Music Review: RUSH ~ "Time Machine LIVE in Cleveland 2011"

RUSH!! The Canadian power trio that dudes love and chicks kinda don't, return to the CD racks and Digital Download Stores this week with their 9th LIVE album, "Time Machine LIVE in Cleveland 2011."

Releasing 9 LIVE albums is quite a feat for any band. The trick is ... how do you make this one better than the previous 8?

The hook for "Time Machine" is that among their many hits and classic album tracks the band also plays their multi-platinum best selling album "Moving Pictures" in it's entirety. Unfortunately, that gimmick is not enough to save the album.

Full disclosure time: I LOVE RUSH and I have seen them many times LIVE -- including last year on the 1st leg of the "Time Machine Tour." The band, in concert, is always stellar. Everything just clicks, and I would be hard pressed to think of another band in their 4th decade that plays as hard and as loud as RUSH does. These guys are animals on stage and always worth the price of admission.

So, why does "Time Machine LIVE in Cleveland 2011" not stack up to some of their previous LIVE output? To be honest it's Geddy Lee's voice. It sounds great in the lower register but when he goes for the higher notes it just does not sound good. I would probably say that Geddy was just having an off night because, as stated earlier, I have never heard him sound bad in concert.

Everything else about the CD is phenomenal: the set list, the guitar, the bass and of course Neil Peart's drums. But sadly, on this night, Geddy's vocal instrument was not up to par.

For the record, I love LIVE albums that are recorded during a single performance rather than cobbled together from many shows. I also applaud the band for having the balls to put the record out without tweaking it in the studio as many bands do with their LIVE recordings. For better or worse, this show sounds absolutely LIVE from start to finish.

Now there's no way in hell a diehard RUSH fan will not buy this album. But for casual fans I would recommend 2003's "RUSH in Rio" or 2005's "R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour." Both of those releases are fantastic and find the trio firing on all cylinders.

Drumroll please... 5 out of 10 drumsticks!!!