Gompers Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Power Windows further the 80's Synth sound for Rush. Even though it does sound dated due to this, after GUP, it was a nice followup. Noteworthy from this album were lyrics from Marathon, which became like a mantra for me in the sense that it spoke of never give up, never give in. Very inspiring in my eyes. Also, as I got more into politics, lyrics that hit home were those from Territories, which mirrored my strong beliefs at that time that all men are created equal and we are the one who put fences between us from personal relationships to global ones. (I still believe this, but understand that the world is not that simple.) The Great -Marathon -Mystic Rhythms -Territories -Middletown Dreams The Good -Manhattan Project -The Big Money The OK -Grand Designs -Emotion Detector I give this a 8.5, rounded to 9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossedSignals Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 A big old 10! One of my favorite Rush albums. It's so full and rich and BIG sounding. Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micgtr71 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Great album! I give it an 8 only for Manhattan Project (which I always found to be just an OK song) and Marathon (which was played to death on radio for this release and Show of Hands version). Good songs, but not my favorites. Territories is a phenomenal song as is Middletown Dreams. Ditto Emotion Detector. Grand Designs was my favorite track when the album came out. I've always liked Big Money and Mystic Rhythms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union 5-3992 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 QUOTE (micgtr71 @ Apr 15 2012, 08:01 PM) Great album! I give it an 8 only for Manhattan Project (which I always found to be just an OK song) and Marathon (which was played to death on radio for this release and Show of Hands version). Good songs, but not my favorites. Territories is a phenomenal song as is Middletown Dreams. Ditto Emotion Detector. Grand Designs was my favorite track when the album came out. I've always liked Big Money and Mystic Rhythms. You give it an 8, yet there are 0 votes for 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCFIELDS Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclonus X-1 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Well, here we have it: the one Rush record I'm just not particularly fond of. I kept listening to it over and over, waiting for it to grow on me like every other Rush album had, and it simply never happened. Actually, I've always loved The Big Money, and Emotion Detector is a good song with a great guitar solo. There are things I like about all of the other tunes, but things I dislike as well: some drag on for too long; some have solid parts followed and/or preceded by dull stretches. And Mystic Rhythms annoys the hell out of me. 5 is the score, the lowest I'd give to any Rush album so far. It's kind of tragic considering not a single one of these tracks lacked potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastille Dave Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) I couldnt give it an 8 so I gave it a 7, although I would give it a 7.5 or so. Well written songs, classy musicianship but overly slick production and over simplification compared to prior Rush releases. Still like listening to it a quarter century+ later but it's not a go-to album for me. Edited April 16, 2012 by Bastille Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossedSignals Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 PS to Gompers for these album-rating threads. I'm really enjoying them! Keep 'em coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theanalogmiddleagedman Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I don't pull out PoW very often, as a lot of the songs are on various DVD's, but when I do, I am amazed at how awesome it is. Say what you want about the synths, but I think the songs are just amazing. They were still in their creative high, even though the sound had changed so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 9.5 for me. Very nearly a Rush masterpiece. Emotion Detector is the only thing keeping it from a 10. It is a good song but not great like the rest of them although ironically it contains one of my fav guitar solos of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gompers Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ Apr 15 2012, 08:41 PM) PS to Gompers for these album-rating threads. I'm really enjoying them! Keep 'em coming. Working my way down to the first release. Slow but sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAccountant Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Another tremendous album that, like HYF & Presto, just seems to fit together. By the way, even though this and HYF may sound dated I actually like the dated sound / feel. It actually adds to the album. Its a good feel (for me at least). That being said, here we go: The Great: The Big Money Manhattan Project Marathon Mystic Rhythms The Good Grand Designs Territories (love the line about better beer - played live I am certain that would get a real round of applause) Middletown Dreams (always found this to a very sad song, was surprised when I read that Neil thought it was an inspirational song and has was surprised that a lot of folks found it to be sad. Good none the less.) Emotion Detector The Ok, The Not so Ok & The Bad None That right. Everything on the album is good or better!! With half the album qualifying as "great". Have alway liked this album a lot. It, like HYF, is a solid 9+ but I will round down and, again like HYF, will give it a 9. Way to go with these threads Gompers. They are a real blast!!! Both thought provoking and fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 of the 7 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 10 - my favorite or maybe second favorite Rush album! Marathon and Emotion Detector are my #1 and #2 songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanadu93 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Excellent album, easily a 10. At this point, it's probably my favorite Rush album (and perhaps one of my favorites of all time by any artist), and also contains one of my favorite songs ever in "Middletown Dreams". