RUSH UPDATE Album Overview POWER WINDOWS Reaction Preview COMMENTS & THANKS !
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- RUSH UPDATE Album Overview POWER WINDOWS Reaction Preview COMMENTS & THANKS !
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please respond alip ba ta, the world's best finger style guitarist from Indonesia who is able to combine bass, melodies, melodic vocals, rhythm and percussion with just an acoustic guitar (one man band), guaranteed his subscribers will grow rapidly, be seen, and liked
The problem is that Rush is that they are in their own category. You can't even say 80's Rush or 90's Rush. After Signals they morphed into a new version of Rush with every new album. Every new album was a new era of Rush. I used to hold my breath before playing the new album because I had no idea what the hell I was going to hear. It was both disconcerting and very exciting!
I agree and I used to do the same with each new album.
I kept tellin Justin not to try to categories them - they are their own genre.
I think he's getting that now 👍
Exactly. I've said it before, Rush is about the entire catalog of work. They morphed and changed all the time. Whether you liked the new sounds or not, at the end, we always say the same thing... Great songs. I blame the synth-laden 80s, but rush still made a tone of good music.
That was a spot on reaction/review of the album Justin. As a Rush fan, I found it difficult to get into Power Windows and Hold Your Fire. I found the brightness of the production too distracting for me. However, it was the lyrics that drew me back in, and I now have a whole new appreciation for these albums. I think Neil deserves some kind of posthumous lifetime achievement award for his body of work. BTW, I like the idea of you doing some live videos between album reactions.
I kinda checked out of the "new" Rush during this time. Even though the albums up to Presto have some great music on them, they didn't affect me like Perm Waves and Moving Pictures. I think the band was trying to increase its fan base. New times, new sounds. From Counterparts on, I think the band moved back towards a 3 piece sound.
I find Rush is like Mozart. No bad tracks, just some better than others.
As I told you, the songwriting on this record is stellar. Once you get used to the 80's shiny production you discover 8 gems. Aslo the lyrics are fantastic and inspiring
Gotta admit, I wasn't expecting that assessment from you this morning. Goes to show that giving something a chance can change your opinions on things. Looking forward to the next album reaction. 👍🇨🇦
Wow Justin. A surprising overview! Wasn't expecting that. As all Rush albums, needs a few listens to get into what they were trying to do, at that time in their career. Thanks for this journey. I'm enjoying your reactions.
Forgot to say thanks for keeping this train rolling. I am enjoying the daily reactions. Its impressive how far you have come. I think you are just past half way through the catalogue
I feel the exactly like you do Justin . Good songs buried under over production. The overly bright guitar and over used synth just don't float my boat. The big money, Territories and Mystic Rhythms are my favourites on this album. I like that you are doing some live performances as well. I am really enjoying your reactions.
Cheers
Thank you for your laborious labor, Justin. To me, these songs and the good ones from Hold Your Fire are much better live, because even though they’re still triggering all of those sequencer effects, it’s not panning across your ears or flying in your face. The guitar and bass (and main keyboard parts) take up much more room.
Hold Your Fire was the first tour I saw them on so it has a special place in my heart😀
Likewise. I was at one of the 2 Birmingham NEC shows that they recorded for the A Show of Hands video.
This is an unpopular opinion, but I really like HYF. Turn the Page and Lock and Key are great tracks. Yeah, it goes out like a lamb and is a very soft Rush album but those who don't like it can stick with Caress of Steel.
For me HYF has 8 good tracks (Open Secrets, Lock & Key and Mission being the standouts) but ends with 2 poor tracks. Tai Shan is lame and High Water unfortunately strays in to Simple Minds territory for a note or two.
The point about "Would I like these songs more if they had NOT been recorded in the 80s?" is a good one. Overall the writing is good. Memorable hooks, good melodies, interesting ideas all over the place... I guess us oldsters are less offended by the productions because we lived through it and just got used to that sound on songs by Tears for Fears, The Fixx, Simple Minds, Level 42, INXS, etc. The only big group I can remember that bucked that trend was U2 (I guess they sort of went there on The Unforgettable Fire), but it was SUCH the sound of the era that it's not as offensive to our ears.
