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When did the Synth Era end?


Justus_2112
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I have heard many answers to this, all of them different.

 

The Synth Era undoubtedly started with Signals in 1982 (big stylistic change between MP and Signals.) But when do you think it ended?

 

I know that their use of synthesizers went way down with Presto, but I consider the end to be after Roll the Bones, because although the synths stopped, the style and structure of the songs stayed the same until Counterparts changed it.

 

That's just my thought. What do you think?

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I have heard many answers to this, all of them different.

 

The Synth Era undoubtedly started with Signals in 1982 (big stylistic change between MP and Signals.) But when do you think it ended?

 

I know that their use of synthesizers went way down with Presto, but I consider the end to be after Roll the Bones, because although the synths stopped, the style and structure of the songs stayed the same until Counterparts changed it.

 

That's just my thought. What do you think?

I disagree. The Synth Era started with Grace Under Pressure and ended with T4E.

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I have heard many answers to this, all of them different.

 

The Synth Era undoubtedly started with Signals in 1982 (big stylistic change between MP and Signals.) But when do you think it ended?

 

I know that their use of synthesizers went way down with Presto, but I consider the end to be after Roll the Bones, because although the synths stopped, the style and structure of the songs stayed the same until Counterparts changed it.

 

That's just my thought. What do you think?

I disagree. The Synth Era started with Grace Under Pressure and ended with T4E.

 

Just listen to the synth that kicks off Subdivisions on Signals in 1982 - Counterparts in 1993 was punchy bass and loud guitar and drums with minimal synths. I say the synth era ended after Roll the Bones and began with Signals.

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From Farewell to Kings to Signals keyboards were being introduced more and more but Grace Under Pressure was a Paradigm shift in the use of Keys and a big transition in Alex's guitar parts and sound. Presto was the return to more guitar oriented.
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From Farewell to Kings to Signals keyboards were being introduced more and more but Grace Under Pressure was a Paradigm shift in the use of Keys and a big transition in Alex's guitar parts and sound. Presto was the return to more guitar oriented.

 

I agree. The difference between Signals and GUP is much greater than the difference between MP and Signals. GUP is when the synths first overwhelmed the songs.

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officially, it ends with Roll The Bones, as that album is the first in a while to feature guitar driven music more heavily than synth driven music. However, RTB sucks, and CP is when the guitar really regained its shine, so CP is also a fine answer.
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Always surprises me when fans express dislike for synth era, Ged's synths are exquisite man

 

Listen to him in La Villa or the very last album in BU2B, when you hear those keyboards you know is Rush. He aint no Rick Wakeman and he knows that but he gets the maximum amount of creative juice outa what he does know. The guy is a true artist on those things and were it not for ged's keyboards an awful lot of Al's best playing wouldnt have been possible, he used the sounds and the gaps between em as a canvas to go all over the place.

 

I love Ged's keyboards they gorgeous

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The real question is when did the synth era begin. I realize there is a lot of synth on a lot of the albums but hold your fire to me was the end Edited by Red3angel
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From Farewell to Kings to Signals keyboards were being introduced more and more but Grace Under Pressure was a Paradigm shift in the use of Keys and a big transition in Alex's guitar parts and sound. Presto was the return to more guitar oriented.

 

I agree. The difference between Signals and GUP is much greater than the difference between MP and Signals. GUP is when the synths first overwhelmed the songs.

 

I must be smoking the crack pipe again. "SIGNALS" IS SYNTH! Are you guys nuts????? I remember when I bought "Signals" as a little kid on the day it came out. I fuckking cried I was so pissed off that there was no guitar!!!

 

"The Camera Eye" kicked off the Synth Era then!

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I have heard many answers to this, all of them different.

 

The Synth Era undoubtedly started with Signals in 1982 (big stylistic change between MP and Signals.) But when do you think it ended?

 

I know that their use of synthesizers went way down with Presto, but I consider the end to be after Roll the Bones, because although the synths stopped, the style and structure of the songs stayed the same until Counterparts changed it.

 

That's just my thought. What do you think?

Like you say, I think the spirit of the synth era is still present on those two albums. Although guitar is more front and center, it's still a more atmospheric sounding approach, Andy Summers style (which I love). You can hear riff-centered writing, though.
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The synth era started when they got this dude Hugh Syme to play keys(mellotron,soughtt of like a prehistoric synth) on Tears.Also as mentioned the whoosh at the start of 2112 as mentioned.Seriously it all started on Signals but came into full swing with GUP ,perhaps my fave Rush album.As well as Geds keys we have electronic percussion.Alex's sound and style changed to.Presto stripped the overall production back but the keys were still there.Counterparts saw Alex roaring back and then they bludgeoned the keys to oblivion on VT.Power Windows was the height of the synth period.
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I'm not sure that "synth era" is the proper term here. I would say "keyboard focused" instead. They had been using synth from very early in their careers. The point at which the albums became "keyboard focused" started with Signals in my opinion and ended with Hold Your Fire. The best of the bunch I think was Power Windows, the perfect blend of all instruments involved.

 

Obviously they used keyboards/synth before and after, but I believe these few albums were constructed primarily with the keyboard in mind.

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From Farewell to Kings to Signals keyboards were being introduced more and more but Grace Under Pressure was a Paradigm shift in the use of Keys and a big transition in Alex's guitar parts and sound. Presto was the return to more guitar oriented.

 

I agree. The difference between Signals and GUP is much greater than the difference between MP and Signals. GUP is when the synths first overwhelmed the songs.

 

I must be smoking the crack pipe again. "SIGNALS" IS SYNTH! Are you guys nuts????? I remember when I bought "Signals" as a little kid on the day it came out. I fuckking cried I was so pissed off that there was no guitar!!!

 

"The Camera Eye" kicked off the Synth Era then!

 

There's a lot of synth on Signals, true. But there was on PeW and MP too, and songs like The Analog Kid and Digital Man are more guitar driven and heavy than anything on GUP. Even songs that have more synth presence, like Subdivisions and The Weapon, are still better and heavier than any of the songs on GUP.

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Signals had more keyboards than previous albums but to me the real shift happened when they parted ways with Terry Brown on Grace and went full-on in that direction. The end point is HYF — Presto and Roll the Bones still had keyboards on them but they weren't the focus anymore. Those three mid-80s albums are what I think of when I think about that era. Signals has more in common with Moving Pictures than it does with the three albums that followed it.
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Signals had more keyboards than previous albums but to me the real shift happened when they parted ways with Terry Brown on Grace and went full-on in that direction. The end point is HYF — Presto and Roll the Bones still had keyboards on them but they weren't the focus anymore. Those three mid-80s albums are what I think of when I think about that era. Signals has more in common with Moving Pictures than it does with the three albums that followed it.

 

You know, a lot of Rush fans claim that Presto was the album where "the guitar came back", I would more say that it was the album where the bass came back. The only Song that Geddy still played a main keyboard part (meaning no bass guitar, just synth bass) on was Show Don't Tell, every other song, the keyboard was just an accent and was sampled live.

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