Dear Doug, THANK YOU SO MUCH for reacting to this album. P/G is a wonderful album, a fabulous collection of songs that has been a part of my life's soundtrack for 40 years. I still listen to it often, and these powerful songs still move me to tears. A lot of the synth sounds on this album come from the wonderful, ground-breaking PPG Wave, which had a totally different timbre to the Oberheims and Moogs which dominated Signals. The PPG is also very obvious on Power Windows and Hold Your Fire. Please keep up the great work.
So... I was 22 when GUP came out (I'm 62 now). It's fun to watch you react to this as a first time listener. I actually listened to this to today cruising down the highway, but listened again with you to catch your reaction. In concert for the GUP tour, Geddy announced Red Lenses by saying, ''Here's another red song.'' Early 80s Rush was peak Rush V2. Hemispheres was the end of Rush V1. To handle with ''kid gloves'' means to handle a person or situation delicately (kid gloves are gloves made from a young goat, a kid) . Edit... Yes, do Power Windows.
Lifelong Rush fan here, and sometimes I scratch my head why other fans dislike the synth years. I have always thought this album was a masterpiece. Rush evolved but they kept their integrity. Neil's lyrics on this album are thought provoking as always. The bass lines on this are stellar. Alex's guitar solos are phenomenal. Neil on drums? Beyond words! The synth is amospheric and doesn't take away from the music or date it like some syths in 80s music. They are truly syncopated and the most amazing band ever. Between the Wheels is the cherry on top at the end of this incredible gift of an album. Thanks for sharing the joy with us in this album review. I love your reviews, Doug. Top notch. I love your enthusiasm, surprise, and musical intelligence that you share with us. It takes it to a whole new level for me. I love that you're getting into Rushology, Doug! :) Man, I love Rush!
I love the 80s early 90s era but that is probably more to do with age and when I first heard Rush. First song I ever heard and was like what is this was Subdivision. First album and first CD I purchased was Roll the Bones followed by Hold your Fire.
Between the Wheels was great in concert. When they came to the verse "soaking up the cathode rays", the stage had very bright lights that would flash on and light up the whole auditorium.
@@raymondhartmeijer9300 That's generally true for most albums after Broon left. The production, especially on those 80's albums, takes away a bunch from the songs and the energy of the live shows puts it back in.
Love that you're doing full albums. That's really the way to listen to Rush. Can't wait for Power Windows, one of my all time favorites - contains possibly my favorite Rush song of all time.
At this point I recommend continuing on the straight path forward with Rush's discography. It will be far better for you to hear their continued evolution as they leave their synth era behind starting with Presto, and move forward into the 90s and beyond. There really isn't a bad album from this point forward (even though some people will say that the 90s weren't great for Rush, I just think they haven't listened to them properly) and there are still so many absolute BANGERS to discover. Can't wait for the Power Windows reaction!
Hold Your Fire is my 2nd favorite album in all music history. Right under Tales From Topographic Oceans, Hold Your Fire is an awesome masterpiece. They made a whole lot of great songs. But Hold Your Fire is spectacular.
I am another who loves Between the Wheels. Because of when I started listening to Rush, this is my favorite album. I played this tape so many times and the J-card (I had to look it up) paper has a unique smell and still does to this day. Doug - I have to say, if you would seen them live, you would have been air drumming and air guitaring with the rest of us. The musicianship and lyrics make them unique and the best band in my book. You get that. I even use some of the song lyrics in lessons as a teacher. Keep up the good work Doug. Take care y’all!
I've always said, that in addition to his ability to weave melodies through the ways he extends and arpeggiates chords, Alex's other skill is to develop a solo which is the emotional summation of the song. Between the Wheels is one of my favorites solos of his for that exact reason.
Very well put Douglas, and I think the way most of us would describe Alex's offering. Look at a solo like Ghost of a Chance and obviously Limelight. Just so emotive and gorgeous. The stuff he did through the 80's reminds me of books I was reading at the time, the emotional melee of my teenage mind and rooms I spent hours in listening to Rush. Between the wheels was my favorite live track from the last few tours.
"We can fall from rockets' red glare. Brother can you spare... another war. Another wasteland. And another... lost generation" Those lyrics get me every time
Frrom what I’ve read, because Neil was reading the USA Trilogy by John Dos Passos during this time, it really influenced his lyrics, combined with all the political and social stuff going on at the time. (The third book is even called The Big Money!)
