Rush Compact Disc-ography

(Part of the Rush Collector Resources)

© Dave Weller, 1997 to 2006 - last updated 28^th August

This is a comprehensive discography of all Rush stock CDs - last updated on 28^th August 2006 ( since 14^th January 2006). It should be read in conjunction with my history of 'Rush and Anthem Records' and my 'Anthem Records Discography'. If you know of something not on this list please e-mail me using david 'at' wellers 'dot' demon 'dot' co 'dot' uk .

1. Introduction and Background

In August 1983 Polygram released their first batch of 100 CDs in the US market. 80 of the titles were classical music. “Moving Pictures” was one of the 20 popular music titles. The CDs themselves were manufactured at Polygram’s Hannover plant in West Germany. Between 40,000 and 50,000 were imported, packaged in ‘blister packs’, and then distributed to around 225 stores. Polygram also shipped a popular music sampler CD to some of their flagship stores, and this included the Rush track, “Tom Sawyer”. The most popular Polygram title was “Chariots Of Fire”, but “Moving Pictures” sold well and so a subsequent batch of releases in November included a second Rush title, “Signals”. This was followed by "Grace Under Pressure" in November 1984, with "Power Windows" the first Rush album to be released straight to CD in November 1985. The first seven studio albums ("Rush" through "Permanent Waves") were issued on CD between March and May 1987. The live albums, "All The World's A Stage" and "Exit... Stage Left" were first issued in June 1987.

Ten years later, in 1997, Mercury released the 'Remasters' series of albums. This saw all of the CDs originally issued by Mercury re-issued with enhanced sound and packaging faithful to the original LP releases. They were accompanied by two compilations, "Retrospective I" covering the period 1974 to 1980 and "Retrospective II" carrying on to 1987. The studio albums "Rush" through "Permanent Waves" were released in May, followed by "Moving Pictures" through "Hold Your Fire" in June, with the live albums being released in July.

This discography attempts to catalogue all official, commercially released Rush CDs. If it has a unique catalogue number and country of issue then it is included here. In most cases there is no difference between the CDs issued in different countries except for minor changes in packaging and labelling. Any significant differences, such as the inclusion of lyric booklets for Japanese releases, are noted. The tracks on each CD are identical too and none of the Japanese releases have any additional bonus tracks with the exception of "Different Stages".

The mail order firms BMG and CRC (Columbia House) manufacture and distribute the standard CD under license. Where they are issued with a unique catalogue number they have been included in this discography.

Promotional releases are not included on this page but, if the album title is hyperlinked, there is an additional page that shows all related promotional releases.

This page is split into eight sections:

1. Introduction and Background. 1

2. The Mercury Years. 1

3. The Atlantic Years. 5

4. Rush Singles. 5

5. Rush Albums. 5

6. Box Sets. 13

7. Solo Albums. 13

8. Sources. 13

2. The Mercury Years

Rush signed to Mercury Records in 1974 and finally left the label in 1987. In that 13 year period they released 12 studio albums and 3 live albums. Upon their departure Mercury released the first of 4 compilation albums (not including the European only "Rush Through Time" album). This was followed by two further compilation albums to support the re-mastering of the catalogue in 1987, and a further compilation album, "The Spirit Of Radio: Greatest Hits (1974 - 1987) released in 2003. This features one track from each of the studio albums with the exception of "Caress Of Steel".

Since 1998 Mercury Records has been part of the Universal Music Group. This followed the acquisition of Polygram by Seagram and the subsequent merger with Universal. Universal Music is currently owned by Vivendi. Polygram itself was formed in 1962 as a joint venture between Phillips and Siemens. In 1982 Phillips and Polygram jointly launched the Compact Disc, and in 1987 Polygram became a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips. Mercury Records was originally acquired by Phillips in 1960.

2.1 European Releases

The majority of Rush CDs released in Europe were made in Germany. The very first CD to be released, "Moving Pictures", was pressed with a generic green Mercury label. All subsequent releases have a generic red and white Mercury label with either 'Made in W Germany' or 'Made in W. Germany by Polygram' printed on the disc if they were manufactured before 1990, and 'Made in Germany' if they were manufactured after re-unification. Most discs have the 'GEMA' logo printed beneath the catalogue number, although this is sometimes 'STEMRA'. A few titles ("2112", "All The World's A Stage", "Moving Pictures", "A Show Of Hands", and "Chronicles") had some pressings made in France as well as Germany.

Perhaps the first Rush CD ever released; the original German pressing of “Moving Pictures”

2.2 US Releases

To be included in this discography, a CD must have a unique catalogue number. In the case of US releases this hides a whole host of variants - both in terms of packaging and the discs themselves. The CDs issued by Mercury can be found with the following variations:

1. The very first CDs sold in the US were all manufactured in either Germany or Japan as there were no CD pressing plants in America. These discs are known as 'first issues'. In the case of Rush releases, the original CDs were produced under the control of Polygram in Holland. They have a generic red and white Mercury label with either 'Made in W Germany' or 'Made in W. Germany by Polygram' printed on the disc. In this regard they are identical to the discs sold in Europe except that the 'GEMA' mark, beneath the catalogue number, is not present on the US versions. Also, the inserts of the US versions are printed in the USA. It would appear that Polygram in the US had released the entire Rush catalogue as ‘first issues’ by June 1987.
   
   For some pressings of "2112" the words "Made in USA" appear in place of the 'GEMA' mark.
   
   It is also worth noting that the first two Rush CDs, “Moving Pictures” and “Signals” were released before the SPARS code was introduced. After June 1984 Polygram included the familiar ‘AAD’ notation on the rear insert of all new CD releases. Early pressings of these two titles do not have the SPARS code, and include the words ‘digitally remastered’ in blank ink underneath the Phillips Compact Disc logo on the disc.
   
   
2. In 1985 Phillips (the owner of Polygram) formed a joint venture with Du Pont Optical to manufacture compact discs in America. The joint venture was called PDO, and the plant, in Kings Mountain, NC, first began pressing discs in 1986. At this stage, and until at least 1987, all Rush CDs for the American market were ‘first issues’ made in Germany. When the PDO plant did start pressing Rush CDs the same red and white Mercury label was used but the disc now stated 'Made in USA'. When the manufacturing was first done in the US Polygram cloned the existing Mercury packaging and label design with just minor changes. Then, probably towards the end of the 1980s, Polygram changed from the standard red and white Mercury label design to a black Mercury design for those discs that were first released in 1987. The red and white design continued to be used for at least the four discs released before 1987 (“Moving Pictures”, “Signals”, “Grace Under Pressure”, and “Power Windows”). All of the discs made by PDO have a silver ‘stacking ring’, some stating ‘Made in the USA by PDO’.
   
   
3. In November 1990 the PDO joint venture was dissolved, and ownership of the plant reverted to Phillips. Then, in August 1992, Polygram bought the plant from Phillips and re-named it PMDC (Polygram Manufacturing and Distribution Center). At this stage the manufacturing equipment in the plant was upgraded and the pressing method changed. All PMDC discs have a clear ‘stacking ring’, as opposed the silver ‘stacking ring’ on PDO discs. This reflects the difference between the Phillips and Sony compact disc manufacturing process.
   
   
4. Finally, with the launch of the 'Remasters Series' in 1997 the label designs were all updated.

The main variations in the packaging of US releases are:

1. The longbox. For a short while the longbox was the standard packaging for CDs in the US. The jewel case was housed in a 12" by 6" cardboard box that could be stacked in retailers' existing album racks. By early 1993 this format was discontinued. The only Rush CDs to be have been released in longboxes are "Presto", "Roll The Bones", and the MFSL edition of "Moving Pictures"
2. The blister pack. A form of packaging that was unique to Polygram; the CDs were housed in a 12" by 6" plastic case. In some cases the blister pack contained just the CD in the jewel case with the insert removed and housed for display above the jewel box...
3. … the other variant of blister pack saw the CD insert retained in the jewel case with a separate insert included in the plastic.

Examples of a 'first issue' of "Fly By Night" and the US Mercury pressings with the black label.

2.3 Brazilian Releases

Mercury first released the Rush CDs in Brazil in 1993. All of the discs had a unique black label design. The Rush Remasters have also been issued in Brazil. Mercury have also issued some of the remasters titles with special packaging; “Exit… Stage Left” comes in a unique card slip case (around the US disc), “Moving Pictures” was issued with a ‘millennium’ card slip case (around the US disc), “A Show Of Hands” was released in a ‘Ao Vivo’ cover. and “Retrospective I” was released in an ‘artists of the millennium’ special edition cover.

2.4 Canadian Releases

The large number of different catalogue numbers for the Rush CDs released in Canada reflect, mostly, the different distributors that Anthem Records used in Canada, and their price codes. Those CDs with catalogue numbers beginning 'ANC' were distributed by Capitol-EMI, Anthem's distributor until October 1989. Those CDs with catalogue numbers beginning 'ANK' were distributed by CBS/Sony; the prefix of a 'V' or 'W' indicates a mid-price release. Those CDs with a prefix of 'AND' and 'ANMD' were distributed by MCA Records (now Universal Music), Anthem's distributor since October 1995. The 'AND' prefix was used for the live albums which were originally double LPs, probably as they were a higher price than the studio albums which had the 'ANMD' prefix. Other CDs released by Anthem through MCA used the prefix 'ANBD'. This was never used for the catalogue number of any Rush CDs but there are a couple that have this prefix printed on the disc. The first CDs distributed by MCA sometimes used the older CBS inserts, and catalogue numbers, with a sticker placed over the previous distributor's details and a new barcode; the discs themselves have the new catalogue number. Despite the various catalogue numbers the CDs themselves all had the same basic label design until the 'remasters' series were issued.

CRC/Columbia House issues in Canada are not included as they preserve the original Anthem catalogue number (as well as adding their own).

I have not yet been able to determine exactly when the CDs were first released in Canada but it is unlikely to have been before 1986 as Canada had no CD pressing plants until then. Initially Canadian Rush CDs were manufactured by Praxis, before Capitol-EMI started using Americ Disc. The most recent CDs have been manufactured by Cinram.

Original Canadian, Japanese and European pressings of "Fly By Night".

2.5 Japanese Releases

As with the Canadian releases, those in Japan are typified by a series of different distributors. The first Rush CDs in Japan appeared in 1985, distributed by Epic/Sony; they were "Grace Under Pressure" and "Power Windows". They were followed by "Hold Your Fire" in 1987 and the rest of the catalogue with the exception of the first three studio albums and "All The Worlds A Stage" in 1988. It's worth noting that the first two CDs have a unique box-style obi as opposed to the more usual obi strip. Then, in 1989, with the release of "Presto" the distribution switched to Atlantic and MMG (acquired by WEA in 1989). Shortly after the release of "Roll The Bones" the full catalogue was made available in 1991. Most recently distribution has been handled by East West.

Three different label designs for Japanese releases by Epic/Sony. (The black rings on the edges of the discs are a scanning error).

2.6 The Rush Remasters Series

In 1987 Mercury Records, and many other subsidiaries of Phonogram, began issuing 'remasters' of their CDs. In the case of Rush all of the the re-mastering was done by Bob Ludgwig of Gateway Studios, who had mastered many of the original albums. The original production master tapes were used, and these were sourced either from Mercury or Anthem. The team at Mercury that worked on the remasters, led by Bill Levenson (who has also done major catalogue re-issue programmes for artists like Velvet Underground, Bob Marley and Kiss, as well as producing the first Rush compilation, "Chronicles") reviewed all of the US Mercury and Canadian Anthem releases to ensure the packaging was faithful to the original releases - hence the inclusion of the poster with "Hemispheres". They also decided to re-work all of the CDs to tie the label design to the original vinyl packaging. But it is worth noting that the label designs vary subtly from country to country (see the pictures below).

Although the sound quality of some CDs was noticeably enhanced, and the packaging was an improvement, for many fans the lack of any other material from the archives was a bit of a disappointment (even though Rush have always insisted there is nothing to release). There was also an apparent lack of any serious promotional drive by Mercury; there were certainly very few adverts at the time and those that were run focused on the "Retrospective" compilation albums. To date the Rush Remasters have been released in Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Germany (for Europe), and Japan (except for the live albums).

'Rush Remasters' pressing of "Fly By Night" from the US, Germany, Brazil, and Canada – all with slightly different label designs.

3. The Atlantic Years

Rush broke from Mercury records in 1988, after 14 years, following the release of the live album “A Show Of Hands”. At the time rumours were rife that the band were breaking up, though in reality the lack of contractual obligation gave the band a chance to re-acquaint themselves with their families. Then, in 1989 they signed to Atlantic records following growing disatisfaction with the way that Mercury had handled them. “Presto” was the first new Rush album to be released on Atlantic, in December 1989.

4. Rush Singles

The first commercially released Rush CD Single was “Time Stand Still”, issued in support of the “Hold Your Fire” album by Mercury in September 1987. Although originally intended to be released in the UK it was withdrawn at the last minute due to restrictions on the number of different formats a single could be released in and still be eligible for chart entry. It was released in Germany. In comparison to the numerous promotional CD Singles, and a large number of vinyl singles, there has only been one CD Single issued in the US where the format has not proved as popular as in Europe. The US single, which was also released in the UK, was “The Big Money”; again taken from “Hold Your Fire”. It was one of a series of CD-Video singles that were issued at the end of 1989 by Polygram in an attempt to stimulate interest in the format.

