Album · Live · 45 years old this year
Exit… Stage Left
Exit… Stage Left is Rush's second live album, following All the World's a Stage from 1976, and it came out on 29 October 1981. The double set gathers recordings from the Permanent Waves tour in June 1980 and the Moving Pictures tour in 1981. After the 1981 tour, the Canadian trio worked with producer Terry Brown to build it from performances made over the previous two years.
It arrived just as Moving Pictures had put the band in front of a much bigger audience, and it works as a snapshot of that moment. It reached No. 6 in the UK, No. 7 in Canada and No. 10 in the US, where it went platinum. Critics were mostly positive, and Classic Rock magazine voted it the ninth best live album of all time in 2004. A home video of the same name, filmed on the Moving Pictures tour, followed in 1982.
Exit… Stage Left: tracklist, credits and charts
13 tracks · 1:16:27Tracklist
- 1Spirit of RadioLee, Lifeson, Peart5:15
- 2Red BarchettaLee, Lifeson, Peart6:45
- 3YYZGeddy Lee and Neil Peart7:44
- 4A Passage to BangkokLee, Lifeson, Peart3:43
- 5Closer to the HeartLee, Lifeson, Peart, Talbot3:06
- 6Beneath, Between & BehindAlex Lifeson and Neil Peart2:31
- 7Jacob’s LadderLee, Lifeson, Peart8:39
- 8Broon’s BaneAlex Lifeson1:35
- 9The TreesLee, Lifeson, Peart4:30
- 10XanaduLee, Lifeson, Peart12:33
- 11FreewillLee, Lifeson, Peart5:31
- 12Tom SawyerLee, Lifeson, Dubois, Peart4:58
- 13La Villa StrangiatoLee, Lifeson, Peart9:37
- Produced by
- Terry Brown, François Lamoureux
- Executive producer
- Pegi Cecconi, Andy Curran
- Recorded at
- Montreal Forum, The Apollo
- Recorded
- * 10–11 June 1980 at The Apollo, Glasgow (Side 2) * 27 March 1981 at The Forum, Montreal, and other 1981 dates (Sides 1, 3, 4)
- Mixed by
- Paul Northfield, Richard Chycki, Alex Lifeson
- Engineered by
- Terry Brown, Andy Rose, Richard Chycki, Alex Lifeson
- Labels
- Mercury Records, Anthem
- Length
- 1:16:27
Line-up
- Rush
- Geddy Lee · bass guitar, synthesizer, lead vocals · guest
- Alex Lifeson · acoustic guitar, bass pedals, electric guitar, guitar · guest
- Neil Peart · drums (drum set), percussion · guest
Singles
- “Tom Sawyer” · 16 October 1981 (UK)
- “Closer to the Heart” · 20 October 1981 (US)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1981–1982 | 6 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1981–1982 | 10 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1981–1982 | 7 |
| Dutch Albums · 1981–1982 | 19 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1981–1982 | 28 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1982 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1981 | Silver |
| United States · 1987 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
50.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
30
ListenBrainz listeners
83k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.9k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Full discography →
Rush
1974
Fly by Night
1975
Caress of Steel
1975
2112
1976
All the World’s a Stage
1976
Cygnus X‐1
1977
A Farewell to Kings
1977
Archives
1978
Hemispheres
1978
Rush Through Time
1979
Permanent Waves
1980
Moving Pictures
1981
Signals
1982
Grace Under Pressure
1984
Power Windows
1985
Grace Under Pressure Tour
1986
Hold Your Fire
1987
A Show of Hands
1989
Presto
1989
Chronicles
1990
Roll the Bones
1991
Counterparts
1993
Test for Echo
1996
Retrospective I: 1974–1980
1997
Retrospective II: 1981–1987
1997
Different Stages Live
1998
Vapor Trails
2002
The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987
2003
Rush in Rio
2003
Feedback
2004
R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour
2005
Gold
2006
Replay X3
2006
Snakes & Arrows
2007
Snakes & Arrows Live
2008
Retrospective 3
2009
Working Men
2009
Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland
2011
Clockwork Angels
2012
The Studio Albums 1989–2007
2013
Clockwork Angels Tour
2013
R40 Live
2015
The best of 1981
All of 1981 →The Rolling Stones 4 Sucessos 1981
4 Sucessos
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Moving Pictures
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For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
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Diary of a Madman
Ozzy Osbourne · 1981
October
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Fair Warning
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Discipline
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More on Mercury Records
The label →
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | October 1981 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 29 October 1981 | |
| Wikidata | 29 October 1981 | |
| US release | October 1981 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1981 | earliest UK or European date |
19 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Mercury Records | other | |
| — | XE | Anthem Records | 731453463226 | remaster |
| — | CA | Anthem Records | 06682510352 | other |
| — | CA | Anthem Records | 066825210352 | other |
| 1981 | GB | Mercury Records | other | |
| 1981 | DE | Mercury Records | other | |
| 1981 | CA | Anthem Records | other | |
| October 1981 | US | Mercury Records | original | |
| October 1981 | GB | Mercury Records | original | |
| 4 May 1987 | XE | Mercury Records | 042282255129 | other |
| 5 May 1987 | CA | Columbia House | 777495730148 | other |
| 5 May 1987 | US | Mercury Records | 042282255129 | other |
| 25 October 1991 | JP | Atlantic | 4988029029041 | other |
| 1997 | DE | Anthem Records | 731453463226 | remaster |
| 1 July 1997 | US | Anthem Records | 731453463226 | remaster |
| 1 May 2007 | US | Mercury Records | 602498890158 | other |
| 2013 | XW | Anthem Records Inc. | 0602537058648 | other |
| 18 September 2015 | JP | Mercury Records | 602547259004 | remaster |
| — | — | Island Mercury | 00731453463226 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×600 | upscaled |