Grace Under Pressure

[rickyrob]

I keep listening to GUP on a regular basis. There is something about it that makes me feel it is possibly their finest album. Whilst the likes of Hemispheres, 2112, Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves will always be high up the rankings in Rush fans' personal favourites, I think GUP has something about it that, whilst it doesn't strike the same chord with all fans as the previous-mentioned works of art, probably makes it an all-time classic.

 

I have it in my CD-Clock-Radio at the moment so it comes on every morning and I get a chance to listen to at least 6 of the eight tracks.

 

The words and meanings associated with most of the songs are quite simply awesome. I have never known a band so articulate in their words and music. This album makes me feel like this, and epitomises Neil's ability to write meaningful, topical lyrics, whilst the band attaches fantastic music to them.

 

"..We can fall from rockets' red glare

Down to "Brother can you spare..."

Another war

Another wasteland

And another lost generation.."

 

these words say it all...

 

Hail Grace Under Pressure. It has now become my all-time favourite album

[PuppetKing2112]

Grace isn't necessarily my favourite album (that would be Caress of Steel or Hemispheres), but Between the Wheels is my absloute favourite Rush song of all time. A real highlight of the R30 tour. But of the 80s synth albums, Power Windows is the best, IMO.

[between sun and moon]

i sadly don't own the album but i have heard distant early warning, thats one of my favorite rush songs (although i have somewhere from 10 to 20 favorite songs )

[rickyrob]

Hmm. The point I was trying to get across is that the album doesn't have that feeling of being a favourite of many. Its almost an acquired taste. I judge 'albums' on their total quality. I think 2112 is an example of an album I would never call my favourite (because in its entirety I don't feel its that great). Yet it has the most famous of epic tracks on it. Similarly, Moving Pictures has famous, great tracks on it, but also some which I feel are a little weak. GUP however, is a complete album. It really has everything for me. I can't fault it.

 

I relate it to Blade Runner in terms of Sci-fi films. Where this film is a classic, cult sci-fi film, it isn't everyone's favourite.

 

Now I'm rambling on like some nit-wit, because I've had a bit to drink...heh!

 

I need dweez to tell me I'm a dork.

[Schro]

Good thread Rickyrob. I'll never forget a Rush fan I met at one of my jobs. We were talking one day about how we both loved early Rush, and out of the blue he said, "Have you ever heard Grace Under Pressure? I can't stand that one." He admitted he wasn't a hardcore fan like some of us, but still, it suprised me that P/G wouldn't appeal to a normal Rush fan. I listen to it and think, "What's not to like?"

 

I certainly don't expect everyone that likes Rush, in whatever capity, to fall in love with Grace. But it just seemed that after the fairly strong keyboard push that came with Signals, Grace, while it still featured some keys in the songs, represented a solid, balanced approach. Alex came back to the forefront on many of the songs, even while Geddy was certainly still pushing and experimenting on his side of things.

 

Composition-wise, I'm on board. While clearly they were trying to push boundries a bit, these songs hit home with me as well as any of my Rush favorites. Maybe the songs don't have a "racing with the wind" quality like some off of MP and PW, but I like them all the same.

 

Lyrically, I think P/G was very strong as well. A bit of a science fiction feel without being completely so, with a touch of somberness thrown in with the Afterimage and Red Sector A tracks. When listening to the cd as a whole, a feeling of "that's how it is" comes over me in some of the words, but also present is a rebellious, "write your own destiny" aura that comes through as well.

 

Favorite track is probably Between The Wheels. Besides Freewill, it's easily in the Top 5 "Songs You'll Likely Hear Me Screaming In The Car".

 

For my 7 year old son, the answer is simple. "Iceberg song! I wanna hear the Iceberg song!"

 

I'm only too happy to comply.

 

Cheers,

 

Schro

 

P.S. Anyone else like me and love the set they made for Distant Early Warning? Too cool if you ask me.

[Drumnut]

QUOTE (between sun and moon @ Feb 5 2005, 02:54 PM)

i sadly don't own the album but i have heard distant early warning, thats one of my favorite rush songs (although i have somewhere from 10 to 20 favorite songs )

GET IT!!!

[Presto45]

Well i love the Signals Album !!!

[Bastille Night]

QUOTE (rickyrob @ Feb 5 2005, 06:13 PM)

Hmm. The point I was trying to get across is that the album doesn't have that feeling of being a favourite of many. Its almost an acquired taste. I judge 'albums' on their total quality. I think 2112 is an example of an album I would never call my favourite (because in its entirety I don't feel its that great). Yet it has the most famous of epic tracks on it. Similarly, Moving Pictures has famous, great tracks on it, but also some which I feel are a little weak. GUP however, is a complete album. It really has everything for me. I can't fault it. I relate it to Blade Runner in terms of Sci-fi films. Where this film is a classic, cult sci-fi film, it isn't everyone's favourite. Now I'm rambling on like some nit-wit, because I've had a bit to drink...heh! I need dweez to tell me I'm a dork.

