The Rush 'Synth Period' Thread

It's certainly gratifying to see all the love for these albums. I think the band reached their peak around Power Windows and while I love Hold Your Fire, I will freely admit that it's the weakest link of this period. I think the worst song on that album is Second Nature. I almost always skip that one whereas I'll play Signals through Power Windows all the way through.

Edited by Mirror Image - August 20 2014 at 09:41

KingCrInuYasha wrote: I love Signals, but found Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows to be disappointing, though I'm willing to give them another shot (and by PW on CD to do it; I only have it on cassette).

I know people talk about Vital Signs from Moving Pictures as a song that doesn't quite fit. I see it as a transition. It seems to foreshadow the style we would later see on Signals and the next few records. Also, the lyrics talking about "elevating" and "deviating" from the norm are just another clue. The idea of not continuing to release the same kind of music, but continuing to experiment and dabble in other styles. I haven't a clue if they did this on purpose, but Rush is perfectly capable of accomplishing something like.

My favorites would be listed in such order: Power Windows, Signals, Grace under Pressure, Hold Your Fire

Power Windows - This is easily my favorite record from this era, and one of my favorite Rush records overall. I think they hit the perfect combination of styles from their respective instruments and meshed them brilliantly. Geddy's bass gallops all over the frickin' place, and is just beautiful to hear. The Big Money is one of their most high energy songs from front to back, and while the pace isn't always matched throughout the album, the beauty and energy come through in different forms. Neal's lyrics are as witty as ever, and Geddy sings them in prime form. Marathon hits me a little on an emotional level being a long distance runner myself. The rhythms and power Neal offers on Territories and Mystic Rhythms are some of his best. It just seems like every single instrument plays lead on this album, but rather than being messy, it's graceful and powerful. Tbh, I don't pay much attention to Alex's solos on this album, because I get lost in everything else. My favorite song from this one would be Territories.

Signals - This was the first Rush album I fell in love with. It dropped off my radar for a little while, but has recently resurfaced. Subdivisions resonates with me, being one of those kids that grew up in the suburbs. The synth opener and the guitar on top of it make it seem a bit dark, which it certainly is, but the album does lighten for a little bit. The Analog Kid has some of my favorite guitar work from Alex, both in riffs he jams in around the verses, and that great solo he plays later on. And then there's The Weapon. Easily my favorite on this album, Neal's drums and Geddy's synths carry a really exciting rhythm throughout the song, and again, Neal sounds so powerful and wonderful. Alex shines through on guitar yet again. Some other songs I enjoy are New World Man (there highest ranking on the billboard I believe) and Losing It, especially the lyrics.

Grace under Pressure - Another dark album from the Canadian trio in terms of subject matter, I used to call it my favorite. I still quite like it, but just find it a tad less exciting than the other two. With some spectacular moments, such as Afterimage and Between the Wheels it doesn't fail to be great. But there are also some less inspiring moments like Red Lenses. I wouldn't call it weak, but I don't believe there is a weak song in this era. Every album in this period seems to have one song that is different, and this is the one on this album. I do know that Kid Gloves tends to turn off some people, but I find it catchy and fun. Between the Wheels is fantastic though. Alex sounds so powerful on guitar, and sets the tone right off the bat. This I enjoy very much.

Hold Your Fire - This album has a certain beauty that the rest of them lack. The pace slowed down quite a bit, and Alex's guitar seems to take a back seat to Geddy's keys and vocals. This is particularly evident on Second Nature. Even Neal sounds a bit subdued on this album. It's not to say they don't have their moments, but it's a drastic change from Power Windows, but that's to be expected from Rush. Still this is one of their most beautiful albums (behind Presto, I believe), and for this reason, I need the right situation to listen to it. The other three from this era I can put on and enjoy more easily. I don't have one particular favorite from this album, but ones I enjoy the most are Force Ten, Time Stand Still, and High Water.

Lol, I think I got carried away a bit writing about these albums. Maybe I should write some actual reviews.

I personally enjoyed the era of Rush between All The World's a Stage (ya, it's a performance of their mostly early work, but it has such a live "punch" to it) and Moving Pictures. As a 'guitar' guy, I thought that the saturation of synthesizer in Rush albums was indicative the synthetic times of the 1980's. But hey (!), those releases are still pretty damn exceptional and as I grew older, I became more fond of Rush's '80s and '90s material. Oh, and Countdown from Signals is absolutely !

Signals to me was a massive shock to the system.  It didn't work for me back then, and I shunned it for a while.  After some time I learnt to love it.  I love the fear trilogy from three separate albums - Witch-hunt - The Weapon - The Enemy Within;  from Moving Pictures, Signals and GUP respectively.  My favourite album is Hold your Fire - the 4 central tracks after the two commercial tracks are just fantastic both lyrically and musically, I am really surprised that more people don't like it, but its Rush.  Its a great period, and I would put Presto in this period, some wonderful tracks on there too.

Glad to see the love for Power Windows.  I've long considered it Rush's most underrated album.  Tracks 1 thru 5 are excellent.  "Middletown Dreams" and "Mystic Rhythms" aren't my favorites but they can hold their own.  Only "Emotion Detector" is sub-par.

For some reason I haven't been able to get into Signals as much.  There's great songs on it but somehow as a whole it lacks a certain something.

KingCrInuYasha wrote: Mirror Image wrote:   You don't have Power Windows on CD? Hmmm...get the 1997 remaster. Bob Ludwig did a fantastic job with the remaster. Anyway, how long has it been since you heard Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows? A couple of months ago. I got Grace from my local CD shop and Windows from my local Goodwill.

verslibre wrote: Mirror Image wrote: Zombi mentioned that Moving Pictures was actually the start of their 'synth period' and while I wouldn't disagree in some respects to his points, I think it can't be counted as a synth album for the simple fact that on many of the songs the keyboards were just an added layer and not an integral part of the music. I'm thinking mainly of Red Barchetta, Limelight, and YYZ. A lot of Moving Pictures is guitar-dominated with just that extra layer of keyboards whereas on Signals the keyboards were fully integrated into the sound of the band. It's easier to count Signals through HYF because of the "four studio-one live" formula Rush followed all the way up through T4E. When you hear the synths open up "The Camera Eye" and the sequencer literally propels "Vital Signs," while Geddy's keyboard riff is the single most identifiable, hummable aspect of "Tom Sawyer" (along with the lyrics), it's clearly the beginning of Rush embracing keyboards. These songs sound alien (in a good way) compared to anything on Permanent Waves. It's just nitpicking, though.

Edited by Mirror Image - August 20 2014 at 20:36

I would consciously rate classic period Rush (2112 to MP) as the best but I listen to Signals the most out of all their albums so I guess it is subconsciously my favourite. This is actually very odd because when I bought it as an impressionable 15 year old Rush fan I hated it so much I threw the record across the room.

puma wrote: There's something about the loneliness of Subdivisions - nothing they wrote before that track had a similar mood to it. I love 80s Rush more because they developed as songwriters and interpreters, disregarding the instruments they used. Of course I'm a keyboardist so I love hearing good synths, but they could have gotten a 12-piece brass band in the 80s and it would still have shown their emotional and songwriting maturity in songs like Distant Early Warning, Mystic Rhythms, and some of the more moody stuff. And of course they still rocked! 80s versions of Moving Pictures and previous-era material sounds better than it ever had in the 70s! The only thing better than 80s Rush is 2014 Rush!