Even after all these years, Grace Under Pressure is still my favorite Rush album. Just something about it that still gives me chills when I play it. The lyrics, the music, one of their "darkest" albums? Maybe that is why it still appeals....
Honestly, Power Windows is a great next step. I LOVE that album. It's probably in my top 5 Rush albums. Neil's lyricism absolutely hit new heights in the 80's. I'm going to be another one of those voices that says to just keep moving forward, at least with PW.
Great stuff! I was of course introduced to Rush with 'Moving Pictures' but grew up in the 80s and was fully invested in the synth-new wavy Rush era. I first saw them live during the Power Windows Tour. Mind-blowing and so memorable.
The abrupt ending to Between the Wheels fits the theme. Everything must come to an end, usually when you least expect it. That last drum flam hits hard.
In the song dream line, Neil says : Learning that we're only immortal for a limited time. I always thought that was a brilliant line. Between the wheels carries that same idea that that is the ultimite enemy and we have to make the most of the time that is given to us. Deep stuff.
When this album came out I was 13 and my favorite song was Kid Gloves. Currently none of my top 10 favorite Rush songs are on this album but I still enjoy it!
You will LOVE the next 3 albums which a lot of Rush fans don't appreciate as much (Can't figure out why...) and as a composer you will love them I think. My favourite song is the last song on Presto, closing the 80's with this powerful song : Available light. I shed a tear half the time I listen to it. BRILLIANT piece of music. You'll LOOOOOOOOOVE it !!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Never have really been able to get into Hold Your Fire or Presto as wholes, but they have some great songs. Mission, Force Ten, and Turn The Page are the best on HYF in my opinion, and on Presto, I also love Available Light, but I dig the title track and Show Don’t Tell also. I was hoping they’d bring back Turn The Page for the R40 tour, but alas no.
I first saw Rush live on the Grace Under Pressure tour, fall of 1984. They were incredible, and as everyone says - 3 guys make all that sound? Between the Wheels, Kid Gloves, and the first side tracks were all standouts in that show. Great review Doug!
Signals was my first Rush album, and I loved it... still do. The local radio station had a teaser song for the next album, and it was this song. It was later at night when they played it, and I fell asleep and had the kind of dream/nightmare where you wake up in a sweat just as the song was ending. 1983 was a long time ago, but this song still evokes that feeling I had from the first "listen".
One of my favorite albums ever (Rush even called it their favorite to make, for a long while) and Between the Wheels is one of my favorite Rush songs. I so seldom see any reactors react to Between the Wheels, and it's a shame because it's a tremendous song. Thank you so much, Doug, for your reaction to this wonderful album. ♥️🎵
Clockwork Angels is great but really they're all good and I think going in chronological order is the most rewarding method. You get to hear how their sound evolved.
Great listen and analysis! This was the first actual Rush album I ever purchased on my own. Between the Wheels is by far my favorite song from it. And, Doug, go in order, my friend. Power Windows has some great tracks on it.
Doug, I recommend you watch more old Twilight Zones. Very well written with deep subject matter. It's art. I did own this album back in the day. Was a true Rush head. Appreciate your deep analysis. Gives me a more musical viewpoint of these songs. Thank you.
Neil said that Red Lenses was about someone seeing through lenses of anger rather than idealism. What I love is the sense of confusion the protagonist is relaying as a result of that anger-colored view.
Doug, Between the Wheels IS the best song on the album. You should see the live video of this on the R30 tour, for instance, it’s even better than this studio version. It makes you wonder how just the 3 of them can produce a sound like this. Great reaction to this album Doug. You are the best at this.
Either R30 or Snakes And Arrows 2007. Both are impressive live. If you want Alex’s dinosaurs and Barbies and Geddy’s rotisseries watch Snakes and Arrows, R30 you will get Geddy’s dryers 🤪🤪
@PrattFan2112 The bass tone on R-30 with the cross-mic'd dryers plus the vending machine is good, but the mic'd up rotisseries are next level! So crunchy!
Can't wait for you to react to Power windows !!! One of my favourites especially for the lyrics as well as the production and arrangements. Definitely one of their best for sure ! Go Doug let's do Power Windows next !!!!!!!!!!!!
