadn't been able to - or hadn't considered - before. Every presentation has its own magical, new and forward-thinking portion to it. Contributing as well to the grandeur of the thing... after the keyboards started becoming a prevailing part of the sound, it was tying Geddy to the keyboards quite a bit, and Alex to the pedals. And I think the concern was that there was wasn't enough action on stage; they felt they should be running around and rocking out. And that's when the video became more of an important factor. So you get the lasers, the lights, videos, music, and to me, that follows along with the band's philosophy of creating a show of huge impact."

So while the band pushed themselves to new limits, they demanded the same from the crew and team that worked on their live show. Using all of the new technology and innovations available, Rush's celebrated and long-time Lighting Director, Howard Ungerleider, continually pushed the envelope. From lasers to pyro, to the advent of moving lights in the '80s, to a gigantic five-ton "spider" that undulated over the band, the senses were maniacally overloaded. And then there are Neil's custom drum kits ...

The result is a top-tier rock act rewarded with such dependable and perennial ticket sales that in fact, their time as a support act with few lights and curtailed PA was in fact quite brief and very, very long ago. And so as it turned out, quite remarkably, Rush began headlining in the late '70s and then never ceded that position. Even as record sales and relative imprint on the music scene waxed and waned, the show remained somewhere between robustly sized and defiantly outsized. As alluded to, Geddy, Alex and Neil never looked back.

Martin Popoff

Executive Producers: Pegi Cecconi/Ray Danniels/John Virant

Content Producer: Allan Weinrib

Art Direction, Illustrations and Design: Hugh Syme

Photo Curation: Patrick McLoughlin

Production: Brian Schuman

Video Production: Elizabeth Boettcher

Project Management: Liza Levy

R40 Bonus Disc Credits

Laura Secord Secondary School, 1974, St. Catharines, Ontario
Capitol Theatre, 1976, Passaic, New Jersey
Lock and Key, 1988, Hold Your Fire Tour

Test for Echo Tour:
Molson Amphitheatre, June 30, 1997, Toronto, Ontario
Produced by Revolver Film Company, Director: Don Allan
Mixed by David Bottrill, Mainstation Toronto, Ontario
Digital Editing: Mike Monson and Ryan McCambridge
A&R: Andy Curran

I Still Love You Man (Closing film from Time Machine Tour), 2011
Featuring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel
Writer/Director: John Hamburg

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction, April 18, 2013, Los Angeles, California
© 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Inc.

© 2014, Ole Core Music Publishing (SOCAN/SESAC)
Administered by Ole.
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

This compilation © 2014 Anthem Film & Television Productions Inc.
Under exclusive license to ZoeVision, a division of Rounder Records.
Manufactured and distributed by ConcordMusic Group, Inc.
100 N. Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Made in the U.S.A.

© 2014 ole Core Music Publishing (SOCAN/SESAC) Administered by ole All Rights Reserved/Used by Permission. 666999367021

Notes

  • Released November 11, 2014 this six disc boxed set contains reissues of Rush In Rio (first time available on blu-ray), R30, Snakes & Arrows Live, Time Machine, and Clockwork Angels Live concert videos. Also included is an R40 bonus disc containing oft-requested items from the vault, as well as a 56 page hardback book. The bonus disc not only contains long-awaited partial footage of the Toronto '97 show originally intended as the Different Stages Live video concert, but also two previously unreleased tracks from the early days in "I've Been Runnin" and "The Loser", as well as the first live release of "Before And After". "Lock & Key 88", included on the bonus disc, was previously only available on the original US pressing of the A Show of Hands laserdisc (with lavender label).
  • This edition of the R30 blu-ray is identical to the original R30 blu-ray release, meaning it does not include the bonus features found only on the original DVD release of R30. Those features are only available on the special edition of R40 found at RushBackstageClub.com or BestBuy.com which includes an "R40 Completist" DVD with those additional features:
    • Click to enlarge
    • The DVD edition 'R40 Completist' DVD contains: a) the eight songs not included on the original R30 DVD release; b) the Anthem "Church" video (previously included as an Easter Egg on the Rush In Rio dvd, but not included on the blu-ray edition); and c) three songs from Molson Amphitheatre, June 30, 1996 which are in addition to those found on the standard R40 "Bonus Disc".
    • The Blu-Ray edition version of the 'R40 Completist' DVD also contains the Anthem "Church" video and the three added tracks from Molson '96, but instead of the eight R30 tracks (which are already on the R30 Blu-Ray), it contains the bonus features found on the original R30 "Deluxe Edition" DVD which, while they are already included in the DVD edition, were not included on the Blu-Ray release in 2009 (and hence are not included in standard R40 Blu-Ray edition either).
  • The "Capitol Theatre 1976" set was later remastered sonically for its appearance in the 2112 40th Anniverary 2CD/DVD and Super Deluxe Editions.
  • Click here for the 'R40' Transcript Archive.

In Their Own Words

"The office and our manager is always pushing us to release some archival stuff. Seeing as we were off, we said, 'Have at it.' It was interesting seeing all the old footage. We recorded a show on the Test For Echo tour we'd forgotten about because it came just before a particularly dark period in our history. It was painful to think about, but when we listened back we realized we were in good form that night. It would have been a shame to not unearth at least part of it." - Geddy Lee, Rollingstone.com, November 11, 2014
"2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Rush's eponymous debut album in 1974. This superb collector's box set brings together live performances by Rush from each decade of their career. It includes 'Rush In Rio', 'R30', 'Snakes & Arrows Live', 'Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland' and 'Clockwork Angels Tour' plus a bonus disc of previously unseen live material stretching from 1974 to 2013. Rush are renowned for the energy and excitement of their live concerts and this set brings together some of their finest performances. The 6 Blu-ray discs are contained in a stunning 56 page hardback book measuring 305mm x 225mm with the 6 discs contained in 5 additional rigid insert pages. The 56 pages of the book are filled with memorabilia and photographs documenting 40 years of Rush live in concert. This is the ultimate collection of Rush live performances, beautifully presented." - R40 Press Release

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