Like most Rush albums the more times you listen, the better it gets. Hold Your Fire has some great songs on it but it’s not as good as Power Windows
Hold your Fire is one of my favorites. Every song is really good. Even the questionable Tai Shan has neat guitar parts worth listening too. Can't wait!
I have always thought that Tai Shan was beautiful, musically and lyrically. It's different, though.
A show of hands is just okay, but different stages is amazing. I think different stages is the only live album where they really captured a great mix of their songs and great performances. You can't miss that one, but I would wait until after Counterparts to listen to it.
I completely agree with this. Different Stages feels like you're at the show and has the best live versions of many songs.
HYF is a great album too.
There are excellent songs on it!
Mission, force ten, time stand still...
I hit it off instantly 😃
Of course, this is my opinion!
Hope you like it!
REALLY enjoyed this overview! I doubt anyone might buy it but a t-shirt idea could be on the front “Power Windows…all the songs are great!” and on the back “But…the PRODUCTION!!” 😄
"The songs are great, but they have shoulder-pads". Think that's a great summary of this album.
I am old enough to start with Rush in the 70s, I missed the power stuff when they moved to the Prog era & learned to love it but missed the power. When the Synth/Keyboard came along I missed the power & prog and dropped out until 12 years ago but after revisiting everything, I can say it is still excellent music and is a regular on my playlist, but still, when I hear By-Tor or Working Man the volume goes UP.
It's a fair assessment Justin. I'm not a huge fan of this series of records: GUP, PW and Hold Your Fire not my favourites. However, Rush has the talent to expand their musicianship and explore a wide variety of genres, many people love these records and that is perfectly acceptable, not only have they expanded their musical horizons they expanded mine and others as well. For me personally I very rarely listen to the popular bands I grew up to anymore, they don't have much to say to me anymore, but Rush and Neil's writing ability (genius) have kept me interested, it's pure, it's honest and it is very, very good (I am paraphrasing somebody from an interview, but it holds true for me as well). looking forward to more "Live" Rush, for me they are the greatest live band ever.
So I love Hold Your Fire. It does sound completely different from PW but a lot of really great songs. I think the biggest sonic criticism of HYF is that it sounds "soft" but I think it sounds great.
(My post cut off the beginning. Here is the full post). Power Windows is in my opinion one of Rush’s best albums. Maybe not in my top 5 but not far from there. There’s no doubt it is a polarizing album. You hit on many of the reasons - the 80’s production and over abundance of electronic and keyboard sounds. It’s definitely very 80’s sounding when listening to it today. But back in 85 I loved it. All the songs are excellent. As you said, there’s not a bad song on the album. It was Rush’s attempt to take the best from Signals and Grace Under Pressure. Perhaps they didn’t achieve that completely but they did put out an excellent record. In my opinion this is the last Rush album that I would consider near perfect. What I mean is that it’s the last Rush album in my opinion that has no bad songs or no songs that might be considered filler or skippable. Many will disagree with me. But looking at Hold Your Fire - Also an excellent album. Not to different sounding from Power Windows. A few very excellent songs on it. But it suffers from similar 80’s production (though maybe not as produced as PW) and it also suffers from having too many songs. The first time Rush put out more than 8 songs on an album. And perhaps if they cut two songs it might be a better album. The 2 songs I refer to are Tai Shan and High Water. Neither are horrible. On their own they are good songs. But maybe the album would be held in higher regard without them. Tai Shan gets a lot of crap. It’s not horrible. Just doesn’t sound like Rush and the band themselves say it doesn’t really fit in with their catalog. Anyway more on that when you get to it. Looking forward to your reactions to HYF.
Now that was a great summary of PW! I took two key points that can be told to anyone who is interested in a first time listen.
