Rush: Geddy Lee (vocals, synthesizer, bass); Alex Lifeson (guitar, bass pedal synthesizer); Neil Peart (drums, percussion).

Personnel: Geddy Lee (vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, bass guitar); Alex Lifeson (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer); Neil Peart (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixer: Paul Northfield.

Recording information: Canada; England.

Photographer: Deborah Samuel.

Unknown Contributor Role: Ian Melhuish.

Hot on the heels of their most successful album, Rush's 1981 tour was documented and released as EXIT, itself a Top 10 record. The package is an essential purchase for Rush diehards as well as hard rock fans. It makes a fine companion to ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE, as there are no repeated tracks. The two live records combine to make a fine representation of Rush's prime era.

"YYZ" from MOVING PICTURES features Neil Peart's drum solo and shows why he is truly one of rock's premier skin bashers. Fan favorite "Closer to the Heart" gets the crowd participation going while the epic "Jacob's Ladder" is made to be played in an arena setting. "Xanadu" and album closer "La Villa Strangiato" are both mammoth tracks that exceed the studio versions due to the excellent interplay of the band and their growth as musicians. Recorded in the U.K. and Canada, EXIT is a phenomenal live recording that shows the band can interpret their studio material with both feeling and expertise.

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, 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," etc. -- 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. ~ Greg Prato

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, 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," etc. -- 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. ~ Greg Prato