The Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland (2011)
Disc One
1. The Spirit of Radio
2. Time Stand Still
3. Presto
4. Stick it Out
5. Workin' Them Angels
6. Leave That Thing Alone
7. Faithless
8. BU2B
9. Free Will
10.Marathon
11.Subdivisions
12.Tom Sawyer
13.Red Barchetta
14.YYZ
15.Limelight
Disc Two
1. The Camera Eye
2. Witch Hunt
3. Vital Signs
4. Caravan
5. Perpetuo Moto
6. O'Malley's Break
7. Closer to the Heart
8. 2112 Intro/The Temples of Syrinx
9. Far Cry
10.La Villa Strangiatto
11.Working Man
Once again, Rush managed to throw one of their now-trademark curves—and this time, it was a welcome one. A couple of years had drifted by since the release of their last studio effort, and although there had been murmurs of work underway on a new record, nothing had yet materialized in full. So what did they do? In typical iconoclastic fashion, they issued two finished tracks as a standalone single and then promptly announced a massive world tour. Touring to support an album is normal. Touring to support a single is something else entirely.
Naturally, the Rush faithful didn’t blink. If anything, it gave fans exactly what they craved—another excuse to see the band live. The so-called Time Machine tour didn’t reinvent the format, but then again, it didn’t need to. While the theme implied some sort of chronological narrative, there was no overt attempt at historical storytelling. What it did offer, however, was a rare opportunity: with only two new songs to promote, the band suddenly had room to delve more deeply into their catalogue.
And delve they did. In perhaps the most headline-worthy move of the entire production, the band performed the entire Moving Pictures album from front to back in the second set. Now, in fairness, this wasn’t as revolutionary as it sounds—most of these tracks had already been mainstays in the live show for years. But the real gift came in the form of The Camera Eye, an oft-overlooked epic that had somehow escaped the setlist for decades. Clocking in at over eleven minutes and featuring the kind of dynamic scope that Rush always did best, its resurrection was the moment that sent longtime fans into a frenzy.
A full live document soon followed, issued in both DVD and CD formats under the inevitable title Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland. The show appears here in its entirety, and since the band stuck to a fixed set list throughout the tour, this release serves as an accurate snapshot of the experience. The band, as ever, performs at an impressively high level, the set list offers a fresh shuffle from past outings, and the Cleveland crowd is appropriately rabid. It is, by most reasonable metrics, another strong entry in the band’s already crowded live catalogue.
That said, some minor signs of age are now impossible to ignore. Geddy Lee’s voice, once a piercing instrument of near-operatic reach, is beginning to lose some of its youthful elasticity. He navigates the changes smartly—adjusting phrasing here, dropping into a lower register there—but the strain is beginning to show.
There’s also the curious inclusion of Faithless, which remains one of the more ponderous entries in the band’s later output. That it was introduced by Geddy as “one of his favorites” only deepens the mystery. Not awful, per se—but certainly an odd pick given the company it keeps.
Still, such quibbles do little to tarnish what is otherwise a joyous, career-spanning celebration. Not every band can pull off a tour with barely an album behind it. But then again, not every band is Rush. decent, if imperfect, overview. It’s not essential, but it is useful. You really can't call it definitive, but with so many different excellent live offerings, nothing ever was despite its greatness and love from the faithful.
Go back to the main page
Go To the Next Review