1. Do it if you like the 80's.
2. Do it if you like or wear shoulder pads.
If you watch Power Windows tracks live watch ones closer to this time period and not the ones from the last couple of tours. Geddy's voice really doesn't do these songs justice in latter years but they nailed them back then. There's a bunch from the Show of Hands live video....
For the female backing singer role on Time Stand Still they initially approached Chrissie Hynde but she declined the offer. Aimee Mann from Til Tuesday got the gig but prior to that they considered, but ultimately decided against, Cyndi Lauper!!!
oohh Chrissie Hynde is great
Rush was always willing to try new tools, styles, and allow themselves to experiment with things that influenced them. Wait until you get to the Presto album - another major shift totally around the production (new producer). Again, it's all good music. You'll like all the songs but like Power Windows it takes a couple listens to fully 'get' it. Thanks for your honest reviews and reactions.
So Rush scores another record where every track is a good one, and that’s the thing. They were never chasing a hit or a single. They wrote and recorded what they wanted and let the record company figure out how to market or maximize its commercial impact. They also didn’t record extra tunes and then sift and select. They wrote. If they did t like where it was headed or couldn’t achieve what they envisioned, it was abandoned before recording and typically had bits scavenged for other things. Unfortunately this means there’s nothing in the vault in the way of unreleased tracks. If it wasn’t strong enough to be on the record it didn’t get recorded.
These songs still have the digital sound even live for a few tours. Later on when Geddy goes back to the Fender bass and they figure out how to process the keyboard they get better. Hold your fire is a better album to me. Tai shan isn't that bad, Geddy says they shouldn't have recorded it because it was more of a personal thing for Neil not because of the music. It's more about the lyrics.
I just love this record 😍
And seeing the Vynil cover now, makes me like it even more! Amazing!
Another review down!🤌🏾Hold your🔥up next (Count down to Test for Echo 🕐)
Manhattan Project is one of my favourite songs from this album, because I really like how the string instruments come together with the emotional expression in Geddy's voice to highlight the climactic moment when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. When you get into Hold Your Fire, you'll be hearing Tai Shan, the song where Geddy himself admitted that they should have known better. Cheers from Canada! 🇨🇦
🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🔥 🔥 🔥
I instantly liked Tai Shan, and I still like it a lot. It's different and beautiful. I have very specific Tai Shan moods that no other song will satisfy.
@@mikemurphymagic Ditto. Same for Dog Years too. :)
@@obiwanbenobi4943 I also like Dog Years.
The production on many songs and as you mentioned digital synth is a bit hard on my ears. I do love Mystic Rhythms and I like Manhattan Project. Moving on.....
Power Windows is better than GUP and Signals combined to me anyhow, for a couple reasons but mostly because of the time of my life that it happened. Senior in HS, second time seeing them live, in my hometown because they FINALLY built a civic center accommodating to their needs(and other bands of their stature)but first time I saw them on GUP, it was basically kinda nose bleed seats, but this one was up front and to the left of center(in between Alex and Neil) about 10-12 rows back. It was also the first night of their second leg. Jan 9, 1986 Thursday in Pensacola Florida, Alex broke a string heading into the solo of Closer to the Heart, and if you blinked, you would have missed it, he threw LITERALLY the guitar off to someone as another person rushed(lol pun intended)to him with another guitar, as Geddy glanced at Neil, Neil nodded, and they both in perfect sync doubled back to the point Alex was at, and all three came back in, in time, FUCKING PERFECTLY like no other band had EVER done or has done since in seeing 100’s of concerts since. So besides that, it was really life changing for me and life affirming to me that if you believe in what you do, and perceiver, you can and will attain your goals.🤘🖖✌️🥁🎹🎸🎤🥇🇨🇦🎼
Appreciate the "commitment" to really listening multiple times.
Agree w what your opinion. It's often overpowered by too much tinny synths. But it works as songs and definitely as an album.
Justin,
Again, embrace the reality that Rush music takes more than one listen before grasping and understanding the work.
I'm glad you are enjoying this Headlong Flight into the discography.
Remind me again of the Neil Peart comment about which album he wished was the beginning, please?
Keep up the great work!
The best live version of these songs is from the concert album/video "A Show of Hands". The video was filmed at the first of two Birmingham (UK) shows which took place on April 23-24, 1988.
I'm looking forward to your review of Hold Your Fire. It's honestly one of their least popular albums but personally, it's one of my favorites. I have to agree about Geddy's bass tone on Power Windows and it didn't change on Hold Your Fire. The synths are HEAVY on that album. "The Mission" is my favorite song on the album. I honestly don't think you're going to be a big fan of it though..lol Hopefully there will be one or two on the album you like. Great videos!!!
Cindy Lauper - Money changes everything. Like when your band starts making money and spends it on synths. It's all good in the music lab. Growing up with Rush, the best thing about new Rush was new Rush. News didn't travel all that fast. High school pals would say, Rush is coming to town, heard it on the concert update (radio days). What?!?!? But you had to confirm, so you got to a radio and waited for the concert update. Sure enough, Rush is coming to town! Then you planned your caper, because concert tickets needed to be purchased... on a school day. Had a teacher who said going to a concert was a justifiable excuse for missing school. And so was ticket day. Tickets on sale at 1000 .am. at all Tickettron locations. Ok, Hold Your Fire, LOL, I'm finished.
Having been on board since the release of A Farewell to Kings 10 years earlier, this is almost, but not quite, the album that caused Rush and me to go our separate ways. Looking back now, 35 years later (holy shit!!!), I love side one (Force 10 to Mission) but I don't even remember side two. Who knows, as Justin wades through it, I might re evaluate!
Ive been listening to Grace under pressure and power windows for 40 years now, after 100s of listens, these two and the next one didn't improve after a few listens, or after dozens of listens, they are what they are!!
However, the live shows kept kicking ass and actually got better with time and technology, thanks for maintaining honest and realistic reactions, FACTS!!
Hold Your Fire leans into the sequencing and sampling more (past the point the technology was capable of at the time, really: by the end of the tour they were basically telling each other "I never want to play this song again" because it was just too much effort... shades of Metallica after the Justice tour in that respect). The overall feel compared to Power Windows is different: there's a big vibe of a band realizing they're not young any more (the midpoint of Neil's life ends up being basically right between Power Windows and Hold Your Fire, and it's really fitting that a particular song on Hold Your Fire was (if we view Neil's life as a calendar year) written as his "summer was going fast and nights growing colder")... a lot of the lyrics are about time, that you're in a stable relationship, that the idealized vision of society you had as a young adult probably isn't going to happen (so you'd better figure out what compromises you're able to make), that you should be discovering your essential nature about now. The synths are more texture, less stabbing you in the ear at a transition.
They were 32/33 when writing/recording/touring Power Windows. They're 34/35 when writing/recording/touring Hold Your Fire.
Totally agree about the lyrics and this stage of their lives in their 30's. You can hear the introspection about various topics like relationships, society, etc.
Just plain good: musicians, performers, respectors of the craft.
So what ever era you joined them at or personal taste you’ll like it.
Hold Your Fire has even more 80's-ish production - tons of reverb, transparent "chimy" synths, etc. For me, I had to listen to it multiple times to "get" it. My biggest complaint about Hold Your Fire is the "thin" guitar tone Lifeson had. He was using strat type guitars with single coil pick ups. It wasn't until Counterparts that his more thick guitar tone came back. The musicianship is always there but it is still very 80s-ish.
