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You won’t lose me. It’s weird how some people take offense when someone else, a completely different person, doesn’t feel exactly the way they do about their favorite band. Just as I stuck it out with Rush out of fascinated curiosity and the undeniable influence on my own playing with their notion of “Rush can be whatever we want it to be at any given time” and not beholden to any genre or expectations of fans, I’m gonna stick it out here with great interest and no judgment or hurt feelings, lol. I have my favorite versions of Rush, but I’ve also come to appreciate the stuff that didn’t really move me that much. I’ve never written anything as cool as the most despised Rush songs, that’s why I don’t judge them too harshly.
there are so many `reactors `out here that are a certain corporation`s shills for clicks (specifically marvel and dc) that they are cringe level,. at least you can flush them out. I`d rather hear an opinion every day, even if I 100% percent disagree.
Rush we're always regarded as a cult band anybody like myself grew with them and loved all or bits of their albums (mostly all) A Rush fan is forever a Rush fan it's not just the music it's those humble 3 guys that stuck together that people loved. Even now to see Alex and Geddy play Wembley at nearly 70 for Taylor Hawkins brought tears to my eyes. Rush fans are family and yes permanent waves and signals gets my heart pumpin even now at 58!!!
This is a great ride, Justin. We older Rush fans get to remember and live it all over again through your album-by-album reactions in the same order we lived it decades ago. "...to what I felt back then. I wish that I could live it all again."
I'm definitely sticking around. There's never any harm in getting additional perspective, and I've already learned a lot from you. Thanks for doing this!
I'm not taking any kind of break! Please keep doing these reviews and breakdowns. I really appreciate your humor and personality and time to listen and CRITICALLY explore these albums. Thank you!
Power windows holds a special place for me. The first time I seen Rush live was on that tour. And to this day, it is the best concert I’ve ever been to. Pink Floyd being a close second (MLOR). I’ve been to a lot of concerts until that point, but rush was just on another level. Firstly, I was blown away by how great it sounded and how they played nearly note for note. Nearly every band I seen before that was more freestyle, and the drummer never played note for note. But Neil did. Secondly, the show was spectacular. First band I seen that actually showed the music videos on a big screen behind them while playing it. They also had an amazing laser light show. Lasers were still fairly new back then. During Jacobs ladder the lasers shot over the audience (something they replicated for R40), during marathon they had lasers creating a running man on the screen. They had pyrotechnics. During red sector A, when Geddy sings “ shouting guards and smoking guns, BOOM, Cut down the unlucky ones. Amazing! The Synthesizers really fill the arena as well. As far as the album? one of my favorites! The base makes a big return on this album. The sound quality is top notch. A big improvement over GUP. Finally, I understand why 70s Rush fans may not like this era, but I also don’t understand it. They don’t like synth, but they like Xanadu for example. Again, I hope those 70s Rush fans stick with you to the end on this journey. They may discover some great songs that they missed out on.
Yes! But I have to admit that the LIVE version of this song in particular loses some of Alex's most screaming and emotional guitar work. The studio version was way more powerful IMHO. I listened to that song a lot yesterday (because of Justin's rxn video, haha), and the Live version of Between the Wheels felt flat, Alex-wise, and the studio version gave me chills and goosebumps, as usual.
The Grace under pressure tour is one that is rarely mentioned but I find that their playing on that tour was beyond belief !! You should definitely check it out and react to it. I think its great with the fear trilogy played back to back in order is amazing.
I will say this is not my favourite era of Rush but out if them Gup would be my favourite. There are gems on all of their albums and nope you won't lose me especially with your adorable four footed cohost that shows up now and again. LOL I have a few at the top of my favourite list by them but to rank them all in a list would be difficult as that list would be constantly changing.
I like that someone finally pointed out that all of their records have gems. Despite being somewhat low on my list of favorite Rush records, Presto, Roll the Bones and even Hold Your Fire have songs that are in my top 10 favorites. Mission is great live, but the best part, the solo at the end, fades out WAY too quickly!
@@squaaaaak3178 Yes! The solo does fade out too quickly on Mission! I felt the same way on The Wreckers too. Alex starts to shred, and it fades out too quickly! I wonder if they fade out the solos to say, "If you want to hear the rest, come to a live show!" haha Because both Mission and The Wreckers extend Alex's solos at the end.
GUP holds a special place for me as it was released in 84 while I was winding down my second enlistment in the Navy. I bought the cassette of it and played it in my car as I drove to and from work. As many of us were alive for most or all of the new release of each Rush album, we are with you, Justin, on your journey of discovery. I don't know how many of your viewers were around from 1974-2012 for each Rush record release, but I was from 75 on and enjoyed hearing the albums for the first time. AND I'M HERE!! "Only" 9 more studio albums to go!! 😉✌🎼🐈
It's interesting what you say, regarding repeat listening. Back in the day, we'd listened to the albums literally hundreds of times, before the next appeared. Perhaps, that's why older fans have such an affinity with FbN, CoS, 2112, AFtK, Hemispheres (or albums closer to their entry point) than younger fans. Just speculating.
VERY good point. Hearing the single played on the radio, lining up at the record store as early as possible on the album launch date, finding the new album (we didn't know what the cover was going to look like), plopping down our $20 at the cash register, tearing open the plastic covering, popping it into cassette/CD player, and listening to it 100 times. Then doing it all again about a year later. Good times.
@@AnthonyKellett Right! so I got into Rush during Moving Pictures. I bought MP and everything prior all at once on vinyl (to catch up haha). I bought Signals and GUP on launch days on vinyl, and then moved to cassette and CD going forward, listening to it in the car in the record store parking lot, because I just couldn't wait to get home to hear it. 😁
@@mikemurphymagic - I came in just after the release of AtWaS, so not much back catalogue to buy. AFtK was the first for which I had to queue, heard hot off the press and start to finish, with nothing previously witnessed. Happy days... and, coincidentally, that was in the Queen's Silver Jubilee year... and here we are, with her sad passing in the year of her Platinum Jubilee, 45 years later. Tempus Fugit, indeed. P. S. Hold Your Fire was my last vinyl Rush album.
You're doing fine, Justin. Don't worry about people walking away from the mid-to-late 80's Rush reactions. There is a ton of great music to come and some interesting developments, regardless of what keyboard choices they utilize. Keep going, at your pace! It's all good, dude!
Geddy said in the documentary, Power Windows was the peak album for his own vision of synth integration in Rush. First heard it, It was jarring even going from Grace to Power Windows. It's a thick album, but there is some really beautiful stuff on there. 'Mystic Rythms', 'Grand Designs', 'Middletown Dreams'. Not just sonically well done but songs that are fully fleshed out and really satisfying. The first track Big Money is a bit manic for my taste, but hey, it was still the 80's.
"Manic", maybe that's the word I've been looking for 35 years. I didn't get The Big Money. But I have to admit, The Big Money was much much better played LIVE.
Power Windows is Geddy's fav from all eras of Rush. Alex was finally satisfied that he had achieved being more cohesively integrated with the whole band.
A great recent interview with Geddy and Alex is done by George Strombodopoulos. It's titled House Of Strombo. I believe done in George's house here in Toronto. A real heartfelt and touching interview.
I thought side 1 would grow on you. It was such a striking change that it took some time to adjust. Power Windows is one of my least favorite albums but bad Rush is better than a lot of music out there. With every album that passes, and the background info you pick up, I want, more and more, for you to see Beyond the Lighted Stage. It's a great documentary. NOTE : if you don't want to spoil future album reviews, wait until you finish Vapor Trails to see it. Looking forward to further content. So Many Albums!!!! 😀
Very curious about what you will think about Power Windows! It is a very "shiny" sounding album with a lot of synths and sounds everywhere (some have accused them of over arrangement on this and the next album Hold Your Fire). It is not dark sounding like GUP, it's very sleek and bright sounding. I personally think Power Windows is the best of the synth era albums....with Hold Your Fire going to the limit and extreme with the "techno" rock sound. They would start to make a return to guitars after that, but Power Windows songwriting is very strong and Alex really starts to shape his jangly, clear sound on the record. Look forward to your thoughts!
Love your honest assessments! I always have a difficult time picking ONE favorite. Red Lenses and Between the Wheels are the top two for me. The others are 3a, 3b, etc, lol. Yes... dark record. Lots of cold war feel to it.
Yeoman’s work, Justin. Also, if I haven’t said it before, I actually love the fact that you’re not automatically blown away by everything the way some other reactors are. Favorite albums are SO subjective. For me, it’s always some arrangement of PW, MP and Signals.
Triumph is another great Canadian power trio you might like. Fight The Good Fight, or Lay It On The Line, especially live. They were big late 70s to mid eighties.
Geddy shreds the bass on Distant Early Warning. I love the entire album. I am glad you came around to appreciate some of the early songs on the album. I always feel like Rush grows on people the more they listen. So it makes sense that the 2nd half of albums are always the ones that you seem to like first. The first half warms you up. Power Windows is another great album can't wait!
1984: the year the best rock bassist (Geddy) and rock guitarist (EVH) were behind keyboards. Even the drummers in both bands got behind electronic drums. But new wave dies and rock goes hair band and Rush is then impacted by what I call the Sting effect by going jazz. And, yes, Geddy is popping...that started to be a thing at that time.
Power Windows came out my freshman year in college, and I remember that I was not immediately blown away. However, the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. Although I don't seem to listen to it as often as my favorite Rush albums (i.e. 2112 through Signals), I do think that it is an excellent album. I definitely think that it is a stronger all-around album than the following album (Hold Your Fire), and it still amazes me how well they pulled off the live versions of the songs that they did from this album during the Power Windows tour.
“Distant Early Warning” is another track that was improved sonically over the years and, in my opinion, needs to be heard live. Rush In Rio has a great performance of it.
Keep going! all the albums offer jams and amazing lyrics. I am glad your doing multiple listens to the albums because I personally hear and experience new sounds as the band evolved over time, album to album. Everyone else just missed it
Neil himself said that he wishes the pre-Permanent Waves material was basically forgotten and likened it to children's scribbles that stay up on the refrigerator forever (he's also said that he had the luxury of writing and self-publishing a half-dozen travel books that were just distributed to family and friends before he decided to publish one for real, so he managed to get the ill-advised experiments out of the way before the general public could see them). He viewed those albums as learning to be in a band and how far you could push instruments. The Permanent Waves through Roll the Bones period was about learning how to put things together into songs and I get the impression they felt Terry Brown (who was basically just an engineer who rescued the mix on the first album) wasn't really able to help them learn that (and neither was Henderson). Peter Collins (who had a much more pop background, e.g. Nik Kershaw) helped them there and so would Rupert Hine. After Roll the Bones, you kind of see the pre-Permanent Waves loud rock approach get fused with the songwriting craft (and I honestly think Counterparts onwards is the best run of Rush).
There's no way you can say an era that saw Test For Echo and Feedback was the best run of Rush. Sorry, not buying it. But I concede that Counterparts and their last two albums, especially Snakes and Arrows, were sublime. Vapor Trails was good, not great, but considering what happened to the band, it was a rousing return. For me, the band peaked with Signals, Power Windows, and Presto, and then it was an erratic decline. But I love everything they did, even their first 3 "training" albums (5, really). Heck, I even think Test For Echo and Feedback are mostly decent, despite them being among my least favorite things they did.
Power Windows is the musical successor to Signals. That's why I love it so much. The band went off exploring a more darker, heavier sound with Grace Under Pressure to follow up Signals, but then returned to their familiar, upbeat sound. I don't fault them for wanting to expand their musical horizons, but it just didn't work for me. I don't dislike Grace (it has two of their most important songs in The Enemy Within and The Body Electric), but it doesn’t rate very high with me (I put it outside of their top 10 albums, but not too far from cracking it). Although I admit, sometimes I'm in kind of a foul mood and listening to Grace seems to hit the spot. But that's rare. At length, I'm glad they made Grace, but also glad that it was kind of a one-off and unique in their catalog.
Great review!! I’m not gonna drop out on you! I did that in the 80’s! So I’ll be picking up with you on those ones I dropped out on in the 80’s! I enjoy the interviews and the live performances every now and then, keeps things fresh! No matter the album, RUSH only gets better live! Be well and God bless… from Texas!
I know you hinted that you didn't really dig Power Windows, but I'm still looking forward to your videos. Power Windows has some of my favorite Geddy bass lines. I'm only 26 and was able to experience Rush a little differently than other people. I discovered them completely out of order and have grown to like just about all of their stuff. Even my least favorite albums I still enjoy to some extent. Excited to continue watching this journey, even when you get to one's I'm not crazy about.
Power Windows ran over me like a bus. Pittsburgh Civic Arena, December 18, 1985, and first concert at 18 years old. If I just had a Delorean so I could go back...to 1985!
I really like your videos man. Your viewpoints are fresh an quite interesting. Facts: A young Dave Grohl decided to play drums after hearing Neil Peart and Rush. Taylor Hawkins was a huge Rush/Neil Peart fan. So what you point out about similarities in those 2 songs is completely possible, or not. Regarding Red Sector A, even though is clearly inspired in Geddy's parents experiences Neil has said the song is set in a dystopian/apocalyptic/ futuristic world or something like that. So, the heavy synthed music and electronic percussion matches the dark lyrics perfectly imho
Foo Fighters were huge Rush fans. You should watch the Rush introduction to the Hall of Fame with the Foo Fighters introducing them. That would be my request for you to do a reaction to.
Hemispheres is a frustrating record for me in that I think a masterpiece of composition is marred by the sort of "flat" production. Sort of like how an even greater masterpiece, Permanent Waves, is imo marred by the overly bright production.
Cool, I knew you would get a deeper appreciation of GUP after a couple of listens. Now on to Power Windows, which I’m sure you’ve heard by now. It has a bigger, fuller sound and Geddy’s bass playing is prominent on it. It’s a good album, but may also require a couple of listens to fully appreciate. I’m looking forward to your upcoming reactions on it.
Rush has several Master works, at least one from every era. 2112, A Farewell To Kings, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Power Windows, Counterparts, Vapor Trails and Clockwork Angels. That said, like Caress was to 2112, and Waves was to Moving Pictures, so too was Grace a needed stepping stone to Power Windows.
As they lost fans, they also gained others. They were still filling arenas at the height of their synth era. It’s how it goes. Most bands that survive for decades go through it. Especially if you’re purposely tweaking your sound. Not mention, when you compose that many songs, they can’t all be the best. Rock on. I’m sticking with you even if I don’t comment every day. Sometimes it’s good to listen.
I will be listening to everyone you do. I have listened to all of them hundreds of times and cant wait to see what you think. So far you like some I like and you like ones I don't. That's what makes there music so different I guess.
The band photo on the back was taking by Yousuf Karsh who is a VERY famous Canadian-Armenian photographer who's taken portraits for a LOT of very notable people. He's photographed Winston Churchill, Earnest Hemmingway, Eisenhower, George Bernard Shaw, Georgia O'Keeffe, Kruschev... and Geddy, Alex, and Neil. Rush like working with an external producer because they want someone who can tell them objectively that what they are doing is "good" or it's "bad". They know what THEY like and they apparently bring mostly done songs/demos to the studio. But they always want some outside guiding person to give them some idea of the quality of their work that is not "them".
Yes Peter Henderson only produced Grace Under Pressure and it’s evident. Starting with Power Windows Peter Collins produces for the next couple. I like GUP very much but for me it’s just under Signals. The 4 80’s keyboard era albums are all great. They’re not on the same level as Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures but that’s ok. They are very different. Of those 4 post Moving Pictures albums, Signals is my favorite followed by Power Windows and then GUP with Hold Your Fire last. Power Windows sort of takes the best of Signals and GUP. Great keyboards but not over the top, more bass, and great playing from Alex. And much better production. It also adds some great melodies, strings and choir.
Neil's "bleeding heart" side really comes out by Power Windows. Suggest you get your reading glasses on and have lyrics handy! He wrote some pretty potent lyrics between Power Windows and Counterparts.
It's like comparing apples to oranges, JP. It would probably be almost impossible for me to do a top ten, because so much of their music also has very special memories a different times, unlike just playing them back to back at in a controlled setting, (except for the cat dude, lol). So if you do decide to do something like that, it'd be an interesting and informative opinion, I'm sure.
"Very special memories at different times" exactly. Because we waited and anticipated for a year or more between each album, it was like the soundtrack of our lives, right? Grace Under Pressure, I blasted in my dorm room at college thinking we were going to be drafted to fight in Grenada haah. Hold Your Fire, I was living with my environmental activist friends haha. Perfect. Presto, I was ACTUALLY becoming a professional magician. etc etc. Soundtrack of our lives.
I haven't gone to listen to The Body Electric & Learning To Fly together but being huge fans of Rush perhaps Dave was subconsciously influenced when writing the FF song.
This is an interesting opportunity to revisit records that were hugely formative in my youth, and at the time I was just grateful that a band like Rush even existed so I wasn't able to really see the forest through the trees as it were I came into the band when a friend shared 2112 with me, and went and bought all the world's a stage cuz it had the most material on it for the price, and then my next Rush album was signals which was the current release at the time and of course I'm looking at the band photo thinking who the fuck are these guys? But it won me over because it was just flat out good Grace Under Pressure was my first Rush show I think I was 13 and it was mind blowing of course. Sadly, I don't have a great deal of memories of the opening act which was Gary Moore... just a brilliant brilliant guitar player and I wish that I had retained more of what he did that night but I guess I am grateful that I technically did get a chance to see him live. I remember the audience was very receptive to him and you cannot always say that with a rush crowd. I've seen some opening acts get destroyed because they're just waiting for rush. Anyway it is interesting especially to note the fluidity of life and how quickly he was able to find a new place for himself amidst all the technology, and his solos did become very ethereal and Spacey but at its core there is still a 70s hard rock guitar player in there just one who is trying to move with the times and his bandmates as best he could.
Great summary, Justin. Glad you took the time to listen a few more times. Appreciate your honest opinion. Power Windows is heavy on the keyboards. Some good moments but not one of my favorite albums. Lyrics still great though. Take care!
I've noticed that even those fans who hate the synth era have a soft spot for this album. I think part of that is because the backbone of the sound is still classic Rush, and also because despite the dark, cold surface of the production, these songs are delivered with a kind of urgency and emotion that makes them very uplifting and endearing.
I always found it interesting how so many Rush fans just outright abandoned them after a certain period ended (e.g. many pretty much gave up on them after Signals). I definitely have my favorite albums and favorite periods, but I always appreciated their drive to move forward and try new things, and they came out with some fantastic stuff because of that drive. OTOH, I do understand that reaction. I guess I'd compare it to my reaction to U2--frankly, I pretty much hate everything U2 ever did after Rattle and Hum (which almost doesn't count, so maybe The Joshua Tree was really the last album for me), but I know that a *lot* of U2 fans would disagree with me. One huge plus for Rush trying new things is that they didn't "cheapen" the music of so many people's favorite period (i.e A Farewell to Kings through Moving Pictures) by making 10 more albums that were variations on that. Imagine if Beethoven has just kept composing variations on his first 2 or 3 symphonies instead of ushering in the Romantic era of music, or if the Beatles had just kept writing variations of their early hits (I mean, how many variations on "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" would you really want?)
it depend the taste of every ones,keep going, to me middletown dreams is one of my fav, so deep,checkout on the clockwork angels dvd, a masterpiece,there where always good songs on a rush album,d;ont worry,l.o.l😉
Looking forward to Power Window. Definitely some sonic arm wrestling in spot. Cool sync motifs add color in the right places. More of the power trio comes thru on this one. A great collection of song and an awesome tour. And speaking of tours, if you were 16 years old and seeing Rush for the first time, Hemipsheres would be high on your list. LOL. Naturally. Grace Under Pressure a favorite? They must've been 16 and seeing Rush for the first time, eh? It's all good in the Rush music lab.
Interesting. I found Grace Under Pressure to be better than Signals. Not a lot, but little more self-assured and engaging. The standout song to me is Red Sector A, mainly because I think Alex is more inspired on that song than any other one. The song really is his, and he paints a picture of despair with his guitar that's so rich it doesn't even need lyrics. Even my late partner who was into classical music would tell me he liked that song because the guitars were so compelling. It'll be interesting to hear you listen to Power Windows. A couple of my favorite songs came from that album. Oh, and I love the cat cameos!
They are progressive rock. They progress and their explorations are what make them so interesting for people who bother to actually play instruments these days.
I just don't think there was a band in the world that decided to play, what I would like to call "progressive new wave". The basis structure is pop songs with excellent intriguing solo sections. The fact the bass drops out, and then rejoins the music is just a VERY curious concept in and of itself. The _melodic_ content these guys were pumping around this time was incredible, and Power Windows just takes this formula to the next level with intense cinematic production.
The next 4 albums are going to be a rough ride for you I believe. Power Windows and Hold Your Fire are very synth heavy and Presto and Roll the Bones are overproduced but slight sounding at the same time. I love every album but outside of Power Windows the other three are towards the bottom of my personal album rankings.
Some of the songs on Presto and roll the bones and even hold your fire are up there with their finest work. I think that's separate from the production/engineering. There are live versions that sound amazing. And the more mature songwriting by Neil is very welcome.
I would sadly agree. I think Rush peaked with PW. HYF was decent but lacked intensity, it certainly felt like they were burning out at this point. Presto and The Roll Bones... I just don't know how a band could make such a dumb choice in production,.. You have Steve Albini on the scene. Rock had been beefing up and Rush missed the boat entirely.
@@rumourhats Agree. PW is Rush at the top of their game. They fell into a bit of a rut afterwards with things picking up again on Roll the Bones, but the production did not suit them at all.
Here is the time where for the next 4 to 5 albums you could probably take 1 to 3 songs of each album and create it's own album out of them and that single album would be replay able. Other than that (my opinion) it gets boring quick. BUT, you still have to go through them to really appreciate the light at the end of these next few albums :) I will probably have more fun watching your reviews that I did listening to most of these next 40 or songs.
I know a lot of people really like this album. I prefer Power Windows to this one. The fact that this is the favorite album for some people shows how diverse Rush music is and of course how diverse fans are. Looking forward to Power Windows. Let's hope the audio improves on the reaction videos.
I get the Body Electric / Learn to Fly comparison. Dave Grohl is one of the biggest celebrity Rush fans and he and Taylor Hawkins (RIP) inducted Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I saw Foo Fighters in 2001 and they played part of Cygnus X-1 Book 1, to the great confusion of most of the audience. Don't do a top 10 if you aren't feeling it. It honestly would depend on the day because Rush has so many different sounds that hit differently at different times in your life. There's a song on Hold Your Fire, "Time Stand Still", that was meaningless to me at 17 and made me cry at 35. Power Windows is IMO Rush's artistic and playing peak, but there's plenty of great stuff all the way out to Clockwork Angels in 2012.
