I’ve been going through the entire catalog of Rush’s studio albums to hear how the band evolved and then I give my impression of each album. Today, Grace Under Pressure.
Grace Under Pressure
Rush moved in a new direction in their previous album, Signals. In Grace Under Pressure, they refined the sound, resulting in what is probably the best album of their middle years, a.k.a., the synth era. Grace Under Pressure is all about performing and succeeding under duress, and some of Rush’s most heart-felt and emotional songs appear on this album. I had heard a number of these songs on various DVD concert videos, so I was more familiar with these than I had been with much of Signals.
As with most of Rush’s music, it took some time for me to acquire the taste. I try to post these impressions after I’ve listened to the music enough times for my first impression to fade away and my long-term feeling sets in.
The Tracks
1. Distant Early Warning 4:56
This is one song that seems to appear in most of the concerts released on DVD. It’s got a haunting keyboard part combined with some complimentary guitar and drumming. It’s about the pressures and stresses of living in the modern world (the album was released in 1984). The song gets an A.
2. Afterimage 5:05
This song starts out “Suddenly, you were gone…” and you know immediately it’s about the loss of somebody close to you. It was written for Neil Peart’s friend Robbie Whelan, who was killed on the way to the studio in 1983 (according to Songfacts). It’s one of the most emotional songs in the entire inventory of this band. One of their best. I give it an A+.
3. Red Sector A 5:09
How many bands can get away with recording a song about being in an internment camp? Based loosely on the experiences of Geddy Lee’s mother’s time in, I believe Dachau or Auschwitz. While the song is more general in nature than one person’s experience, you can tell there’s a lot of heart in this song every time it’s played. A+.
4. The Enemy Within 4:34
It’s not paranoia if they’re really after you, right? This song is the first part of a trilogy that appeared in reverse order over the past thee albums. (Part 1 was Witch Hunt on Moving Pictures, part 2 was The Weapon on Signals, and this is part 3.) I give it an A.
5. The Body Electric 4:59
A song about a robot gaining sentience and trying to break away from the rules it is under as a machine and find freedom. It’s a song that took longer than normal to catch on for me, but I finally did. It still isn’t really among my favorites on this album, but it may just be a matter of personal taste. Interestingly, the refrain of 1001001 is ASCII for the letter “I,” which brings to mind Asimov’s I Robot. I’ll give it an A-.
6. Kid Gloves 4:18
This is really a song about growing up and coming to understand yourself and your place in the world. In the grand scheme of Rush, it’s a bit underspoken. It has a nice guitar solo and some good drum riffs, but nothing exceptional. I give it an A-.
7. Red Lenses 4:43
The song is a bit hard to interpret, but it comes off as getting angry at the newspaper and the stories being delivered in print. It is, to me, the most unmemorable song on the album. I give it a B+.
8. Between the Wheels 5:44
The song starts with another haunting keyboard riff that sets the tone for the song. It’s another song about angst and surviving when you’ve been “thrown under the wheels.” Survival, man. Don’t create another wasted generation. I give it an A.
Conclusion
While there are a couple of songs that didn’t rank particularly high for me, and Grace Under Pressure isn’t one of my top 5 Rush albums, it is probably at #6. I give the album an A.
I Gave Signals an A-
I gave Moving Pictures an A+.
I gave Permanent Waves an A.
I gave Hemispheres an A+.
I gave A Farewell to Kings an A.
I gave 2112 an A.
I gave Caress of Steel a B+.
I gave Fly by Night an A-.
I gave Rush a C+.