For what its worth....there isn't a bad Rush record. With that, i'm a big fan of Power Windows...It sounds great, though it and Hold Your Fire are a bit overproduced. Regarding Hold Your Fire...many dislike it, i think it's a great album and reach for it often. As some have stated, i factor in the lyrics as well and Neil is a wonder in that department. Much to say, not always evident on the surface, he makes you ponder...speaking for myself anyway. The band wanted to continuously try different things, which didn't always go over w/ some of the faithful. Careful listening to the Hold Your Fire album always reveals more subtle gems, musically and lyrically. As far as Tai Shan goes, not a favorite track by any means, but it is what it is and that is an individuals experience and the song creates that atmosphere just fine, imo.
HYF I like a lot more than the previous two, when you get to Tai Shan I'll tell you how Geddy explained his and Alex's issues with it at the book signing audience interview and Q&A he did in Manchester England.
So my rush journey started with hearing Time Stand Still on the radio when it released in mid 1987 before the album HYF came out, this prompted a friend to lend me Power Windows which I really liked (It was only 2 years after its release) and i fell into the rabbit hole. Hold Your Fire suffered in the sales by perhaps old prog rock rush fans not enjoying Power Windows and this new direction which is a shame as the first 8 tracks are great, the keyboards are still very present but not to the same extent as Power Windows, yes it still has some 80s production things that you may not like and for the love of god i dont know why they included Tai Shan on it, I already had this on the B-side to the single Prime Mover where it should have stayed. That being said I would include HYF is in my top 5 Rush albums, with Time Stand Still as one of my top ten Rush Tracks along with Middletown Dreams.
I feel that with Hold Your Fire, they refined and perfected the particular trajectory they had been on the for the past couple albums. It is heavy on the synths, but it is far better balanced and mixed, and you still get excellent guitar and bass despite the synths. Everything is far more deliberate and far less "noisy" than Power Windows was.
Agreed! Well, except for Force Ten, which is the "noisiest" song they've ever written (that I can think of right now), the rest of the album is just beautiful.
I love AC/DC but there music always sounds the same, but with Rush there is not 1 album that sounds similar to another album that’s why there music is so good.
Great wrap up. I figured you'd come around once you got to listen to it a few more times.
What's really interesting is that in later tours RUSH really leaned into the 80's 'deep tracks' in their setlists. And with that, there are some VERY interesting results due to the evolution of technology not to mention the gear they all used in those later tours.
For example, the PoW stuff that they played live (every song except Emotion Detector) really benefits from Alex's use of Gibsons instead of the Signatures he used on the record and Geddy's use of his #1 Jazz instead of the Wal's really adds some punch.
As for HYF, I'm sure you've already done your reactions at the time this posts. But if you thought PoW was "laborous" on first listen I can only imagine what your first impressions are going to be. HYF is an 11 on the "production scale" that irritated you with PoW. But when you go back and relisten to the album you'll be able to peel back the layers and really appreciate what they were doing.
There's a whole lot of "classic" RUSH hidden beneath those keyboards!
Totally agree. Except: I think that if you remove "Force 10", which is the most "laborous" song ever written (haha), the rest of the album is gorgeous and easy to listen to.
I agree with you on watching some live performances between album reviews. It is a bit like the musical equivalent of a palate cleanse: it helps reset you and shakes off any lingering perspectives from the previous album, good or bad.
Aimee Mann did a lot of pretty decent acoustic singer-songwriter type stuff after the 80s, although she's still best known for "Voices Carry".
I do understand your difficulties with the sound. I get to that territory with Vapor Trails, where Alex turned all the faders up to where every kick drum hit on the entire album clips and then also had it brickwall mastered for extra loudness. The remaster helps, but the damage was done in the original multitracks so there wasn't much they could do.
I think 9 of the 10 songs on HYF are as strong as those on Power W. It's just a little more reserved.
Echoing what another commenter said a few weeks ago, I really appreciate that you listen to the records several times. Power Windows took me a long time to appreciate, but now it is one of the first ones I reach for. Looking forward to HYF. Some great stuff and some not so great stuff on that one.
I think it's wise to do all the Mercury era live albums because they are so digestible. They aren't complete shows whereas their latter live albums are the entire set and span multiple discs.
