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Showing posts from December, 2011

Rush Named Best Live Act of 2011

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Planet Rock recently conducted a poll asking readers to select, among other categories, the best Live Act of 2011. Coming out on top was, of course, Rush :-) Rush have got nothing left to prove. Their devoted fan base will turn out to see them whenever they can, and their albums will always sell. After nearly 40 years in the business you would think that they might be starting to rest on their laurels. Wrong. The Time Machine Tour 2011 may be their best live show for two decades, and that's saying something because most of their other tours have been pretty damn special too. A three hour set included two songs from their forthcoming album, Clockwork Angels, some of their greatest hits, oh, and the WHOLE OF MOVING PICTURES, all played to perfection. If you saw Rush this year then than none of this comes as a surprise. The likelihood is that the show you saw is your favourite show of the year. We know this because that's what EVERYONE says who managed to catch one of th

Rush's 2112 Coming To Rock Band

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Rock Band has just announced that it will be releasing '2112' in its entirety on the Rock Back Store on December 31st. From the announcement: Rush's ambitious seven-part suite "2112" will come to the Rock Band Music Store to ring in 2012! In 1976, legendary Canadian rock trio Rush released their groundbreaking fourth studio album, 2112. With its opening track - a 20-minute, seven-part suite known as "2112" - Rush painted a picture of a sci-fi world in the midst of a revolution, controlled by technology. An alternate take of this epic suite, largely considered one of the most important pieces in progressive rock, comes to Rock Band just in time for the New Year. "2112" will be offered as three separate playable packages: one combines "Overture" and "The Temple of Syrinx"; the second features "Discovery" and "Presentation"; and the final track brings "Oracle: The Dream," "Soliloquy,&qu

It's A Wrap: Rush Finish Recording Clockwork Angels

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It's appears that Rush has completed the recording of their upcoming album Clockwork Angels . The news comes via a Tweet from Rush's sound engineer Richard Chycki. The tweet reads: 2 months at Revolution Studio in Toronto. Thanks for the hospitality guys! #wrapped Revolution Studio , located in the heart in Toronto, has been in use by Rush for the past two monthsn during their recording session. Expect mixing to begin in early January, which Alex confirmed in a November interview with Planet Rock. The recording process for Clockwork Angels has been a long one. Looking back to August 2010 , Alex had remarked that an additional three songs were almost complete and that the album was turning out to be very musically diverse. In particular, he refered to the nearly finished title track “Clockwork Angels” as an “epic song” and a “multi-parted piece.” More recently, Geddy Lee told Billboard Magazine that Rush were “making sure the guitar, bass and drum sounds are big

New Information on Rush "Sectors" Box Set Production Problems

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As we reported earlier this month, Rush had formally acknowledged the fact that there were some production problems on two of the discs contained in the "Sectors" Box Set; specifically from the Fly By Night CD and the A Farewell to Kings 5.1 DVD. According to a representative from SRO/Anthem, Rush/Universal are in the process of setting up an 800 number where customers will be able to get the corrected discs. Note that only the two flawed discs will be replaced and not the entire box sets. Specific information on how to exchange the flawed discs will be up on Rush.com (as well as here) once the discs are ready for shipment. In light of these two confirmed issues with the box set, the SRO/Anthem representative had this to say about other reported issues: Please be assured that once the technical issue was found, the entire Sectors masters were revisited (again). Rich Chycki had good time revisiting By-Tor on All The Worlds A Stage, and the listeners are correct that

New Guitar World Interview with Alex Lifeson - Talks Clockwork Angels

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The latest issue of Guitar World Magazine contains an interview with Alex Lifeson where the discussion centers around Rush's forthcoming album Clockwork Angels . From the article: ... Alex Lifeson stops short of calling Rush's upcoming Clockwork Angels a concept record, but he does admit that a theme runs through most the songs. "We have Caravan and BU2B; both of which we released already and played on the Time Machine tour," he says, referring to the group's extensive 2010-2011 outing. "Those two, along with three other songs, form a suite. The story of Clockwork Angels is in those five tracks." Longtime Rush fans, who grew up on such multi-song narratives as 2112 and Hemispheres, will no doubt applaud the group's return to its prog-rock roots. They'll also be thrilled to learn that the band isn't paying mind to the length of its compostitions. "We're definitely stretching out," Lifeson says. "Most of the songs are

Snag the Snare: Win a Neil Peart Replica "Hockey Theme Drum Kit" Snare Drum

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A new contest , courtesy of Rush and TSN , is currently underway where Canadian residents could win one of three limited edition replica snare drums from Neil Peart's "Hockey Theme" drum kit. This is the same kit that Neil used to record the new NHL on TSN's Hockey Theme last year and was also featured in Neil Peart: Fire on Ice - The Making of "The Hockey Theme video. Again, the contest is open to Canadian residents only . The contest runs through December 16th. For all the information and to enter, click HERE . Thanks to reader Lilli Walsh for the news.

Rush Adds Three New Tracks to RockBand DLC

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The RockBand website just announced that three new Rush songs will be hitting the Rock Band DLC store next week. From the story: Three tracks from Canadian rockers Rush are set to hit the Rock Band Music Store on December 13th! “Fly By Night,” from 1975’s album of the same name kicks off the pack, followed by a live cut of Rush’s “The Spirit of the Radio,” one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.” The pack is rounded out by “Caravan,” which was released as a single earlier this year. These three tracks are just the tip of the iceberg for Rush fans; we’ll have even more exciting Rush/Rock Band news before the year’s out, so stay tuned! For more information, please click HERE . Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the news.

