A Show of Hands

For the Victor Wooten album, see A Show of Hands (Victor Wooten album).
A Show of Hands
Live album by Rush
Released 9 January 1989
3 June 1997 (Remastered CD)
Recorded 1986, 1988
Genre Hard rock, progressive rock
Length 74:22
Label Anthem (Canada)
Atlantic (Japan)
Epic/Sony (Japan)
Mercury (U.S.)
Vertigo (Europe)
Producer Rush
Rush chronology

Hold Your Fire
(1987)
A Show of Hands
(1989)
Presto
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Kerrang! [2]
Rolling Stone [3]

A Show of Hands is a live album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1989. The band released a video of the same name, originally on VHS and laserdisc, the same year. A DVD version was released as part of a box set in 2006, and as an individual DVD in 2007.

Recording

The album was recorded in Birmingham (UK), New Orleans, Phoenix, and San Diego during the 1988 Hold Your Fire tour as well as in the Meadowlands (East Rutherford, NJ) during the 1986 Power Windows tour. The opening track "Intro" features the Three Stooges theme song "Three Blind Mice" playing in the background; the band used this jingle to open many of their concerts during the 1980s.

Video release

The video was filmed at the first of two Birmingham (UK) shows which took place on 23-24 April 1988, one of the sources of the live album. The song order and selection of the video are different from the live album.

Track listing

All songs written by Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Intro"   0:53
2. "The Big Money"   5:59
3. "Subdivisions"   5:22
4. "Marathon"   6:39
5. "Turn the Page"   4:41
6. "Manhattan Project"   5:18
7. "Mission"   5:46
8. "Distant Early Warning"   5:15
9. "Mystic Rhythms"   5:32
10. "Witch Hunt" (Pt. III of "Fear") 4:00
11. "The Rhythm Method" (Peart) 4:37
12. "Force Ten" (Lifeson, Lee, Peart, Pye Dubois) 4:55
13. "Time Stand Still"   5:13
14. "Red Sector A"   5:18
15. "Closer to the Heart" (Lifeson, Lee, Peart, Peter Talbot) 4:54

Personnel

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)[4]

Year Chart Position
1989 The Billboard 200 21

Singles

Sales certifications

Country Organization Sales
U.S. RIAA Gold (500,000)[5]
Canada CRIA Platinum (80,000)[6]

Remaster details

A remaster was issued in 1997.

A Show Of Hands was remastered again 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. [7]

References

  1. Prato, Greg. "A Show of Hands - Rush". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  2. Hotten, Jon (14 Jan 1989). "Rush: 'A Show of Hands'". Kerrang! 221. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 21.
  3. Azerrad, Michael (20 April 1989). "A Show of Hands". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  4. "A Show of Hands Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  5. "RIAA Database Search for Rush". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  6. "Gold Platinum Database - Title: A Show of Hands". Music Canada. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  7. http://www.themasterdiskrecord.com/2011/11/andy-vandette-on-remastering-14-rush-albums