The only other album to have been supported with CD Singles is “Roll The Bones”. In February 1992 the title track was issued as a single in both Germany and the UK. The UK release was combined with a 7” picture disc and came in two version – a hologram CD single and a picture disc. Each different version of the single contained an interview with one of the band members. A few months later, in April, “Ghost Of A Chance” was released to coincide with the start of a UK tour. A pressing error meant that a small number of these singles were distributed without the green/blue background printed onto the disc. In the UK some of the CD singles from “Roll The Bones” were circulated to radio stations with promotional stickers on the jewel case. Further details on all of these singles, along with details of all promotional singles, are included in the pages for the associated album – follow the links below or from the menu frame.

5. Rush Albums

Rush

ANC-1-1001, Anthem, Canada

WANK-1001, Anthem, Canada

ANMD-1001, Anthem, Canada

ANMD-1075, Anthem, Canada - Rush Remasters series

822 541-2, Mercury, US

P2-22541, Mercury, US - CRC mail order

314 534 623-2, Mercury, US - Rush Remasters series

D-118675, Mercury, US - BMG mail order, Rush Remasters series

P2-34623, Mercury, US - CRC mail order, Rush Remasters series

822 541-2, Mercury, Brazil

534 623-2, Mercury, Brazil - Rush Remasters Series

822 541-2, Mercury, Argentina

822 541-2, Mercury, Germany

534 623-2, Mercury, Germany - Rush Remasters series

AMCY-314, Atlantic, Japan - MMG, with 12 page lyric booklet

AMCY-2289, Atlantic, Japan - Rush Remasters series

Notes: First released on CD in May 1987.

Fly By Night

ANC-1-1002, Anthem, Canada

WANK-1002, Anthem, Canada

ANMD-1002, Anthem, Canada

ANMD-1076, Anthem, Canada - Rush Remasters series

822 542-2, Mercury, US

D-103184, Mercury, US - BMG mail order

P2-22542, Mercury, US - CRC mail order

314 534 624-2, Mercury, US - Rush Remasters series

D-118697, Mercury, US - BMG mail order, Rush Remasters series

P2-34624, Mercury, US - CRC mail order, Rush Remasters series

822 542-2, Mercury, Brazil

534 624-2, Mercury, Brazil - Rush Remasters Series

822 542-2, Mercury, Germany

534 624-2, Mercury, Germany - Rush Remasters series

AMCY-315, Atlantic, Japan - MMG, with 16 page lyric booklet

AMCY-2290, Atlantic, Japan - Rush Remasters series

Notes: First released on CD in May 1987.

Caress Of Steel

ANC-1-1003, Anthem, Canada

WANK-1003, Anthem, Canada

ANMD-1003, Anthem, Canada

ANMD-1077, Anthem, Canada - Rush Remasters series

822 543-2, Mercury, US

P2-22543, Mercury, US - CRC mail order

314 534 625-2, Mercury, US - Rush Remasters series

D-118698, Mercury, US - BMG mail order, Rush Remasters series

P2-34625, Mercury, US - CRC mail order, Rush Remasters series

822 543-2, Mercury, Brazil

534 625-2, Mercury, Brazil - Rush Remasters Series

534 625-2, Mercury, Argentina - Rush Remasters Series

822 543-2, Mercury, Germany

534 625-2, Mercury, Germany - Rush Remasters series

AMCY-316, Atlantic, Japan - MMG, with 16 page lyric booklet

AMCY-2291, Atlantic, Japan - Rush Remasters series

Notes: First released on CD in May 1987.

2112

ANC-1-1004, Anthem, Canada

VANK-1004, Anthem, Canada

ANMD-1004, Anthem, Canada, some have ANBD-1004 printed on the disc

ANMD-1078, Anthem, Canada - Rush Remasters series

822 545-2, Mercury, US

D-133716, Mercury, US - BMG mail order

P2-22545, Mercury, US - CRC mail order

UDCD-590, MFSL, US - Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs 24kt gold

314 534 626-2, Mercury, US - Rush Remasters series

D-118699, Mercury, US - BMG mail order, Rush Remasters series

P2B-34626, Mercury, US - CRC mail order, Rush Remasters series

822 545-2, Mercury, Brazil

534 626-2, Mercury, Brazil - Rush Remasters Series

822 545-2, Mercury, Germany

534 626-2, Mercury, Germany - Rush Remasters series

822 545-2, Mercury, France - Disc 'Made in France, inserts 'Printed in Germany'

25-8P-5166, Epic/Sony, Japan - with 20 page lyric booklet

AMCY-317, Atlantic, Japan

AMCY-2292, Atlantic, Japan - Rush Remasters series

534 626-3 / DP 8583, Mercury, Korea – Rush Remasters series

Notes: First released on CD in March 1987. MFSL version released in November 1993

All The World's A Stage

ANC-2-1005, Anthem, Canada

WAGK-1005, Anthem, Canada