1985: Rush, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Robert Plant & More | The Album Years Podcast (Part 2)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ค. 2024
- In the second part of our deep dive into 1985, we discuss which established artists stayed relevant and which ones struggled to adapt to the new musical landscapes of the 1980s. Amongst those discussed are podcast favourites Joni Mitchell, Roy Harper and Miles Davis, while the zeitgeist conscious guises adopted by Rush and Robert Plant also go under the microscope. Meanwhile, Brian Eno continued to innovate by creating the very first album made specifically for the shiny new compact disc format.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:18 Robert Wyatt - Old Rottenhat
00:01:03 Brian Eno - Thursday Afternoon
00:04:20 Pete Townshend - White City: A Novel
00:06:15 American Music Club - The Restless Stranger
00:07:29 Roy Harper & Jimmy Page - Whatever Happened To Jugula?
00:12:45 John Cale - Artificial Intelligence / Nico + The Faction - Camera Obscura
00:19:26 Miles Davis - You're Under Arrest / Joni Mitchell - Dog Eat Dog
00:25:50 Rush - Power Windows
00:31:42 Robert Plant - Shaken 'n' Stirred
Listen to The Album Years on Spotify/Apple Podcasts: thealbumyears.lnk.to/listen
Check out The Album Years website: thealbumyears.com - เพลง
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Power Windows takes me back immediately to 1985. One of my personal favorite albums.
Same. It was the first Rush tour I got to see. Still love this album.
always thought Alex Lifeson's textural, effects-heavy guitar on Power Windows was one of the clearest precursors to SW's own playing on The Future Bites, so I'm fascinated that he doesn't actually like the record that much. for me it's Rush's "Big Tech" album, I love how all 3 of them adapt to the new technology they're playing with and how that bounces off Peart's lyrical themes throughout the record. I think it's up there with your Disciplines and your Moving Pictureses as one of the best albums made by a "prog" band in the 80s
I agree. Rush’s Power Windows is also miles better than SWs The Future Bites. There are songs I like on the Future Bites but overall a huge disappointment of an album for me. I particularly hate the preaching Elton John parts, but that’s just my opinion. I say this as a fan of Steven Wilson, but Rush is just in another league. Even the worst Rush album is still a good album but to each their own.
@@krom9897I love Power Windows, but am not keen on Hold Your Fire. Alex Lifeson and Geddy dislike the song Tai Shan.
Always felt like Power Windows was a bit underrated and Mystic Rhythms is absolutely majestic, never tire of hearing it!
It’s interesting that Steve name checks Middletown Dreams. Without the keyboards, I don’t think that song ever happens. Perhaps they’re a bit excessive, but in practice they open doorways both to broader arrangements, wider emotional range, and more musical styles.
You're so right. I don't understand how they didn't pick up on the AMAZING construction of the guitar parts.
I get why it was painful for Alex to find his way around the keyboards, but he pulled off amazing stuff that I, frankly, never heard from anyone else.
Emotion Detector is a great example of him mixing arpeggios and long, sustained reverbery chords in a totally unique way.
Power Windows is one of my favorite Rush albums, it really sounds like 1985 but I love its sound, the songs are absolutely beautiful and Neil Peart's lyrics are excellent as always. Manhattan Project is probably my favorite track
It’s actually my favourite Rush album and indeed one of my favourite albums by anyone.
The songs on it sound great when they played them live in 2000s but this album sounds incredibly 80s
Power Windows is perfection. How very dare you.
...All the "Power WIndows" fans
here this evening?!!!
That's great!!!!👍😊🎧💎📀♦️
💎❤❤❤❤❤🌬🌊🎶🎵
Whenever Rush is mentioned it will draw a crowd! 😆
I graduated from high school in 87. I followed Rush happily right through all of the synth albums. It was always refreshing new music for me from the 70's until Clockwork Angels...
Will never forget Rush's fans literally taking over the rock and roll hall of Fame induction ceremony during Rush's induction! Rush has simply earned the intense love and passion from their fans, me being a huge fan of everything they did. SACRED!
My favorite Rush album, period.
@@rickeaton3085 🙏😊
Power Windows is (often) my favourite Rush album. Middletown Dreams is just wonderful.
Dreams transport the ones
Who need to get out of town
Power Windows has been my go-to Rush album for the past few years now. Starting off with Big Money and having amazing tracks like Marathon, Middletown Dreams and Manhattan Projects make it one of the best. Grace Under Pressure was definitely a much more guitar-centric album than PW, but I don't think it does this album a disservice.