For me, the problem with doing a Rush top 10 is that it always changes...maybe not so much the 10 but switching places within the list...also, Rush is a better band in the 80s than it was in the 70s. People can like the 70s sound better, but if they are so against the 80s era of Rush that they refuse to listen, well, they aren't really big fans of the band
Rush spread their music out over 40 years and made me wait to listen to all their music. Justin is getting to listen to all their stuff in a fraction of the time. I wonder what impact that has. I can name so many bands who, once they settled on band personnel, made a handful of really good albums then just ran out of gas, ran out of creativity, ran out of inspiration. Led Zep, Genesis, Yes, Styx, Kansas, on and on and on. Not a knock on them because they made some great music. But rather a nod to Rush who were never afraid to change and experiment to keep their material fresh and interesting while NOT caving in to those who wanted to hear radio songs. And before anyone tells me Rush went commercial in the 80s, they need to explain why to this day their five biggest radio songs came in 1982 and prior. If they went commercial, they failed at it because they never got a lot of radio play.
In my humble opinion, they don't sound as dark as this again until they start sounding like Rush to me again. Counter Parts seemed to quench a thirst for me when it came out.
Also, they claim to be enamored of their complexity, but refuse to be challenged, and stretch their brains and try to understand something different. I had that experience with classical music. Once I gave it a serious chance, listening on actual high end sound devices, and in person at a symphony hall, with program information and background on the composers and musicians, I realized how many incredible experiences I had been missing out on.
Big Money, Manhattan Project, Marathon , Territories, and Mystic Rhyhms are smokin tunes. I think you only lost a few just for three quarters of Grace Under Pressure. They will be back for most of Power Windows.
It's interesting that your least favorite songs are either fan favorites or songs they pushed as singles/concert staples. Such a contrarian!😆 But I concur -- GUP is not a bad album, but Signals is better (get ready for that opinion to be repeated.) Power Windows has a bigger production overall, although whether you think the songwriting is up to par will be interesting to see. It's not as dark, thank goodness.
All Rush records are good. Some are great, some are lukewarm with a few great songs. But I’d rather listen to the worst Rush album then 90% of the garbage thats coming out today calling itself music. Now I’m going to say something that won’t be popular and this coming from someone whose favorite era of Rush is the first album though Moving Pictures. Hold Your Fire is the most consistent in the song writing and is a great album. Not my favorite, but the songs are all good, even Thai Shan, the one that even the guys in Rush say was a mistake. As songs they are all well crafted singable songs with hooks. But the hate is great for that one. It is where they maxed out on the synths and started to scale back a little each album until they were basically gone. The Power Windows tour in Portland Oregon was the only one i was able to go to and it was great. I didn’t have the album yet and hadn’t heard any of the songs yet. It was a great concert and a great album. The Fabulous Thunderbirds opened for them. I think I was the only one in the crowd who knew who they were. Nobody paid much attention to them when they were playing, but Rush crowds are polite and would clap after each song and then go back to talking while they were playing. They didn’t even turn the house lights down while they were playing. I think they were a pick up opener as they were headlining clubs in Portland and Eugene Oregon the day before and after the Rush date. Weird pairing of bands. I enjoyed it though.
I think there is too much being made of a divide amongst Rush fans in the period between Grace Under Pressure and Vapor Trails. I suspect folks like myself were still buying the synth heavy stuff but not wearing it out like a copy of Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures. I think we may have listened less at that time but we also grew to appreciate that music through live albums and the concert footage. The divide isn't really measurable now, especially with Neil's passing.
Power Windows .... great album ..... I personally think it is several notches above Grace Under Pressure. With the exception of Red Sector A, GUP felt to me like a forced attempt at radio friendly pop which lacked sincerity. Considering that I think there are three stellar songs on that album, my words may be overly harsh.
Lets be honest, Rush is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, but their 80s period (like most bands) were not great. Im not sure if you’re planning on reacting to their entire discography, but it doesn’t get good again until Counterparts(1993), and doesn’t get truly great again until their last 2 albums. That being said, their final album is a total masterpiece.
I’ve been listening to Rush for over 40 years & I have a hard time ranking the albums. Easier to rank groups of albums. The next two records are the most synthy, and then things start changing again with Presto.
@@JustinPanariello There are some records coming up that have imo some of their best work, only marred by the production or engineering, which can be ameliorated with good stereo equipment, EQ adjustments, or listening to live versions.
Judging on lyrics and composition alone, my ranking would be very different. Unfortunately, production decisions made some truly great work less appreciated than it deserved to be.
Power Windows is my least favorite Rush album. The keys are just too overbearing for me. But I still really like about 3-4 songs. I'm here for your entire Rush journey though. These videos start my mornings!
The sound on the next 3 is still bright, but not atmospheric and glissening like this album was. And then the 90s start to take effect on Roll the Bones. I’m in the minority I guess for liking Power Windows the least, and Hold your Fire the best, with Presto in the middle.
@@mikemurphymagic Thanx! Do you feel (as I do) that Hold Your Fire is actually the much improved result by simply following the artistic aim of Power Windows even farther/better? To me, Power Windows is clearly just the first attempt at what Hold Your Fire achieved…
@@robshaw2639 Hmmm. That never occurred to me. I think they're different enough, and it seems like more people like Power Windows. So, I'm not sure I feel the same way. I just think Hold Your Fire was the perfect soundtrack to my life at the time it was released that I liked it. Having said that, I didn't really either opener (Force 10 nor The Big Money hahah)
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You won’t lose me. It’s weird how some people take offense when someone else, a completely different person, doesn’t feel exactly the way they do about their favorite band. Just as I stuck it out with Rush out of fascinated curiosity and the undeniable influence on my own playing with their notion of “Rush can be whatever we want it to be at any given time” and not beholden to any genre or expectations of fans, I’m gonna stick it out here with great interest and no judgment or hurt feelings, lol. I have my favorite versions of Rush, but I’ve also come to appreciate the stuff that didn’t really move me that much. I’ve never written anything as cool as the most despised Rush songs, that’s why I don’t judge them too harshly.
there are so many `reactors `out here that are a certain corporation`s shills for clicks (specifically marvel and dc) that they are cringe level,. at least you can flush them out. I`d rather hear an opinion every day, even if I 100% percent disagree.
Well said, I feel exactly the same.
Rush we're always regarded as a cult band anybody like myself grew with them and loved all or bits of their albums (mostly all) A Rush fan is forever a Rush fan it's not just the music it's those humble 3 guys that stuck together that people loved. Even now to see Alex and Geddy play Wembley at nearly 70 for Taylor Hawkins brought tears to my eyes. Rush fans are family and yes permanent waves and signals gets my heart pumpin even now at 58!!!
Thanks!
🙏🙏 Thanks RP!
This is a great ride, Justin. We older Rush fans get to remember and live it all over again through your album-by-album reactions in the same order we lived it decades ago. "...to what I felt back then. I wish that I could live it all again."
🙏🙏 Thanks Mike!!
I enjoyed their evolution over the years. My favorites are spread out. Caress, Permanent, Moving, Signals, Grace, Counterparts, Clockwork.
I'm definitely sticking around. There's never any harm in getting additional perspective, and I've already learned a lot from you.
Thanks for doing this!
You should react to the grace under pressure live in Toronto.
I'm not taking any kind of break!
Please keep doing these reviews and breakdowns.
I really appreciate your humor and personality and time to listen and CRITICALLY explore these albums.
Thank you!
