Rush Discography Discussion 2: Caress of Steel (1975)

Forostar said:
A shame that a thing as production can make that disappear. Well, I won't be fooled so easily.
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What I mean here is that for me the essence of enjoying music is hearing what is played and sung and finding out how that connects with me. Production is a less important layer, strapped over that deep matter of content. I can still see through that layer (or should I say 'hear'). The layer can make an album better, but when the content within has such strong elements, production is not going to distract me.
 
Forostar said:
Cornfed, aren't you a bit selective in your criticism?
If Rush sold out on Power Windows then they did that at least as much on Signals.
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Agreed, though my "selling out" query wasn't confined to Power Windows. In fact, they started getting more synth-heavy on Moving Pictures. My criticism of the post-Signals albums is the songwriting -- I think it is, while still better than much of what was out there, a definite cut below what they had done previously.
 
Rush gets a pass while Metallica gets none because hardcore Rush fans are a lot smarter than hardcore Metallica fans. :innocent:
 
Forostar said:
What I mean here is that for me the essence of enjoying music is hearing what is played and sung and finding out how that connects with me. Production is a less important layer, strapped over that deep matter of content. I can still see through that layer (or should I say 'hear'). The layer can make an album better, but when the content within has such strong elements, production is not going to distract me.
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Really? You don't ever go "I just don't like the sound of that guy's voice" or "cool melody, but the bagpipes are so annoying"?
 
Sound of the voice is important! But that's his natural sound, not production. Bagpipes are also natural instruments I could dislike in certain arenas. Also something done by the musician, and not the producer. Perhaps I don't quite get what you mean by production. Maybe you don't like the sounds (instruments) Rush used on this album?
 
Hold Your Fire (1987)
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Hold Your Fire marks the end of yet another chapter in Rush's long recording history. While it might not be their best work, it still played a big role in the band's development. In some ways, it is a transitional album like Permanent Waves and Fly By Night. Acting as a wake up call to the band, letting them know that it was time for a change.

Musically, the album is one of Rush's softer albums, very little hard rock is present. Geddy Lee noted that this album made him realize that they were headed in a "jazzier" and "softer" direction. One thing that is really noticeable on Hold Your Fire is the presence of a guest singer on Time Stand Still, Aimee Man from American New Wave act, 'Til Tuesday. Instead of a string section, a brass band is featured on some songs, such as Lock And Key.

The lyrics to this album are more varied than the previous two albums, not featuring any loose themes. Tai Shan is based on a poem written by Neil Peart on a bike ride in China. Open Secrets deals with communication and Second Nature is about working toward political change.

Hold Your Fire was the first album since Hemispheres to not crack the Billboard top 10. Though not a commercial failure, as it peaked at #13. It did make the top ten in the UK and Canada, however. Time Stand Still and Force Ten also both made #3 on the Mainstream Rock chart. It was also the first album since Caress Of Steel to not be certified platinum. It has not held up well with most fans and wasn't initially received well among critics either. Even Geddy Lee has mentioned some regret with this album, calling Tai Shan in particular, "an error".

 
It's not true for my current re-listen, but there are times I actually slightly prefer Hold Your Fire to Power Windows.
Part of that might be a better acceptance that this synth-pop band is what Rush was at the time.
Part of it might be the fact that while it may be even softer than Windows, its songs are more compact, with fewer gratuitous electronic adornments.

But the most likely reason is I have always been a big fan of the opening track.
Force 10 has some of that power Power Windows was missing. The intro percussion effect sets the stage nicely and closes the song nicely as well.
The relatively unusual choice of fast verse, slow chorus works very well to accentuate the lyrics. And I like the set up and finish of the instrumental section.
It's also a keynote piece in the lyrical theme of the album — a well-penned message about facing the hurricane that is life and living it.

I also quite like Time Stand Still for the same reasons I like Middletown Dreams — just a solid AOR song with a nice melancholy melody.
And if you make it that far without puking up bits of Simmons drums, High Water is an underrated track that combines the best elements of Mystic Rhythms and Marathon.
Lock and Key and the Mission are decent, smart and relatively conventional rock songs.
Prime Mover is another Grand Designs, Turn the Page has a cool bass riff opener, but otherwise it's another Prime Mover; Second Nature is sappy — musically and lyrically; Open Secrets falls somewhere in between that song and Time Stand Stand Still; Tai Shan... well, let's just say if they did a video, it would feature Neil flying his motorcycle over a shark tank.

I'd like to make the argument that the absence of complex elements and loud guitars on this album was a deliberate choice.
Hold Your Fire is an album of smart, AOR pop/rock songs, crafted around melodies, and painstakingly arranged.
Like anything they do, Rush did it well, so long as you are taking it on it's own merits.
And there are times it suits my mood.
But I wonder if it wasn't a Rush album if I would have ever given it the time of day.
 
I have never bought this album (the only studio album which is not in my possession). I was put off by the softness and commercial tone of it, although Force 10 is one of my favourite Rush songs. The other Hold Your Fire songs on the upcoming live album were not my favourite moments from that record. But as always, this topic is a good opportunity to investigate some more.

The first three songs are strong. Actually, I really like Open Secrets a lot, it could easily have been on Power Windows and it matches some of the melancholy and mood of Middletown Dreams. Love the melodies in the couplets as well. Favourite solo of the album. Then it takes a dip with the next two songs. Not bad songs, but not that grabbing either.

What I find amusing is that in the beginning of Lock and Key, Geddy reminds me of Michael Jackson! The song itself is decent with a bit more determination (balls) than the previous two. Mission is bit too sweet for my taste. Turn the Page lacks -as more songs do- captivating melodies.