Let’s do not forget the epic ending of Mystic Rhythm.
Glad Grace Under Pressure was mentioned. It features 3 of my all time favourite Rush masterpieces (in no particular order) - Red Sector A, Between The Wheels & Kid Gloves 🙌🏼 still timeless still powerful sentiments therein
Distant Early Warning, The Enemy Within and Afterimage dude.. (wait, GuP is way better than the old heads said..)
i think Power Windows is a perfect album and my favourite of Rush's 80's era. It doesn't sound boxed-in, it has a beautiful brightness to it, the songwriting is superb and the combination of synths with guitar is amazing. And it contains the emotional depth and humanity which is the hallmark of this trio. And no, I only discovered this album 24 years ago not in 1985. This is not a critique on you guys it just goes to show how opinions can completely differ from one another....luckily.
I'll second others here and say Power Windows is my favorite Rush album. It gets better and better.
I love Robert Plant's Shaken N Stirred as much now as I did when it came out.
I'm a Rush nut, but I didn't really become a Rush nut until I heard Power Windows, and that was after dismissing it for a very, very long time while I was a Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals purist for the entirety of my Rush fandom up to that point. Love it. Hold Your Fire, too. Geddy and the fretted Wal were made for each other, just like Mick Karn and the fretless Wal were.
Rush is a band that I believe you had to see live to truly appreciate. I first heard of them at age 15 when The Big Money came out in fall of '85. After buying PW on vinyl I bought GUP next, then Signals, Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves. But I that's as far back as I could go - I couldn't listen to the older albums AT ALL! But then I saw them live on the next tour and they played Overture and Temples of Syrinx... I was hooked for life!
"Little by Little" and "Sixes and Sevens" are very good songs from this Robert Plant album👍
Thursday Afternoon was the reason I bought my first CD player.
Power windows the most underrated rush album in Thier career..the older this album gets the better it is . I remember buying it on cassette in virgin megastore and played it relentlessly on my Walkman .. bought it on cd and vinyl and still get absolute joy listening to it
Sting was also on the Arcadia album. David Gilmour was too. Sorry to bring it up again but I just really love that album.
It’s the closest Duran Duran(or members of that band) ever got to Tears for Fears. The first half of the album more commercial sounding but obscure and artistic to a certain degree. The second half goes all Prog Pop/Art Rock and is very impressive.
@@AngryCalvin I love Arcadia. Most DD albums have a ‘commercial’/‘arty’ side that most non fans miss out on - the more experimental stuff often shows what a musically great (and underrated) band they are.
Thanks for posting! These are a blast!
I know every good album can't be covered, but I'll list just a few fav's from '85.
- A Capella by Todd Rundgren. Clever use of his voice through an emulator was technically advanced for the time, but the great songs transcend the recording techniques. Some lasting live staples are from this!
- Fegmania! By Robyn Hitchcock. Love this album! Such interesting, creative songs. I have had this on my spinning radar frequently ever since, which is quite telling.
- 25 O'clock by the Dukes of Stratosphear. 1967 returned! (it took me a few years later to discover, and I had been a diehard XTC enthusiast for years by then. So they succeeded as a band in "disguise"! )
- New Day Rising by Husker Du. I liked Zen Arcade more, but that was a good year for them.
There's always more, these are just a few from my memories for good measure.
~ Thanks!
Power Windows is one of my favorite Rush albums because the songs are so strong. But it would have been nice to hear a remix of these songs without all that reverb. That reverb is what dates the album.
'A Farewel to Kings' , 'Moving Pictures' and 'Power Windows' are my favourite Rush albums.
Some say that there is to much keyboards on 'Power Windows'. But one of the reasons I love that album, is because Alex Lifeson found his big guitar sound again after the two previous albums. His playing on 'Power Windows' album is phenomenal! From the first chord, the opening of 'Big Money', his guitar is clear and loud in the mix, and I love every second of it.
For me Power Windows is the most perfect blend of synth/technology and rock music and definitively a product of it’s time. To me it still sounds bold, fresh and energizing after hundereds of spins. I love everyones playing on it, especially Lifesons textured guitars, which I imagined took a lot of balls (and good taste) on his behalf to keep it almost minimal in contrast with the rest of the band.
