Rush 50 / Celebrating Five Decades With Rare Cuts, Live Gems & Collector Extras

Does the world really need another Rush compilation? After all, there are several available already, and any self-respecting fan will already have all the band’s music, probably in multiple formats. Since the final Rush shows nearly ten years ago, there has been a steady drip release of the band’s earlier works as they reached their milestone anniversaries.

Rush – 50 

Release Date: Out Now

Words: Paul Hutchings

The last of these was an uninspiring affair, with the Signals package inferior to the quality of Moving Pictures which was a fabulous box set. Despite calls for revised versions of Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows, which I suppose we may get, it is the career-spanning 50th-Anniversary package that now greets us.  

It is over 50 years since Rush was released, 51 to be precise, and 56 since the band formed. But nit picking over, what is within this collection that would entice you to part with a large slab of cash? 

Well, let’s start at the beginning with the first slab of music. Early recordings that have only been released digitally include their first single on Moon Records, Not Fade Away and You Can’t Fight It, both miles away from the sound that they would eventually craft. Early live versions of Need Some Love and Before And After are rough and ready, whilst Bad Boy and Garden Road demonstrate that not everything Rush did was gold.

But these early cuts are interesting indeed and demonstrate how quickly the band did evolve.  

There are choice live cuts scattered through this compilation. By-Tor & The Snow Dog from Massey Hall in 1976, complete with feedback, is one of my favourites here, a true demonstration that in their day, this was a band who could bring the heavy with the best.

Xanadu from Hammersmith in 1978 is truly magical, another demonstration of how incredible Rush were as a live band. Alex’s guitar work is phenomenal, and the combination of Lee and Peart makes this a song of sheer magnificence. 

Elsewhere, there are gems a plenty. Live songs litter the collection. La Villa Strangiato from Pink Pop 1977 in Belgium, YYZ from Montreal in 1981 and Witch Hunt from Maple Leaf Gardens in 1984 all shine. The latter is probably my favourite Rush track of all time, and its dark-edged vibe still resonates over 40 years later.

Distant Early Warning from Birmingham NEC in 1988, the tour where I first saw the Canadians play, prompts emotional memories. 

Of course, every fan will be wondering why their favourite is missing. Personally, it is the omission of The Weapon from Signals, but you can’t have everything.

The weakness here, for all the great live tracks, is that the ’90s music is light on inclusion. Four songs from Roll The Bones, Test Tor Echo, Counterparts and Vapor Trails seem a little mean, whilst only Headlong Flight makes the cut from Clockwork Angels, surely one of their best albums.  

But it is splitting hairs, for we get the perfect bookend with Jacob’s Ladder from Toronto in June 2015 and the grand finish of What You’re Doing / Working Man / Garden Road from the LA Forum in August 2015, the band’s last-ever show together.

It is the former that once more shows the creativity of the band, with Lifeson’s searing guitar work cutting through, whilst the finale is just explosive, even if Geddy’s vocals are not what they once were.  

It is the package that comes with the collection that will be of most interest to many. New artwork from Hugh Syme and production of the live songs from Terry Brown will be welcomed by Rush fans, with the addition of a 104-page book, many unreleased photos and a 100-page graphic novel called The Fullness Of Time included in some of the packages available.

This is not a cheap, off-the-shelf collection. Carefully curated, Geddy’s comment maybe sums it up “… look at all those songs – I’m exhausted just looking at the effin’ list.”

There is no doubt more to come from the Rush camp, but for now, this is an extensive and comprehensive journey through the band’s career. And it is hard not to appreciate the quality that they delivered.

Whether you are a die-hard fan or just a curious bystander, diving head-first into the collection will be rewarding from start to finish.  

Rush – 50 – was released on 21 March 2025 via UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records label groups. There are multiple formats available via Rush.lnk.to/R50.

Rush – 50 Tracklist

1. Not Fade Away**
2. You Can’t Fight It**
3. Working Man (Vault Edition)**
4. Need Some Love (Live at Laura Secord Secondary School, St. Catharines, Canada – May 1974)**
5. Before And After (Live at Laura Secord Secondary School, St. Catharines, Canada– May 1974)**
6. Bad Boy (Live at Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio – August 1974)*
7. Garden Road (Live at Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio – August 1974)*
8. Anthem (Live at Electric Lady Studios, New York – December 1974)*
9. Fly By Night
10. Bastille Day
11. 2112: Overture / The Temples Of Syrinx
12. By-Tor & The Snow Dog (Live at Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada – June 1976)
13. Something For Nothing (Live at Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada – June 1976)
14. Closer To The Heart
15. Xanadu (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London – February 1978)
16. Drum Solo (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London – February 1978)
17. The Trees (Vault Edition)*
18. La Villa Strangiato (Live at Pink Pop Festival, Netherlands – June 1979)
19. In The Mood (Live at Pink Pop Festival, Netherlands – June 1979)
20. The Spirit Of Radio
21. Natural Science (Live at Manchester Apollo, Manchester – June 1980)
22. A Passage To Bangkok (Live at Manchester Apollo, Manchester – June 1980)
23. Tom Sawyer
24. Limelight (Live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada – March 1981)
25. Vital Signs (Live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada – March 1981)
26. YYZ (Live at The Forum, Montreal, Canada – March 1981)
27. Subdivisions
28. Red Sector A
29. Witch Hunt (Live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada – September 1984)
30. New World Man (Live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada – September 1984)
31. The Big Money
32. Time Stand Still
33. Distant Early Warning (Live at NEC Arena, Birmingham – April 1988)
34. Superconductor
35. Dreamline
36. Stick It Out
37. Test For Echo
38. The Rhythm Method (Live at World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, Illinois – June 1997)
39. One Little Victory (Remixed)
40. Cygnus X-1 (Live at Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro – November 2002)
41. The Seeker
42. Between The Wheels (Live at Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany – September 2004)
43. The Main Monkey Business
44. Workin’ Them Angels (Live at Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam – October 2007)
45. Freewill (Live at Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio – April 2011)
46. Red Barchetta (Live at Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio – April 2011)
47. Headlong Flight
48. Manhattan Project (Live at US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona; American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas; AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas – November 2012)
49. Jacob’s Ladder (Live at Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada – June 2015)
50. What You’re Doing / Working Man / Garden Road (Live at the Forum, Los Angeles, California – August 2015)*

Previously unreleased *
Previously unreleased on CD & LP **