HOLD YOUR FIRE

'Hold Your Fire' comes soon after the great 'Power Windows', and as a late 80s Rush album, this is a release that sees the band embracing their pop side to the fullest - we have lush instrumentation all over, the typical new wave production values, a more straightforward writing (and subsequently, a less sophisticated musical palette) as well as some fine vocals delivering some even finer lyrics dealing with various aspects of life and the like. Lee's role as a band leader is arguably more prominent on this album than on some of the preceding ones, and this might also be the first time where Alex Lifeson's role is "reduced" to a more supportive one, with the guitars taking a back seat in favor of synths and effects. Even within the frame of such an incarnation, Alex Lifeson delivers some tasteful licks and some truly wonderful solos, so do not be fooled by the pop direction of 'Hold Your Fire', this is still Rush!

The album is composed of ten tracks, five on each side, and following the strong releases by the band in recent years, we have some brilliant tracks - powerful, passionate, intricate and very melodic, there are great entries like the opener 'Force Ten', the lovely 'Open Secrets', 'Prime Mover' and 'Lock and Key', together with the thoughtful 'Misson'. At the same time, 'Hold Your Fire' bolsters some songs with questionable quality, leaving the listener wondering what the band was trying with some of these songs - the single 'Time Stand Still' is a too obnoxious 80s sugar pop, 'Second Nature' is too mellow and wimpy, 'Tai Shan' is another surprising entry that lacks a general direction, and the album closer 'High Water' is a bit indulgent. So, the overall personal reaction to 'Hold Your Fire' would be generally indifferent, but this is a good album, nonetheless, featuring both excellent and mediocre songs; good but not excellent in its entirety.