Rush was planning on releasing a live album after the Permanent Waves tour, but manager Cliff Burnstein convinced the group that they were peaking musically, and should go straight back into the recording studio -- resulting in their finest album, 1981's Moving Pictures.
So after the tour wound down, their postponed live album was finally assembled and released as Exit...Stage Left the same year.
The album turned out to be the polar opposite of its predecessor, 1976's raw and direct All the World's a Stage; in fact, the performances often sound identical to the recently released studio versions.
The contagious energy that helped make All the World's a Stage such a success is muted, replaced by workmanlike renditions that border on the uninspired.
There's no denying the high quality of the songs selected -- "Spirit of Radio," "Tom Sawyer," "Xanadu," "The Trees," "Closer to the Heart," "Jacob's Ladder" -- it's just that the performances rarely catch fire.
Compared to Rush's three other concert albums (the aforementioned All the World's a Stage, 1988's A Show of Hands, and 1998's Different Stages), Exit...Stage Left is probably the weakest.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Spirit of RadioGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 05:14 | 0 MB | 31 MB |
| 2 | Red BarchettaGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 06:51 | 0 MB | 41 MB |
| 3 | YYZGeddy Lee, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 07:47 | 0 MB | 44 MB |
| 4 | A Passage to BangkokGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 03:48 | 0 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Closer to the HeartGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart, John Michael Talbot | Rush | Play | 03:10 | 0 MB | 18 MB |
| 6 | Beneath, Between & BehindAlex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 02:38 | 0 MB | 15 MB |
| 7 | Jacob's LadderGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 08:49 | 0 MB | 50 MB |
| 8 | Broon's BaneAlex Lifeson | Rush | Play | 01:38 | 0 MB | 6 MB |
| 9 | The TreesGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 04:51 | 0 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | XanaduGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 12:12 | 0 MB | 72 MB |
| 11 | FreewillGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 05:34 | 0 MB | 33 MB |
| 12 | Tom SawyerPye Dubois, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 05:02 | 0 MB | 30 MB |
| 13 | La Villa StrangiatoGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 09:37 | 0 MB | 54 MB |
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| 77 mins | 452 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Brown | Producer |
| 2 | Pye Dubois | Composer |
| 3 | Brian Lee | Mastering |
| 4 | Geddy Lee | Bass, Bass Pedals, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Guitar (Rhythm), Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 5 | Alex Lifeson | Bass Pedals, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Synthesizer |
| 6 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 7 | Paul Northfield | Engineer, Mixing |
| 8 | Neil Peart | Composer, Drums, Percussion |
| 9 | Andy Rose | Engineer |
| 10 | Rush | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 11 | Deborah Samuel | Photography |
| 12 | Hugh Syme | Art Direction, Artwork, Cover Art Concept, Cover Design |
| 13 | John Michael Talbot | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |