POWER WINDOWS

This album sees Rush returning to a fine balance between synth and guitars. While the previous album, 'Grace Under Pressure', had almost drowned out Lifeson's guitars completely, Alex turned the tables and made sure his guitar work stood out as much as possible on this album, and he succeeded. It sounds brilliant; the guitars and synths completely balance each other out, creating a mixing pot of the old and new. The opener, 'The Big Money', is as energetic and imaginative as Rush have ever been, as is the next track, 'Grand Designs'. Next comes 'Manhattan Project', seeing the band taking a different approach; different from the first two tracks' rock style. They opt for a gentler sound here, and they carry it off with aplomb. Next come 'Marathon' and 'Territories', both solid tracks, Marathon especially for its killer chorus, but sadly after these tracks the album begins to lose energy. The last tracks don't seem quite as good as the rest, but then comes the sucker punch: Mystic Rhythms. The stand-out track on this album for me; from the moment you hear the opening drum line, you'll be hooked.

Overall, though, this album is great. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of Rush's less epic and proggy material, like Grace Under Pressure and Signals. It's well worth getting, and compares favourably to Rush's older stuff, such as Hemispheres. While it's not entirely in the same vein, it's still Rush, and Rush are brilliant.