Rush Archives
Syrinx Computers
Downloads:
- 1974-08-14 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Source Merge) *recommended*
- First Time
- Thumbs Up Thumbs Down
- Two Versions
Track Listing:
01 - Finding My Way
02 - In The Mood
03 - Bad Boy
04 - Working Man / Drum Solo
Notes:
- This was Rush's very first live performance with Neil Peart, who joined the band only two weeks prior on July 29.
- The performed setlist is short since Rush were opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann during this concert.
- Early pieces of By-Tor And The Snow Dog can be heard during the middle section of Working Man.
- Due to there being no mention of venue or location in the recording itself, and no documentation on the origins of this tape, the date can not quite be fully verified as with most recordings. I don't intend to convince anyone that the date is wrong, however I have always wondered about the coincidence that this very show happened to be recorded, considering the overall scarcity of early audience recordings, I figured it possible the date was falsified just for the claim of historical importance. However, we have closely analyzed musical details in this recording in comparison to later dates of the tour, and by multiple points it surely indicates that it predates the Cleveland tape for August 24. Due to the difficulty of explaining music in words, the easiest way to explain this is by noting the areas of interest. If you audibly compare the early snippet of By-Tor as well as Bad Boy, you will notice minor details that had not yet evolved, which are featured in all later dated tapes from this tour. It is also worth noting that Neil's drum solo is extremely short and simpler here, shorter than any other recorded drum solos from this tour. Therefore all the indications are strong that this likely is at least the earliest recording with Neil on drums, so ultimately the date indeed is likely to be correct.
- There are several different versions of this recording, all with different sound qualities and lengths. All versions are from the same original source recording, but transferred from various different generations of copies over time. The version with the best sounding quality is missing over half of Working Man and all of Neil's drum solo. The full uncut versions are all at different degrees of worse qualities. With the recommended download, I've taken the best quality recording and merged the missing segment seamlessly from the second best sounding version I could find. The change in sound quality is noticeable, but in my opinion it creates the best listening experience and the best version to preserve of this historic recording.
Preview: