greyfriar Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 https://www.cygnus-x...oldyourfire.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planet X-1 Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 I pretty much like HYF from start to finish (and yes, Highwater is one of my favorite songs) Alex rips off a few killer solos, and the band has some impressive in-song 'jams' The only drawback for me is the production/mix - it sounds like someone stuffed cotton into my headphones.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtron Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 This is the first album I don't love, but it's not bad. I just don't like Second Nature and Tai Shan at all. The synths aren't my favorite either, but some of that is the production...like the sequencer bits on Force Ten sound harsh to me. There's a lot of great stuff on it though. Time Stand Still and Open Secrets are fantastic. Geddy goes hard on the album too...check the bass on Prime Mover. Overall, it's only a slight decline for me, unlike the album that followed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithrandir Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 (edited) Great stuff Segue! Thanks for doing this. Side 1 is fantastic. As you can see the last 2 songs weigh the album down. If I just listen to the first 8 songs HYF is about my 14-15th favorite. If I include the last 2 songs, it ranks dead last. Force Ten 9.5Time Stand Still 9.5Open Secrets 9.5Second Nature 9.75Prime Mover 9.5Lock and Key 9.25Mission 8.5Turn the Page 8.75Tai Shan 2High Water 4 Total - 80.25 Rating- 8.025 9.28125 - Album rating without counting Tai Shan and High Water Edited December 12, 2018 by Mithrandir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil1972 Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 4. Second Nature I have said before that for a long time this album was my number one. Four songs in, it may still be my favourite Rush album. Powerful, beautiful songwriting. The synths sound so glorious here and it is just...well...it hits me hard emotionally. I find this album very therapeutic. You could apply these words here to the world at large, or as I do, to how life is for each of us as individuals. We all want to see things in life change. But we can't always, but we can still try. Today is different,And tomorrow the sameIt’s hard to take the worldThe way that it cameToo many rapidsKeep us sweeping alongToo many captainsKeep on steering us wrongIt’s hard to take the heat —It’s hard to lay blameTo fight the fire —While we’reFeeding the flames 9/10 An underrated song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil1972 Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 6. Lock And Key The albums most infectious and catchy moment. Seriously the chorus here is unbelievably hooky! Don’t want to silenceA desperate voiceFor the sake of securityNo one wants to makeA terrible choiceOn the price of being freeI don’t want to faceThe killer instinct —Face it in you or meSo we keep it under lock and key… Amazing lyrics and yet you can sing along to this and forget it has a deeper message. I could imagine in an alternate universe this song being a big hit. One of the best sounding songs on the while album, Alex is an absolute beast on this track! Beautiful and for the synth era, quite heavy. And six songs in I need to just say that Geddy sounds absolutely wonderful vocally. I love his eighties voice. More restrained and so rich! 10/10 Easily the worst song - along with Tai-Shan - on that album, IMO. Never could dig this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yyz305 Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 6. Lock And Key The albums most infectious and catchy moment. Seriously the chorus here is unbelievably hooky! Don’t want to silenceA desperate voiceFor the sake of securityNo one wants to makeA terrible choiceOn the price of being freeI don’t want to faceThe killer instinct —Face it in you or meSo we keep it under lock and key… Amazing lyrics and yet you can sing along to this and forget it has a deeper message. I could imagine in an alternate universe this song being a big hit. One of the best sounding songs on the while album, Alex is an absolute beast on this track! Beautiful and for the synth era, quite heavy. And six songs in I need to just say that Geddy sounds absolutely wonderful vocally. I love his eighties voice. More restrained and so rich! 10/10 Easily the worst song - along with Tai-Shan - on that album, IMO. Never could dig this one. That's how I see the album. These are my two least favourites. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tas7 Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Really didn't warm to this album when it came out and don't think it has aged well. Full of expectation after Power Windows, still can't take to the late 80's production and only listen to Force Ten and Mission. The rest is all over the place to me and the lyrical content gets really smaltzy. Can't bear Second Nature, like rocks answer to You Can thank Your Lucky Stars by Dean Friedman. Live versions are/were an improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grasbo Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 I played this to death when it first came out but it did feel a step down from Power Windows in all areas.Now i feel its the album that has aged the worst in their catalogue.I remember Alex commenting in a guitar magazine a couple of years after that album came out that the album and .his guitar sounded stodgy and i agree with him.I dont dislike the album,it is of its time,like Caress of Steel is a mid 70s album.Its the album i play if i dont want the missus to get in a bad mood.She is a Beach Boys/Bee Gees fan and stuff like By Tor or Earthshine get her edgy.So HYF is an easy listening album for delicate ears.(I got told off this morning for blasting through my earbuds Randy Hansen majestic take on Hendrix's Machine Gun on Youtube at 7am.I told her she was lucky i didnt send it through the surround system.Been a big fan of Hansen for decades,the closest you will ever get to Hendrix.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condemned2bfree Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 I think in terms of pure songwriting - melody, lyrics and structure (over musicianship) Hold Your Fire is probably Rush's finest That's not to say there aren't technical aspects, they surface from time to time, but just don't seem to be the emphasis on this album. It would be great to hear HYF rerecorded or played live - the production is too brittle and cold for the albums warm sentiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condemned2bfree Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 6. Lock And Key The albums most infectious and catchy moment. Seriously the chorus here is unbelievably hooky! Don’t want to silenceA desperate voiceFor the sake of securityNo one wants to makeA terrible choiceOn the price of being freeI don’t want to faceThe killer instinct —Face it in you or meSo we keep it under lock and key… Amazing lyrics and yet you can sing along to this and forget it has a deeper message. I could imagine in an alternate universe this song being a big hit. One of the best sounding songs on the while album, Alex is an absolute beast on this track! Beautiful and for the synth era, quite heavy. And six songs in I need to just say that Geddy sounds absolutely wonderful vocally. I love his eighties voice. More restrained and so rich! 10/10 Easily the worst song - along with Tai-Shan - on that album, IMO. Never could dig this one. Yes I find this one difficult at times, much more than Tai Shan. The fills at the end are great though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rftag Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I didn't like this album when it came out but when I revisited it years later it really grew on me. Great analysis Segue. Definitely not in my top ten though. I often recommend Rush fans to revisit the albums from the synth era that they previously dismissed and like myself they often find themselves appreciating greatness that had been formerly overlooked whilst still hoping for a return to the sort of stuff they put out during the Terry Brown years. I still think that their best stuff was the the stuff produced under Terry Brown, but there are a lot of gems out there afterwards. Another great post by Segue. I love what you're doing here btw in this album by album review. Great stuff. Keeps me coming back here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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