We are young, wandering the face of the earth,
Wondering what our dreams might be worth
Learning that we’re only immortal
For a limited time.
I’ve waited all year for this week.
You see, “Dreamline” is my favorite song. Not my favorite Rush song. My favorite song ever. So for my birthday, which is next Friday, we’re doing a full seven days of the greatest song in existence.
Hold onto your butts.
To kick things off, I’m going with this Platonic Ideal of “Dreamline” off of Different Stages, which opened the 1997 concert from which this recording is taken.
The guys are firing on full throttle here. Alex’s opening riff—each note so pure and clean—gives me goosebumps. For most of the song, Ged keeps his voice almost to a speaking register, which gives the lyrics a confessional vibe—even while he’s absolutely slapping the shit out of that bass. And Neil’s drumline is just… perfect. The metronome-like beat; the cymbal crashes emphasizing random measures like thunderclaps; the way he comes in on Alex’s guitar solo and ties it all together.
I could listen to this recording forever. I could listen to this song forever. You know, some songs you discover when you’re young, and when you listen to them years later, you feel the memory of them speaking to you more than anything else. Not “Dreamline.” “Dreamline” has spoken to me consistently since the first time I heard it when I was in seventh grade. In different ways, to be sure. But every time I hear it, I feel it calling to me all over again.
I have no idea how you’re going to find 7 different versions of this song but I’m eager to find out. Also slappin’ da bass!