New Rush ‘Sector’ Album Reissues Announced

Universal Records is about to uncork a reissue campaign on Nov. 21 that will give Rush fans a few more 5.1 digital surround sound reboots of albums from the band’s classic Mercury Records catalog to stack right next to last year’s stunning ‘Moving Pictures’ reissue.

The ‘Sector’ Rush reissues will collect all 15 Mercury-era Rush releases in three separate sets, each containing five albums, with a total of 18 discs overall. All of the albums have been freshly remastered and formatted with packaging that mimics the original vinyl LP. Additionally, updated booklets for each release will contain previously unseen photographs along with the original credits and album lyrics.

All three sets will be available separately and when put together, they combine to form a Rush CD “road case.”

The real meat of these new reissues though will be the brand new 5.1 versions of three signature Rush albums – ‘Fly By Night,’ ‘A Farewell To Kings’ and ‘Signals.’ There’s one hitch, though – the three new releases will be divided up as bonus DVD discs, packaged one per volume across the three volumes of ‘Sector’ reissues.

The always reliable RushIsABand site has some fresh commentary on the new 5.1 versions from Rush engineer Rich Chycki, shedding additional light on what we can look forward to. "Like 'Moving Pictures,' all the multitrack masters I worked with were transferred from the original analog tapes at 96 kHz/24 bit resolution. This quality was maintained right down to the finished master. Listeners are in for a revelation of new detail for these releases."

Rich also shares the tantalizing fact that he is now back in the studio with Rush and producer Nick Raskulinecz to continue work on the band's next album, 'Clockwork Angels,' but says "sorry, no timeline for completion yet."

It’s shaping up to be an expensive year for Rush collectors – the band’s new ‘Time Machine’ concert film and live album (recorded earlier this year in Cleveland) also streets in November. You can check out an advance trailer for that new release here.