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Grace Under Pressure VS Power Windows


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  1. 1. Grace Under Pressure VS Power Windows

    • Grace Under Pressure
    • Power Windows


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I'm a big fan of both, but it's Power Windows for me. I really appreciate Alex's guitar work on PoW more, especially on Emotion Detector and Mystic Rhythms
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Difficult...http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0006.gif

 

PoW (Right in the Kisser!) has some of my favourite synth era songs, particularly Marathon....but I think GuP is stronger overall

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PW is more consistent whereas P/G has a weak spot (The Body Electric) but PG has a better sound, the better songs are more engaging, and of course the album artwork blows PW away. PW is consistently good. P/G is more engaging.

 

Winner Grace Under Pressure.

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P/G.

 

Vapor Trails Remixed vs Clockwork Angels should be on here...

 

Difficult...http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0006.gif

 

PoW (Right in the Kisser!) has some of my favourite synth era songs, particularly Marathon....but I think GuP is stronger overall

I agree with this completely.

Edited by len(songs)
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Cannot vote. p/g through to HYF are all 10/10. Nope. Can't do it.
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P/G for me. I always thought the 2nd half of Power Windows didn't quite match up to the first, although still quite good. While P/G has only one song (Red Lenses) I don't like as much as the rest.
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PoW PoW PoW Pounding in your temples! (Sorry, I had to) :P

 

But yeah, Power Windows for me. GuP kinda didn't impress me too much the first couple times I heard it (it took a while to like The a Enemy Within, Kid Gloves, Red Lenses, and Between The Wheels that much). Power Windows was my first Rush album on vinyl, and I still think it' sustained an incredibly solid album, with such amazing synth work, which only seems to highlight how awesome the guitar is every time Alex gets a chance to come out front.

 

And dat bass line in Marathon, man!

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Power Windows accomplished the amazing. Take a HORRIBLE choice in direction (80's sounding Casio keys-based "Tears for Fears" wannabe music) and actually make it GREAT and make it WORK!!!

 

Power Windows has so much against it...again, lame 80's keyboard sounds, massive 80's reverby digital production, lack of anything guitar-based, ect...but it TOTALLY works and is one of their BEST albums. This same formula did NOT work on Hold Your Fire. That proves that it's ultimately the SONGS and the performances that have to be THAT GREAT to overcome horrid 80's production and keyboards. And, Power Windows does that.

 

The only songs that aren't up to muster are clearly "Emotion Detector" and to a lesser degree "Mystic Rhythms" which has grown better as time goes on.

 

Some of Neil's best drumming is on Power Windows...even though the "reverbed-to-the-back-of-the-stadium" 80's recording style sucks bison sack. And while Geddy's Rick tone from 1980-81 is my favorite bass tone ever and Geddy ruthlessly discarding it was blasphemy...even I can admit that the Wal tone on Power Windows TOTALLY works for the material (but sounded horrible live on old songs...which Geddy tortured us for YEARS doing). The bass playing on Power Windows is incredible, and a HUGE influence on my own playing. But again, Power Windows' secret is the songs...the first six songs are just 80's perfection, especially "Grand Designs," "Marathon," and the beautiful "Middletown Dreams." It's unreal that even while bathed in totally unfashionable terrible 80's production and keys, that this album ranks as one of their best...what could have been a death-knell turned out to be a treasure. Only in the last two songs does the album lose a bit of steam. But, those songs aren't "Kid Gloves" terrible, so they don't hurt the album that bad...and the rest is SOOOO good that it's hard to keep Power Windows down.

 

Grace Under Pressure, is ANOTHER great album. But, in contrast, the BAD songs on the album just kill it...even after the amazing first four songs including GREAT songs such as "The Enemy Within" and the haunting "Afterimage." But, for some unknown reason, Rush decided to start the second half of the album with the incredibly stupid "1-0-0-1 S.O.S" embarrassing crap and decided to follow that crap up with the gayest thing they every did to that point, "Kid Gloves" which made my own balls retract a few centimeters the first time I heard it. Then, given the memory of the perfect first half of the album contrasted with the horror of "Kid Gloves," the album offends the listener even more with the beyond-silly and stupid "Red Lenses" where Geddy just sounds so lame I even wince to this day when I think of it. Miraculously, "Between the Wheels" closes the album and redeems the band, especially when Geddy yells, "Brother can you spare another war" in his old high voice...it's a great closer, and one of the best tracks on the album. But the trifecta of crotch lint before it almost kills a near majority of the album as a whole.