Alex Lifeson's Picks His Favorite Christmas Songs

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A new feature over at MusicRadar.com has eleven rock stars picking their favorite Christmas songs. Among the eleven was Alex Lifeson whose choice was Little Drummer Boy : "I always liked the Little Drummer Boy because of the tonality of the song. There was always something very plaintive about it. It wasn’t one of those 'up,' joyous Christmas songs, which tend to get a little overdone. Actually, I did a version of it a while ago that came out nice. "On the other hand, I do like upbeat Christmas songs, so I’d say my second pick would be Joy To The World – not anybody’s version, in particular; I just like the song itself. It's spirited and very 'Ho, ho, ho!' [laughs]" Click HERE to listen to Alex Lifeson's rendition of Little Drummer Boy which originally appeared on Merry Axemas Vol. 1 back in 1997. Thanks to RushFanForever for the news.

New Geddy Lee Interview With Billboard Magazine - Update on Clockwork Angels

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Billboard Magazine has just posted a new interview with Geddy Lee where the Rush frontman discusses numerous topics ranging from his influences in life and music, his love of baseball and more. On the Clockwork Angels front, Geddy had this to say: What can we expect from the next album, "Clockwork Angels?" The first two [single] releases from this album, "Caravan" and "Brought Up to Believe," are a great indication of where this album's going, although there's much more variety than just what those two songs offer. When I look back at [2007 album] "Snakes and Arrows," as happy as we were with that record, in retrospect I feel we kind of overdid it with overdubs. We'd like to simplify that, just in terms of making sure the guitar, bass and drum sounds are big and loud and clear, and any time we are going to add an overdub, to make sure that it definitely is adding and not subtracting. Here's another interesting tidbit whe

Rush "Sectors" Box Set Production Problems Confirmed By Rush

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Since last month's release of Rush's "Sectors" Box Sets, a number of people have complained about apparent technical issues with the Fly By Night CD in Sector 1 and the A Farewell to Kings 5.1 DVD in Sector 2. Now, Rush has officially confirmed the issue with (some) details on how it will be rectified. From Rush.Com: "We are aware of some slight technical issues surrounding the CD of ‘Fly By Night’ inside the Sector 1 box set release and the DVD for ‘A Farewell To Kings’ inside the Sector 2 box set that some fans are experiencing. It stems from a production flaw and it is currently being addressed. As soon as production is completed a formal announcement of how to replace the discs will follow shortly. Please be aware that there may be a time delay in shipping and receiving the disc and we sincerely apologize for this inconvenience – Geddy, Alex & Neil" It's obviously disappointing that these issues occurred, but having owned the box sets si

In the Studio with Redbeard Interview Special on Rush Sectors Box Set

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With the recent release of Rush's "Sectors" Box Set, the syndicated radio show In the Studio with Redbeard will be airing some vintage, Mercury-era interviews with all three members of Rush next week. For more information on the airing, click HERE . You can also listen to both interviews, which were made available via Rush.Com using the player below. Thanks to RushFanForever for the information. Related News Stories [ Rush "Sectors" Box Set - Liner Notes, Tracks and Images Now Online - November 28th, 2011] [ Rush "Sectors" Box Set Video Trailer Now Online - November 17th, 2011] [ Rush "Sectors" Box Sets Coming November 21st - October 7th, 2011]

Alex Lifeson Limited Edition Autographed Art Work Now For Sale

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Back in October , we let you know about Alex's participation in the annual Kidney Foundation of Canada's A Brush of Hope charity auction where an original painting by Alex, called Sun Dance sold for an amazing $7,000! Alex has been donating his original paintings to the A Brush of Hope charity auction for a number of years now so it's exciting to hear that a signed print from an original painting that he donated for the 2007 auction will now be available for sale on a strict limited run of 250 copies. From the Brush of Hope Facebook Page : A Brush of Hope - Celebrity Paintings for Kidney Research ALEX LIFESON limited edition prints ON SALE NOW! Here is a sneak peek at the print. The image is 8 X 10. The page itself is 13 X 15. This is something special! There are only 250 prints available, each one with an original signature by Alex himself! Price is only $250, plus $20 for shipping and handling ($25 to the USA). International purchasers should contact us for a

The 2011 Holiday Rush Contest is Underway

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As we enter into the final month of 2011 (where did the year go, anyway?) it's time once again for Cygnus-X1.Net to celebrate the year - and the successes of Rush and their fans - by holding its annual Holiday Rush Contest . This marks the fifth year that we've held the contest, and this year's prize package is a special one. Celebrating the releases of Rush's Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland concert film as well as the band's first official box sets, the prize package this year includes: The Complete Rush "Sectors" Box Set ( Sector One - Sector Two - Sector Three ) The Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland Concert DVD The 2012 Rush "Signals" Wall Calendar And One Cygnus-X1.Net Inspired Mystery Gift As always, the contest is open to Rush fans the world over. So click on over to the contest page to enter today. Good luck, everyone - and Happy Holidays from Cygnus-X1.Net

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