Kid Gloves is still one of my favorites on the album. I liked it when I first bought the album and even now. I did not care that much for Afterimage back then but now I love it. Maybe my favorite.
Clockwork Angels is musical and lyrical masterpiece. How many times do we get to hear brilliant musicians 40 years into their career? Save it for last. Do Power Windows next. Great album!
This album sounds amazing on vinyl. The Taurus pedals fill in an octave below Geds bass and it’s really complete sonically. It will give your woofers or sub a workout.
I always loved "Between the Wheels," but the first time I heard it live was on the R30 tour and that's when it became one of my favorite Rush songs. 40 years later, it's still a powerful song, just like this entire album. Please do yourself and us a favor and check out Power Windows next.
Looking forward to your review of Rush's next studio album Power Windows, where I think where they perfected the combination of keys and guitar that they started to hone with this album.
LOVE Power Windows. Don't leave it behind, but PLEASE do Clockwork Angels. Please. And let me tear up when you queue up The Garden. Neil's parting gift to us all. Rush's parting gift to us all. My country's greatest musical export! 🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦
when that keyboard comes in halfway through the solo on Between the Wheels , it gets so big. It does kind of fade out at the end but not all the way. If finally just stops and that note just continues. It is brilliant in my opinion. Kind of like the chaos just stopped. I dont know.
Power Windows is excellent, but I also have a major soft spot for Counterparts even though I've never heard anyone talk about it. I have a cassette and it has spent a good chunk of time in my deck.
If you are a reader, Doug, you may want to read the book Clockwork Angels of the same name as the album before you get to it. Clockwork Angels is Rush's only full concept album and goes hand in hand with the book that Neil co-wrote with author Kevin J Anderson. If you thought 2112 was a masterpiece, this is Rush's fairwell opus.🤘
This is one of Rush's most underrated albums and perhaps hated by many fans. I particularly love this album. And I don't even like electronic drums that much. Anyway, I think this album is brilliant!
01001001 is ASCII for the letter "I". It's similar to the Ayn Rand "Anthem" story where the collectivist breakaway individual learns the concept of "I" as opposed to "we".
Possibly, given Neals occasionally on-the-nose Rand influences, but in this case I think the body electric is also Asimov (I Robot) and Bradbury (I Sing the Body Electric!) inspired. It can also be more generally about the replacement of humans with robots and AI, as well as being an allegory for slavery. Another example of why Neals lyrics were always great, so many layers of meanings and metaphor can be read at every level, even with varying ideologies. Interestingly, while 1001001 can be read as "I" when we drop the leading zero.. the shorter "100100" at the end of that line can be read as the dollar sign "$" if we drop two leading zeros (which is valid), which might just be a coincidence to help the lyrical flow, but doubt it given the themes of replacing humans with robots.
In 2025, I am changing my media consumption as well…by necessity as you put it. Prior, I felt it was my duty to “stay informed,” but what’s going on, uh, around here, is just so mind-numbingly heartbreaking that I don’t want to know any more. I can’t fix it by allowing it to bring me down.
Definitely do the albums in chronological order to see how their sound evolved through the 80's and 90's and into the new century. Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Presto, Roll the Bones, Test For Echo, Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows are all good albums but Counterparts and Clockwork Angels are fantistic.
Red Lenses... ughhh. I see red, in my head, under my bed, I said red, not blue, red, red, red, red, red, red, red.... does it really matter what the lyrics are? This song ranks up there with Tai Shan, Rivendell, and Dog Years in my book. On the other hand, we have a song about WWI and the Dust Bowl era on the next track which makes up for this thing! Then a couple albums later you have more of Neil's wordsmithing at work: All those wounds, That I can’t get unwound. The album after that you have a song literally called "Anagram" and guess what nearly every verse features?
When I listen to Between the Wheels I think back to my Army training, specifically being caught in an ambush. Freeze in place, give in to the shock, and you're dead.
This is a great album, not my favorite of the 80s, but definitely right up there. Distant early warning was the first of their songs I learned how to play on bass. Yes please, Power Windows next.