Rush is to me the ultimate Prog band, one because they have the strongest catalog of albums from a single band. They also always moved forward and didn't look back without losing their sound. Their R40 and Clockwork Angels tours had amazing setlists.
Robert Wyatt's Old Rottenhat deserved more coverage. A very political Robert Wyatt outing. One of my favorites. But I absolutely love you two in this video format. You both make me smile with fondness and memories with your discussion.
I did discuss it in more detail, but edited it out. I felt I hadn't really done the album justice. Sadly, more words didn't mean more insight.
Power Windows IS a great album, but I'd like to hear it remixed it by Mr. Wilson !
Totally agree on the Plant album. The Rush album is one of their stronger post 70s releases, easily. Production be damned. There's some glorious moments. Try the end of "Marathon" for starters...
Glad Steven liked Middletown Dreams, my favourite Rush song. The songwriting on Power Windows is my favourite- and those songs improved when they played them live in their later tours.
Wow, Steven was a bit harsh about brilliant LA session guitarist Michael Landau’s contribution to Dog Eat Dog. Landau is far from smug and uncreative and is a great writer and performer in his own right and is on most of Joni’s albums in the 80s and 90s: he plays some beautiful ambient textures on things like Chinese Cafe and The Tea Leaf Prophecy on Chalk Mark. I think every session guitarist in LA in the 80s was probably directed to add Andy Summers-style 9th chord arpeggios and to use Stereo Chorus by producers. Landau took the Andy Summers sound and made it even more epic. I know that Steven hates Chorus pedals and the fact that Landau had a TRI-Chorus is the ultimate red rag to his sensibilities as a guitarist. However, I think Landau’s playing on Dog Eat Dog is very cool and compliments the themes and cuts through the walls of digital keyboard textures perfectly especially on tracks like Friction and clearly Joni loved his playing.
Nice in depth reference about Michael Landau’s guitar work. Undoubtedly, on of the most prolific session guitarist on the circuit.
Yes, the guitar work on Dog Eat Dog is actually a highlight on this record. I like both Dog Eat Dog and Chalk Mark, Jonni is trying to adapt to new times and she is kind of fish out of water, but there is still a high quality in her work.
It took me a long, long time to get into Power Windows because of the sound and production. But now it's one of my go-to Rush albums. Love the songs, the textures and even the production, which is actually very impressive. Considering the era it's possibly the most ambitious Rush album as far as production goes.
Signals and Grace Under Pressure are my two favourite Rush albums. ✅✅
The Art Of Noise connection on Power Windows is that Ann Dudley did the orchestration on Marathon. Thank you for talking about White City. Although, i feel that you didn't spend as much time on it as you did the other albums. My dad used to have it on cassette when i was little. I became a Blondie fan after i found out that Clem Burke was one of the drummers. He plays on Brilliant Blues and Secondhand Love. I love Power Windows. Marathon a quite a track. Yes, the band has said in interviews that they weren't trying to stay current. This was actually music that they liked. For people that have the R30 concert dvd, there is a 1979 interview with Neil Peart. He said that he listened to stuff like Ultravox. Bands like Devo, Talking Heads, and the Police were contemporaries to them.
POWER WINDOWS....Steven & Tim.....please listen to this album a few more times....I'm sure you will change your minds about it !! Tim also needs to listen to Hold Your Fire again too !! As always with Neil's lyrics....timeless and as relevant today as when Neil's pen first touched the page. It's great to see all the positive comments and love for this album. I want Mystic Rhythms to be played at my funeral ( Many years from now !! ) ....just beautiful !! As Steven likes to constantly evolve, RUSH are the masters of this approach.....to be admired !! The music scape perfectly matches the sentiment of the lyrics......just amazing in my view !! Keep on listening !!!!
Power Windows by Rush, such an underrated and under appreciated record. Again, production wise, very mid eighties, however, listening to this album and Hold Your Fire, on a high end car stereo, with accompanying state of the art speakers, made me appreciate to the fullest both of these gems. Full of wonderful, clever songwriting, both of this records shine, as experimental as they are, on the bands’ canon.
While I agree with both of the assessments of the album for me I got into Rush around 82 so I was simultaneously listening backwards and forwards in their catalog. This tour was utterly amazing and the songs matured lyrically and the sound was different , new producer so it's still very close to me. Like you both said signals power windows then hold your fire were drastic changes from.each other and it was fun watching them grow as artists even into their 30's
Very much a fan of Power Windows. Musically and lyrically, it's very strong - if ever-so slightly over-produced - and it still stands up well four decades later. As a fervent Led Zep fan, meanwhile, I only ever listened to Shaken and Stirred once - and that was enough!
