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Rating: 1985. The Rush release what is probably the album that best reflects the essence of Rush in the '80s. Once again, as already happened in "Signals" and especially "Grace Under Pressure," the use of synthesizers is prominent as typical of the music of the period; indeed, in this album the electro-pop influence is even more evident, and here the comparison with other legendary bands of the period is inevitable... but Rush do everything with the personality and class they always have. The attention to melodies and structures has never been optional for Geddy Lee and company and never will be. And this approach, albeit very leaning towards commercial, never results in banality but in a product always very refined; Rush have always accustomed us to constantly renew themselves without ever missing the mark, and I would say this is also a more than respectable product. Honestly, I must say that it is not at all easy to create an album as undoubtedly catchy as this one without compromising the appreciation for things well done and well cared for... and I must say that Rush handle it excellently; it is amazing how the '80s period, a terrain not very fertile for originality and instead favorable to more standardized melodies (this is the only way to explain the decline of progressive rock), is not an obstacle to the group's personality. This album, therefore, can be enjoyable for those who theoretically listen to whatever is offered but still strikes longtime fans of Rush, those who have always appreciated them for their desire to always go beyond what they do.
And so here come 8 very appropriate tracks that flow quickly, directly, hitting the mark! The first track, "Big Money," is one of those typically impactful openers, very suited to opening the album. Here Alex Lifeson's guitar is definitely at the forefront with its clear and rhythmic sound and the keyboard parts seem more complimentary, yet inserted at just the right moments. But "Grand Design" is quite another thing, here the synth loops clearly bring to mind fully ’80s sounds, especially the central riff! Also splendid is track No. 3 "Manhattan Project," with keyboards engaged in creating dark and delicate atmospheres without deviating from the typical sound of the rest of the album. "Marathon" instead highlights the liveliness more than any other track thanks to Lee's excellent rhythmic bass play, impeccable as always, and a chorus certainly among the catchiest of their career, with notes of synth deliberately suffocating the rest of the instrumentation but always well constructed. Not bad also is Lifeson's solo before the last chorus. Special and surreal atmospheres with the keyboards at the forefront in "Territories" and once again synth loops in full '80s style. "Middletown Dreams" begins with a nice electronic riff followed by delicate guitar touches but the best moment of the song is the central synth part which brings Rush closer to '80s pop style more than at any other moment of the album. Slightly underwhelming the penultimate "Emotion Detector," with its particular oriental atmospheres, however, splendid is the concluding "Mystic Rhythms": synthesizers are the absolute protagonists, dark, nocturnal, festive atmospheres, another example of how electronic experiments are a strength for Rush during this period!
Once again, Rush in the service of liveliness... recommended for the sunnier ones, for those who love to let loose with music, for those who see in it a great outlet but also for those who choose things done right and to those who see banality as an element capable of losing charm in things!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Big Money (05:37)
Well, I was only a kid, didn't know enough to be afraid
Playing the game, but not the way the big boys played
Nothing to lose, maybe I had something to trade
The way the big wheel spins
Well, I was only a kid, on a holy crusade
I placed no trust in a faith that was ready-made
Take no chances on paradise delayed
So I do a slow fade
Playing for time
Don't want to wait for heaven
Looking for love
For an angel to forgive my sins
Playing with fire
Chasing something new to believe in
Looking for love
The way the big wheel spins
Well, I was only a kid, cruising around in a trance
Prisoner of fate, victim of circumstance
I was lined up for glory, but the tickets sold out in advance
The way the big wheel spins
Well, I was only a kid, gone without a backward glance
Going for broke, going for another chance
Hoping for heaven, hoping for a fine romance
If I do the right dance
Wheel goes round, landing on a twist of faith
Taking your chances you'll have the right answers
When the final judgment begins
Wheel goes round, landing on a leap of fate
Life redirected in ways unexpected
Sometimes the odd number wins
The way the big wheel spins
03 Manhattan Project (05:07)
Imagine a time when it all began
In the dying days of a war
A weapon that would settle the score
Whoever found it first
Would be sure to do their worst
They always had before...
Imagine a man where it all began
A scientist pacing the floor
In each nation always eager to explore
To build the best big stick
To turn the winning trick
But this was something more...
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The end was begun it would hit everyone
When the chain reaction was done
The big shots try to hold it back
Fools try to wish it away
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
Imagine a place where it all began
They gathered from across the land
To work in the secrecy of the desert sand
All of the brightest boys
To play with the biggest toys
More than they bargained for...
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
Imagine a man when it all began
The pilot of "Enola Gay"
Flying out of the shockwave on that August day
All the powers that be, and the course of history
Would be changed for evermore...
