About All The World’s A Stage
All The World’s A Stage, Rush’s first live release, was recorded at Massey Hall in Toronto on June 11-13, 1976 during their 2112 tour (see Geddy talk about attending his first show at Massey Hall and the importance of the venue to the city). The two-record set presented the band’s hour-and-a-half headlining show in its entirety, a show that featured material from its first four Mercury releases: Rush, Fly by Night, Caress of Steel, and 2112 (the performance of “2112” omits the “Discovery” and “Oracle: The Dream” sections of the studio recording.)
During an interview in 1976, Neil said,
“When we play a piece live, we add all our little quirks to it. It grows; our older material shows a remarkable progression. Some of the old songs have developed until they’re superior to the originals. This gives us a chance to bring them up to date. We always felt there was something happening live that didn’t come across on record. Now we have the opportunity to capture that essence of the band.” – Neil Peart, 1976
Credits
Produced by
Rush and Terry Brown
Recording Engineer
Terry Brown
Executive production
Moon Records
Graphics
Hugh Syme
Photography
David Street
Remastered by
Bob Ludwig and Brian Lee
Gateway Mastering Studios
Portland, Maine
Bastille Day
Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
Lyrics: Neil Peart
There’s no bread let them eat cake
There’s no end to what they’ll take
Flaunt the fruits of noble birth
Wash the salt into the earth
But they’re marching to Bastille Day
La guillotine will claim her bloody prize
Free the dungeons of the innocent
The king will kneel, and let his kingdom rise
Bloodstained velvet, dirty lace
Naked fear on every face
See them bow their heads to die
As we would bow as they rode by
And we’re marching to Bastille Day
La guillotine will claim her bloody prize
Sing, o choirs of cacophony
The king has kneeled, to let his kingdom rise.
Lessons taught, but never learned
All around us anger burns
Guide the future by the past
Long ago the mould was cast
For they marched up to Bastille Day
La guillotine – claimed her bloody prize
Hear the echoes of the centuries
Power isn’t all that money buys