 

 

You're a DORK.......just taking some of the pressure off an overworked woman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RushGuru]

I cant say its my favorite album but I can say that it is at least in the top ten. it does have some great music on it. (In my opinion)Almost all of the songs are solid tracks. Red Sector A is one of my favorite songs of all time. But this album just didnt do what 2112 or Hemispheres or Moving Pictures did for me. They made a huge impact on the way i listen to music. When i first heard 2112 and Hemispheres and The Fountain Etc., I subconciously thought, "This is how Rush is supposed to sound. This is who Rush is." Of course I dont beleive that any more. I beleive that stage of their career is only part of their sound. But I rarely listen to P/G in the rapt, intense way that i listen to most of their older stuff. (Does that make sense?) So I dont think P/G is bad, quite the contrary. Different, yes but not at all bad.

[Midway Hawker]

Between the Wheels is one of their best ever.. I don't know why, it's just something special. It can still bring me to tears after 21 years of listening to it.... P/G is such an intriguing album.. Rush in Transition. I prefer it over PW, HYF, Presto, RTB.. But I still think Signals, MP, PerWav, Hemis, are better albums.

 

[Slaine mac Roth]

Yes, p/g is a pretty special album and I've thought so since 1984. Altough not my favourite (MP stills holds that place), its still up very high in my listings.

 

The songs on it are uniformly strong. Although very few of them are up there among my favourites (Afterimage being the exception), I don't think there's a clunker among them. In add ition, I think its one of the most varied of Rush albums - how often would would you get a jaunty sounding song like Kid Gloves followed by Red Lenses (which I can't really categorize) followed by a doom-laden piece like Between the Wheels. However, the transitions never seem to jar and its a smooth sounding album where all the individual components seem to gel.

 

Furthermore, and I think I've commented on this elsewhere, p/g is Rush's most cold sounding album and, I really think, captures the spirit of 1984 and all its dystopian forebodings.

[war2112]

Well said, Slaine. P/G certainly does capture the Cold War era very, very effectively. The lyrics are pessimistic for the most part and the music is at times clinically cold and sterile; The Enemy Within being a triumphant exception. It almost seems as if this track was created to debunk the rest of the album, like the lone voice refusing to melt away. I think it is the most socially resonant album they have ever made, although 2112 may prove to be more timeless. I love P/G and it always engages my mind and soul.

[Disco]

I'm a big fan of this album and reckon it features some of Alex's most innovative guitar work. The solos are excellent mainly rhthymic chord based pieces, which really work and I just love, but he never really returned to. Alex also has his moment in the sun with the awesome mid secion of Afterimage.

 

The album also has my favourite bit of melody in the Rush catalogue being the 12 bar 'To you is it movement or it it action? Is it contact.....go the distance' section.

 

I don't really know how to describe melody, so bare with me, but it really builds by pushing the highest note higher and higher creating a real energy. ('Is it action' highest note is f#, 'just resistance' highest note is g, 'just existance' highest note is a, and the 'Yeah you' is a up to b.). Try picking it out and fooling around with it, it starts on b, with f and c being sharp.

 

It's also a diverse album, but sometimes I think in a slightly obvious way, Red Sector A - the synth one, Red Lenses - the rhythm one, The Enemy Within - the white reggae one.

 

Except for Body Electric (the naff one) and Kid Gloves (I know some of you like it) every track's a winner baby!!

 

Disco

[rickyrob]

These were the kind of reactions I was looking for. I just threw a lot of controversy into one thread to see what response I would get.

 

When someone asks me what is my favourite album, I cop out and say Hemispheres....I was weened on this and 'Kings. Whilst Hemispheres is close to my heart because of this, musically it is my perfect album, hey the front cover comes in my Top 10 of all-time favourite album covers (there's another thread..), I do find it sometimes a little OTT, and difficult to digest (I take it in small doses)

 

I love the gutsy guitar work on GUP coupled with the right synth sounds and relevant lyrics. And I do like Body Electric (why does everyone seem to hate this song??), and more recently took a shine to Kid Gloves and Red Lenses. Whilst, yes, it is rather 'cold'....even the cover makes you shiver (!), I can't stop playing it.

 

BTW, Bastille Night, thanks for that

[spirit of radio]

QUOTE (Drumnut @ Feb 5 2005, 09:29 PM)

QUOTE (between sun and moon @ Feb 5 2005, 02:54 PM) i sadly don't own the album    but i have heard distant early warning, thats one of my favorite rush songs (although i have somewhere from 10 to 20 favorite songs ) GET IT!!! Get it now!!!

