POWER WINDOWS

Sometimes, I really wish I was in my diehard Rush fan mode so that way I can enjoy albums like POWER WINDOWS much more, but I'm not and I can't. Hearing SIGNALS last, I was pretty worried about the direction Rush was heading with the more conventional song structure choices and impeding of too many '80s sounding synths. POWER WINDOWS embraces those ideas and leaves behind many of the prog aspects that got me to love them in the first place.

None of the three men shine quite like they used to in an instrumental sense; rarely do we hear a standout performance from anyone. They also seem to abandon the use of odd metres (I can't find any here) that gave earlier classics like ''YYZ'' some flair. Tracks 3 through 7 sound like totally anonymous '80s pop; ''Grand Design'' starts with one of the worst keyboard lines I've ever heard.

''The Big Money'' sounds like any other pop song, except with insanely tricky basslines, a respectable guitar solo and a memorable hook. ''Mystic Rhythms'' is the only track here that could compete with the Rush classics; it creates the best atmosphere on the album as it is very haunting and...well, rhythmic. Sadly, these two tracks don't cut the mustard comparing to classic Rush in it's glory. Leave POWER WINDOWS for the curious fans that can mine a hidden gem or three out of this; I haven't found much.