Red Star (1999): Tribute
Album tracks:
1. Anthem
2. Working Man
3. Bastille Day
4. Subdivisions
5. What You’re Doing
6. Tears
7. Passage to Bangkok
8. Tom Sawyer
9. The Temples of Syrinx
10. Freewill
11. Red Barchetta
12. The Spirit of Radio
Red Star: Tribute to Rush—An Absolute Abomination
Review from John on Cygnus X-1 (edited and excerpted):
“While it may be true that Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in the music world, imitation is the quickest road to a lawsuit. So, how does a band imitate another without getting into trouble and yet not going through the hassle of obtaining the rights to a particular song? Simple—call it a tribute album. In 1996 came ‘Working Man,’ a collection of Rush songs performed diligently and respectfully by various artists. While it didn’t receive much attention, it was nice to see other groups honoring Rush with this sincerest form of flattery. Then, in 1999, [came] ‘Red Star,’ no doubt taking its name from the liner notes of 2112. I was anxious to throw this baby into my CD player. What I heard had me convinced that my CD player was malfunctioning. So convinced was I that I proceeded to eject the CD, walk over to my car, insert it there—and was immediately blasted by the same results. It honestly took me a few minutes to realize that there was nothing wrong with my CD player. The songs were that—unbelievable.”
Read the entire, unedited, review.
Exactly What a Tribute Album Should Do
Rob Freedman, Rush Vault
The tributes on Red Star can be jarring indeed if you don’t bring to the album an appreciation for metal in its many genres, including black, death, and thrash. For the uninitiated, listening can make you wonder if trolls get sentimental (“Tears”) or if the priest in “The Temples of Syrinx” is a frog-throated ogre who lives in a slimy bog. But in its own way the album does what a tribute album should do: offer a unique interpretation of someone else’s music. Against that goal, Red Star is excellent.
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