The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987

The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987
Greatest hits album by Rush
Released	February 11, 2003
Recorded	1973–87
Genre	Progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Length	79:47
Label	Mercury (outside Canada and Japan) Anthem Atlantic (Japan)
Producer	Peter Collins, Terry Brown, Rush, Peter Henderson
Rush chronology
Retrospective II (1997) The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987 (2003) Gold (2006)

The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987 is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in February 2003. This album is a collection of some of the band's popular songs from their debut album to Hold Your Fire. A limited-edition version of the initial CD release came packaged with a DVD EP, which contained videos for some of the songs on the CD, as well as "Mystic Rhythms"—which was omitted from the CD due to length—and the complete lyrics of all sixteen songs on the CD.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Q	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]
Uncut	[4]

Track listing

1. "Working Man", from Rush – 7:11
2. "Fly by Night", from Fly by Night – 3:22
3. "2112 Overture / The Temples of Syrinx", from 2112 – 6:45
4. "Closer to the Heart", from A Farewell to Kings – 2:53
5. "The Trees", from Hemispheres – 4:42
6. "The Spirit of Radio", from Permanent Waves – 4:57
7. "Freewill", from Permanent Waves – 5:23
8. "Limelight", from Moving Pictures – 4:20
9. "Tom Sawyer", from Moving Pictures – 4:33
10. "Red Barchetta", from Moving Pictures – 6:10
11. "New World Man", from Signals – 3:43
12. "Subdivisions", from Signals – 5:34
13. "Distant Early Warning", from Grace Under Pressure – 4:58
14. "The Big Money", from Power Windows – 5:35
15. "Force Ten", from Hold Your Fire – 4:32
16. "Time Stand Still", from Hold Your Fire – 5:09

DVD titles

1. "Closer to the Heart"
2. "Tom Sawyer"
3. "Subdivisions"
4. "The Big Money"
5. "Mystic Rhythms"

Personnel

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, synthesizers, vocals
• Alex Lifeson – electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, vocals
• Neil Peart – drums, percussion
• John Rutsey – drums and percussion on "Working Man"
• Aimee Mann – additional vocals on "Time Stand Still" and "Force Ten"

Reception

"This 16-track Best Of skips over the early years…" noted Paul Elliott in Q. "The '80s brought shorter songs, better tunes and even a Top 20 UK hit with 'The Spirit of Radio', one of the great rock singles and perhaps the only song ever to feature a Simon & Garfunkel reference, a reggae breakdown and the word 'unobtrusive'."^[5]

References