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| Rush - Chronicles |
 Released: 1990/2001 Label: Polygram / The Island Def Jam Music Group and Anthem Entertainment Cat. No.: 440 082 765-9 Total Time: 63:00 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, September 2003 As DVDs go these days, there isn't a lot on Rush's Chronicles, which was released a few years ago. Aside from two bonus videos, this isn't any different from the videotape version. Well, technological issues aside, as the picture is surely crisper and the lifetime of the medium is longer. But, one has expected a great deal of bonus material on DVDs, and so to find that here there are none seems odd for a band that has seemed at times very forward thinking (the upcoming as I write this DVD Rush In Rio looks more promising on that front). Watching these videos not only allow you trace Rush's career to that point, and the length and style of Geddy's hair, but the whole video industry. From the simple live performance videos of "Closer To The Heart" and "The Trees" to the more complex choreography of "Mystic Rhythms" the history of videos is spelled out. The common element to all of Rush's videos included in the collection is performance. The video for "Mystic Rhythms" approaches an artiness that seems lacking from many videos today. Or maybe we just take it all for granted these days. Of the collection, I have to say this is my favorite of the videos. It is the one that stands up to repeated viewings and you pick up things you may not have noticed the first time around, or you just want to figure out the technique behind the trick. One has to be frank and say that the video for "Time Stands Still" wouldn't be missed if it were absent from this collection, as it is the silliest bit of filmmaking I have seen. And, for a band that is as serious as Rush, I was quite embarrassed for them … the band float around erratically, sometimes being "chased" by a camera… Though I will admit that, on a technical level, it's an achievement in video editing and timing, and it is kinda clever at the end when Geddy "jumps down" to settle on the rocks, and all turn to watch Aimee Mann, who provided guest vocals on the track, float away into the distance. It just seems a little silly in amongst the other videos that seem very serious. Of course, I can't think of comedy Rush song anyway. And, of course, there's the irony that, while the band is zipping about the screen and each other, they are singing "freeze this moment a little bit longer…" I noted something about each video, and I'm sure those who chose to venture as I did will notice much the same thing – how some special affects don't age well ("Red Barchetta"), for example. Whereas the previous live performances truly seem like live performances (there are subtle differences in performance, especially noticeable in Lee's vocals), "Subdivisions" seems staged, and lip-synced. Clips of suburbia, and high school students, and business people getting off work underscore the themes of the song. The keys do sound a bit warped, but perhaps time wasn't kind to the source material. "Distant Early Warning" is the first of their truly concept video clips, but also includes lip synced performance. The main influence in the cinematography is Dr. Strangelove -- that famous scene of Slim Pickens riding the bomb to earth… And it's hard not to think of their stage set as some giant transport pad or some future-age control room, given the silhouetted world map that is the backdrop. High tech (for the times) comes with "Big Money", but videos had now come of age and the clarity and color is apparent. Again it's a performance video, here on a set like "Distant Early Warning." The mix here sounds weird, where the instruments are upfront more than usually, Geddy's vocals back in the mix. The piece itself has a more polished sound to it -- productionwise (though in this case I'm going from memory of the track on the album), and more polished look of the videos mirror this. One last mention is the bonus video, "The Enemy Within." This is quite different from any other Rush video, with the exception of "Mystic Rhythms" in that the band are seen mostly in shadow or distorted. The concept is a sci-fi/folks in quarantine scenario, that is: Folks in isolation turn on each other - the enemy within is both the first to snap, and that within us that makes us snap. It's the kind of collection that, if you're Rush fan you buy, watch once every few years, but it otherwise sits on the shelf. But that's true of most video-collection type videos. Concerts you can watch a little more often, but these aren't all enough of performances pieces to fall in that category. Rating: 3/5 More about Chronicles: Track Listing: Closer To The Heart / The Trees / Limelight / Tom Sawyer / Red Barchetta / Subdivisions / Distant Early Warning / Red Sector A / The Big Money / Mystic Rhythms / Time Stands Still / Lock And Key / Hidden Bonus videos: The Enemy Within / Afterimage Musicians: Contact: Website: www.rush.com Discography
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