I can't think of any single song off of HYF that doesn't have some kind of substantially deep, almost spiritual meaning to it; even the song people love to hate on it is about a journey like that. And for anyone who's not doing what it is they thought they'd be doing at this point in their life, this is the most relevant album they could ever hear.
I hadn't listened to Hold Your Fire for a good while, so I listened to it the other week.
It's a great album with fantastic songs on i - and they were even better live !
You'll love it after a few listens.
Yeah in order to like this album more you have to get it out of your head of when it was made, I'm not necessarily a big fan of a lot of '80s music either and all the production is not my favorite decade but I also sometimes have trouble with the 60s and the high reverb but I definitely understand it was the production of its time and to not hold that against it, another example would be like the way a lot of grunge and 90s music had that drop d guitar tuning, what if I automatically just didn't like it because the way a lot of bands were doing that with their songs, that wouldn't be fair to the song to judge it that way and to just hear the song for what it is and not the time period it came out
Very fair assessment. As for the 'live between albums' stuff, that strikes me as a good idea, not least for you to experience what we did, as time progressed.
It was definitely an 80,s album,the production & their style certainly fit together.
I think Rush incorporated commercial sounds to get mainstream attention, but they never sacrificed musicianship or creativity. Songs are mostly about the individual verses the masses and they are inspirational in many ways. The next few albums are like them overcompensating for mixing mistakes on previous ones. We were dealing with cassette tapes then, so I remember Power Windows and Hold Your Fire coming out when I was in the Navy.
Ty for your service, fellow Navy alum. I served from AFTK thru Power Windows.
Justin can you do the Power Windows music videos? :)
I have been sending the official Rush videos to him as links in my messages. So far, he's only done "Countdown."
I'm just glad you liked Middletown Dreams. IMO one of Rush's best songs
If u didn't like PW production, it won't be any better on HYF, might be worse haha.
They were ALWAYS known as a PROGRESSIVE rock band...and that's exactly what they did. Who knows...you might even hear some rap...Personally I think you're gonna enjoy HYF...maybe not Tai Shan...it's got some great memorable songs. Something for fun, don't think you did it, check out their R30 opening sequence in Germany with Jerry Stiller.
GREAT songs! Bottom 3 Rush Album. The keys and drum sounds are just POORLY captured! Stymied by the 80s!!
Still loving the journey. Thanks!
Justin you need to check out Max Webster - Battlescars. I can’t say anymore because it will spoil it for you.
If you query RUclips for "Rush - Power Windows Demo Tape", you will find links such as: ruclips.net/video/FoWYncyNmMM/видео.html. Listening to these pre-production snippets may help one imagine how Power Windows might have turned out WITHOUT the production of the finished Power Windows product.
"They have shoulder pads..." Geddy could've walked onto the set of Miami Vice, or Alex and Ged make a one off video with Duran Duran.
If you plan on doing a live clip in between, I suggest Grand Designs from the Clockwork Angels tour.
They do a lot of their '80s songs on the clockwork angels tour. Unfortunately, Geddy's vocals are pretty rough.
Check out Marathon from the Time Machine video for one of your live viewings. Great performance. Also, there’s a drum cam version that’s worth checking out for Neil’s playing during the solo.
So in my 40+ year Rush fan opinion, Hold you Fire is a great album…one of my favourites!!! It’s a softer version of Power Windows. Neil’s drums sound amazing. Richer keyboard tones, and less busy.
After Neil died I went back and listened to this record and was deeply moved by his lyrics😢
Just so you know, their “rock” sound does come back but you’ll have to wait a bit longer😃
My advice regarding A Show of Hands is to skip it!!!! Their worst live album. Their 70’s songs played with 80’s sound & production 🤢🤢🇨🇦🇨🇦
Show of hands is good,but not the best live album. Over 50% filmed at Birmingham NEC UK and I was lucky enough to be there. If I remember the CD did not have the whole concert, I definitely prefer the live versions from PW and Hold your Fire. It was a difficult period for me with Rush, PW, HYF, Presto, Roll the Bones personally were too commercial, over produced pop rock, still Rush but not what you would expect. Sorry for the rant.
