Rush ‎– Grace Under Pressure

This has to be the most accessible Rush album out there. Every song can be written into memory and enjoyed. This, in my opinion, is the peak of Rush's accessible 80's sound before taking it too far. The synth is not impeding on the core sound of the band just yet. Alex rips some awesome riffs on this album and Geddy churns the meanest, fastest bass riffs just like from the last album, Signals. Peart's experimentation with Electronic drums adds a new flavor to this album's sound.

Breakdown (because listening to this album many times deems one):

Distant Early Warning: What the hell is that noise at the beginning? Well you're about to be thrust into a new sound; an album full of wonder and dystopian concepts. The sound fits too, with all the creepy snyth chords carefully opening and closing the song. Decent bass riff here, and Peart's lyrics are tantalizing.

Afterimage: Fast songs galore. But finally some fast Peart drumming. The guitar gets overrun by the synth here though, terribly. Chorus is exciting here, because the words just grasp you in the way Geddy sings them.

Red Sector A: Great song, but it's disappointing by all the song being overrun by more electronic sound. First off, a synth bass. Second, the snare gets replaced by tom often. The only redeeming factor is the slow part and Alex's awesome riffage. Them complex chords. The lyrics are somewhat interesting, but not too much.

The Enemy Within: Finally, the last part of Fear. The opening is amazing and this has to be the best riff out of the three Fear songs, but compete heavily with The Weapon. We see the sound here with much less synth than the Weapon, and an incredible riff by Geddy and Alex. These lyrics are SO easy to enjoy and sing to; the chorus, the interludes. No epic solos yet and side one is over.

The Body Electric: Now we're talking. The opening is so original compared to the rest of the songs Rush has put out. Peart's drums opening, some funky bass by Geddy. Alex finally get's a decent solo in on here. The choruses are exciting, with light synth and Peart's deep drums. Probably the best song on this album...

Kid Gloves: ...if it weren't for this song. This defies everything Rush has done, providing listeners with a catchy exciting song and a rocking solo from Alex. Geddy's bass is just so damn fast and charging in the interlude and throughout the song. The Analog Kid Mk. II, anyone? This song rocks in the beginning and ends rocking.

red lenses: Ugh... This is like the precursor to Mystic Rhythms. Still going with that reggae sound guys? Peart bangs on so many different drums on this one, it's hard to count. The lyrics are decent and has some good points to this.

Between the Wheels: Everything dies in this song. The ultimate talk of life: Time. This song is sad from beginning to end with those "1984" (ironic ain't it?) synth chords at the beginning to the fade out near the end and catching that last creepy synth chord at the end. Peart's drumming is the best here and the chorus is the most crucial one on the album. Summations in all, this song ends this album with a momentous "bang". It works so well.

Grace Under Pressure is a key album to Rush's history (heck it deserved a live video). Without this, we would have not seen the change to Power Windows and all those albums. Sure it may not be their best, but it categorizes sound in an era where this type of music barely exists. Geddy, Alex, and Peart: I commend you with gratitude for this masterpiece. 5