I know it sounds dated, but I think Alex plays some amazing guitar parts and melodies. Great songs. Of course, that and Hold Your Fire are not their favs either. No tracks from either were played on that last tour. Of course, if only we knew a guy who could remix great classic albums, fix their problems and master them. . . that'd be ace! LOL (The Big Express is still just blowing my mind, Steven!!)
Thursday Afternoon was released as a soundtrack to a series of video paintings featuring Christine Alcino. The vertical format video is gorgeous and engaging, the CD stands on its own, imo.
On Joni Mitchell’s Dog Eat Dog album, Steve Lukather, plays only on “Smokin’”, all other guitars on the album are performed by Michael Landau.
That's important. I am not a Toto fan, but I love Luke and his playing, and it was disturbing to hear Steven throw shade on him
Amazing show gents- have most of these LPs,. The year after I finished high school- 85 .Greets from South Africa!
While Power Windows is not my very favorite Rush album (it's still up there, though), I'm so glad they 'went there', with all the synths and everything.
Power Windows was my intro to RUSH and remains my go-to album from them. It bridges the worlds of Pop and Prog successfully. This and Tears For Fears ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ opened up (and offered up) so many musical possibilities to my 14 year old brain! Before I discovered these albums I was obsessively listening to Duran Duran, FGTH, Wham!, Queen, ABBA, Fleetwood Mac and Cliff Richard… 😅
Power Windows waiting for you to remaster Mr. Willson. Next year sure there will be a big deluxe box set.
Although I’m an old school Rush fanatic, I still don’t have any issues with Power Windows. Like any other great band from the seventies, Rush was appealing to the masses for the eighties. They succeeded in that decade when many other ‘70s acts had bitten the dust, and Power Windows was a perfect example.
Thanks guys, for making album years to a videocast..
Shaken n Stirred while not my favorite Plant album is not bad. I like it. Especially Little By Little. It's like an evolutionary step in his career.
The 1985 Tubes album, Love Bomb, is one of my alltime favorite rock albums. It was unfairly savaged back then by critics and part of the casual Tubes fans who were waiting for another classic rock album of the same kind David Foster had already produced for them ( Completion Backward Principle and Outside Inside, both great rock albums, btw ).
But the band and Todd Rundgren, the producer, decided, against Fee Waybill opinion, to go back to a more idiosyncratic and creative style, although with a very modern and punchy production.
It should have been up there in the charts with the biggest stars of that time, say Hall&Oates or Mickael Jackson or anybody else you care to mention. Never ever understood why it bombed.
Fantastic FM rock album, ( think Toto ) but with a unique hyper creative twist. One of the finest Todd Rundgren productions ever. And that means a lot...
Thank you for "talking about music" and for your thoughts & opinions & insights about these 1985 albums. It reminds me about the music era when we would actually sit down to listen to and talk about newly released albums - the music, the musicians, the producers, the studios, etc. would all come into the discussion. We, naturally, carefully went through all of the vinyl album liner notes at the time. ALBUMS mattered! It was also a time (late 60s onwards) when album art was so important in its grand 12" x 12" format. Thanks for the heads-up on the album CAMERA OBSCURA.
So many people commenting/defending Power Windows down here. Wonderful. Such a great, underrated album. It's more than "ok"... Albums are almost always "going with the time"...When they don't, they don't sell at the moment but can always later become cult, if you care to listen more than once or twice... "FM" rock is great too...
When Power Windows was released, there was a brief piece on the Old Grey Whistle Test in which Alex Lifeson said he'd spent weeks doing guitar overdubs on "The Big Money" alone - Not bad for a "keyboard album", eh chaps? Great songs, great playing, production a bit dated now but its still very much Rush. Have a listen to some of the later live versions when Geddy gets rid of that twangy Wal sound and plays the dirtied up Fender to hear how good the songs are under the over produced sheen. Great stuff.
Great take on Miles. Another great show ! Love this podcast.
I was forced into hearing lots of Rush when sharing a room with my older bro as a kid. I remember not liking the 80s sounding ones at all. He played a lot of metal, but I always preferred the prog stuff he had on. He got me into loads of stuff tbh...Yes, Floyd, King Crimson, Oldfield, TD and the old kosmischy things...even Ozrics, cheers Nick! Then I grew up and returned the fovour, getting him into 90's electronic and ambient stuff...and Porcupine Tree, who I discovered (bizarrely) via a review on the BBC Teletext service when that was a thing, which described The Sky Moves Sideways as something like a mix between The Orb, Mike Oldfield and Jimi Hendrix. Sold!
