EmotionDetector Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 So...Day 2 of this tournament. I'll try to post a few more today, I just don't want to overflood the front page with nothing but polls! Power Windows - Side 1 vs Grace Under Pressure - Side 1 Once again, another fine matchup, and another tough one for me personally! Oh well...choose which side you're on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apetersvt Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I'm not a big fan of PoW (and prefer side 2 as well) so GUP wins easily for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 This one was tough for me again. Power Windows is one of my favourite Rush albums. I think on most days, it could easily be in my Top 5! With that said, P/G is also no slouch. But...if I had to rank the tracks on PoW, my two "least favourites" would ironically be the two 'hits' on the album (Big Money and Manhattan Project). However, Grand Designs is grossly underrated IMO, and Marathon is amongst some of the very best things they've done, especially that middle bridge section, closed out by one of Alex's best solos. With P/G, you've got some homeruns right off the bat. Besides maybe Between The Wheels, all of my favourite songs on P/G are all on Side A. DeW is a pheonminal opener, Afterimage is such an amazing song that I am still waiting to hear live, Red Sector A delivers emotion in spades, and has some of Neil's finest lyrics, and The Enemy Within is a fun rocker, and one of my favourite FEAR parts. Also, in this particular poll, we are comparing the weaker side of PoW with the stronger side of P/G. So...because of this, I am giving the edge to Grace Under Pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 When I first looked at that list of songs, I couldn't decide, so I went to my list of top 50 Rush songs. Side 1 of GUP has three songs in my top 50 - at 22, 48 & 50 Side 1 of PoW has three songs in my top 50 - at 23, 47 & 49 Shit, that is practically identical! That would leave me choosing between Grand Designs and The Enemy Within, which are the only two not in my top 50, and they're again neck and neck. As much as I hate to do it, I think I'm going to have to abstain from voting on this one. I literally like them exactly the same! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Aug 20 2010, 09:53 AM) When I first looked at that list of songs, I couldn't decide, so I went to my list of top 50 Rush songs. Side 1 of GUP has three songs in my top 50 - at 22, 48 & 50 Side 1 of PoW has three songs in my top 50 - at 23, 47 & 49 Shit, that is practically identical! That would leave me choosing between Grand Designs and The Enemy Within, which are the only two not in my top 50, and they're again neck and neck. As much as I hate to do it, I think I'm going to have to abstain from voting on this one. I literally like them exactly the same! Goobs...you're crazy! A Top 50??! I have such a difficult time making a Top 10! Yikes! But that's funny...crazy to see how identical these two album sides are for you! That's really why I thought this would be a fun idea. It is one thing to vote for which album you like better, but when you break them down by sides, it makes it MUCH more difficult IMO, and I think the results at the end of this "tournament" will be interesting to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. JD Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 PoW for me. Grand Designs and Marathon pushed me to make the decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 QUOTE (EmotionDetector @ Aug 20 2010, 06:57 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Aug 20 2010, 09:53 AM) When I first looked at that list of songs, I couldn't decide, so I went to my list of top 50 Rush songs. Side 1 of GUP has three songs in my top 50 - at 22, 48 & 50 Side 1 of PoW has three songs in my top 50 - at 23, 47 & 49 Shit, that is practically identical! That would leave me choosing between Grand Designs and The Enemy Within, which are the only two not in my top 50, and they're again neck and neck. As much as I hate to do it, I think I'm going to have to abstain from voting on this one. I literally like them exactly the same! Goobs...you're crazy! A Top 50??! I have such a difficult time making a Top 10! Yikes! But that's funny...crazy to see how identical these two album sides are for you! That's really why I thought this would be a fun idea. It is one thing to vote for which album you like better, but when you break them down by sides, it makes it MUCH more difficult IMO, and I think the results at the end of this "tournament" will be interesting to see. Yeah, don't you remember the top 50 Rush song thread? It wasn't that long ago: http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?showtopic=57800 It's true what you say about album sides. If you take the entire album into consideration, I have GUP at #7 and Power Windows at #11. I tend to think GUP is more consistent and cohesive as a whole, but if you take side 1 of each, they're pretty neck and neck. I can't imagine this will happen often with your album side polls, but for this one I literally can't decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReRushed Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Again, "Marathon" is one of my absolute favorite Rush songs, so Power Windows gets my vote. For some reason, Grace Under Pressure doesn't hold together well as a continuous listen to me. Also, I think it's a tad bit overrated by us Rush fans. I believe Rush found what they were looking for with Grace Under Pressure on Power Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 QUOTE (ReRushed @ Aug 20 2010, 11:10 AM) I believe Rush found what they were looking for with Grace Under Pressure on Power Windows. That is an interesting perspective. I can't say that I disagree with this...PoW has everything that I love about Rush. Amazing album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 QUOTE (EmotionDetector @ Aug 20 2010, 09:15 AM) QUOTE (ReRushed @ Aug 20 2010, 11:10 AM) I believe Rush found what they were looking for with Grace Under Pressure on Power Windows. That is an interesting perspective. I can't say that I disagree with this...PoW has everything that I love about Rush. Amazing album. There really are no bad songs on Power Windows, even though there