Rush Discography Discussion 2: Caress of Steel (1975)

Exit Stage Left: although it lacks my favourite songs from Moving Pictures, it does contain stunning versions of La Villa, The Trees, Xanadu and especially Passage to Bangkok. I have two favourite Rush live albums: Different Stages (probably the number one because of the rich setlist) and this one, certainly the best "classic" live album.

Signals has become a grower since I heard it first. I only still dislike the ..Man tracks, because of their dull choruses and uncreative (or even lacking!) instrumental moments. Also I find the melodies under par compared with the other songs.

Subdivisions is a top 3 Rush song for me, probably even number one, and it rates as one of the best songs ever, by any band. Seldom have I heard such a combination of melancholy, catchiness, dynamics (Neil Peart!) and (almost soothing) warmth. The topic is a recognizable cold one, but it is brought with an uplifting, warm vibe (the keyboards and Geddy's singing attribute to that, but also Lifeson's rhythm guitar playing).

By right a top 5/6 Rush album for me. Even though Alex's role is smaller than in the past, I have no problems with that. It does not prevent me from connecting with this album.

Favourite songs: Subdivisions, Analog Kid and Losing it. These last two songs would be both in my Rush top 9-15.
 
Subdivisions is one of those rare songs that even after 30 years I get lost in every time.
I love the keyboard sound and the riff, which, as Foro says is very warm, but also insistent.
The lyrics are very well-done, the melody hypnotic and Alex's solo makes up for his lack of presence elsewhere in the song.
But it is the drums that seal the deal. They've got the texture, craftsmanship and nuance of a fine novel.
Neil's patterns are less flashy than what we had seen in the past, but they are so intricate, so perfectly composed.
Mesmerizing is the best word.
It also is a top three Rush song for me and among my all-time favourite tracks, period.
 
Looking back today, Rush has quite a few songs like The Analog Kid — melodic rockers elevated by their technical prowess — that I'm almost guaranteed to like.
Maybe it's because its an early example for one, that I discovered it early in life, but this one has always struck me as hugely underrated.
Nice energy, riff — fantastic solo. Love the bridge: Too many hands on my time, too many feelings, too many things on my mind...
Just another great, completely satisfying track I never get tired of.

Chemistry might be the most guitar-oriented track on an album noted for its lack of guitar.
It is a well-structured, solid, interesting tune, but lacks any emotional wallop.

If I remember correctly, Digital Man was the song that eventually sparked the band's split with longtime producer Terry Brown.
It was really a struggle to pull together in the studio and where Geddy realized they were no longer on the same page.
I seem to like this track more than most people do.
It's a bit of a hodgepodge, but the walking bassline is cool and the jarring chords and reggae inflections work for me.
 
More than anything else on Signals, The Weapon goes where Vital Signs pointed.
It's a bridge between that track and Red Sector A — not as good as either, but still a textbook example of texture and atmosphere.
As a teen it was my least favourite track, but I appreciate it a lot more now.

New World Man follows in the footsteps of songs like Fly By Night and Closer to the Heart:
Geddy's melodic sense is so strong that the popsters can ignore the smarter elements and just sing along.

Bravado is probably my favourite quiet Rush song, but Losing It is right there.
Certainly, they've never done anything else this haunting, with lyrics that perfectly match the music and some great restrained singing by Geddy.
The electric violin was a nice — and brave — touch. It elevates the song as a piece of art, though its atonal screeches probably got in the way of any radio success.
Just a beautiful song.

Countdown is example of how songs about current events can lose some of their impact as the years go by.
There's some drama in the intro and I like the keyboard lead run, and the band does a good job creating a soundtrack to what happened that morning.
But, unlike the shuttle, the song never quite takes off.
 
Mckindog, thanks for these song by song reviews.

I am also curious about your take on the album as a whole. How do you compare it to other albums?
 
If I remember correctly, Digital Man was the song that eventually sparked the band's split with longtime producer Terry Brown.
It was really a struggle to pull together in the studio and where Geddy realized they were no longer on the same page.
I seem to like this track more than most people do.
It's a bit of a hodgepodge, but the walking bassline is cool and the jarring chords and reggae inflections work for me.
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Correct. Terry initially refused to record it. I'm not sure how they convinced him.
 
mckindog said:
Nope. I'm trying to be very careful.
Five days left.
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Very well, sir. They have varied it at different shows, but I am sure you will enjoy it - I will enjoy having another person on the forum who's seen the tour so I can discuss it ad nauseum.
 
Signals was a tough album for me to get into. I hated it when I first heard it, too New Wavey and not enough rock. Once I was able to appreciate music that didn't constantly melt your face more, Signals quickly became a favorite. While I disagree with Cornfed when he says its the last great Rush album, it's still a great album. It shows a band who are finally in their comfort zone and just doing what they do best; writing great melodies.

