Rush- Subdivisions live (Pre-release)

[Islander2112]

It's funny that it seems a bit weird to see Alex "sing' the SUBDIVISIONS part of the song when they do it live, when clearly it's not his vocal part on Signals....yet, there in this debut of the song you can clearly here his less than awesome(yet noble effort!) vocals for the "SUBDIVISIONS", and backing the "Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth..." vocal bridge!

Very cool!!!

You rock, Big Al!

:)

[miamigroove]

can farm or bee cast ouuwwwwt

[bluff2501]

I fricken loved this whole album when it came out, instant fav in my car played 24/7...was lucky to see them live in 83/84.

[PetChickenz]

@bluff2501 i was born in 84 and i love Rush, i used to fantasize about Geddy when i was a teenager and draw pictures of him. i love his voice and long hair. Rush is awesome, i love their music. If had been a teenager when their music came out, i probably would have been a crazed fan, then again come to think of it, i am anyway, so there's no difference :P :D RUSH is Real Rock!!!!!!

[throwsand]

I really liked Rush, then Signals came out. Moving Pictures began their pop transition and was the last good album made by the group. This song is alright, but it lacks... what made Rush Rush in the 70's. Still the most talented group ever, but they will never return to the music as good as Permanent Waves and everything before

[vivelavidarocka]

@throwsand Oh yes they did!: you need to listen to their last two albums. Pure magic.

[Zombieman27]

@throwsand how can you say that moving pictures was the last good album? there are tons of amazing albums they came out with after, like Signals G.U.P, and power windows was amazing as well. and there other heavier albums like counterparts, RTB, and test for echo! and dont forget snakes and arrows! all amazing!

[CSX8663]

i love this song along with Limelight its my favorite

[AJAM69]

Such a song, all of these albums just remind me of my teenage years, the bomb

[wheelywot]

Thanks for posting Andy, Rush truely are THE best band in the world, period!!!

[ghero1123]

Yeah I heard that too...the keys voicing was a bit different in the studio but none the less this is really cool

[funzobunzo25]

on the studio recording, there is that drum groove that neil plays that should be at 00:35 but the lyrics come in instead....i miss that part

[musicman451]

Rush must've played this around 1980 or 1981 before the release of the LP, "Signals."

[nev594]

I used to hate Rush. I thought Tom Sawyer was cool but that was it. Then one day I was kicking back at buddie's apartment and getting really stoned and he played Signals. I was blown away by Subdivisions. It has become my personal anthem. I've been a Rush freak ever since.

[AdventOctober]

Just saw Rush for the first time Saturday Night in Greensboro NC on their Time Machine Tour. By far the best concert I've ever seen. I'm 19 and My Dad is 50, he's been a rush fan since the 70s and I'm so glad that he has passed on the love of Rush to me. The first cassette in my Walkman was a Rush tape, Rush inspired me to start playing and now I teach drums, guitar, and bass. I don't know where I would be at without Rush. Thanks guys for who you are!

[CavemanJesus4Life]

Cant get enough of the Washing Machine amps

[zackjp]

they should record one song where alex sings it would be kinda cool

[glennorange]

God, I really miss the Rickenbacker...

Thanks for posting this; I love the pre-releases. You can really hear Alex well on the chorus.

[glennorange]

God, I really miss the Rickenbacker...

[OdyBeRidin]

BTW good post, I love these pre release cuts

[OdyBeRidin]

BTW good post

[OdyBeRidin]

I just saw Rush in Tulsa Oklahoma this week and they did a prerelease of two new songs. I think they are on youtube

[PhilipPorter]

Saw them play this live twice prior to release. There was something about it even then that was really special and 30 years later it is still a favourite of mine!

[PokyMtnBiker]

It never came out on CD. I actually bought it on vinyl. Just an FYI.

[MrBillydoo]

@PokyMtnBiker You,re right there was no such thing as a CD in 1982

[splent]

This was from a bootleg, so for all of you saying it's not Rush, it is. They used to do prerelease shows and preview songs.

