: Richard James
: Rush: 1984 - 2015 Every Album, Every Song
: Sonicbond Publishing
: 9781789522112
: 1
: CHF 8.80
:
: Musik
: English
: 144
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

This book is the companion volume to Rush 1973 - 1982 On Track. 1982's keyboard-heavy Signals album was to be the beginning of Rush's 'synth era' and albums including Power Windows and Hold Your Fire split the fan base, with the old guard resenting the changes in both instrumentation and song-writing style. New followers joined the fold, however, and the band's popularity in album sales and concert receipts continued to grow. Rush were never ones for treading water, as subsequent releases into the 1990s showed a gradual return to the guitar-centric power-trio format.
A double family tragedy for drummer Neil Peart seemed to signal the end of the band, with a sign-off triple live album, Different Stages, appearing in 1997. But five years later, a reformed Rush began to release a series of new albums, culminating in the magnificent concept record, Clockwork Angels.
This book reviews all the band's studio and live releases from 1984's Grace Under Pressure to the final, farewell live album, R40, in 2015. Peart's subsequent retirement and tragically early death in 2020 seemingly closed the annals of this unique band, before the shock announcement in 2025 that the band would reconvene in 2026 with drummer Anika Nilles.


Richard James immersed himself in music as soon as he got his first real six-string at the age of ten. Previously chained to a desk for a living, he broke free, armed with a music degree from the Open University and a Licentiate Diploma in Classical Guitar from the Royal School of Music, and proceeded to roam the East Midlands, UK, as a freelance guitarist and music teacher. He lives with his wife in Leicestershire, UK, and when not involved with music, he enjoys foreign travel and playing chess badly.
Chapter3

Power Windows (1985)


Personnel:

Alex Lifeson: electric and acoustic guitars

Geddy Lee: vocals, bass, synthesisers, bass pedals

Neil Peart: drums, percussion and electronic percussion

Synthesiser programming by Andy Richards and Jim Burgess

Additional keyboards by Andy Richards

Recorded at The Manor, England; Air Studios, Montserrat; and Sarm East, London, between April and August 1985

Produced by Peter Collins and Rush

Strings arranged and conducted by Anne Dudley, and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London

Choir arranged and conducted by Andrew Jackman, and recorded at Angel Studios, London

Released: 26 October 1985

Label: Mercury Records

Chart positions: Canada: 2, US: 10, UK: 9

All music composed by Lee and Lifeson, with lyrics by Peart

A tour followedGrace Under Pressure, from May to November 1984, with the band playing in North America, Japan and Hawaii. The trio’s collective mood, however, didn’t match their commercial and critical success.

The collective finger was once again pointed at the now vacant producer’s chair. It was felt that securing the right person at the helm would solve the problem. It couldn’t be Terry Brown, and it wouldn’t be Peter Henderson. A blend of experience and an objective ear was needed, someone tuned into the current musical thinking and capable of stepping back, giving detached opinions. The support act for part of the tour was noted blues rock guitarist Gary Moore, who suggested his own producer, Peter Collins.

Collins’s CV already included 1980s pop stars Nik Kershaw, Tracy Ullman and Musical Youth. Not a natural fit, you might think, for the progressive rockers wanting to move with the influences of the period without compromising their core style. Collins was confident he could make the band sound better than his predecessors. The irony that Rush, who had determinedly fought against any form of outside direction or control, were now specifically seeking it seemed lost on the trio.

The band reassembled at the Elora Sound Studios in southern Ontario to write more music. As the material began to flow, an overarching lyrical theme of ‘power’ emerged as a link between the songs.Grace Under Pressure had focused on despair; the new project would project hope. The band and producer moved to the Manor Studios, with recording being relaxing and fulfilling.

In his autobiography,My Effin Life, Geddy expounded upon the attention to detail that Collins brought to the project:

Rather than simply acc