The two songs I was looking forward to your reactions for were Red Sector A and BTW. You didn't let me down. I knew you would be cerebrally and viscerally affected by them both. In addition to the Kashmir-like dirginess and that droney D, the lyrics are so timelessly poignant. You didn't point out (or notice?) the little trick they played at the beginning where the keyboards, by themselves, sound like 1 & 3, but end up actually being 2 & 4 for the rest of the song. Little Rush tricks. And I'll see your "best song on the album" and raise you a "best song in the whole catalog". I'm looking forward to your review of Power Windows, where my second and third favorite Rush songs are. I won't tell you which they are, but I'll let you know after you hear them if I was right :)
Read lense is just a great song, wonder how it came about. Find this second side stronger. The last song is also is black magnifiquement heavy. Great review, merci!😊
Power windows is a great album. Yes, it's a lot of synth. Geddy was in heaven making almost symphonic music. G/P, that's one of my favorites: Mission because how inspiring an aspiring it is. @dailydoug TBH, from that point on, you may be better off getting samples of each album to take you through the 90s era. Anne, I'm pretty sure others will support this, somehow you've got to incorporate the time machine tour. The concept is that they go backwards in time from their ladder works to their beginnings. That's the show progresses, you see the crew changing the set going from really elaborate to really simple. It is truly memorable. I say more so that the clock for Angels tour. Not the album, the tour.
Between the Wheels is a phenomenal song. Music and lyrics.
The guitar solo section is incredible in Between the Wheels. They are all three essentially soloing together. Bravo.
Dear Doug, THANK YOU SO MUCH for reacting to this album. P/G is a wonderful album, a fabulous collection of songs that has been a part of my life's soundtrack for 40 years. I still listen to it often, and these powerful songs still move me to tears.
A lot of the synth sounds on this album come from the wonderful, ground-breaking PPG Wave, which had a totally different timbre to the Oberheims and Moogs which dominated Signals. The PPG is also very obvious on Power Windows and Hold Your Fire.
Please keep up the great work.
So... I was 22 when GUP came out (I'm 62 now). It's fun to watch you react to this as a first time listener. I actually listened to this to today cruising down the highway, but listened again with you to catch your reaction. In concert for the GUP tour, Geddy announced Red Lenses by saying, ''Here's another red song.'' Early 80s Rush was peak Rush V2. Hemispheres was the end of Rush V1. To handle with ''kid gloves'' means to handle a person or situation delicately (kid gloves are gloves made from a young goat, a kid) . Edit... Yes, do Power Windows.
Lifelong Rush fan here, and sometimes I scratch my head why other fans dislike the synth years. I have always thought this album was a masterpiece. Rush evolved but they kept their integrity. Neil's lyrics on this album are thought provoking as always. The bass lines on this are stellar. Alex's guitar solos are phenomenal. Neil on drums? Beyond words! The synth is amospheric and doesn't take away from the music or date it like some syths in 80s music. They are truly syncopated and the most amazing band ever. Between the Wheels is the cherry on top at the end of this incredible gift of an album. Thanks for sharing the joy with us in this album review. I love your reviews, Doug. Top notch. I love your enthusiasm, surprise, and musical intelligence that you share with us. It takes it to a whole new level for me. I love that you're getting into Rushology, Doug! :) Man, I love Rush!
Yeah it's a great album.
I love the 80s early 90s era but that is probably more to do with age and when I first heard Rush. First song I ever heard and was like what is this was Subdivision. First album and first CD I purchased was Roll the Bones followed by Hold your Fire.
I always thought the beginning of Kid Gloves as like someone waking up to meet the day ahead.
Between the Wheels is definitely the best song on the album.
Oooh so tough. Killer track. Distant Early Warning, Red Sector A and The Enemy Within are so good. Hard to pick.
I love this song
Between the Wheels is my favorite off this album and Kid Gloves
Kid Gloves is my personal favorite.
There isn’t a bad song on the album, though.
It's sooooo good!
Between the Wheels was great in concert. When they came to the verse "soaking up the cathode rays", the stage had very bright lights that would flash on and light up the whole auditorium.
Definitely do Power Windows next. Great mix of guitar and Snyth with lyrics centered on the concept of power.
It's bombastic but an awesome album.
