Twenty years ago when I really got back into Rush, P/G kind of soared to the top because of my nostalgia with it. It was the first Rush album I bought when it was their current new album. I bought it one night in early 1985 after a pretty big snow storm. My parents and I went out to go to the grocery store. There was a record store next door, and to my surprise it was open. I think it was a Sunday evening, and school was already closed the nest day. So I wanted to buy something. I already knew I liked Distant Early Warning and The Body Electric from the radio, so I went ahead and bought it. I listened to it a few times that night, and I was especially enamored with Between The Wheels. So it was 15 year old me in early 1985, a foot of snow on the ground in late January, listening to this cold sounding album, during the Cold War. Everything about that album for me is cold, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
It's interesting though. There was a real warmth to Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, and Signals. Moving Pictures was kind of cold. That's the one album I think pairs up with P/G really well. If they had not made Signals at all, P/G would have been a great follow up to MP. Vital Signs would have been the perfect pointing song to where the band was going next.
If Terry can find some buried or muted parts, I'll definitely give it a listen.