Archives

The Rush Archives is an interesting little collection. For those who already own the first three studio albums (or those who don't want to own them) there's no need to get this. And for those of you who are seeking the first three, you are more likely to come across individual copies of them than to find this first. But if you did find this first (like I did) and you were interested in getting all three, then this is the perfect way to do it!

The copy that I have only cost me $17.50 CAD in a used record shop, and one of the LP's (Caress Of Steel) had never even been played, judging by the fact that the spindle hole needed to be enlarged to fit onto the turntable. I have the earlier pressing, which has a grey cover rather than the black cover depicted here on The Metal Archives. The gatefold contains the track list for each LP and a black and white portrait style photograph of each band member (that is to say, Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee [sadly no photo of John Rutsey]). The back cover lists the songs again, each track list beneath a small image of their respective album cover. Overall nothing special, but definitely serviceable.

As for the songs themselves... Rush is merely a generic hard rock album, full of Led Zeppelin and April Wine style tunes, and plenty of cringeworthy lyrics. Fly By Night retains some of those hard rock elements, but also introduces their signature progressive sound on tracks like "Anthem" and "By-Tor And The Snow Dog". Finally, Caress Of Steel offers up an entire albums worth of that classic Rush sound (technically brilliant heavy progressive rock/metal) but with far too many moments of over the top showmanship. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of their first three albums (see my previous reviews for more detail) but I still think highly of this "box set" in that it gave me an easy way to experience all three albums. So for that I have a rather positive outlook towards this release. Don't hesitate to snap this up in a used shop if you're looking for these albums!