Love the songs on PW.. but I prefer their live versions from Show of Hands
@@raymondhartmeijer9300 That's generally true for most albums after Broon left. The production, especially on those 80's albums, takes away a bunch from the songs and the energy of the live shows puts it back in.
The best mix of guitar, synth, bass, and drums from any of their albums IMHO.
Agreed: it's when they push the synth driven style to it's logical extreme.
Love that you're doing full albums. That's really the way to listen to Rush. Can't wait for Power Windows, one of my all time favorites - contains possibly my favorite Rush song of all time.
At this point I recommend continuing on the straight path forward with Rush's discography. It will be far better for you to hear their continued evolution as they leave their synth era behind starting with Presto, and move forward into the 90s and beyond. There really isn't a bad album from this point forward (even though some people will say that the 90s weren't great for Rush, I just think they haven't listened to them properly) and there are still so many absolute BANGERS to discover. Can't wait for the Power Windows reaction!
Hold Your Fire is my 2nd favorite album in all music history. Right under Tales From Topographic Oceans, Hold Your Fire is an awesome masterpiece. They made a whole lot of great songs. But Hold Your Fire is spectacular.
I am another who loves Between the Wheels. Because of when I started listening to Rush, this is my favorite album. I played this tape so many times and the J-card (I had to look it up) paper has a unique smell and still does to this day.
Doug - I have to say, if you would seen them live, you would have been air drumming and air guitaring with the rest of us. The musicianship and lyrics make them unique and the best band in my book. You get that. I even use some of the song lyrics in lessons as a teacher. Keep up the good work Doug. Take care y’all!
Saw them on this tour and yes, Between The Wheels and Red Sector A were both exceptionally killer live.
I've always said, that in addition to his ability to weave melodies through the ways he extends and arpeggiates chords, Alex's other skill is to develop a solo which is the emotional summation of the song. Between the Wheels is one of my favorites solos of his for that exact reason.
I couldn't have said it better!
Very well put Douglas, and I think the way most of us would describe Alex's offering. Look at a solo like Ghost of a Chance and obviously Limelight. Just so emotive and gorgeous. The stuff he did through the 80's reminds me of books I was reading at the time, the emotional melee of my teenage mind and rooms I spent hours in listening to Rush. Between the wheels was my favorite live track from the last few tours.
Look no farther than The Pass. Sheer tear-inducing brilliance, one of his best.
"We can fall from rockets' red glare. Brother can you spare... another war. Another wasteland. And another... lost generation" Those lyrics get me every time
Frrom what I’ve read, because Neil was reading the USA Trilogy by John Dos Passos during this time, it really influenced his lyrics, combined with all the political and social stuff going on at the time. (The third book is even called The Big Money!)
Front to back, one of their strongest albums. ❤️😎
Still my favorite album cover of theirs. I was 14 in 1984 and saw the tour in NJ. Still remember a lot of it. Wonderful show.
Man, I miss these guys.
Geddy's favorite, too.
I have the album poster in my downstairs toilet. Grace under pressure seems apt.
There is nothing in music more clear and on point than Geddy delivering Neil's lyrics. If the message doesn't come through, it's not on them.
Do the discography in order without skipping, please. Power Windows is sublime. I think you'll love it.
Definitely do power windows. I like every song on that album. Guaranteed you’ll like it. There’s some trippy/groovy stuff on there as well.
Even after all these years, Grace Under Pressure is still my favorite Rush album. Just something about it that still gives me chills when I play it. The lyrics, the music, one of their "darkest" albums? Maybe that is why it still appeals....
Between The Wheels undoubtedly has one of the best Alex guitar solos
Honestly, Power Windows is a great next step. I LOVE that album. It's probably in my top 5 Rush albums. Neil's lyricism absolutely hit new heights in the 80's. I'm going to be another one of those voices that says to just keep moving forward, at least with PW.
Great stuff! I was of course introduced to Rush with 'Moving Pictures' but grew up in the 80s and was fully invested in the synth-new wavy Rush era. I first saw them live during the Power Windows Tour. Mind-blowing and so memorable.
The first Rush album I ever purchased. 15 years old at the time it came out.
Same here, on both counts.
The abrupt ending to Between the Wheels fits the theme. Everything must come to an end, usually when you least expect it. That last drum flam hits hard.