I think in some ways Signals has the misfortune of having the strongest track as the opener. And Subdivisions really is one of the best Rush songs. I don't have much to add to the commentary given by others, so I'll just leave it at that.

The Analog Kid is a cool rocker, but it never grabbed me like some of the others. I really love the chorus though, I wish more of the song was in that vein.

Chemistry is a really underrated track, in my opinion. It's one of my favorites even. Such a melancholy intro to a rather upbeat song. I think it's awesome. The guitar sounds great too, its not in your face, but it gives the song a nice texture.

Digital Man isn't my favorite of the reggae tinged Rush tracks, but it's still good nonetheless. Like The Analog Kid, the chorus overshadows the rest of the tune for me.

The Weapon is my least favorite track, I dunno what it is about it, but it never grabbed me. There's certainly nothing wrong with it, it actually reminds me of something on Moving Pictures. Maybe The Camera Eye meets Vital Signs. The synths in the bridge are really cool though.

I like to call New World Man the first easy listening Rush track. I actually really like it though, it has a nice calm vibe and some good melodies. It reminds me of a cross between The Police, Pink Floyd and Genesis. 3 bands I really love. It's a bit simple for Rush's standards, but enjoyable nonetheless.

On some days, I'd consider Losing It to be the best song on the album. It's they synth era version of Different Strings. Very melancholy, very beautiful, such a wonderful song. I love electric violins and the one on here is awesome. The 5/8 time signature gives the whole thing a bouncy feel. One of my favorite Rush tracks.

Countdown is underrated too, I think. I just find it to be a great closer. The synth melody in between verses is something I never get sick of.

Admittedly, my ramblings on this album are short. This wasn't a conscious thing, but makes sense, now that I think of it. The charm of Signals is pretty self evident, hardly any commentary is needed. As with the other synth albums. You either like it or you don't, I suppose.
 
Mosh said:
Signals

The Analog Kid is a cool rocker, but it never grabbed me like some of the others. I really love the chorus though, I wish more of the song was in that vein.
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I want to leapfrog off this to expand on the Analog Kid a bit. Lyrically, it is the flip side of Subdivisions. They both explore the same themes, but while Subdivisions is very journalistic, Analog Kid is all poetry. And I am amazed by how well the band musically reflects the picture Neil is painting. In the verses, it's a hubbub of energy in a world of heat and wind and hawks and calling mothers. But the Kid is apart from that, alienated by a bright and aimless vision he doesn't quite understand. And the chorus nails that, the sense of disconnection, of being inside oneself, somehow apart from your own day-to-day world. The bridge is an inkling of understanding and urgency seeping in. Adolescence in 100 words or less.The band truly does a remarkable job capturing all of that in what superficially sounds like a fairly conventional rock song. Give it another listen.
 
Which I guess is a nice segue to Foro's question: Signals is the Analog Kid of the Rush catalogue. It's about experimenting, about trying new things, about shedding skin and answering the call of something new and outside your norm. These guys grew up listening to songs, not players, and they wanted to challenge and tighten themselves as songwriters. They had been absorbing all kinds of influences outside rock and prog and wanted to interpret these forms for themselves.
Some of their attempts merely popped and fizzled. Others still blaze across the musical sky.
Signals is flawed, but its flaws are part of what makes it great.
 
mckindog said:
I want to leapfrog off this to expand on the Analog Kid a bit. Lyrically, it is the flip side of Subdivisions. They both explore the same themes, but while Subdivisions is very journalistic, Analog Kid is all poetry. And I am amazed by how well the band musically reflects the picture Neil is painting. In the verses, it's a hubbub of energy in a world of heat and wind and hawks and calling mothers. But the Kid is apart from that, alienated by a bright and aimless vision he doesn't quite understand. And the chorus nails that, the sense of disconnection, of being inside oneself, somehow apart from your own day-to-day world. The bridge is an inkling of understanding and urgency seeping in. Adolescence in 100 words or less.The band truly does a remarkable job capturing all of that in what superficially sounds like a fairly conventional rock song. Give it another listen.
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I was too harsh on this song, maybe. I like it a lot, I just don't hold it as high as most fans. It has one of my favorite Rush choruses. Your description is spot on, never thought of it that way before
 
Grace Under Pressure (1984)
Rush_Grace_Under_Pressure.jpg


The first thing worth noting about this album is the production. After working together for nearly ten years, starting with Fly By Night, the band decided to part ways with Terry Brown. Wanting to work with someone more welcoming of the contemporary sound and Terry Brown not wanting to produce "an electronic band". Grace Under Pressure was more or less produced by the band themselves, with Peter Henderson. Rush paid tribute to Terry in the liner notes with the phrase "et toujours notre bon vieil ami — Broon."