Power Windows is one of my many fave Rush albums, also still like the Joni Mitchell album as well as Marillion and Kate Bush from '85. Most of the albums mentioned here I have never heard of!
It would be very interesting to see you doing an episode where you both give your opinions regarding each others catalogue
It's always a heady balance; is a music artist moving forward , trying to fit in, or repeating themselves. It has to be difficult for sure.
Am halfway through and I’ve not heard any mention of the style council .our favourite shop . My favourite. I watch with hope .great show 👌👍
Power Windows is always my answer to the question of “What is your favorite Rush album”. I think this is Neil‘s most creative drum parts, certainly before Freddy Gruber ruined him.
Power Windows is one of the best albums I ever heard with one of the most inspiring guitar works. That clean tone is unbeatable.. The absence of distortion and riffing through the whole album gave way to all of those brilliant clean parts. Same goes for Alex's playing on Hold Your Fire.
I love Joni Mitchell’s Dog Eat Dog! Great podcast
Would agree Power Windows suffered from a bit much 80s-ness, and I similarly found Signals seriously engaging, with plenty of 80s touches, but not smothered in 80s synth syrup. As was mentioned, it still sounded like a band. And I say this as someone who loves synths.
Also an interesting point about The The's Soul Mining and White City. There is a similar vibe that maybe I didn't pick up on before, even though I was into both of the albums around the same time. Used to prefer White City from Pete's solo work, but nowadays it seems to me he was playing it a bit too safe on White City, and maybe like Rush and Power Windows, it was a bit too AOR radio friendly.
Another vote here for Power Windows being one of Rush's best!
Power Windows is Rush is at their best. Brilliant songs. Its prog 1985 style. To say Power windows is not a guitar album means you have not listened to it properly. What do you expect from a 1985 album, Rush embrace 1985. It is so progressive. The live versions of the songs are even better.
Guys - Buried under all that sheen on Power Windows are some of Neil Peart's best lyrics and 5 great songs including The Manhattan Project, Mystic Rhythms & Big Money. Yes, American rock radio did dictate at the time that big sounding records were going to get a lot of attention. The tour was awesome and in concert the music lost the sheen and rocked harder. If you heard live versions of these tracks they might resonate better for you.
This brings good music to me that I don't know, and inspires me to delve into music I might have glazed over. Also, focusing on albums by year is fun to me and brings a spark back to my record collection and building on it in the present and future. Thank you, gentlemen.
Must admit I only really got old enough for Rush in the early 80s, so I didn't question the shift to synths. While Moving Pictures and Signals are by far my favourite Rush albums, but Power Windows has Manhattan Project and Mystic Rhythms which are both great theme wise and the latter of which I love for its range of percussion. Hold Your Fire contains Mission, one of my favourite Rush songs. I can't fault any of it.
Power Windows was easily the best album they did with Peter Collins and their last keyboard driven album I could enjoy. Nothing captured my interest again until Roll The Bones.
I like it when they video record the podcast. It’s funny to me and it begins to sound like they’re speaking a different language at about the 11:30 mark.
First of all, thnks for posting this kind of stuff, I really enjoy it a lot. In fact i watch it on my tv screen and on my knees there is an iPad with spotify on it. When you’re discussing an album which is new to me, I check it out on the iPad first for a couple of minutes and then continue watching. Keep on going the good work ! And now for what about Rush… to me personally its their best area. From let’s say 1977 until this one 1985. Simply because I am a synth lover and thats what they got into. And fcourse…power windows is over the top, completely. They wanted maybe to sound like 90125 I don’t know but I still love that record. The one after this “Hold you’re fire” is one of their worst albums (to me) they crossed the edge of going to much mainstream. (Like simple mind’s album once upon a time…. Sorry Steve 😅)
We have to have a prefab sprout mention
There will be (in one of the following episodes).
I must say I often find SW albums (including PT) clinical in terms of production, which makes that critique of the Rush album sound funny.
I love the Rush fan backlash on the extent to which POWER WINDOWS gets panned here. Was the album of its time for the mid-80s? Yes. Was it any less brilliant in the songwriting/lyrics? This album has aged like a fine wine and holds up, completely.
