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Grace Under Pressure - Then and Now

clem

By clem,
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lifeson90

lifeson90

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Yeah i was there too and it WAS slightly strange, although i thought the album was good it was a major divergence, even from Signals. To the point where, it seems odd to admit, the following album was just too much for me and i had a couple years break from the band's contemporary stuff.

 

Of course, now GUP and all the 80s albums are absolute classics to me, GUP possibly becoming my fav ever, even ahead of the biblical permanent waves.

 

I've said it before and i'll say it again coz its true, and important, in the history of this great band - thank god for Andy Summers and his obvious influence on Al, as that sound opened the guys' potential up for the modern era.

Edited by lifeson90
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JohnnyBlaze
JohnnyBlaze

I was 11. Rush was already my favorite band for a few years running. A year prior, I had gone to the New World tour (my first gig ever) and enjoyed it immensely. MTV was regularly playing DeW, The Bod

clem
clem

As someone who is old enough to remember when this album came out, it always surprises me how many fans nowadays love this album. I surprised because when this album came out back in 1984, most Rush

losingit2k
losingit2k

Honestly, I couldn't get enough of the album. But then again I'm a keyboardist. I spent many a day dissecting and learning both Keyboard and Bass parts at the same time. My friends would come around a

losingit2k

losingit2k

Posted
Posted (edited)

Honestly, I couldn't get enough of the album. But then again I'm a keyboardist. I spent many a day dissecting and learning both Keyboard and Bass parts at the same time. My friends would come around and yell at my window to have me go the park for some football and I would decline. Stating "I have to practice these songs". I thought it was pure genius. You really need to play it to truly appreciate it. Now the album has a very dear place in my heart because of these events. I still love it. I only wish more of the obscure songs like afterimage, the enemy within and Kid Gloves would find there way unto their setlists.

 

Highlights:

 

Geddy's Bass lines, (Incredible on this album)

Alex's Chord structure (I love the No 3rd inversions in DEW)

Neil' Lyrics (Some of his best! Specially since I was ready "Alas Babylon" at the time.)

Edited by losingit2k
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Tombstone Mountain

Tombstone Mountain

Posted
Posted

Honestly, I couldn't get enough of the album. But then again I'm a keyboardist. I spent many a day dissecting and learning both Keyboard and Bass parts at the same time. My friends would come around and yell at my window to have me go the park for some football and I would decline. Stating "I have to practice these songs". I thought it was pure genius. You really need to play it to truly appreciate it. Now the album has a very dear place in my heart because of these events. I still love it. I only wish more of the obscure songs like afterimage, the enemy within and Kid Gloves would find there way unto their setlists.

 

Highlights:

 

Geddy's Bass lines, (Incredible on this album)

Alex's Chord structure (I love the No 3rd inversions in DEW)

Neil' Lyrics (Some of his best! Specially since I was ready "Alas Babylon" at the time.)

 

Alex has such tone on this album. It's a monster.

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GeminiRising79

GeminiRising79

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I was in college when it came out and I was pretty dismayed by it. Signals was the beginning of the end of Rush for me, and p/g was just another nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned at the time. I remember reading a magazine interview with Iron Maiden and they were asked to comment specifically on Red Sector A and one of the guys characterized it as "Disco Rush".

 

Iron Maiden.. obliterated by Rush in every conceivable aspect. I'm pretty sure Rush would euphemistically characterize their music as being something strongly resembling sh!t

 

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goose

goose

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Posted

I loved P/G. It was perfect for the time. Futurism was very popular. A brilliant album..

I loved it, too. I was into the Police and ska at the time as well, so I didn't mind the influences. Now where did I put that hat...?

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li4x21tkeT1qhl0j6o1_400.jpg

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Narps

Narps

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Posted

I loved P/G. It was perfect for the time. Futurism was very popular. A brilliant album..

I loved it, too. I was into the Police and ska at the time as well, so I didn't mind the influences. Now where did I put that hat...?

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li4x21tkeT1qhl0j6o1_400.jpg

My son played in a SKA band for a few years late in his high school years and just after. I had never heard of SKA, of course, but I kind of enjoyed it when I went to his gigs...... :huh:
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Mara

Mara

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Ulp, I can't believe this album is 30. . . . I was 16 when it came out and oh so in love with Mr. Peart. (Some things do not change).

 

I always loved it, though maybe not as much as Moving Pictures (first Rush), or Signals or AFTK. One flaw, though - it had that HORRIBLE song "Red Lenses" on it. I hated Red Lenses until 2009, at which point I decided to maybe just once not skip it and see if I still felt the same. Wonder of wonders I loved it! I even made a thread here about my rediscovery of it.

 

ETA I thought the e-drums were super sweet. But this was my music taste at the time:

 

New Wave/European electro-pop and

Rush

 

So of course I was thrilled to find them giving a nod in that direction.

Edited by Mara
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JohnnyBlaze

JohnnyBlaze

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Posted
I was 11. Rush was already my favorite band for a few years running. A year prior, I had gone to the New World tour (my first gig ever) and enjoyed it immensely. MTV was regularly playing DeW, The Body Electric, and The Enemy Within. Later, the GUP concert footage would be broadcast quite a bit. Video games and arcades were impressive and eye-opening. Musically and thematically, GUP totally fit in '84. It was a different style of Rush. But it was still Rush. What was not to like?
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goose

goose

Posted
Posted (edited)

I loved P/G. It was perfect for the time. Futurism was very popular. A brilliant album..