Grace Under Pressure has a very distinct cold sound to it, articulated by the album artwork. Lyrically it deals with the human reaction to pressure, with themes spanning current events and personal experiences. Red Sector A, for example, draws inspiration from Nazi concentration camps, with contributions from Geddy whose mother was a Holocaust survivor. The "Fear" series is also continued with The Enemy Within. This time, Neil examines fear and paranoia created from within, as opposed to outside sources in The Weapon and Witch Hunt. This song also shows the band experimenting with Ska for the first time, as well as continuing their experimentation with reggae.

There is a larger variety of synthesizers has increased on this album and have continued to increase in prevalence. The sound has become notably colder, as opposed to the warm homely sound of Signals and Moving Pictures, accurately reflecting the lyrical themes. The guitar is still present and hasn't yet become completely drowned out. If anything, this album has a lack of bass, with Geddy focusing on the synthesizers.

Grace Under Pressure was yet another commercial success for Rush. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard charts and quickly went platinum. It did better in the UK and their homeland Canada, reaching #5 and #1 respectively. Four songs were released as singles, but to little success. The Body Eclectic did the best, charting at #105 in the US and #56 in the UK. However, music videos were released for Distant Early Warning and Afterimage.


In 2009, a live album/dvd from this tour was released titled Grace Under Pressure Live. This performance is notable for having the Fear series performed in the intended order.
Setlist:
  1. "Intro"
  2. "The Spirit of Radio"
  3. "The Enemy Within"
  4. "The Weapon"
  5. "Witch Hunt"
  6. "New World Man"
  7. "Distant Early Warning"
  8. "Red Sector A"
  9. "Closer to the Heart"
  10. "YYZ/2112: Temples Of Syrinx/Tom Sawyer"
  11. "Vital Signs"
  12. "Finding My Way/In The Mood"
 
'Grace Under Pressure' contains my favourite Rush song ever, 'Red Sector A'. Other highlights are 'The Body Electric' and 'Afterimage'.
 
Grace Under Pressure is Rush's shortest album since Permanent Waves, staying under 40 minutes.

As some of you may know I have voiced critical lines on the opening track, Distant Early Warning. Here I go again:

Not a big fan of the taaaam-taam-tam keyboard accents. It does not only lack guitar, it also lacks in catchiness, strong melodies and awesome instrumental moments. It's quite monotone. Not a great chorus. I've been told they can be heard as warning signs but they sound a bit over the top. They overdid it. It's gets repetitive as well. I think this song doesn't flow that well. Compared to the dynamics of Red Sector A and The Enemy Within this song is about the most static Rush has ever done. Apart from the couplets (which are good!) I feel the mood does not reflect the content. Lee sings "And I worry about you" like he says "and I won the lottery". The happy and commercial sounding keyboard melody (yippee!) underneath doesn't please my ears either.

The instrumental part is about the blendest of the whole album. Pretty much the same (chords) as the rest of the song and no exciting guitar work as all. The song goes on and on, without building a momentum or containing anything suspenseful. In short: it lacks variation.

The rhythms (and techniques) are seriously simple in comparison with other songs from that period. Again that wouldn't be that bad if only the song itself would have more variation in its build-up. That's my major complaint. Constantly the same chords, making it more monotone than most other songs left in this survivor. That last minute is really: :yawn: Of course Distant Early Warning is a classic track, but Afterimage and Red Sector A are great tracks.

Then a great ride of three songs in a row follows:


Afterimage is a special one. It's in my top 4 of Rush songs. Emotional, with a mid-piece intermezzo that has a kind of Sci-Fi feel, haunting stuff. Actually the melodies are good throughout the whole song, something which can't be said for Distant Early Warning which has a weaker instrumental part. Geddy is very good on this song. Heartfelt lyrics & singing! Probably the best sad/melancholic uptempo song ever written.

Dedicated to Robbie Whelan, a friend of the band who worked as an assistant engineer on some of Rush's earlier albums, most notably Moving Pictures and Signals. The track deals with the loss of a friend and the emotional aftermath that follows.

It came out as a single, a Japan-only release. The opening lyric was quoted in the liner notes for Rush's 1998 live release, Different Stages, as a dedication to drummer Neil Peart's wife and daughter, who both died in 1997. The memoriam is as follows:

"Suddenly...you were gone...from all the lives you left your mark upon..."
In loving memory of Jackie and Selena

Music can be so powerful to give feelings a place. I have experienced that last year and even thought of using this song for the funeral of my stillborn daughter.