Power windows holds a special place for me. The first time I seen Rush live was on that tour. And to this day, it is the best concert I’ve ever been to. Pink Floyd being a close second (MLOR). I’ve been to a lot of concerts until that point, but rush was just on another level. Firstly, I was blown away by how great it sounded and how they played nearly note for note. Nearly every band I seen before that was more freestyle, and the drummer never played note for note. But Neil did. Secondly, the show was spectacular. First band I seen that actually showed the music videos on a big screen behind them while playing it. They also had an amazing laser light show. Lasers were still fairly new back then. During Jacobs ladder the lasers shot over the audience (something they replicated for R40), during marathon they had lasers creating a running man on the screen. They had pyrotechnics. During red sector A, when Geddy sings “ shouting guards and smoking guns, BOOM, Cut down the unlucky ones. Amazing! The Synthesizers really fill the arena as well. As far as the album? one of my favorites! The base makes a big return on this album. The sound quality is top notch. A big improvement over GUP. Finally, I understand why 70s Rush fans may not like this era, but I also don’t understand it. They don’t like synth, but they like Xanadu for example. Again, I hope those 70s Rush fans stick with you to the end on this journey. They may discover some great songs that they missed out on.
I fell in love with BTW when they played it on the r30 tour. I highly recommend watching this live!
Yes! But I have to admit that the LIVE version of this song in particular loses some of Alex's most screaming and emotional guitar work. The studio version was way more powerful IMHO. I listened to that song a lot yesterday (because of Justin's rxn video, haha), and the Live version of Between the Wheels felt flat, Alex-wise, and the studio version gave me chills and goosebumps, as usual.
On the Grace under pressure tour they played "fear" in its entirety.
The Grace under pressure tour is one that is rarely mentioned but I find that their playing on that tour was beyond belief !! You should definitely check it out and react to it. I think its great with the fear trilogy played back to back in order is amazing.
I will say this is not my favourite era of Rush but out if them Gup would be my favourite. There are gems on all of their albums and nope you won't lose me especially with your adorable four footed cohost that shows up now and again. LOL I have a few at the top of my favourite list by them but to rank them all in a list would be difficult as that list would be constantly changing.
I like that someone finally pointed out that all of their records have gems. Despite being somewhat low on my list of favorite Rush records, Presto, Roll the Bones and even Hold Your Fire have songs that are in my top 10 favorites. Mission is great live, but the best part, the solo at the end, fades out WAY too quickly!
@@squaaaaak3178 Yes! The solo does fade out too quickly on Mission! I felt the same way on The Wreckers too. Alex starts to shred, and it fades out too quickly! I wonder if they fade out the solos to say, "If you want to hear the rest, come to a live show!" haha Because both Mission and The Wreckers extend Alex's solos at the end.
GUP holds a special place for me as it was released in 84 while I was winding down my second enlistment in the Navy. I bought the cassette of it and played it in my car as I drove to and from work.
As many of us were alive for most or all of the new release of each Rush album, we are with you, Justin, on your journey of discovery. I don't know how many of your viewers were around from 1974-2012 for each Rush record release, but I was from 75 on and enjoyed hearing the albums for the first time.
AND I'M HERE!! "Only" 9 more studio albums to go!! 😉✌🎼🐈
It's interesting what you say, regarding repeat listening. Back in the day, we'd listened to the albums literally hundreds of times, before the next appeared. Perhaps, that's why older fans have such an affinity with FbN, CoS, 2112, AFtK, Hemispheres (or albums closer to their entry point) than younger fans. Just speculating.
VERY good point. Hearing the single played on the radio, lining up at the record store as early as possible on the album launch date, finding the new album (we didn't know what the cover was going to look like), plopping down our $20 at the cash register, tearing open the plastic covering, popping it into cassette/CD player, and listening to it 100 times. Then doing it all again about a year later. Good times.
@@mikemurphymagic - Absolutely spot on...except we got vinyl 😊 We'd never heard of a CD, in my day! 😊
@@AnthonyKellett Right! so I got into Rush during Moving Pictures. I bought MP and everything prior all at once on vinyl (to catch up haha). I bought Signals and GUP on launch days on vinyl, and then moved to cassette and CD going forward, listening to it in the car in the record store parking lot, because I just couldn't wait to get home to hear it. 😁
@@mikemurphymagic - I came in just after the release of AtWaS, so not much back catalogue to buy. AFtK was the first for which I had to queue, heard hot off the press and start to finish, with nothing previously witnessed. Happy days... and, coincidentally, that was in the Queen's Silver Jubilee year... and here we are, with her sad passing in the year of her Platinum Jubilee, 45 years later. Tempus Fugit, indeed.
P. S. Hold Your Fire was my last vinyl Rush album.
You're doing fine, Justin. Don't worry about people walking away from the mid-to-late 80's Rush reactions. There is a ton of great music to come and some interesting developments, regardless of what keyboard choices they utilize. Keep going, at your pace! It's all good, dude!
I love Power Windows. Mystic Rhythms and Middletown Dreams are personal favorites.
Geddy said in the documentary, Power Windows was the peak album for his own vision of synth integration in Rush. First heard it, It was jarring even going from Grace to Power Windows. It's a thick album, but there is some really beautiful stuff on there. 'Mystic Rythms', 'Grand Designs', 'Middletown Dreams'. Not just sonically well done but songs that are fully fleshed out and really satisfying. The first track Big Money is a bit manic for my taste, but hey, it was still the 80's.
"Manic", maybe that's the word I've been looking for 35 years. I didn't get The Big Money. But I have to admit, The Big Money was much much better played LIVE.
I found it a bit disappointing when it came out but leant to appreciate it more later
Power Windows is Geddy's fav from all eras of Rush. Alex was finally satisfied that he had achieved being more cohesively integrated with the whole band.
A great recent interview with Geddy and Alex is done by George Strombodopoulos. It's titled House Of Strombo. I believe done in George's house here in Toronto. A real heartfelt and touching interview.
I thought side 1 would grow on you. It was such a striking change that it took some time to adjust. Power Windows is one of my least favorite albums but bad Rush is better than a lot of music out there.
With every album that passes, and the background info you pick up, I want, more and more, for you to see Beyond the Lighted Stage. It's a great documentary. NOTE : if you don't want to spoil future album reviews, wait until you finish Vapor Trails to see it.
Looking forward to further content. So Many Albums!!!! 😀
Signals was released 40 years ago today!
Very curious about what you will think about Power Windows! It is a very "shiny" sounding album with a lot of synths and sounds everywhere (some have accused them of over arrangement on this and the next album Hold Your Fire). It is not dark sounding like GUP, it's very sleek and bright sounding. I personally think Power Windows is the best of the synth era albums....with Hold Your Fire going to the limit and extreme with the "techno" rock sound. They would start to make a return to guitars after that, but Power Windows songwriting is very strong and Alex really starts to shape his jangly, clear sound on the record. Look forward to your thoughts!
Love your honest assessments! I always have a difficult time picking ONE favorite. Red Lenses and Between the Wheels are the top two for me. The others are 3a, 3b, etc, lol.
Yes... dark record. Lots of cold war feel to it.
Yeoman’s work, Justin. Also, if I haven’t said it before, I actually love the fact that you’re not automatically blown away by everything the way some other reactors are. Favorite albums are SO subjective. For me, it’s always some arrangement of PW, MP and Signals.
PW meaning Permanent Waves, not Power Windows. But that’s a good one, too.
Triumph is another great Canadian power trio you might like. Fight The Good Fight, or Lay It On The Line, especially live. They were big late 70s to mid eighties.
Won't lose me here. These next two albums are my favorites. (I'm a child of the 80's...) They're the ones I have on repeat most often.