In the song dream line, Neil says : Learning that we're only immortal for a limited time. I always thought that was a brilliant line. Between the wheels carries that same idea that that is the ultimite enemy and we have to make the most of the time that is given to us. Deep stuff.
Wandering the face of the earth...
Love you’re doing P/G. This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Never gets old. Thanks Doug!!!
I literally did a guitar cover of red sector a and uploaded it on my Facebook page about a month ago.
When this album came out I was 13 and my favorite song was Kid Gloves. Currently none of my top 10 favorite Rush songs are on this album but I still enjoy it!
I have The Enemy Within in my top 10. Very important song.
Kid Gloves has one of my favorite Rush endings.
I dig the change in the lyric "...cool to be so tough" then later, "...it's tough to be so cool."
You will LOVE the next 3 albums which a lot of Rush fans don't appreciate as much (Can't figure out why...) and as a composer you will love them I think. My favourite song is the last song on Presto, closing the 80's with this powerful song : Available light. I shed a tear half the time I listen to it. BRILLIANT piece of music. You'll LOOOOOOOOOVE it !!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Never have really been able to get into Hold Your Fire or Presto as wholes, but they have some great songs.
Mission, Force Ten, and Turn The Page are the best on HYF in my opinion, and on Presto, I also love Available Light, but I dig the title track and Show Don’t Tell also.
I was hoping they’d bring back Turn The Page for the R40 tour, but alas no.
Power Windows next for sure!!
I second that motion
I first saw Rush live on the Grace Under Pressure tour, fall of 1984. They were incredible, and as everyone says - 3 guys make all that sound? Between the Wheels, Kid Gloves, and the first side tracks were all standouts in that show. Great review Doug!
Signals was my first Rush album, and I loved it... still do. The local radio station had a teaser song for the next album, and it was this song. It was later at night when they played it, and I fell asleep and had the kind of dream/nightmare where you wake up in a sweat just as the song was ending. 1983 was a long time ago, but this song still evokes that feeling I had from the first "listen".
One of my favorite albums ever (Rush even called it their favorite to make, for a long while) and Between the Wheels is one of my favorite Rush songs. I so seldom see any reactors react to Between the Wheels, and it's a shame because it's a tremendous song. Thank you so much, Doug, for your reaction to this wonderful album. ♥️🎵
Wow, the drummer is so great!
Neil peart
You mean the new guy?
@@nicholasvinenProg Magazine readers were polled on the greatest musicians of all time. Neil Peart is the greatest musician ever.
What makes him even greater is the fact that he never thought he was. 😊
One of their best albums.
Between the Wheels slowly became my fav song on the album. Complex, dark and that gtr solo!
Also, 1001001 binary is 73 decimal which is the 21st prime, its reverse, 37 is the 12th prime. 2112 🙂
No, Neil would NEVER have done that, right? 😏😉
Love the look on Doug's face in Red Lenses with the funky crazy passage... also love the SCTV reference in that song.
Clockwork Angels is great but really they're all good and I think going in chronological order is the most rewarding method. You get to hear how their sound evolved.
Oh my God I love that you are baffled by that part in Red Lenses. Listen to this album a hundred times and it never gets old!
Great listen and analysis! This was the first actual Rush album I ever purchased on my own. Between the Wheels is by far my favorite song from it. And, Doug, go in order, my friend. Power Windows has some great tracks on it.
Doug, I recommend you watch more old Twilight Zones. Very well written with deep subject matter. It's art. I did own this album back in the day. Was a true Rush head. Appreciate your deep analysis. Gives me a more musical viewpoint of these songs. Thank you.
Red Sector A gets posted every Memorial Day Nov 11th in Canada....equal to your Veterans Day
Looking forward to you doing Power Windows. Superb record.
Amazing album, and it wasn't my first impression, I was put off at first but boy when I DID listen to it properly, it's amongst their best.
Neil said that Red Lenses was about someone seeing through lenses of anger rather than idealism. What I love is the sense of confusion the protagonist is relaying as a result of that anger-colored view.
Doug, Between the Wheels IS the best song on the album. You should see the live video of this on the R30 tour, for instance, it’s even better than this studio version. It makes you wonder how just the 3 of them can produce a sound like this. Great reaction to this album Doug. You are the best at this.
Slower & MORE brooding!