 

So, Power Windows it is.

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Power Windows accomplished the amazing. Take a HORRIBLE choice in direction (80's sounding Casio keys-based "Tears for Fears" wannabe music) and actually make it GREAT and make it WORK!!!

 

Power Windows has so much against it...again, lame 80's keyboard sounds, massive 80's reverby digital production, lack of anything guitar-based, ect...but it TOTALLY works and is one of their BEST albums. This same formula did NOT work on Hold Your Fire. That proves that it's ultimately the SONGS and the performances that have to be THAT GREAT to overcome horrid 80's production and keyboards. And, Power Windows does that.

 

The only songs that aren't up to muster are clearly "Emotion Detector" and to a lesser degree "Mystic Rhythms" which has grown better as time goes on.

 

Some of Neil's best drumming is on Power Windows...even though the "reverbed-to-the-back-of-the-stadium" 80's recording style sucks bison sack. And while Geddy's Rick tone from 1980-81 is my favorite bass tone ever and Geddy ruthlessly discarding it was blasphemy...even I can admit that the Wal tone on Power Windows TOTALLY works for the material (but sounded horrible live on old songs...which Geddy tortured us for YEARS doing). The bass playing on Power Windows is incredible, and a HUGE influence on my own playing. But again, Power Windows' secret is the songs...the first six songs are just 80's perfection, especially "Grand Designs," "Marathon," and the beautiful "Middletown Dreams." It's unreal that even while bathed in totally unfashionable terrible 80's production and keys, that this album ranks as one of their best...what could have been a death-knell turned out to be a treasure. Only in the last two songs does the album lose a bit of steam. But, those songs aren't "Kid Gloves" terrible, so they don't hurt the album that bad...and the rest is SOOOO good that it's hard to keep Power Windows down.

 

Grace Under Pressure, is ANOTHER great album. But, in contrast, the BAD songs on the album just kill it...even after the amazing first four songs including GREAT songs such as "The Enemy Within" and the haunting "Afterimage." But, for some unknown reason, Rush decided to start the second half of the album with the incredibly stupid "1-0-0-1 S.O.S" embarrassing crap and decided to follow that crap up with the gayest thing they every did to that point, "Kid Gloves" which made my own balls retract a few centimeters the first time I heard it. Then, given the memory of the perfect first half of the album contrasted with the horror of "Kid Gloves," the album offends the listener even more with the beyond-silly and stupid "Red Lenses" where Geddy just sounds so lame I even wince to this day when I think of it. Miraculously, "Between the Wheels" closes the album and redeems the band, especially when Geddy yells, "Brother can you spare another war" in his old high voice...it's a great closer, and one of the best tracks on the album. But the trifecta of crotch lint before it almost kills a near majority of the album as a whole.

 

So, Power Windows it is.

Tough one. Nice insights. PoW is IMO a flawless effort. Just amazing.

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Tough. But you can't go wrong with Distant Early Warning, Red Sector A, Kid Gloves, The Enemy Within, Red Lenses, AND Between the Wheels on the same album! The Body Electric is decent also. I just don't really like Afterimage. Power Windows is great, for sure—The Big Money, Marathon, Middletown Dreams, and Mystic Rhythms are all solid—but p/G wins this one. Edited by Disk98
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Grace Under Pressure.

 

It's the record I enjoy listening to the most of all Rush records.

 

^^^^^That about sums it up for me.....I can listen to it from beginning to end with no hesitation. Also my first RUSH album I bought, my first live RUSH concert of 49 now, my first fight at a concert....basically the start of my RUSHMANIA.

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For the synth era (82-87) -

1. Hold Your Fire

2. Power Windows

3. Grace Under Pressure

4. Signals

But IMO all these albums are amazing! I love them all and 2-4 are tied! But I'm going to choose Power Windows because it was it's my 2nd favorite Rush album in all!

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I voted for Power Windows but this was the hardest album battle for me yet. They're both equal to me, in their greatness. My vote could change tomorrow, but right now, definitely PoW.
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