Here's a fun one...

[Finch Platte]

...it's a tribute to some Canadian band called Rush- have you heard of them? Released back in 1996 on Magna Carta, it's a pretty good tribute, I think.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5167xTUM6uL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

From Amazon:


I usually skip tribute albums, especially those with an ensemble cast of musicians from various bands. I couldn't resist the Rush tribute album Working Man though. Not only is the caliber of musicians far better than the typical unemployed hair metal guys you'd usually find on a tribute album, they are (for the most part) also some of the best representatives of modern progressive music. With a few exceptions, the artists here pay faithful and very respectful tribute to a band that has so obviously inspired them.

Here's some of the noteworthy talent on Working Man:
1. Working Man: Sebastian Bach (vocals, ex-Skid Row), Jake E. Lee (guitars, ex-Ozzy, Badlands), Mike Portnoy (drums, Dream Theater), and Billy Sheehan (bass, Mr. Big).
2. By-Tor and Snow Dog: James LaBrie (vocals, Dream Theater) backed by Lee, Portnoy, and Sheehan.
3. Analog Kid: Jack Russell (vocals, Great White) Michael Romeo (guitars, Symphony X), Mike Pinella (keyboards, Symphony X), plus Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan again.
4. The Trees: Mike Baker (vocals, Shadow Gallery), Gary Wehrkamp (keyboards, Shadow Gallery), Portnoy and Sheehan are on this one as well.
5. La Villa Strangiato: Steve Morse (guitar, Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs), James Murphy (guitar, Testament), plus Portnoy and Sheehan.
6. Mission: Eric Martin (vocals, ex-Mr. Big), Robert Berry (everything else, 3).
7. Anthem: Mark Slaughter (vocals, Slaughter), George Lynch (guitar, ex-Dokken), Deen Castronovo (drums, Journey), plus James Murphy again.
8. Jacob's Ladder: Sebastian Bach, Mike Portnoy, and Billy Sheehan return, this time with John Petrucci (Dream Theater) on guitar.
9. Closer to the Heart: Fates Warning.
10. Natural Science: Devin Townsend (vocals, Strapping Young Lad) plus James Murphy and Deen Castronovo.
11. YYZ: James Murphy and Deen Castronovo again.
12. Red Barchetta: James Labrie, Steve Morse, and James Murphy are joined by Sean Malone (bass, Gordian Knot, ex-Cynic) and Sean Reinert (drums, Gordian Knot, ex-Cynic).
13. Freewill: Everyone else Magna Carta found hanging around the office that day.

The good: Fates Warning's cover of Closer to the Heart really steals the show. Cover albums always work better when the feature actual bands. This track gives you an idea what a "real" Rush tribute should sound like (think Dream Theater, Queensryche, Pain of Salvation, etc). Sebastian Bach and James LaBrie give some solid vocal performances. Surprisingly enough, Great White's Jack Russell outdoes them all with his performance on Analog Kid. The musicianship on this album is another plus, but that was never really in doubt.

The bad: Some of the non-"star" performances fall a bit flat. Natural Science, the Trees, and Freewill are good examples.

The ugly: Mark Slaughter's wailing on Anthem. There's no excuse for this travesty.

Overall, Working Man is a better than average tribute album. Its good points far outweigh the bad, and should appeal to (open-minded) Rush fans as well as anyone currently into progressive rock and metal.


If you wanna check it out, here it is. (http://ge.tt/853Z4jC?c)

[ForeverAutumn]

There are some interesting artists on this disk. I'm looking forward to listening to it. Thanks.

I recently heard some rough tracks of Rik Emmett (Triumph) singing Red Barchetta with Neil Peart on drums (he laid the drum track earlier, they didn't play together). It sounded great. I then had the opportunity to talk to Rik about the song. He said that he was really nervous about what Geddy would think of it. LOL!

[MasterCylinder]

Thanks for the review................interesting.

[Finch Platte]

Are you guys able to DL this ok?

Just checking.

If that doesn't work, I DL'ed it again, (http://ge.tt/802x4lC?c) just in case. Lemme know.