Geddy shreds the bass on Distant Early Warning. I love the entire album. I am glad you came around to appreciate some of the early songs on the album.
I always feel like Rush grows on people the more they listen. So it makes sense that the 2nd half of albums are always the ones that you seem to like first. The first half warms you up. Power Windows is another great album can't wait!
The Rush legacy has many era's, and the Rush family has diverse list of top 10s throughout, however, at the end of the day, were ALL family. 🤘
1984: the year the best rock bassist (Geddy) and rock guitarist (EVH) were behind keyboards. Even the drummers in both bands got behind electronic drums. But new wave dies and rock goes hair band and Rush is then impacted by what I call the Sting effect by going jazz. And, yes, Geddy is popping...that started to be a thing at that time.
Signals is a seminal album and GUP is very good.
The Analog Kid is in my top 5 favorite Rush songs.
I ordered you a DVD. Couldn't figure out how to directly send it to you so as soon as I receive it I will send it to you.
🙏
80s Rush tended to need more time to grow on me, but has become some of my favourites. Power Windows especially is up there for me.
Power Windows came out my freshman year in college, and I remember that I was not immediately blown away. However, the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. Although I don't seem to listen to it as often as my favorite Rush albums (i.e. 2112 through Signals), I do think that it is an excellent album. I definitely think that it is a stronger all-around album than the following album (Hold Your Fire), and it still amazes me how well they pulled off the live versions of the songs that they did from this album during the Power Windows tour.
“Distant Early Warning” is another track that was improved sonically over the years and, in my opinion, needs to be heard live. Rush In Rio has a great performance of it.
Keep going! all the albums offer jams and amazing lyrics. I am glad your doing multiple listens to the albums because I personally hear and experience new sounds as the band evolved over time, album to album. Everyone else just missed it
Neil himself said that he wishes the pre-Permanent Waves material was basically forgotten and likened it to children's scribbles that stay up on the refrigerator forever (he's also said that he had the luxury of writing and self-publishing a half-dozen travel books that were just distributed to family and friends before he decided to publish one for real, so he managed to get the ill-advised experiments out of the way before the general public could see them). He viewed those albums as learning to be in a band and how far you could push instruments. The Permanent Waves through Roll the Bones period was about learning how to put things together into songs and I get the impression they felt Terry Brown (who was basically just an engineer who rescued the mix on the first album) wasn't really able to help them learn that (and neither was Henderson). Peter Collins (who had a much more pop background, e.g. Nik Kershaw) helped them there and so would Rupert Hine. After Roll the Bones, you kind of see the pre-Permanent Waves loud rock approach get fused with the songwriting craft (and I honestly think Counterparts onwards is the best run of Rush).
There's no way you can say an era that saw Test For Echo and Feedback was the best run of Rush. Sorry, not buying it. But I concede that Counterparts and their last two albums, especially Snakes and Arrows, were sublime. Vapor Trails was good, not great, but considering what happened to the band, it was a rousing return. For me, the band peaked with Signals, Power Windows, and Presto, and then it was an erratic decline. But I love everything they did, even their first 3 "training" albums (5, really). Heck, I even think Test For Echo and Feedback are mostly decent, despite them being among my least favorite things they did.
Power Windows is the musical successor to Signals. That's why I love it so much. The band went off exploring a more darker, heavier sound with Grace Under Pressure to follow up Signals, but then returned to their familiar, upbeat sound. I don't fault them for wanting to expand their musical horizons, but it just didn't work for me. I don't dislike Grace (it has two of their most important songs in The Enemy Within and The Body Electric), but it doesn’t rate very high with me (I put it outside of their top 10 albums, but not too far from cracking it). Although I admit, sometimes I'm in kind of a foul mood and listening to Grace seems to hit the spot. But that's rare. At length, I'm glad they made Grace, but also glad that it was kind of a one-off and unique in their catalog.
Looking forward to hearing your reaction to Geddy's bass tone on Power Windows. It's his first album with the Wal bass.
Really Thanks. Also Geddy voice needed to cut threw the low end. your getting it.
Great review!! I’m not gonna drop out on you! I did that in the 80’s! So I’ll be picking up with you on those ones I dropped out on in the 80’s! I enjoy the interviews and the live performances every now and then, keeps things fresh! No matter the album, RUSH only gets better live! Be well and God bless… from Texas!
I know you hinted that you didn't really dig Power Windows, but I'm still looking forward to your videos. Power Windows has some of my favorite Geddy bass lines. I'm only 26 and was able to experience Rush a little differently than other people. I discovered them completely out of order and have grown to like just about all of their stuff. Even my least favorite albums I still enjoy to some extent. Excited to continue watching this journey, even when you get to one's I'm not crazy about.
Power Windows ran over me like a bus. Pittsburgh Civic Arena, December 18, 1985, and first concert at 18 years old. If I just had a Delorean so I could go back...to 1985!
I really like your videos man. Your viewpoints are fresh an quite interesting. Facts: A young Dave Grohl decided to play drums after hearing Neil Peart and Rush. Taylor Hawkins was a huge Rush/Neil Peart fan. So what you point out about similarities in those 2 songs is completely possible, or not. Regarding Red Sector A, even though is clearly inspired in Geddy's parents experiences Neil has said the song is set in a dystopian/apocalyptic/ futuristic world or something like that. So, the heavy synthed music and electronic percussion matches the dark lyrics perfectly imho
In my top 3 Rush albums 💪💪
Great to see you appreciate p/g!. Looking forward to Power Windows.
Foo Fighters were huge Rush fans. You should watch the Rush introduction to the Hall of Fame with the Foo Fighters introducing them. That would be my request for you to do a reaction to.
Take your time on the top ten thing. It took 30 years for Hemispheres to replace AFTK as my fave.
Hemispheres is a frustrating record for me in that I think a masterpiece of composition is marred by the sort of "flat" production. Sort of like how an even greater masterpiece, Permanent Waves, is imo marred by the overly bright production.
I like power windows more than Grace under pressure, feels more like a Summer album, much like Van Halen 2 and Led Zeppelin houses of the holy
Cool, I knew you would get a deeper appreciation of GUP after a couple of listens. Now on to Power Windows, which I’m sure you’ve heard by now. It has a bigger, fuller sound and Geddy’s bass playing is prominent on it. It’s a good album, but may also require a couple of listens to fully appreciate. I’m looking forward to your upcoming reactions on it.
Ranking the first 10 albums from least to most favorite can be hard; so let me help you. Coming in at #10: Rush 1974. Ok, 9 more to go. You got this!
Rush has several Master works, at least one from every era. 2112, A Farewell To Kings, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Power Windows, Counterparts, Vapor Trails and Clockwork Angels. That said, like Caress was to 2112, and Waves was to Moving Pictures, so too was Grace a needed stepping stone to Power Windows.
As they lost fans, they also gained others. They were still filling arenas at the height of their synth era. It’s how it goes. Most bands that survive for decades go through it. Especially if you’re purposely tweaking your sound. Not mention, when you compose that many songs, they can’t all be the best.
Rock on. I’m sticking with you even if I don’t comment every day. Sometimes it’s good to listen.
You remind me to listen to Grace more often. Its eclipsed for me by the superp songs on Power Windows...but its still Rush after all 👍
Awesome review.
Long winter nights we play cards and listen to different CDs and agree the longer you listen to it the more enjoy the different songs
I will be listening to everyone you do. I have listened to all of them hundreds of times and cant wait to see what you think. So far you like some I like and you like ones I don't. That's what makes there music so different I guess.