Hold Your Fire is more melodic and integrated than Power Windows. Still lots of synth, but continuing to evolve and better mixed. "Turn the Page" is a standout track.
So cool. Awesome you listened to it that much. Pretty much most songs from this point you need to work at it. I really think they did this purposely. But either way it’s great you spent the time. First listen you called it the black sheep. Now you definitely appreciate it much more.
So cool.
Yes, and after listening to Hold Your Fire I really missed it lol
Haha. There’s a few good ones on there. But that one is the black sheep for sure. Still don’t skip them on my Rush playlist .
If this album was re-recorded circa 2010, the tone would be much better. The Wal was a shiny toy Geddy embraced, but as you said it lacks bottom end within the EQ and too much high mids. They played several Power Windows songs on the Clockwork Angels tour with their "modern" instruments (Alex on a Gibson and Geddy on his Jazz). IMHO, the overall tone was WAY better.
Like I’ve been saying, the songs are terrific, but the production sounds dated, thin. This is Rush in the age of Phil Collins & Tears for Fears. But it’s still Rush. I don’t skip past any of the songs. I don’t avoid the album. I also don’t avoid Hold Your Fire, but it does have one or two songs I skip past. The other songs are excellent, especially Force Ten, Time Stand Still and Lock and Key.
A little Power Windows trivia for you about the album cover. The rear image is inspired by a famous Canadian artist, Alex Colville, and his work "To Prince Edward Island". There's a great little article about the Colville painting on the ACI-IAC website that's worth a read that includes the final line: you cannot truly know anyone [...] we are alone, together. Which sums up a bunch of Neil's lyrical themes quite nicely.
There are some gems on Hold Your Fire. My 4 year old daughters favourite song ‘Time stand still” is a great great song, but with an awful music video - check it out.
Bass wise: wait for Prime Mover 😉
Keep going man! Enjoying it 🤘🏻
I started broadening my musical tastes in 1982, and (for whatever reason) the 15 years from 1968-82 hold most of my favourite music. What was then upcoming, though, mostly left me cold: this album reminds me a lot of Yes 90125, which again had decent songs but a sound I didn't like much. Live performance is another matter, which is an argument for doing more performances in between albums, I think! Anyway, I get enjoyment out of listening with you to the albums that are off my playlist as well as watching your reactions to my faves, it's just two different kinds of fun. Hope you keep going - 80s production does not go on forever, after all!
Crazy thing was, Rush used to tour regularly in the UK up until Signals in 1983 then didn't come back to the UK until 1988. Some thought the band had split up. The concert I went to was the one on the video recorded at Birmingham NEC. Problem was that the concert had this unfamiliar feel for British Rush fans as it was mainly songs from; Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire. IMO there was definitely a warm subdued reaction to these songs when people wanted Xanadu and The Trees, and Alex looked isolated as Geddy spent most of the time behind the bank of keyboards that had got immensely larger.
Still a great way to start the day, Justin, evaluating one Rush song at a time, just like I did decades ago. I already know how you feel about Hold Your Fire. But for me, Hold Your Fire came at a special time, and I was open to anything that Rush put out. At this time, I was more interested in them as artists, and I would accept anything. So, I loved Hold Your Fire. I had a much worse attitude towards the next album, Presto for its cold and thin sound. "Production?" I LOVED the first 41 seconds of Show Don't Tell, but it went downhill from there. Anyway, I'm so curious and anticipating what your issues were towards Hold Your Fire. "Production" as well? We'll see!
I totally agree with you on the production. Are you considering the lyrics? That helped me appreciate Power Windows even more. This was a good album, just not as good as their prior albums.