[21neveroddoreven12]

this song/band is a part of canadian music history

[ericrob2112]

july 2010: after all those years, i think i love rush more then ever. i just see theme at ottawa (time machine tour) and it make me the number 1 fan again. rush is gold and seriously, nothing came close to that band. wath do you think about this?

[gsisola]

I could be wrong about all of that cd stuff.... thanks for the post.... Steve

[gsisola]

Being the "old fart" that I am... 52. I can tell you that "Signals" did not get released on CD. Thet didn't make CD's on 9-9-1982... I have the original vinyl release... great cover... the dog with the fire hydrant and all... one of Rush's best albums in my opinion... if not the best. Thanks, Steve

[ericplayzbass2]

@gsisola you'r enot an old fart. im 17 and I have everything from 1974- Rush to 1991- Roll the Bones including all live releases on vinyl. vinyl is so much better fuck CD's

[zackjp]

@ericplayzbass2 i perfer cassetes actully but CD's are fine JUST NOT MP3 BULLSHIT i hate mp3's i still buy cd's and cassetes and some vinyl need a turntable

[Brickdump]

@zackjp i still buy all of rush's CDs but i convert them to mp3's so they dont get scratched

[gowhitesox12]

Brilliant Lyrics!

[Stevemiller09191972]

Where do you get these versions of these songs?

[Cheese71]

Rush is going on tour this summer! They're playing all of Moving Pictures!!!

[MajorVagina]

@TheSKCProductions go to you local cd store like hmv or sunrise

[Celtic78]

Hey sgtpepper, let me guess, you own the new remastered sgt pepper album on vinyl??  If not get it, its awesome.

[Celtic78]

Geddy has such a sexy voice, he can sing me to bed any time :)

[abstract37]

wow, this is faster than usual, I love it when bands play faster than their recordings (which didn't happen yet in this case)

[blakesdad38]

Rush would sometimes do a mini-tour before heading into the studio to cut a new album. They used to come to Florida during the Hollywood Sportatorium days in the spring so Geddy could catch some spring training games while getting the bands chops ready for the studio.

[66drummer]

I dig these "larval" versions of Rush tunes, but their sound quality is so poor one can barely pick out the details. And Rush is/was always best appreciated through their details.

Still, it's fun to check out the bigger, more obvious changes/differences between these versions and what ended up as the 'official' versions.

Thanks Maxey5150.

[Koolkitties]

Woah, Geddy can still jump!

[bassjammer14]

Be cool, or be cast out.

[morats8up]

this song is a real reflection of my life growing up as a kid in alaska with my friends, the only difference is we had plenty of girls and bud to offset the growing pains.long live the rush family!

[sgtpepper1138]

I just bought Signals on vinyl at a record store for 3 bucks

and a couple of years ago I bought the MFSL gold cd

[heinzpo]

what is msfsl?

[sgtpepper1138]

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL). They release Audiophile grade vinyl and CDs, the CD I have of Signals is actually gold on the read side, and the jewel case is different, when you open the case all the way, it gently lifts the disc at an angle.

just do a Google search of them, really interesting stuff.

[santyrush]

here on video, the Geddy`s voice is very nice...

[mooghammondb3]

It never came out on CD...this is 1982.

[TheSalvationist24]

This version has such a dated sound, I LOVE it! Perhaps my favorite version of the song, even though some parts of the actual version have been omitted. The synth solos here especially captivate and inspire.

[dolmadakia]

I remember the first time I heard this song... I was instantly blown away and changed forever...

[luisoncln]

i agree with you my bro

[theoneil100]

I can remember hearing Rush for the first time(other than Tom Sawyer of course). It's hard to explain exactly how I felt, but I know that it was so good that it freaked me out a little. The music totally envelopes you when you hear it for the first time...esp. this song, 2112, Trees and Red Barchetta for me. It's been 22 years since that day, and I'll never forget it.

[jigar12346]

Totally agree

[LOLKloklok]

@dolmadakia ...