The band photo on the back was taking by Yousuf Karsh who is a VERY famous Canadian-Armenian photographer who's taken portraits for a LOT of very notable people. He's photographed Winston Churchill, Earnest Hemmingway, Eisenhower, George Bernard Shaw, Georgia O'Keeffe, Kruschev... and Geddy, Alex, and Neil.
Rush like working with an external producer because they want someone who can tell them objectively that what they are doing is "good" or it's "bad". They know what THEY like and they apparently bring mostly done songs/demos to the studio. But they always want some outside guiding person to give them some idea of the quality of their work that is not "them".
Yes Peter Henderson only produced Grace Under Pressure and it’s evident. Starting with Power Windows Peter Collins produces for the next couple. I like GUP very much but for me it’s just under Signals. The 4 80’s keyboard era albums are all great. They’re not on the same level as Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures but that’s ok. They are very different. Of those 4 post Moving Pictures albums, Signals is my favorite followed by Power Windows and then GUP with Hold Your Fire last. Power Windows sort of takes the best of Signals and GUP. Great keyboards but not over the top, more bass, and great playing from Alex. And much better production. It also adds some great melodies, strings and choir.
Neil's "bleeding heart" side really comes out by Power Windows. Suggest you get your reading glasses on and have lyrics handy! He wrote some pretty potent lyrics between Power Windows and Counterparts.
It's like comparing apples to oranges, JP. It would probably be almost impossible for me to do a top ten, because so much of their music also has very special memories a different times, unlike just playing them back to back at in a controlled setting, (except for the cat dude, lol). So if you do decide to do something like that, it'd be an interesting and informative opinion, I'm sure.
"Very special memories at different times" exactly. Because we waited and anticipated for a year or more between each album, it was like the soundtrack of our lives, right? Grace Under Pressure, I blasted in my dorm room at college thinking we were going to be drafted to fight in Grenada haah. Hold Your Fire, I was living with my environmental activist friends haha. Perfect. Presto, I was ACTUALLY becoming a professional magician. etc etc. Soundtrack of our lives.
I haven't gone to listen to The Body Electric & Learning To Fly together but being huge fans of Rush perhaps Dave was subconsciously influenced when writing the FF song.
This is an interesting opportunity to revisit records that were hugely formative in my youth, and at the time I was just grateful that a band like Rush even existed so I wasn't able to really see the forest through the trees as it were I came into the band when a friend shared 2112 with me, and went and bought all the world's a stage cuz it had the most material on it for the price, and then my next Rush album was signals which was the current release at the time and of course I'm looking at the band photo thinking who the fuck are these guys? But it won me over because it was just flat out good Grace Under Pressure was my first Rush show I think I was 13 and it was mind blowing of course. Sadly, I don't have a great deal of memories of the opening act which was Gary Moore... just a brilliant brilliant guitar player and I wish that I had retained more of what he did that night but I guess I am grateful that I technically did get a chance to see him live. I remember the audience was very receptive to him and you cannot always say that with a rush crowd. I've seen some opening acts get destroyed because they're just waiting for rush. Anyway it is interesting especially to note the fluidity of life and how quickly he was able to find a new place for himself amidst all the technology, and his solos did become very ethereal and Spacey but at its core there is still a 70s hard rock guitar player in there just one who is trying to move with the times and his bandmates as best he could.
Great summary, Justin. Glad you took the time to listen a few more times. Appreciate your honest opinion. Power Windows is heavy on the keyboards. Some good moments but not one of my favorite albums. Lyrics still great though. Take care!
Coming up on Power Windows.
Knock knock.
Come in.
Gated reverb, walks in to the room.
Drums are really gonna light up!
I've noticed that even those fans who hate the synth era have a soft spot for this album. I think part of that is because the backbone of the sound is still classic Rush, and also because despite the dark, cold surface of the production, these songs are delivered with a kind of urgency and emotion that makes them very uplifting and endearing.
power windows very under rated album some great tracks!
I always found it interesting how so many Rush fans just outright abandoned them after a certain period ended (e.g. many pretty much gave up on them after Signals). I definitely have my favorite albums and favorite periods, but I always appreciated their drive to move forward and try new things, and they came out with some fantastic stuff because of that drive. OTOH, I do understand that reaction. I guess I'd compare it to my reaction to U2--frankly, I pretty much hate everything U2 ever did after Rattle and Hum (which almost doesn't count, so maybe The Joshua Tree was really the last album for me), but I know that a *lot* of U2 fans would disagree with me. One huge plus for Rush trying new things is that they didn't "cheapen" the music of so many people's favorite period (i.e A Farewell to Kings through Moving Pictures) by making 10 more albums that were variations on that. Imagine if Beethoven has just kept composing variations on his first 2 or 3 symphonies instead of ushering in the Romantic era of music, or if the Beatles had just kept writing variations of their early hits (I mean, how many variations on "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" would you really want?)
You won't lose me here or further along. Their whole catalog is worth a listen even if I don't like the later stuff as much as the earlier.
it depend the taste of every ones,keep going, to me middletown dreams is one of my fav, so deep,checkout on the clockwork angels dvd, a masterpiece,there where always good songs on a rush album,d;ont worry,l.o.l😉
Looking forward to Power Window. Definitely some sonic arm wrestling in spot. Cool sync motifs add color in the right places. More of the power trio comes thru on this one. A great collection of song and an awesome tour. And speaking of tours, if you were 16 years old and seeing Rush for the first time, Hemipsheres would be high on your list. LOL. Naturally. Grace Under Pressure a favorite? They must've been 16 and seeing Rush for the first time, eh? It's all good in the Rush music lab.
I can't spell, but you figured it out.
Please react to Battle Scar by Rush and Max Webster.
I understand why Between the Wheels is many Rush fans their favorite song. It sounds the most like the Terry Brown-era Rush. It's as simple as that.
Interesting. I found Grace Under Pressure to be better than Signals. Not a lot, but little more self-assured and engaging. The standout song to me is Red Sector A, mainly because I think Alex is more inspired on that song than any other one. The song really is his, and he paints a picture of despair with his guitar that's so rich it doesn't even need lyrics. Even my late partner who was into classical music would tell me he liked that song because the guitars were so compelling. It'll be interesting to hear you listen to Power Windows. A couple of my favorite songs came from that album. Oh, and I love the cat cameos!
Cat be like, "Wait! Just those three guys?!"
Mystic Rhythms is my favorite on Power Windows
They are progressive rock. They progress and their explorations are what make them so interesting for people who bother to actually play instruments these days.
I just don't think there was a band in the world that decided to play, what I would like to call "progressive new wave". The basis structure is pop songs with excellent intriguing solo sections. The fact the bass drops out, and then rejoins the music is just a VERY curious concept in and of itself.
The _melodic_ content these guys were pumping around this time was incredible, and Power Windows just takes this formula to the next level with intense cinematic production.
The next 4 albums are going to be a rough ride for you I believe. Power Windows and Hold Your Fire are very synth heavy and Presto and Roll the Bones are overproduced but slight sounding at the same time. I love every album but outside of Power Windows the other three are towards the bottom of my personal album rankings.
Some of the songs on Presto and roll the bones and even hold your fire are up there with their finest work. I think that's separate from the production/engineering. There are live versions that sound amazing. And the more mature songwriting by Neil is very welcome.
I would sadly agree. I think Rush peaked with PW.
HYF was decent but lacked intensity, it certainly felt like they were burning out at this point.
Presto and The Roll Bones... I just don't know how a band could make such a dumb choice in production,.. You have Steve Albini on the scene. Rock had been beefing up and Rush missed the boat entirely.
@@rumourhats Agree. PW is Rush at the top of their game. They fell into a bit of a rut afterwards with things picking up again on Roll the Bones, but the production did not suit them at all.