I loved it, too. I was into the Police and ska at the time as well, so I didn't mind the influences. Now where did I put that hat...?

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li4x21tkeT1qhl0j6o1_400.jpg

My son played in a SKA band for a few years late in his high school years and just after. I had never heard of SKA, of course, but I kind of enjoyed it when I went to his gigs...... :huh:

Ahhh...the great ska revival. Kudos to your son! Great British ska bands of the 80's included the Specials, the (English) Beat, Madness.

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0000/667/MI0000667931.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

Edited by goose
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goose

goose

Posted
Posted

I loved P/G. It was perfect for the time. Futurism was very popular. A brilliant album..

I loved it, too. I was into the Police and ska at the time as well, so I didn't mind the influences. Now where did I put that hat...?

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li4x21tkeT1qhl0j6o1_400.jpg

My son played in a SKA band for a few years late in his high school years and just after. I had never heard of SKA, of course, but I kind of enjoyed it when I went to his gigs...... :huh:

Ahhh...the great ska revival. Kudos to your son! Great British ska bands of the 80's included the Specials, the (English) Beat, Madness.

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0000/667/MI0000667931.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

Quintissential 80s ska track.

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Cyclonus X-1

Cyclonus X-1

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Posted

I remember hearing the first four songs on GUP and thinking, "Holy crap, this is one of their best albums ever."

 

Then came The Body Electric. :|

 

Red Lenses didn't help much either.

 

But yeah, GUP is still a great album overall, and that first batch of songs rivals any other stretch of music in their catalog aside from the unbeatable first side of Moving Pictures.

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Narps

Narps

Posted
Posted

I loved P/G. It was perfect for the time. Futurism was very popular. A brilliant album..

I loved it, too. I was into the Police and ska at the time as well, so I didn't mind the influences. Now where did I put that hat...?

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li4x21tkeT1qhl0j6o1_400.jpg

My son played in a SKA band for a few years late in his high school years and just after. I had never heard of SKA, of course, but I kind of enjoyed it when I went to his gigs...... :huh:

Ahhh...the great ska revival. Kudos to your son! Great British ska bands of the 80's included the Specials, the (English) Beat, Madness.

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0000/667/MI0000667931.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

If you ever get so bored you don't know what to do with yourself, google Bottle Cap Bandits and there is a youtube video of he and his band from 2007. He was 17 at the time. He is the tall one in the striped shirt with playing the sax. They are playing First Class Losers. I would post it myself but alas, my skills are sucking as usual...... :)
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bathory

bathory

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Posted

I was in college when it came out and I was pretty dismayed by it. Signals was the beginning of the end of Rush for me, and p/g was just another nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned at the time. I remember reading a magazine interview with Iron Maiden and they were asked to comment specifically on Red Sector A and one of the guys characterized it as "Disco Rush".

 

Iron Maiden.. obliterated by Rush in every conceivable aspect. I'm pretty sure Rush would euphemistically characterize their music as being something strongly resembling sh!t

amazing how you like no music except rush, and you don't even like most rush music!

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JARG

JARG

Posted
Posted

I was in college when it came out and I was pretty dismayed by it. Signals was the beginning of the end of Rush for me, and p/g was just another nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned at the time. I remember reading a magazine interview with Iron Maiden and they were asked to comment specifically on Red Sector A and one of the guys characterized it as "Disco Rush".

 

Iron Maiden.. obliterated by Rush in every conceivable aspect. I'm pretty sure Rush would euphemistically characterize their music as being something strongly resembling sh!t

amazing how you like no music except rush, and you don't even like most rush music!

 

"No one can insult my wife except me!"

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LedRush

LedRush

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Posted (edited)

There were even a couple of dance-able tracks (the two “red” songs).

 

 

You dance to music about the holocaust (or at least inspired by it)? I've never thought of that song that way.

 

I do agree with a lot of the other points you made.

Edited by LedRush
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x1yyz

x1yyz

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Posted

You dance to music about the holocaust (or at least inspired by it)? I've never thought of that song that way.

 

When "Red Sector A" was played during the last tour there were a couple venues (I went to multiple shows) where the mix was a little off and the song ended up sounding like a (good) raging techno dance song. It was weird hearing such a somber topic as an upbeat song.

 

Re: The original topic...

 

I first got into Rush in early 1980 and was around when Grace Under Pressure came out. (And as someone else said, it's not "GUP", it's "p/g"--it even says so on the cover.) I did like Signals, different as it was, and that album got me way into new wave and alternative music (a genre I ended up working in in later years). I also liked p/g, although not quite as much as Signals.

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GeminiRising79

GeminiRising79

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Posted

I loved P/G. It was perfect for the time. Futurism was very popular. A brilliant album..

I loved it, too. I was into the Police and ska at the time as well, so I didn't mind the influences. Now where did I put that hat...?

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li4x21tkeT1qhl0j6o1_400.jpg

 

I was really into the Police in '81-'82. They distracted me a little from Rush at that time!

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Tombstone Mountain

Tombstone Mountain

Posted
Posted

I loved P/G. It was perfect for the time. Futurism was very popular. A brilliant album..

I loved it, too. I was into the Police and ska at the time as well, so I didn't mind the influences. Now where did I put that hat...?

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li4x21tkeT1qhl0j6o1_400.jpg

 

I was really into the Police in '81-'82. They distracted me a little from Rush at that time!

 

Just like Journey?

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