I grew up in the 70s and of course 70s Rush, which I love actually the first Rush album I bought was power Windows in 85.
Sort of a tale of two albums... similar initial reactions, but very different over time: I got Power Windows and was SO EXCITED for new Rush... and I didn't get it. Nothing resonated with me. I could hear bits of the band I loved, but, it just wasn't connecting with me. However, it was seeing them live, in the middle of their playing Marathon where something just clicked! Something in the live performance, that was so close, yet importantly different, suddemlu made a connection to the music, and I got it. Has been one of my favorites ever since. Robert Plant was similarly someone I love and was exicted for both their new album, and had the good luck to win tickets to see him. Like Rush, the album just didn't connect with me. But worse, I had a hard time finding the artist I felt like I knew. And then, unlike Rush, the live show actually made it worse. Plant did not perform Zeippelin songs live at this point, wanting to distance himself from his past... and I am okay with that, and expected it. However, he constantly teased that he was about to play something from LZ, before ultimately going into something from the new album. Even if I was crazy about the new album, when you start off with the opening couple chords of Whole Lotta Love or choose you introduction to sound like you're about to play Kasmir or such, anything after that was going to be disappointing.
Power Windows marked a long period when Rush seemed about 9 months behind the musical zeitgeist and were always trying to catch up.
Between the "Synth Trilogy", Power Windows is the cuspid, the most solid made one, the new technology is in all three musicians, the songs are holding the album together, iconic baselines, "clinical" drum parts, even people always said that Alex was doing not much in those years, they're wrong, the songs a full of complex guitar riffs always busy in the background, there's not much solo part but rather showing off as kick ass guitar player, Alex is humble enough to put he's part and glue the whole album together. I got into Rush when I was already 25, at the time I was listening several Prog Rock-Metal bands, and I somehow found "the source" when I got into Rush, so I don't think the "teenage testosterone" theory is accurate.
I love Old Rottenhat. It's not the emotional masterpiece of Rock Bottom, but Gharbzadegi is a tour de force and it's one of the strongest political albums, handling the contradictions of cynicism and earnestness beautifully.
Love power windows. Never heard that Robert plant album. If you didn't live through that era of music (or were too young to be aware) I find the production kind of exciting and unique sounding rather than dated.
Great to see all the love for Power Windows in the comments, I loved its sound and I particularly loved "Territories"
Power Windows was always an interesting part of their catalog for me. They didn’t really cross my radar until MP and Signals, and it wasn’t until GUP that I was a fully committed fan and bought the album on release. This was also my first Rush tour. PW came out when they had become my favorite band and I had recently switched to buying new music on cds exclusively. This was one of those new cd era albums that seemed to take advantage of the technology and sounded “futuristic” to my teenage ears at the time. Listening to a pure recording on headphones was a bit mind blowing for me back then. This and Hounds of Love were in constant rotation that year. I have fond memories of the album, although AFTK-MP has always remained my favorite era. They played most of these songs on the PW tour and it was cool when they featured it heavily on the CA tour in 2012. It’s not in my top five, but I like all the songs and Alex’s solo on Big Money is one of my favorites.
Big Rush fan here. I don't dislike Power Windows at all, but it's certainly not in my favorites. Some really great songs on there, and I would love for them to be remixed-remastered. My favorite on there is probably Mystic Rhythms.
Interesting to hear the points on Power Windows. I love love love that album, even though that mega 80's style usually doesn't appeal to me.
How is it possible that Steven Wilson doesn't know that Tim Palmer engineered "Little by Little" which he hates the sound of? Didn't he hire him to engineer In Absentia for Porcupine Tree? By the way the greatest sounding of all Porcupine Tree record, and quite possibly their greatest record period. Richie Hayward's drumming and drum sound on that song is epic. maybe he should ask Gavin Harrison what he thinks about it :-)
Also I don't know in what planet, but in the one I live on, Shaken n Stirred was pretty well loved and played. I happen to think that the trilogy of Plant's first three albums is fantastic!.
Arcadia- So Red The Rose?
Great album, that also features Sting on the brilliant track The Promise
I absolute love Power Windows. It sounds expansive, open, impactful. There's a drive and energy in the music that's obviously added to by the synths and sequencers. I enjoy the broad soundpalette. It doesn't suffer at all from what you call 'the sound of the 80's'. I associate the 80's with cheesy dx7 presets, huge, gated snaredrums and kicks. All of these are NOT on Power Windows. The sound design is very deliberate and precise with a beautiful mix of analog and digital keyboards high quality effects processing. The nod to Trevor Horn's productions i don't mind at all. It still sounds fresh today. The only track i don't love is mystic rhythms.