When you listen to these songs live listen to A Show of Hands and not Clockwork Angels your. Geddy’s voice really struggles on the latter.
Hey rush was just copying Rob Halford from Judas Priest with those shoulder pads in the 80s😂. Yeah excellent breakdown and assessment of the album. And yes I totally understand where you were coming from with just not digging the 80s sound. It would’ve definitely been interesting if they came out with this album in the 90s. HOF was a tough one for most Rush fans. Still some fan favorites on that album, and other songs, not so much. For me, the next 3 albums were tough.
I think Hold Your Fire is going to be a tough one for me! I have t heard but 1 or 2 of these songs… LOL! I’m on the journey with you!! Be well and God bless… from Texas!!
Power Windows has some very good songs and a couple that became favorites (Territories, Middletown Dreams, Grand Designs, Mystic Rhythms). It's a solid album, but it does have that 80s feel to it. Hold Your Fire is also a good album, and I think it sounds like they feel more comfortable in the direction they took. Force Ten is a very good rocker with some great guitarwork and bass and drums. Time Stand Still is a nice radio-ish song. Open Secrets is an underrated song that makes it on a lot of my playlists (I really like that one). Prime Mover has a ton of energy and great synergy between them all. Mission and Turn the Page are very good. High Water is one of their heavily-mixed and produced songs that works really well. It's a solid album.
You really won’t understand until you hear Clockwork Angels… there’s no way these songs could have been recorded then. This album belongs in the 80s, shoulder pads and all. By the end, Clockwork Angels comes from a steampunk grudge era that you won’t believe is the same band. Both albums are my favs.
Saw them on this tour. March 4 1988, joe louis arena Detroit Michigan. They did a 2nd night in Detroit on march 5th. Tommy Shaw opened for them and had a great show as well. You said what I've said many times. Several of their 80's albums had potential but was buried under too much clutter as I call it and too much of a sterile sound. The songs were good songs and it's just too bad they weren't approached in a way like they did in the 70's or very early 80's. These albums had good bones but didn't have the meat. This may sound weird but they started off sounding like Zeppelin and ended up being a little too influenced by the Police.
If I remember correctly, they got rid of their previous producer and brought in a pop 80s sound of production.
Hold Your Fire is the end of this direction and even the band realized it after Hold Your Fire. They knew they had drifted away from being a power trio to something like dad rock-and I love Hold Your Fire really. It has three of my all time favorite Rush songs. But that album is not the same band that recorded 2112. But definitely is the same band that recorded Moving Pictures.
In the same way you are having issues with the era sonically , I assure you, 40 years from now, we will be wondering why they pitch corrected the FUCK out of everything. It drives me nuts, I really have a hard hearing the singers anymore.
Personally I think it gets better with Roll The Bones.
Things I like about Hold Your Fire: Neil’s drum kit sounds much more natural than the last couple albums. Actually love the tone of Geddys bass and he is all over the place in this one. First few songs are really strong. The weird electronic noises are not as invading. Still there though. Only bad is there are 2-3 songs that are slightly awkward at times for me. Of course just my opinion but I really like this album a lot. Maybe 10th place or so?
The thing that I have always enjoyed about listening to David Bowie and RUSH albums in their chronological release order is, you hear an evolution in music! Pop artists just continue to record the same old sound! Attaining success is one thing, maintaining it is another! David Bowie and RUSH are examples of courageous artists who fearlessly experimented with sound!
You have to really dig in and listen to Rush, especially in the synth era. There is so much going on melodically deep in the songs. I have rediscovered a lot of their stuff and have found many new sounds in these recordings.
I really respect that opinion. I love the 80's style so that plus the construction makes it one of my favorites. But I totally get how someone that doesn't like the genre could respect the songs while not finding it their jam... Thanks for the explanation!
Please don't bother with music videos. You've already heard the songs that way, I think it's much more productive and interesting to do only live versions after you have heard the song.
This album has always been in my top 3, it's especially great live!