About Exit… Stage Left
Exit… Stage Left, the band’s second live album, was recorded at The Apollo in Glasgow, Scotland on June 10th & 11th, 1980 and at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec in March 27th, 1981. A video release with the same name, with slightly different content, was released in 1982 on VHS and later on Laserdisc, and in 2007 on DVD.
As Rush advanced technologically into the early 80s, capturing flawless recorded performances became more and more challenging:
“Yes, we made a few repairs to the record. A part here and there would ruin an otherwise perfect song, so we patched up the odd bit. Sometimes we had hit the wrong thing or gone suddenly out of tune. It would be so much easier if we were perfect.” – Neil Peart, 1981.
Exit… Stage Left was among the first Rush albums to be digitally mastered. As the world moved to the CD digital format, digital masters created from original analog recordings became a necessity. Rush’s previous studio album, Moving Pictures, was one of the first rock albums to be digitally mixed and mastered.
Credits
Produced by
Terry Brown, Left Field
Engineered by
Paul Northfield
Mastered by
Bob Ludwig and Brian Lee
Gateway Mastering Studios
Portland, Maine
Art Direction, graphics, and cover concept
Photography
Deborah Samuel
Special Guest
Ian Melhuish as the Puppet King
Management
Ray Danniels
SRO Productions
Toronto
Executive Production
Moon Records
The Spirit of Radio
Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
Lyrics: Neil Peart
Begin the day
With a friendly voice
A companion, unobtrusive
Plays the song that’s so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood
Off on your way
Hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the Spirit ever lingers
Undemanding contact
In your happy solitude.
Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price –
Almost free…
All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
It’s really just a question
Of your honesty
One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity
“For the words of the profits,
Are written on the studio wall,
Concert hall –
Echoes with the sounds…
Of salesmen.”