Here is the time where for the next 4 to 5 albums you could probably take 1 to 3 songs of each album and create it's own album out of them and that single album would be replay able. Other than that (my opinion) it gets boring quick. BUT, you still have to go through them to really appreciate the light at the end of these next few albums :) I will probably have more fun watching your reviews that I did listening to most of these next 40 or songs.
It will be easier to do an album top ten list after finishing their studio catalog of 19 albums over 40 years.
J/K.
I know a lot of people really like this album. I prefer Power Windows to this one. The fact that this is the favorite album for some people shows how diverse Rush music is and of course how diverse fans are. Looking forward to Power Windows. Let's hope the audio improves on the reaction videos.
the audio is absolutely back to what it should be
Dave Grohl is a huge Rush fan, so I do believe it.
I get the Body Electric / Learn to Fly comparison. Dave Grohl is one of the biggest celebrity Rush fans and he and Taylor Hawkins (RIP) inducted Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I saw Foo Fighters in 2001 and they played part of Cygnus X-1 Book 1, to the great confusion of most of the audience.
Don't do a top 10 if you aren't feeling it. It honestly would depend on the day because Rush has so many different sounds that hit differently at different times in your life. There's a song on Hold Your Fire, "Time Stand Still", that was meaningless to me at 17 and made me cry at 35.
Power Windows is IMO Rush's artistic and playing peak, but there's plenty of great stuff all the way out to Clockwork Angels in 2012.
For me, the problem with doing a Rush top 10 is that it always changes...maybe not so much the 10 but switching places within the list...also, Rush is a better band in the 80s than it was in the 70s. People can like the 70s sound better, but if they are so against the 80s era of Rush that they refuse to listen, well, they aren't really big fans of the band
Rush spread their music out over 40 years and made me wait to listen to all their music. Justin is getting to listen to all their stuff in a fraction of the time. I wonder what impact that has. I can name so many bands who, once they settled on band personnel, made a handful of really good albums then just ran out of gas, ran out of creativity, ran out of inspiration. Led Zep, Genesis, Yes, Styx, Kansas, on and on and on. Not a knock on them because they made some great music. But rather a nod to Rush who were never afraid to change and experiment to keep their material fresh and interesting while NOT caving in to those who wanted to hear radio songs. And before anyone tells me Rush went commercial in the 80s, they need to explain why to this day their five biggest radio songs came in 1982 and prior. If they went commercial, they failed at it because they never got a lot of radio play.
In my humble opinion, they don't sound as dark as this again until they start sounding like Rush to me again. Counter Parts seemed to quench a thirst for me when it came out.
I’ll never understand how someone can call themselves a “fan” and then dismiss two thirds of their catalog because “muh synths”.
Also, they claim to be enamored of their complexity, but refuse to be challenged, and stretch their brains and try to understand something different. I had that experience with classical music. Once I gave it a serious chance, listening on actual high end sound devices, and in person at a symphony hall, with program information and background on the composers and musicians, I realized how many incredible experiences I had been missing out on.
Big Money, Manhattan Project, Marathon , Territories, and Mystic Rhyhms are smokin tunes. I think you only lost a few just for three quarters of Grace Under Pressure. They will be back for most of Power Windows.
It's interesting that your least favorite songs are either fan favorites or songs they pushed as singles/concert staples. Such a contrarian!😆 But I concur -- GUP is not a bad album, but Signals is better (get ready for that opinion to be repeated.)
Power Windows has a bigger production overall, although whether you think the songwriting is up to par will be interesting to see. It's not as dark, thank goodness.
Power Windows is better. It will also take multiple listens.
All Rush records are good. Some are great, some are lukewarm with a few great songs. But I’d rather listen to the worst Rush album then 90% of the garbage thats coming out today calling itself music. Now I’m going to say something that won’t be popular and this coming from someone whose favorite era of Rush is the first album though Moving Pictures. Hold Your Fire is the most consistent in the song writing and is a great album. Not my favorite, but the songs are all good, even Thai Shan, the one that even the guys in Rush say was a mistake. As songs they are all well crafted singable songs with hooks. But the hate is great for that one. It is where they maxed out on the synths and started to scale back a little each album until they were basically gone. The
Power Windows tour in Portland Oregon was the only one i was able to go to and it was great. I didn’t have the album yet and hadn’t heard any of the songs yet. It was a great concert and a great album. The Fabulous Thunderbirds opened for them. I think I was the only one in the crowd who knew who they were. Nobody paid much attention to them when they were playing, but Rush crowds are polite and would clap after each song and then go back to talking while they were playing. They didn’t even turn the house lights down while they were playing. I think they were a pick up opener as they were headlining clubs in Portland and Eugene Oregon the day before and after the Rush date. Weird pairing of bands. I enjoyed it though.
I think there is too much being made of a divide amongst Rush fans in the period between Grace Under Pressure and Vapor Trails. I suspect folks like myself were still buying the synth heavy stuff but not wearing it out like a copy of Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures. I think we may have listened less at that time but we also grew to appreciate that music through live albums and the concert footage. The divide isn't really measurable now, especially with Neil's passing.
Power Windows .... great album ..... I personally think it is several notches above Grace Under Pressure. With the exception of Red Sector A, GUP felt to me like a forced attempt at radio friendly pop which lacked sincerity. Considering that I think there are three stellar songs on that album, my words may be overly harsh.
Lets be honest, Rush is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, but their 80s period (like most bands) were not great.
Im not sure if you’re planning on reacting to their entire discography, but it doesn’t get good again until Counterparts(1993), and doesn’t get truly great again until their last 2 albums. That being said, their final album is a total masterpiece.
yes i'm going through their entire discography. Power Windows is next.
Personally I seem to think that they improve with age like a fine wine :-)
I’ve been listening to Rush for over 40 years & I have a hard time ranking the albums. Easier to rank groups of albums.
The next two records are the most synthy, and then things start changing again with Presto.
yeah group rank makes most sense.. so many albums. Most are great. very hard to place apples and oranges and grapes over each other.
@@JustinPanariello there isn’t an album or period I dislike, and really only a couple of songs I skip over out of 170-something tracks on 19 albums.
@@JustinPanariello There are some records coming up that have imo some of their best work, only marred by the production or engineering, which can be ameliorated with good stereo equipment, EQ adjustments, or listening to live versions.
Judging on lyrics and composition alone, my ranking would be very different. Unfortunately, production decisions made some truly great work less appreciated than it deserved to be.
@@markmilner842 Same! Now I'm curious what songs you skip over. I can probably name about 10.
Power Windows is my least favorite Rush album. The keys are just too overbearing for me. But I still really like about 3-4 songs. I'm here for your entire Rush journey though. These videos start my mornings!
I will not be going anywhere. Love ALL of RUSH. Between The Wheels is so much better LIVE as most of RUSH songs. They were a LIVE band.
The sound on the next 3 is still bright, but not atmospheric and glissening like this album was. And then the 90s start to take effect on Roll the Bones. I’m in the minority I guess for liking Power Windows the least, and Hold your Fire the best, with Presto in the middle.
I'll join you in the minority. In this Rush era, I like Hold Your Fire the best, too.
@@mikemurphymagic Thanx! Do you feel (as I do) that Hold Your Fire is actually the much improved result by simply following the artistic aim of Power Windows even farther/better? To me, Power Windows is clearly just the first attempt at what Hold Your Fire achieved…
@@robshaw2639 Hmmm. That never occurred to me. I think they're different enough, and it seems like more people like Power Windows. So, I'm not sure I feel the same way. I just think Hold Your Fire was the perfect soundtrack to my life at the time it was released that I liked it. Having said that, I didn't really either opener (Force 10 nor The Big Money hahah)