Love this album. I'm a sucker for the mid-80's Rush. This is also the last album of theirs that I can enjoy start to finish. It's probably for the best that they went back in the power trio direction after this. For me, this signifies the end of an era for Rush. I'm a completist, so while I have the whole catalog, HYF is probably the last album of theirs I find myself reaching for more often than not. There's just something about the GUP-PW-HYF trifecta that I love.
Hmmm, I don't remember that at all. I'll have to go back and look for that. That is arguably the peak of Peart's lyric writing, and the songs, despite not being as overtly proggy as stuff they did in the 70s and very early 80s, are pretty adventurous. Mission is one of their best songs, not only because the melodies are glorious, but because the arrangement is brilliant.
Of all the post 1982 Rush albums this is probably my favourite. Snakes and Arrows is the only other candidate. It sounds very 80s but not really dated, the songwriting is very strong. "Force Ten", "Time Stand Still", "Mission", "Lock and Key", "Turn The Page", all very good.
Quite Like it - I still thinks its the best of Pearts direct style of writing and Geddys melodic sense put together.. From this point on they either became 4 minute pop songs (with the exception of Prestos Available Light - or then drifted into poetic nonsense with the more recent stuff. It doesnt sound great - a step down from PW but at least its not as awful as some that followed. Never did quite get Force Ten if Im honest and Im still tempted to start from track 2 to this day- But the layering of synths and some lovely guitar embellishments still make it a fave (Its probably the best they got when it came to thoughtful arrangements) If it has one fault I would say its the point at which Rush started putting to many songs on an Album that were just fillers.
I hesitate to link to this because of the way it tends to influence opinions, but here's a comment about both Geddy's and Alex's opinions of "Tai Shan": Alex Lifeson: The Worst Songs Rush Ever Released, I Don't Know What We Were Thinking That has a link to the interview with Alex. I'll give the link here though, too: Interview: Alex Lifeson on God, police brutality and 'disco biscuits' I don't think that we should put any extra weight on artists' opinions of their own work. It's just another opinion. And I don't agree with Geddy and Alex on "Tai Shan". But obviously they're not fond of it.
Thanks for the heads up. How did does the watermark sound when it turns up? Or does it affect the entire album?
Would anyone know the best sounding CD version of Hold Your Fire? I held off picking up the Sector 3 boxed set because I heard mixed things about the audio quality and that it might also contain an alternate mix of the album, but I never bought the 1997 remaster either, because my 1997 Power Windows CD sounds very bright and thin. Is there a good sounding HYF on CD that has bass?
Was your No an answer that there is no good sounding HYF that has bass? Glad you have the Sector 3 version, yes, please re-listen soon and let me know if it has a modern upfront sound with compression? Do you have the ‘97 version too?
Finding a good sounding copy of this album seems tricky. The original LP was poor, if memory serves. Too much music crammed onto ultra-thin, mostly recycled vinyl (typical of the time). The remastered CDs are loud, brittle, and generally awful. The original CD was somewhat dull but serviceable. I have the Japanese SHM because it was highly recommended by some, though it sounds a lot like the original CD to me.
I like the original CD's mastering. Not dull per se, certainly more relaxed; the bass is perhaps a little shy but it's definitely there. This is the version I have Rush - Hold Your Fire According to this comparison all pre-remaster CDs apparently share the same mastering, as does the SHM version
This was the Rush album to clock in at more than 50 minutes and as such was the first one to accommodate the CD format which was becoming established in 1987. Have to admit though that this is the first album I listened to primarily on CD though I bought the vinyl at the same time.
It's been too long since I owned the original to compare, but according to the previous post the SHM has the same master (as I suspected). I don't like the sound of the '97 at all. The Sector is interesting, not so much for the different mix (which I only notice on "Mission"), but for the very different EQ. It has some more bass, but it was pulled out in a way that makes it sound bloated. On the whole, I'll stick with my very 80's sounding SHM.
Exactly. Just because members of the band don't like something doesn't mean a fan can't. And of course I think the opposite holds true. But I do think those opinions should be noted and are valuable. Geddy and Alex have said that they thought Tai Shan may have been a mistake and Neil has said that Hold Your Fire represented a step too far. (Kind of like their view of Hemispheres in that regard.)
The original CD pressing has always sounded the best to me. I always thought Hold Your Fire was the worst studio album of the '97 remasters.
I happen to agree with them in both regards... glad to own good-sounding original Anthem CDs of both those, but I don't care about either LP enough to chase down the greatest possible vinyl version or anything like that "Tai Shan" is not necessarily a TERRIBLE song, but it does make me cringe in the same way that parts of Caress of Steel do (and not just the one Alex points out in that interview, either)
I don't have the 97. The modern compression on the Sector box I found un-favorable, but as you know I'm pretty sensitive to it. I'll check it later EQ wise.
It wasn't my first CD, but it might have been the first CD I ever owned where the silver went all the way to the center hole.
Grace Under Pressure is my favorite Rush album but Hold Your Fire is probably in the top three. I'm an 80s Rush fan, needless to say.