''A Show of Hands'' is a live album by the Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

, released in 1989. The band released a video of the same name, originally on VHS and

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

, the same year. A

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

version was released as part of a

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

in 2006, and as an individual DVD in 2007. In 2015 it was reissued after being remastered by Sean Magee at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

following a direct approach by Rush to remaster their entire back catalogue.

Recording

The majority of the performances on this album were from the 1988 ''

Hold Your Fire ''Hold Your Fire'' is the twelfth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 8, 1987. It was recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, Air Studios in Montserrat and McClear Place in Toronto. '' ...

'' tour, recorded in the American cities of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, and the British city of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. "

Mystic Rhythms "Mystic Rhythms" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released as the second single from their 1985 album ''Power Windows''. The single charted at number 21 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The song was featured on several compilatio ...

" and "

Witch Hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

" were recorded in

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

, during the 1986 ''

Power Windows Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows which can be raised and lowered by pressing a button or switch, as opposed to using a crank handle. History Packard had introduced hydraulic window lifts (power windows) in fall of ...

'' tour. The opening track "Intro" features

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

theme playing in the background; the band used this music to open many of their concerts during the 1980s. With the exception of "

Closer to the Heart "Closer to the Heart" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released in November 1977 as the lead single from their fifth studio album ''A Farewell to Kings''. It was the first Rush song to feature a non-member as a songwriter in Peter Tal ...

", the tracklist focuses almost entirely on the band's material from the 1980s, and is Rush's only live record to feature no performances of songs released before 1977. Unlike ''

All the World's a Stage "All the world's a stage" is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare's pastoral comedy ''As You Like It'', spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII Line 139. The speech compares the world to a stage and life to a ...

'' and '' Exit...Stage Left'', this album does not have any songs that had to be omitted for single CD release. The first two were released prior to the introduction of compact discs and were double album sets, whilst this album was initially released on CD so time restrictions were already taken into account.

Video release

The video was filmed at the first of two Birmingham (UK) shows which took place on April 23–24, 1988 at the city's

NEC Arena is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

- one of the sources of the live album. The song order and selection of the video are different from the live album.

Singles

*"Closer to the Heart" / "Witch Hunt" (7") *"Mission" (12" promo) *"Marathon" (12"/CD promo)

Track listing

All songs written by

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

and

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

, except where noted. *Track 4 features a drum solo.

Personnel

– bass guitar, synthesizers, vocals *

– electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion

Charts

Certifications

Remaster details

''A Show of Hands'' was remastered in 2011 by Andy VanDette for the "Sector" box sets, which re-released all of Rush's Mercury-era albums. ''A Show Of Hands'' is included in the ''Sector 3'' set.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Show of Hands, A 1989 live albums Anthem Records live albums Rush (band) live albums Mercury Records live albums Vertigo Records live albums