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unattractive Truth Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 10 Absolutely brilliant. The Big Money Manhattan Project Middletown Dreams Grand Designs Territories This one still gets regular rotation in CD changer. Just...love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALifeson85 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Gave it a solid 8. The Good The Big Money Grand Designs Marathon Middletown Dreams Mystic Rhythms The OK Manhattan Project Emotion Detector The Not So Good Territories (It just never clicked with me. The live version on A Show Of Hands is OK though - but I usually skip this one while listening to Power Windows) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Sawyer Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 6 Meh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J2112YYZ Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I give it a 9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReRushed Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 A very strong 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 QUOTE (ALifeson85 @ Apr 15 2012, 09:27 PM) Gave it a solid 8. The Good The Big Money Grand Designs Marathon Middletown Dreams Mystic Rhythms The OK Manhattan Project Emotion Detector The Not So Good Territories (It just never clicked with me. The live version on A Show Of Hands is OK though - but I usually skip this one while listening to Power Windows) Never in my life would I have thought I would ever hear somebody call Territories a not so good song. I think it's one of the strongest tracks on PoW. The fadeout at the end is just goosebump city with that awesome bass line and drum pattern and atmospheric keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALifeson85 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 QUOTE (presto123 @ Apr 15 2012, 09:43 PM) QUOTE (ALifeson85 @ Apr 15 2012, 09:27 PM) Gave it a solid 8. The Good The Big Money Grand Designs Marathon Middletown Dreams Mystic Rhythms The OK Manhattan Project Emotion Detector The Not So Good Territories (It just never clicked with me. The live version on A Show Of Hands is OK though - but I usually skip this one while listening to Power Windows) Never in my life would I have thought I would ever hear somebody call Territories a not so good song. I think it's one of the strongest tracks on PoW. The fadeout at the end is just goosebump city with that awesome bass line and drum pattern and atmospheric keys. Ok...I guess calling it "Not So Good" is a bit strong. It's not a HORRIBLE song...the drumming and bass work is great, but, I don't know I'll give it a few more listens, and maybe I'll have a different opinion on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdFireYYZ Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 9. Not one bad track. They need to play Emotion Detector or Middletown Dreams on the CA tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolarizeMe Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 A fear years ago my mom actually called me to say that she found Power Windows sitting in the cheap CD section at the local Rite Aid and asked me if I wanted it. I didn't have it at the time so I told her yes, and I think she bought it for $6 which beats the price of Best Buy or some other chain store. I remember when listening to this for the first time it didn't really do much for me at first even though I did like The Big Money already. It was probably because I was distracted doing other things on the computer while trying to listen, but I really didn't pay attention to the music much. The next time I listened to it was on my CD player which I still have during a car ride during a bad snowstorm and it clicked. It's my favorite album among the P/G through Hold Your Fire era, and it's probably my favorite 80s album entirely, so it's safe to say that this along with Counterparts are my two favorite Rush albums. Middletown Dreams, Grand Designs, Marathon and Emotion Detector are my favorite songs from the album. I'd gave it a 9 just because I don't give out 10s to even the most favorite of albums of mine, but this comes close to a perfect album for me in terms of production and quality of albums of the era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Another 8 from me. Some of the synths are a bit dated. I've read that Alex felt that he was "fit into" the songs since they were written on the keys but I'm of the opinion that thinking about how to put his sound into the songs made him go outside of his comfort zone. This brought out some really creative textures and phrasings. He learned to speak volumes in a handful of notes. While I love every song on this album, my favorite is Emotion Detector. That solo is one of Al's best and Ged's vocal is smooth and sweet. Such a melodic and layered song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtron Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Strong 8. Never been crazy about The Big Money, but I love the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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