[Snowdog]

Grace Under Pressure has some great moments: Between the Wheels, Afterimage and the offbeat Red Lenses. As a whole, this album is not in my top five. Distant Early Warning, to me, was (is?) an attempt by the band to write another "Tom Sawyer", a tune that would appeal to the masses. I find DEW one of those songs when I hear it, whether live or on cd, I listen but dont really "get into it". Afterimage is a ghostly, haunting song and Alex's chord structured "solo" is some of his most innovative. Red Sector A is my "Piss Break" song at a concert. The Enemy Within, solid, but not up to the others in the "Fear Trilogy" (or is that a "Quadrilogy" now? Is that a word???). The Body Electric is a passable, but forgettable song. Kid Gloves is a snappy little tune that has another great solo by Al, but yet another average Rush tune. Red Lenses has always appealed to me. It's a fun, different, offbeat tune. It's always been one of my favorites. And Between the Wheels is simply a moody masterpiece. Contains yet another amazing solo by Alex. One of the top "hardcore" songs of the entire catalog.

 

Overall, a solid release, but not worthy of top five status. But, you know what they say about opinions

 

edit for spelling and grammer

[Disco]

Ricky, yes I forgot to mention, the front cover is fantastic. While there are others fighting for first place (Farewell to Kings,Vapor trails) for me, the g/p cover is top-of-the shop winner. A sophisitcated graphic, which is futuristic and weaves in some of the themes of the album.

 

There may be some out there who think that an album's packaging is not so important, and that it's all about the music. For me though an album's artwork is your first chance to create a mood and set out a statement of intent, fashion or attitude.

 

It's the introduction to the album and can both show and enhance the music's mood or the band's attitude.

 

 

Disco

 

PS So you gonna start a top album covers thread then?

[NeilPeartFan2112]

QUOTE (spirit of radio @ Feb 6 2005, 09:52 AM)

QUOTE (Drumnut @ Feb 5 2005, 09:29 PM) QUOTE (between sun and moon @ Feb 5 2005, 02:54 PM) i sadly don't own the album but i have heard distant early warning, thats one of my favorite rush songs (although i have somewhere from 10 to 20 favorite songs ) GET IT!!! Get it now!!! GET IT!!! Argh!

[redstar86]

GUP is my favorite album, by far. It is definitely their best. Great musicianship and great lyrics make all the songs great on this album.

[rickyrob]

QUOTE (NeilPeartFan2112 @ Feb 6 2005, 03:11 PM)

QUOTE (spirit of radio @ Feb 6 2005, 09:52 AM) QUOTE (Drumnut @ Feb 5 2005, 09:29 PM) QUOTE (between sun and moon @ Feb 5 2005, 02:54 PM) i sadly don't own the album but i have heard distant early warning, thats one of my favorite rush songs (although i have somewhere from 10 to 20 favorite songs ) GET IT!!! Get it now!!! GET IT!!! Argh! Argh! Argh! Argh Get it! Again.

[Ghost of a Rider]

Grace Under Pressure is not my favorite but it has some great songs on it. My favorite from that one is Kid Gloves. I'm a finger drummer, ( some people sing, some hum, some just listen. I play the drums on my knee. It's just how I get into the music). Anyway, the snappy drum - punctuated guitar solo in that song has always been a challenge to keep up with. But then, most of his fills and solos are snappy and that's why I love his style.

[BigG]

Great fan of GUP

 

 

The aspect I like best is the middle sections, whic to me are prog within song structures, I'm thinking esoecially of Red Sector A, Red Lenses.

 

For me the is real signiture Peart drumming - in those middle sections he plays very melodically, an equal to the guitar and bass in the texture of the music, and frees himself from 'time keeping' to real expression.

 

I love those soundscape sections that had developed on the Signals album (The Weapon)

 

My supa geek point: The hi-hat part to the opening of Red Secxtor A is different on the live versions - no idea why he made the change, put he plays it this new way now.

[Huck]

Yeah, love "Grace Under Pressure" Rickyrob, it has no standout track for me, although The Enemy Within is probably my favourite on the album, every tune is good to average, but I know what you mean it has something overall as complete work that makes it special. Lyrically its most excellent.

[launchpad67a]

It have always thought that GUP and HYF were their best albums!

(and Power Windows too)

[King Rygar]

Grace is still my favorite album, although a few of the others have crept up on it recently with many more listens...

 

Afterimage, Between da wheels, etc... Always taps into my spirit! And the cover art stands out in my mind as the best. Though I think the best cover art they should have used would have been the rabbit standing on the turtle for counterparts.....