Tai Shan and High Water describe best my overall feeling for this album:

I find this effort sappy, with sometimes even annoying melodies.
mckindog said:
I'd like to make the argument that the absence of complex elements and loud guitars on this album was a deliberate choice.
Hold Your Fire is an album of smart, AOR pop/rock songs, crafted around melodies, and painstakingly arranged.
Like anything they do, Rush did it well, so long as you are taking it on it's own merits.
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The absence of complex elements is one thing, and I really don't mind the choice of the direction itself, but the absence of strong melodies as on Power Windows leaves quite a hole. What's left is either some dragging, sweet stuff that tries to be atmospheric, either we get some compact AOR rock songs, but both fail when they lack a good melody. Especially the vocal melodies put me off. Of course, liking a melody is a personal thing, but for me, this is really one of the worst albums Rush did. There are two great songs on it (1&3) and for the rest I find the album quite bleak. Still no urge to buy it.
 
Hold Your Fire is probably my least favorite album so far and the start of a long lull of subpar material that ended with Clockwork Angels and slightly picked up with Counterparts. Most of the material is dull, uninspired and forgettable. Not a lot of memorable melodies and it really lacks a lot of elements that make Rush great. That said, the few good songs are awesome and this album would've been a lot better had the rest lived up to its highlights.

Force Ten is interesting because on an otherwise mellow album, it really is one of the most energetic tracks of the synth era. It's also one of the best and hints at the more straight up rock sound that was to come.

Time Stand Still is another favorite, though I could've done without the female vocals.

Open Secrets has some great moments, I particularly love the bridge. Not a song I frequently go back to, however.

Turn The Page is another high energy song that I really like. It also ends the album, as far as I'm concerned.

The rest ranges from forgettable to very bad. I wonder if I'd notice the ridiculousness of Tai Shan had Geddy Lee never mentioned it, but he's right, that song is an error. However, I'd say Second Nature is just as bad, if not worse. I also have not had the urge to buy this album, especially since the only songs I enjoy can be found on A Show Of Hands. Those are better recordings too. The version of Time Stand Still on the recent Time Machine Tour is also very good.
 
I've remained silent on that topic for a while, although I'm interested in your discussions. I would say that without your discussions, I wouldn't have given those albums (from Grace under Pressure) a second listen. I'm still struggling with Grace Under Pressure : my first tries left me with incredibly negative thoughts : I couldn't believe the same band produced Moving Pictures and this record. This must be the kind of record I first tried to listen to Rush back in the 80s. Being a huge Motörhead and Manowar fan at the time, I can clearly figure out why it disn't impress me. I begin to appreciate it more : there are real melodic qualities, well built songs, but I can't help to think that the guitar should have been given a more prominent role ; this album (and the same goes for Power Windows) is too heavily anchored in its time. And the promo videos don't help : to see Lee dance like this, with this typicall 80s bass... Terrible. So I will avoid any definitive comments and try again and again.
 
A Show Of Hands (1989)
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With another 4 albums under their belt, it was time for Rush to release a third live album. Like its predecessors, A Show Of Hands highly focuses on its era, featuring mostly material from the synth era albums. In fact, only two pre-Signals songs are included in this release.

Similarly to Exit...Stage Left, this album compiles multiple performances rather than one full length concert. For this release, songs are included from various US cities and Birmingham, UK on the Hold Your Fire Tour. There are also two songs (Mystic Rhythms and Witch Hunt) included from a concert in New Jersey from the Power Windows tour.

Even though this release follows the same format as the previous two live albums, it is still a unique collection. With the exception of Closer To The Heart, there are no songs duplicated from previous live albums. It is a good representation of 80's Rush.

Shortly after, a video was released with the same title. It was filmed on the Birmingham concert that was also recorded for the album. It features several songs that aren't included on the album, though many songs from the album are also missing from the video. It is a more "standard" Rush setlist, with more attention to classics.
Setlist:
  1. "The Big Money"
  2. "Marathon"
  3. "Turn the Page"
  4. "Prime Mover"
  5. "Manhattan Project"
  6. "Closer to the Heart"
  7. "Red Sector A"
  8. "Force Ten"
  9. "Lock and Key" (laserdisc only)
  10. "Mission"
  11. "Territories"
  12. "YYZ"
  13. "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo)
  14. "The Spirit of Radio"
  15. "Tom Sawyer"
  16. "2112 Overture"/"The Temples of Syrinx"/"La Villa Strangiato"/"In The Mood"
 
Own it. I barely listened to it when it was new and can't remember the last time I put it on.
 
This album was one of the earlier ones I owned, before quite some 1980s studio albums. It served as a first meeting with Rush's phenomenal Subdivisions (which is also not on the video release) so I was very impressed.

As I said earlier, the represented Hold Your Fire songs (bar Force Ten) made less impact due to their sweetness. Still, we can hear Rush at their finest and it certainly urged me to dive further into their discography.
 
A Show Of Hands was actually my introduction to Rush. I remember really liking some stuff but for the most part finding it boring and I really didn't like Geddy's voice. Even after I discovered 2112 and Moving Pictures, this album took awhile to get into. But eventually it happened and now I think it's pretty awesome, it also features most of my favorites from Power Windows and Hold Your Fire, almost making those albums obsolete (I still like other stuff on Power Windows and like the production). It's a pretty good album if I just want some synth era Rush but I'm not in the mood for any particular album. I also find it to be one of their more energetic live albums, maybe it's the production, but the previous live releases come out a little dry.

Obviously it was also my introduction to Subdivisions, which may have played a role in me not liking Signals that much at first. Probably not a coincidence that many of my favorites from the synth era are on this album. Distant Early Warning, Turn The Page, Marathon, The Big Money were all early Rush favorites.
 
Maybe, Signals was still one of my first Rush albums, even before I heard most of their 70's stuff. For a long time, A Show Of Hands was my only taste of the synth era.
 
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