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The end was begun it would hit everyone
When the chain reaction was done
The big shots try to hold it back
Fools try to wish it away
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
04 Marathon (06:09)
It's not how fast you can go
The force goes into the flow
If you pick up the beat
You can forget about the heat
More than just survival
More than just a flash
More than just a dotted line
More than just a dash
It's a test of ultimate will
The heartbreak climb uphill
Got to pick up the pace
If you want to stay in the race
More than just blind ambition
More than just simple greed
More than just a finish line
Must feed this burning need -
In the long run...
From first to last
The peak is never passed
Something always fires the light
That gets in your eyes
One moment's high
And glory rolls on by
Like a streak of lightening
That flashes and fades
In the summer sky
Your meters may overload
You can rest at the side of the road
You can miss a stride
But nobody gets a free ride
More than high performance
More than just a spark
More than just the bottom line
Or a lucky shot in the dark -
In the long run...
You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance -
First you've got to last...
05 Territories (06:20)
I see the middle kingdom
Between Heaven and Earth
Like the Chinese call
The country of their birth.
We all figure that our homes
Our homes are set above
Other people than the ones
The ones we know and love.
In every place with a name
They play the same territorial game
Hiding behind the lines
Sending up warning signs.
The whole wide world
An endless universe
Yet we keep looking through
The eyeglass in reverse.
Don't feed the people
But we feed the machines
Can't really feel what
International means.
In different circles
We keep holding our ground
Indifferent circles
We keep spinning
Round and round.
We see so many tribes
Overrun and undermined
While their invaders dream
Of lands they've left behind.
Better people, better food
And better beer
Why move around the world
When Eden was so near?
The bosses get talking so tough
And if that wasn't evil enough
We get the drunken and passionate pride
Of citizens along for the ride.
The whole wide world
An endless universe
Yet we keep looking through
The eyeglass in reverse.
Don't feed the people
But we feed the machines
Can't really feel what
International means.
In different circles
We keep holding our ground
Indifferent circles we keep
Spinning round and round and..
They shoot without shame
In the name of a piece of dirt
For a change of accent
Or the color of your shirt.
Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colorful rag is unfurled.
The whole wide world
An endless universe
Yet we keep looking through
The eyeglass in reverse.
Don't feed the people
But we feed the machines
Can't really feel what
International mean.
In different circles
We keep holding our ground
Indifferent circles we keep
Spinning round and round and round..
07 Emotion Detector (05:11)
When we lift the covers from our feelings
We expose our insecure spots
Trust is just as rare as devotion
Forgive us our cynical thoughts.
If we need too much attention
Not content with being cool
We must throw ourselves wide open
And start acting like a fool
If we need too much approval
Then the cuts can seem too cruel.
Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts
In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts.
It's true that love can change us
Never quite enough
Sometimes we are too tender
Sometimes we're too tough
If we get too much attention
It gets hard to overrule
So often fragile power turns
To scorn and ridicule
Sometimes our big splashes
Are just ripples in the pool.
Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions, illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts
In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts.
Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts
In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts
Feelings run high.
Illusion, illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts
Feelings run high
Feelings run high.
08 Mystic Rhythms (05:53)
So many things I think about
When I look far away
Things I know - things I wonder
Things I'd like to say
The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown
We suspend our disbelief
And we are not alone -
Mystic rhythms - capture my thoughts
And carry them away
Mysteries of night
Escape the light of day
Mystic rhythms - under northern lights
Or the African Sun
Primitive things stir
The hearts of everyone
We sometimes catch a window
A glimpse of what's beyond
Was it just imagination
Stringing us along?
More things than are dreamed about
Unseen and unexplained
We suspend our disbelief
And we are entertained
Mystic rhythms - capture my thoughts
And carry them away
Nature seems to spin
A supernatural way
Mystic rhythms - under city lights
Or a canopy of stars
We feel the powers
And we wonder what they are
We feel the push and pull
Of restless rhythms from afar
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Other reviews
By vellutogrigio
'Perhaps the best way to approach the album is to... ignore that it is a Rush work, trying to grasp its intrinsic qualities regardless of the labels and expectations.'
'Mystic Rhythms: a moving song that seeks to explain (and succeeds in doing so) the mystery of music, from its primordial beats to the electronic elaborations of the '80s.'
By rasna
"Madly over-produced," that's how Neil Peart described the album Power Windows.
"Power Windows is certainly a great album, not a masterpiece but very good and different even when compared directly to its predecessor, Signals."