are some weaker tracks, but it always felt to me more like a collection of songs as opposed to a unified whole like Signals or GUP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSHFREAK101 Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 for me i totally fell in love with side 1 of GUP of late i never realized how great that first side is at this moment in time side 1 GUP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReRushed Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Aug 20 2010, 12:37 PM) QUOTE (EmotionDetector @ Aug 20 2010, 09:15 AM) QUOTE (ReRushed @ Aug 20 2010, 11:10 AM) I believe Rush found what they were looking for with Grace Under Pressure on Power Windows. That is an interesting perspective. I can't say that I disagree with this...PoW has everything that I love about Rush. Amazing album. There really are no bad songs on Power Windows, even though there are some weaker tracks, but it always felt to me more like a collection of songs as opposed to a unified whole like Signals or GUP. Funny. I feel the opposite. To my ears, Power Windows holds together better conceptually and sonically than either Signals or Grace Under Pressure. "Countdown" sounds unfinished, almost like a demo, and half the songs on Grace Under Pressure miss the target and the album sounds cold and distant. Power Windows sounds complete, there's nothing missing and nothing that needs to be added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silas Lang Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 This is the closest match up for me so far. Side 1 of Power Windows is definitely its better half, but GUP is my 4th favorite and side 1 is amazing so it gets my vote. Its cold and distant sound is part of its brilliance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Not Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Today has easy match ups, Grace Under Pressure got my vote here too unsurprisingly.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New World Kid Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 GUP. Just such an emotively cold album... with all instruments working well. POW was really the album I notice Alex in the back the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 This was tough, but GUP got the edge narrowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtron Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 GUP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Show Don't Tell Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Wow, this is really hard. I love both albums so much! I'll go with GUP since I've had a fondness for it as of late. Plus, I think Side 1 is the weaker side of PoW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circumstantial tree Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Whoa. This one is tough. They practically tie IMO. "Afterimage" and "Grand Designs" are my favorite songs on the sides of those albums. It's almost like both albums follow a similar formula. I'll go with Grace Under Pressure in this category, but I sure hate dismissing Power Windows side 1. The guitars on Grace Under Pressure, I think, are better than what I hear on Power Windows. This, of course, has nothing to do with the amount of keyboards. I like the sound on the guitar. I'm guessing it was a different kind of guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Power Windows always! Alex's solos are incredible on that album. Geddy's vocals are amazing. Everything is better on that album compared to GUP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theredtamasrule Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Tough choice but I went with PoW just because: Big Money/DEW, Afterimage/Grand Designs cancel each other out since they're some of my favorite songs. Manhattan/Red Sector cancel each other out because they're both so-so in my book. Marathon gets the nod over Enemy because, hell, it has a killer jam and Alex soars with a wonderful solo. Both are great albums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Slipperman Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Wow. this one is the hardest one yet. I'm going with PoW just slightly over P/G. Reason? The Enemy Within... I dig it. but.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rendclaw Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I always did have trouble getting into Power Windows as an album. Grace Under Pressure had a much better balance of instruments than Power Windows, which always seemed that with a few exceptions Alex's guitars were kind of tacked on as an afterthought. I was watching the documentary (which I just can't watch a few minutes of, I sit down and say "I'll watch 15 or 20 minutes of it", next thing I know its an hour later), and how Ged and Al had big disagreements on sonic space when recording Power Windows. I understood Ged's point about feeling better about writing melodies on keyboards instead of bass, but I also understood Al feeling like the increasing presence of the keyboards and synths were stomping all over his guitars. Its a testament as to how deep their friendship is, because that kind of issue can tear a band to shreds, no matter how long they have been performing. Rupert Hine coming along and making the keyboards take a step back to the original three instruments for Presto was such a breath of fresh air and a relief, I couldn't begin to tell you. I'm not saying that the band has to always stick to the power trio stuff, but even by the band's own admission, Hold Your Fire (which strangely I love, I think because the record has a much better mix) was a step too far in that direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pause Rewind Replay Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I hate to say this but this is a matchup decided negatively: PoW wins because Afterimage is a song that I ALWAYS skip. DEW and Red Sector A would be the #1 and #3 songs out of these 8, but Afterimage is such a moodwrecker vs. this otherwise strong group that PoW steals the win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losingit2k Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 I Voted for GUP only because I think Afterimage is better than Grand Design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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