Rotisserie chicken, plastic dinosaurs and working driers never rocked as hard
as they do on the new Rush DVD, Working Men. Filled with songs
culled from three previously released DVDs – Rush In Rio,
R30 and Snakes And Arrows Live – this
is Rush up close and personal. It’s never been more apparent how good the Canadian
trio is, even this late in their career.
Alex Lifeson’s guitar histrionics, Geddy Lee’s precision bass (plus vocals),
and Neil Peart’s consistently excellent percussion work are finely mixed on
these 12 tunes, especially on the Snakes & Arrows material. Lifeson jumps
out with the beginning chord of “Limelight” and we’re on stage
in Rotterdam. There’s some masterful moments from Peart, especially on “Spirit
Of The Radio” where we’re treated to more overhead shots of the drummer
than you can count. Then we are in Rio for the epic “2112,” which
garners the kind of spirited call and response from the crowd that needs to
be seen to be believed!
A true band work-out on “Freewill” emphasizes the masterful sound
quality and camera work. There’s the laser lights for “Dreamtime,”
more visuals behind “Subdivisions,” and a dragon breathing fire for
a blistering — and previously unreleased – clip of “Little
Victory.” Then it’s back to Rio for a stirring “Closer To The
Heart” that Lee says was added because of the song’s popularity in the
South American region.
To end it all, the boys from South Park introduce what is probably the best
song on the disc, “Tom Sawyer.” Lifeson has the time of his life,
mugging and strutting during this one. And the band has never been sharper,
especially Peart. The DVD ends with “Working Men” from R30.
Rush has had plenty of criticism leveled on them over the years. I recall a
headline titled “Rush: Heavy Metal Goes To College,” bemoaning the
band’s hard sound over the erudite lyrics of Peart. But when you watch Working
Men, and hear how these guys play and see how happy they are to still
be playing, well…it’s pretty obvious Rush is a band to be reckoned
with…even now.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
