"Yes this is a compilation album, but it is worth a mention because it serves as a great introduction to the Rush of the 70s and early 80s comprising some of the best songs from "Rush" up until "Permanent Waves". It's a great introduction to those who are new to Rush and would like to get a peek into their progressive years.
I must say that I'd like to have seen "Natural Science", "Jacob's Ladder" and "Passage to Bangkok" represented here, and in terms of musical style, it would make sense to have "Moving Pictures" tunes represented on this disc as well, such as "Tom Sawyer", "YYZ" and "Camera Eye".
But that aside, this compilation is recommended to anyone who is interested in getting into early Rush."
"My introduction to Rush was a rather odd one in that I fell in love with them with the Counterparts album and then just as quickly fell out of love with them with the albums that followed: Test for Echo and Vapor Trails. But then as I developed a taste for prog, I went back and looked at their older material and found that I really enjoyed 2112, A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres. Now I am delving into the ‘80s.
Rush certainly creates an atmosphere with this album, with the spacey keyboards providing a good fit along with the overwhelming lyrical theme. The problem I have with this album is that it sounds very "dated." Twenty-three years after release, so many of these songs sound...well, 23 years old. That’s not necessarily always a bad thing, but I find that in this case it really detracts from the quality of the music.
I find that I really like Distant Early Warning and Red Sector A (the two songs from this album which also made it onto the excellent compilation album Chronicles). I also enjoy the final song on the album, Between the Wheels. Everything else is forgettable, as far as I’m concerned. In fact, I find a couple of the songs just downright bad (The Enemy Within and Kid Gloves).
As much as I’d like to give this talented trio a higher grade with this effort, I can only recommend it for completionists."
"It's a shame that the album with what in my opinion is Rush's best song, also has songs that detract from it. The opening track is definitely my favorite song by everyone and has been since I heard it for the first time maybe 6 or 7 years ago (around age 10 or so). With the exception of "2112" and "Something for Nothing", the tracks aren't all that special. Not until their next album would they release a record that was strong throughout. If I were to buy this album already knowing the songs, I'd only be buying it for the title track."
"One of the best albums ever recorded. Simple as that. It features some of their best songs such as the title track and "Xanadu". The album goes from pretty ballads like to straight-out rockin' musicwhile showing off each member's skills. One of the few albums I can listen to without wanting to skip to the next song because of a boring patch. It's just an amazing piece of work."
"A MAJOR misstep for Canada's beloved sons. I didn't like the production (canned), I didn't like a lot of the music/arrangements (what were they thinkng?), but what pissed me off the MOST was the AWFUL lyrics..."For every sad son of a bitch, with his tail between his ears...Nail biting hoodboys in borrowed ties and jackets.." WINCE! Couldn't there have been a better way to put that?"