Oh my, slagging (ever so slightly) Power Windows boo hiss !! Still love you guys anyways ...
If I'm not mistaken, Thursday Afternoon was also released as a VHS, not just compact disc and was just as much for the video installation (which very little occurs, but is quite sensual and captivating). Actually one of my favorite of Eno's ambient releases because of the video aspect. Cale & Nico's albums I've seen a million times but never listened to either. Will have to remedy. Rush's Power Windows is their first album I didn't like (outside of latter half of "Mystic Rhythms" ) and really didn't like the production at all. I should've looked at the chapters because I'm still staring at the top of the stack of CDs waiting for them to talk about Steve McQueen and they keep veering further away from it topically.
Power windows is a perfect album alongside Moving pictures imo
Sure, Power Windows isn't necessarily a total success production wise, but it was extremely successful as far as Rush challenging themselves and their fans. I believe they deserve credit for the enormous risk they took with their career during this period. They could have easily made 4 or 5 more copies of Moving Pictures or Signals and entered ACDC territory of rinse and repeat, but instead they took a massive Left Turn. Power Windows' change in direction polarized and divided the fans at the time. Most Rush fans I knew said "f* this crap" and went off to become Metallica or Maiden fans! The fans felt alienated, scorned, and even betrayed by "New Rush". I give the guys credit for trying something different. It was a similar direction change that alienated Steven's own fans when he made The Future Bites!
Power Windows was my favorite Rush album when I was 13.
Little by little is a great track on Shaken n Stirred
Ahhh, "Power Windows". I remember EXACTLY the time I first played it. I bought the cassette right when it came out just before I was scheduled to take the train home to New York from Boston on school break. I popped it in the ol' Walkman and played it several times through on that long train ride. By the time I got to New York I had assimilated the new songs and new sound into my musical brain. I liked the idea of a set of songs all based around a very loose theme and power seemed an apt theme for the mid 80's. I didn't feel like my favorite band let me down, although now I feel like they could have done without all the reverb. Much later, I had read Alex strongly argued against it but was ultimately voted down.
Journey Foreigner Boston!!! You couldn’t be more wrong on this one.
The musicianship of all 3 is otherworldly on Power Windows, intelligent, thought provoking lyrics.
The one track that is maybe a bit ott is Big Money. No, I take that back, big Money is awesome
You must listen again….and again…and again….
Another great episode! How many left for 1985?
Two, three or four (depending on the way they're edited).🙂
@@bowness1 I like the 80s chapters, those were my teens and I know a lot of more music in these than in the 70s or 60s.
On Power Windows, Rush is my favorite band but between this album and Hold Your Fire, I was preparing to leave them. Then they released A Show of Hands, the live document of the ASOH tour and the songs took on a whole new life. I loved them live so was able to appreciate the studio versions. They also did two much worse albums, imo, Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows. Not even live versions saved the songs I didn't like from those two records.
Also, the Power Windows tour was the first one I'd seen since the Permanent Waves tour and I was extremely disappointed that Geddy was triggering samples instead of actually playing the keyboard parts as he (and Alex) had been doing. I know that colored my opinion of the music they were making.
Steve needs to get hold of a copy of "Grace Under Pressure".
Power Windows has some wonderful tracks on it and tbh I agree to a point of your opinion on it my first listen and I hated all the synth but the more I have listened to it over the years the more I love Grand Designs, Territories and Middletown Dreams
Justice for Power Windows!
Rush is a fantastic power trio but have always struggled with finding the right producer. Except from Terry Brown.
Thus Steven, work to do and give Rush from the mid eighties onwards the proper sound!
Funny, Miles loved Sussudio; I was waiting for you to call that back when you were trashing YUA.
Loved Power Windows.
just landed here. i think this is very interesting discussion. but is it possible if you put a bit preview from one of the song from each album? at least just a few seconds
Agree with the comments on Power Windows...sounds rather dated now...unlike Signals which still is my favourite Rush album. And so true re one of those bands you fall into in your teens
Maybe not heard by the pair, but Afterburner by ZZ Top this year suffers badly. The years haven't been kind. Eliminator from 83 still sounds great.