In the video Mosh presented, it's great to see Peart play his drums. This must be some of the best play-backing ever.


I am sure some of you will zoom in more on Red Sector A. For now I'll just say that it has an incredibly catchy chorus that stays in your head. Peart's ride cymbal work gives a great edge to it. It has that moody but straightforward quality. The vocal melody in the chorus is its strongest asset.


The Enemy Within. Alex Lifeson shines a bit harder on this one. This one should get you moving. Great ska vibe alternated with quite a different chorus. Some might find this song sounding repetitive, but catchy chorus schemes were made for that.


Then the three least good songs:

The Body Electric
Not that great. One zero zero one... meh. This song lacks appealing melodies and originality. Repetitive and monotone. Iit doesn't ignite much inside me.


Kid Gloves
Starts with a nice riff over a 5/4 beat. I don't find the chorus that great but I like the bridge (wish it were a bit longer). I am glad the riff returns often. Alex solo is duller than the instrumental part (the riff) afterwards.


Red Lenses
I'll keep it short: A stupid keyboard motive. Throughout most of the song the music is so annoying that I can't even focus on what the lyrics are about. The music changes a bit for the better in the instrumental section (especially the first half, but then an annoying brass section follows).

Finally:


Between the Wheels
This song has another fine chorus. And a great solo! I am not a big fan of the last minute but it's a worthy album closer.

I have stated in the past that this album is my 2nd favourite, behind Moving Pictures, which is odd because there are several songs that I am not happy with. What was I thinking? I probably only remembered the good songs. This topic helps me to realize everything they did.
 
Waitaminnit!
So you don't like Distant Early Warning?
But why?
;-)

Concert was excellent. I will probably post a short recap later.
 
Concert observations:
* Opened with Subdivisions, closed with Spirit and encored with Sawyer. Ignored the '70s and the '90s.
* A marathon set — about three hours minus a 15-20 minute intermission; I think I counted 26 songs, if you include the final encore of Overture/Temples/Grand Finale as three.
* Not my preferred setlist; the opening half leaned heavily to the synth years, including four(!) Power Windows tracks.
* Near-sellout of the 18,000-seat arena. Oldest median audience age of any rock show I have attended. The guy next to me and his buddy were pushing 60 and had driven three hours to see the show.
* Might have been a combination of all three of the above, but it was more laid-back in terms of the crowd hopping and fist-pumping than what I am used to.
* Don't mistake that for lack of energy though. The band gave it, and the crowd was into it.
* The band nailed their preformances and seemed to get better throughout the set. Peart remains god — my wife (at best a casual Rush fan) was blown away by his three short solos. YYZ absolutely tore it down. Geddy's voice was fine throughout, particularly in the softer numbers.
* The band has really pushed the video aspect of its show, to the point where there was something to watch (besides the performers) on the big screen pretty much throughout, including a goofy video with the band as gnomes featuring Jay Baruchel.
* Set two featured virtually all of Clockwork Angels. And the material stood up pretty well. I was particularly impressed with how well The Garden and Halo Effect (which was not among my favourites going in) came off. Also, on the topic of softer songs, a first half performance of The Pass was particularly poignant.
* The string ensemble worked well. They were there for all the Clockwork Angels stuff, plus a few more, including YYZ. They accentuated the music and were also fun to watch.
* My spoiler-free mission was an unqualified success: when the first notes of Analog Kid hit late in the first half, it was utter shock and joy. And that in no way prepared me for ecstacy when they dropped Red Sector A in the back half of set two. (mosh, you would have liked the fact they tacked an extra chorus on to the end of Analog Kid.)
* Those were two of my favourites. Another personal highlight was Dreamline, partly because my wfe sang along to every word. She liked the show I lot. I loved it. After 20 years, she still can pick great birthday presents.

OK, not so short.
 
Sounds awesome. Still trying to make the Denver show, though it's not looking good.

I really like the setlist. Those synth era songs come out pretty good live and I really like PoW so I don't have a problem with them playing half of it. It's also really awesome that they are playing so much CA material. Proves that they are very proud of it.
 
I don't think the spoilers are necessary guys. Don't think anyone is still going besides Mosh, who knows the setlist (or at least the bulk, since it changes?).

By the way, I agree with Mosh that I wouldn't mind more Power Windows material. That's ages ago since they did that. Finally something else. And yeah, Rush audience is quite laid back, but we're used to Maiden.

I didn't go (not a great timing with 3 Maiden gigs in the same summer) but afterwards I saw they did not play the song I was looking forward to the most, so I don't regret that much. Guess which song that is.... And mckindog, did they play it yesterday? :)
 
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