Either R30 or Snakes And Arrows 2007. Both are impressive live. If you want Alex’s dinosaurs and Barbies and Geddy’s rotisseries watch Snakes and Arrows, R30 you will get Geddy’s dryers 🤪🤪
@PrattFan2112 The bass tone on R-30 with the cross-mic'd dryers plus the vending machine is good, but the mic'd up rotisseries are next level! So crunchy!
Counterparts and Test for Echo
Throughout the expanse of their career, no band has exuded more creativity, more diversity, and more consistency of excellence.
Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels are an amazing two-ouch swan song for the band. They were all at the top of their game (still / even more so).
Red Lenses, what a great track! Over the years I'm appreciating this record more and more.
Great analysis Doug, thank you ❤
Rush never played Between The Wheels live until very late in their career.
Its on RUclips and you should check it out. An awesome performance.
I was there for that. WOW!
Can't wait for you to react to Power windows !!! One of my favourites especially for the lyrics as well as the production and arrangements. Definitely one of their best for sure ! Go Doug let's do Power Windows next !!!!!!!!!!!!
Kid Gloves is still one of my favorites on the album. I liked it when I first bought the album and even now. I did not care that much for Afterimage back then but now I love it. Maybe my favorite.
I agree, Doug. Between the Wheels is my favorite on the album, and is probably in my top 10 for Rush. Something about it just touches me. 🤘
Clockwork Angels is musical and lyrical masterpiece. How many times do we get to hear brilliant musicians 40 years into their career? Save it for last. Do Power Windows next. Great album!
This is their 10th studio album in 10 years! That just blows my mind.
This album sounds amazing on vinyl. The Taurus pedals fill in an octave below Geds bass and it’s really complete sonically. It will give your woofers or sub a workout.
Give credit to Neil Peart who wrote so many great lyrics.
Power windows a fantastic album. One of my favorites. Definitely recommend checking that one out next.
Between the Wheels is like a bulldozer-undeniably powerful!
Grace Tour 84 is great!
Love your reaction…to my favorite Rush album, and their masterpiece that is….Between the Wheels…
Tyler Warren's recreation of this album is incredible
I always loved "Between the Wheels," but the first time I heard it live was on the R30 tour and that's when it became one of my favorite Rush songs. 40 years later, it's still a powerful song, just like this entire album. Please do yourself and us a favor and check out Power Windows next.
I like how you didn't give up on Red Lenses. That one is a tough nut to crack.
Yes to Power Windows next I love this era of Rush. Along with Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Roll the Bones and Counterparts are some of my favorites.
Yes, do it all... all Rush is great.
Looking forward to your review of Rush's next studio album Power Windows, where I think where they perfected the combination of keys and guitar that they started to hone with this album.
Definitely the album that has most grown on me through the years since release.
LOVE Power Windows. Don't leave it behind, but PLEASE do Clockwork Angels. Please. And let me tear up when you queue up The Garden.
Neil's parting gift to us all. Rush's parting gift to us all.
My country's greatest musical export! 🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦
Hey Doug, Clockwork Angels is Rush's final Masterpiece... Don't spoil the ending for yourself by skipping ahead. Cheers.
I got a cat in October of 1984. I named her Grace, after this album.
when that keyboard comes in halfway through the solo on Between the Wheels , it gets so big. It does kind of fade out at the end but not all the way. If finally just stops and that note just continues. It is brilliant in my opinion. Kind of like the chaos just stopped. I dont know.
Power Windows is excellent, but I also have a major soft spot for Counterparts even though I've never heard anyone talk about it. I have a cassette and it has spent a good chunk of time in my deck.
If you are a reader, Doug, you may want to read the book Clockwork Angels of the same name as the album before you get to it. Clockwork Angels is Rush's only full concept album and goes hand in hand with the book that Neil co-wrote with author Kevin J Anderson. If you thought 2112 was a masterpiece, this is Rush's fairwell opus.🤘
Keep going, album by album, in order. Please. It's the most interesting to me to do it that way.
This is one of Rush's most underrated albums and perhaps hated by many fans. I particularly love this album. And I don't even like electronic drums that much. Anyway, I think this album is brilliant!
You will love power windows!