[501W]

nice to hear it, albeit it is almost the same...just some different drums and the solo bit.

[warszawianka]

The synthesizer has a different mix, at least in the beginning. Less bass, more twang to it. Love those analogue synthesizers. I think Rush used a Prophet-5 for this one, since it was pretty much the state of the art in synthesizers then.

[santyrush]

thank`s for post it, I like sound different the original .

[Manito9]

I think we've listened to the originals so much it's a treat to hear these live versions that trail some from the original sound; as is expected from a live performance. But they nail the songs in regards to note and timing.

[grimraper666]

i like the beat to this version better than the original

[pngilman]

cool historical document. too bad about the gap at 0:48 though.

[RyanGuitar007]

Cool, I've never heard this before. It's always interesting to hear what changes went into a song before it was released.

[21rush12]

Sounds more upbeat. Subdivisions is my favorite song of all time.

[zappawizard]

before it came out on CD? don't you mean LP cassette and 8 track?

[pdeleon9]

Yup, I agree, CDs were to be used from 1983 or 1984 and on..

[smitty9999]

the voice who says "subdivisions" is supposed to be a news caster for Toronto station City Tv, Mr, Mark Dailey

[Cook1eh3ad]

Alex lifeson does it

[smitty9999]

mark dailey does it

[PackersBrewersROCK]

Alex doesn't

[rushsubdivisions]

Ya this is my favorite Rush song... if you didn't notice the sign on name.

[rushrocks88]

Rush is such a BA!!!

[caressxofxsteel]

verrrrry different from the original lol its good tho

[fanofthemusic1090]

This recording is the very epitome of a rough draft. It's great to hear it because it's very interesting, but this just isn't as good as the studio version. I've heard a few pre release versions of Rush songs, and this is the roughest I've heard.

[pickzzzzzz]

It is live and it is the first time they did it. It is alway different in the studio ain't it!

[RallyCat909]

I dunno why they didnt use a voice synthesizer to give the celestial voice a bit of resonation as opposed to the flat sounding version when he says 'subdivisions' live.

*shrugs*

[larrylar2112]

its pre release...  :P

[RallyCat909]

I mean overall. :p

[givmetube1]

Just like all masterpieces, it began with a ball of clay and molded into perfection. In other words they didn't know how it was going to turn out until it was finished.

[RallyCat909]

Ive been listening to Rush for 25 years, I listen to their music to the degree that most ppl would find disturbing, that being said, I can tell you this is certainly Rush.

[VDrums2112]

I know exactly what you mean. I don't find it disturbing at all. However my wife might disagree with us!!

[Exr1c219]

I've seen Rush twice this summer and I know for a fact this is Rush. When Alex says "subdivisions" it sounds just like him. And nobody can imitate Geddy's voice that well.

[apassageto2112]

alex doesnt say subdivisions.... its a footpedel control that uses the voice from the wether man from the toronto news..... the one on the actual recording. he just acts like he does.

[pickzzzzzz]

Ya think?

[superhomsar2112]

NICE!!! ive been looking for this for awhile. very awesome. its more upbeat. yeah this or the studio version is very hard to decide.

[maxey5150]

yeah because it sounds nothing like them right...... any real rush fan would know geddy's voice

[rushrocks88]

Definitely geddy's voice, and bass playing I might add.

[rufio2001]

@maxey5150 That's dumb. Of course that's Geddy.

[NannyWhip]

I saw them do this on the Moving Pictures tour at Wembley before Signals came out. It's definitely them. Bass, voice, the whole lot. Any Rush aficionado can tell that so belt up.

[VDrums2112]

Dude, you are a fucking idiot if you can't tell that this is RUSH.

[fanofthemusic1090]

Are you high?

[ToolsnFire]

Dude, are you having fun? You got 'em.

[proudlyrushian]

@thomaswayne1 Um...this is definitely Rush. Geddy's voice is unmistakable.

[nym312005]

whether this version is better than the studio version or not is VERY debatable

[JaggerSavage]

Agreed completly.

[JaggerSavage]

Awesome