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	1973–1987
Genre	Progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Length	79:47
Label	Mercury (outside Canada and Japan) Anthem Atlantic (Japan)
Producer	Rush, Terry Brown (tracks 2-12), Peter Henderson (track 13), Peter Collins (tracks 14-16)
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 on February 11, 2003. It includes many of the band's most popular songs from their Mercury Records era. A special edition of the album included a DVD containing music videos for several songs, including "Mystic Rhythms" (which does not appear on the album itself).

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 (1974) – 7:11
2. "Fly by Night", from Fly by Night (1975) – 3:22
3. "2112 Overture / The Temples of Syrinx", from 2112 (1976) – 6:45
4. "Closer to the Heart", from A Farewell to Kings (1977) – 2:53
5. "The Trees", from Hemispheres (1978) – 4:42
6. "The Spirit of Radio", from Permanent Waves (1980) – 4:57
7. "Freewill", from Permanent Waves – 5:23
8. "Limelight", from Moving Pictures (1981) – 4:20
9. "Tom Sawyer", from Moving Pictures – 4:33
10. "Red Barchetta", from Moving Pictures – 6:10
11. "New World Man", from Signals (1982) – 3:43
12. "Subdivisions", from Signals – 5:34
13. "Distant Early Warning", from Grace Under Pressure (1984) – 4:58
14. "The Big Money", from Power Windows (1985) – 5:35
15. "Force Ten", from Hold Your Fire (1987) – 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, lyricist
• 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

1. Allmusic review
2. Q, May 2003
3. Rolling Stone Album Guide
4. "Rush - The Spirit Of Radio". Uncut: 113. May 2003. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
5. Q, May 2003