Power Windows next for sure, please! 😁
01001001 is ASCII for the letter "I". It's similar to the Ayn Rand "Anthem" story where the collectivist breakaway individual learns the concept of "I" as opposed to "we".
But the lyrics are 1001001 not 01001001
Possibly, given Neals occasionally on-the-nose Rand influences, but in this case I think the body electric is also Asimov (I Robot) and Bradbury (I Sing the Body Electric!) inspired. It can also be more generally about the replacement of humans with robots and AI, as well as being an allegory for slavery.
Another example of why Neals lyrics were always great, so many layers of meanings and metaphor can be read at every level, even with varying ideologies.
Interestingly, while 1001001 can be read as "I" when we drop the leading zero.. the shorter "100100" at the end of that line can be read as the dollar sign "$" if we drop two leading zeros (which is valid), which might just be a coincidence to help the lyrical flow, but doubt it given the themes of replacing humans with robots.
Its Morse Code
Clockwork Angels is a great album. They most definitely went out on a high note
In 2025, I am changing my media consumption as well…by necessity as you put it. Prior, I felt it was my duty to “stay informed,” but what’s going on, uh, around here, is just so mind-numbingly heartbreaking that I don’t want to know any more. I can’t fix it by allowing it to bring me down.
The reference to the Soviets are the blues is about the Soviets downing a Korean Airlines airliner right about the time they were writing this album.
Definitely do the albums in chronological order to see how their sound evolved through the 80's and 90's and into the new century. Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Presto, Roll the Bones, Test For Echo, Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows are all good albums but Counterparts and Clockwork Angels are fantistic.
Between the Wheels has some relevance for today's nightmare we're all experiencing (or at least some of us).
This is the last Rush album where I like every song!
Red Lenses... ughhh. I see red, in my head, under my bed, I said red, not blue, red, red, red, red, red, red, red.... does it really matter what the lyrics are? This song ranks up there with Tai Shan, Rivendell, and Dog Years in my book.
On the other hand, we have a song about WWI and the Dust Bowl era on the next track which makes up for this thing!
Then a couple albums later you have more of Neil's wordsmithing at work: All those wounds, That I can’t get unwound. The album after that you have a song literally called "Anagram" and guess what nearly every verse features?
When I listen to Between the Wheels I think back to my Army training, specifically being caught in an ambush. Freeze in place, give in to the shock, and you're dead.
This is a great album, not my favorite of the 80s, but definitely right up there. Distant early warning was the first of their songs I learned how to play on bass. Yes please, Power Windows next.
Vapor trails. Great album. Power Windows is good
After 35:00
You gotta get into Protest The Hero with their last album. Can't think of a concept album that better exemplifies America's history...
The album is about maintaining grace under the pressure of existential threats throughout history. 1939, 1984... 2025...
1001001 is the ASCII code for the letter I
Loosely translated, "Help me, I am in distress"
The two songs I was looking forward to your reactions for were Red Sector A and BTW. You didn't let me down. I knew you would be cerebrally and viscerally affected by them both.
In addition to the Kashmir-like dirginess and that droney D, the lyrics are so timelessly poignant. You didn't point out (or notice?) the little trick they played at the beginning where the keyboards, by themselves, sound like 1 & 3, but end up actually being 2 & 4 for the rest of the song. Little Rush tricks.
And I'll see your "best song on the album" and raise you a "best song in the whole catalog".
I'm looking forward to your review of Power Windows, where my second and third favorite Rush songs are. I won't tell you which they are, but I'll let you know after you hear them if I was right :)
Kid Gloves is a masterpiece, easily in my Rush top 10❤
Read lense is just a great song, wonder how it came about. Find this second side stronger. The last song is also is black magnifiquement heavy. Great review, merci!😊
Power Windows is another masterpiece
Power windows is a great album. Yes, it's a lot of synth. Geddy was in heaven making almost symphonic music. G/P, that's one of my favorites: Mission because how inspiring an aspiring it is.
@dailydoug TBH, from that point on, you may be better off getting samples of each album to take you through the 90s era. Anne, I'm pretty sure others will support this, somehow you've got to incorporate the time machine tour. The concept is that they go backwards in time from their ladder works to their beginnings. That's the show progresses, you see the crew changing the set going from really elaborate to really simple. It is truly memorable. I say more so that the clock for Angels tour. Not the album, the tour.