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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Rush – "Power Windows" (1985)

Rush is a Canadian progressive metal trio whose members are top of the pops when it comes to virtuosity on their respective instruments. The three sons of Toronto are Alex Lifeson on guitar, Geddy Lee on bass and Neil Peart on drums. And although all three belong to the elite on their instruments, it’s probably Peart who throughout history has been regarded as the most talented musician of them. Many people, both experts and ordinary men, think he’s the greatest rock drummer ever.

Neil Peart replaced drummer John Rutsey in 1974 and since then the trio has been intact, almost a unique phenomenon in the music industry. Power Windows was the band's 11th studio album (they have to date released 20 studio albums and nine live albums).

Power Windows was created during a time when Rush used an unusual amount of synthesizers, which of course wasn’t uncommon in the 80s. Some fans didn’t like this, but personally I think it works OK. I don’t usually dig the typical synthesizer sound from the 80s, the somewhat thin sound with chords that drowns the music with cheapness. But somehow, Rush gets away with it. They had always used different electronic devices in their music, so it was nothing new. But synthesizers had never gotten such a prominent role as in the years in the mid 80's. Much at Lifeson’s expense as he had to stand back for some years.

Rush used for the first time Peter Collins as producer, and as usual Peart delivers the lyrics while Lifeson and Lee got the music together.

Despite a lot of synthesizer sound, Power Windows is (with some hesitation) a prog metal album. The synthesizers have a tendency to make the sound more of a pop album than usual in the case of Rush. Moreover, some of the songs are relatively calm without any roaring guitars or frenetic drums in them. But the metal is there under the surface all the time, if not always out in the open. The opening song Big Money is a classic that blows the listener away. Another one of my favorites has always been Marathon with its sweeping and pompous chorus. When I saw Rush live in Quebec in 2010 they played that particular song. A few months earlier, they had on Facebook posted a question which song the fans wanted to hear live on the upcoming tour. I of course answered Marathon in the comments. I've always wondered if it was because of me the audience was treated to this song during the tour (Time Machine Tour). We were around 150,000 people in the audience that night.

In addition to the concert in Quebec, I’ve also seen Rush live twice in Stockholm - 2004 during their R30 tour and 2007 on the Snakes And Arrows tour. So I have at firsthand seen Lee play his advanced bass lines, sing, alternating with synthesizers and manage all his pedals. At the same time. And Peart’s famous drum solos. And Lifeson’s guitar playing and all his equipment (which is quite a lot). I have also experienced the band’s ability to perform the songs with perfection without differing a beat or tone from the studio recording. For better or worse.

The world has always been divided into hate or love concerning Geddy Lee's voice. I stand somewhere in the middle of this polarization. I've never been overly fond of it but have gotten used to it and accept it.

I think Power Windows is a good album, but probably not an album for everyone. It has got some great songs, hard bass lines from Lee in contrast to the soft synthesizers of the 80s, and Lee’s shrill vocals. However, there are also some more boring creations, especially on the B-side. Maybe not an album that is fully representative of Rush.

It may be added that Rush is in the 4^th position when it comes to number of gold and platinum records (after the Beatles, Rolling Stones and KISS) and 3^rd on the list of number of consecutive gold and platinum albums (where they beat KISS). Despite this Rush counts, maybe not as an underground band, but in all cases as an alternative band that in many ways are beyond the commercial music industry and market. Probably the band members' integrity and the band's constant quest for independence is to thank for this.