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A SHOW OF HANDS Released: February 21st, 1989

(Filmed at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England on April 21st, 23rd and 24, 1988)



Certified Platinum by RIAA: June 9th, 1989

Liner Notes



A Show of Hands

Geddy Lee - bass guitar, synthesizers, vocals

Alex Lifeson - guitars, synthesizers, backing vocals

Neil Peart - acoustic and electronic percussion



Other Notes

The companion Mercury/PolyGram Records album "A Show of Hands" is comprised of different performances.

The DVD does not list "YYZ" in the track listing and groups it together with the song "Territories".

The audio on the DVD release was re-mastered in 5.1-channel Dolby Surround by Alex Lifeson.

The DVD version of A Show of Hands contains the full program of the VHS version; "Lock And Key" appeared on the laserdisc version but does not appear on the DVD or VHS versions.

Track Listing



It is time. Through the sudden darkness we run to the stage, the tape intro drowned in a roaring wave of welcome. Our tension is fed by the audience's anticipation for this long overdue return to Britain, and by the presence of another, silent audience ? the microphone ears and camera eyes which focus on our performance.For a band with high standards, a perfect show is impossible and an excellent show is rare. You hope that the norm is "good." To deliver a really exceptional, comfortable performance before a recording truck or film crew has been our unfulfilled dream of many years. Always it seemed that as soon as the machine started rolling, we forget how to play and our equipment forgot how to work. Any tiny inaccuracy seemed magnified to staggering immensity by an internal vision of spinning tape-reels, malevolent machinery capturing that damned millisecond forever.But for these two nights, the gods smile. The ears and eyes of technology open to capture the responses of the audience and the players to the music, to the atmosphere, to each other. The panorama of faces alone mirrors a novel's worth of expression and emotion; intense, playful, concentrated, abandoned, pained, laughing, serious, and downright silly. Shifting beams of colored light animate the stage and follow the player's every move, while the audience is picked out in tinted pools, a sea of shining faces. Cartoon backdrops spring to life behind the band, then leap out to fill the screens. Lasers slash and stab at the darkness. A filament of shared tension and release connects the musician, the audience, the music.And the film becomes not just a concert, but a symbol ? for the band a scrapbook, an autobiography, an era frozen in glacial clarity. For the audience, it can be an enduring souvenir, and if it can't quite capture what it was to be there, its is a way of seeing through many pairs of eyes, of shifting one's vantage-point around and above the players in a way no mortal could.Hands perform, and hands respond. Hands gesture, and hands respond. A show of ears and eyes, a show of hearts and minds. A Show of Hands.Produced by Len Epand for PMV, and John Diaz for Calhoun ProductionsDirected by Larry JordanCinematography by Crescenzo NotarileLighting Directed by Howard UngerleiderAudio Production by Geddy LeeEngineered by Paul Northfield5.1 and stereo mix by Mike Fraser and Alex LifesonWarehouse Studios, VancouverAssistant Engineer Zach Blackstone/ATR Services Andrew BighamExecutive Production by Val Azzoli, for Anthem EntertainmentManagement by Ray Danniels for SROUniversal Music Enterprises: Jeff Fura/Adam Abrams/Ramon GalbertArt Direction and Design: Hugh SymeFilmed at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, EnglandAll songs written by Lee/Lifeson/Peart except "Closer to the Heart" by Lee/Lifeson/Peart/Talbot, "Force Ten" and "Tom Sawyer" by Lee/Lifeson/Peart/DuboisAll songs published by Core Music Publishing (SOCAN)Manufactured and Marketed by PolyGram Records, Inc. 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019.All Rights Reserved.Running Time: 90 minutes© 1989 PolyGram Records, Inc. and the Anthem Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Music Compilation © 1989 Core Music Publishing. All Rights Reserved.1. Intro2. The Big Money3. Marathon4. Turn the Page5. Prime Mover6. Manhattan Project7. Closer to the Heart8. Red Sector A9. Force Ten10. Lock and Key (laserdisc only)11. Mission12. Territories13. YYZ14. The Rhythm Method  Drum Solo15. The Spirit of Radio16. Tom Sawyer17. 2112 Overture/The Temples of Syrinx/La Villa Strangiato/In The Mood18. Credits